Columnists - The Durango Herald

Ellen Roberts’ legislative aide sees process up close

With the session quickly coming to an end, I thought I would write the weekly column to inform you how the Legislature has been for me this year. Perhaps some of you know, I worked for Sen. ...

DATE: Apr 24, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Good Dirt Radio toasts the earth – and itself

It’s true that every day should be Earth Day. My own personal and political beliefs fall on the far left; I’m far to the left of the naysayers of global warming and other causes deemed liber...

DATE: Apr 24, 2014 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

4-H can help kids mature into adults

Today, I would like to highlight Samantha Harris, a senior member of the Mountaineers 4-H Club. Samantha, who enrolled in the program when she was 5 years old, is the daughter of...

DATE: Apr 23, 2014 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

This summer, let a solar oven cook for you

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy, what a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out, before we tackle that.” – Thomas Alva Edison ...

DATE: Apr 23, 2014 | CATEGORY: Your Ecological House

Eager to get gardening? Here’s what to plant now

Editor’s note: Get Growing, written by the La Plata County Extension Office’s Master Gardener Program, appears every other week during the growing season. It features timely tips and suggest...

DATE: Apr 23, 2014 | CATEGORY: Get Growing

Clubhouse Porch

I hope you all will enjoy the change from my long-standing Wednesday column to a Thursday feature. The change now allows me to get more timely results from earlier in the week and get them t...

DATE: Apr 23, 2014 | CATEGORY: Clubhouse Porch

Madonna, Batman and friends bowl for Big Brothers

When Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado was founded in 1984, we “really, really liked” Sally Field, Madonna was recalling what it felt to be “Like a Virgin,” “Ghostbusters” was t...

DATE: Apr 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: Neighbors

Bailing banks out: We don’t like it, but we do it

The first “recorded” financial crisis in the U.S. occurred in 1792. That’s just five years after the Constitution was adopted. Seems the crisis happened when Alexander Hamilton decided to es...

DATE: Apr 21, 2014 | CATEGORY: Thoughts Along The Way

Noir fiction ‘How’s the Pain?’ is a sleeper

Noir fiction is an ill-defined style of storytelling that for crime fiction readers has a clear but differing sense of meaning. Noir is an English corruption of the French word n...

DATE: Apr 21, 2014 | CATEGORY: Murder Ink

Action Line City fire-infrastructure signs spark curiosity

On the outside, northeast corner of the Steamworks building, there’s a commemorative metal plaque that says “Fire Dept. Conn.” What’s the Fire Department of Connecticut doing in Durango? Sig...

DATE: Apr 20, 2014 | CATEGORY: Action Line

The true (?) story of spring weather, Cortés

Four seasons in your face – all at nearly the same time. When it’s T-shirt weather, don’t get smug. Take a jacket with you. When flakes fall, don’t go racing for the sn...

DATE: Apr 20, 2014 | CATEGORY: John Peel

Early detection aids autism treatment

Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated statistics on the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder among children. The results, compiled ...

DATE: Apr 20, 2014 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch