The East Bay Express I'm sitting on the concrete floor of a garage, my back against a pole. To my right, a girl braids auburn weave into another girl's hair. Three teenagers sit on a couch to my left and a lone teddy bear, clutching a red velvet heart inscribed with...
NY OBSERVER It was lunch hour on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 47th and the intersection was teeming with people. A Prêt-A-Manger employee proffered brownie samples to passersby on a silver tray. A family of five, laden with backpacks and rolling suitcases,...
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 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,...
Oakland North 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...
--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...
Los Angeles Times The therapist-patient relationship is crucial to people battling depression, addiction, weight gain and diabetes. But that relationship might not always have to be in person to be effective. Over the last decade, numerous hospitals and clinics have...
--Published on the front page of The Los Angeles Times on July 11, 2010-- In a noisy room, humans will yell to be heard, eventually giving up when communication becomes impossible. Now researchers have found that North Atlantric right whales, too, get louder in...
--Published in The Los Angeles Times health section on July 14, 2010-- Call her super-talented or super-insane, there's no denying that Lady Gaga has a magnetic effect on young girls, inspiring thousands of young fans to don blond wigs, sheer lace leggings, yellow...
--Published in The Los Angeles Times health section on July 5, 2010-- TV isn't the same as it used to be, especially when it comes to children's shows. Though friendly faces such as Mr. Rogers and Barney the dinosaur used to be popular among kids, hyper-active...
--Published in print in The Los Angeles Times science section on June 25, 2010-- Concern about a newborn's bacterial flora is not a topic you're likely to hear discussed in the waiting room of the maternity ward — but that may change. A new study has found that the...
Rep. Derek Kawakami on his first days in the legislature --Published in The Honolulu Weekly on April 20, 2011-- Rep. Derek Kawakami was appointed by Governor Abercrombie earlier this month to serve as the replacement for former Rep. Hermina Morita, who was assigned to...