Category: Opinion

Bilingual commentary — The Tragic Loss of Native American Wisdom and Knowledge

by Community Contributor • May 6, 2022 • Comments Off

I still remember my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Knoll. It was her duty to follow the state tradition that had us studying the California missions. Our homework assignment was to craft a model of a mission of our choice. Mine, as I recall, was Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (Archangel), which was located not too far from my home. In class, we were taught that the “Indians” who worked at the missions were fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from the Catholic priests who taught them Spanish and converted them to Catholicism. The padres looked upon them as “children” and treated them “kindly.”

Bilingual Commentary — Their Indispensable Role of Libraries in Our Communities

by Community Contributor • April 15, 2022 • Comments Off

Last week was National Library Week, “a time to celebrate our nation’s libraries, library workers’ contributions and promote library use and support,” according to the American Library Association website.

Libraries are not the places we boomers knew as children. In the late 1950s, computers and the Internet were just a twinkle in technology’s eye. We may not all have walked to school uphill in neck-high snow, but we did work to get information.

Bilingual commentary — Learning From the Birds

by Community Contributor • April 8, 2022 • Comments Off

There is so much we have learned from birds, and there is much more to learn as we unlock the secrets of their magnificent abilities.

By observing birds over millennia, we finally figured out, just over a hundred years ago, how to emulate their flight and soar through the air—first in propeller planes, and now in jets. Birds gave us a solid starting point for developing our ability to fly.

Commentary — PODS® Local Helps Homeowners Sell Homes for More

by Community Contributor • April 6, 2022 • Comments Off

Home staging continues to save homeowners time and generate more money from a sale than homes that are not staged. According to a 2021 survey by The National Association of Realtors®, 41% of real estate agents said staging a home can increase the value of offers by up to 10%. It was also found that home staging can greatly decrease the amount of time a house spends on the market as buyers can better visualize a property as a future home. As staging often requires sellers to remove or significantly reduce the presence of their belongings in a home, PODS Local offers tips and solutions to help homeowners sell their homes quickly and for higher closing prices.

Bilingual commentary — Plastic – The Monster

by Community Contributor • April 1, 2022 • Comments Off

One of the memories I have from my childhood in the 1950s is the sound of the glass milk bottles in a small crate being delivered early in the morning on the side porch of our home. The “milkman,” a friendly, jocular, “older” man (who was probably in his 40s) always had a friendly greeting for my mother when she opened the door to retrieve the fresh milk.

But then just like clotheslines, answering machines, and typewriters, the milkman’s role faded away from our lives. Technology’s slow advance began accelerating and then, like an avalanche, seemed to suddenly overtake most facets of our lives. The milkman’s visits were no longer necessary in a world that now provided refrigeration and plastic.

Bilingual report — It Wasn’t Supposed to be This Way!

by Community Contributor • March 25, 2022 • Comments Off

On December 12, 2019, I finished teaching my last mathematics class at a local community college. I announced to my students that I was saying good-bye to my life as an educator. I was completely retiring after teaching for more than 40 years as both a full- and part-time math instructor. We were all looking forward to 2020 and beyond, with the kind of promise that only a new year can offer.

I walked out of the classroom thinking about the possibilities. I reflected on the many decades of work that I always had to come back to, even if I took a few days off for a vacation. Now, finally, I could consider more time with my family, longer trips, and the ability to pursue interests for which I never had the luxury of time.

Much of that was not to be—for several more years, at least.

Bilingual report — Environmental Justice Youth Leaders to host the second annual virtual ‘Other Strawberry Festival’ on May 1

by Community Contributor • March 18, 2022 • Comments Off

The Other Strawberry Festival virtual event is a place for conversations about the impact of pesticide use and racial injustice in conventional strawberry growing, bringing together community to create change for a more just and healthy food system for people and the planet.

Bilingual commentary — The Big Lie and the Flat Earth

by Community Contributor • March 11, 2022 • Comments Off

The vast majority of Republicans believe Trump’s Big Lie about last year’s election. They support the “alternative fact” that the election was “stolen” and “fraudulent” and that Trump indeed “won.” They cling to this belief despite the mountains of evidence and reams of data to the contrary. There are thoroughly fact-checked, credible reports about the 61 courts, including the Supreme Court, that struck down lawsuits claiming election malfeasance. This means nothing to the “True Believers” who consider themselves “real Americans” and “patriots.”

“Trump won.” That’s their belief and they’re sticking to it.

Bilingual report — The War on Education

by Community Contributor • March 4, 2022 • Comments Off

As I sit down to write this article, the Russian army is waging war on its neighbor, Ukraine. This is of enormous concern in Europe and around the world. But there is a different kind of war in our own midst that threatens to undermine the very foundations of our country’s success as a nation.

