Columns

San Francisco, the “City by the Bay,” was named after St. Francis, a wealthy, gregarious Italian. The son of a wealthy silk merchant, he was known for his love of earthly pleasures and spendthrift ways. Kind of appropriate for a big-city lifestyle...

Sometimes being alive isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But yes, it sure beats the alternative.

When I sit down to write my column, I draw on experiences in my life and hope they connect with you as a reader. I describe my writings as Erma Bombeck-like, a humor/slice-of-life commentary (and then have to explain who Erma Bombeck was to anyone younger than myself), but I hope you have felt that I am honest and as open as privacy allows.

The picture above is a full arcing rainbow, portrayed in last week’s Photo of the Week dropping behind vineyards and trees, as if painted by John Constable. Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus, who claimed to be the light. He asked that people “love...

Chris Markell’s career as a winemaker tells a story of the evolving Sonoma County wine business throughout the past four decades. 

A couple of weeks ago the students in my preschool class did a fun cooking project. They cut up the ingredients to make salsa, and then they got to help make corn tortillas from scratch, squishing the dough in between the paddles of the...

February is celebrated in the United States as Black History Month. The idea was conceived by Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), author of more than twenty books. He dedicated his life to educating African Americans about the achievements and contributions of their ancestors. February was then officially recognized in 1976 by President Gerald Ford, to “seize the opportunity and honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”