At the end of Fred Gardner's reissued 1992 article Johnny Carson's story (AVA Jan 26, 2005) there is mention of a number of writers who provided material for Johnny. “It was a great period for…
Posts published in “Essays”
On January 18th I went with my father to the protest of Donald Beardslee's execution at San Quentin. Cops buzzed like bees, roads had been closed off, and it was necessary to walk about a…
I was minding my own business when I heard the thump of heavy footwear on the porch. I stepped outside in time to intercept two neatly dressed young women, carrying shiny briefcases and purses. Their…
In 2003, Lifeworks group home manager Jack Graves recruited a known juvenile criminal named Kevin Tobie, who had been kicked out of San Francisco public schools because he'd been convicted of serious juvenile weapons crimes,…
(Editor’s note: William Ralganal Benson was born in 1862 and learned about these events directly from those who took part. Having spoken only a Pomo language as a youth and never having attended school, Benson…
The days after Christmas, we finally got the first rain in about a month, so there wasn’t anything to do but sit around the house and read books or watch the kids entertain one another.…
Here we are, back in the suicide season: It’s Christmas time. Half of us are thinking not of our fellow man and woman, but of pills and pistols; the other half goes shopping, partyies and…
With a keen sense of political irony, Otto Reich, Bush's former overlord for Latin America, chose the morning of the November elections to publicly unveil his latest venture, Otto Reich & Associates, Inc., a Beltway…
Long-time Valley resident Danny Kuny is leaving the Valley. He wanted to speak his mind one last time before he left.