MONTCLARION: May 2, 2014
The night has a thousand eyes. Two of them were locked onto Melissa the other night. The hills mom, who just moved here from Oklahoma, was out looking for owls with her flashlight when she spotted a strange set of eyes in a tree. Continue reading
Mercurynews.com: May 2, 2014
I’ve never been a fan of head lettuce. Baby greens are more my style. But when I tasted that crisp wedge of iceberg, chilled to perfection and drizzled with Green Goddess dressing, I found salad utopia.
An epiphany like this — albeit an edible one — comes naturally when you’re in the “Salad Bowl of the World,” the agricultural region known as the Salinas Valley. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: April 24, 2014
His friends call him “grandpa” or “old survivor.” He’s a towering figure in Oakland — his frame straight, tall and furrowed by age.
He lives along Horseshoe Creek — in the hills near what’s now Merritt College. And if he could talk, he’d have some incredible stories to tell. Continue reading
MONTCLARION: April 18, 2014
Late at night — when a blanket of silence cloaks most of the land — there is mischief.
Last Friday it was a car spinning doughnuts in the wide intersection at Skyline and Shepherd Canyon roads. The driver was having his/her own private sideshow according to neighbors who were frightened by the screeching and burning of rubber. Continue reading
MERCURYNEWS.COM: April 10, 2014
On the list of luxury hotel amenities, charcuterie never makes the cut. But then, Fodor’s never tasted cured meats like this. La Valencia Hotel’s house-cured bacon is so popular — it comes with its own dipping sauces.
MONTCLARION: April 10, 2014
The year was 1985. I was a young, brash reporter for the number-one morning radio show in the Bay Area — KSFO.
One of my early assignments was to cover a story involving the Oakland Zoo. They’d just been named one of the top 10 worst zoos in the country. At the time, it was pretty shocking, and a rap they probably didn’t deserve. Continue reading
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.
MERCURYNEWS.COM: MARCH 28, 2014
One of the Bay Area’s best bargain destinations is San Jose. Dionne Warwick’s smash single put this town on the map in 1968, but these days it’s the tech industry that’s fueling the renaissance.
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.
Ginny Prior 