Our youngest, the Kid, turns 21 next month. Yes, it’s a milestone–perhaps more than ever, now, during this pandemic–and it turns out I have the perfect gift for her. Even when university was not suspended–spring break became shelter-at-home–the Kid lacked a clear direction. Didn’t quite yet know what she wanted for herself later in life. […]
Since this crisis began, I have heard from dozens of small businesses, farms and, in particular, minority borrowers who have been shut out of federal economic stimulus funds. As one constituent put it, “My tax dollars are as green as Ruth’s Chris’, this is just not fair.” Unfair is right. I recently argued on the […]
This entire scenario reminds me of 1997, when the Chief and I, returning from Auckland to Cabo San Lucas, experienced two Easter Sundays over the course of one calendar day. OK–so it involved transiting the International Date Line; still, it was a little unsettling, if not exhausting. I might not know what day it is […]
Here we still are, sailing into the unknown, all hands on deck and expecting virtually anything in the absence of reliable charts. While I will admit we may have gone overboard with some public restrictions–especially those outdoor activities during which a safe distance can be maintained–the time has not yet come to open entirely. It’s […]
The Source LGBT+ Center joins 170 organizations speaking to government and health care providers regarding care for marginalized communities. As we move further into population level interventions and continue to grapple with care shortages and economic harms as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the undersigned LGBTQ+ and allied organizations call upon public health authorities, […]
During times such as these you realize which people you’d want in the proverbial foxhole with you. They make themselves plain by their behavior, by how they confront crisis, and it’s easy to recognize one as an asset and another as a liability. But, during times such as these, we–each of us–have to be an […]
An Opinion Piece by Jerrold Jensen The Visalia Unified Board of Trustees has unanimously agreed to not submit plans for a new high school to the State Department of Education. It had to be a tough decision and they deserve positive recognition for cleaning up the mess left behind by the previous administration. Measure A […]
Dear VRM Family and Friends, First and foremost, we cannot adequately express how grateful we are to have you join us on this journey, so thank you from the bottom of our heart. Without your prayers, encouragement and generosity, the disadvantaged and vulnerable men, women, and children in our community would not have a safe and healing environment […]
Even in the best of times, child welfare systems in California are beleaguered, underfunded, and stressed. There are too few social workers for foster children and their troubled birth families, and these caseworkers are often overworked within a huge bureaucratic system. Juvenile Dependency judges will have caseloads of 500 children, and children’s attorneys are likewise […]
Prior to the invention of the television in 1927, the computer, smart phone, and other electronic devices a child never had the opportunity to interact with these machines. They did not exist. Today is different: they are almost everywhere. Never in the history of the world has there ever been as many electronic devices and […]