Columnists

Over the years I have had many discussions about what the City Council is doing and often they would get credit or blame for things they did not or could not even do. Many of those discussions took place with people who should know what our City Council does, but then I have to admit it wasn’t that long ago I didn’t know for sure either. Considering that, let me share some of what I have learned about our City Council.

Most of you probably know by now about the new burger and beer joint - Roadhouse Jack’s - in the Target shopping center in Gilroy. I got an interesting introduction to the restaurant last Saturday night ... er, Sunday morning, when the grand opening was held.

I recently reviewed a book by scholar Reza Aslan that attempted to prove the orthodox view of Jesus of Nazareth is mistaken. Indeed, he says church officials repackaged Jesus’ story to make it more appealing to first century gentiles and Roman authorities.

Gerard Alessandrini created “Forbidden Broadway” in 1982 and has developed this spoof on Broadway musicals into 19 award-winning editions that have spread humor around the world. It’s had an unprecedented 31-year run in New York.

Pantone Color Institute, the world's leading color authority, recently named radiant orchid - which it described as “a captivating, magical, enigmatic purple” - as the color for 2014.

We now explore an interesting hand that is a little short on high card points (HCP's), but holds a valuable asset called “dummy points,” which is shortness in a side-suit. Dummy should value a side-suit doubleton at one extra point, a singleton at three extra points and a void at five extra points. The reason shortness in a side-suit is important is that dummy is able to convert some of declarer's losing tricks into winners by trumping them in dummy - a pretty good feature to have.

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

Disney on Ice does it again, bringing its usual cacophony of color, imagination and creativity that children and adults have come to expect. All the favorite Disney heroines and heroes are here, presented with spectacular special effects and the usual Disney sparkle.