Mike Wolcott

So the other day, the power went out in one-half of my parents’ mobile home. Naturally, that half included the power to their air conditioner.

How did just two of us play ball? Easy. The same way tens of thousands of other country boys played ball in those days. He'd pretend to be a lineup of nine people, and I'd pretend to be a lineup of nine other people. Sometimes we'd adopt favorite major league players into our lineups and copy their stances and swings. (We were decades ahead of The Batting Stance Guy.) I especially liked his Horace Clarke stance; he'd crouch over so low his chin was barely above his belt, and there was no strike zone.

There were no dog days of summer where I grew up. The days were gloriously long and rich with activity, always ending with the sun casting

Here we go again … This column is becoming a bit of an annual tradition. I first wrote about fireworks, and the handful of people who ruin a good time for everybody, in this very space five years ago today.

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, I enjoy more than a good old-fashioned form letter.

Do governments have ridiculous power or what? I remember the days when they’d fine you for not doing what you were supposed to do. Now, apparently, they can send you a bill you because you DI…

Our newspaper did well, again, in the recent statewide Better Newspapers Contest. It’s the things our staff does day in and day out that is really worth of recognition. Here’s just one …

The assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a rally this July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania must be a wakeup call for our deeply divided nation.

The Park Fire continued to expand throughout Butte and Tehama counties overnight and has already burned more acres than the Camp Fire, which consumed 153,336 acres and took 17 days to contain in November 2018.