This is my 200th review…read more I have been pondering what to write for this momentous occasion. All week I thought about it ... I even ran ideas by Candice at Yelp during our yummy lunch I have yet to review. And I realized it is not easy to write sometimes. If it is for your job, it can really suck the life right out of you ... if you HAVE to write. So that is why it is so fun for me to Yelp. Because I do not have too. But for all you media out there exchanging words and wit for a paycheck ... kudos to you if you can get it right. And since I am an Oaklander ... I want to send a big fat kudos to our local rag ... the Oakland Magazine ... with the beee-utiful Grand Lake Movie Theater gracing the cover this month. I am so happy there is a local magazine to highlight Oakland. Oakland is such a fantastic place with a huge heart and lots of charisma! We have access to everything the bay area has to offer ... and we have the best views. (In so many ways)! We are the melting pot of America. So it is no surprise that in a city with 500,000+ people ... we should have a magazine that is for us. By us and for us. But know that it is a lot of hard work to produce a magazine month after month in a slammed economy like this. There are many obstacles for the small business these days. Pinch ... ouch! Every month, Oakland Magazine is reaching out to the community and sharing information about what is going on in Oakland. The community and businesses are paying attention and you are doing excellent work sharing the buzz around town. We Oaklanders and East Bay residents love to come together for a festival or a party, excellent food, celebratory cocktails, great shopping and a healthy farmer's market too ... so keep on keeping us posted of the who, what, when, where, why and how of all things Oakland and its surroundings. And Dear Editor: I am sure you have figured out that it is impossible to make everyone happy. Readers, advertisers, bill collectors, employees and editors all of different definitions of happy. They always will. Just keep pounding the pavement and looking for great angles, good stories, decent advertisers and amazing supporters. And BTW: Thank you for the annual Best of Oakland and Best of the East Bay edition that came out this month. In Montclair, we are proud, surprised and amazed to be recipients of several of the Best of Oakland Awards! http://www.oaklandmagazine.com Best Charity Event Montclair Pet Mayor Contest Montclair Pet & Wildlife Fund 1955 Mountain Blvd., Suite 111 (510) 339-2400 www.petandwildlifefund.org/mayor Best Veterinarian Montclair Veterinary Hospital 1961 Mountain Blvd. www.montclairvethospital.com Best Place to Work Montclair Veterinary Hospital 1961 Mountain Blvd. www.montclairvethospital.com Thank You Oakland Magazine and the East Bay Community for your support. I hella heart Oakland! There is no place I would rather be.

Several years ago I was a subscriber to the Oakland Magazine. There was a period that I had to…read morecancel the subscription due to budgetary reasons. Being on a three day work furlough from state employment meant sacrificing during those lean years when the "guvernator" aka "terminator" was in office...less dining out, less going out to the movies, museums, excursions, baseball games, etc., and a cancellation of a local magazine. Last year I saw a representative from Oakland/Alameda Magazines at a spring event (Mother's Day weekend) on Park Street in Alameda. I wanted so much to subscribe to the magazine and I was given a choice - the Oakland one or the Alameda one. The decision was not an easy one. I am a native Oaklander, living in Alameda since September 1988. However, Oakland will always be in my heart. I may be out of "ghetto" Oakland, but the "ghetto" is still in me when my OCGA is out in the open. Thus, Oakland Magazine wins out over the Alameda Magazine. As I have mentioned in other reviews, I can't think of anything better than having what I consider the best around me...born and educated in Oakland, live in Alameda and work in San Francisco. Most of my reviews are based around these three cities (88%). They all have something that I truly enjoy besides the weather and our local sports teams. Let me not stray off the subject of this magazine, but elaborate as to why I enjoy reading it. The magazine is informative and it also offers me the opportunity to try the different restaurants and attend the events that are advertised, only to form an opinion and present my review thereof on this website. The last two issues (December 2012; January/February 2013) were enjoyable reading. What a pleasure it was to see Dr. Warren Strudwick on the front cover of the December issue. He is considered one of the best treating physicians in the field of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. He also provided excellent medical care to my husband when he injured his shoulder in an automobile accident. The January/February 2013 issue is as what's noted on the front cover..."Journey Back in Time". I do recognize the architectural designs on the some of the buildings. Location is in the vicinity of 14th & Broadway. In this issue, there is a restaurant review of Hopscotch. I haven't been to Hopscotch yet, but their location is across the street from where I was born - 1966 San Pablo Avenue...a journey back in time to the 50's. I'm not sure what was at 1915 San Pablo Avenue during the 50's and all I could think is Friedman's Appliances. However, a few doors north of Friedman's was a restaurant called Victor's Chinese American Cafe and who owned that restaurant. Well, none other than Victor "Shanghai Kid" G's dad. Here's to you, Victor, and the wonderful memories of growing up in that part of town. (Hey, the Greyhound Station is still there after all these years and it still looks the same...rundown.) Thanks, Oakland Magazine, for this publication. I hope to enjoy more years of reading your magazine and wish you continued success in publishing a wonderful magazine.

