Columnists

I flinch every time I read a headline that includes the words Israel, Palestine, West Bank, or Gaza. Usually the articles contain horrific news: suicide bombs maiming Israeli civilians, troops dragging Palestinians off their ancestral lands, escalating anger and violence. At long last, the documentary film Budrus brings good news, a tiny ray of hope in what’s seemed to be an ocean of despair. -more-

The trick to spotting a Hawai’ian monk seal, according to Kaua’i-based naturalist David Kuhn, is to look for the orange plastic cones delimiting its space on the beach. -more-

May is Older Americans Month. Older than what?, I ask and receive a dull look. 55? 60? 65? It all depends… -more-

Hundreds of Berkeleyans and visitors to town turned out in picture-perfect spring weather on Sunday, May 2, 2010 to attend two tours. -more-