Columns

Green is the most common floral color. It only seems to be rare amongst flowers because almost all green bloom relies on wind for pollination. Thus, neither color nor fragrance is useful to get the attention of pollinators. Actually, green flowers do not get...

First, the disclaimer. While I am the chairperson of the Community Health and Senior Services Commission (CHSSC), I write this article on my own behalf. Second, hopefully, my colleagues on CHSSC and the Los Gatos Town Council will not decide to oust me or demote...

Fruiting warm season vegetables that are now in season, such as squash, tomatoes and beans, are more abundant with regular harvest. Plants that produce such fruit respond to their natural obligation to generate seed. Deprivation of the fruit that contains their seed stimulates production...

Perhaps I’ve read too many articles and listened to too many podcasts decrying the level of vitriol and partisanship existing in Washington D.C. and in many communities throughout the country. Add to this sorry situation the scenes of conflict I’ve seen on television and...

At the 114 Royce St. newspaper office, we sometimes worked until midnight in the startup days. One warm night, I walked outside to the distinctive smell of freshly roasting coffee beans. A column of smoke rose over Main Street, three blocks away.  I followed it...

“He won’t go away until you come out and see him,” our exasperated office manager, Marilyn Fitch, who’d been trying to protect me from the unscheduled visitor to our Royce Street office, came back and informed me.  “Who?” I asked. “Harry Cohen.” I was always happy to...

Autumn is also fall here. Actually, 'fall' is the more popular name. It had been the popular name in England during the Sixteenth Century. The (generally) French name of “autumn” became more common there during the Seventeenth Century. Yet, both names remained in use...

During a trip to São Paulo last year, my wife and I had the chance to dine at D.O.M., chef Alex Atala’s Michelin two-star restaurant. In 2012 it was ranked fourth by Restaurant magazine for its World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking. David Kinch’s Manresa also...

There are drought-tolerant, warm season turf grasses that are tougher, require less water/maintenance/fertilizer and, if maintained properly, will equal or exceed artificial grass in quality, safety and perhaps usability. Natural grass fields also have many other health and environmental benefits such as providing oxygen,...

He has much in common with other residents of Los Gatos: He’s a veteran who grew up in a family with mining interests overseas. He’ll buy you a cold drink on a hot day. When he’s offered a free beer at the bar he...