A Neighborhood Reawakens
The East Bay Express Few people, if any, refer to the crossroads of Bancroft and Fairfax Avenues in East Oakland as the Bancroft-Fairfax Business District—and yet, there’s a sign at the intersection designating it as such. Most people know it by one of its older...
The Party That Never Ends
The East Bay Express It's Saturday night at The Layover and the bar is close to maximum capacity. People of all ages are crammed onto the tiny dance floor, their foreheads glistening with sweat as they shake and bob to the music. A gaggle of girls start twerking in a...
A Cafe Oasis in Deep East Oakland
The East Bay Express The chances of finding a cup of coffee in deep East Oakland — not to mention a sandwich or a pastry to go with it — are relatively slim. The nearest Starbucks or Peet's is in Alameda or by the airport. So if you're jonesing for a cup of joe,...
Jennifer LeBarre Makes Sure That Oakland Students Get A Healthy Lunch
The bell rings— a prolonged buzzing signaling the end of class. Attention students: lunch is being served in the cafeteria, announces a female voice over the intercom. Lunch is being served in the cafeteria. There’s chicken wings and fries, pizza and fries, and salad...
5 Occupy Oakland Campers Speak About Why They Joined The Protest
--Published on OaklandNorth.net on October 24, 2011-- (Co-written by Brittany Schell) There used to be grass here, but it didn’t last long―not after the bodies started multiplying and the make-shift community started growing. Now the space is covered in mud and...
After Oakland Hills Fire, Residents Build Off-The-Wall Homes
--Published on OaklandNorth.net on October 19, 2011-- Robert Pennell shifted the gear to neutral and parked the car along the side of the road. “There,” he said, pointing out the open window to a cluster of houses across the street. “That one is modern and the...
Salt Room Therapy On Shifty Ground
The Los Angeles Times Halotherapy is an alternative therapy for chronic respiratory and skin problems that is modeled after the salt caves and spas that originated more than 200 years ago. LOS ANGELES — Heidi Kling is reading in an all-white room. She’s shoeless,...
Should California’s state rock be stripped of its title because it contains asbestos?
Imagine yourself in an Old West film, standing in the middle of a deserted street flanked with saloons, hotels and brothels, the soundtrack from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" wailing strong. At first you think you are alone with the tumbleweeds -- but then you see...
Harvesting Hawaii’s Aquarium Fish
Honolulu Weekly (Cover Story) More than 150 years ago, Hawaii had some of the most well-managed fisheries in the Pacific. Portions of each island were divided into separate ahupuaa, which in turn were watched over by the konohiki, who managed natural resources and...
Free Space?
--Published in The Honolulu Weekly on March 2, 2011-- With roughly 17 gambling-related bills facing the Legislature this season, it’s no surprise that bingo, as well a number of other gambling activities–a stand-alone casino, slot machines and video...
Designer Drugs Masked As Bath Salts
Honolulu Weekly (Cover Story) The half-gram bottle of bath salts promises an “invigorating” and “energizing” experience. But the new designer drug, called MDPV (or “legal cocaine”) is sending an alarming number of curious teenagers and seasoned drug users to...
Green Thieves, Beware
--Published in The Honolulu Weekly on February 16, 2011-- OK, let’s be honest: The image of a robber lurking in the dark with an uprooted tree under his arm is quite hilarious. But, as Gertrude Stein would say, “…a theft is a theft is a theft.” In other words,...