Until recently, education of our children and young adults was something that we valued – something in which we took pride and strove to provide for them. We thought it was important that our children were learning math and history and music. We used to admire young people who chose to go to our colleges and universities. Now we also recognize that higher education is not the only path to financial and personal success.

Bilingual commentary — Governor Needs to be ‘Schooled’

by Community Contributor • February 11, 2022 • Comments Off

As if we didn’t already have enough controversy around masking mandates in California.

Several days ago, Governor Newsom, along with Los Angeles and San Francisco mayors Eric Garcetti and London Breed, respectively, attended the National Football Conference Championship Game at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The problem that erupted shortly thereafter was the result of images of the governor appearing maskless at a mega-indoor event. These are precisely the types of gatherings that public health officials seriously warn us about attending. The governor’s pretext was that he had “removed the mask for a brief period,” but that excuse was widely dismissed as insultingly disingenuous.

Bilingual commentary — Bread and the Power of Redemption

by Community Contributor • February 4, 2022 • Comments Off

Several years ago, I was shopping for sliced bread at my favorite local supermarket. I headed over to the aisle where a cornucopia of breads, cookies, crackers, jams, and nut butters burst into view. The innumerable choices at American grocery markets are legend throughout the world.

And before I digress too far, let’s return to my quest for bread. I almost never buy the same kind of bread twice in a row because I enjoy experiencing the flavors, textures, and the very essence of “our daily bread.” Bread, after all, is an ancient food representing the life force. It possesses deep religious—even sacramental—connotations.

Bilingual commentary — The Threat to Affordable Medications

by Community Contributor • January 28, 2022 • Comments Off

Millions of Americans have come to depend on credentialed online pharmacies outside the U.S. for their prescription medications. These pharmacies have strict guidelines. They will sell only to adults who are able to produce a legitimate doctor’s prescription for a particular drug or medication. Quality control of their products is of utmost importance. Quantity limits are imposed.

For the struggling masses of Americans who would normally be unable to afford highly inflated prices for these vital pharmaceuticals, these online vendors based in Canada and other countries are a godsend. They offer a legitimate service that allows untold numbers of people to purchase lawful, medically prescribed drugs for a considerably discounted price. People shouldn’t be forced to decide which they can afford to pay in a particular month: food, rent, heat, or prescription medications.

Bilingual commentary — Workforce Training for a Post-Pandemic World

by Community Contributor • January 21, 2022 • Comments Off

Last week, the new mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, quickly found himself embroiled in a self-inflicted controversy. At a press conference, he casually referred to cooks, dishwashers, messengers, shoe shiners and fast-food workers as “low-skill workers.” That got the attention of some powerful and influential people.

Liberal U.S. State Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired back via Twitter. She claimed that calling workers “low-skilled” plays into a “myth perpetuated by wealthy interests to justify inhumane working conditions, little/no healthcare, and low wages.”

But looking past the outcry over the mayor’s remarks, we might want to pause and consider the implications of the issues at hand.

Guest commentary — ‘Take Small Steps, Daily’ — VISIONALITY CEO Emily Barany and Senior Project Manager, Kristian Almeida, reflect on 2021 and makes predictions for 2022

by Community Contributor • January 20, 2022 • Comments Off

VISIONALITY CEO Emily Barany says, “Take Small Steps, Daily: We are NOT going to solve all the world’s problems in one sitting. In 2021, I really focused on taking small steps towards big goals. In the moment, that small step doesn’t feel like much, but after a year of small steps, you’ll realize you’ve gone far.”

Barany recently sat down with Senior Project Manager, Kristiana Almeida to discuss 2021 reflections and 2022 predictions. While their complete two-part discussion covering their perspectives on business, leadership, development, and the much used term, pivoting, can be found on the company’s website – www.visionalitypartners.com/resources, they share a few of their top level take-aways from 2021 and predictions for 2022 below.

Bilingual commentary — Stories of the Spanish Flu Pandemic

by Community Contributor • January 14, 2022 • Comments Off

We are all traversing this time that will remain in our memories the rest of our lives. If we are old enough, not only we but also our children and grandchildren are experiencing the disorientation, stress, and anguish of the COVID-19 pandemic. Someday, these children and grandchildren will be telling stories of the Great Pandemic of 2019 – 2022 (hopefully not longer than that) to their descendants, possibly including our great-great-grandchildren. We cannot begin to guess what technology will be used to record those stories for posterity. Some of us may even have venerable photographs of immediate ancestors who suffered and died during the Spanish Flu of 1918 – 1920.

Bilingual commentary — A Tale of Wealth and Privilege

by Community Contributor • January 7, 2022 • Comments Off

I never forgot a story I read in a college English Literature class about wealth, privilege, and compassion. The title of the story, The Garden Party, is simple and plain. Nonetheless, this narrative, written by Katherine Mansfield, encompasses a range of emotions ranging from the indifference of the wealthy to the suffering endured by the less fortunate. As seen in this story, the two groups often live side by side, hardly aware of each other’s existence. This is happening more frequently here in California as the state seeks to build more affordable housing, even if it happens to be adjacent to moneyed neighborhoods.

