Columnists

Thanksgiving is a special time to share a meal in the company of family and friends. Unfortunately, for many people, spending time with family during the holidays is not always possible due to distance, finances or work schedules. No one knows this better than Marta Valle, who for the past eight years has been organizing a charity dinner at St. Catherine's Catholic Parish Center on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. She and a group of volunteers serve those who are away from their families, especially the day workers in our community.

Here's a collection of items that had me scratching my head lately:

"Today we march tomorrow we vote," read many signs during the nationwide pro-immigration marches of 2006, and during the midterm elections in November, Democrats regained control of both the Senate and House of Representatives. But it is hard to quantify how big of an impact the Latino vote had on the elections given that most exit polls indicated that the war in Iraq was a higher priority than immigration.

Forgive my crabby mood – blame it on the end this past weekend of Daylight Saving Time and the unfortunate return of Standard Time.

Ballot-box budgeting is bad public policy, and the Santa Clara County parks department demonstrates that principle perfectly.

by mario banuelos

lisa pampuch

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.

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.

The 2007 California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results were released in August, and according to State Superintendent of Education Jack O'Connell, "This year's results offer both encouragement and reasons for serious concerns."