Published in the July 22, 2016 Santa Maria Times. “The past is the best prophet of the future,” wrote English poet Lord Byron, and nothing in our past speaks more poignantly to this than the Nazi Holocaust. But like many other important historical events, it appears to me students coming out of our local K-12 […]

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Published in the May 27, 2016 Santa Maria Times. When Gov. Jerry Brown signed California’s $15-per-hour minimum wage law, he called the landmark legislation a matter of economic justice. The millions of workers who will benefit from this increase will certainly agree. At Allan Hancock College I deal with many students who come from poor […]

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Published in the April 28, 2016 Santa Maria Times. In July 2015 I devoted a column to the Friedrichs vs. CTA case, which was on its way to the Supreme Court and hanging over the heads of public-sector unions like the sword of Damocles. The case revolved around a suit brought by some K-12 teachers […]

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Published in the March 26, 2016 Santa Maria Times. Activate Labor For Justice was the theme of the 74th annual California Federation of Teachers Convention in San Francisco. While there was a great deal of rain coming down outside, it did not dampen the spirit or the enthusiasm of the more than 600 delegates, staff […]

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Published in the Feb 25, 2016 Santa Maria Times. When did the Vietnam War begin? When did it end? What was a search-and-destroy mission? How many Americans died in Vietnam? Why was the war fought? These are some of the questions I ask my students at Allan Hancock College in a special quiz. I often […]

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