Visit the City Visions archives to hear some of my shows:
-Campus in Crisis: UC Budget Cuts and the Future of Public Education
-San Francisco’s Central Subway: Innovation or Boondoggle?
-Filling the Gap: Making Up For What’s Missing at Public Schools
-The End of Free Parking: How Parking Reform is Changing the Way We Drive
-Closing the Doors: Cutting Subsidized Health Care for the Undocumented
-Oakland’s 10K Housing Initiative: Ten Years Later
-Urban Forests: How Planting Trees on Sidewalks and Streets Is Impacting Our Cities
Exciting fun for me, getting involved in live radio. I’m working on City Visions (www.cityvisionsradio.com), a live call-in panel show that focuses on topics important to Bay Area residents. Besides the producing credit, I’m falling in love with radio all over again. 91.7 KALW San Francisco.
But! I have been writing. I did a piece on the 80th birthday of Neldam’s Bakery and got to poke around the giant mixing machines (love this job). There was another budget story (Oakland has no money) and a nice day at a middle school in Alameda, watching kids opening up with poetry slam workshops. I did a profile of the woman who runs Kids Paint the Town and an update on the Safeway story and…other stuff. So, still working!
My stories for BANG are also on the websites for the Contra Costa Times and the Oakland Tribune (known as Inside Bay Area).
Recently, when I search for my articles, I only see fairly recent ones. So some of the links below might not work anymore, and I don’t know why. I wrote my first one, for the Montclarion, in January of 2008 and I’ve written some 80 stories since then, plus had quite a few photos run. So I’m sorry there’s not a good record of all of that online anymore.
Forgot about this one, which ran in the Alameda Journal in December.
It was a lot of fun — the guys were so eager and earnest.
Bump in popularity for indie rock band
BYLINE: By Maya Mirsky Correspondent
SECTION: MY TOWN; Alameda; Oakland-Berkeley; News; Local
Alameda indie rock band Finish Ticket was anxiously waiting Dec. 14 to hear whether it had won anything after playing that day at a San Francisco competition. But band members missed the announcement because they had to go to bed.
That’s because all five band members are students at Alameda High.
“At seven in the morning I got a text message,” said guitarist Alex DiDonato.
It turned out the band had placed second at the event, in which some 50 bands played for the chance to win money and recording time.
“It was exciting and kind of amazing,” said drummer Garren Orr.
I think this was in the Tribune, too. It was fun to go to city hall, of course. Although the council chambers have just terrible sight lines.
Oakland can’t expect the federal stimulus package or other outside help to ease it through tough economic times, but must step up and actively find workable solutions for itself, speakers concluded at a panel convened Feb. 20 by City Council President Jane Brunner.
Speakers did express cautious optimism about President Obama’s stimulus plan during the “Progressive Perspective on the Economic Crisis” panel planned and moderated by Brunner, who represents District 1, North Oakland, but several stressed that it is not a magic solution.
“It will not fix the Oakland budget problem,” Brunner said.
Two nice little human interest stories. I really enjoyed doing the one on the circus arts.
Eight-year-old Cassie Weigel balances on the hands and feet of another girl, toes pointed and body perfectly arched. Then she jumps down and does a few flips on her way to hug her mom, who’s watching at the side of the room.
It’s Saturday morning, and instead of watching cartoons, Cassie is at Oakland’s Trapeze Arts school for three and a half hours of circus arts training. It’s the high point of the week for Cassie, whose passion for tumbling and trapeze are matched by her prodigious physical talents.
“From the first time she came, it was just magic for her,” said Cassie’s mother, Cheryl Weigel.
Using science to catch an imaginary candy thief was the goal at Redwood Heights Elementary’s 13th annual “Science Alliance” fair on Tuesday.
The parent-organized event aims at getting school children excited and involved with the discipline.
“This is so important, to give kids exposure to science. Because science is fun,” said parent organizer Gail Widener.
North Oakland residents get help with solar panel costs
By Maya Mirsky
Correspondent
Posted: 01/21/2009 08:29:38 PM PST
Updated: 01/22/2009 06:36:02 AM PST
North Oakland residents are taking advantage of a chance to install solar power as part of an ambitious program run by a San Francisco environmental group.
One Block Off the Grid is harnessing Bay Area interest in clean energy and using the power of collective buying to obtain cheaper prices on solar panels in order to encourage people to use clean energy.
“This gives everyone an incentive,” said general manager Dave Llorens.
I am about two months behind in posting clips, which means about ten stories or so.
One of my most recent stories was about how the local merchants are weathering the shopping season.
Retail stores in Montclair and Rockridge have found local loyalty is helping them weather a tougher holiday season.
Merchants say Oakland residents are foregoing online shopping and chain stores, instead focusing their dollars locally in order to help out their favorite stores.
“People are stepping back and saying how important it is to keep the neighborhood vital,” said Tom Revelli of Montclair Sporting Goods.
(I think this one might have run in the Tribune.) Inside Bay Area
Muggings nearby the BART station and a brazen morning robbery of a gas station in Rockridge this past week have raised new concerns about safety in the neighborhood.
The crimes come after a relatively peaceful period of low crime, according to Oakland Police Department data.
