The couple at the heart of this story were initially reluctant to speak with me, and for good reason. Would you be interviewed by a reporter who happened upon your driveway as you were loading the last of the possessions you could salvage from your burned home? The couple had already turned down numerous interview requests, notably from national newspapers and cable news stations. I identified myself as a freelance writer on assignment with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, which is their local news outlet. Hearing that, their demeanor changed. …

During last night’s vice-presidential debate Mike Pence told Kamala Harris she could have her opinions but not her facts. Some context. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the late Democratic senator from New York, is credited with saying “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” I so love this quote I use it as a tagline on my personal email. It’s a guiding principle in my work as a journalist (and also a favorite rejoinder in casual debate). Moynihan was from a bygone era when intellectualism and Big Ideas were thought of as attributes in our statesmen (and…

I’m a BIG believer in jury duty. It comes with the privilege of living in a democracy. It’s also pretty cool. I’ve covered lots of court proceedings as a journalist, but actually serving as a juror, as I did once for a drunken driving trial, offered another interesting view of the process. People have legitimate reasons for why they can’t serve on a jury. Fair enough. But the default starting position for many, maybe most, is to get out of it. My wife is a court reporter, so I hear all the lame excuses people throw out to try and…