Piedmont author discusses life after Oprah

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Ginny Prior

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: March 4, 2011

She’s a daughter and mother and author and wife. Piedmont writer Kelly Corrigan has a schedule that makes you marvel at how it all gets done — yet she makes it work.

Sitting in her gracious Piedmont home looking as relaxed as a woman coming out of a weekend yoga retreat, the author of “Lift” and “The Middle Place” talks about life after Oprah (the full page review that O Magazine did on “The Middle Place” in 2008) and her upcoming benefit for Children’s Hospital: Continue reading →

Town Crier: Honk if you love open space

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Ginny Prior

MONTCLARION: February 25, 2011

Honk if you love open space. Motorists are getting the message that many neighbors don’t want the City of Piedmont to build a big sports complex in Blair Park. Ongoing protests catch your eye as you drive past the park on a busy stretch of Moraga Avenue that critics say will be impacted if the project goes through. Continue reading →

Happy Wanderer: The Bay Area is my classroom

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Ginny Prior

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: February 18, 2011

SMC Travel Writing students at Point Montara Lighthouse and Hostel

When I was a young mother, I often wondered what it would be like to raise a large family. I mean a big “Jon and Kate plus eight” kind of family, or a brood akin to the kids living with the old woman in the shoe.

After teaching a semester of travel writing to 24 Saint Mary’s College students, I have a pretty clear picture of what this would be like.

“You’re taking them all on a road trip EACH WEEK?” asked a colleague in disbelief. She makes her living leading press trips for journalists and never takes more than a handful of writers — and they’re all adults.

I, on the other hand, would be leading four half-day trips with no one to help but the bus driver, who, of course, had no obligation beyond drop-offs and pickups. Continue reading →

Montclair citizens outraged over dog attack

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Ginny Prior

MONTCLARION: February 18, 2011

Animals — they can be our best friends or our worst enemies.

When I was in high school, a neighborhood dog bit my finger. It was a deep, gaping wound that still gives me trouble today. How did it happen? The dog I was walking was attacked by an aggressive animal — and I tried to protect him.

Fast-forward to today and an incident that’s been making headlines in the hills. Two rescue pit bulls that killed an elderly woman’s Shih Tzu are still living with their owners near Broadway Terrace and Pinewood. Neighbors are outraged and are urging the city to act. Continue reading →

California: One wimpy winter

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Ginny Prior

A Minnesota lounge chair - made of ice

MONTCLARION: February 11, 2011

They say midlife is a time for self-revelation. Well, I made a doozy of a discovery this week. I do not like warm weather in the middle of winter.

Having grown up in Minnesota, I’ve always felt I was a little different. My friends in California lap up the sunshine and I complain about eye strain. They wear tank tops and I prefer fleece.

Last week I went back to the Midwest and it hit me like a wet snowball. Folks there like winter and are actually giddy about the record amounts of snow that have been falling. Great mounds of white are piled up along city streets and instead of being put out, people are building snow caves and making ice sculptures. Continue reading →

Happy Wanderer: Long Beach

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Ginny Prior

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: February 4, 2011

First impressions can be deceiving. Take Long Beach, for instance. Twenty-some years ago I came here with my parents and husband. We toured the Queen Mary and went back to our hotel. We left the next day thinking, “Is that all there is?” Continue reading →

A theater for the ages – in Rheem

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Ginny Prior

MONTCLARION: February 4, 2011

ALL THE BEAUTIFUL people gathered in Rheem this week for the California Independent Film Festival. I haven’t seen this many tuxes and pearls since I wandered through Macy’s at prom time.

It’s a big deal when a small town rolls out the red carpet. The classic Art Deco Rheem Theater beams as her patrons sip wine from local vineyards and dine daintily on crunchy bruschetta. Continue reading →

Things are “looking up” in Oakland

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Ginny Prior

MONTCLARION: January 27, 2011

THINGS ARE looking up — literally. Our mild, springlike weather has been perfect for stargazing at Chabot Space & Science Center. On Friday and Saturday nights (weather permitting) Chabot’s outdoor plaza is filled with amateur astronomers and their telescopes.

“Look at the swirling gas cloud around the nebula,” said an enthusiastic volunteer showing a computer image on his iPad last weekend. He was warming up the crowd for what they would see when they looked through a telescope trained on Orion. Continue reading →

Groovin’ in the Glenview

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Ginny Prior

MONTCLARION: January 20, 2011

The Glenview’s got it going on. Most of you know it’s a hot dining destination, but this Park Boulevard neighborhood is fast becoming a draw for the Bay Area’s top singer/songwriters. Continue reading →

Alameda’s real-life Mr. Sandman aids the sleep-deprived

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Ginny Prior

OAKLAND TRIBUNE: January 21, 2011

It’s been said that a good man is hard to find. But the man of my dreams is more elusive than most. With his bedroom eyes and quiet disposition, he literally sweeps me off my feet. I call him Mr. Sandman.

It turns out I’m not alone. Millions of Americans are looking for a restful night’s sleep. But the good news is there’s a hotbed of local research that can help. Continue reading →