Columnists

Column: Dispatches From The Edge: Scary Words, Wolf Tracks and Orange Swastikas By Conn Hallinan

Friday February 17, 2006

In the past two weeks the rhetoric on Iran has taken a chilling turn, in part because it doesn’t all come from the White House. Consider the following statements: -more-


Column: UnderCurrents: Mayor Jerry Brown’s Arts Promises Failed Oakland By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR

Friday February 17, 2006

At what point should the citizens of Oakland begin declaring the two-term administration of Mayor Jerry Brown to be a failure? Massive. Total. Complete. -more-


Garden Variety: Urban Ore Likely Has What You’re Looking For By RON SULLIVAN

Friday February 17, 2006

When I need some retail therapy, you won’t be surprised to hear, I often go look for something for the garden. I spend time in the nurseries I write about in this space, and I have to be careful if I actually want to make my occupation produce income, rather than outgo. There’s just something so hopeful about a fresh seedling or seed packet, and the scent of wholesome dirt makes my spirits rise. -more-


About the House: The Practical Realities of Remodeling By MATT CANTOR

Friday February 17, 2006

Our friends the Shnozzles (names herein will be changed to protect me, the person I’m always most concerned about) are in the throws of a major remodel and the festivities attending this blessed event are reminding me of all the things I learned back in the days when I engaged in this most cruel and unusual of professions. I’ve been giving them a little advice here and there and hearing about their woes-du-jour so I’ll pass along a few of each in the hopes that you might be spared just a little of the misery that so often accompanies the day when our houses change. -more-


Column: Running Out of Space is Always a Good Excuse By SUSAN PARKER

Tuesday February 14, 2006

I spent over four hours working on this week’s column, but I wasn’t satisfied with the results. When this happens, I send it to friends whose opinions I respect. -more-


The Life and Times of the Jerusalem Cricket By JOE EATON Special to the Planet

Tuesday February 14, 2006

This is not an owl column per se, but it was inspired by a recent conversation with an owl person: Maggie Rufo of the Hungry Owl Project, who brought a barn owl named Wookie to a Keep Barn Owls in Berkeley event. We were talking about barn owl diets, and Rufo mentioned finding a lot of Jerusalem cricket remains in the nests she monitors. -more-