It was a warm night on a farm in rural Washington when I first heard “Thinkin Bout You” by Frank Ocean swooning on my cousin’s phone. I remember saying how I couldn’t believe a guy could hit those notes, the crowning heights of the song’s refrain a desperate, soprano plea.

When I first moved to the Bay Area, I landed in a San Francisco neighborhood that most don’t give the respect it deserves. That’d be the Bayview, where I called a little corner of Silver Avenue home for the first two months or so before moving to the Sunset —

BY MARY KATE TANKARD “It all started when I was getting tacos in the Mission,” artist and designer Ace tells me in reference to her joining the art collective Family Style. The collective is composed of 10 AAPI artists, artists and friends who collaborate to celebrate Asian American identity through

Veritas, the largest landlord in the city, has been revealed to be delinquent on a staggering $1 billion in debt, potentially leading to the sale of several of their properties. We’ve written about this company several times. From creating ADUs that residents called “a living hell“, Taking out small business

Images courtesy of John Hefti. “Oakland has a Ballet?” is the usual reply given whenever the burgeoning young troupe is brought up in conversation. This past weekend (May 5th – 7th), the lesser known Oakland Ballet Company took over the modest stage at Laney College Theatre with four presentations of

I hear these two phrases often: “there’s nothing to do” and “everything is too expensive”. It’s true things are way too crazy expensive lately. However, we’re lucky in the Bay Area because we have a ton of FREE things happening all the time! I won’t gate keep any of the

It takes guts to go out and own your own business in the Bay Area. Could you imagine what kind of grit it takes to own a dive bar in Oakland of all places? And what if you’re a woman owning said bar in a male-dominated field? This is a