Corruption pipeline continues

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Corruption pipeline continues

After its military incursion into Venezuela, the Trump administration called American oil company executives to the White House. The administration demanded these companies invest billions to extract Venezuelan “dirty” oil—defined as extra-heavy, highly acidic crude, comparable to Canada’s oil sands.

The companies punted—with one major exception. Chevron has already operated in Venezuela for more than 100 years. “After the meeting,” AP reported, “Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters that the companies showed ‘tremendous interest,’ adding that Chevron made a specific pledge.”

There is another connection. On Jan. 15, MS NOW reported that John Hess, a Chevron board of directors member, and his wife, Susan Hess, “each contributed $1 million to MAGA Inc. on Dec. 12, 2025, just weeks before the U.S. took military action to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.”

Local environmental organizations took note. On Jan. 10, Amazon Watch, Oil & Gas Action Network, Asian Pacific Environmental Network and others staged a protest at Chevron’s Richmond refinery.

“With its Texaco subsidiary, Chevron has been established in the Amazon since the 1960s,” said Paul Paz y Miño, deputy director of Oakland’s Amazon Watch. But, he emphasized, not only the Amazon is being affected. The company’s unchecked pollution, flouting of local laws, history of profiting from illegal activities and concurrent history of attacking those who confront it, has been widely reported.

Which is why, he said, it isn’t surprising that Chevron would be a main player in further South American exploitation, as its CEO has a close relationship with Trump. 

Ilonka Zlatar, California organizer at Oil & Gas Action Network, said a rapid response to the situation in Venezuela organized the Jan. 10 protest. She noted the long history of protests at the Richmond refinery, and that it ties to the larger BoycottChevron campaign. She believes the environmental organizations will attend the March 28 third “No Kings” national event.

Paz y Miño stressed California will send a delegation to the upcoming International Conference on Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, cohosted by Columbia and the Netherlands and taking place in April. “[The conference] will focus on drilling in South America,” he said. He also expects a big turnout during the May 22 International Anti-Chevron Day, being held at RYSE Youth Center in Richmond.

California’s legislature, he added, will be moving forward with implementation of SR51, passed last August, which calls for a full investigation into the state’s ties to crude oil extracted from the Amazon rainforest and urging an end to these imports.

Both Paz y Miño and Zlatar advocated for additional citizen involvement on these issues. “Refineries in California are shutting down,” Zlatar said. “But there is no consistent plan for a just transition away from fossil fuels. If people live in the East Bay, they need to learn how the local refineries are impacting their health.”

Paz y Miño noted that Chevron is well known for its “greenwashing” efforts, meaning claiming environmental actions that mask what damage the company does in multiple places around the world. “The Venezuela situation puts Chevron even more in the spotlight,” he said, suggesting people educate themselves about the real situations.

He also drew attention to the actions of the Richmond Police Department during the Jan. 10 protest. For the first time in the history of these protests, the RPD closed off Castro Street, where the entrance to the refinery is located, eliminating close-range parking and likely causing many potential attendees to forgo attending the rally. The organizers have contacted the Richmond City Council to address this, he said.

Those committed to fighting climate change, opposing illegal military actions and supporting Indigenous peoples’ efforts to protect their lands—and also local populations’ rights to clean air, water and land—can join the multiple nonprofits dedicated to those issues and watch for additional actions taking place this year, said Zlatar and Paz y Miño.

Social Eyes: Week of Feb. 12-18

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Social Eyes: Week of Feb. 12-18

THURSDAY, FEB. 12

JAZZ

THE BAYLOR PROJECT

The husband-and-wife team of Jean and Marcus Baylor has mined a rich vein of Black music where jazz, R&B, gospel and fusion coalesce. She first gained renown as a vocalist in the R&B duo Zhané, while he spent a decade with the Yellowjackets. They joined forces in the Baylor Project, a group that boasts a stellar cast of side players, including pianist Keith Brown. Brandon Rose holds down the bass chair, while the horn section features trumpet great Freddie Hendrix and veteran saxophonist Keith Loftis. The Baylor Project’s latest album, The Evening: Live at Apparatus, captures the band in full flight, combining sanctified fervor, jazz improvisation and insinuating R&B grooves. – ANDREW GILBERT 

INFO: Thu, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 510.644.2020.

