Opinion
Although I’ve heard it suggested that that English is more difficult than other languages, most linguists agree that there is no such thing as “the hardest language.” Language difficulty is an instinctive notion based on which languages one is fluent in. All languages, however, have components that are especially difficult. When it comes to English, […]
A zero-sum game Dear Editor: At the recent Claremont Planning Commission meeting, Pomona College’s proposal for an art museum appeared to be a zero-sum game: disrupt the Victorian houses on the west side of College Avenue or deny the college a modern consolidated art museum. Testimony pitted Claremont’s preservationists against artists and college employees. However, […]
by John Pixley It used to be “Beware the Ides of March.” Perhaps now it is the Spring Equinox, coming Sunday, that we should beware. After all, “having jobs [is] just as important for a person’s health, for a family’s health, as having clean air.” That’s what Larry McCallon, the mayor of Highland in […]
by Jim Keith My wife and I were two of 30,000 people riding the new Gold Line extension from Citrus College to Arcadia on opening day. We had lunch in a city close to Los Angeles, watching frequent trains cross a major road with no grade-separation. Nearby businesses were extremely happy with the Gold Line. […]
As I write this, there’s a puppy curled up under my feet. She’s tired because I took her for a two-mile walk, in the rain. I’m happy that she’s sleeping, which led me to wonder why I could never get my children to take such peaceful naps. I guess walking either one of them around […]
The Great Wall of Claremont Dear Editor: After seeing the city’s rendering of the proposed Gold Line overpass at Indian Hill Boulevard, I’ll say what Samuel Goldwyn reportedly said: “include me out.” The “Great Wall of Claremont” would only further segregate the Village from the rest of the city, sending exactly the wrong message to […]
A fruitful weekend Dear Editor: Thank you so very much, Sarah Torribio and Steven Felschundneff, for your article about Uncommon Good. After your article appeared, we had a 400 percent increase in customers! This is much better than we’ve gotten from anything posted online or on social media. And they say newspapers are dead! I […]
by John Pixley I hadn’t gone to Los Angeles in a month and a half, since I went to a friend’s open house on New Year’s Day. And now I knew why. It wasn’t because I was taking a long winter’s nap after a busy, stressful December and traveling over the holidays. It wasn’t […]
by Pamela Bergman-Swartz It was a week before Christmas. I just had a large holiday party, there were still dishes in the sink from the night before and unwrapped presents in the spare bedroom. It was the phone call you never want to receive. My aunt telephoned me from Hawaii telling me that my dad […]
by Steve Comba David Shearer’s recent opinion piece (Viewpoint, February 12) about the proposed Pomona College Museum of Art raises some critical issues. Until now, I have been reluctant to address this situation publicly because I am an employee of Pomona College. I am, however, also a citizen of Claremont, a member of the arts […]
When it comes to the word ‘leap,’ English has no shortage of expressions. We can leap for joy, grow by leaps and bounds, take a leap of faith or leap at an opportunity. This week, we take a different kind of leap altogether. Every four years, we tag on an extra day to the end […]
A fond farewell Dear Editor: My name is Martin Ramiro Gomez Lomeli. I am the last descendent of the Marcelino Gomez family left in Claremont. My grandparents, Marcelino and Marie Gomez, emigrated from Mexico to Claremont in 1929, settling in a small house on Blanchard Place. Their daughter Esperanza, my mother, was 12 at the […]
by Ludd A. Trozpek Imagine the Village if the Metro Gold Line people have their way: There will be a 30-foot-high train overpass at Indian Hill. This will be constructed on 30-foot concrete-walled berm abutments that will extend west to the townhouses and east to the Depot. Atop this edifice will be 20-foot steel towers […]
She asked, in so many words, how CMC could be more inclusive and more welcoming to students of different racial backgrounds, when the students there were basically trained to “go out and make money off of brown people.” Yep, something, as Eric Clapton sung, is happening. I was hearing the Clapton song in my head […]
The kindness of strangers Dear Editor: I experienced an act of kindness and love by a stranger on Valentine’s Day. On Valentine’s Day morning, I decided to go for a run. Just before I set out, I told a family member, “I better take my driver license because if something bad happens to me, I […]
The first people I loved were my mom and dad. I don’t remember this, but home movies and plenty of black-and-white pictures attest to the genuine devotion with which I toddled towards their open arms. And then my sister was born. We are 19 months apart. Her presence ended my brief tenure as an only […]