Columnists

My friend Andrew is back in town for some high-level, covert schmoozing. I last wrote about Andrew Boyd in 2004 when he was in the Bay Area directing a street theater effort against the Bush administration’s economic policies. Andrew is the founder of Billionaires for Bush, a do-it-yourself grassroots media campaign using humor and drama to expose politicians who support big business interests at the expense of everyday Americans. -more-

You’ve probably seen Canary Island pines around Berkeley, though I don’t know of any that are official street trees. They’re spotted in groups around the UC campus—there’s one near the Campanile—and they show up in various civic plantings, on big lawns and open spaces. They’re big trees—the largest pine native to the “Old World”—with a soft look when they’re mature. -more-

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-

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-

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-

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-