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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...

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...

Most conscientious attorneys are worry warts/party poopers. We’re paid to consider all potential scenarios. Thus, it came as no shock to me that I reacted first with pleasant surprise and then with concern when I heard that the State of California had awarded LGS...

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...

I learned from a panel discussion held on Dec. 14 at the Los Gatos Town Hall, that mental health care is riddled with gaps, leaving many individuals struggling to access the services they need.  From a shortage of qualified providers, to inadequate insurance coverage, to...

With anti-American sentiment rising in some places, it’s worth reviewing the US Department of State (DoS) Travel Advisory Levels when planning a trip abroad. Each country is rated at one of four levels (China is at Level 2; North Korea is Level 4). There are...

Santa Clara County has been carrying around the nickname Silicon Valley for half a century. However, the nickname is as one-dimensional as a microchip. The phrase summons images of hoodie-clad coders, driverless cars, and tech CEOs who think kombucha is a food group. Silicon...

Julius Caesar, a name synonymous with power, ambition and—ultimately—betrayal, met his fate on the Ides of March. While we remember this date for the fall of a Roman emperor, the Ides of March also offers us a chance to rise to a different kind...

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...

Being an introvert and social anxiety are often confused, but they’re not the same. An introvert is a personality trait. Social anxiety is a mental health condition. An introvert might resist going to a party because they get drained from loud music and too much...