Ginny Prior’s “The Town Crier” Column from “The Montclarion”
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.
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 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
MONTCLARION: January 31, 2014
This is the stuff dreams are made of. An East Bay big band has won its first Grammy for “Best Tropical Latin Album.”
Pacific Mambo Orchestra — or PMO — beat out a field of heavy hitters Sunday night to bring home the gilded gramophone. What makes this story even sweeter is that several of the musicians are from Oakland and two even help run the Bay Area-based school music program — M.U.S.E. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: January 17, 2014
Have you noticed how many topics are taboo, these days? Race, religion, politics — the list goes on. But mention food, and tongues start wagging. It’s a guaranteed conversation starter. That’s why Restaurant Week is so important in Oakland. For the next 10 days you can try primo prix fixe meals at more than 50 top eateries — so you can be in the know about Oakland’s hot restaurant scene. Continue reading
Happy holidays, everyone! Let’s start with a musical mystery that came via email last week.
“Sometimes we all need to stop and have a good laugh,” wrote Visit Oakland’s Kim Bardakian. Attached to her missive was an old novelty folk song someone had sent her — promoting Oakland. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: December 20, 2013
Oakland is famous for its blues and jazz scene and, more recently, for hip hop and rap. But it’s a teen a cappella group from Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) that’s getting the buzz these days, thanks to the TV show “The Sing-Off.” Continue reading
Ginny Prior 