Columnists

Column: I am Thankful, I am Blessed, And You Are So Aloha

By Susan Parker
Tuesday November 07, 2006

I’ve never had so many visitors in my life. Within hours of Ralph’s death, my friend Ann arrived from Idaho. My parents flew in from the East Coast, and in a few days the house was full: a brother from Minnesota and another from New Jersey, Ralph’s twin from San Diego and an ex sister-in-law from Seattle. More followed: people I hadn’t seen in years, friends of friends, former co-workers, links with the distant and not-so-distant past. Most had known Ralph when he could walk, move his fingers and toes, pick up a sandwich and take a bite, swing a hammer over his head, or expertly read a backcountry ski map. It was both wonderful and sad—consoling to see so many friends, disappointing not to have Ralph here to share in their visits. -more-


Coyote Point Museum Offers Rewarding Excursion

By Steven Finacom, Special to the Daily Planet
Tuesday November 07, 2006

Only about an hour’s travel southwest of Berkeley, there’s a little piece of bayside nature where you can view some seldom-seen native treasures, learn about the Bay Area’s natural environment, and appreciate the ongoing struggle to save it. -more-


Tarantula Season: In Search of the Bay Area Blond

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday November 07, 2006

Another season has come and gone, and I still have not connected with the tarantulas of the East Bay Hills. Mount Diablo in October was supposed to be a sure thing. So I hiked about a mile up Mitchell Canyon at dusk, scanning the trail ahead for dark objects that might be wandering male tarantulas. (Dusk and dawn are when the questing males are most active, and dawn was not in the cards.) But all the dark objects turned out to be pinecones or piles of horsecrap. -more-


Column: The View From Here: Confronting the Role Models of Hallowed Gangsters

By P.M. Price
Friday November 03, 2006

On the eve of Halloween while teaching a Berkeley class of second graders, the discussion naturally turned to the costumes the kids planned to wear on Halloween day. One of the boys grinned, with arms crossed and head tilted to the side. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Brown Violates His Own Principles in AG Run

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday November 03, 2006

Some time ago, maybe more than once, I wrote in this column that in his campaign for California attorney general, Mayor Jerry Brown was going to use his Oakland track record in a different way than most politicians usually do. Politicians generally spotlight their positive achievements in office, and in his race against State Senator Chuck Poochigian, Mr. Brown has certainly done that. But in areas where Mr. Brown has failed in Oakland—and there were many such failures—he has excused those failures by putting the blame on Oakland. In effect, he’s been telling California voters that Oakland was so bad, nobody could fix it, and he wants voters to give him points for even giving it a good try. -more-


Undercurrents: Brown Violates His Own Principles in AG Run

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday November 03, 2006

Some time ago, maybe more than once, I wrote in this column that in his campaign for California attorney general, Mayor Jerry Brown was going to use his Oakland track record in a different way than most politicians usually do. Politicians generally spotlight their positive achievements in office, and in his race against State Senator Chuck Poochigian, Mr. Brown has certainly done that. But in areas where Mr. Brown has failed in Oakland—and there were many such failures—he has excused those failures by putting the blame on Oakland. In effect, he’s been telling California voters that Oakland was so bad, nobody could fix it, and he wants voters to give him points for even giving it a good try. -more-


Cal Ink: Etched into the History of the 20th Century

By Susan Cerny
Friday November 03, 2006

During the first 75 years of the 20th century, West Berkeley was the location of many manufacturing plants that produced diverse products from vegetable oil to ink, and from huge hydraulic pumps to tanned hides. -more-


The Worms Go In, The Worms Go Out

By Ron Sullivan
Friday November 03, 2006

I was working with a couple of young volunteers from UC’s redoubtable Habitat for Humanity group last weekend when one of them exclaimed, “Yuck! I found a worm.” -more-


Quake Tip of the Week: What Are We Thinking?

By Larry Guillot
Friday November 03, 2006

There’s an old saying ... “Da Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt.” No, denial is alive and well right here in the Bay Area. -more-


About the House: The Merits and Problems of Pressure-Treated Wood

By Matt Cantor
Friday November 03, 2006

The construction world is in love with novelty. Every year, trade shows display the latest inventions and materials with promises of low cost, easy installation and life-long service. Of course, these things never turn out to be as true as presented and the buyer must always beware. -more-