Columnists

Column: Dispatches From the Edge: Bolivian Elites Mobilize; Turkish Army Masses

By Conn Hallinan
Friday February 02, 2007

Unrest in Bolivia’s eastern provinces is spreading, as local landlords and the European-origin wealthy elite who dominate the region dig in to resist efforts by President Evo Morales to institute land reform and use the region’s natural gas reserves to raise national living standards. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Remembering, Mourning and Following Molly Ivins

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 02, 2007

You could clearly see the change in Molly Ivins’ writing in the last weeks of her life. In large part, gone was the beer-and-bourbon with that we had come to love so much, along with that Texas way of looking at the world and the people therein that comes across both as straight-ahead and corner-out-the-eye at the same time, simultaneous, like you’re ready to face the world head-on, but just as ready to either reach for the pistol in your belt or head for the quickest way out, to laugh about it in great tales told in the shade of a summer porch sometime later, either way it came out. -more-


About the House: A Few Words About Skylights

By Matt Cantor
Friday February 02, 2007

Skylights are great. Nearly everyone agrees. They lighten up dark spaces and do so without any energy expense but like so many things, what seems like a good thing at first glance is a bit more complex and not right for every situation. Moreover, as most people know, they come with the possibility of leaks. So let’s take a look at some of the issues associated with putting in a skylight, living with one that you have now and just for fun, some of the newer things happening in this corner of construction. -more-


Garden Variety: Get There Before It’s Gone: Ken’s in San Pablo

By Ron Sullivan
Friday February 02, 2007

I’d heard a rumor (Thanks, Chris!) that Ken’s Nursery in San Pablo was up for sale, so I moseyed on up San Pablo Avenue to that weird intersection like a broken asterisk, the corner of Where Value Village Used to Be and Where Bertola’s Used to Be. It’s just before the Mall Under Construction, mere blocks north of Casino San Pablo and the Alvarado adobe. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week: Bad News About Your Retrofit

By Larry Guillot
Friday February 02, 2007

In case you hadn’t heard, the Association of Bay Area Governments estimates that up to 80 percent of retrofits around here will be ineffective in even a moderate earthquake. -more-


The Public Eye: Robert Reich’s Berkeley: Charming, Diverse, Democratic

By Zelda Bronstein
Tuesday January 30, 2007

As soon as I heard that Robert Reich would be speaking about our city’s economic future at Berkeley City College on Jan. 25, I knew I wanted to be there. It’s not often that you get a chance to hear a former secretary of labor/celebrated author/popular NPR commentator/ Goldman School of Public Policy professor hold forth on local affairs, with “a light lunch” thrown in for good measure, and for free yet. This bill of fare would have been more than enough to get me to immediately RSVP the event’s announced sponsor, the Office of the Mayor. -more-


Column: Moving in with the Old Lady

By Susan Parker
Tuesday January 30, 2007

On Sunday at noon my 16-year-old housemate finally rolled out of bed. “What’s to eat?” asked Jernae, peering over my shoulder as I typed on the computer. “And what’re we doin’ today?” -more-


Wild Neighbors: Bug Bombs: The Stink Beetle Meets the Killer Mouse

By Joe Eaton, Special to the Planet
Tuesday January 30, 2007

First, my apologies for the last column’s headline, which I suspect was a spell check-inflicted error. “Scooter” is one of the surf scoter’s many vernacular names, along with “skunkhead coot,” “blossom bill,” “tar-bucket,” and several that involve distasteful ethnic references. But officially, it’s “scoter.” -more-