Columnists

Green Neighbors: The Tough, Sweet Beauty of Cecile Brunner Roses

By Ron Sullivan
Tuesday May 22, 2007

It’s been a crappy year for wildflowers, but a great one for roses. When I mistook something for a startling pink tree and then realized it was a ‘Cecile Brunner’ rose climbing fifteen feet up a utility-pole guywire, and then did the same double-take for the same cultivar climbing a tree on Sacramento Avenue, I decided to write about roses this week. -more-


Column: Undercurrents: Thinking of War with Iran While at War in Iraq

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday May 18, 2007

Figuring out the motives and actions of a wartime President while those actions are taking place is always difficult because, after all, one of the key elements of the successful prosecution of a war is deceiving the enemy, and you cannot very well do that while honestly explaining your true plans and intentions to your own people. Wish it weren’t so, friends, but that seems to be a fact. And for democracies, which bill themselves as being based on an informed public, it is a contradiction that will never be fully resolved. -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Captain Slater’s House Is an Early Classic Colonial

By Daniella Thompson
Friday May 18, 2007

Not every house in Berkeley can boast of an illustrious resident. Fewer can boast of two. Fewer yet can demonstrate a connection between the two notables. The house at 1335 Shattuck Avenue is one of the latter. -more-


Garden Variety: There’s Still Something for Gardeners at The Gardener

By Ron Sullivan
Friday May 18, 2007

One might be forgiven for thinking otherwise, but there are things to buy at The Gardener that actually have something to do with gardens. -more-


About the House: Ask Matt: Foundation Caps

Friday May 18, 2007

Hi Matt: Enjoyed your excellent article on foundation capping.One thing that I sometimes mention to my clients is that the faulty grade problem may sometimes be solved by simply digging away the dirt and debris that has accumulated against the foundation. This of course is the most economical solution when a complete foundation replacement isn’t needed for structural reasons! Do you think this is an okay observation to make? -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday May 18, 2007

Nightmare On Elm Street? -more-