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Our California hills prefer to roll along, rising and falling in gentle gradients. There are few trails etched high into steep slopes where a misstep is costly, or where one dreams of tilting forward and taking flight. Not many, but there are a few. 

Q: My best friend and I each have a puppy from the same litter. They are 9 months old and very healthy. Randolph (my dog) has a small, smooth lump on the side of his shoulder. It’s been there for about two weeks and seems to be staying the same size. His brother, Willie, doesn’t seem to have any lumps or bumps. I’m worried about skin cancer. Do young puppies get cancer?

When my grandfather emigrated from Italy to America in the early 1900s, he brought his hopes and dreams of a better life. And like many other Italian-Americans, he also brought his love of wine.

News flash: The Italian tomatoes are in – at long last – at LJB Farms on Fitzgerald just north of town off Santa Teresa. If you haven’t been, go. The tasty variety bursts with local, fresh flavor. A good piece of bread, a little mayonnaise, salt and pepper and sliced LJB Italian tomatoes on top. Now that’s good eatin’. Also, fabulous drizzled with Jeff Martin’s locally produced Frantoio Grove olive oil. It’s a treat to buy local and support the Bonino Family farm. Louie, the patriarch and sons Russ and Brent are hard-working guys who are always around, hopping off tractors and doing whatever it takes to keep the agriculture operation running. Mother, Judy, is like the farm office foreman and she always has a smile for customers and hires great kids to help out. It’s an American family farm operation that grows the sweetest corn around and it’s right in our backyard.

A group from The Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired experienced the first ever hands-on sensory tour of “Cavalia: A Magical Encounter Between Human and Horse” on Aug. 17 in San Jose. Students experienced “Cavalia” through a variety of senses including touch and sound. A spokesperson guided the group through activities that included grooming and feeding the horses, learning about horseshoes, sitting in a trick riding saddle and listening to a horse's heartbeat. The tour ended in the warm-up tent, where students and their chaperones stood in a circle while riders rode their steeds around the group. The students were able to feel the ground quake. Each participant was sent home with a horse of his or her very own – of the fuzzy, plush variety – and a used horseshoe from one of the show’s equine stars.

The Rev. Malcolm MacPhail, lead pastor of Gilroy’s New Hope Community Church (8886 Muraoka Drive) has noticed a troubling new phenomenon. When he talks with people in places like Starbucks, they seem to have less and less familiarity with the notable people or events from the Bible. Even Christians seem to have meager knowledge of this foundation of their faith.