BY RICK PORCARO Ross Stripling pitched six shutout innings for his first win since the 2022 season and Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin hit home runs to lead the A’s past the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 for a sweep of their three game series. ©DANIEL GLUSKOTER Oakland’s Ross Stripling delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the way to his first win of the season Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum. Stripling (1-5) had lost ten straight games going back to his final outing as a San Francisco Giant but was sharp Wednesday, allowing just three hits and retiring the last seven batters he faced ..read more

BY DEBRA J. MORRIS We’re jumping for joy this year because farmers are telling us that California’s sweet cherries are arriving right on schedule! Last year they had to be harvested two to three weeks late because of the heavy rain and wind we received. The rain and wind came – and continued – at a time when the cherry blossoms were just setting their fruit and they were unceremoniously knocked off the trees! The yield was less and the season was shorter than usual. This year, farmers tell is they are looking forward to a good yield, sweeter cherries, and an abundance of fruit through the grow ..read more

BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter Colin Hay’s performance at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts Saturday night was a welcome revelation for anyone previously unfamiliar with his solo works. Best known as the lead singer and frontman for the long disbanded Australian band Men at Work, Hay has also created a solid catalog of solo material dating back over three decades. ©DANIEL GLUSKOTER Colin Hay performs at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco Saturday evening. As one of the most recognizable bands of the MTV era, Men at Work burst onto the scene in 1981 and have s ..read more

BY RICK PORCARO Thairo Estrada’s ninth inning double scored Matt Chapman all the way from first to give the Giants a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres in San Francisco’s home opener Friday afternoon at Oracle Park in front of a sellout crowd of 40,645. ©DANIEL GLUSKOTER Thairo Estrada receives congratulations following his game-winning walk off double in the Giants 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres in their home opener at Oracle Park Friday afternoon. Returning to the Bay Area following two years as Padres manager after 11 seasons at the helm with the Athletics, Bob Melvin had a successful hom ..read more

BY J.A. SCHWARTZ Opening Day has been a hallowed American tradition for more than 100 years. As the 2024 Major League Baseball season dawns on March 28th, the thoughts of a sports hungry nation naturally drift towards the exploits of the sport’s biggest stars. The phrase “hope springs eternal” should be bandied about, and the great litany of literary giants who chronicle the sport should wax poetic about the beauty of the game-it’s timeless geometry, the titillating promise of youth and the pure spectacle of baseballs being hurled at speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour. If only the reality we ..read more

BY HELEN LAME’ Over a half century after manning the control booth for some of the greatest albums of all time, Alan Parsons continues to leave his mark on Rock n’ Roll history with a string of solid albums of his own. ©DANIEL GLUSKOTER P.J. Olsson and Alan Parsons (L-R) acknowledge the crowd during the Alan Parsons Live Project’s performance at The Fox Theater in Oakland Thursday night. Parsons first gained notoriety by talking his way into a job at Abbey Road Studios as a teenager, earning engineering credits on such iconic albums as Abbey Road, The Dark Side of the Moon and Al Stewart’s Yea ..read more

BY DEBRA J.MORRIS “You ought to have seen what I saw on my way To the village, through Mortenson’s pasture to-day: Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb, Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!” “ Blueberries” by Robert Frost For centuries, blueberries were gathered from the forests and bogs by Native Americans and consumed fresh and also preserved. The Northeast Native American tribes revered blueberries and much folklore developed around them. Commercial development of blueberries really didn’t begin until the early 20th century when ..read more

BY DEBRA J. MORRIS After a winter of dense stews and carb-heavy recipes, it’s time to lighten up your meals with fresh and delicious spring greens and baby vegetables. You’ll find spring lettuce and baby spinach, fat spring leeks, fragrant spring garlic and green onions, big stalks of asparagus, and the new spring crop of artichokes. Toward the end of the month into April you’ll discover the arrival of sweet green peas, flavorful fava beans, and tasty spring herbs. March also brings some unusual spring greens to try. Find these delicious but unusual greens at the farmers market because you wil ..read more

Stephen Master was born at Mikro Horio, Evritania, Greece, on November 26, 1930. He passed away peacefully at home at the age of 93, with his family by his side the evening of Thursday February 8, 2024. He was a devoted and loving husband to Dina (Constantina) Master for over 65 years. A proud father of Chris, Nick and Harry and proud Pappou to Steve and Chris. Stephen was one of 7 children that grew up during the difficult periods of World War II. As a teenager he and his brothers struggled to support the family working in Athens, doing whatever they could to take care of their siblings and p ..read more

BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER Appearing at the intimate Guild Theatre in Menlo Park on Friday night, Don Felder‘s concert performance was a treat for a small crowd assembled to enjoy a series of well delivered flashbacks from the collection of the former Eagles lead guitarist. ©DANIEL GLUSKOTER Don Felder performs at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park Friday night. Fifty years after making his debut as a member of the Eagles in 1974, the Gainesville native continues to strike an engaging presence on the stage, with brief antidotes often preceding the delivery of the well known material to follow. Felder, n ..read more