Columnists

Today is my nephew’s birthday. We would likely be gathered around Ryland sitting in his high-chair with his face and little hands covered in cake and celebrating his first year - had we not lost him in May.

People who are getting ready to wrap up their careers and leave the working world often refer to retirement as “a new chapter” or “the next act” in their lives – and rightly so. As a pre-retiree, you may have even used those analogies yourself. That said, it’s helpful, and often invaluable, to play a leading role in determining how your retirement story will unfold. 

I really dread the 2012 election cycle, especially the presidential race. We know that both the Obama and Romney campaigns have enough money to completely dominate television advertising, and given what we have seen from the Republican primary races, it will be overwhelmingly negative. It appears that Romney’s theme will be that Obama was not up to the job and gave us four years of failure, so he deserves a chance to get it right. Almost every speech is filled with “he didn’t … I will.”

Despite the fact that it has been unseasonably warm in 2012, February is still the time of year for comfort food, and we're making soup. Rugged, simple and full of flavor.

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California's gubernatorial primary is nearly nine months away,