The Happy Wanderer: San Francisco’s hidden treasures

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HILLS NEWSPAPERS  August 21, 2009

Twilight is one of my favorite times. Like many hills dwellers, I love the way sunset paints the sky over San Francisco. But it occurs to me, as I take in this celestial sight, that I’ve been neglecting one of the greatest cities on earth. I spend time every summer in places that can’t hold a candle to San Francisco. Like a neighbor I’ve taken for granted, I see her – but don’t really know her.

That’s going to change. I’m spending the weekend in San Francisco, and using one of the city’s great hotels for my base camp. Continue reading →

How I passed on a whale of career

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MONTCLARION  August 21, 2009

Am I lucky, or what? I have this cool job where the world is my office. So I’m writing this piece at Marine World, and it occurs to me that there’s one job better than being a writer. It’s working with Killer Whales.

Not that I didn’t have my chance. In 1983, I was ready to give up my radio career for a job as an Orca instructor at Sea World. A modest monthly salary and all the fish I could eat was a tempting offer, but I couldn’t make the commitment. I couldn’t see being on call for my whale 24/7. Continue reading →

The Happy Wanderer: An Olympic dream

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HILLS NEWSPAPERS  August 7, 2009

The countdown has begun for the 2010 Winter Olympics. And while most of us will opt to watch it on TV, there’s a misc2 016pre-Olympic event well worth catching in person. A short two hour flight from Oakland puts you in Spokane, Washington for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Jan. 14-24. It’s the final event before selection of the team that will represent the U.S. in the Olympics 18 days later. Continue reading →

Town Crier: A happy summer with just us girls

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MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – August 14, 2009

LIKE SANDS THROUGH the hour glass, so are the days of our lives.

Why can’t I get that old soap intro out of my head? Maybe it’s because my daughter is packing, as we speak, to go back

The new Full Plate grocery section

The new Full Plate grocery section

to college in Georgia. Soon I’ll be left with just memories of our summer adventures.

We did some wacky things in those three short months. We made Greek salad together and boldly substituted blue cheese for feta. We bought matching pink work out shorts and wore them to Pilates. And we watched every episode of “CSI: Miami.” We even have Horatio Caine as our cell phone wallpaper.

OK, that last part may be an “over-share” (A term we discovered this summer and have overused ever since).

Continue reading →

Town Crier: Cries grow louder over parking meter changes

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MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – July 31, 2009

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? It’s the sound of our citizens crying “Uncle” over the new parking regulations. And while the results of my Town Crier poll are still being tabulated, it’s clear that Oakland has touched a nerve with its new fines and longer meter hours. Here is just a sampling of comments from readers:

“We’ve spent over $4,000 at Southshore and El Cerrito because we’re not dealing with it. I even changed veterinarians.” “That’s what I like about living in Oakland — so close to such good shopping… in Emeryville, in Walnut Creek, in Berkeley. Gotta love our city leadership!”

Continue reading →

The Happy Wanderer: Go mid-century modern in Palm Springs

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HILLS NEWSPAPERS  July 25, 2009

YOU KNOW you’re getting old when the years of your youth are deemed a “historic period.” But mid-century modern? misc 010I’d never heard of this style of architecture until my recent visit to Palm Springs. There they were — shimmering in the superheated air — perhaps the finest collection of post-World War II structures on the planet.

Palm Springs is considered the “Mecca of Modernism,” partly because of its Hollywood influence. In the glamour days of the movie industry, studio contracts kept stars close to home, so the posh desert town was their playground and palette.

Continue reading →

Town Crier: Outcry continues over Oakland’s new parking rules

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MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – July 25, 2009

DON’T LOOK NOW, but we’ve hit the trifecta. Our city, state and federal governments are broke. Too bad we didn’t bet on it, and now we’re left holding the bag. What’s so interesting is the confusion over basic economic principles. Take Oakland for instance. Business revenue is down. Rather than make it more inviting to shop here, thus bolstering small business and increasing tax revenue, the city drives business away with its new parking policies.It would be different if people were dying to get into Oakland but please, there are too many shopping alternatives. Continue reading →

Tis the season for…block parties

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Every neighborhood should have a way for folks to get together and cultivate common interests. We all need to look out for one another! A little food, some libations and even entertainment make a block party the social event of the summer. ..like this moonlight bash on Merriwood with master didgeridoo player Stephen Kent.

Town Crier: The sunny side of the street

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MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – July 17, 2009

IT WAS OCT. 26, 2001, when I first wrote about Bud and Dina Means. The bud and dinaMontclair couple had found their own sunny side of the street, turning a dusty little triangle of city-owned land near their house into a respite for hikers and happy hour aficionados.

The other day, I went back to that spot at the corner of Gaspar and Snake for the first time in eight years. Bud and Dina were there, sipping wine in the shade of the two healthy oaks they’d planted as sticks when they first adopted the spot. Continue reading →

Riding KCBS Posse

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ALAMEDA MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2009

In the shadowy hours before dawn, when most of us are logging our last BungerBitker23REMs, two intrepid Alamedans are rolling down the highway, engaged in a lively debate about the day’s unfolding events. It’s a commute fueled by coffee and chatter that only two veteran broadcasters can generate.
KCBS-AM, 740, and KCBS-FM, 106.9, morning anchors Stan Bunger and Steve Bitker have been sharing a ride to their San Francisco studio for almost two years. Talk about a friendship of convenience—they even live near each other on Harbor Bay. Continue reading →