David 'Mas' Masumoto: Opinion Columns & Blogs

David 'Mas' Masumoto

Special letter from President Bush brought healing out of shame

David Masumoto recalls the day when his father received a letter from then-President George H.W. Bush. The president apologized for the World War II internment of the Masumoto family.

Kids play on oversized food playground equipment at James McClatchy Park in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood in October 2014 during a reopening celebration after a $2.8 million renovation.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

A walk in the park reveals the heart of a neighborhood

Even in today’s technology-obsessed world, parks help define a city, can serve as natural gathering spots and create identity for a neighborhood.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

Art helps vets heal and a farmer find new meaning in life

Fresno County farmer David Masumoto has found new appreciation for art, and art has found him as well.

Navy and Marine commission officers toss their hats as they celebrate during the USNA Class of 2018 Graduation at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Friday, May 25, 2018 in Annapolis, Maryland. Bee columnist David Masumoto says the graduates of 2018 are considered “dragon children” under the Chinese zodiac.

According to the Chinese zodiac, “dragon babies” are predestined for great prosperity. They are ambitious, superb leaders, bright and driven to realize their dreams. They have endless energy, and are charming and glamorous.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

It’s time that the San Joaquin Valley becomes the ‘other line’

Waiting, being patient, accept delays, writes David “Mas” Masumoto. We in the Valley have often heard these excuses as the larger cities and coastal regions of the state were often higher priority for public funds, foundation support and educational initiatives.

Water runs over rocks in the Merced River in Yosemite National Park as the snow melts. The experts at the PPIC Water Policy Center created a “Water Playlist” to share their thoughts on the state’s return of drought.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

And now from California, a little water music, and other songs for these dry times

The experts at the PPIC Water Policy Center turn to music to share their thoughts on the return of drought.

We are all interconnected. So are our good intentions, including the resolutions we make on New Year’s Day.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

Why your New Year’s resolution matters to me

We are all interconnected. So are our good intentions, our words and our deeds.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

We should share more than a meal on Thanksgiving. Here’s how we can break the ice

David “Mas” Masumoto reflects on Thanksgivings full of food, football and shopping and wonders: How can we get good conversation back in the picture?

David 'Mas' Masumoto

Discovering the power in our local, authentic stories

Disasters dominate our attention, but there are local stories to discover that inspire and deserve to be told and retold.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

Un-natural disasters we often bring on ourselves

David “Mas” Masumoto column: Hurricanes, wildfires, epic flooding: In imagining we can control nature, we forget to plan.

Giorgio, an 11-year-old Havanese, with his past certificates and achievements at the Yale Canine Cognition Center in New Haven, Conn. Researchers in canine cognition are engaged in numerous tantalizing debates about the extent to which dogs are unique among animals, and how their brains work.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

I talk to our farm dogs, and Science says they understand me

New research has discovered dogs process words more like humans: they listen not only to the words but how you say them, writes David Mas Masumoto.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

On farming and the art of repair, and extending the lives of old things

I’ve joined a green wave of a recycling business model, writes peach farmer David Mas Masumoto of Del Rey. “We have learned to live with things old.”

Mas Masumoto, Del Rey farmer and author, has found that just sitting and listening to folks on their farms opens people up to telling their stories. And that is a very cool trend today on radio and podcasts.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

‘I discovered that listening is love’ – the priceless art of storytelling

We must ask and listen, collect and preserve memories for ourselves, our families, our communities, our nation.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

In Trump landscape, 1970s book ‘Rules for Radicals’ is a playbook for both sides

“Rules for Radicals,” Saul Alinsky’s handbook for changing America in the 1060s and 1970s, has applications in today’s political world, writes David “Mas” Masumoto. This presidency invites and encourages strategies of confrontation. And conveniently, it could also pose as a primer for new progressives as they fight against the current state of affairs. Imagine, a rule book for both sides.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

Who belongs here and who doesn’t?

Columnist David “Mas” Masumoto: During the first months of our new president, the question of belonging hangs over many. Sadly, those impacted the most are often invisible, hidden precisely because they do not feel like they belong. Belonging is personal. You feel like you belong. You develop a sensibility, staying in places you know you are welcomed. With belonging comes belief that you have a right to be here.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

Remembering the pain and shame of Japanese American internment

David “Mas” Masumoto column: For Japanese Americans, Feb. 19, 1942 marks the day 110,000 Americans were denied their rights as citizens and imprisoned. His father, a quiet, reserved man, quietly shared a bitter memory of feeling abandoned by America. Through it, Masumoto more deeply understands his family’s history.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

That’s not true: Stand guard against internet’s fake news virus

We now live in a different media world with web-generated information. Based on information he had read online, one man believed a Washington, D.C., pizzeria housed an international Satanic child sex ring with the Democratic party as the evil center. He broke in and shot employees.

David 'Mas' Masumoto

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