LULAC Warns A Repeat Of The January 6, 2021 Insurrection Is Still Possible

by Community Contributor • January 6, 2022 • Comments Off

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued the following statement on the first anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The protest and violence were carried out in an attempt to stop the ratification of the electoral ballot results from the November 2020 presidential election that defeated Donald Trump. The US Justice Department issued a report six months following the attack and stated that more than 535 people who took part in the insurrection were arrested in all 50 states. Five people died during the incident, a Capitol police officer lost his life the following day of stroke complications from injuries he suffered in the violence, and four other officers on duty during the attack died later from suicide. A full congressional investigation into the insurrection continues.

Guest commentary — Lady Whiskers and the Miracle of Christmas

by Community Contributor • January 2, 2022 • Comments Off

Roughly four Christmas ago Debbie and I where unceremoniously run out of Oxnard. We had lost our lease at the Café on A location that we had occupied and provided programs and services to at-promise youth and their families for three decades. No matter how much we “negotiated” with the landlords and the Oxnard City Manager at the time, they were determined to kick us out. They told us impatiently and obliquely that they had other plans. Yesterday, I returned to Oxnard, the pain of the eviction, almost gone. I bravely drove down the old part of downtown Oxnard, on to A Street. What has replaced our beloved Café on A is a smoke shop, soon I suspected they will sell cannabis products out the location. The irony of this building tenant change makes me both want to laugh and cry, all at the same time!

Bilingual report — Entering an Age of Virus Mutations

by Community Contributor • December 17, 2021 • Comments Off

Last summer, we started doffing our masks and reuniting with family and friends. There was a festive glee in the air we breathed as if we who were now vaccinated against COVID were celebrating “The End of the Pandemic.” There was a feeling that now, finally, we could get on with our lives and regard the previous year as something akin to a very bad dream.

The party did not last long. Just as we were putting away the champagne glasses and summer party hats, the Delta variant emerged “from out of nowhere,” quashing our hopes of a return to near normal. We grumbled as we took our masks out from the drawers where we had stored them as “souvenirs” from a crisis that we had survived. Or, if we had ceremoniously burned or shredded our masks, we kvetched as we had to go out and buy new ones.

Bilingual commentary — See a Doctor? But I Feel Fine!

by Community Contributor • December 10, 2021 • Comments Off

“I’m not going to see a doctor. Why should I? I feel fine!”

I’m willing to bet that we’ve all heard this line, or variations of it, from people we know. Or perhaps we ourselves have this belief that if we are feeling well, then visits to doctors’ offices are futile, a waste of precious time, and a fool’s errand. Admittedly, for many people, visits to their doctor could also very well feel like a waste of their money if the test results indicate, over and over, that “all is normal.”

As one example of the cost of ignoring routine medical tests, let’s consider one “silent disease” that often goes undetected: glaucoma. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, over three million Americans have glaucoma, a disease that seriously affects vision over time, but only half of them are aware of their condition. However, early detection can prevent the otherwise inevitable loss of vision.

Guest commentary — Despieto (Woke) and Seeing in Aztlan

by Community Contributor • November 19, 2021 • Comments Off

In Journey to Ixtlan, by Carlos Castaneda, Don Juan explains to Carlos, that after more than a decade, of “ordinary exploration” he is on the precipice of stopping the world and seeing for the first time, “You have simply stopped the world…Yesterday the world became as sorcerers tell you it is, in this world coyotes talk and so do deer, as I once told you, so do rattlesnakes and trees and all other living being. But what I want you to learn is seeing. Perhaps you know now that seeing happens when one sneaks between the worlds, the worlds of ordinary people and the world of sorcerers.”

Bilingual commentary — How We Can Stay Informed

by Community Contributor • November 12, 2021 • Comments Off

Last week I wrote about the importance of being informed. But as I mentioned in the article, it is even more important that we be properly informed and not misled by heavily biased news sources with ulterior motives.

So then the question we could ask ourselves is, “How can I stay adequately informed about news that matters?” What matters to us could be, for example, subjects such as politics, health, legal decisions, science, religion, family issues. We could also have a particular interest in specific regions of the world such as Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, or the Americas. It would be best for us to be aware of local issues, especially when they have a direct impact on our lives.

Let’s look at a list of twelve things we can—or should or shouldn’t—do:

Bilingual commentary — The Importance of Being Informed

by Community Contributor • November 5, 2021 • Comments Off

For me, keeping abreast of the news is a lifelong habit. For some reason, I tend to think that everyone keeps up with the news at least as much as I do. But then not everyone is as obsessed with the news as I am! And there are others who are far more diligent than I am about analyzing the affairs of the world.

