Opinion

by John Pixley It’s that time of year again. I knew it was April and that it was spring. I knew that winter was over and that the school year would soon be coming to a close.  After all, we had switched to daylight savings time, and Easter had come and gone early this year, […]

At the top of the pass in Glacier National Park, there are the requisite ranger station, gift shop and restrooms. Most visitors stop there for a break because the Going To The Sun Highway is always nerve wracking.  But out back behind the station is a trail most people miss or avoid. The trail looks […]

Police station funding Dear Editor: I am pleased the COURIER is covering the meetings of the city’s ad hoc committee on the police station in some detail, but I am concerned that an important distinction between general obligation (GO) bonds and a parcel tax was not clear in last week’s article on March 25. As […]

  My husband and I have embarked on a little “house-refreshing.” We’re not really remodeling anything, just sprucing up after 20-odd years of life well-lived in a nearly 100-year-old house—kind of like using face-lift tape to smooth out the wrinkles instead of going under the knife.  In the process of painting rooms and airing out […]

by Mark von Wodtke, FASLA   One of the nicest towns for walking or riding a bicycle is Houten, in the Netherlands. Houten is designed so cars can drive to it, but not through it. Consequently it’s a very safe and pleasant place to walk, and people of all ages bike there safely while doing […]

By John Pixley When it comes to transportation, it’s hard not to feel like a fool this April 1. Or any time these days. It seems like we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. In talking about how we all get around, at the very least, there are no easy solutions. I certainly […]

Although I’ve heard it suggested that that English is more difficult than other languages, most linguists agree that there is no such thing as “the hardest language.” Language difficulty is an instinctive notion based on which languages one is fluent in. All languages, however, have components that are especially difficult. When it comes to English, […]

A zero-sum game Dear Editor: At the recent Claremont Planning Commission meeting, Pomona College’s proposal for an art museum appeared to be a zero-sum game: disrupt the Victorian houses on the west side of College Avenue or deny the college a modern consolidated art museum. Testimony pitted Claremont’s preservationists against artists and college employees. However, […]

by John Pixley   It used to be “Beware the Ides of March.” Perhaps now it is the Spring Equinox, coming Sunday, that we should beware. After all, “having jobs [is] just as important for a person’s health, for a family’s health, as having clean air.” That’s what Larry McCallon, the mayor of Highland in […]

by Jim Keith My wife and I were two of 30,000 people riding the new Gold Line extension from Citrus College to Arcadia on opening day. We had lunch in a city close to Los Angeles, watching frequent trains cross a major road with no grade-separation. Nearby businesses were extremely happy with the Gold Line. […]

As I write this, there’s a puppy curled up under my feet. She’s tired because I took her for a two-mile walk, in the rain. I’m happy that she’s sleeping, which led me to wonder why I could never get my children to take such peaceful naps. I guess walking either one of them around […]

The Great Wall of Claremont Dear Editor: After seeing the city’s rendering of the proposed Gold Line overpass at Indian Hill Boulevard, I’ll say what Samuel Goldwyn reportedly said: “include me out.” The “Great Wall of Claremont” would only further segregate the Village from the rest of the city, sending exactly the wrong message to […]

A fruitful weekend Dear Editor: Thank you so very much, Sarah Torribio and Steven Felschundneff, for your article about Uncommon Good. After your article appeared, we had a 400 percent increase in customers! This is much better than we’ve gotten from anything posted online or on social media. And they say newspapers are dead! I […]

by John Pixley   I hadn’t gone to Los Angeles in a month and a half, since I went to a friend’s open house on New Year’s Day. And now I knew why. It wasn’t because I was taking a long winter’s nap after a busy, stressful December and traveling over the holidays. It wasn’t […]

by Pamela Bergman-Swartz It was a week before Christmas. I just had a large holiday party, there were still dishes in the sink from the night before and unwrapped presents in the spare bedroom.  It was the phone call you never want to receive. My aunt telephoned me from Hawaii telling me that my dad […]

by Steve Comba David Shearer’s recent opinion piece (Viewpoint, February 12) about the proposed Pomona College Museum of Art raises some critical issues. Until now, I have been reluctant to address this situation publicly because I am an employee of Pomona College. I am, however, also a citizen of Claremont, a member of the arts […]