Every family remembers the day cancer enters their lives. For mine, it happened when I was just 10 years old — an age when you barely understand what cancer is, let alone how it can reshape a family. But I learned quickly, and far sooner than any child should have to.
It was Thanksgiving in 1946 and the celebration took place as far away as Germany, which was in ruins after World War II. The U.S. Women’s Army Corps, stationed in Frankfurt, hosted 30 “wide-eyed” German children for a turkey dinner. The Chicago Tribune reported that after the dinner German …
The math of correlation gives us “perhaps” and “maybe;” the math of causation gives us levels of certainty — confuse them and you’ll be chasing fictions instead of truths.
For decades, California’s energy producers and manufacturers have lived by what I call the Environmental Holy Book, constantly expanding scripture of rules, mandates and standards. We followed every chapter. We complied with every update. We reduced emissions, modernized equipment, installed…
The Board of Supervisors’ proposal to make Kern a charter county raises two questions: Why, after more than 150 years as a “general law” county, do supervisors suddenly want to change Kern’s government structure to a “charter county?” And, what’s the rush?
Typically, farming is a way of life and not something that you just pick up. My family has farmed in California for four generations. Today, with my husband’s family and now our two children, we continue that legacy in Kern County, growing almonds and supporting the communities and people wh…
In late October, rumblings about a major reorganization within the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement agencies pointed to the U.S. Border Patrol usurping top command posts in the leadership of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In response to former Kern County Superior Court Judge Robert Tafoya’s Nov. 18 Community Voices article “What’s really on the Board of Education’s agenda?”, given public attendance at the Nov. 13 board meeting, it was about the posting of historical documents in the six schools over which th…
In the four months since the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted a new state budget, revenues — primarily from personal income taxes — have outstripped expectations by several billion dollars.
Imagine a high school student in rural California, struggling with a mental issue for weeks with no one to talk to. The nearest therapist is hours away, the youth’s family can’t spare the time or gas and even if they could get there, the next available appointment isn’t for months.
I am writing in response to Robert Tafoya’s Community Voice titled “What is really on the Board of Education’s agenda?” (Nov. 18). His concerns about process and fairness are well taken, but I believe the core issue is broader. Many who support displaying the Ten Commandments in public schoo…
If you still support this POTUS after all the proven corruption, after all the proven lack of empathy, after all the proven lying, after all the proven racism, after all the proven cheating, after all the sexism, it means that you share these negative aspects of your life with him.
President Trump is making some big mistakes on his approach to our country’s foreign policy. He is alienating some of our closest allies and potential ones.
Kern County’s Board of Supervisors has spent months saying they’re “seeking clarity” about their authority to inspect the privately run ICE detention facility that sits within county borders. There’s nothing unclear about it. California law already gives counties full power to protect the he…
The killing of Charlie Kirk was a tragedy, unacceptable in any society that values freedom of speech and respect for political discourse. Nothing could possibly justify or excuse such violence.
The election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor set off — for his fan base, anyway — great expectations of a more “affordable” city. But the Democratic Socialist hasn’t even been sworn in, and some of his marquee promises are already history.
The buzzword of the month is “affordability,” and based on the election results from New York, New Jersey and Virginia, voters think that’s declining. Democrats think they’ve found a winning issue here to win back the hearts and minds of voters after the Trump sweep last year.
At the outset I commend the Kern County Board of Education for the important role it plays in ensuring our children receive a quality education. The sacrifices and time its members expend as elected officials to oversee education within its purview is laudable.
Trump tore down the East Wing of the White House without any permits or conferring with anyone. Trump now announces on Fox News he wants to paint the Eisenhower Executive Building. The building, a sprawling "Gilded Age" structure with Vermont Granite slabs, for some unknown reason is appeali…
President Trump is dividing this country by not complying with federal law. Why is the country divided and being ripped down the middle? Because the political elite are exempt from us peasants.
I have listened to President Trump and his Republican allies tell me that our economy is great. We have the strongest economy in years. Why don't l feel it? I look at our grocery bill every week.
In 1940, Winston Churchill ordered the evacuation of 338,000 troops facing annihilation on the beaches of Dunkirk. Churchill called the successful operation "a miracle of deliverance." Historians portray it as a perfect example of victory in defeat.
According to the AAA, the average gas price in the United States today is $3.08, and the average gas price in California is $4.67. Californians are paying a whopping 52% more than everybody else in the country. The price of gas is falling nationally, but it just went up by another 7 cents he…
Earlier this week, I pulled my 24-year-old SUV into a Sacramento gas station for its weekly — more or less— fill-up. It was 14.5 gallons at $4.05, plus the ever-mysterious 9/10 of a cent, per gallon.
Education leaders, students and lawmakers will meet Nov. 17 to address a stark reality: The federal government is slashing support for higher education in unprecedented ways.
On Nov. 7, voters throughout the country soundly repudiated Trump and the malfeasance, corruption and meanness his administration embodies. While commentators ascribe many reasons for the Democrats' success, including economy, Epstein, and election protection, they missed the important effec…
When my mother was hospitalized, an ICU doctor told me she was suffering. I asked her, “Mom, are you suffering?” She said, “No.” That moment showed me how fragile a patient’s voice can be when others assume what’s best.
As a contributing columnist for The Californian, I hope my articles elicit response, provoke thought and stir people to action. So I was heartened to see my chief critic, Greg Laskowsi, who I know and consider a friend, was spurred to action by one of these articles. In his Community Voice o…
California has long had the reputation — backed by copious data — of being a high-tax state, which made Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration last June, in a prerecorded State of the State address, a bit startling.
Growing up in a working-class family, I saw firsthand the values that define our community: hard work, self-reliance and hope for a better future. For my father and many others, success wasn’t about fancy job titles or wealth, but about putting food on the table and paving the way for their …
I have never attended a march or a vigil. My reasons for not doing so, especially when it came to issues dealing with crime victims, was because I was a forensic scientist, I should not become emotionally involved. I felt I must remain aloof. I had to maintain that I was objective so as not …
Nov. 11, 1966. Veterans Day. I had been in the U.S. Army all of three days at Fort Polk, Louisiana. I had no idea what I was getting into. A kid from Bakersfield thrown into a mix of guys from everywhere. All I knew was I had an obligation to serve my country. You couldn't quit because you d…
In "Nuremberg," the movie now in theaters, a psychiatrist who analyzes the mental fitness of Hermann Göring to stand trial for war crimes warns that everyone has the capacity to commit evil like Göring did.
Early this year, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office reported there had been a 20% decline in fentanyl deaths in the county (“Kern County on pace,” 2025). In some cases, before overdoses occur, dental professionals see the damage drugs do in the mouth.
Donald Trump's approval numbers continue to crater. Even Republicans have cooled on the president's performance. But the president shows no sign of noticing, nor is he changing his ways. Even his gaslighting has gone wan. He's failed to make Americans believe that prices are going down when …
America’s society is a three-class pyramid: A tiny apex of mega-rich at the top, millions and millions of poor at the base, and sandwiched between them the shrinking middle class.
Since the California City Correctional Facility began caring for detainees earlier this year, a number of allegations have circulated that don’t reflect the facts. As warden, I’m at the facility every day, and I want to provide our community with an accurate picture of our operations and our…
The Nov. 4 election has stunned Republicans. But will they learn and adapt, or continue to remain ineffectual, leaving all decisions to Trump, having ceded congressional authority to Trump?
Here we go again — another self-inflicted hardship on the American people. A 10% slowdown in the air traffic control system may not sound like much to Washington, but for a nation on the move, it’s a big deal. Delayed flights mean delayed commerce, missed connections and more economic frustr…
