Archive By Section - Editorial
Not too long ago …
One hundred years seems like a long time in most situations. When someone turns 100 years old, I can't help but marvel at all the technological changes that one person has seen just in his or her lifetime. In 1911, automobiles were a novelty and many people still traveled by horse and carriage. Radios were only in the homes of the rich, but entertainment was something that many families didn't have much time ...
Real VIPs
Today I had the honor of meeting some impressive VIPs and I don't think I will ever forget the time we spent together. They were patients at Emanuel Cancer Center. As I tell you about some of them, I'm going to use fake names because of patient privacy, but they were anything but phony. These were real men and women involved in a major battle for life. First I met "Sally." She was ...
Season of new beginnings
According to my desk calendar, Friday was the start of autumn. I usually don't like to argue with inanimate objects, but I made an exception when temperatures reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit on what was supposed to be the start of a cooler season. I'm not sure if my calendar was trying to make up for the sizzling hot end of last week with two days of mild weather conditions on Sunday and Monday, ...
Worried about America? Visit a Boys & Girls Club
The political world is so toxic that I needed some relief, so I tuned into a reality show more real than anything on television. I wasn't disappointed. The stories I heard were at once harrowing and inspirational. And they were deeply connected to the future of the country. This week, I served as one of five judges in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth of the Year competition. This is ...
MacGyver to the rescue — most of the time
For those of you too young to remember the television show "MacGyver," allow me to share about the 1980s American action-adventure series. The show was about a secret agent, Angus MacGyver, who employed his resourcefulness and knowledge of chemistry, physics, and technology, and often a little duct tape and a Swiss Army knife, to resolve what were often life or death situations. I'm married to a MacGyver kind of guy. I've nicknamed my ...
Want a job? Stay in college as long as you can
With the unemployment rate hovering above 9 percent, today's job market is bad for everyone. One group does seem to fare better than the rest, however: The jobless rate for workers with a bachelor's degree or better is just 4.3 percent, compared with 14.3 percent for high school dropouts. But among college grads, the outlook is gloomier for one critical segment: recent graduates. A study this year put their unemployment rate at 10 ...
Newspapers: A bridge to the community
I am one of the fortunate people who do not fear public speaking. When you put me in front of a captive audience and ask me to talk about one of my passions - like community newspapers - watch out, I might just talk your ear off. California State University, Stanislaus professor Elizabeth Breshears offered me just such an opportunity this week. I was asked to speak to her graduate social work students ...
Can you live without it?
For those of you who don't know me well, you may be surprised to read that I grew up on an almond ranch. My two sisters married almond farmers and have lived happily ever after in what I refer to as "the dirt." I, however, fled to suburbia as soon as I turned 18. As Eva Gabor used to chant during the Green Acres theme song, "Dah-ling I love you but give me Park ...
Gov. Jerry Brown and 3 telling bills
California Gov. Jerry Brown scored a victory for common sense last week when he vetoed a bill that would have imposed criminal penalties on minors - or their parents - who ski or snowboard without a helmet. "While I appreciate the value of wearing a ski helmet, I am concerned about the continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state," Brown explained. "Not every human problem deserves a law." <p ...
Giving credit where credit’s due
While ordinary antidepressants seize headlines in the media and medical journals alike, a relatively recent breakthrough lies forgotten in the frenzy. Regardless, I know brilliance when I see it. Potential and productivity stand out at a glance. Despite some views of ineffectiveness, I believe transcranial magnetic stimulation deserves a second chance. Tragically enough, even with its unmistakable title, I've found that there still remains a slice of society who is yet to become ...
Where were you?
This week on Facebook, my dear friend Jan Hallam wrote, "Ten years and I still weep...What were you doing that morning?" What a powerful question. I remember, like it was yesterday. Allen and I were sound asleep when the phone rang. It was my girlfriend Ann. She told me that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. I thanked her for the call, mumbled her info to Allen, and dozed back ...
Dancing with death over the centuries
Once I had a case of influenza so bad I missed close to a month of graduate school. I ran a fever and coughed until it felt like my whole world was turned upside down. Because I'm a geologist, not a medical doctor, I nicknamed that bout of illness "the plague." But what I experienced was a walk in the park compared to the real McCoy. The sheer virulent power of plague is ...
For the heart—permanently
I can vividly remember the worst I ever performed as a wife during my 26-year marriage. I failed big time. It was Saturday and I had a work function. So, plans were to meet my husband at a local restaurant for dinner. I was so happy to see him as we approached in the parking lot. Big blue eyes. That charming smile. And oh so huggable. No quicker than I could reach ...
State legislators need a holiday from red tape
As Mayor of the City of Turlock I feel compelled to let my concerns be known regarding several anti-local control bills that are currently before the state legislature. Passage of any of these bills will impose unreasonable restrictions on local government and limit our ability to maintain the basic public services our local residents deserve and depend upon. AB 438 would place new, precedent setting requirements on cities that choose to ...
Our spirit endures
I remember the day clearly. My husband was getting ready for his 7 a.m. work shift while I stayed in bed drifting in and out of wakefulness. I suddenly became aware that he had stopped getting dressed and was just standing quietly. My husband's odd behavior made me sit up and find out what had interrupted his morning routine. He was staring at the television with a blank look on his face. I ...
Articles by Section - Editorial
How the Grinch stole prosperity
For years, the folks of Weneedjobsville believed in Santanomics. They waited faithfully every year for jobs to drop out of the sky but none ever did. Then, private sector elves working with public elves started building the framework to help Weneedjobsville grow more than houses. The jobs and shopping opportunities started coming. The folks of Weneedjobsville were joyous. "It may stop us from going overland to Hightechland in a Bonneville in exchange for a ...
Guilt isn't always a bad thing
I'm not usually one to prattle on about the supposed deterioration of society. It's my belief that only those over 40 exhort the "good old days" and they do so in an effort to avoid any change. I don't know if it's because I turned 40 last month, or that society has actually started its downward fall, in either case, I'm going to give my first "good old days" tirade. When I was ...
Environmental perfection claims another 118 jobs
Clean air, or perhaps more precisely, environmental perfection is the killer of blue collar head-of-household jobs in the San Joaquin Valley. The 118 men and women who are about to lose their paychecks at one of Lathrop's most high profile and longest employers - the Pilkington flat glass manufacturing facility - are the latest victims. Sixteen years ago it was 220 workers at Manteca's Spreckels Sugar plant. In both cases, each manufacturer had spent ...
Google Glass may do for eye sight what iPods have for hearing
Remember the good old days? It's when TVs required vacuum tubes and about the flattest they got was three feet deep. Meanwhile the screen was the size of a moderate-sized tablet and, if you were lucky, produced a relatively clean black and white image devoid of snow. Now TVs thinner than a book dubbed "The Wit and Wisdom of Congress" adorn the walls in many homes. They are often larger than the screens that ...
New report highlights the need for a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill
This week, the White House released a new report showing the critical need for Congressional passage of a new Food, Farm and Jobs Bill. This comprehensive report highlights how the thriving business of agriculture is a cornerstone of America's economy, creating jobs and boosting opportunity. Agricultural production and its related sectors contributed $743 billion to U.S. GDP in 2011, accounting for nearly 5 percent of economic output. Today about one out of every 12 jobs ...
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