Appeal-Democrat | Archive | Writing

Yuba inventor’s dream dashed

An Olivehurst man says he lost his will to invent after seeing his Christmas tree smoke detector invention on an ABC reality show. “You dream of something, and this just crushes it,” Chris Long, a third-generation painter and first-generation inventor, said Friday. Long watched “American Inventor” with his wife Wednesday night to see if they […]

Continue Reading...

Appeal-Democrat | Archive | Writing

Plenty of fun at Colusa Fair

Hot dogs, fried Twinkies and a ferris wheel were all warmed up for the beginning of the Colusa County Fair on Thursday night. The theme of this year’s fair is “Your Brand of Fun,” and there is more than enough fun to go around. For thrilling fun, there are the many rides from Midway of […]

Continue Reading...

Appeal-Democrat | Archive | Writing

From BUGS to bikes

In Mong Xiong’s rush to find a seat at a lunchtime awards assembly, he missed his name being called out by Kiwanis member Seth Fuhrer. When a woman handed him a bike helmet, he turned around to see a new, red Mongoose bike. “That’s for you,” Fuhrer told Mong. The seventh-grader was one of 10 […]

Continue Reading...

Archive | Opinion | The Orion

Homeless exiled from Chico

Gone will be the days of panhandling and people scrounging for recyclables if Chico city officials have their way. No, I’m not talking about Chico State students. The city has enough fun with Labor Day, Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day. It’s the homeless who have to worry. The city’s grand plan began in earnest in […]

Continue Reading...

Archive | Opinion | The Orion

Games heal wounds of incompetence

I spent my winter break trying to free the world from shadows by either swinging my mighty sword, launching the occasional bomb-arrow, or even transforming into a mighty wolf and leaping for the throats of my enemies. No, I’m not writing this column from a maximum-security prison or while on the lam. After a two-year […]

Continue Reading...

Archive | Opinion | The Orion

Pursuit of parking stalls students

Rational people would take $72 and put it toward food, textbooks or even a nice romantic evening on the town. Instead, I spent that for the right to fight for a parking space. I’ve heard all about how hard it is to find parking even with a permit. It’s no surprise the university oversells parking […]

Continue Reading...

Archive | Opinion | The Orion

Podcast aside your radio

I have officially given up listening to the radio. Outside the occasional San Francisco Giants game on the radio, I have no reason or need to. The songs I want to listen to are all on my iPod, and now even some of the TV shows I’ve missed are waiting for me to download for […]

Continue Reading...

Archive | Opinion | The Orion

Democrats finally step up

Don’t look now, but there’s something new dangling between the blue donkey’s legs. After taking it on the chin since Republicans took power of Congress in 1994, the Democrats are taking charge, and it’s about time. One party can’t rule forever. It started with a seemingly harmless nonbinding resolution that didn’t seem to be worth […]

Continue Reading...