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December 27, 2025

Cawing crows and community service

American crow
The loud and obnoxious squawking of crows used to bother me. I am generally a quiet person who likes to grab a book, find an empty noise-free area to sit at and read for hours at a time. I still cherish times when my...

Guest View: How to teach kids about fiery realities

wildfire burns at night
Parents want to shield their children from the dangers of the world—but fire is one thing they can’t sweep under the rug. Especially now, as our communities begin to realize fire season no longer has a beginning or end; it is a constant where...

Blood: The hot commodity everyone needs

Blood by Ahmad Ardity
We've got a crisis on our hands, and it's not the latest TikTok trend or an avocado shortage. We're talking about a severe blood drought. The life-giving, accident-saving, surgery-enabling fluid is in shorter supply than toilet paper during the whole pandemic debacle. You might be...

Making the seniors road map work

senior reads map
Around spring 1970, I took my first cross country road trip with my college friend, Cliff, who later became a doctor and then the surgeon general of New Jersey. We began our journey at our college, Rutgers University. We sang Bob Dylan songs and...

Channeling Twain pt. 2: Voyaging beyond the 101

Model T Ford
I’m still reading the biography of Mark Twain by Ron Chernow. The book is more than 1,000 pages long, so cut me some slack. My last column channeled Twain’s propensity to write fake news stories when he was a journalist. Prior to picking up Chernow’s...

Racism: innate or taught?

Photo of a woman in front of a round blue door
Why does racism still continue to prevail in our society, covertly and overtly? The intent here is to answer these questions analytically.

Blum: A little local humor, inspired by a literary master

Mark Twain statue with woman giving a thumbs-up
It’s time, once again, for a humorous column, dear reader. In that vein, I welcome Mark Twain to the conversation. Ron Chernow’s recently published biography of the famous author serves as the backdrop. According to Chernow, before he was America’s most celebrated humorist, Mark Twain...

Author Diane Dreher on why we’re losing our sense of community

stock image of a bunch of people together looking forward
More and more these days, we Americans are losing our sense of connection and community.  In 2023, former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy reported an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. This year, the American Psychological Association warned of a crisis of disconnection in the...

The ‘perfect day’ in Los Gatos?

Bear Creek Redwoods
The Laurel and Hardy film “Perfect Day” is a masterclass in irony. In about twenty minutes, it captures the unraveling of a well-intentioned Sunday outing. The boys and their wives are dressed and ready for a relaxing picnic. But the car won’t start. Tempers...

Young podcaster quizzed candidates with help of LG resident

podcaster at the mic
The 2024 presidential election is one to remember, but Santa Clara County residents also faced a rare local decision: choosing a successor to longtime 16th Congressional District Representative Anna Eshoo, a Democrat who held her seat for over three decades. This election was special to...

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