Opinion

by John Pixley I’ve been enjoying this winter break. It has been nice having some extra time. It has been nice having more time to think about pears poached in sherry. Or was it port? I’m sure I can find it online. My mother once made a recipe like this, so I’m sure I can […]

by Bill Lesher Dr. Diana Eck is professor of Comparative Religion at Harvard University and director of the “The Pluralism Project.” Ms. Eck always expected to have a sizable number of international students from various religious traditions in her classes on World Religions. But, in 1991, that expectation took on a new twist. The number […]

by Debbie Carini The first time my father left his home state of New Jersey to travel outside the New York metro area was courtesy of the United States government. In 1958, Uncle Sam was shipping him to Aberdeen, Maryland. He was then transported to Fort Polk in Shreveport, Louisiana (on a train that was […]

By Peter Weinberger Blaming the media for society’s problems is a time-honored tradition reserved for people who are usually in trouble, cannot take the heat of their own actions or simply are angry about an issue. Whether a politician, sports athlete or even a movie star, it’s common to point fingers at an easy public […]

JFK, Churchill, Roosevelt Dear Editor: Such mortification! I am embarrassed by my error in my letter printed in the December 5 edition of the COURIER, in which I (hopefully not too smugly!) corrected the COURIER’s error of November 28. The reporter stated that Ambassador Edward Marks, in a talk at Temple Beth Israel the previous […]

by John Pixley “Were you at the C. folk festival for this?” This was in the subject line of an email I got last month from my friend Drew in San Diego, except that there were no capital letters. Curious, I opened the message and found a YouTube link. That’s all. That’s all that was […]

By Peter Weinberger Over the years the COURIER has received numerous awards for stories, photos, design and advertising published in the newspaper and website. During my seven years as publisher, part of those honors has been accepting awards on behalf of Martin Weinberger. As editor and publisher of the COURIER for 53 years, Martin touched […]

by Debbie Carini Everyone thinks Santa’s job is close-to-impossible; all those houses, chimneys and cookies in just one night. It’s a globe-trotting and gastronomic feat and he deserves the veneration we accord him (carols, lighted plastic look-alikes, tree-toppers, movies and Bass and Rankin stop-action animation). But really, when you think about the work load, it’s […]

[Editor’s note: We had a speech in 1933, then another in 2014. But somewhere between, things got muddy. It was a misquote, then an incorrect correction to the misquote and now some correct corrections to the double misquote. Let me simplify it by saying, “We really flubbed this one up.” Apologies to Ambassador Marks and […]

by John Pixley Sometimes they haven’t been there, but most of the time they have been there. Now I wonder if I will see them as I pass by, going up College Avenue. I suspect they won’t be there in a few weeks but, for now, until the Colleges go on winter break, they are […]

Casa de Salsa Dear Editor: I was saddened to hear of Casa de Salsa’s closing. Through this restaurant, the Flores family has generously contributed to an impressive amount of local groups and causes for many, many years. Knowing that they contributed in spite of financial issues that caused the ultimate closing of this wonderful establishment […]

by Mellissa Martinez In the children’s book Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?, Dr. Seuss doles out some solid advice regarding gratitude. An old man sitting on a cactus tells a young boy, “You ought to be thankful a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you’re lucky you’re not!” He […]

With peace Dear Editor: I want to thank Cantor Paul Buch of Temple Beth Israel  for sharing his insightful and ethical understanding of the special relationship shared by Jews and Muslims in the November 14 issue of the COURIER. As a fellow Jew, I have been distressed by the sometimes extreme anti-Muslim sentiment voiced by […]

by Ted Trzyna On October 19, President Barack Obama designated 346,177 acres of Angeles National Forest as the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. At its southern end, the new monument shares a boundary with the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park; its eastern edge generally parallels Mt. Baldy Road. It will be managed by the US Forest […]

The party of no Dear Editor: The US Senate missed passing the pipeline bill by 1 vote this week. Although the majority (including 14 Democrats) voted for the bill 59-41, 60 votes were needed to pass (an odd anomaly in this age of majority rule). Although one of the Louisiana Senators who is facing re-election […]

by John Pixley The story was news, but it was the same old story. Like a dog biting a man, rather than a man biting a dog, it was pretty much business as usual. The article in the Los Angeles Times a couple days after the election earlier this month was looking at the funds […]