Opinion

Dec. 4, 2012 — Kudos is what I’d like to give freely to the residents who have contributed to making their weekly newspapers sparkle with community pride.

Photos, emails and calls with information, a whisper here and a holler there, it all adds up to the newspapers that receive constant comments and compliments from those who visit here from the big cities.

What makes your hometown weekly so special?

From the comments, it’s actually what we don’t have.

It’s the lack of canned news from the wire, the state and national news feeds; the stuff you watch on television every day.

Dec. 4, 2012 — Every elected representative comes from somewhere, but a third-generation Lassen County farmer took the oath of office yesterday in Sacramento and now serves as our District 1 Assemblyman in the California state legislature.

Former Lassen County District 4 Supervisor Brian Dahle collected nearly 80 percent of the vote in the November election, handily defeating challenger Rick Bosetti in a hard fought race. The campaign marked the first time in District 1 that two Republicans squared off against each other thanks to a new state law that pits the top two vote getters in the primary election against each other if no one gains more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary.

Nov. 27, 2012 — Now that we’ve celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday, the Christmas shopping season begins in earnest with a mad rush to buy all those colorful presents we stash under our brightly decorated Christmas trees to surprise our family, friends and loved ones.

This holiday season, we once again challenge you to spend $100 locally.

Three years ago we began challenging our readers to spend $100 locally during the holiday season. With our still sagging economy it’s worth making the challenge again for one reason: a number of you have taken it to heart — and it has helped.

Nov. 27, 2012 — “How old are you?” asked the woman I had just met.

I took a deep breath, but answered honestly.

She smiled, clapped her hands and said, “So old! But I’m much older than you.”

This conversation would probably not have taken place in this country where it’s considered impolite to ask someone’s age on first introductions, but when I lived in China, it happened regularly.

I was in my forties when I lived there, that dubious time for a woman when we’re no longer young and the big 5-0 is looming, but, there’s a lot to be learned from a culture that doesn’t fear aging, and I think it helped me accept, and not deny, my own aging process.