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Last week we featured candidates for the South Valley's Most Adorable Dog. We got phone calls and e-mails from as far away as Southern California from people casting their votes for their favorite pooch.

Jon Coupal likes to say his hard-fighting organization, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, exists to beat back constant attacks on Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 initiative that limits property taxes in California.

Ben Anderson is a columnist who is not held to the same

When oldest daughter Shannon came into the world, many moons ago, I was a young whippersnapper sports editor at the Atascadero News, owned by the three gracious Porter brothers, Judd, Jim and Jack. The brothers three allowed me to name Shannon "The Player of the Week" that September, despite it being in the middle of another championship football season for the formidable Atascadero Greyhounds. I followed the format, typed in my baby girl's height and weight, added a picture of the latest "Team Derry" member, waxed the finished product up (we don't do that anymore, it's all electronic and digital) and pasted it onto the sports page. Fast forward – and life sure does go fast – to this week and that Player of the Week has given birth to an MVP, who has had to fight through a crummy infection right out of the gate. But the newest addition is doing well after a few spooky days, and so is mom. The MVP's first name is down to two choices, but her middle name, appropriately, is 99% likely to be Grace. She came into the world exactly on her due date, Sunday, Oct. 30, and weighed in at 7 pounds nine ounces stretching out 21 inches long. For Halloween, my daughter says, "Cupcake" wanted to be an astronaut, thus the oxygen bubble which is now, thankfully, history. I'm just thrilled that in a few Halloweens, I'll be able to find her an astronaut costume and hold her hand while we're trick-or-treating. That's grace and I'm a grateful "Papa" for many reasons.

It's not hard to imagine what the outcome of the Jeff Garcia