I often talk with people I know about something in the news on the national, state, or local level. I mistakenly assume that “everyone” knows what I’m talking about, but I’m often faced with a blank stare. They may be interested but not aware of the circumstances that make something newsworthy. They may be embarrassed that they don’t know what I’m referring to. Or they flat-out may not care.

And then again, sometimes I’m the one with the blank stare.

Bilingual commentary — The “Day of the Living”

by Community Contributor • October 29, 2021 • Comments Off

In a few days, on November 2, we of Mexican heritage will be celebrating one of our most cherished traditions: honoring the departed souls of our family members on “Día de los Muertos”—the Day of the Dead.

This day is one of our cultural treasures. Our observance on this day is the culmination of the blending of three powerful influences: 1) the Aztec obsession with natural cycles, including life and death; 2) the medieval Spanish practice, brought by the conquerors of Mexico, of honoring the dead; 3) the Roman Catholic belief in the everlasting life of the dearly departed. The Aztec final resting place, Mictlán, was transmuted into the Christian heaven.

Bilingual commentary — What Became of Fernando Valenzuela?

by Community Contributor • October 22, 2021 • Comments Off

Last week I wrote about the demise of Chávez Ravine, originally a neighborhood of primarily Mexican American families and its metamorphosis into the world-famous Dodger Stadium. But initially this transformation came at a cost to the Dodgers.

Mexican Americans resented the disrespectful treatment that the inhabitants of the early Chávez Ravine had received at the hands of government. They had been on the land for generations, yet the City of Los Angeles appeared to dismiss their concerns, rights, and sense of dignity when the land was earmarked for “redevelopment.” The families were told that they had to move, but they were promised “first choice” of the new units in the proposed housing project.

Bilingual commentary — About “Hispanic” Heritage Month

by Community Contributor • October 8, 2021 • Comments Off

During the current National Hispanic Heritage Month, we might note that the discussions regarding the proper label to be affixed to “Latinos” are often animated, if not contentious.

This cherished “month” extends from September 15 (the anniversary of several Central American countries’ declaration of independence from Spain) to October 12 (“Columbus Day,” which has morphed into “Indigenous Peoples Day”). That this special month was instituted in 1989 by a Republican president, George H.W. Bush, makes it all the more significant.

Bilingual commentary — Choices in Education

by Community Contributor • October 1, 2021 • Comments Off

I used to read story books to my grandson. I would entertain him with action heroes, wooden cars and board games. Suddenly (or so it seems), he is asking me questions about colleges and career choices. My grandson is, after all, a high school senior. So he should be asking those kinds of questions and seeking guidance, and I am grateful that he is doing so.

His growing awareness of the urgency to make some of his life’s most impactful decisions is welcome. I would like to see him avoid the scenario in which so many other college students find themselves. Too many students have no clue whatsoever regarding their choice of career or even area of interest, which of course determines their program of study in college. My grandson still has not nailed down any clear choices, but we have narrowed down the list to two or three possible pursuits.

Bilingual commentary — Wild Geese and White Pelicans

by Community Contributor • September 24, 2021 • Comments Off

A number of years ago, I was pursuing a college degree in liberal arts at Oxnard College (OC). I wanted to soften the sharp edges of the decades of technical education that I had acquired up to that point. The classes that I took at OC imparted to me a vision of the world that no physics, math, or engineering class could ever have given me.

Some of my most cherished classes in the liberal arts program taught me to appreciate poetry. Those classes in poetry were taught by one of my colleagues, English professor Shelley Savren.

One of the poems that deeply impressed and mesmerized me was Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese. It conveys sheer, unvarnished truths—the ones that are not easy to confront and that we don’t want to admit are relevant to our lives.

Bilingual commentary — The Shifting Landscape of Work

by Community Contributor • September 17, 2021 • Comments Off

I have a family member who works at a fast-food restaurant. Several in my extended family work at medical offices and retail stores. Several others who were from the “old country” (Mexico) worked in agriculture. Some in the family drive trucks for a living. My brother worked at a warehouse, manually tracking inventory. A sister’s entire career was dedicated to serving as a grocery cashier. My father was a linotype machine operator. In her first working years, my daughter was a bank teller (relatively few people work as bank tellers anymore). I myself worked in the college classroom as an educator.

What do all these jobs have in common?

Answer: they have either disappeared, are being judged as less essential, or are about to exit stage left.

Bilingual report — Choosing the Enemy

by Community Contributor • September 10, 2021 • Comments Off

Sometimes we reach for an artifact, a bauble, a seashell, or a book because something—we don’t know what—attracts us to the object. It’s almost as if the object chooses us.

