By Jillian Robertson Ironically, the first freeway exit upon arriving in what I consider Los Angeles-proper is “SF Mission.” Seems kinda cruel since I just moved from beautiful San Francisco to traffic-snarled Los Angeles. In this case though, SF stands for San Fernando Valley. That doesn’t stop me from reminiscing

By Nevin Long A crowd numbering in the hundreds gathered in the atrium of the Ed Roberts Campus in South Berkeley on Saturday to discuss the fight against the closure of Alta Bates Hospital. Officials from at least four municipalities, including Berkeley, Oakland, Albany and El Cerrito, and the state of

By Chris DeJohn Mississippi, Chicago, Texas, Kansas City, and even Louisiana enjoy more association with the blues than the West Coast — but the art form holds a long, deep history in Oakland, California. Legendary singer, songwriter, guitarist and former long-time proprietor of The Boom Boom Room in San Francisco,

By Erin Carini I saw “Molly’s Game” at Shattuck Cinemas in downtown Berkeley. True to their website claims, the theater shows an “eclectic mix of Hollywood favorites, foreign language cinema and independent film.” The pretty extensive food menu and cocktails served from the Lot 68 Lounge lobby bar, in real

Guest Post by Robert Louthan. All photos by the author. Ecuador proved to be a very special country. The beautiful landscapes and friendly culture made it a hard place to walk away from, which is why I may have overstayed my three-month visa by just a little bit. I did

By Kelly O’Grady Thank God for Podcasts. How else would we handle menial tasks like riding the bus or sad attempts at working out. The other great thing about podcasts is that there’s no limit on what they can be about, there’s at least fifty podcasts all about the television

By Jillian Robertson Former producer of The Moth in San Francisco and Berkeley I always tell people, the right storytelling show has an audience that’s the polar opposite of a comedy club one. Gone are the hecklers, the fellow comics quietly judging your performance, the jaded old timers daring you