Columnists

Today kicks off the last time the Frys.com Open will be in San Martin for at least a year. The tournament is moving to Napa next year, meaning this is the last chance to view the season opening tournament for a while.

Recent conversations and letters to the editor convinced me that nearly four years since my first "newspaper primer" column, the time is right to refresh some basics about my favorite source of local current events information.

It is said that nothing can be all things to all people, but every rule has an exception. Point Reyes National Seashore is the exception to this rule. Jutting boldly into the Pacific Ocean in western Marin County, Point Reyes and its surrounding communities have something that will excite and please everyone.

It’s almost impossible to get California’s massive 53-member delegation in the House of Representatives to pull together on anything. They can’t even agree that action is needed to alleviate the housing foreclosure crisis.

South Valley residents are invited to an enjoyable event that happens only once a year. On Aug. 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., a dozen members of the Bay Area Garden Railway Society will open their yards in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Hollister and Salinas for public viewing of their beautiful gardens and elaborate model railroad layouts.

When I was a kid, our family took a road trip every summer from our home in Colorado to visit my grandparents in Phoenix.

With their decision to open a "mini" Supercenter in Morgan Hill, Wal-Mart officials have managed to irk people at both ends of South County.

Award-winning writer Lee Hall knows his way around words. He has given us the superb "Billy Elliott" and co-wrote the screenplay for the heart-wrenching "War Horse." His smooth dialogue for "The Pitman Painters" flows with his usual glib, natural depth for the subject at hand. This bittersweet, humorous piece tells the true story about a grungy group of coal miners who decide to enhance their drab lives. With great trepidation, they decide to participate in (government supplied) art appreciation classes, never thinking they would eventually become famous and in demand in the art world.

President Obama signed historic health care legislation into law