I’ve often randomly reached for books or watched a movie or documentary. For reasons unknown to me, they caught my attention and ended up giving me a new perspective that helped me understand more about the world around me. These sources of information have pulled my life into different orbits, and at times even changed the course of my existence completely and irrevocably. One of my latest book choices certainly had me reconsidering some of the things that I had observed and learned throughout my life.

Bilingual report — When Science Becomes the Enemy

by Community Contributor • September 3, 2021 • Comments Off

There has always been a certain degree of distrust toward science in this country—sometimes justifiably so. But over the past year and a half, that distrust has been amplified to literally dangerous levels, mostly via social media (many people’s only source for “news”) and extreme right-wing hysteria on the news channels.

The severe lack of science education in this country has fomented the massive paranoia that brings many of our fellow citizens to misunderstand, misinterpret, despise, and deny scientific information. National and state leadership that plays into the hands of an insidious disinformation campaign are decimating conservative bastions throughout the country with completely preventable illness and death.

Bilingual commentary — The Mask Wars

by Community Contributor • August 27, 2021 • Comments Off

Several months ago, I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting to be called in. Facial masks are required. After all, this is a medical building. Given our circumstances over this past year and a half, medical staff is intensely focused on maintaining an atmosphere in which patients can feel relatively safe.

I was reading a book as I waited. I didn’t notice that my mask had fallen below my nose. The receptionist kindly reminded me to lift the mask up so that it covered my face properly. I apologized and immediately took care of the problem.

Bilingual commentary — Pregnant People—What’s That About?

by Community Contributor • August 13, 2021 • Comments Off

I was calmly reading an article in my favorite newspaper one morning when I came across the term “pregnant people.” I nearly choked on my coffee. Words get my attention, and I had never in my life seen those two words together.

I started to mumble about “liberals” (although I am one, with conservative leanings). I wondered if this was some far-left conspiracy to ignore womanhood or reduce it to “peoplehood.” Before I went off writing letters to the editor and state representatives or clamoring to appear on talk shows to rant about liberalism gone amok, I thought I had better investigate. I needed to find out what this nomenclature was all about.

Bilingual commentary — Coming to Terms with My Heritage

by Community Contributor • August 5, 2021 • Comments Off

At the time, it was hard to imagine that patiently spitting into a plastic tube would unlock some of the secrets of my ancestry. But such is the process that allows 23andMe, a “genetic service” that provides DNA testing, to provide ancestral information to their customers.

The results of such genetic inquiries can range from shocking to embarrassing to simply confirming what we may already know—or at least suspect—about our family background.

Following Robbery of Senator Boxer, CDAA Calls for Withdrawal of Dangerous Theft Legislation

by Community Contributor • July 28, 2021 • Comments Off

There was nothing petty about what happened to former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer yesterday—it was a violent robbery, and it was awful. This crime occurred in broad daylight in Oakland’s Jack London District, a popular tourist destination that also happens to be in the California Senate District of Senator Nancy Skinner. The same Nancy Skinner who proposed declaring such horrific crimes misdemeanor petty thefts under SB 82.

Bilingual commentary — A Week Without a Car

by Community Contributor • July 22, 2021 • Comments Off

I thought I would try something new and different this week. I’m pretending that I don’t have a car. I have had a car ever since I graduated from high school, so I knew this was going to feel “different.”

Several weeks ago I started studying the bus routes in Oxnard and saw that, except for the harbor area, I could take a bus just about anywhere I want to go within the city of Oxnard from my home in Port Hueneme, provided I was willing to walk a bit. But I walk or run just about every day of my life, so that’s not an issue for me.

Bilingual commentary — Are We Painting Over Our History?

by Community Contributor • July 2, 2021 • Comments Off

In 1949, George Orwell’s novel, “1984,” was published. What was predicted to happen in “1984” in a fictionalized Britain came about for us in the U.S. quite recently. “Orwellisms” seem to be guiding our country into a dark forest from which we seem unable to emerge, and possibly never will. Just as in “1984,” truth at this time appears to be amorphous, fluid, and often inverted.

Bilingual commentary — The Fear of “Socialism”

by Community Contributor • June 25, 2021 • Comments Off

Politicians of the rightist persuasion often attack their Democratic opponents with round condemnations of their “socialist” platforms. The word “socialist” drives hard-right conservative voters into paroxysms of rage and disgust. Its impact is much the same as the label “commie” was in the 1950s when “Communists” were being pursued under every rock and wooden plank. There are aspects of socialism that should be of concern to us, but it is not an ideology to be feared without understanding what it is and what it is not.

Bilingual commentary — A Man Named “Tonto”

by Community Contributor • June 18, 2021 • Comments Off

I can recall evenings sitting around the new television in the home I shared with my parents and siblings in the 1950s. The TV with a small screen that displayed black-and-white images was a new and wondrous phenomenon for Americans, who were just beginning to experience it. My father seemed enthralled by the magic of images beamed from across Los Angeles to the antenna mounted on our roof and into the television—that mysterious apparatus that was powered by glowing red vacuum tubes and voltages that could kill a horse.

