A little bit about a lot of things:

• Sometimes, the biggest losers are the biggest winners......especially when it comes to trimming off a few pounds.

Newman residents have the opportunity to get a little encouragement and advice to help do just that, when “The Biggest Newman Loser” starts Monday, Jan. 14.

Sponsored by Curves, in cooperation with the city of Newman, participants will meet every Monday night through March 10.

Teams of six are forming in this battle of the bulge. Individuals or teams can sign up. The weekly meetings, from 6-8 p.m. at the Newman Youth Center on Hardin Road, will include weigh-ins, as well as nutritional information and suggested exercise programs to help take off a little weight.

The program is open to all Newman adults. No Curves membership or affiliation is required.....just the desire to adopt a healthier lifestyle and shed a few pounds in the process.

January is the perfect time to get serious about losing weight......after all those family gatherings with food, food and more food at the holidays!

I can attest, unfortunately, that gaining weight is a whole lot easier than losing it. I’m probably a poster child for all the “bad” habits, such as late-night meals, lunches on the go and lack of adequate exercise....although I would think that all those daily trips up and down the stairs to my second-floor office would count for something!!!

But for anybody serious about getting into the good habits required to lose a little weight, and having the support network to back it up, now’s the time to be a big loser.....in a good sort of way!

The program is free. Drop by the first meeting or call 862-0630 to sign up.

• Today’s opinion page brings a new addition, staff writer Julie Rose’s column. Rose is a long-time community member who joined our staff last spring, and handles an array of general news assignments, photographs and feature stories. She will write a column from time to time as well, offering her personal perspectives on local issues, insights into our communities or just thoughts on life in general. We’re pleased to have her as a member of our newspaper team, and look forward to sharing her column with our readers.

• Tip of the hat to the city of Newman, SEAPA and sponsors of next Thursday’s “Lunch with the Chief,” an opportunity for seniors to learn about issues and concerns relating specifically to them over lunch with Police Chief Randy Ulibarri and other city officials (details can be found elsewhere in this edition).

Newman deserves credit for the exemplary job it has done of reaching out to its senior community.

• That sound you heard over the weekend......may have been a collective sigh of relief from our farmer friends, who saw Mother Nature finally deliver some much-needed rain. The more than two and one-half inches of precipitation was a welcome sight at the start of a year in which water is expected to be a precious and sometimes-scarce commodity for growers.

And in this area, it generally follows that what is good for the farmers is ultimately good for us all.

• And so it begins.....this is an exciting time for political junkies as the presidential primaries get under way - including California’s Feb. 5 primary.

But getting behind a candidate is anything but an exact science, and it is interesting to see what captures the attention of voters and to watch the ebb and flow of campaigns as the candidates try to stay one step ahead of the field.

I don’t claim an affiliation for any particular party, and have yet to single out a candidate as the man or woman I would like to see become the next president of the United States, but I am starting to follow the campaigns and the candidates more closely.

In the estimation of some political veterans, these are the least predictable primaries in many election cycles, which I think is a good thing.

And younger voters - who are going to be the next “establishment” before they know it - are taking a more active role, which I think is a great thing.

Regardless of which candidates remain standing at the end of the trail, the dynamics alone make these primaries a show worth watching.

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