THURSDAY, FEB. 12

FOLK

HEATHER MALONEY

Heather Maloney released her ninth album, Exploding Star, just over a year ago, and has said that despite its sad inspiration—the death of her father—she’s experienced joy and healing in the process of writing, recording and performing it. The folk artist is known for the depth of emotion her songs and singing reveal. Her 2014 album, Woodstock, was praised by another musician known for capturing deep feelings, Graham Nash. Her soaring voice on Exploding Star’s title track sings, “Should I move to the desert, find your love among the stars?/Or are you also in the constellations made from little particles?” We all want to know. – JANIS HASHE

INFO: Thu, 8pm, The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $20. 510.654.3808.

THURSDAY, FEB. 12

COUNTRY

JONNY FRITZ

Ever heard of “Dad Country”? Singer/songwriter Jonny Fritz invented the genre to describe his combo of country and Western music. Note that he recorded his first few albums as “Jonny Corndawg,” which reveals quite a bit about this musician who is also a leatherworker, real estate agent and music director of “boutique music venue” Little Saint in Sonoma County. His tracks reflect this innate eclecticism, ranging from reasonably corny country, such as “Suck In Your Gut,” all the way to “Forever Whatever,” recorded in India and featuring a brother-and-sister duo who run a “music ashram.” Really. – JH

INFO: Thu, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $20-$23. 510.859.8709.

FRIDAY, FEB. 13

JAZZ

STANLEY CLARKE

An unstoppable force has kept four-time Grammy award winner Stanley Clarke sitting behind an electric or acoustic bass for more than 50 years. With over 40 albums, draped with performance awards and honors, and celebrated for his work as a film and TV composer, Clarke keeps churning out cool-to-hot jazz. Never a musician to rest on laurels or coast comfortably on music stools, Clarke’s projects in recent years include a web series, a multi-year artist-in-residency that included arts education and curating a jazz festival, and ongoing work with his wife, Sofia, related to the Stanley Clarke Foundation that offers scholarships to young musicians. – LOU FANCHER

INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $49-$99. 510.238.9200.

SATURDAY, FEB. 14

WORLD

KAHIL EL’ZABAR’S ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE

More than gigs, performances by Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble are rituals designed to commune with the ancestors. Embracing the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s ethos—great Black music, ancient to the future—the Chicago percussionist, vocalist, composer and designer launched the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in 1974. It’s been a creative force ever since. After years of touring as a trio anchored by baritone saxophonist Alex Harding, the group recently expanded with cellist Ishmael Ali joining trumpeter Corey Wilkes—the lineup featured on the upcoming album Let the Spirit Out, Live at “MU” London. The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble is the vehicle for his most audacious and enthralling music. – AG

INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $25-$30. 510.654.3808.

SATURDAY, FEB. 14

DANCE

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY

Martha Graham was the first person to dance at the White House, was a cultural ambassador for the arts, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. However, possibly her greatest claim to fame is the Graham Technique, a modern dance style based on the opposition between contraction and release, which quickly became the cornerstone of American dance. Though she passed away in 1991 at the age of 96, the dance company she founded and still bears her name continues her legacy into the future. This week join the Martha Graham Dance Company for GRAHAM100, as they celebrate their extraordinary 100th anniversary with two shows over two days. – MAT WEIR

INFO: Sat, 8pm, Cal Performances at 101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800, Berkeley. $56-$94. 510.642.9988.

SATURDAY, FEB. 14

ROCK

RAGANA

Ragana and Drowse meet in the dark shadow cast by Ash Souvenir, a collaborative album that melds Ragana’s raw, politically charged blackened doom and Drowse’s stark, layered slowcore. The combination could have gone wrong, but doesn’t. Ragana’s blown-out distortion and anguished screams grind against Drowse’s hushed vocals, skeletal melodies and long stretches of negative space. Shrieks and howls are all the more ferocious because they alternate with a more soothing, restrained atmosphere. Together, the two acts create a heaviness of both volume and emotional density, and their songs linger and smolder. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT 

INFO: Sat, 9pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $20. 510.808.7565

SUNDAY, FEB. 15

BLUES

CEDRIC BURNSIDE

The son of drummer Calvin Jackson, he keeps the surname of his grandfather, the legendary R.L. Burnside. By the time he was 13, he was touring with R.L., drumming for his grandfather’s band. These days, Cedric plays the guitar with nimble fingers, channeling the delta and electric blues from his roots in Tennessee and Mississippi. He’s a multi-Grammy Award-nominated artist recognized across the country for keeping the music of his ancestors alive. More recently, Burnside was featured on the soundtrack for the multi-Oscar-nominated hit movie, Sinners, further carrying the roots of all-American music to a new audience of young people. – MW

INFO: Sun, 7pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39/adv, $44/door. 510.644.2020.