Bilingual commentary — Experiencing the “Dog Person” Life

by Community Contributor • June 11, 2021 • Comments Off

I have never owned a dog. I don’t plan on ever owning a dog. I am (obviously) not a “dog person.” Some mornings on my walks along the water at the marina (dogless, of course), I feel that I am in the minority. I must look like the “odd person,”—the outlier—without a dog.

But for a brief period yesterday evening, when my daughter invited me to go for a walk with her at the marina, I was able to experience the joys of the “dog person” life.

Bilingual commentary — John Cox’s Bear

by Community Contributor • May 28, 2021 • Comments Off

John Cox, a businessman and political activist, has been a perennial candidate for political office. He has not quite yet achieved his goal. He has run for Congress, a county office in Illinois, and even president of the United States. More recently, he ran for governor of California, but lost to Gavin Newsom, a former mayor of San Francisco, in the 2018 election. Now he is one of the current Republican candidates vying for the governorship of California in the effort to recall Mr. Newsom this year. Cox has his eye on being the incumbent in California’s gubernatorial election in 2022.

Bilingual commentary — Is the Pandemic Our New “Sputnik Challenge”?

by Community Contributor • May 21, 2021 • Comments Off

As young as I was in the latter part of the 1950s, I was acutely aware of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. I recall that we were hell-bent on “beating those Communists.” Except that we didn’t. Twice.

Both the United States and the Soviet Union were planning to launch the world’s first satellite. Whoever accomplished this would be recognized as the world’s technological leader. The Soviets beat us to the punch in 1957 when they launched into orbit their Sputnik I satellite. In comparison with modern satellites, it was nothing sophisticated. But its impact on the American psyche was profound.

Bilingual commentary — To College or Not to College?

by Community Contributor • May 14, 2021 • Comments Off

As I was coming of age in the 1960s, the United States economy was galloping along after the end of World War II and still heading for its peak. By then, we had established ourselves as the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, college was the indisputable ticket to the middle class, which at the time was an indicator of affluence. Young people were acquiring college educations to graduate and fuel the engines of prosperity. Single-income families were the norm. Except for the scourge of racial discrimination, it was by some measures almost an idyllic society compared to today’s problem-ridden existence for far too many Americans.

But now, even some wealthier families are questioning the intrinsic, assumed value of a college education.

Bilingual commentary — Native America Was Not “Nothing”

by Community Contributor • May 7, 2021 • Comments Off

Former senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum echoed last week what many of us learned in school about the history of early America: that the original white “settlers” who arrived from distant shores had planted the seeds of American culture. In fact, he said that there was “nothing here” when the colonizers arrived. He flatly declared that “there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”

Mr. Santorum’s baseless claims about the absence of Native American influence on our national character is a continuation of white nationalist propaganda that ignores, or at least gravely understates, the vast impact of Native American culture upon ours. To say, as he did, that the first settlers to arrive on our eastern shores “birthed a nation from nothing” is to erase the wisdom and knowledge that was already present and predated the birth of the United States by several millennia.

Bilingual commentary — When Religion Channels Into Politics

by Community Contributor • April 29, 2021 • Comments Off

A Gallup news item from last month describes the precipitous drop in religious affiliation in the United States since the turn of the century—not that long ago. In just over 20 years, the number of those who declare themselves members of a church, mosque, or synagogue has decreased more than 20%. In fact, according to the Gallup poll cited in the report, less than half of Americans claim to belong to a religious organization.

Bilingual commentary — The Termite Doll House

by Community Contributor • April 23, 2021 • Comments Off

More destructive than earthquakes, thunderstorms and floods, termites are a potent force of nature. Termites are insidious. They are one of the biggest threats to our homes, though they are minuscule, nearly invisible, and silent.

In 2018, the National Pest Management Association produced a video that would strike fear into the heart of any homeowner: Tiny Termite House. A team of researchers built the “Tiny Termite House,” a miniature, doll-house version of a typical “dream home.” It even had hardwood floors, electricity, and plumbing. Upon completion, the researchers introduced a mass of termites onto the idyllic “property,” much like a swarm might arrive to colonize their chosen real estate. The researchers then filmed and watched the results over time with a combination of horror, awe, and fascination. The video shows the massive, horren

Guest commentary — The Obsolete American Police Model Must Be Abolished — Now

by Community Contributor • April 23, 2021 • Comments Off

The genesis and perpetuation of the monstrous, murderous, and maligent powers of the police in America is a 245 year work in progress in the consolidation of absolute police/military power and control in communities of color throughout this nation We cannot erase, forget or ignore the past 500 years of police/military oppression by the police/military in our communities. Likewise we cannot wait another day to begin the systemic demolition and destruction of the current police/military model that currently operates with deadly racist impunity in this country. In Oxnard, and throughout the nation, the community must take over the management and supervision of its police department.

