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 →

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MERCURYNEWS.COM: Jan 3, 2014

If you’re an American, you’ve somehow been touched by the Mississippi River. From the musings of Mark Twain to the birth of the blues and Dixieland jazz – the Mississippi is part of the patchwork of our nation’s history. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: January 1, 2014

Let’s start the year on an upbeat note – a musical note, at that. Readers have solved the greatest who-done-it in the history of 45 rpms. Or not. Continue reading →

MERCURYNEWS.COM: December 6, 2013

As we get ready to deck the halls, we look to an old friend who keeps her Christmas lights up all year round. It’s San Francisco, the city of skyscrapers, Victorians and candlelit cafes. This holiday season she’s more brilliant than ever, thanks to a convergence of art called Illuminate SF — six eco-friendly light-art exhibits that are drawing visitors like moths to a flame. The seduction starts with the world’s largest LED light sculpture on the north side of the Bay Bridge’s western span. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: August 23, 2013

It’s Friday night and it looks like a street fair on Piedmont Ave. The line at Fentons Creamery snakes out the door. Ditto for Bar César and a half dozen other eateries. Add to the mix a new restaurant called Homestead (4029 Piedmont Ave.) – which can only intensify the buzz. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: April 26, 2013

Half the country is mad at a groundhog and the rest of us are celebrating spring. Mother nature sure has a sense of humor.

Of course, the weather is one of our drawing cards in California. It’s why we have so many Midwestern transplants. At some point, folks throw up their hands and say “Nine months of winter is too much.” And the other three months make up the second season — called road construction. Continue reading →