Getting people out of cars and into mass transit is good for air quality, may reduce road congestion, and encourages public transportation. These are all good effects, but systems like SMART also affect growth and development patterns. Unless extreme care is taken in the planning... Continue
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Having a place to call home is one of life’s most basic needs. It is the nexus of well being and central navigation point from where we begin and end each day. Home is where we head at the end of the workday, while we... Continue
Residents annoyed by battleship-sized tour buses, stretch limos and converted produce vans hauling gaggles of tourists through the Valley should consider that those traffic-clogging monstrosities perform an important public service. Namely, keeping inebriated, cluelessly-lost tourists from getting behind the wheel and becoming menaces to themselves... Continue
We've told ourselves that people are the greatest for so long, most of us actually believe it. Religious narratives puff us up with tales of being made in God's image, having dominion over nature and even existing in non-material heavenly dimensions. With tales like that,... Continue
Campaign logos that ignite supporters and help win elections are usually carefully crafted after weeks of ferreting out the hopes and fears of voters through scientific polling conducted by highly-paid campaign operatives whose job it is to polir l'étron (pardon the French, but this is... Continue
Only in America could an arrogant businessman who inherited substantial wealth from his father become elevated to celebrity status and then leverage that fatuous fame to run for President of the United States and lead the polls in the Republican primary race. We've known The... Continue
Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame, has recently added entrepreneur to his list of achievements. But the businessman is staying in character with the Tommy Chong we have all grown to know and love -- it’s all about weed. His new business venture in... Continue
Vacation is something we all look forward to, rarely get enough of, and when we do have the opportunity to get away from our daily lives it is natural to want to laugh, talk, and simply be with our friends, mates, and family. The goal... Continue
This year, the Grand Prize in Sonoma’s Fourth of July Independence Day parade was won by an entry of Mexican charros impressively twirling lassos while riding their dancing horses. These caballeros wowed both the crowd and the judges with their dashing sombreros and suits regally... Continue
This monthly column was forged out of my resolve to do the intellectual work of defining the progressive agenda and applying a ‘best practices’ matrix to the toolkit of tactics for achieving that agenda in the real world. That template could be applied to the... Continue