Columnists

Last summer, I happened to be walking with an out-of-town couple who had come, early, to a Paramount Theater concert and, with some time to kill, wanted to know if I knew of any good places in the downtown area to get something to eat. I did, actually. Several places. But Jack London Square seemed too far for them to walk and, with little city signage to help them along the way, I thought they might be mistrustful of any directions a strange local might give them that took them off Broadway to Old Oakland or Chinatown. They got a hot dog from one of the vendors who works outside the Paramount events, I think, and an opportunity was lost. -more-

In 1948, University of California enrollment at the Berkeley campus reached 22,000 students, making adequate housing the number-one problem facing the student body. That year, the California Alumni Association published the book Students at Berkeley, which contained a large chapter devoted to housing and analyzed potential student housing sites. -more-

It’s post-Thanksgiving: socially, it’s December. Time to think about holiday shopping. -more-

Welcome to my watershed. I really like it here but it is, basically, a big clay bowl and we’re all salad. -more-

While George Dubya Bush will be in office for 14 more months, many have already labeled him the worst president in modern American history. They complain that the Bush legacy will extend well beyond January of 2009, when the next president takes office. Political observers lament he has had the “reverse Midas touch,” where he’s worsened every aspect of American foreign and domestic policy he’s blundered into. Bush’s most lasting negative legacy can be attributed to his autocratic leadership style, which has inspired other politicians to emulate his tactics and ethics. As a result, we see mini-Dubyas running for president and Dubya clones ruling other countries. -more-

Chopped fish and mealworms: not your classic Thanksgiving menu. But that’s what the eared and horned grebes at the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRCC) were getting. The larger birds—surf scoters, greater scaup, western grebes, common murres—were fed whole fish. The coots, according to a whiteboard notation, got a side of bloodworms “if we have any bloodworms.” -more-