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TheatreWorks opens its 40th season with the country pop

As you and your friends and family get set for the Independence Day celebrations here in the South Valley, I hope you’ll take a moment to think about the great American experiment we are a part of today. The word “experiment” to describe our republic is a fitting one. Many of the leaders who founded our nation were scientifically astute and understood the principles of carrying out tests to prove or disprove revolutionary ideas – including political ideas.

A reader of this column recently asked a question that required

What does it mean when a wine is “balanced?” It’s a wine that incorporates all its main components – tannins, acid, sweetness and alcohol – in a manner where no one single component stands out. Tannins come from grape skins, seeds, stems and oak barrels - it’s the astringent taste you get when you have bitten into a grape seed. Tannins give body and structure to the wine - too much tannin can be mouth-puckering and drying. The right amount of acids give wines their characteristic crisp, slightly tart taste. Too much acid and the wine can taste sour. A wine with too much sugar will taste cloying and sugary and will not be refreshing. A balanced wine is when all the components work in harmony.

There are certain dates that stand out in people's minds, events

This Sunday marks an entire decade since America faced a blow to

So much fine print goes unread. Few people realize how

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.

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