People Of Earth – And The 24/680 – So, Whaddaya Think?
We’ve developed a semi-loyal following of readers/neighbors who seem to appreciate our hyper-local coverage of newsy stuff in Contra Costa County – and a little beyond, but now we’d like to venture waaay outside our county lines and see what you have to say about recent developments with possibly inter-stellar implications. Some of you may…
A Reader Remembers The Depression – And How Her Government Helped Her Family Through It
We’ve been writing a bit about current public sentiment – best described, perhaps, as frantic; angry; suspicious; patient; optimistic with a peppery dose of humbled and “wondering what’s coming next” added for good measure. We’ve been tested. We’re being tested. Not war-time tested or Depression tested, maybe, but still tested. People are hurting, livelihoods are…
Yours In LipZippetyUppedness
We’re riding high on sleep deprivation and vintage Fleetwood Mac and watching The National Madness slide by while nightcallers ring us up and whisper: “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Those unlucky enough to know us well know we’re loquacious with just a hint of cocksure garrulousness thrown in – traits bestowed since the day…
You Guys Can Handle The Truth, Right? Right?
Our intern once described what we do as: “Dancing a jig alone, at the end of a giant razor blade, with everyone standing around hoping you’ll slip.” Pretty much. And it can be pretty dang hairy out there all alone, thousands of eyes on you, not all of them friendly, and everyone ready to throw…
The New World Disorder: Survival In The Age Of Power Outages, Wildfires, Bad Information, And No Starbucks
Tens of thousands of good-hearted Californians, friends and neighbors, are getting a taste of what it’s like to be homeless, cut off and pushed around a little as another series of natural calamity descends upon us – compounded by some man-made calamity thrown in just to make things interesting. We spent our Friday talking to…
The Sunday Sniffles
Our casually alliterative title this morning comes not from any impending nasal diphtheria – at least we hope not – but rather our reaction to those little, sunlit moments that come along in life every so often and, if you are lucky, several times in a week. Like this week. It has been a rather…
The Sunday Scrimmage
Here we are. Game Day. Another week managing to slide through our fingers. And it was a tough one. If you’ve been with us you know what we’re talking about and if you haven’t, well, you should be. As weeks go, this one had it all: tragedy, comedy, Cat 4-3-2-1 HurriStorms and Flipping Manaforts. A…
The News: As Usual, It All Depends On What You’re Hearing
As news days go, Tuesday was pretty heavy. And while not exactly local in origin, we feel it safe to say that yesterday’s developments reached all of us in one way or another, some more intensely than others depending on your position and focus on the current, slow-moving national calamity. While much of the country…
The Monday Rumbles
Heckuva week there, wouldn’t you agree? We lost a Queen, gained a precious new jewel for the crown of Presidential Orwellian-isms – “Truth isn’t Truth” – and sought some vague form of sanity in ordinarily mundane things like sports and other go-to tranquilizers for the modern age. We chilled, thanks for asking, and lost ourselves…
Missive From Mendocino: Looking For Left And Right On The Lost Coast
I learned Donald Trump had pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in this country’s history from a former Army helicopter pilot and newfound drinking buddy deep in the wooded canyons of Mendocino County. We were sitting around a fire pit on a former hunting estate, draining the supply of 18-year-old Scotch Eric…