Just a thought by Judith Martin-Straw

It’s the media equivalent of peer pressure; the end of the year lists, round-ups and overviews on every platform. Some papers will tell you the best books to read, or the best movies to watch. …[READ MORE]

While the city of Culver City offering a seminar on civil discourse is an idea that is both needed and timely, I’m feeling slightly cynical. The people who would benefit most are unlikely to show …[READ MORE]

City Council meetings, School Board meetings; not only do we begin with the pledge of allegiance, we begin with the declaration that we are on unceded land, taken from the Tongva and the Chumash tribes. …[READ MORE]

At a recent city council meeting, there were a number of speakers from the local organization Vote16, requesting the the city agendize a discussion of moving the voting age down from 18 years of age …[READ MORE]

Sometimes, my generosity gets me in trouble.  I have a little free library. It’s not registered with the official organization, so I suppose it’s a rogue little free library. My neighbors enjoy it, and I …[READ MORE]

Sometimes, the ability to look at the big picture requires panning very far out. The first Sherlock Holmes story was published in 1887. We discover that Dr. John Watson has returned to England from “the …[READ MORE]

If anyone does not fully appreciate how difficult our civic dialogue has become, the city council meeting on the Jackson Avenue Gate was a perfect, if painful, example. The people arguing for access held some …[READ MORE]

Now that the U.S. Census has released a fresh batch of data on who lives in America, it’s notable that the recipe changes slightly every time. Not just the people who live in this country, …[READ MORE]

Every two years, I become a sports fan, but only for two weeks. It’s an unlikely spell cast by the Olympics, and once the  games are over, so is my interest in sports. Friends have …[READ MORE]

Whenever we have a city council action that turns out hundreds of speakers, I think of it as a good thing. I like democracy, I love that people show up to offer their thoughts and …[READ MORE]