Firsthand look at need to confront climate change
For the better part of the last two decades, California firefighters have been first on the scene of a relentless, slow-motion, natural disaster.The cumulative effects of four years of punishing...
View ArticleFairgrounds keeping its grass alive in advance of Yolo County Fair
It was an innocent photograph, but it started me thinking (always a dangerous). I was headed back to the office on Saturday morning along East Street from the shopping spree at JCPenney sponsored by...
View ArticleWildfires and letting some things burn
Watching the bravery of thousands of firefighters take on the Rocky Fire, the Wragg Fire or dozens of other infernos this past week one can't help but be impressed not just with their seeming lack of...
View ArticleLet Californians decide about vaccinations
A recent editorial advised readers against signing a referendum to overturn California's new forced vaccination law. However, the piece was long on emotion and void of facts.Senate Bill 277 was rushed...
View ArticleAnother year of the Yolo County Fair and still no meat for the freezer
Today is the first day of the Yolo County Fair, whose official theme for 2015 is "It Gets Better Every Year."Probably the reason it continues to get better is that we're all getting older and as long...
View ArticleOverzealous regulators shutting down lemonade stands
When I was little, I remember having a book on my bookshelf called, "Better Than a Lemonade Stand." The book, by Daryl Bernstein, was full of business ideas for young people who wanted to make a little...
View ArticleLoads of project being completed around town and county
I was interviewed by Beth Ruyak of Capitol Public Radio this past Tuesday and our conversation centered around all the construction work in Woodland and this area of Yolo County. Ruyak kind of helped...
View ArticleCommunity lost a leader with death of Dorothy Minges
I first met Dorothy Minges back in the late 1980s shortly after arriving Woodland. Naturally, I can't remember the occasion -- there were so many events she was attending and so many organizations in...
View ArticleCrying over spilled water
On a recent sweltering Saturday afternoon, I submerged my guilt and filled the bathtub halfway for my 3-year-old twins to play in.It was their first bath in months. The early childhood rituals of...
View ArticleOur Town: Journalism is often a dangerous profession
The first murder I covered was while attending college. An angry husband decided he wanted to kill his wife, who was the secretary for the university president. The guy walked into the administration...
View ArticleReed's state pension reform measure would be a disaster
Backers of an effort to slash the retirement of public servants got a stiff dose of reality this month when leaders of the state's top public investment funds raised red flags about the plan that could...
View ArticleAnti-immigrant angst is stoked by economic fear
CHICAGO >> We never need look very far into the past to see how frequently history repeats itself.In the news are headlines about xenophobic political statements made to curry favor with the far...
View ArticleSeptember is upon us and it's time to start eating chili
I watched Woodland Mayor Tom Stallard try to kick a football with his bare foot Monday night at the Woodland United Way Campaign Kickoff. The annual event designates the start of another fundraising...
View ArticleMany were working hard on Labor Day weekend
Like many, I used the three-day weekend to get caught up on the work that should have been done during the regular work week but couldn't be completed because others were preparing for their...
View ArticleSad and inspiring history lessons
Today is the 14th anniversary of the day the towers fell in New York City. It's the 14th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the United States. There was a formal ceremony held at...
View ArticleFires, handicapped access and thoughts on gay marriage
A lot is being written about the fires sweeping through Northern California. I won't add to the commentary other than to provide readers with the following information.KCRA TV 3 reported that Calfire...
View ArticlePowerful words from Yolo County's first Latina judge
It was one of the more moving -- and historic -- events I've ever attended. And I've attended more than a few inauguration speeches. But last Friday's "investiture" ceremony to robe Yolo County's first...
View ArticleMore money for more Woodland police coming our way
Woodland has been selected as one of 10 cities in California to receiving a grant funding three more police officers, U.S. Attorney General Lortta Lynch announced late money as part of the COPs...
View ArticleWeird collections of local and world history
I've become an involuntary collector of historic artifacts, both significant and mundane. I'm not complaining. I rather enjoy the strange things that wind up on my desk here at The Democrat from time...
View ArticleWatching Woodland grow right before our eyes
I was scooting around Woodland and across Yolo County over the weekend, taking in the last day of the Farmers Market on Saturday, taking photographs of the Kiwanis Club Tex Hold'em Poker Tournament at...
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