Opinion

Anybody who knows me can vouch for the fact that I am not one to tell animal stories, dress dogs, cook pet food or, god forbid, push four-legged friends around in strollers. In fact, I have always found it downright annoying when people go on and on about their pets. This is why it is […]

What to do? Dear Editor: As bewildered as I was with Leslie Watkins’s letter last week, suggesting we left wingers want a “1984 Utopia,” etc., I was in agreement with Merrill Ring’s sardonic suggestion and with Elizabeth Tulac’s very thoughtful piece. But, I do have one complaint. Ms. Tulac besmirched Charlie’s (our Schnauzer’s) character. Charlie, […]

by Ivan Light Donald Trump is very wealthy. But wealth does not make him a successful business owner. In fact, Donald Trump’s record of wealth creation is mediocre. At age 21, he received a gift of $1.1 million from his father. If we calculate compound interest on $1.1 million over 50 years (1966 to 2016) […]

Erasing history Dear Editor: The claim is being made that removal of statues commemorating leaders of the Confederacy is an attempt to erase history or to forget something of our past. Those statues were erected during a time when the aim in the south was to keep freed slaves and their descendants in their place. […]

by Debbie Carini September is traditionally the month to return to learning. Of course, some schools are now on year-round systems, but for many students. September signals the purchase of new school shoes, stacks of supplies and the perfume of sharpened pencils (I’m showing my age—maybe there’s an odor associated with cracking open a new […]

by Jan Wheatcroft I am a born and bred Angeleno. I lived my first 10 years in Hollywood with my mother. My father had moved to New York and visited me a few times a year when he came to Los Angeles on business. He stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel and I loved to […]

by Mellissa Martinez Last week I tuned into the heavily-promoted boxing match between retired world champion Floyd Mayweather and feisty, Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor. Although not a boxing enthusiast, I was intrigued by the odd pairing. Even so, I went into the experience expecting to peek between my fingers and wince with every […]

Creeping parochialism Dear Editor: Don Fisher and Brian Desatnik both responded via letter to the recent COURIER Almanac article, “”College Creep: Fact or Fiction?” each objecting, in his own way, to the concept of college creep. College representatives Kim Lane and Claudia Pearce, quoted in the article, echoed similar sentiments. Their statements recalled to my […]

by Tom Erb CHERP—then “Claremont” now “Community” Home Energy Retrofit Project—launched with the goal of retrofitting one percent of the homes in our city, or around 130 houses. Energy retrofits make homes more energy efficient, more comfortable and healthier. The project has facilitated more than 400 home energy retrofits, launched the Claremont Energy Challenge and […]

Claremont Heritage on town-gown relations Dear Editor: On behalf of Claremont Heritage, I applaud the COURIER for the focus on town and gown in the recent Almanac. Claremont’s history is exceptionally unique, primarily due to the town’s relationship with the Colleges. Praise for the Colleges is certainly due, especially for Pomona, but had it not […]

by John C. Forney, President, Democratic Club of Claremont We may again be at a critical teachable moment, a time when our national attention is finally focused on the original sin of this nation—racism.  The events in Charlottesville this weekend have again ripped the scab off this festering sore that has plagued our nation since […]

Justice for all Dear Editor: As lifelong human rights activists, we repudiate the deplorable violence instigated by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, and throughout other cities across our country. As members of families who fought against Nazism in WWII, and who lost members to the Nazi Holocaust, we join those who are supporting the […]

by Debbie Carini The other day, I stood at the deli counter trying to explain to the hair-netted, beard-netted man in the white coat that I had an electronic coupon for the eight-piece fried chicken special, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the “fire-coated” or the “baked” or the “extra crunchy.” Holy Colonel […]

The voting process Dear Editor: Thank you to Ellen Taylor as spokesperson for the League of Women Voters for pointing out the bipartisan concern for election integrity. The proposed bill she cited was introduced by two Democrats and states “existing voter registration systems can be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible and confusing, with damaging effects on voter […]

by John Neiuber Three of the most beloved buildings in Claremont—The Padua Hills Theatre, the Vortox Building and the Garner House—are the legacy of one couple, Herman and Bess Garner. All three are significant architectural works done in the Spanish Revival style by accomplished architects. The theatre was designed by the Pasadena architectural firm of […]

City street crews Dear Editor: On the week of July 24, Claremont city street crews did extensive work on the curbs of Harrison Avenue. In order to complete their work they had to demolish sections of pavement and curbs, sometimes leaving holes, trenches and parkings laid bare. Then, they put up cones and left. The […]