Men’s Health Week – Something to Celebrate?

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CONTRA COSTA TIMES: JUNE 17, 2011

National Men’s Health Week is June 13-19. If only there were more to celebrate.

Consider the facts: Men die more than five years younger than women; Men are at greater risk of getting a serious disease or life-threatening injury; Men are fatter than women, use more tobacco, make fewer doctor visits and have less healthy diets.

So what’s the good news? “Nearly all of these key factors can be modified or controlled,” says men’s health expert Dr. Will Courtenay. Continue reading →

Oakland clothes retailers take indie fashion online

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OAKLAND TRIBUNE: June 11, 2011

In the world of fashion, nothing is more basic than the classic white blouse. Yet, for Oakland businesswoman Dawn Wheeler, it was as elusive as a pair of comfortable stilettos, until she decided to start her own clothing business.

Meet the online indie fashion site BobbePin (www.bobbepin.com), featuring clothing and accessories from independent designers hand-picked by Dawn and co-owner Lisa de la Sol. Continue reading →

Montclair’s Dumb and Dumber Criminals

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MONTCLARION: June 10, 2011

Crime is no laughing matter, except when you’ve got thieves so dumb they make the burglars in “Home Alone” look smart.

Take the case of the Alameda cabbie who was arrested last week for possession of stolen property. He probably would have cleaned up a little if he’d known the camera on the stolen Apple MacBook was recording him. The photos of the suspect sleeping by the MacBook and using it shirtless in bed are all over the Internet now. Call me crazy, but I’m guessing he would rather have a poster at the post office. Continue reading →

Black & White Ball on Steroids

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Civic Center turns into a carnival for Pow Wow

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: JUNE 10, 2011

It was the Black and White Ball on steroids — cakebread cabernet flowing like water; lavish presentations of food every few feet and pulsating entertainment on several stages.

The climax of five days of International Pow Wow was a party of epic proportions, where Civic Center became a sort of San Francisco Disneyland, complete with a Ferris wheel and confetti raining down on the crowd during a laser light show on the front of City Hall.

City Hall with Stripes

Continue reading →

The Six Questions

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ALAMEDA MAGAZINE: June/July 2011

Who:  Thierry Attias, 47, of Alameda

What: He’s an Oakland bike shop owner (Cycle Sports) who, along with his friend and business partner Greg Raifman, owns one of the world’s top professional cycling teams — United Healthcare Pro Cycling Team.

When: Attias and Raifman formed the team and Momentum Sports Group LLC after sitting down with a group of pro cyclists and brainstorming. “When you own a bike shop, you have a lot of groups of clients coming in and
you support them. Bike clubs want sponsors.  It kind of got my gears going.”
Continue reading →

Montclarions meet to fight crime

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MONTCLARION: June 3, 2011
I did a dumb thing the other night and left my garage door open. Thankfully, my neighbor called to warn me.

The last time I did this a bandit broke in and ransacked the place. Sure, it was just a raccoon — and the only thing lost was a bag of Meow Mix — but it could have been a human predator, intent on committing a violent crime.

Throughout the hills there’s a growing concern about burglaries, robberies and assaults. And everyone — especially the bad guys — knows Oakland police are understaffed . Continue reading →

Man’s best friend free this weekend

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MONTCLARION: May 25, 2011

I’ll never forget that face — the way he looked at me with those puppy dog eyes. He was strong yet sensitive, guarded but hopeful. In many ways, we were made for each other, but ultimately he wanted more from a relationship than I could give.

Yes, I admit it. As much as I love a good dog, I’m a cat person. I’ve got an hour a day for a four-legged friend, and then I expect them to work. A year ago, a friend of mine needed a cat to keep the mice at bay on her rural property. I took her to adoption day at Oakland Animal Services. We looked at dozens of kitties; some calico, some with white boots and checkerboard noses, some solid black. She settled on a tabby that playfully pawed at her finger as she ran it across the cage. Continue reading →

Oakland neighbors are a colorful bunch

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MONTCLARION: May 20, 2011

My Oakland hills neighbors are a colorful bunch. One’s crafty, one’s flighty and one’s, quite frankly, a snake.

Thank goodness I’ve my new fauna guide to keep track of them.

The UC Botanical Gardens at Berkeley is unveiling its new, laminated field guide today, with original illustrations of 10 reptiles, five amphibians, 18 mammals, 61 birds and 21 insects — all living in the East Bay hills. Continue reading →

Making dough in the pizza business

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Red Boy Pizza family owners with Oakland Citycouncilwoman Libby Schaaf

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: May 20, 2011

If you want to make dough in the pizza business, it helps to have a hook. For the Oakland hills family who owns the Red Boy Pizza franchise, it begins with the sourdough crust.

“The mother dough was started in Italy in 1942,” says Farid Radwan, an Egyptian-born restaurateur who goes by the name “Fred.” He came to this country in the mid-1970s and fell in love with his Italian wife, Antoinette, when they were going to Cal State Hayward. They married, had children and bought Bordenave’s Bakery in San Rafael in 1996. Continue reading →

Happy Wanderer: All’s just ducky in Eugene, Oregon

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HILLS NEWSPAPERS: May 13, 2011

I’m not one to live in the past, but when the phone rang outside an ice-cream parlor at the University of Oregon, I immediately slipped into college mode. I ran to the booth and picked up the receiver.

“Hey baby,” said a deep, breathless voice on the other end, “are you a player?” Before I could answer, I heard giggling and the line went dead. Continue reading →