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

Comstock’s president and publisher considers the risks involved in becoming a successful small-business entrepreneur — such as starting a magazine with just $2.50 in your pocket.

As children, we were given this advice to help us achieve our goals: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” I still fully subscribe to that. Along with my unflagging faith that I’m never alone in my efforts, I’ve believed that wanting something badly enough and being willing to pay the price in time and effort, could make it attainable (God willing).

As Walt Kelly’s cartoon possum Pogo said on posters for the first Earth Day in 1970, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Comstock’s president and publisher considers how the motto applies to California. 

Doesn’t anybody want to work anymore? It’s not just a rhetorical question. More than 50 percent of those surveyed by Pew Research said they believed they would get ahead in their careers by working harder. I was heartened to see that, because my personal mantra for success has always been that working harder is the first and best way to solve most problems.

Comstock’s 2022 stories, designs, photographs and illustrations won 12 California Journalism Awards, including seven in first place.

AI is a unique innovation that seems to be taking off like a rocket with plans to replace many otherwise human-developed work; but in the end, it could spell disaster to lots of today’s industries if we lose sight of the fact that it needs to work for us, not the other way around.

For some, learning a trade they can rely on is more satisfying than earning an academic degree. Career Technical Education programs in community colleges are one path for students to learn those skills.

It really wasn’t so long ago that women had to fight to enter businesses that were dominated by men, reflects Comstock’s Editor Judy Farah. In her March letter, she celebrates the women who have broken barriers in the Capital Region along with the fresh perspectives they’re bringing to their work. 

California has always been celebrated for Innovation, yet we can’t budge our elected leaders to truly innovate much of anything, states Comstock’s president and publisher. In this month’s letter, she considers the complicated issue that is our state’s water dilemma.