Columns
When was the last time you saw a water report for the city water in Mountain View? If you are a faithful reader of this publication, the last time you saw it in print here was June of 2021. In November, I noticed I had not printed it in a few years, so I called Mayor Charry McCann. She was...
I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing “local” for weeks. This edition’s center pages contain the rules and details of the Great Christmas Giveaway – a sweepstakes game in which we will give away $500 on Christmas Day. The catch? You have to both shop and spend local. It’s an inspired idea...
Week by week, stories that fill these pages are about people. Whether we’re covering crime, government, a new restaurant, or high school sports – there is no separating the “who” from the story. Most of the time, public interest is in the office or public position that they hold. Usually, it’s...
Considering the circumstances of the fetus
Treatment for ectopic pregnancies is not illegal in Missouri. Seeking treatment for a miscarriage is not illegal in Missouri. If you vote no on Amendment 3, you are not helping to solving that problem.
Instead, you are voting to enshrine in...
Our firstborn son is named Leonard Rudolfo Mendez. As I am fond of telling him, our Leo is named for the three hardest-working men I have ever known—Leonard for my grandfather, Rudolfo for Ron’s dad, and Mendez, of course, is his daddy’s surname.
As of Thursday, only one of these...
For once, I am a member of the media responding to a letter from a public official, and not vice versa. I read Mountain View-Birch Superintendent Lanna Tharp’s letter to the community, and immediately asked her to meet with me. Her letter is reprinted on this page for easy reference.
As I...
I’m enjoying a rare fit of optimism. Since I’m somewhat melancholy by nature, my work in newspapers has not much improved my positive outlook. In fact, I consider it to be a rare treat when there is good news to put on the front page. Most weeks, I must pack down the details of the stories I...
There are two letters on this page urging voters to vote no on Amendment 3. On the ballot via initiative petition, this amendment to Missouri’s Constitution would prevent lawmakers from outlawing abortion.
Since these letters arrived in the news office, two orders from Cole County Courts have...
I’ll admit it. I was wrong about Bill Eigel. He didn’t split the vote. He surprised me and lost to Kehoe by only seven points, and I bet Missouri Republicans have not heard the last of him. His command of a crowd was impressive, even if I don’t like his politics.
Though I didn’t publish it...
Perhaps the most regrettable shortcoming of a Wednesday weekly is that we have to wait a week before we can bring you election results in print. The issue in your hands was on the press before the polls opened on Tuesday.
Results of voting in Howell County will be in the August 14 issue....