TUESDAY, FEB. 17

POP

MONETOCHKA

Rising out of Russia’s internet-era underground, Monetochka has built her reputation on weaponizing pop’s lightest tools: childlike melodies, cartoonish synths and a deliberately naïve vocal delivery that disguises sharp satire. On her “Fairytale World Tour,” she expands that aesthetic, pulling from more electronically refined material while keeping her lyrical bite intact. Warped fairy-tale imagery becomes a frame for skewering gender roles and cultural myths, all delivered with a girlish wink. With bright colors and danceable flair, Monetochka is able to slip between sincerity and irony without announcing where the line is drawn. – SBB

INFO: Tue, 8pm, UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $110. 510.356.4000.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 18

INDIE

CAT POWER

Two decades after Cat Power’s album The Greatest smoked the sound waves, the magnetic songstress returns to perform the album in its entirety along with a special offering, Redux. The new three-song EP includes an updated version of “Could We,” lays out Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” in a heartthrob ballad, and gets steamy blue in a rendition of James Brown’s “Try Me.” This is a show for lovers. A marvelous team travels along: musicians sweeter than a box of chocolates and as grounded in rhythm and rugged tone as boulders. If this troupe were water, the talent pool would be an ocean. If Cat Power’s music were a perfume, it would be musky, mercurial, magnetic and meant to be liberally applied behind, around and in human ears. – LF

INFO: Wed, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $56-$188. 510.302.2250.

A love story for the ages

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A love story for the ages

Online dating didn’t yet exist in the early 1990s. What did, though, were classified ads and “telepersonals” that allowed users to call 900 numbers and listen to recorded voice personals or leave their own. In July 1992 East Bay Express ran ads for one of these call lines. And recently, the family of a couple who were featured in the ads reached out to us with this adorable reminder—and an update! (Scroll down.)

Part 1: Alan (1992)

I never had any trouble meeting women until a career change placed me in an office with fewer employees, i.e., datable women. Some people at work had gone the “ad dating” route with good results, so I decided to give it a try.

I called a few of the “Women Seeking Men” ads and was quite impressed by some of the messages. I was struck by the importances of planning out the message in order to present oneself positively. I tried to imagine someone listening to my message.

I noticed, in ads, a lot of people list the things they like to do—dancing, movies, hiking, plays, etc.—sort of like the old computer-matching services. For me, this misses the point because common interests do not necessarily correlate well with romantic attraction. I wasn’t planning on doing various activities with the people I met through the ads, at least not right away, because what people need to do to get to know each other is talk. If you go to a movie, you don’t talk. I decided to downplay interests and play up values and the idea of meeting to see whether we’re attracted to each other.

The voicemail messages I received were from, almost without exception, the kind of women I wanted to attract. I answered several ads and was called back by five women. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of meeting these people, and even if I hadn’t ended up with a romantic connection, I would have counted it a worthwhile thing to do.

On Saturday, March 28, I called the Matches 900 number and used the “browse” selection to listen to “women seeking men” ads. Kathleen’s ad interested me because, for one thing, she mentioned that her favorite color is red; it used to be yellow. I wanted to know why she’d put that in the ad. I also liked her voice.

On April Fool’s Day Kathleen returned my call. The next Friday I asked her to meet me. We had a great conversation over a couple of beers and then some dinner. She seemed more like me than anyone else I had met.

The next Friday Kathleen and I went out for dinner and talked until 2am. We’re seeing each other four or five times a week and show all the signs of people falling in love. Whatever happens, it’s been a great experience. I’ve met some really nice people and I encourage others to give it a try.

Part 2: Kathleen (1992)

I had no previous experience with “ad dating.” Like a lot of people, I would occasionally read through the ads but never act on one that caught my attention. The demands of a new job and a new house made it difficult to devote enough time to meeting new people. In fact, I was trying quite hard to get to the point of not feeling the need for another relationship, trying to resign myself to a permanently single status. But then I decided I needed to do something different, something that would add a little fun and excitement to my life, and give me a sense of achievement and nourishment.

