MONTCLARION: Sept 30, 2016

How much dough could a woodshop raise if a woodshop could raise dough? Just look on Eric Runge’s GoFundMe page, which he started to support the Montera Middle School woodshop. Continue reading →

Two residents engage in a vain attempt to save a home on Contra Costa Road as a wall of fame sweeps toward them from Lake Temescal during the firestorm in Oakland, Calif. Sunday Oct. 20, 1991. (Karl Mondon/Staff) NOTE: Scans made from negatives in 2011 for 20th anniversary project.

MONTCLARION: October 6, 2016

Where were you on Oct. 20, 1991, when the firestorm ravaged the Oakland hills? If you lived here, you most surely remember the day — even if you’d like to forget it. Continue reading →

View of Hutch Bar & Kitchen facade in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept.24, 2013. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

MONTCLARION: August 26, 2016

The last lazy days of summer are upon us — ushered in by a persistent fog bank that makes barbecues feel more like winter bonfires. In fact, it’s been so chilly at night, five of my neighbors have their Christmas lights on. It’s time to pry the kids away from the pool and send them back to school.

And that’s just what’s happening. Oakland schools have started up again, meaning more congestion in drop-off and pickup zones for students. Which leads me to a warning: Now that school bells are ringing again, let’s all be extra-cautious as we drive. Reader Sherrill Harrison recently saw an eye-popping four red-light runners in Montclair in one day.

“In a brief trip to and from the library,” she writes, “I saw a total of four drivers go through intersections against red lights.” And she says there’s no doubt they were red because the lights she was facing had already turned green.

Mindless entertainment: Speaking of warnings, Oakland police have put out an alert about the popular online game “Pokémon Go.” There’ve been a number of injuries — and even robberies — as a result of player distractions. When your head is buried in your cell phone, it’s hard to see what’s going on around you. Police say to be aware of your surroundings and even preprogram your cell phone with the emergency OPD dispatch number, 510-777-3211.

Around town: Work has begun on the new Thai restaurant going into the old Chowhaus locale at Medau Place and Moraga Avenue in Montclair. The co-owner is a trained chef from Thailand and is a partner in two other restaurants in San Francisco and Livermore. I’ll have more in coming weeks, but this restaurant looks like a winner.

True grits: The star of this show is chef David King, the owner of Hutch Bar & Kitchen on 20th and Telegraph (www.hutchoakland.com). I had some great cheese grits there the other day, along with fried oysters (dressed with warm blue cheese, pecan slaw and house hot sauce) and catfish. If that doesn’t get me ready for Southeastern Conference football, nothing will. Hutch is celebrating its third anniversary — a testament to its creative menu (Southern U.S. cuisine), generous portions and good ol’ Southern hospitality. Next time I go, I’m trying the jalapeño hushpuppies and the bourbon-cured trout.

Bottle shock: Shepherd Canyon Park has long been known for its after-dark parties, but someone, it seems, enjoys whiskey — a lot. Reader Jonathan Taylor has been cleaning the canyon once a month for 15 years under Oakland’s Adopt-A-Spot program. Over the years, he’s picked up mostly food and construction litter, and lots of car parts from accidents (which I’ll address next week). But lately, he’s been finding Kessler Whiskey bottles — 25 of them last month alone. It’d be one thing if they were unopened, but these are bone-dry. BevMo calls this whiskey “simply terrific,” but I think we’d all rather see the empties in a recycling bin than along the shoulder of Shepherd Canyon Road.

Got news? You can reach Ginny Prior by email at ginnyprior@hotmail.com or on the web at http://www.” ginnyprior.com.

MONTCLARION: August 19, 2016

The last time someone whistled at me, Richard Nixon was president. And it’s been years since anyone’s called me “baby.” But apparently there’s a parrot on the loose that’s just waiting to give me the compliments I richly deserve. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: July 30, 2016

Some of Oakland’s oldest buildings are getting new life. Take the structure at Grand and Webster avenues in Uptown, which was built in the 1920s. If you look hard enough at the Izzy’s Steak & Chop House sign, you’ll see the faint words “I Magnin.” How cool that a steak house named after one of San Francisco’s most colorful characters, Izzy Gomez, is now open in this iconic space at 59 Grand Ave. Continue reading →