This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Remember, this is one of three departments I manage with a free hand to run them as I see fit. 

The others are the Department of Pet Peeves and the Department of “Just Saying.”

The Department of Good Quotes is open again.

ABOUT THE SALTON SEA IN THE CALIFORNIA DESERT:  The Los

Angeles Times writes this about the Salton Sea:

“Studying the complexity of mud on the ocean floor is a life’s work for Timothy Lyons, so when the tall and lean biogeochemist asks you to join an expedition in search of chemical mysteries buried deep beneath the waves, prepare to get wet and dirty.

“On a recent foray onto California’s largest and most troubled lake, Lyons rode a Zodiac skiff across the Salton Sea against a backdrop of mountains and dunes.  Miles of shoreline bristled with the bones of thousands of dead fish and birds.

“The big problem at the Salton Sea,” said Lyons, 63, “is it’s loaded with pesticides and heavy metals — molybdenum, cadmium and selenium — that linger in greatest concentrations in deeper water.”

“For Lyons’ research team, filling blanks in existing data is an obsession. And it could have significant implications at a time when the air practically crackles with a volatile mix of environmental danger and economic opportunities promised by ongoing efforts to tap immense reserves of lithium, a key ingredient of rechargeable batteries.”

Comment:  Just think about this:  If you buy a lithium battery-powered golf cart, it could have the mineral from the bottom of the Salton Sea.

ABOUT GOLF COURSES AT THE WESTERN HOME OF GOLF – PGA WEST:  News is making the rounds that PGA West, near where I live in the winter, is in for a major re-make.  Here’s the summary:

“Last year Century Golf Partners, an established operator of high-end clubs and resorts, teamed with Hankuk Industry, which owns courses in the U.S. and Japan, to acquire PGA WEST and The Citrus Club, including the Mountain and Dunes golf courses.

“That set off a whirlwind of activity, with the new ownership pouring resources into course improvements on all nine PGA WEST courses. The goal of this long-term project is three-fold:  Provide tournament conditions daily; bring more big tournaments to the property; re-establish PGA WEST as a must-visit destination with courses that are fixtures on top-100 lists.”

Comment:  PGA West is a great site for golf and living.  Good now that the plans are in motion to make it even better.

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH:  “The pews were only half full at St. Raymond of Penafort on a recent Sunday morning.  At the height of lockdowns, that was OK as scores of parishioners grew accustomed to watching services online, hinting at what a post-pandemic future might look like.

“Across the country, Christian leaders are wrestling with how to keep their congregations going with fewer people showing up.

“The number of churchgoers has steadily dropped in the U.S. over the past few decades.  But Covid-19 and its lockdown restrictions accelerated that fall. In-person church attendance is roughly 30 to 50 per cent lower than it was before the pandemic.

“While religious leaders expect some rebound once the pandemic recedes, many don’t expect attendance to return to previous levels. That has left churches looking for different approaches to connect with existing members and attract new ones.”

Comment:  This story caught my attention because the church my family has attended in Salem for more than 30 years is facing the same challenges. 

With the pandemic, the church went more heavily in two directions – (a) emphasizing on-line access to church services through a mechanism called “Livestream,” and (b) forming “house churches” around town.

The question now is this:  Will those who call Salem Alliance their church home, return the pews?

The answer is not clear and if I was back in a leadership position at the church (as I was for more than 15 years), I would wonder.  It is not a bad thing, by definition, if people go to church on-line or in a home.  But what is missing is a large gathering of Christ followers.

This issue is playing out around the country, as well as in Salem, Oregon.