When I placed my ad, I had zero expectations and virtually no hope about meeting someone with whom I would eventually develop a serious relationship. My voicemail message was the first hurdle. I tried to simply state things that were revealing and important about myself in a way that portrayed me as having many desirable and interesting qualities while being imperfect (a true reflection of the way I feel about myself). I also talked about qualities I was seeking in a respondent—skipping, for the most part, “demographic” attributes.

Ultimately—through a slow, ambivalent, nerve-wracking process—I hit the mother lode: I found six men who seemed to match me in terms of interests. Like me, these were nice people looking to meet other nice people. I discovered one of the best aspects about “ad dating” is that all those involved have indicated availability to new relationships.

To my surprise, one of these bachelors turned out to be “Mr. Right.” He’d liked my voicemail message when he was browsing through Matches. I was very interested in his message because it described a value system as well as interests. He expressed ideas which reflected intelligence and spirit. He didn’t waste time with self-congratulations; he just put himself out there.

In retrospect, getting started was the hardest part. Once I realized there was a huge pool of nice people out there just like me it took a lot of trepidation out of the process. Right now I feel like the luckiest person on earth. I have met a terrific man with whom I “click.” I never, ever thought this would happen to me.

An update (2026):

Alan Shank, 80, and Kathleen Stock, 77, just celebrated 32 years of marriage in Woodland, as reported by their daughter Mila. ❤️

Alan recently shared via email that April 17 will be the 34th anniversary of their meeting, after he answered Kathleen’s ad in the East Bay Express. “We were also seeing other people we had met via the EBE, but decided after a couple of weeks to concentrate on each other,” he said. “I moved in with her in her West Berkeley house later that year, and we were married Oct. 30, 1993. We moved into our current home in December 1999.”

We wish this beautiful couple many more years of happiness and “positive messages.”

Prescott Market welcomes Fatto a Mano

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Prescott Market welcomes Fatto a Mano

Misinformation sure is easy to come by these days. A waiter once told me that it was acceptable to pronounce bruschetta with a soft “sh” sound. At the time, I didn’t know the meaning of the word gullible. Fatto a Mano’s owner Elena Fabbri quickly disabused me of this urban culinary myth. The Tuscan-born chef emphatically enunciated the crunchy Italian appetizer’s name with a hard “k” sound, as in Porchetta Toscana, the catering business she and her husband Gustavo Mutul also run.

In her newly opened Prescott Market kitchen, Fabbri already moves about the space as if she were at home. When she serves a dish of pasta to a customer, she asks if they’d like even more parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, before adding, “Would you like some bread?” Hospitality, the art of being hospitable, is second nature to her. “I really like to take care of people. I really like to feed people. That’s what I’ve always done,” she said.

Fabbri was born into a family that owned restaurants. “I wanted to go to culinary school and my parents said, ‘Absolutely not,’” the chef told me. She studied languages instead. But when she arrived in the Bay Area in 1999, after a stint on the East Coast, Fabbri found work at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store in North Beach, Splendido in the Embarcadero and at Giovanni Perticone’s Trattoria Pinocchio.

In 2017, she and Mutul opened Porchetta Toscana together as a farmers’ market pop-up. They made lasagne and sandwiches served on their homemade focaccia. The company grew into a fulltime business until the pandemic forced them, like everyone in the restaurant industry, to make a great big pivot. They received a government contract to provide meals for elderly folks who were homebound. When people were allowed to eat out again, the couple decided to open a dine-in restaurant together. La Gastronomia in Fairfax will celebrate its third year this spring.

Fatto a Mano is a different endeavor. After three years in Fairfax, Fabbri was interested in opening a space more casual than La Gastronomia. “We’re not compromising on the quality of food,” she said. “Everything is still made from scratch; but I just didn’t want to have the whole restaurant set-up per se.”

Fabbri has moved into the space formerly leased by Prescott Meats and Delicatessen. It’s located directly around the corner from Cafe Noir. There’s one plush booth that three good friends could squeeze into, as well as a high table with a couple of stools. The menu works as both a takeaway and as a fast(er) food model. At most Italian restaurants, the pastas and their companion ingredients are set and served as listed. Fatto offers six pasta shapes to choose from and seven sauces with which to pair them. I chose cheese tortellini and bolognese ($22). The dish was served hot off the stove, as if someone’s nonna had just made (fatto) it by hand (mano).

