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If you came of age in earlier times in our nation’s history, you understand that Donald Trump is merely the latest incarnation of the dark underbelly of our national character: the anti-Semitic, pro-fascist radio rants by Roman Catholic priest Charles Coughlin of the 1930s and...

Most of us like to talk, though the success of our conversations depends on whom we’re talking with and how invested the involved parties are in the subject at hand. Take the remodeling project underway at our house. It’s a project being done by committee: my husband, my son, and...

Citizens of every persuasion throughout our fair nation likely agree that it’s been a Whiskey Tango Hotel (WTH, or What The Heck) sort of election year. I’m restraining myself here, as many have called it much worse. In the city of Newport Beach, the practice of politics is...

The term “fiscal conservative” has become an empty phrase. It’s been gloried though misused by many Republicans for decades, given their support for profligate military spending and the disastrous trickle-down economic theory that has undermined the middle class. Most of us,...

Sirius rises late in the dark, liquid sky On summer nights, star of stars, Orion’s Dog they call it, brightest Of all, but an evil portent, bringing heat And fevers to suffering humanity. — Homer, The Iliad It’s commonly known that the dog days of summer arrive during...

Say what you will of the glories of cinematography or witty dialogue (think the old Spencer Tracy-Katherine Hepburn movies), a compelling movie involves people and their stories. Such a movie is writer/director Scott Shepard’s “An Act of Love,” which screens at the Newport Beach...

 You’ve likely seen recent ads in our local print media announcing the formation of the political action committee (PAC) called Line in the Sand. The PAC may be new, but the names behind it are familiar: Jean Watt, 2013 Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year and...

A note to the reader: The responsibilities of running a city are complex and demanding. It’s regrettable that Councilmember Scott Peotter has obliged the City Council, the citizens of this city, and this writer to divert our attention from working together to make Newport Beach a...

Not for nothing is this section of the paper you are reading titled “Forum.” It serves as a sounding board for both readers and journalists to state their opinions, to call for action, and to hold those who govern accountable. It’s a tradition that has served democracy well in...

My mother always thought that the term “summer afternoon” was the most melodious one in the English language. For baseball fans, that’s arguable. For us, “pitchers and catchers report…” ranks high on the list of beguiling terms. Just last week, major league pitchers and catchers...

Much of the future well being of the City of Newport Beach depends upon respecting, valuing, and preserving our priceless environment. From the air pollution emanating from wood burning fire rings and the jets flying out of John Wayne Airport to the pollutants that sift into the...

Sometime between following recent Facebook posts of the marvelous antics of the orca whales off our coast and watching the video stream of the January 13 Newport Beach City Council meeting, it came to me that environmental issues as such don’t get near the local attention they...

This column comes to you on the second day of January, a month named for the ancient Roman god Janus, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. It’s an apt name for the first month of the year on the Gregorian calendar. Janus is often depicted as having two faces, one looking...

Our house was being painted, so I holed up in the only room not swathed in plastic and scrolled through what was on TV. I paused at Channel 9. “The 700 Club” was on. Over the years, I had witnessed founder Pat Robertson’s periodic news-making forays into the politics of religion,...

What, you may well ask, can a Democrat find to be thankful for amid the sea of red that swept the country on Election Day? Actually, I’m finding plenty of gratitude to go around the great table of American politics. Locally, I’m grateful for the voters of every persuasion who...

As post-election ennui settles in among those of us on the political left – and many in the center – the opening lines of Neil Diamond’s song “Forever in Blue Jeans” keep running through my head: “Money talks, but it don’t sing and dance, and it don’t walk.” Money, of course,...

Lately I’ve been railing about Yes on Y’s abuse of the English language to get voters to suspend their disbelief that hundreds of thousands of square feet will reduce traffic. Not to mention the use of scenic images of kayakers on Back Bay and bicyclists (at least the lucky ones...

While talking with a fellow journalist recently, the subject of the Newport Beach City Council elections came up, and the question: “Who you gonna vote for?” My first response was, “I don’t know.” After all, when you live in a city dominated by one party and you’re the minority...

Sometimes it isn’t what is said that’s so telling, but what isn’t said. I thought about that as the “Yes on Y” flyers began flowing in our mailboxes, ads appeared in local papers, and signs were posted along our streets that promise “Traffic Reduction & Strong Neighborhoods”...

“In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible,” writes George Orwell in his 1946 essay, “Politics and the English Language.” Orwell and his generation had, of course, witnessed the awful policies that emanated out of lofty ideals from both...