The View from the North Shore

The surrounding greenery a proscenium to this view, from my feet upward: tan, green, cobalt, grey, white, sky blue. A rippling, sun-dappled sea offering the sudden flash of a tiny breaker dashing spray upon jagged rock. The horizon, azure, flat as a razor beneath pale roiling cloud where, momentarily, the partial arc of a rainbow […]

Republicans Chip Away at Democrats’ Supermajority

How does a Republican, middle-aged white guy win an election in a majority Hispanic and Democratic district? Quite handily it seems. Andy Vidak won 52.2% of the vote in the 16th Senate District (SD16) Special Election on July 23rd. With Vidak’s victory, Republicans are chipping away at the Democrat’s supermajority in both houses of California’s […]

Eisenhower and Me

Last month, our inaugural edition debuted a day early, on the 5th, and by the next day, by request, was on its way to France. I remain proud of our accomplishment, but to be honest, felt more like Eisenhower, on another sixth of June, 69 years ago. The paper was a success, sure, but would […]

An Outfit to Die For

Remember Kathie Lee Gifford breaking down when she saw footage of young girls working in a decrepit garment factory for slave wages? They were assembling her personal line of clothing to be sold at Walmart. Kathie Lee subsequently vowed to help put sweatshops out of business. But, 17 years later, have the dismal working conditions […]

A Noose Around the News

Mainstream media, reduced at least to the level of local newspapers, has placed a noose around the neck of our news. Rather than opening a vast panorama of choice, in the same vein as the Internet, local newspapers often constrict our news horizon. Consider the national web of smaller, corporate-owned papers: apart from sports, many […]