The North Coast Railroad Authority, the public agency that controls the long-dormant train tracks between Humboldt County and the Bay Area, is on the verge of running out of cash. It's been 12 years since any…
Posts published in “Essays”
Of all the ideas out there on how to pull us out of the economic mess we’re in, none makes more sense than the program laid out by the AFL-CIO and a coalition of civil…
Obama’s dipped below 50% in public approval, which — so the pollsters tell us — is nothing particularly unusual for a new president at this stage of the game. This week, he’s scheduled to announce…
GUIDO PRONSOLINO died Monday at his home in Yorkville. He was 83. A full obituary will appear next week, but a potluck celebration of Guido's life will be held this Friday (December 4th), 1pm at…
Katheryn and I never did connect with Soren, or Alan Graham. I did deliver the IWW tee-shirt he’d sent me years ago he'd asked me to bring so that he could reproduce it. But I…
In Michael Ondaatje's wonderful novel “Divisadero” — a most memorable part of which is set in Sonoma County — the jazz of Thelonious Monk is likened to “imprisoned birdsongs.” Leave it to a superb novelist…
Fact: Every 100 years on the tenth year of the century, Mexico explodes in extravagant social upheaval. In 1810, this distant neighbor nation declared its independence from the Spanish Crown, signaling monumental bloodletting — hundreds…
Forget about kicking back and enjoying an American beer; a massive wave of consolidation is transforming the industry. According to a recent report by the Marin Institute, a California-based alcohol industry watchdog, a rush of…
Some impulse purchases are more gratifying than others. This Thanksgiving was to be a small get-together; for our expansive family, an unusually restrained event. As such, we decided to keep our celebratory dinner to the…