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• A Yearbook Photograph

  It’s just a typical old-fashioned high school yearbook photograph:  students lined up in the gymnasium, tallest in the back row, one photo to represent that group of people in one year of their four-year high school…

• Challenger Learning Center of the San Joaquin Valley hosts Shuttle Astronaut

  Challenger Learning Center of the San Joaquin Valley hosts Shuttle Astronaut For the second consecutive year, the Challenger Learning Center at the former Castle Air Force Base put on an open house fundraiser.…

• Bob Stewart and the Gift of Game Shows

  I’m a big fan of television game shows, so if you are not as passionate about the subject, you should probably surf somewhere else.  But I’d stick around.  You might like this.…

• Alcatraz- Beauty on the Rock

  Alcatraz.  The name creates images that are universal:  prison, hopelessness, loneliness, horror.  But now, thanks to a work related volunteer activity, the “rock” has a new meaning for me.…

• Remembering Johnny Carson

  I still have that image of the microphone on the desk, a typed script for a comedy bit, and a number two pencil that we’d see him use as a drumstick coming out of a commercial break.…

• Working at a Radio Station in a Small Town

  The passing of two television icons in the past two weeks got me thinking about my early working career in broadcasting.…

• Cassie, the Golf Dog

  One of the many things I enjoy about living in California is the ability to play golf anytime of year.…

• Looking Back on the Vietnam Memorial

  My older brother just barely missed the draft in the early 1970’s.  By the time I graduated from high school in 1975, the draft was over. Vietnam (or at least America’s involvement in Vietnam) was over.…

• The Metal Strip in a Moment of Need

  Those metal strips (like the one pictured in this column) that lie along the pavement at a gated driveway may seem innocuous.  The strips keep the gate on track as it moves to open and close the driveway.…

• Finding Bill Newvine

  For the past decade, I’ve been on a journey to learn more about my uncle Bill Newvine.…

• Will Californians Have a Voice in 2012

  All I’m really hoping for in this presidential campaign season is that Republicans will have a real choice by the time Califonria’s primary comes around.…

• Holiday Music Favorites

  It’s just a post-it note I kept in my planner since about this time last year. I must have had some extra time on my hands, probably sitting through a dull meeting seeking a break from workplace monotony.…

• Kitchen gadgets and promises of pie

  While looking at one of the new kitchen gadgets available this holiday season, my wife threw out the one line that often convinces me that this year’s must have item is worth the investment: “It would allow me to make…

• A new use for a Merced landmark

  I went to the dedication of the new Merced County District Attorney office Friday, November 18 on Main Street in downtown Merced.  I’ve been to a number of these events over the years.…

• Forget the 99 Percent. What About the 25 Percent

  We’re seeing the Occupy Wall Street movement spread throughout the nation as folks who are angry with the banks, the government, and the rich, are banding together to tell the world they are mad as heck and won’t take it…

• Making way for change

  It is a ritual many drivers have engaged in since shortly after the invention of the automobile:  the cleaning out of the former car to turn in as a trade-in on a newer model.…

• The Moon Rock and Memories

  The Moon Rock and Memories The picture seems just right for a guy who fell in love with the space program as a kid growing up in the 1960's.…

• Steve Jobs, Broker of Change

  I don’t think I’ll be able to forget the black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, wire-rimmed glasses, and stubble beard.…

• My Borders’ Liquation Reading List

  Last Days of Borders “Congratulations sir, you are among the final customers at Borders.” That comment was made to me in mid-September as the book store chain closed its’ Turlock location as well as all its’ remaining…

• 9-11 at Ten Years

  We’re all looking for words to describe our feelings as the September 11th tragedy is marked at tenth anniversary ceremonies in New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, and many communities such as Merced.…

• Castle Air Museum

  It's hard to believe that Castle Air Museum in Atwater is celebrating thirty years in the community.  I've been in the Central Valley for seven years and it seems the time has, pardon the pun, been flying by.…

• Yosemite National Park. Very busy...parking is a challenge...safety is an issue...but it sure is beautiful!

  There was a letter to the editor in the Merced Sun Star recently from a visitor to Yosemite National Park. This letter pointed out a negative experience the writer had during a visit in early August.…

• The Edison: Grandma got to see how I intended to keep the tradition of the antique phonograph alive for future generations.

  My Grandma Newvine had an Edison phonograph in her home.  As an elementary school aged grandson, I would always look forward to her cranking up the machine and playing the half-inch thick records.…

• Hilmar Cheese Company - Tour - Taste - Shop and Eat — Hilmar

  Hilmar Cheese Center, Hilmar Ca. Hilmar Cheese Company Visitor Center 9001 N. Lander Avenue, Hilmar, Ca.…