OPINION: For many people, the unincorporated community of El Dorado Hills drew them in because of its rolling hillsides and untouched panoramic views that resemble the French countryside. Yet a five-person board of supervisors has the power to determine the town’s fate — and people are biting their nails over whether the board opposes conversion of a greenbelt known as the “old golf course” and its environs into a housing development.

Why do we so often abandon our New Year’s resolutions? Comstock’s president and publisher Winnie Comstock-Carlson wishes readers a Happy New Year while contemplating the comparative power of inspiration.

Innovation is a process by which a domain, product or service is renewed and brought up to date by applying new processes, introducing new techniques or establishing successful ideas to create new value. The creation of value is a defining characteristic of innovation. Simple enough, right? 

It was the age of the milkman, the gas attendant and free paper bags. Comstock’s president and publisher reminisces about a simpler time before all the automation. 

After more than a three-year federal student loan payment pause, payments resumed on Oct. 1, 2023. I have spoken to hundreds of borrowers and understand their confusion and concerns about returning to repayment and the options available for them.  

Comstock’s president and publisher argues the benefits of inmate education programs. 

The line from “The Godfather,” “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business,” does not apply to the members of a family business. For us, there are a wide range of emotions that start at an early age as we realize that we are part of something that consumes our parents’ time, including conversations at dinner and the holidays. 

Comstock’s president and publisher reflects on minimum wage and the value of work. 

Dan Dillon had been retired about two weeks from the Elk Grove Unified School District when he realized he needed something to do. “Everybody’s different,” says Dillon, 70. “Like my brother, he’s retired. And he goes kayaking, fly fishing and windsurfing. And he’s always going to Hawaii, Tahoe, Baja California. He keeps so busy. I was never that person.”

Feeling good lately? Does the country, the world, seem good? With a divided electorate, a multiply indicted candidate, the dregs of a pandemic swirling through our psyches, and the hottest summer on record, sometimes it’s hard to find the good.