MONTCLARION: April 10, 2014
The year was 1985. I was a young, brash reporter for the number-one morning radio show in the Bay Area — KSFO.
One of my early assignments was to cover a story involving the Oakland Zoo. They’d just been named one of the top 10 worst zoos in the country. At the time, it was pretty shocking, and a rap they probably didn’t deserve. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: April 4, 2014
It was a mother and child reunion — one of those sweet, fleeting moments where two generations meld into one.
And while most women bond over shopping, we take a different tack. We love country music.
My 24-year-old daughter and I drove to San Jose, the other day, to see Jennifer Nettles in concert. She was playing at an intimate downtown venue — City National Civic Auditorium. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: March 28, 2014
Jerry Brown was a great mayor for Oakland — and word has it he may run again when he leaves Sacramento.
This was the news that lit up the house at Yoshi’s last week. Brown’s brainchild, the Oakland School for the Arts, was having a musical fundraiser when OSA’s director — Donn Harris — brought up the possibility of Brown’s return.
MERCURYNEWS.COM: MARCH 28, 2014
One of the Bay Area’s best bargain destinations is San Jose. Dionne Warwick’s smash single put this town on the map in 1968, but these days it’s the tech industry that’s fueling the renaissance.
MONTCLARION: March 21, 2014
Happy 25th anniversary to the World Wide Web. When it’s good, it’s very very good — and when it’s bad, it’s horrid. Here’s an Oakland-based story that celebrates the good that can come from the Internet.
MONTCLARION: March 14, 2014
Our cup runneth over in Oakland these days. Not only are we drawing some of the best chefs in California, our love affair with food is spilling over to the wine industry.
MONTCLARION: February 28, 2014
“Art is love times love. The creator loves it, and his audience adores it.” — Vincent Price.
This quote comes to mind as I see students from Skyline High creating a beautiful mural on the south side of Rite Aid in Montclair. Commissioned by the Montclair Village Association, artist Pam Consear works with the kids every Saturday — a kind of art internship that gives the students practical experience and gives the rest of us public art on a once-blank wall. Continue reading
CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM: February 28, 2014
My job in the sled was to stop my big head from knocking into the driver. Kind of an odd Olympic memory, but true. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: February 21, 2014
There’s a lot of air travel into Oakland these days, and I don’t mean passenger flights. It turns out our town is a winter resort for birds coming down from Alaska, Canada and other northern environs. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: FEBRUARY 14, 2014
When Dorothy Lee started teaching in 1974, the world was a much different place. Richard Nixon was resigning in the wake of Watergate; high gas prices were spawning the 55 mph speed limit and a hot new electronic device was hitting the shelves — the pocket calculator. Continue reading
