Photos by Jane Fuerch

MONTCLARION: March 8, 2013

Spring blossoms … two little words that rank high on the list of what makes people happy in March. These delicate paper-like blooms are nature’s answer to tax season. Things are looking up, and you should be too.

The neighborhoods of Oakland are bedecked in pink and white blossoms. Some trees are in full bloom as I write this. Others have already peaked, like the blossoms on Olive Avenue (delicious irony). Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: March 1, 2013

Spring is in the air — spring baseball, that is. Even the Cactus Wrens are tweeting about it. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Disturbing the peace. It’s a crime usually associated with rowdy teens and motorcycle gangs. Increasingly, you can add dogs to the list.

Despite an Oakland ordinance that prohibits incessant barking, more and more neighbors are complaining about just that — dogs left inside to growl, yap and whine while their owners are away. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: February 1, 2013

It’s Feb. 1. Can spring be far off?

Hundreds of baseball fans lined up outside 10 windows Sunday for the chance to buy $2 tickets to eight Wednesday A’s games. Thanks to two friends who got tickets for all of us, my girlfriends and I will be soaking up the sun in the cheap seats and drinking $10 beers — because we can. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: January 25, 2013

It’s Saturday night, and we’re circling the block like two vultures, looking for a soft place to land. It’s Oakland Restaurant Week and the little “Gourmet Ghetto” — the Glenview — is jumping.

Tough economy? You wouldn’t know it by looking at Oakland’s emerging restaurant scene, where young chefs are clamoring to open new venues for eclectic East Bay diners. Consider the question the server at Hopscotch asked us last Friday just after 4 p.m.: Continue reading →

It’s the fourth day of January. How are those resolutions holding up?

The secret, you know, is to set the bar lower. Diet restrictions? Forget ’em. Cleaning out clutter? Yeah, right! Better to make blanket statements than sweeping changes. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: December 14, 2012

It was the first jazz standard in the country to sell a million records. Dave Brubeck’s syncopated 5/4-time hit “Take Five” was being played on jukeboxes around the country in the 1950s, and his band, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, was on the road frequently. But when Brubeck came home, it was to his house in the hills of Montclair. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: December 6, 2012

The holiday pickle surfaced this week. It’s my favorite ornament — a shiny, glass pickle I hide in the tree as part of our Christmas tradition. The youngster who finds it gets a special treat, which has — in past years — caused quite a kerfuffle. Now that my kids are grown, the pickle has become passé. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: Nov 30, 2012

It’s the first weekend of December — time to consider a simple act of giving. I’m talking Christmas lights, here — big blinking bulbs on your bushes and eaves. Get ’em up, and get ’em up now.

Studies show that lights make us happy. Colors stimulate the senses, much like the kaleidoscopes we enjoyed in our youth. Folks who put up lights are also perceived as more generous and connected to their communities. It’s a win-win for everyone, including the electric company. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: November 9, 2012

It’s Hammer time in Oakland. MC Hammer has been named Oakland’s official tourism spokesman. I can hear it now … a rhythmic introduction to the museum, zoo and art scene — along with the words “Can’t touch this.” Continue reading →