News

As a kid growing up in the “Us vs. Them” culture of the Cold War era, I was drawn to the televised exploits of Captain Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise warping across the universe on their 5-year mission “to seek out new life and new civilizations,” all the while upholding Starfleet’s “Prime Directive,” a philosophical concept familiar to Trekkies all over the galaxy—non-interference (no matter how well-intentioned) in the development of alien cultures. The original Star Trek series reflected many of the societal dilemmas of our own world as the 1970s loomed on the horizon—race/gender equality, ecology, arms race, government, technology, etc. Given the morality shifts and rampant xenophobia of the 20th century, it’s hard to believe that humanity actually made it to the 23rd.

I’m on vacation this week. No, not the kind of vacation as in, I go someplace nice and do nothing but read a book and look at the scenery while sitting under a shade tree with a cold glass of unsweetened ice tea in my hand. No, I’m just on a vacation from writing news copy and/or columns.

Mission residents elected the city’s first female mayor in Saturday’s runoff election. For some, based on social media posts, the gender swap is a big deal, and one more sign that women are now on equal footing with men when it comes to local politics. Some say that the Valley’s “machismo wall” came crashing down several decades ago, but when a woman is elected mayor of a Valley city, it still draws attention and/or applause today depending on your choice of candidates.