MONTCLARION: May 10, 2012
It’s Mother’s Day Weekend. That’s right — we do way too much work to be honored on just one day — we deserve a long weekend like Washington and Lincoln.
They ran the country, but we run companies, households, churches and schools. Let’s put our feet up this weekend and, with any luck, we’ll come out of it with a pedicure and a foot massage. Continue reading
SAINT MARY’S MAGAZINE: February 12, 2012
With a deep luminous core and a bright cherry/ plum nose, the 2007 Brother Timothy Cabernet Sauvignon is ready to debut. “It’s the vintage of the decade,” said celebrated winemaker Dave Guffy of the Hess Collection, who handcrafts a cabernet annually to benefit the Lasallian Education Fund. Continue reading
SAINT MARY’S MAGAZINE: February 19, 2012
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Mention wildlife and college in the same breath and it conjures up visions of the 1970s movie Animal House. But in a setting as serene as the Moraga Valley, the wildlife most talked about at Saint Mary’s College is the four-legged or feathered kind. Consider the words of ornithologist Brother John James O’Neill, who noted 100 avian species on campus in 1981: “It is my hope that this list will give guidance to Integral Biology students and pleasure to visiting birdwatchers. May it also serve as a reminder of the beauty that surrounds us if we only take the time to look, and wonder.” Continue reading
OAKlAND TRIBUNE: January 26, 2011
With a celebratory clink of the glass, Oakland winds down its second annual Oakland Restaurant Week on Sunday. The culinary event features 10 days of deals at 37 local restaurants as part of a statewide campaign.
From San Diego to San Francisco, restaurant weeks have been boosting local economies by enticing diners to eat out in traditionally slow months. But few cities have had the kind of gastronomic growth spurt that Oakland has seen. Continue reading
CONTRA COSTA TIMES: January 12, 2011
Montclair is joining the ranks of several Oakland neighborhoods getting attention from “foodies” these days. Local writer Serena Bartlett has launched a new culinary walking tour peppered with historic anecdotes of what she calls “unique food offerings” in the village, known more for its quaint hillside setting and proximity to parks. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: December 23, 2011
It was an empty, blighted property in the heart of a Lake Merritt retail district, a haven for the homeless and a neighborhood eyesore. Now, the former bank site at 3265 Grand Ave. has been given new life as a coffee shop and gallery called Monkey Forest Road.
Monkey Forest Road is the main street in Ubud, the cultural center of Bali, Indonesia. It’s a favorite destination for business partners Arnel Alcordo and Chris Cooper, who travel frequently to Bali to bring artisan wares back to Oakland. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: October 28, 2011
The ratio of humans to ghosts in this world is unknown.
That’s probably a good thing, knowing how spirits can violate one’s personal space.
“Most of them are friendly,” a ghost hunter once told me, “but they do like to make mischief.”
In some cases, a gaggle of ghosts can team up like they do on the USS Hornet in Alameda. Having roamed the ship with two ghost experts, I’ve heard all the stories and seen how specters suck the heat out of that drafty old ship with their presence. Continue reading
Photo by Karl Mondon
CONTRA COSTA TIMES: OCTOBER 28, 2011
Brother Michael Meister knows where all the bodies are buried — and at Halloween, that’s a good thing.
The Saint Mary’s College theology and religious studies professor has lived on the bucolic Moraga campus for 30 years and is known as the resident storyteller. Things that go bump in the night are his specialty at this time of year.
“I tell all the stories as though they’re God’s holy truth!” he says with a grin, adding that a little embellishment adds strength to the stories, all of which have threads of truth. The ghostly tours are for Saint Mary’s students only. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: October 7, 2011
Like the Kennedy assassination and 9/11, most of us remember where we were when the Oakland hills fire broke out.
I was in Minneapolis covering the World Series, and watched reports of the blaze on a lone TV in the pressroom. I remember Oakland A’s Manager Tony LaRussa saying he might go back early, and that’s when I realized my home and family were in danger. Continue reading
OAKLAND TRIBUNE: September 29, 2011
Three smartly dressed women stroll through the handsome brick dining room past the warm wood bar, smiling as they say “arrivederci” to a gentleman nearby.
“Arrivederci” the dapper man answers, letting the r-r-r-r roll off his tongue in a rich, Italian accent that can only belong to a native speaker.
Umberto Gibin is the gregarious owner of one of San Francisco’s most popular restaurants, Perbacco, at 230 California St.
His home in Montclair reflects his love for his Italian roots. It’s a terra cotta villa that he and his wife fell in love with when they were first looking for a place here. Continue reading
