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2 months ago | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
Watching the recent election results and the more recent unseemly tussle for House speaker brought home an issue we’ve all watched evolve for years. How did we get to this partisan polarization and legislative impasse in spite of the fact that most Americans (and theoretically those we choose to represent us) inhabit a region much closer to the center of the political spectrum.
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Nov 29, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
It may seem incongruous to include an article about retirement in a business journal dedicated to informing you of how to start, grow, protect, and nurture a business. But if you do all those things right, there may come a point in your life where you want to explore the reality of life beyond work, the luxury of time whilst unfettered by a job, the joy of retirement. I was reminded of this last fall, when I chanced upon a grafitto painted on an alleyway wall in Barga, Italy.
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Nov 1, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
For the past decade or more, I’ve had a sticker on my iPad that reads ‘Practice Aloha’. I got the sticker from Frida’s, arguably the best Mexican restaurant on Maui, just north of Lahaina Town on Front Street. Sadly, Frida’s is no more. Although spared by the devastating fire last year, it was sold just prior to the death of its owner and has re-opened as Star Noodle – a great place for ramen but it’s not Frida’s. But I digress.
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Sep 30, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
We know it’s not just our imagination that the cost of virtually everything has exploded the past few years. Depending on which side of the political spectrum you reside, you can blame the government, inflation, the supply chain, worker productivity, greedy merchants and/or manufacturers, union demands, minimum wage, and the list goes on. But regardless of who you blame, the fact is, costs are up and continue to climb.
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Sep 1, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
There are many claims made today that our Supreme Court is deeply divided and that ‘something’ should be done. Something, in this scenario, usually involves expanding the Court during times of Democratic Senate control in an effort to ‘pack’ the court with more activist judges.
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Aug 1, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
Like many of us of a certain age, I first heard of the Grateful Dead in the late 1960’s. Wasn’t a fan at the time – I was more into the evolution of British Blues, whatever band Eric Clapton was playing – The Yardbirds, John Mayall, Cream, Blind Faith, Jethro Tull was on my playlist – Aqualung, The Stones, of course, some Beatles even whilst they were breaking up, Santana, Joplin, C,S,N,&Y, Quicksilver, Leon Russell, Ten Years After, and more.
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Jul 1, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
I recently had the pleasure of having my family visit me in Colorado. Two of my sisters and their husbands and two of my brothers and wife drove out from Iowa to spend a week in the Colorado Rockies. My daughter from California was also able to join us for a few days of visiting and fishing. Only my son and one brother were not able to join us this time around but a good time was had by all present. Now you may be thinking – well what’s so special about that?
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May 28, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich
Before launching into today’s rant, a quick update on my recent article on property rights – specifically the case of Sheetz v. El Dorado County wherein Mr. Sheetz was charged what he considered an extortionate ‘mitigation fee’ to obtain a building permit for his property. After decisions in favor of the County in lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously on April 12 in Sheetz favor.
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May 1, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich |Julie Ngo
So a few weeks back I was in the hospital and, as such, was a ‘captive audience’ for the most recent high volume, high speed, rant and rave euphemistically referred to as the ‘State of the Union’. I must admit I watched it for all the wrong reasons based on a drinking game posted on social media.
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Mar 31, 2024 | 
thevalleybusinessjournal.com | Gene Wunderlich |Corie Maue
Over the years I’ve written so many articles on fraud schemes from the sublime to the ridiculous, that I should set myself up in a little side hustle of my own. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I’m just not that smart. Or unscrupulous. But the world abounds in people who get up every day and go to work with the sole objective of cheating you out of your money. Another scam was recently brought to my attention by a friend who was trying to sell something on Facebook Marketplace.
