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Blum: The dilemma facing caregivers of older adults
I am an old geezer who likes to stay informed. This means I am a news junkie and a voracious reader. Give me a good newspaper (electronic format is OK), a good magazine (paper form only), an interesting podcast, and a good audible book...
Blum: A lawyer’s evolution
For more than 47 years, I made my living as a divorce attorney and mediator. I was the one asking the questions, navigating the intricacies of the law, and trying to find a path through the wreckage of human relationships. I was a traditionalist...
Author Diane Dreher on why we’re losing our sense of community
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...
Coming to terms in Los Gatos
Los Gatos is not Washington, D.C. where the level of partisanship is extremely high.
Nor is it Palo Alto, where I lived for more than 40 years prior to moving to Los Gatos in November 2019, and where I observed the divisiveness our community...
Red tape and senior services
The Community Health and Senior Services Commission (CHSSC) has spent years building programs and resources to help residents thrive. As someone who serves on the commission, I’ve witnessed the positive impact of this work. Yet this year, new rules have made progress harder to...
Blum: How can I shape the future?
Is your current definition of “community center” a dusty gym with dodgeballs older than your grandma’s knitting needles? Fear not, fellow Los Gatos residents. We’re tossing out the tired old model and crafting a vibrant, all-encompassing space that would make Michelangelo himself ditch his...
Mt. Rigi Kulm: Enjoying a symphony of mist and mountain
Mt. Rigi Kulm, known affectionately as the "Queen of the Mountains," is more than just a geographic landmark in central Switzerland; it is a sanctuary where the earthly and the ethereal exist in perfect accord.
To visit Rigi is to step into a realm that...
What I didn’t know before I opened a bookstore
My North Santa Cruz Avenue business, Beyond Text Bookstore, has now been open for over six months.
That’s six months the place has been filled with real people—not just my dreams and hopes.
Upon reflection, I wanted to share a little about what I didn’t know...
How to create a healthier community
Reading “Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World” by Peter S. Goodman left me despairing the power and greediness of a select group of billionaires until I neared the book’s end. One of the final chapters, titled “The Money is Right There in...
Move away from the ‘waterfall effect’
Volunteers know it is difficult to accomplish change. When I sought along with several others to get a Restorative Justice program implemented at a Los Gatos school, I initially encountered great enthusiasm for the idea. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm was followed by inaction on the...
