I also had a hearty bowl of Tuscan bean soup ($14). Rosemary leaves flecked and flavored the broth while parmesan melted down and over a gathering of small white beans. I couldn’t finish either the pasta or the soup but ate them for lunch the next day.

Before I ordered at the counter, I caught a glimpse of a cabinet filled with Italian pastries, such as cannoli and cookies. Fabbri said that for now she’s importing most of the desserts in the case. But she’s also a baker. That day she’d made sfogliatella and trecce, two pastries I’d never seen in person. Sfogliatella appeared ages ago as a challenge on The Great British Bake Off, but I’d never heard of trecce before.

It’s an ingenious way to incorporate chocolate into something that’s croissant-adjacent. Instead of lumpen chunks or chips or bars, the chocolate element is one of several woven strands of dough. My timing that day was spot on. Fabbri had just baked a fresh batch of trecce. When I bit into it, I found the dough gloriously light and crisp. And the taste of chocolate wasn’t diluted by the other strands. It made me reevaluate my longstanding committed relationship to pain au chocolat.

Fatto a Mano, Prescott Market, 1620 18th St., Oakland. Closed Tuesdays. fattoamanoalimentari.com

Free Will Astrology: Week of Feb. 11

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Free Will Astrology: Week of Feb. 11

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them,” wrote Ernest Hemingway. This Valentine season, I propose you experiment with his approach. Take a smart risk with people who have shown glimmers of reliability but whom you haven’t fully welcomed. Don’t indulge in reckless credulity, just courageous and discerning openness. Be vulnerable enough to discover what further connection might bloom if you lead with faith rather than suspicion. Your willingness to believe in someone’s better nature may help bring it forth.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus singer Barbra Streisand addressed her legendary perfectionism. She said that truly interesting intimacy became available for her only after she showed her dear allies her full array of selves, not just her shiny, polished side. In alignment with astrological omens, I encourage you to experiment with the daring art of unfinished revelation. Let the people you care for witness you in the midst of becoming. Share your uncertainties, your half-formed thoughts and your works in progress. Surprise! Your flaws may prove as endearing as your achievements.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Author Anaïs Nin wrote, “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” I believe this understanding of camaraderie should be at the heart of most Geminis’ destinies. It’s your birthright and your potential superpower to seek connections with people who inspire you to think thoughts and feel feelings you would never summon by yourself. You have an uncanny knack for finding allies and colleagues who help you unveil and express more of your total self. Now is a good time to tap further into these blessings.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Poet David Whyte said that “heartbreak is unpreventable.” It’s “the natural outcome of caring for people and things over which we have no control.” But here’s the redemptive twist: Your capacity to feel heartbreak proves you have loved well. Your shaky aches are emblems of your courageous readiness to risk closeness and be deeply affected. So let’s celebrate your tender heart, not despite its vulnerability but because of it. You should brandish your sensitivity as a superpower.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Choreographer Twyla Tharp said she fell in love with her husband partly because “he was the only person who didn’t seem impressed by me.” I will extrapolate from that to draw this conclusion: Our most valuable allies might show their most rigorous respect by seeing us clearly. This Valentine season, Leo, I invite you to test the hypothesis that being thoroughly known and understood is more crucial than being regularly praised and flattered. Enrich your connections with the perceptive souls who love you not for your highlight reel but for your raw, genuine self.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The famously kind and caring author Anne Lamott confessed, “I thought such awful thoughts that I cannot even say them out loud because they would make Jesus want to drink gin straight out of the cat dish.” That’s a liberating insight. She revealed that even kind, caring people like her harbor messy internal chaos. This Valentine season, Virgo, I dare you to share a few of your less-than-noble thoughts with soulful characters whom you trust will love you no matter what. Let them see that your goodness coexists with your salty imperfections. Maybe you could even playfully highlight the rough and rugged parts of you for their entertainment value. What’s the goal? To deepen spirited togetherness.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): How do we eagerly and daringly merge our fortunes with another person while maintaining our sovereign selfhood? How do we cultivate interesting togetherness without suppressing or diluting our idiosyncratic beauty? In some respects, this is a heroic experiment that seems almost impossible. In other respects, it’s the best work on the planet for anyone who’s brave enough to attempt it. Luckily for you Libras, this is potentially one of your superpowers. And now is an excellent time to take your efforts to the next level of heartful grittiness.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Here’s a quote by the character Carrie Bradshaw from the TV show Sex and the City: “The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you that you love, that’s fabulous.” I invite you to make this a prime meditation, Scorpio. To begin, get extra inspired by your own mysterious beauty: captivated by your own depths, fascinated by your mysterious contradictions and delighted by your urge for continual transformation. The next step is to identify allies and potential allies who appreciate the strange magnificence you treasure in yourself. Who devoutly wants you to fulfill your genuine, idiosyncratic soul’s code? Spend the coming weeks enriching your connections with these people.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): This Valentine season, I propose that you infuse your intimate life with a fun dose of playful curiosity. Visualize your beloved allies, both current and potential, as unfolding mysteries rather than solved puzzles. Ask them provocative questions you’ve never thought to ask before. Wonder aloud about their simmering dreams and evolving philosophies. (Brezsny’s Togetherness Rule #1: When you think you’ve figured someone out completely, the relationship withers.) In fact, let’s make this one of your assignments for the next five months: Heighten and nurture your nosiness about the beautiful people you love. Treat each conversation as an expedition into unexplored territory. (Brezsny’s Togetherness Rule #2: A great way to stoke their passion for you and your passion for them is to believe there’s always more to discover about each other.)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Ecologists studying symbiosis know that successful partnerships aren’t always between similar organisms. Some bonds link the fortunes of radically different creatures, like clownfish and sea anemones or oxpeckers and buffalo. Each supplies resources or protection the other lacks, often assuring they live more successfully together than they would on their own. This is useful information for you right now. At least one of the allies you need looks nothing like you. Their genius is orthogonal to yours, or they have skills you don’t. The blend may not be comfortable, but I bet it’s the precise intelligence you need to achieve what you can’t accomplish alone.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Poet Mary Oliver asked her readers, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This Valentine’s season, I propose a collaborative version of this prod: Ask those you care for to help you answer Oliver’s question, and offer to help them answer it for themselves. Now is an excellent time to act on the truth that vibrant intimacy involves the two of you inspiring each other to fulfill your highest callings. Do whatever it takes to make both of you braver and bolder as you learn more about who you are meant to be.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Can you care for stressed people without making it your duty to rescue them? Can you offer support without being taken advantage of? I hope so, Pisces. Life is inviting you to be more skilled about expressing your love without compromising your own interests. How? First, offer affection without signing up for endless service. Second, don’t let your empathy blur into entanglement. Third, monitor your urge to care so it doesn’t weaken your sovereignty. Your gift for soothing others’ struggles evokes my deep respect, but it’s most effective when it’s subtle and relaxed. Give people room to carry out their own necessary work.

