OAKLAND TRIBUNE: October 29, 2010

Friday the 13th. On the list of Hallmark holidays, this one rarely makes the cut. But for Alamedan Victor Miller, it’s the luckiest day of the year. Miller wrote the terrifying screenplay for Friday the 13th back in 1980 and 30 years later, he’s still hearing from fans.

“On Friday the 13th I spend the day answering e-mails,” he says. “And smiling.” Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: October 15, 2010

When Elfie Larkin was little, she had weak lungs. Today, at 98, she’s outlived everyone she knows. What’s this Oakland woman’s secret to long life and happiness? Her spirit tells the story.

     As she shows me around her neatly kept home on its tree-lined and freshly-mowed lot, she talks about what keeps her going.  Coffee in the morning (“I don’t know how people get along without coffee,” she says) and a gourmet dinner with a glass of red wine every night.  “I really treat myself,” she says, “with things like filet mignon and chicken.” Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: October 1, 2010

When Harvey Hyman was a boy, he dreamed of being a marine biologist. He must have been dreaming in color — because his thoughts were consumed with clown fish and yellow tangs.

But like many youngsters from professional families (his father, both uncles and older brother were doctors), Hyman felt pressure to be something more powerful and profitable than a man who worked with the sea. So he became an attorney and, after 25 years of soul-numbing stress, he crashed into a severe depression. Continue reading →

OAKLAND TRIBUNE: September 9, 2010

She may be petite, but this woman can wield a weed wrench. Acclaimed television anchor/reporter Wendy Tokuda is waging war against one of nature’s bitter enemies – invasive plants. Seven years ago, when Tokuda first moved to the hills from Piedmont , she noticed that French and Scotch broom were choking the native plants in her neighboring parks. Being an avid gardener, Tokuda couldn’t let the weeds win. Continue reading →

OAKLAND MAGAZINE: July/August 2010

Who: Daphne Mejia of Oakland

What: Founder of Funk Town Farm, a church-sponsored community garden and farm that provides neighbors and indigents the opportunity to grow their own produce.

When: Mejia got the idea in 2008 when she and her husband moved into an apartment above their East Oakland church and noticed the empty lot behind the gym. “It was full of cement and weeds,” she says, “and I cried from sheer joy when I saw it.”
Continue reading →

          OAKLAND TRIBUNE: July 2, 2010

     It’s a warm summer’s eve and the air is perfumed with the scent of sausages and beer. Suddenly a booming voice punctuates the stillness. “Now batting…third baseman Kevin KOOOOOOzmanoff.” A chorus of KOOOOOOOS ascends from the stands as the crowd mimics the announcer, sitting high in his perch above home plate.

     Dick Callahan is the man in the cat bird seat – the stadium voice of the Oakland A’s. His tools are his vocal chords and his work ethic. He prepares for each game as if it were his first, making notes and learning player pronunciations well before the first pitch. Continue reading →

OAKLAND TRIBUNE: June 4, 2010

 Meet Cindy Lovesy – the minimalist. It’s the little things in life that matter to this Montclair dental office manager – literally.

     “I started making miniatures several years ago,” says Lovesy, “when my daughter wanted a doll house.” Realizing she could make it herself, she spent the nights before Christmas crafting the tiny doll dwelling in her garage – while her little girl was asleep. 14 years later, there are miniatures in every room of the Lovesy home, as well as the reception counter at her place of employment, Dr. Laurie Shepherd DDS. Continue reading →

OAKLAND TRIBUNE: May 28, 2010

One of the most famous clothiers in America meets me for breakfast, sporting well-worn khakis and a baseball shirt. He’s not apologetic — just honest. “I really never liked it,” he says about the clothing business. Besides, he’s coaching his son’s baseball game later that day and doesn’t have time to change.

That’s George Zimmer, the founder and chief executive officer of The Men’s Wearhouse and longtime resident of Montclair and now Piedmont. In scores of ads over three decades, he’s been “dressed to the nines” pitching men’s suits and tuxes. Yet like most guys, he chooses comfort over style. Only one out of 10 men enjoys buying suits, he tells me. Nine out of 10 think it’s like going to the dentist. Continue reading →

OAKLAND MAGAZINE: May/June 2010

Who: Jana Hardy, 61, Oakland

What: By day, she’s a workers’ comp risk management consultant. By night, she’s a respected Bay Area movie critic.

When: She reviews about 130 movies a year, almost always buying her own ticket. While the general public sees seven or eight films a year, Hardy sees two or three movies a week, often before they’re released to the general public.

Where: She attends screenings around the Bay Area, including a December screening of the movie Nine at the home of George Lucas. “I drove through pouring rain and hideous weather to Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch to see that movie.”

Why: She got started on a dare, eight years ago. “A group of friends and I formed a women’s group. We challenged each other to be more creative in our lives.” Hardy loved movies and loved to write, and her friends encouraged her to start doing movie reviews.

How: She sends the reviews by e-mail to friends and colleagues, who pass them on to other friends and colleagues. “Hundreds of people get my reviews now,” she guesses. “Maybe thousands.”