REMEMBERING A FRIEND AND A MENTOR. Alberta McGinnis’ passing last weekend saddened me. Not only was she the owner (with her publisher husband, Bill) of the West Side Index, but she was a friend and a mentor who helped me understand my home town when I returned to buy the newspaper.  The McGinnis family owned the Newman newspaper for almost 40 years.

Alberta loved having fun, but she was serious at work. Her daughter, Marcia, was my classmate, and daughter Jill was younger, but not far behind. The McGinnis family was happy, always together and loving, much of this due to Alberta’s spirit and love of life. She understood people, and was an active member of the West Side community. When her husband Bill died suddenly, Alberta soon moved from Newman to be closer to her daughters. But her heart was always here. She would sometimes call to congratulate us on our newspaper successes; but she never meddled, gave unwanted advice or criticized our staff over the years. She supported her friends and loved her family. I know her most cherished moments over the past 20 years were her activities with her daughters and grandchildren. She was also a religious woman who is now with the person she also adored in her life.

MEDIA BOMBED LAST WEEK. National politics is getting uglier each day, but it’s still mighty exciting if you follow the presidential election race at all. Last week I predicted that Barak Obama would easily beat Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary. I joined every pollster in America in completely missing the mark. Clinton pulled out an amazing upset of the charismatic young senator, and this week they are fighting over issues as they enter some very important primaries in South Carolina and Nevada. Stay tuned!

NEW YEAR, NEW LAWS. 2008 kicked off with a higher minimum wage, up to $8 an hour, from $7.50 last year and $6.75 in 2006. With the increase, California is now tied with Massachusetts for the second highest minimum wage rate in the country. The news may be good for some workers, but it could threaten the existence of small businesses.

SUPERVISOR DEMARTINI FEATURED ON WEST SIDE STORIES. If you are interested in Supervisor Jim DeMartini’s latest views on West Park, the recent media invasion about the “anonymous” YouTube video and other stuff, tune into “Westside Stories” on Cable Channel 7 and 26 beginning next week. I interviewed him this week, and this will be the first time he has appeared on a television talk show since all the media attention started a few weeks back. This award winning television show was also featured on the YouTube video as well as local television news coverage, and much of what you saw was lifted right out of context……so you may want to tune into the show!

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