It is important for organizations like this to survive. There is some very good writing here, and I…read moreurge folks to check it out. We need alternatives to the Chron pablum and Bay Guardian knee jerkism. But the website is a mess, and has been since inception---and this is a predominately web-based outfit. I tried to send a message to the editor on the "contact" page, and the page just disappears when you hit "send". No confirmation. I later attempted to comment on a story, but the CAPTCHA image did not display. This is trying with two separate browsers--Firefox & Chrome (with a Mac). Also, you search "San Francisco news", or "Bay Area news" on Google or Bing, and SFPP doesn't come up (at least after 10 pages). It seems to me a decent website would be a fairly high priority for these folks.

2nd Print Edition comes out on Thursday, November 11, 2010 featuring in-depth reporting on Pier 70…read moreredevelopment and proposed development of the Cargill Salt Flats in Redwood City and more...

I used to pick up this mag-rag to look at all the pretty shiny people in their happy gowns and…read morecostumes and think - gosh, they really live for this stuff. Then one day I get a call, and someone I know points out the fact that I'm in there! HA! Imagine that!? Guess this means I'm now legit. :) Either that or it's just great to be yourself.

I really enjoy reading this paper. Copies are put in my mail room every month and I enjoy reading…read moreabout local news, updates, and functions going on around town. People should be a little nicer about it, as they don't put anyone down, just show how much fun and exciting life is. With so many problems in the world, it is nice just to read about local attributes. They also have a cute office.

The FCI staff is great! They have exceptional customer service skills, and are prompt in their…read moreexecution off much needed tasks. I needed the Foster City Islander to publish my upcoming name change information, and they far exceeded my expectations. They got the necessary paperwork to the court with very little notice, and everything went totally seamlessly. I greatly appreciate local businesses that treat you like a human, and do their job (and well, to boot!).

Great to have a small-town newspaper, but sadly the editorial is run by its major advertisers,…read moretherefore, articles are biased. The recall of council member/vice mayor Herb Perez is a blatant example. Editions with op eds against recall are available in stacks well beyond the published date, while the editions for recall are hard to find even the day of. While dirty politics could be in play (some nefarious person pulling papers from Safeway and Lucky's), I think not as the stacks of pro Perez editions are available well beyond the publication date suggests more were printed than normal. And, the "online" version is very poor quality. Low res PDF which is hard to read. A paper with bias towards advertisers is not worth the paper it is printed on. Also, Mark Watson, part owner of paper is the attorney for Perez. And, Watson is on the city's audit committee chosen over someone more qualified. Cronies flock together and really this city is not the better for it.

I love zyzzyva and the writers and writing community it supports. it doesn't feel fussy; it feels…read morecharming and engaging and intimate, like a good and true and sassy friend. i didn't realize there was a yelp page for it until i belatedly read howard junker's blog asking for people to yelp it, so here i am. when i lived in l.a. (before coming back to the City), i caught a reading of zyzzyva writers at the awesome skylight books, and howard was even there. it was a great night. not just because of the free wine and cheese. it felt familial in a literary way. the wine and cheese did help. i admit it.

With stories and poems that both your…read moreanarchist-genderbending-all-black-wearing-comparative-literature-grad-school-attending friends and your Oprah's-Book-Club-reading relatives can enjoy, ZYZZYVA is San Francisco's best literary journal that doesn't include DVDs, combs, stories by Icelandic authors, and color pages. It's also the city's best literary journal that comes out on time. Yeah, McSweeney's, you know I'm talking to you.

The Sun Reporter is a 70 year old newspaper that serves the African-American community of San…read moreFrancisco and the Bay Area. It is published on Thursdays and costs less than fifty cents to purchase. I read it for the social commentary and news reporting on Black people in the USA. There is no online edition. They do have a limited website. http://sunreporter.com/

I remember going to get the Sun Reporter for my mom when I was young. I now live in the bay view…read moreand a 60 year old woman. I get the Sun Reporter by mail now, and I love it. Even tho I live here, I can't keep up with the going on in the area all the time. So I read this paper and get all the insight of what's going on. Everything is so well written and give me a look at the big picture in the Black Community.

I love this small newspaper that appears in my mailbox every week. It keeps me informed about…read morelocal happenings and news that I can't get anywhere else.

Three months into ordering a year's subscription to the paper. I have called and asked, called and…read morecomplained, several times in the last three months. Still not a single paper delivered. As of today they are unwilling to guarantee a refund even, we have to go to their supervisor's supervisor, although it doesn't seem I can get refund.

Prints Mon. to Sat. with focus on the world economy. Good perspectives on globalization. During the…read morepast few years, there's been a strong and constant focus on the growth in China. Weekend edition includes quality interviews with notable authors. There is a occasional insert called "How To Spend It" & I giggle whilst paging though the islands and yachts for sale. A Dubs on the yacht Told you I was hot.