Homework: What fresh, bold action on behalf of love could you take? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Bet105 Earns a Solid Reputation Among Sportsbook Players

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Bet105 Earns a Solid Reputation Among Sportsbook Players

Published in cooperation between bet105 and the East Bay Express

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If bet105 has one area to expand, it is its range of sports and markets. Major leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and top soccer competitions are well represented, but some users would like to see more niche and international options. Still, the sportsbook has indicated that it plans to broaden its catalog in the near future.

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When they have a hammer

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When they have a hammer

Keiarra Mullins, a mom with four kids, had some history of legal troubles and had never used a hammer or a steel measuring tape. But she followed a friend of hers on Instagram as the friend documented her journey with the Emeryville nonprofit Rising Sun’s Opportunity Build program. Mullins investigated, found that completing one of the program’s cohorts offered potential access to one of 30 building trades—and signed up. Graduating last year, she now has a full-time job as a cement mason.

“They helped me change my life,” she said in a phone interview.

All signs point to a building trades jobs revival. A study by the jobs site Indeed reported, “For many job seekers, [the] combination [of] high demand job security and a clear path to advancement is what makes the trades appealing.” The study emphasizes that retirement among current tradespeople has created a shortage of 500,000 unfilled jobs in manufacturing alone.

But Gen-Z may be changing that. Education news site University Business calls it the “toolbelt” generation, and states, “interest in going to trade schools has nearly doubled among teens and adults since 2017.”

The interest isn’t limited to Gen-Z. Christine Vertiz comes from a family of white-collar workers. She worked as a property manager, but during the pandemic decided to make a big change. “I can do the contractors’ jobs,” she said during a recent interview.

