Yvonne Martinez’s stories stretch nearly a century from her Mexican American family’s Utah roots to her time as a union organizer in Berkeley and Oakland.
Joanne Furio
Posted inBusiness
Shop Talk: Company that grows gardens on walls is blooming on Ashby Avenue; dream over for Siamese Dream
Barge North has also closed on College Avenue. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
Posted inBusiness
Berkeley’s 2 pole dancing studios each slide their own way
Berkeley Pole & Dance aims to become “the Soul Cycle of pole dancing.” A mile down University Avenue, newly opened Flux boasts a 197-seat theater.
Posted inArts
The final curtain for the Regal UA, Berkeley’s 90-year-old art deco movie palace
Generations of movie-goers are mourning the loss of a cinematic and architectural treasure, which closed around Feb. 3, weeks before anticipated.
Posted inBusiness
Pharmaca closing all its stores after Walgreens buys pharmacy chain
Closures include the pharmacy on Solano Avenue in Berkeley as well as the branch in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood.
Posted inBusiness
Shop Talk: Beloved Berkeley pet food store loses dogged battle to internet retailers; Modena Salon is moving
Animal Farm Discount Pet Foods was a mainstay on the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Cedar Street for 35 years. Even the owner’s parrot felt it was time to go.
Posted inBusiness
Shop Talk: Burned-down West Berkeley tattoo shop reopens in new spot; Fourth Street boutique Aiken is closing
Philthy Clean Tattoo paints itself a new future downtown. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley’s Ohmega Salvage, famed spot for ‘cool, funky stuff,’ is closing after 49 years
When architectural salvage was cool, Ohmega ruled. Its closing symbolizes the end of an era and changing tastes.
Posted inBusiness
Shop Talk: New Berkeley company sells gender-neutral kids underwear; a backyard dojo
Melanie Dunn created Breaking Stereos after several difficult shopping trips with her daughter. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
Posted inArts
14 books with Berkeley ties to read in the new year
Hua Hsu’s memoir of his college friendship in the ’90s and histories on Asian Americans and the most Trumpian period in America before Trump are among the recent titles with Berkeley connections.
Posted inBusiness
Shop Talk: Activist who helped free Willy is stepping down at Berkeley’s Earth Island Institute after 40 years; new studio raises eyebrows
David Phillips did more than save whales. He helped spread environmental activism around the world. Catch up on this and other Berkeley retail and small business news.
Posted inArts
Berkeley memoir ‘Bearded Lady’ tells a complex story of self-actualization
In her new book, Allison Landa comes to terms with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (a rare condition causing hirsutism and infertility) and a pair of heavily opinionated parents.