The first crucial and mandatory step toward real and progressive 21st-century police reform in Oxnard is the community taking over the vital role of departmental management and policy administration of the Oxnard Police Department (OPD). The initial step is not about defunding the cops, because it deflects and detracts from the number one problem that every police department in the nation has, including the OPD, which is cops supervising cops! For 100+ years the Oxnard City Council and by silent complicit acquiescence of the residents, we have let the “foxes” patrol with unfettered power, control, and impunity the community’s “chicken coop”. How has that worked out, for people of color, the homeless, the disenfranchised, the immigrant, and the youth, Oxnard?

Social Justice Fund for Ventura County Monthly update — Continue travel to just and equitable society

by Community Contributor • April 21, 2021 • Comments Off

While the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County is pleased that the jury found Derek
Chauvin guilty for the murder of George Floyd, we must not veer away from the long
road we still must travel to reach a just and equitable society. Chauvin’s trial has been a
traumatic and painful experience to watch, as we were continuously forced to relive the
gruesome murder George Floyd. Chauvin’s conduct was the byproduct of the historical
injustices inflicted on Black and Brown people in our Country and a legacy of the
unacknowledged racism, which permeates throughout our criminal justice system. This
case was merely a single demonstration of one person being held accountable. We
must not be distracted from our continuous fight for systemic change, true justice, actual
fairness, societal equity and inclusion.

Bilingual commentary — The Scourge of Random Capitalization

by Community Contributor • April 16, 2021 • Comments Off

I grew up with a father, a typesetter by trade, who was obsessed with the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Starting in my school years, informally proofreading everything that was printed on paper was as natural as breathing air. I hardly realized I was doing it. Now, fast-forwarding several decades, I am a recent graduate of an online proofreading course. I have become like my father, obsessed with the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Lately, I have become acutely aware of several troubling trends in writing among the general public.

Bilingual commentary — Tragicomedy in the Pandemic Era

by Community Contributor • April 9, 2021 • Comments Off

This past week I had an appointment with a friend, a shop owner I’ve known for several years. Like so many other shop owners this past year, her business has been closed more than it’s been open. Our encounter felt a bit eerie as we took those first tentative steps up from the depths of the Great Pandemic Lockdown.

Bilingual commentary — Are We Hoarding, Collecting, or Being Prudent?

by Community Contributor • April 2, 2021 • Comments Off

As I was setting up some equipment for a video I wanted to make, I realized that I had lost a small mounting screw that I needed. I started looking for it all over the house until it dawned on me that this search could take hours, if not days. I could have spent precious time wandering around hardware stores searching for a replacement. In any case, without that piece, I was “dead in the water,” not able to proceed with my project.

Guest commentary — Stardust

by Community Contributor • April 2, 2021 • Comments Off

There once was born a magical and loving child, a golden boy! He was stardust that had travelled many light-years through the deepest, darkest and furthest expanses of the universe. In fact this stardust had travel for more than 15 light years or about 90 trillion miles to reach one desperately longing young woman, who wanted nothing more in her life than to be a mother. An army of doctors had told her that it would never, ever, happen, she was sterile. Impossible to become pregnant they told her, yet she never stopped praying to an unknown God that she had rejected all of her life. Why was she praying now? It was as though the closer the golden star dust travelled across the universe toward the woman the more she felt mysteriously compelled to pray.

And then one day behold the miraculous stardust had taken embryonic form, and the woman was pregnant. …

Bilingual Commentary — No More Boys’ and Girls’ Toys

by Community Contributor • March 26, 2021 • Comments Off

Parents of young children need not panic. “No more boys’ and girls’ toys” does not imply the prospect of a world without toys.

What it does mean is that a California Assembly bill, AB 2826(19R), is proposing that large retail department stores have toy departments that are gender-neutral; i.e., no more division between the boys’ and girls’ toy sections.

Bilingual commentary — White Supremacy in…Mathematics?

by Community Contributor • March 19, 2021 • Comments Off

Last week I saw an article in Yahoo News condemning a more liberal approach to teaching mathematics in Oregon, that bastion of liberal thinking (rivaling that of neighboring California!). Don’t get me wrong. I’m a political moderate with strong leftist leanings. But the way “liberal mathematics” was described in the article left me gobsmacked—not to mention incredulous. The article’s characterization of modern mathematics education was outrageous. But then I considered the news source and understood why the facts were being distorted.

The state of Oregon was encouraging teachers to receive training in “ethnomathematics.” This branch of mathematics, which never appeared in my college catalog back in the 1970s when I was a student, explores relationships between mathematics and culture. Fair enough. Understanding how Native Americans and the ancient Chinese, for example, viewed and used mathematics can be fascinating and enlightening.

