Record Searchlight Editorial Page Editor Bruce Ross raises chickens. For a long time I thought that living in a city and raising chickens had nothing to do with being a good analyst of community issues. Then I read this article...

This entire flapadoodle about alledged "secret" meetings to close the Convention Center is nuts. If I have this correct (and the only things I know are those that have been written in the newspaper) four people got together, probably over...

By and large our state Legislators believe that if folks would just understand how hard they are working and how good they are they would get a lot more sympathy from citizens of the state for the challenges they face....

Pet spending has nearly tripled in the past 15 years with the majority of that money going to dogs. This year Americans will spend approximately $45 billion dollars on veterinary antidepressants, canine hip replacements and doggie spa days. Humanization of...

Historically humans have procreated by engaging in sex. In the future sex may no longer be a necessary ingredient in the procreation process. According to an article in the journal Nature scientists have been able to create sperm and eggs...

A recent news report stated that the safest metropolitan area in California was San Jose. San Jose ranked 7th overall nationally and safest in California. The survey was restricted to the top 50 metropolitan areas in the nation. So how...

As cities struggle with reduced income many have turned to an examination of possible cost savings from outsourcing services. Vallejo has been the poster child for unsustainable local government programs. In a bold move People for the Ethical Treatment of...

Last weekend over 400 local residents participated in the fourth annual Community Creek Clean-up event. In prior years all of the 19 creeks in the Greater Redding Area have benefitted from this community wide effort. This year the focus was...

Research out of the University of Cardiff in the U.K. finds an association between children eating candy everyday and violent crime. The researchers used data from the British Cohort Study. Out of the 17,500 participants, 69 percent of the ten-year-olds...

There are any number of "facts" bloggers cite as reason for their outrage. Many are not true. The discovery that a cited fact is not a fact never seems to reduce the irritation level of those who are ticked off...

This week the Lodi City Council voted 5-0 to continue prayer at the opening of City Council Meetings. This was despite the fact that 22 people testified against continuing the practice as a violation of church and state. The group...

Greenpeace and other environmental groups have major campaigns against the use of soft toilet paper. Read about it in this article in the Washington Times. Okay, okay I get it about being environmentally sensitive. I realize my ancestors used leaves...

This just in from AP, "ACORN Sues Filmmakers". "ACORN has filed a lawsuit against the makers of a hidden-camera video that showed employees of its Baltimore office giving tax advice to a man posing as a pimp and a woman...

Much is being made in the news about federal legislation to combat global warming. In June the House of Representatives passed their version of "Cap and Trade" legislation. The legislation now is in the Senate awaiting action. By the governments...

The nanny state is alive and well. As the government seeks to further protect us from ourselves they have zeroed in on the despicable practice of including items in a garage sale that have been recalled or otherwise given...

A 340lb. man, who works at a pizza store gets hit in the back by a freezer door, stumbles and blows out his knee. In court his attorney claims the employee can't get his knee fixed because he is too...

Where has all the hope gone? Where is the optimism, the thought of a better tomorrow the commitment to providing a community future that is better than we found it? Perhaps I read too many letters to the editor or...

North Korea recently allowed advertising for the first time on its state run television network. The ad's, for Taedonggan Beer, have significantly increased beer sales. I suspect that as soon as they have Clydesdales playing football they will be welcomed...

According to the website livescience.com conspiracy theories abound seemingly everywhere. Scientists say that many people desperately want to believe in things. Fact (or typically a lack thereof) doesn't seem to matter. It's part of human nature, an odd and largely...

A friend sent me a tongue-in-cheek parody about the on-going discussion over National Health Care. I offer it here for your amusement, or not. "Cash For Codgers" Couples wishing to access health care funds in order to pay for the...

The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World were all man-made monuments, selected by Philon of Byzantium in 200 B.C. Today, only the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt remain. His selection of wonders was essentially a travel guide for fellow Athenians,...

Recent news articles tell of a dramatic drop in AARP membership. Apparently many are unhappy with AARP support for the Obamacare medical plan. There is an alternative to the liberal AARP that has caught the attention of many. It is...

In reviewing the comments posted on-line about police layoffs I am astounded at the amount of misinformation being bandied about. Folks rightly want their taxes to be spent on basic services like public safety. Where do they think the money...

My three daughters are all beautiful and it's not my fault. A story in the London Times quotes findings from Markus Jokela, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, that beautiful women had up to 16% more children than their...

- Why do otherwise rational people draw conclusions from newspaper articles and blogs about other people without further independent investigation? - Why do firemen go to the market in fire engines to buy food instead of just bringing food from...

This morning I filled my gas tank at Safeway on E. Cypress. Because I also shop there and had accumulated $100 in purchase credits, I received a $.10 per gallon discount beating the lowest quoted price posted in this morning's...

A few years ago I moved from a large home, where I had lived for fifteen years, in west Redding, to a townhouse in east Redding. Prior to the move I went through my home, garage and outbuildings and got...

In a recent Op-Ed article in the Record Searchlight I attempted to set the record straight about the rate differences between PG&E and the Redding Electric Utility. As you might recall, PG&E, with their tiered rate structure charges less for...