Columnists

A police riot over an austerity bill, or a failed attempt to oust leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa from office? In the aftermath of the Sept. 30 attack on Correa by police in Quito, it is looking more and more like this was an orchestrated coup. And while there is no evidence that the U.S. was directly involved, the Obama administration’s strong support for the current Honduran government may well have encouraged the plotters to expect similar treatment by Washington. -more-

Here in California, I’ve been calling voters, asking them to vote no on Proposition 23 – the Texas Oil attempt to roll back our enlightened environmental law (AB32). I’ve been impressed both by voters’ determination to defeat Proposition 23 and their reports of hard times. Many voters say they are hurting financially. -more-

Candidates running for election in the November election are invited to email to Senior Power ( pen136@dslextreme.com ) a statement of your “platform” regarding senior citizens, -- e.g. housing, health, transportation. If you are running for re-election, please describe the h ighlights of your record on issues important to seniors. -more-

When we arrived at the industrial site in Marin County (and that’s as specific as I can get) around 6:15 pm last Monday, a few swifts were already circling the tallest of three chimneys. Berkeley birder Rusty Scalf discovered this roost of migrating Vaux’s swifts in late September. I had assumed that the birds had subsequently moved on south, but friends had reported their continuing presence the day before. Since we had other business in Marin County that day, Ron and I decided to hang around until dusk and catch the show. -more-