California is amazingly resilient and economically healthy despite COVID-19. That is reflected in the size of the state budget surplus.

Another year — another, “Wow! Am I glad that’s over?”

Even Pope Francis cares about orange groves. In an October 2020 conference on environment and climate change, he said, “Earth cannot be squeezed ‘like an orange’” and issued an “urgent call to action to defend the planet,” according to Vatican City Associated Press.

Beginning Jan. 1, your next-door neighbor can build a 10-unit apartment in his backyard — and you can’t do anything to stop it. You can’t ask for additional parking. You can’t demand a zoning variance. You can call the city, but, like you, they’re powerless.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has approved the San Bernardino County Light Trespass Ordinance.

While the California Legislature has been on recess these past few months, I’ve enjoyed getting to focus on one of my favorite parts of the job — serving the people of Senate District 23.

“Suburbs: a place where they cut down the trees and then name streets after them.”

It is dangerous but fun. If I squint my eyes just a bit, the swarm of young lodgepole pines coalesce into a matcha-like blur of green. Focus is important on a motorcycle. I am leaning through serpentine curves at 100 feet per second along the Bitterroot, Lochsa and Clearwater Rivers walled b…

Thanksgiving is an opportunity for us to pause and think about what the holiday, and every day really, means to so many. For us, we are grateful to be in this caring and generous community — one we have been part of for more than 120 years!

The Keyser Marston Associates (KMA) financial analysis commissioned by the Redlands City Council evaluated the feasibility of a version of the Village Partners plan that would meet the requirements of the citizens’ initiative.

When it comes to October, most people think about fall colors in the trees and Halloween. Some get excited thinking about the return of pumpkin spice lattes to Starbucks. What I’d like you to think about is October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a good opportunity to remind people that…

Congratulations to Assemblyman James Ramos and thanks to Gov. Gavin Newsom for the passage of six new laws to protect Native Americans in California.

Ten years ago, on Sept. 17, 2011, people began gathering at New York City’s Zuccotti Park, answering a call by the Canadian anti-consumerism group Adbusters to occupy public spaces and protest economic injustices, other inequities in the world, and the continuing challenges to true democracy.

When my 83-year-old husband, Julian Roberts, a former chemistry professor at the University of Redlands, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, he knew what was in store if he were to accept “treatment.”

The Transit Villages Specific Plan document is way too long winded to adequately summarize in a short Community News comment, but a quick skeptical view might be in the public interest. If you like a really expensive surprise now and then, you probably don’t want to know anything about the p…

There’s a lot of talk about climate change, but that’s only one of the four horsemen of the global apocalypse.

The risk of wildfires across California and the west is at a critical point, made worse by the ongoing drought and poor forest management practices that have left more than 80 million acres of national forests overgrown, fire prone, and in dire need of active management. Now, our businesses …

This year’s legislative session – my first – is coming to a close, and I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned and accomplished. Representing Senate District 23 has been fascinating, enlightening and rewarding.

Phillosophically Speaking

When it comes to being first in the nation, California is at the top of the list in many categories. The number of state and national parks? Proudly, California has more than any other state (270 and 9, respectively).

The Friends of Redlands and Redlanders for Responsible Growth Management were disappointed but not surprised by the City Council’s vote to postpone a vote on our measure until November 2022, some 15 months without resolution of an issue which will determine the future of our town.

Dogs howled. Children hid in their homes. Adults were shocked and some even said they were sickened by the sighting and the humming sound — all this according to the widespread, eyewitness reports in the days following that memorable evening.

There has been much discussion about equity and Critical Race Theory (CRT) recently. I expressed my thoughts about equity in an earlier commentary where in a school setting “need” rather than “race” was the determining factor in receiving additional resources.

Once upon a time in the beautiful city of Redlands, a city council approved a high-rise building downtown. It is the only one of its kind that intrusively interrupts the landscape.

The University of Redlands has shaped my life. I graduated 21 years ago with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, married my college sweetheart and am now raising a family here in town. I have also devoted much of my career to the university, where I lead enrollment and finance op…

Re: “Find a compromise to replace the Redlands Mall,” Redlands Community News editorial, July 16.

Small business is the backbone of California’s economy. We’ve heard that, but what does it mean?

Thanks to the Redlands Community News for this opportunity to share thoughts in response to pieces by Donna West and Harriett Clark that have appeared in recent issues. They brought important attention to the vexing issues of race, equality and education American society. They spoke from dee…

Instead of spending yet another Earth Day bemoaning grim news about our endangered environment, I walked out to my garage, grabbed my gripper tool — the one with the trigger and the arms at the end like the cleanup crews use at Disneyland — and spent a couple of hours thinking globally while…

Is the Redlands City Council really going to spend $655,000 on an election it will lose?

Thanks to the Redlands Community News for this opportunity to share thoughts in response to pieces by Donna West and Harriett Clark that have appeared in recent issues. They brought important attention to the vexing issues of race, equality and education in American society. They spoke from …

There’s a monster under the bed and we should be very afraid.

U.S. Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democrat from Redlands, has been appointed by House Speaker  Nancy Pelosi to the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

 As we approach the Fourth of July, our thoughts turn to fireworks, picnics, flags furling in the breeze, parades with bands playing patriotic music and gatherings with family and friends.  

I was impressed by the comments of Harriet Clark printed in the Redlands Community News on May 28. She made many valuable points that resonate with me and others.  

I am strongly against high-rise buildings in downtown Redlands. I am even more strongly against the disingenuous ballot initiative foisted on the city by the so-called Friends of Redlands and Redlands for Responsible Growth Management.

Individuals are not responsible for the color of skin they were born into. That would be group labeling.

In 1887, Nellie Bly, the intrepid real-life Lois Lane of her day, feigned insanity and had herself committed to what was then called a lunatic asylum so she could write about its appalling conditions from the inside out. Her series of articles produced a book called “Ten Days in a Mad-House,…

Historian Larry Burgess, director emeritus of A. K. Smiley Library, has long lamented the state of Redlands’ trees. In a talk 10 years ago, he called our Redlands historic trees under assault. I checked back with Burgess, and little has changed.

One of the biggest challenges that our businesses and workers faced was the abrupt government shutdowns last year. Changes were happening regularly and taking effect immediately, leaving already struggling employers scrambling to review and comply with orders that may require significant and…

As we begin to see some light at the end of this tunnel (or at least some relief at the end of a needle), we can all look back at some events that have saddened us, frustrated us, encouraged us or simply amused us — and I’m certainly no exception.

The new administration is off to a roaring start on the critical issue of climate change, an issue they promised to take action on — and, not a moment too soon, as we watch more and more extreme weather events strike across the country.

April is California Arts, Culture and Creativity Month, a time to celebrate the boundless beauty and richness the arts bring to our lives.

Each day, more than 700,000 social workers nationwide make life better for others. They empower people with the skills and encouragement they need to overcome life’s challenges.

In the strongest possible terms, I am condemning US Rep. Pete Aguilar’s proposed legislation insinuating that our great American military is infiltrated with white supremacists, nationalists and domestic terrorists.

Assemblyman James C. Ramos, Democrat from Highland, released this statement on Tuesday following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State of the State address:

When I look at the issue of letting kids play sports again, I view it through both of my filters, that of a legislator and of a mother. That is why it is clear to me that parents should be allowed to decide if it is the right time for their children to get back onto the recreational field an…

San Bernardino County has been the standard-bearer for administering the COVID-19 vaccine to our residents. The county has utilized more than 97% of the doses we have received from the state while many other counties struggle to use more than 85%.