Bilingual commentary — Work in the Post-Pandemic Age

by Community Contributor • March 5, 2021 • Comments Off

In a matter of weeks or months, if all goes well, the world will begin to transition into a new era: the Post-Pandemic Age. When we emerge and behold the new world order, a different work landscape will present itself—for better and for worse.

Guest commentary — HR 1 For the People’s Act – Making Democracy Work

by Community Contributor • March 1, 2021 • Comments Off

On January 4, 2021, H.R. 1 For the People’s Act was introduced and is currently being reviewed by Congressional committees. The bill provides an opportunity to expand and protect voting rights, get big money out of politics, hold elected officials accountable and assure our democracy is representative of all Americans’ voices and values.

The vast majority of Americans support this bill, including 56% of Republicans. Special interests spent $14 billion to influence the 2020 election, the most amount of money spent on an election in the history of the U.S.

Bilingual commentary — Sifting Through Parents’ Papers

by Community Contributor • February 26, 2021 • Comments Off

Upon the death of a parent, we children find ourselves scrambling about, muddling through the logistics: finding a mortuary, arranging religious and/or memorial services, choosing a cemetery and possibly meeting with family and friends for that last goodbye at the burial grounds. Of course, much of this can be pre-arranged.

Guest commentary — Family Law Attorney Maya Shulman Says Courts Are Not the Place to Be

by Community Contributor • February 23, 2021 • Comments Off

Family law attorney Maya Shulman is used to hearing from clients who say they want an “aggressive” lawyer, someone they envision boldly striding into court and convincing a judge to rule in their favor.

Most often, Shulman tells them that’s a bad idea.

Courts are unpredictable and hard to navigate, even with a good lawyer by your side, she says. Divorce and custody proceedings can drag on for months, piling stress on clients and their children, and draining families financially. Even then, there are no guarantees that clients will get what they want in court, Shulman explains. Judges, like all humans, have blind spots, biases, and bad days. Taking a case to court means leaving critical, life-impacting decisions to the whim of a judge, and losing control over the outcome, the attorney says.

Guest commentary — Reevaluating Your Retail Business Security Measures During Next Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic

by Community Contributor • February 22, 2021 • Comments Off

Almost a year into the COVID-19 shutdown, retail businesses must continually reevaluate their security needs as pandemic restrictions and public behavior change, says Access Patrol Services (APS), a security guard company serving California and Arizona.

“What worked early on in the pandemic may not make sense now,” says Fahim Abid, APS security director. “A strong retail security plan needs to have a two pronged approach—one, to ensure that safety and health procedures are followed by employees and the public, and two, that customers, employees and property are not subject to increasing criminal behavior.”

Bilingual commentary — Relationships in the Age of Covid

by Community Contributor • February 19, 2021 • Comments Off

“Ok, fine, but I go wherever I want and don’t worry about anything. In fact, I don’t believe what the scientists say about the coronavirus.”

This was more or less the response I got from a family relative who wanted me to go into Los Angeles, the global epicenter of COVID-19 at the time, to meet with her. She had arrived from out of town. We hadn’t seen each other in years. This would have been our big chance to reconnect, but I couldn’t bring myself to contravene the health guidelines that the health authorities have been pounding into our heads for the past year—guidelines, by the way, that have made perfect sense to me.

Bilingual commentary — What Is Personalized Nutrition?

by Community Contributor • February 5, 2021 • Comments Off

Why Personalized Nutrition Is Important

By necessity, the standard nutritional support recommendations tend to be generic; there’s nothing “personalized” in your nutrition plans, given your uniqueness even within a particular demographic. It’s true: there’s only one you. You may have a friend of about the same age, the same body type. Maybe you exercise about the same and eat about the same kinds of foods. But you have your own routines, stressors and family history that set you apart and play a role in how healthy you are and how you feel.

Bilingual commentary — Surviving the Belly of the Beast

by Community Contributor • January 29, 2021 • Comments Off

Amanda Gorman, our country’s first Youth Poet Laureate, stood proudly, if not nervously, before the country and the world during President Biden’s inauguration as she delivered her poem, aptly entitled “The Hill We Climb.” It was a formidable image, reminiscent of watching Barack Obama delivering his inaugural address to the nation as our first African American president.

Bilingual commentary — The Promise and the Challenge of 2021

by Community Contributor • January 8, 2021 • Comments Off

We’ve just bid adieu to The Terrible Year. Yes, 2020 was the year that many of us simply want to forget and make believe it never happened. But it did happen. And we are not going to snap back to normal in the very near future, at least, just because a vaccine on a white horse is about to ride into town. Maybe we’re “done” with the pandemic and believe that we should “take our chances” because we’re so tired of the lockdowns and restrictions that robbed us of life as we knew it.

Page 3 of 18

« 1 2 3 4 5 … 18 »