It should have surprised no one when, on Aug. 19, Donald Trump announced his outreach to African-American voters. He did it by tapping into the same “village” spirit that made America great in the first place. First, he reminded African-Americans they have been consistently and deliberately ignored by the Democratic Party for more than 50 […]
Matt Talbot: Life, death and middle age
“The word nostalgia is learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of nóstos, meaning ‘homecoming,’ a Homeric word, and álgos, meaning ‘pain, ache’” –Wikipedia Nostalgia is the besetting fault of middle age, and I am not immune to infection by its sweet melancholy. I sometimes find myself driving by my old middle school in the […]
Notes from 30,000 feet: A break from politics and going to the movies
If there is one thing I think we all can agree on this political season it is this: November can’t come soon enough. With that in mind, I took a break from work and politics before flying home this past week and managed to watch an old movie favorite; “Casablanca,” which contains one of the […]
Matt Talbot: Repenting of our ‘original sin’
As measured in terms of both loss of life and physical destruction, the U.S. Civil War was by far the most devastating ever prosecuted by the United States. More Americans died in that war than died in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan – combined. The total number of dead […]
Grant Cooke: Benicia’s future is with Patterson, Young and the new economy
If Valero’s crude-by-rail, or CBR, project goes through, it will do irreparable damage to Benicia. If the three councilmembers—Mark Hughes, Christina Strawbridge and Alan Schwartzman— continue their support for the project, they will do an extraordinary disservice to the city. I respect those who work on behalf of local government; however, in this case, the […]
Matt Talbot: One black life that mattered
Two of my best friends growing up in Richmond were the Stanley brothers, Sertha and Ray. Sertha was about a year older than me (the same age as my late older brother Mark), and Ray was my age. For most of my childhood, Ray and I were inseparable. On the other side of the Southern […]
Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”: Has the World Gone Crazy (Or is it Just Me?)
The cats tore up the fabric, hanging underneath the chair. A wasp got in the house, I chased it in my underwear! A flaming pile of space of junk, lit the sky out in the back, Like it did the night before; Are we under attack?! Incidents occurring Twixt the people and police, Guns, beheadings, […]
Devon Minnema: United States and international relations surrounding the South China Sea
Despite all the partisanship and sales-pitching that was at the national conventions of the two major political parties, neither party seems to want to address the wholesale issues with America’s current diplomatic quandaries. While Donald Trump talks, however spasmodically, of restoring respect for American military might overseas, he often neglects to talk about why so […]
One healthy store makeover, one big change for the community
By Balgit Keur Special to the Herald When I first came to the United States, I barely spoke a word of English. Now, decades later, I own three convenience stores in Solano County. I could not have achieved this huge accomplishment without the support of my community. As a store owner, I am meeting and […]
Dennis Lund: For once, Gov. Brown made right call on Manson follower
It’s hard to believe it has been almost 50 years since the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders of 1969. Unfortunately we are reminded of these murders on too regular of a basis. They were again in the news recently when Gov. Jerry Brown overruled the parole board’s recommendation to release Leslie Van Houten, one of many Manson […]