I should've picked up Ray Steele's hints a couple of weeks ago. ''I thought you'd been retired by now,'' he said to me as a group of Clovis citizens met with him to discuss the demise of the Clovis Independent newspaper. ''How come you're not retired?'' I parried, in style characteristic of my 30 years in the news biz. Steele shrugged his ...

What do you do when your hometown newspaper dies? That's the question some Clovis residents are asking, but it may soon be on the lips in towns throughout the Valley as layoffs, buyouts and closures continue to bedevil traditional media. Do city officials partner with Clovis Unified to create an insert in the school district's newspaper? Does ...

Mark Grossi is a wiry California Angels fan with a sly smile. He's been a heavyweight in environmental journalism for some years, and the Fresno Bee's been fortunate -- and smart -- to keep him on that reporting beat (as beats continue to be spread-sheeted away in traditional media). Mark's taking a hike into the Sierra for a ''legends of the ...

It's time for a rant. A few years back, I wrote an op-ed for the Fresno Bee complaining about how the phrase ''you're welcome'' -- when a good deed brings thanks -- had been replaced with ''no problem.'' The other day I got a marketing letter from a financial adviser named Ken Fisher that began: ''One sentence about myself.''  If I can't ...

Kudos to the Fresno Bee for its ''Fighting for Air'' special section on Dec. 16, a look at how little has been accomplished in the five years since the Bee last examined Valley air pollution. I read the section after my morning hit on the asthma inhaler and a hot shower to unlock my lungs. It made me think of 10 things I intensely dislike ...