Columnists

Here it is, in writing; my declaration that this is my last year of being the sole decorator. Here’s how it went down a couple of years ago, and I’m still emotionally scarred.

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 John Muir Trail is surely the most famous and the most beautiful wilderness path in the lower 48 states. Beginning at an elevation of 4,000 feet in Yosemite Valley, the trail follows the crest of the Sierra Nevada for 221 miles over eleven mountain passes to the summit of Mt. Whitney, at 14,495 feet, the highest point in the United States outside of Alaska.

With the holidays fast approaching, my thoughts turn to family gatherings, gift-giving and sparkling wine - not necessarily in that order. Since the topic of family gatherings would far exceed the limited word count of this column, I will focus on gift ideas for the wine lover on your list and sparkling wines that can be essential to getting through family gatherings.

Merit's stock is the rise.

No sooner did South County finally get out of the news as a hotbed of bigotry – after the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a much-protested proposal for a Muslim worship center in San Martin moved that story out of the spotlight – than we landed right back in the same predicament, thanks to Blake Lebeck.