Columnists

Green Neighbors: Silk Oaks Are Itchy, But Oh Those Blooms!

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday May 08, 2007

There aren’t lots of them around, but many are in bloom now so it’s a bit easier to spot them: silk oak, Grevillea robusta. Their leaves have a distinctive profile, a bit like an exaggerated oak-leaf shape, verging on the fernish; I suppose that might account for the name, but the Aussies have a habit of calling any old thing some kind of “oak”—casaurina is “she-oak” for example, and that genus has foliage that looks like pine needles. -more-


Under Currents: Dellums and the Media: The First 100 Days

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday May 04, 2007

One of the reasons it can be so important—and valuable—to have several media outlets covering the same issue or event is that individual observers tend to have their own take on things, and it is only by reading more than one account—several, if possible—that you can get a clear account of what’s really going on. Of course, that doesn’t happen when our good friends in the media go chasing after each other’s tails, yard-dog fashion, without trying to figure things out for themselves, but that’s another story. -more-


John H. Spring: Splendor, Strife and Shenanigans

By Daniella Thompson
Friday May 04, 2007

John Hopkins Spring, the developer of Thousand Oaks, always knew how to attract attention. On December 23, 1915, World War One was raging in Europe, and the newspapers were reporting that British losses at the Battle of Gallipoli had climbed to 112,921. But the war did not make top headline in the Oakland Tribune that day. -more-


Garden Variety: How Big Is the Impact of That Little Brown Moth?

By Ron Sullivan
Friday May 04, 2007

Word is that the “recommendations” and “suggestions” from the agriculture officials about the recently discovered infestation of the light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana, hereinafter LBAM) has grown into a state-declared quarantine. -more-


Ask Matt: On Water Heaters, Bay Windows

By MATT CANTOR
Friday May 04, 2007

Dear Mr. Cantor: I want to thank you for the very informative and interesting article in the Daily Planet about strapping water heaters. Moreover, I want to say that I am a devoted reader and always find your pieces interesting and informative. -more-