Contributed

The 2024 presidential election is a year away. The political landscape of America in October of 2024 will be far different than it is today. The current polling, which focuses on which candidate for president is winning and the attendant punditry, is meaningless.

Starting seventh grade last week came with the usual nervous excitement of a new school year for Juniper Loveday-Brown, a student at Willowside Middle School in Santa Rosa. Juniper, 12, was looking forward to seeing friends, especially classmates in the school’s Gay Straight Alliance club.

During back-to-back days at one of California’s largest universities, hundreds of students took to marches, impassioned speeches and megaphones to condemn the mass death that has afflicted Israelis and Palestinians: The attack by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, and the Israeli military response since then.

Bill Clinton was a man of large appetite and no small ambition when he served as Arkansas governor, a job he assumed at the age of 32. So it was hardly a surprise when, 14 years later, Clinton launched a bid for president.

There’s something about hosting family and friends for the holidays — it creates space for joy and togetherness, laying the foundation for new memories and stories for a lifetime to come. However, all hosts know — putting together the perfect holiday does not come without the stress of planning.