I RECEIVED NEWS RECENTLY that an old friend has had some health issues, so I trekked to Las Vegas to see her and catch up. I hadn’t seen her for almost five years, and I found much had changed with her — and in Vegas; my friend because of her illness, and Vegas because the […]
Choice is power, and the choice is yours
MARIN CLEAN ENERGY IS BENICIA’S NEW ELECTRICITY PROVIDER. We offer cleaner energy service and lower rates to help the environment and save you money. If you have questions about MCE, how it works or how it affects you as a resident or business in Benicia, please keep reading. Below are answers to the most common […]
Matt Talbot: Poverty is not the result of moral failings
CONSERVATIVE NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST DAVID BROOKS is a fixture in a national media that caters to the upper middle class and professoriate. He not only has a Times column; he also appears weekly on the PBS “NewsHour” television program, and on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” He writes for The Atlantic Monthly, the […]
Matt Talbot: Transitions and roadblocks
I’VE MENTIONED A FEW TIMES IN THIS SPACE that I’ve spent the last 30 years transitioning from a rock-ribbed conservative Republican to the kind of sensible, level-headed liberalism that would have been recognizable to FDR or Harry Truman. A big part of that had to do with my sense that the Republican Party spent that […]
Notes from 30,000 Feet: From tolerating intolerance to the return of desalination
“We have no desire to attend any event sponsored by your organization and its narrow beliefs steeped in religious bigotry and intolerance.” — Joint response by PRIDE, NARAL and the WSSA to a Radio Christi invitation IN MY TRAVELS I ENJOY READING COLUMNS, letters or articles in various cities to learn differing perspectives. A column […]
The facts about Benicia’s switch to Marin Clean Energy
I KNOW FOLKS AROUND TOWN have a lot of questions about our city switching to a different electric service provider. Questions like, “How can they do that without my knowledge or input?” and “What does Marin Clean Energy offer that PG&E cannot?” I also learned early on that you won’t get the whole truth by […]
Matt Talbot: Economic moment of truth approaches
ON FEB. 12, REUTERS REPORTED THE FOLLOWING: “U.S. consumer spending barely rose in January as households cut back on purchases of a range of goods, suggesting the economy started the first quarter on a softer note. “Sluggish spending came despite cheap gasoline and a buoyant labor market, leaving economists to speculate that consumers were using […]
Matt Talbot: Conquering materialism
SINCE YESTERDAY WAS ASH WEDNESDAY, the beginning of Lent for the world’s Christians, I thought I might talk a bit today about my love of our deserts here in the West, and what they have taught me. The desert as an image is pervasive in the Bible, from the place through which Moses led Israel […]
Jerome Page: Contemplating the future!
BEFORE DESCENDING INTO THE SERIOUS — and painful — I thought to share a tiny but delightful blip of humor that I came upon in my forays into an ominous future. From “Meteorologist’s Brilliant Response to Weather Map Error Goes Viral,” Jan. 29: “The weather in Arizona is famously warm, sunny and dependable. Meteorologists may […]
Dennis Lund: Could California cause the election of a future Republican president?
IT IS A GIVEN THAT IN EACH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, California’s electoral votes are tallied on the “D” side of the ledger. Despite this, California could still be the state that turns a potential Democrat victory into a Republican win. Most of the state’s voters might disagree but that would, of course, be better than the […]