Columnists

Column: Righting the Unrightable Wrong By SUSAN PARKER

Tuesday January 31, 2006

Dateline New York Times, Jan. 29: “Memoir,” Ms. [Nan A. ] Talese said, “is a personal recollection. It is not an absolute fact. It’s how one remembers what happened.” -more-


Finding Food Can Be Tough Work for a Falcon By JOE EATON Special to the Planet

Tuesday January 31, 2006

I know: it’s another birds-of-prey column. But when the gods drop a subject into your lap, it would be an act of rank ingratitude not to use it. -more-


Column: The Public Eye: The Death of the Triumphant Individual By Bob Burnett

Friday January 27, 2006

In a March article in The New Republic, Robert Reich wrote of four essential American stories. One of these is “the triumphant individual,” the little guy who pulls himself up by the bootstraps. Thanks to the Bush administration, that story has died for most Americans. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Debating the Future of Oakland By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Staff
Friday January 27, 2006

Competitive elections give citizens a rare opportunity: a chance to participate in a discussion that could actually affect the future of their community. -more-


About the House: Detailed Inspections Can Benefit Sellers By MATT CANTOR

Friday January 27, 2006

Eighteen years ago, when I started in the inspection business, my clients were always buyers and never sellers. In fact, sellers and, all too often, their agents, viewed the inspection as an assault on their homes. This was often miserable and I was sometimes foolish enough to take the bait and join in the adversarial tone of the conflict. When sellers insisted on being home, pitch-fork in hand to defend their turf from my unfair assertions, I would debate and even argue on occasion. -more-


Garden Variety: Garden Preparation Means Getting to Know the Dirt By RON SULLIVAN

Friday January 27, 2006

Last week I counseled patience with a newly acquired garden. Honest to Ceres, it really does pay off, or at least cost less in terms of lost plants and ego-damage, to wait a full year before doing anything major and permanent to your land. You don’t have to sit on your thumbs: put in some encouraging annuals, watch when sprouts from whatever was left behind, and get your hands in the dirt in the meantime. You know you want to. -more-