MONTCLARION: August 22, 2014

What can you get for $150 these days? At Lakeshore’s new hotspot — Shakewell Bar & Kitchen — it bought early investors the opportunity to have a cocktail named in their honor. It was just one of the special experiences that Shakewell chef/partners Tim Nugent and Jen Biesty offered in 2013 on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. Shakewell reached its goal one year ago, with 443 backers and almost $103,000 pledged. Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: August 51, 2014

As a traveler, there are many ways to connect with the people and places you visit. There are museums and cultural tours and even immersions where you stay with local families. But writers have another way to survey the landscape and find out what makes a town tick — the local pubs. Continue reading →

MERCURY NEWS.COM: May 16, 2014

I had to pinch myself. Twice. This chiseled cowboy was singing a love song just for my girlfriends and me. And when he finished, he ambled over to the saddle-shaped bar stool and poured us all drinks. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: May 8, 2014

April showers bring May flowers. Pretty, indeed, yet there’s one yellow bud that we don’t want to see — the bloom on a leggy French broom. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: April 18, 2014

Late at night — when a blanket of silence cloaks most of the land — there is mischief.

Last Friday it was a car spinning doughnuts in the wide intersection at Skyline and Shepherd Canyon roads. The driver was having his/her own private sideshow according to neighbors who were frightened by the screeching and burning of rubber. Continue reading →

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 →

MONTCLARION: February 7, 2014

God knows we need rain. Could February be the month we get it? The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts higher than normal rainfall for the Bay Area this month, but still short of what we need. Seems to me it’s time to take action. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: January 24, 2014

Ever since childhood, I have loved birds. And I think the feeling is mutual. Once a hummingbird landed on my red shirt and tried to sip nectar from my cheek. Just recently, I had a long and loud conversation with a Stellar’s Jay. So when a reader told me that one of the best birding spots in the country was just south of Oakland, I perked right up. Continue reading →

MERCURYNEWS.COM: January17, 2014

The “y’all” in his drawl was as thick as Tupelo honey. “In the South, we don’t call it the Civil Wawr. We call it the Wawwwr of Nawthern aggression.” Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: January 10, 2014

A former New York fashion editor is seeing the beauty in our fair city. Melissa Davis is writing what she calls a “chic” full-color publication called “This Is Oakland: A Guide to the City’s Most Interesting Places.” The book was born from her desire to boast about the sunny side of the Bay that she and her husband have called home since 2003. Continue reading →