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Santa’s surprising origins – a Christmas classic feature
by Rev. Austin Miles
Dec 20, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
He is loveable, congenial, giving and jolly. What’s more, he knows everything, as any child will readily testify. He is a colorful old man whose visits are eagerly awaited by millions of children e...
Brentwood NAPA helps fill the Chest
Dec 15, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
The Brentwood Regional Community Chest (BRCC) works hard to help those less fortunate get through the holidays, and this year the Brentwood community has continued its tradition of providing BRCC w...
Taking aim on low-tech
by Slim Randles
Dec 13, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend
Herb is a retired businessman, which tends to make the rest of us think he is practical. That wouldn’t be entirely accurate, however, as Herb has the silent soul of a romantic. How else can anyone ...
Liberty showcases talent In the House
Dec 03, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
Liberty High School Playmakers’ annual In the House production, a talent showcase open to Liberty students plus district and Playmakers alumni, enjoyed its best turnout of performers yet. Among the...
Battle of backwater bards
by Slim Randles
Nov 19, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend
“Now ladies,” said Sarah McKinley, owner of the Read It Now bookstore, “I came here to the Triple L … that is, the Ladies Literary League, to announce my store’s haiku contest. I’ve been given a ye...
First transpacific flight commemorated
Nov 17, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend
On Nov. 22, 1935, more than 25,000 spectators lined the shore of Pan American Airways’ (PAA) base in Alameda to watch the Martin M-130 flying boat China Clipper ease away from its mooring to begin ...
Two-timin’ trim
by Slim Randles
Nov 12, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
By the time we saw Dud, of course, the damage had been done. It was Steve who spoke first. “I don’t believe it,” the tall cowboy said. We all turned then, and the full impact of the deed struck us ...
Glacial glutes return to the Island
Nov 08, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 9 9 recommendations | email to a friend
It’s never too early to mark your 2011 calendar for the annual Frozen Bun Run, held in Bethel Island on New Year’s Day. The upcoming 31st installment of the event, sponsored by the Rusty Porthole R...
War games
by Slim Randles
Nov 05, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
It was that particular crispness in the pre-dawn air that got Jasper up and out early. He wasn’t going to the diggin’s today but had something else in mind. After Arthur finished his kibble, Jasper...
High-flying hound
Nov 03, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Moose, a demonstration dog with SFC Dogs, seen here jumping over brave Oakley resident Grady Coffman, 5, at last month’s Harvest Festival. Moose performed a vari...
Jumpin’ Jack o’ Lanterns
Oct 27, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
The kids from A Jump Ahead Preschool in Oakley experienced the hayday of Halloween fun at Smith Family Farm on Sellers Road in Brentwood. The Jump Ahead crew cavorted at a hoedown in the barn, navi...
Dud gets an earful
by Slim Randles
Oct 22, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
We knew it would happen sooner or later, of course. We looked at each other and nodded, sadly, and then looked back at our companion and fellow knight of the philosophy counter at the Mule Barn cof...
Territorial imperative
Oct 21, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
The Delta Valley Athletic Club Hikers braved high winds and low mercury on recent 13-mile, 1,800-foot jaunt to Morgan Territory Regional Preserve. Against the backdrop of Mt. Diablo and the headwat...
MOMS help with Crisis
Oct 19, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend
The MOMS Club of Antioch recently held a fundraiser to benefit the Bay Area Crisis Nursery. Antioch moms and their kids sold 1,500 bars of chocolate to raise $1,113 for the nursery. MOMS Club is a ...
From offal to awesome
by Slim Randles
Oct 15, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
Dewey joined the world dilemma think tank at the Mule Barn truck stop at seven, before the fertilizer started to fly. Well, before Dewey’s business fertilizer started to fly, anyway. He had somehow...
Outliving a best friend
by Slim Randles
Oct 08, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
Dud Campbell drove the pickup slowly out of town and down past the dairy to the fishing area on Lewis Creek. It seemed to him that everything he did this morning was in slow motion. He didn’t care....
Oakley Elementary to benefit from McTeacher’s Night
Oct 06, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
In an effort to raise funds for local schools, the McDonald’s restaurant at 914 Main St. in Oakley will donate a portion of sales from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13 to Oakley Elementary School....
Stopping in Muir Woods
by Amy Schrader
Oct 04, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend
The gothic redwoods in Muir Woods cloak over another world, where nature is ravishing and timeless. Muir Woods is the home of the towering trees that date back more than a century. These trees once...
Plain but prized
by Slim Randles
Oct 04, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
When Bob Garcia removed that old mossyhorn mount from its place over the fireplace, we were a bit confused. That huge buck had been his pride and joy for more than 30 years. But Bob put it back in ...
Drumming up the love biz
by Slim Randles
Oct 01, 2010 | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend
Marvin Pincus sipped his coffee, looked out the window at his sign proclaiming the Pincus house the “Fly Tying Love Center,” and sighed. Business wasn’t good. Before Marvin retired, he would’ve att...