Admiral reflects on Memorial Day service, sacrifice

What stops and makes me think on Memorial Day is the number of U.S. military lives lost in war. Since America started, more than 1.3 million servicemen and women have died for this country. Images of Arlington Cemetery and its endless rows of uniform headstones . . . Read Full Story >>

Chaplains express profound gratitude

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance because we are prone to forget. Our memories fail many times. Some years back there was a popular song that contained these lyrics: “Memories may be beautiful but yet, what’s too painful to remember we simply chose to . . . Read Full Story >>

Chamber Society thanks WACOM

The Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society was one of the recipients of outreach funds recently distributed by the WACOM to local nonprofit organizations. We appreciate WACOM’s generous support of our organization and the many other local nonprofit organizations in the Indian Wells Valley. WACOM’s support this . . . Read Full Story >>

Ridgecrest citizens praised for kindness

This letter is in praise of Ridgecrest citizens. I am a handicapped person, and it dawned on me one day recently that wherever I went someone always opened doors for me, carried heavy packages, allowed me to be at the head of a line and . . . Read Full Story >>

Community can help maintain parks

In the Wednesday, May 15, issue of The News Review. there was an article that discussed possible solutions to maintaining recreational programs in the face of the city of Ridgecrest’s fiscal deficits. One suggestion was for the city not to renew its lease of LeRoy . . . Read Full Story >>

Bill opposing federal bailout of pension debt killed

SACRAMENTO – A proposal authored by Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) to oppose any attempt by California officials to receive a federal bailout of state pension debt was rejected on May 6 in the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance. Grove introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 10 . . . Read Full Story >>

’The Stratford Conspiracy’ by Michael Mallory

Michael Mallory has acted in films and stage productions, and his TV appearances have ranged from “Days of Our Lives” and “General Hospital” to “Vegas” and “Mad Men.” If you had to describe the type he plays, you might declare without hesitation, “He looks like . . . Read Full Story >>

Our home is worth more than that

No matter what the season or the neighborhood, it’s common to meet a seller who possesses an overtly emotional attachment to the value of his or her home, especially when it comes to pricing it for the market. Many sellers will deny tha temotions have . . . Read Full Story >>

Thanks police, honest youth

On May 9 my husband woke up to something that would make anyone sick to the bottom of their stomachs: his car with all the doors and trunk open. Our car had been broken into. In the trunk of our car was sparring equipment for . . . Read Full Story >>

Legislative Update: the governor and early release of prison inmates

Just yesterday [released May 2], the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee committed a grave error when voting down Senate Bill 144, the Realignment Reinvestment Act. The bill, which I co-authored, would have provided additional funding for frontline law enforcement, jail operations, community supervision and . . . Read Full Story >>

’Recipes from California: a Restaurant Guide and Cookbook’

Two marvelous books shed light on the Golden State’s saga while beguiling our senses. “Recipes from Historic California: A Restaurant Guide and Cookbook” (Linda and Steve Bauer, color photo insert, 318 pages, Taylor Trade Pub-lishing, hardcover, 2008, $24.95) provides a gastronomic travelogue that combines the . . . Read Full Story >>

Thank you for supporting Friends

Thank you to everyone who came to the Friends of the Library book sale on April 13 — it was a beautiful sunny day without wind and we had hundreds of avid book lovers enjoying their “book treasure hunt”! We are most grateful to our . . . Read Full Story >>

A message of gratitude

All of us at High Desert Haven, residents and staff alike, are thankful and grateful to have known Susan Holly for the last 15 years or so. Susan and Bob Holly have been a permanent presence to our residents. Come rain or shine, every Sunday . . . Read Full Story >>

Urges protesting fee increase

The city of Ridgecrest just recently voted to have a Prop 218 hearing to create the largest fee increase in the 50-year history of Ridgecrest. In just four years sewer fees for a single-family residence will be 300 percent more than current fees ($10 per . . . Read Full Story >>

Ridge Writers on Books: ’Battleborn’ by Claire Vaye Watkins

“Battleborn” is a collection of short stories set mostly in the desert, written by a young woman who was born in Bishop and raised in Tecopah and Pahrump. Claire Vaye Watkins was interviewed on NPR’s “Fresh Air” last month, and my sister caught the broadcast. . . . Read Full Story >>

Dismayed by disruption of council

Mr Mayor, I was dismayed to watch the webcast of the budget meeting Saturday and see that the Burroughs Swim Team coach was allowed to walk in, interrupt the meeting and speak on an item that had not even come up in the order of . . . Read Full Story >>

In the Loop

Whether you want to kick up your heels for National Travel & Tourism Week (May 4-12), Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 12), Teacher Appreciation Week (starting May 6), National Bike Month or any other reason, May offers plenty to educate, entertain and relax you, and we . . . Read Full Story >>

The art of a capella

Linda Saholt

A cappella, singing without any technical enhancements, including musical instruments, is an art form seldom seem these days. Vocaldente, a group of five young men from Germany, is reviving the art nicely. The group performed at Indian Wells Valley Concert Association’s last concert of the . . . Read Full Story >>

’USO Live’ at White Star a marvelous revue

The opening night of “USO Live” at White Star on Friday, April 19, played to a packed and thoroughly delighted house. Director/writer/singer Kevin Anderson had set out to re-create the experience of a World War II USO radio show for U.S. personnel in the Pacific . . . Read Full Story >>

’Geek the Library’ campaign under way

During the recent National Library Week, the Ridgecrest Branch Library launched a yearlong, national “Geek the Library” campaign that will run through this year. Everyone has something they are passionate about – something they ‘geek.’ Maybe you geek baseball or hip-hop, horses or quilting, gardening . . . Read Full Story >>