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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

 Have you noticed how airplane travel has changed in the past few years? I'm not just talking about the new security restrictions and full body searches we submit to every time we fly the friendly skies, although that aspect has certainly livened up our flying experiences.

A front page headline. The Morgan Hill Times headline on Tuesday read "City to toughen social host ordinance." While we'd like that to be the case, the truth is the city isn't changing anything yet.

Other than good parents at home, the single biggest indicator of a kid's success in school and in life is a quality teacher in the classroom.

Don't you just love autumn? That certain nip in the air; the sun-washed fields of large, orange globes soon to be reborn as ghoulish characters dwelling on front porches; golden leaves falling from trees to be blown away by the wind; my extra thick and creamy pumpkin facial masque.

In troubled times, it is too often easy to put pejorative labels on those who disagree with you. In recent speeches Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney have labeled those questioning the war in Iraq as appeasers and House Republican Leader John Boehner has said Democrats who question the administration's methods of interrogating and prosecuting terrorists are "more concerned about protecting terrorists than protecting the American people."  Boehner's comments were so distasteful that even President Bush said he wouldn't have said them the same way.

Who doesn't want sex offenders tracked and kept away from children? As the only provider of services for victims of sexual assault in South Santa Clara and San Benito counties, Community Solutions is committed to our community's safety and victims' rights. However, as such, we recognize that Proposition 83, dubbed Jessica's Law, will not be conducive to protecting our community from sexual predators.

Problems with Proposition 90, that have devastating impacts on

Today your Mushroom City Memoirs columnist, Gale Hammond, fills you in on all you need to know about … er, excuse me … we just returned from an "adventure at sea" (a.k.a. "cruise"), and I must learn to talk like a normal person again. After keeping company with "Snowball Scotty" and "Bruce," our naturalist, for the past week, I am desperately trying to check my enthusiasm.

Over three-quarters of a century. That's how long my wife and I have lived. Now, only a few years before 80, we have experienced many, many of life's strange twists. But, I believe a circumstance this past August was, perhaps, the strangest of all. But, let me set the stage.