Columnists

The Grand Avenue-Lakeshore Boulevard commercial district has long been one of my favorite hangouts. For years, I would park at the old Lucky/Albertsons parking lot and then walk up Lakeshore and then down around to Grand, window shopping, maybe making a purchase or two at the Gap—when its styles were more to my taste—renting a movie from Blockbuster, sitting down for coffee or sometimes a meal from one of the many Asian cuisine restaurants, almost always ending up for a half-hour or more of browsing at Walden Pond Books. I’m a sucker for a good used book store. -more-

The wildlife scene at the beaver pond in downtown Martinez continues to surprise observers. Last year, in addition to the beavers, muskrats, river otters, turtles, and herons, someone spotted a single mink. Now there’s an entire mink family. -more-

On the corner of Bonita Avenue and Berkeley Way stands an elegant Colonial Revival brick building that might have been transplanted whole from a New England town, where it might have served as a Masonic lodge. -more-

Forced-air heating is stupid. I’m sorry if that’s what you’ve got; it’s also what I have, so you can feel bad for me, too. It’s not that we’re stupid. It’s just that heating air is a dumb way to heat space. It noisy, it’s dirty, it’s not especially efficient and it takes up a huge amount of space in a home. In case you’re not sure what I’m talking about, let me apologize, go back, slow down and explain what forced-air heating is. -more-