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Posts published in “Essays”

The New Errors of Downton Abbey

The crux dozen minutes of Robert Altman’s Gosford Park of 2001 unspool at the pace of parlor song. A real historical character—the matinee idol and songwriter, Ivor Novello, portrayed to elegant and resigned perfection by…

Don Dukes, AV’s First ‘City Person’?

Donald Dukes, current Board member of the Anderson Valley Historical Society, is also one of the first “City People” to migrate to The Valley right after World War II. Don was born in Central City,…

A Grander Old Party with Bruce

Bruce Anderson, forever the Editor of Boonville’s (and the world’s) Anderson Valley Advertiser, has a reputation near, far and in between as a rousing, relentless leftist.  His political image is so well established no one…

Covid Again

Covid hit us again - and not just my family, but the larger us, as in a great many folks in Anderson Valley.  I guess with the relaxed masking rules it was bound to happen. …

A Skilled & Respected Investigator

Described in one publication as a man the criminals definitely don’t want working on their case, Mendocino County District Attorney Chief Investigator and DA advisor, Kevin Bailey, is officially retiring. His last day in the…

Living Longer and Healthier: Part 2, Longevity

Last week, we discussed the term life expectancy and how it is useful in understanding how long a person may live based on various circumstances.  Now, in this second of our three-part series, we will…

Reasons to Hate Internet News (A Lot of It, Anyway)

Print and broadcast news have gone through a rough patch lately. People today have less time and less inclination to watch the evening news, listen to news radio or read the newspaper…

Rockin’ The Walker

In the summer of 2013 my mother fell backward into the bathtub and my sister just happened to be there. In the emergency room they did a CT scan because she had fallen a few…

State Weed News

The Governor’s Office this week released a revised 2022-23 state budget proposal, jiggering numerous line item estimates from the original January budget. One of the areas Gov. Gavin Newsom looked at in the so-called “May…

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