Columnists

Column: Undercurrents: Mayor Dellums Isn’t What’s Wrong With Oakland

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday June 15, 2007

Five months into his mayoral administration, is Ron Dellums Oakland’s major problem? -more-


East Bay Then and Now: Sea Captains Found an Ideal Home in Berkeley

By Daniella Thompson
Friday June 15, 2007

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third part in an ongoing series on Berkeley captains’ houses and the families that inhabited them. -more-


Garden Variety: Turning Up a New Leaf

By Ron Sullivan
Friday June 15, 2007

Just on impulse and because I spotted a parking space, I dropped into Green Jeans Garden Supply in Mill Valley the other day. I was looking for something else entirely, but there was a four-inch seedling in the Edibles rack that I didn’t recognize. The label called it “agretti” and I didn’t recognize that either. “Italian specialty green—eat raw or sautéed with garlic and olive oil.” -more-


About the House: Deconstructing Grandma’s Cookstove

By Matt Cantor
Friday June 15, 2007

The kitchens of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s had terrific old stoves. They were simple, heavy, and used lots more gas because they lacked insulation. They had built-in lamps, clocks and spring timers, but other than that they were technologically very simple. Nothing fancy. That means that, if you are lucky enough to own one, they’re repairable, and if you are of a mind to, they can be disassembled, cleaned and repaired without a lot of technical skill. The pilots for both oven and top burner have a small screw that can be adjusted to elevate or reduce the flame, but many ovens did not have pilots (except for the one that ran during operation). They needed to be lit with a match. -more-


Quake Tip of the Week

By Larry Guillot
Friday June 15, 2007

Don’t Be Frozen By Fear! -more-


Column: The Public Eye: Good Bill, Bad Hillary

By Bob Burnett
Tuesday June 12, 2007

Hillary Clinton remains the favorite to be the Democratic presidential nominee at their August 2008 convention in Denver. However, while most Dems view her positively, she’s unpopular with Independents and Republicans. This is called “the Hillary problem,” but it’s really “the Bill problem.” -more-


Column: World’s Most Important Job Includes Climbing and Swinging

By Susan Parker
Tuesday June 12, 2007

On Friday I came home from my substitute teaching job at 4 p.m. I was in bed by 5:15. I slept for 14 hours and awoke refreshed and happy. School is out. Yeah! -more-


Wild Neighbors: Role Models: Where Song Sparrows Learn Their Songs

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday June 12, 2007

It may be a drab little brown bird, but the song sparrow has attracted a lot of scholarly attention. The song sparrows of San Francisco Bay alone support a kind of cottage industry. We have four distinct subspecies here, three confined to tidal marshes, the fourth to neighboring uplands. The marsh sparrows, generally smaller and grayer than the upland birds, have adapted to their environment by evolving a higher tolerance for salt water (although their insect prey appears to meet most of their water needs). -more-