All in all, it was a pretty good weekend in my home valley called Santa Clarita. The weather cooled just enough to be pleasant, and it nearly rained. I heard someone complain about the humidity Sunday. Obviously they’ve never been in the Southeast in the summer. At least here when you sweat, it tends...

It isn’t easy to ask for a date when you’re my age. As long as I’m at it, I’m going to ask for two dates. OK? The first date all y’all have to remember is Monday, July 28. Why? That is the day the Val Verde Community Advisory Committee is meeting with the Chiquita Canyon Landfill folks at the...

I am not a reporter. I write an opinion column. That is why it is called “commentary.” I was told that if I became a reporter, I’d get a cut in pay. I didn’t know about the Chiquita Canyon Landfill expansion proposal until three days ago. I’m not sure many people outside of Val Verde...

First a couple of corrections from what I wrote yesterday. The proposed new limits for trash dumping into the Chiquita Canyon Landfill are 6,000 tons per day, versus 3,000 tons now, with weekly limits raised to 60,000 tons from 30,000 tons now. (I initially said per month.) That is equal to setting one...

Here in the SCV, we just can’t seem to get a break. Over on the east side of town there is the ever-present threat of a big Cemex gravel operation, and on the west side we have the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. Did you even know the Chiquita Canyon Landfill exists? Do you know where it is located? You...

A week or so ago I wrote that I thought the current occupant of the White House should be impeached. I received many comments about that, but a couple of them really disturbed me. The comments said what I wrote was “hate speech.” I thought what I wrote was “free speech.” You see, I can’t stand...

I know. At first I thought I’d write about some Earth-shaking event, but we hear enough of that in the news all day long. Today I just want to write about the people, places and things here in the SCV. Many of us complain about our little valley and how crowded it is and how the traffic sucks and just...

What are we teaching our children and grandchildren? From Russia we learned that a bully can lash out and murder a lot of folks but not be punished. I mean, really. Banning the importation and sale of certain assault rifles made in Russia is going to stop them from supplying folks who are shooting down...

The mother of a close friend died yesterday after a long bout with leukemia. A lady of quick wit and ready smile, she was the wartime bride of a World War II veteran who passed last year. Being 95 years old, she was just a few months older than my mother would have been. The funny thing is, she attended...

How do you like the slightly cooler weather the past few days? Took a while for the “June gloom” to come around this year. I’ve enjoyed the cooler nights and days. That tractor seat gets a little warm at times. The last trip to Mentryville made me realize a few things that we’ve been taking for...