She joined an Opportunity Build cohort in 2023, received her MC3—pre-apprenticeship training program for construction—certification, and now works as a pile driver, a member of Local 34, and one of very few women in the field.

“I wanted a union that will support me as a tradeswoman,” she said.

Both of these stories are familiar to Marlin Jeffreys, director of Opportunity Build, and reflect his own experience as well. He came to Rising Sun in 2017 with the aim of becoming an electrician. Recently released after 26 years in prison, he needed a fresh start into a profession that paid well, offered a solid career and, importantly, didn’t reject him outright because of his background.

When his cohort finished, he was asked to help with program recruitment, then became assistant program manager and has now been the program’s director for two years.

“A variety of people from 18-to-mid-40s are served by the program,” he said. “We see more and more younger people, since schools are pushing hands-on training.” Rising Sun is partnered with the Alameda Unified School District.

BUILDING FUTURES Education news site University Business calls Gen Z the ‘toolbelt’ generation, and states, ‘interest in going to trade schools has nearly doubled among teens and adults since 2017.’

People primarily apply online, then are given a tour to learn about the process and interview with two staff people, and are drug-tested. Mullins noted that applicants, other than high-school students, need a high school diploma or GED, a Social Security number, a valid driver’s license and “reliable transportation,” but that the program can assist with some of these requirements. Each cohort lasts 10-12 weeks.

One of the biggest advantages of Opportunity Build, interviewees said, is that cohort graduates are on its case load for 12 months after graduation. Any apprenticeship or job openings are immediately reported to graduates. This includes trades such as labor, ironworkers, boilermakers, pipe fitters, painters, plumbers, those mentioned above and many more.

Mullins wasn’t surprised to receive some pushback in a male-dominated field. “I had to prove myself. I was asked to lift stacks of four-by-sixes to show I could do it,” she said. But she was never late, never missed a day of work and is now accepted as part of the team. Yet, she said, “I still get my hair done! I still do everything I’ve always done.” But now she has a job that helps her provide fully for her family—and she’s proud of what she does.

Vertiz wanted a job on and near water, and now works with Richmond-based Manson Construction. She’s worked on the San Francisco Ferry, the USS Pampanito, and piers on Alcatraz. “I encourage women to look into Rising Sun,” she said. “My cohort was the biggest [the nonprofit] had ever had. They took a huge gamble with 42 students.”

For many, it pays off. Last year, Jeffreys said, 62% of its cohort graduates were placed in apprenticeship programs.

Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, 1116 36th St., Emeryville. 510.665.1501. risingsunopp.org

[Ed. note: The second to last paragraph has been corrected to note Vertiz’s past workplaces.]

Freedom From Fear, pt. 3: What we can do here and now

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Freedom From Fear, pt. 3: What we can do here and now

This is the third and final piece of a three-part series on ongoing issues with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it reaches into our areas. Read part one and part two. -–Editor

Part 3: Fear Is Control

“Freedom from fear” was the fourth of four freedoms defining democracy President Franklin D. Roosevelt framed in his rally cry to fight fascist conquest from without. It is openly debated whether America is now fighting a fascist takeover from within.

It may be debated, but only because the would-be dictators of the world will always disguise their plays for power in the mock forms of democratic legality—by declaring a fake emergency, attacking political rivals through trumped-up legal charges or holding rigged elections.

But there can be no disguising the fear. Fear is how authoritarians maintain control, how they keep the people head-down and silent—hardworking, obsequious, compliant. In any country in the world, the questions, “Do you fear the president?,” “Do you fear the government?” and “Do you fear the police?” cut through the political lies to the truth. Wherever one stands on the political spectrum running blue, purple, red, there can be no doubt that in America a great fear is rising.

Fighting Fear Itself

“Power, not panic” is the slogan with which “immigrant defense coordinator” Gina Garibo signs off every email. I was always relieved to see it. In the process of my research I met a great many professionals, protesters and volunteers just like Gina, “Esteban” and “Marisol.” Some work openly. And some work in the new underground resistance.

They are part of a great mobilization of people gathering around a strategic arc of methods for confronting ICE terror. It is a thrilling thing to witness, but much more support is still needed if they are to succeed. “Expanded capacity” is the watchword among these groups.

Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed last summer by a cowed millionaire’s Congress that doubled the ICE budget to $80 billion. A crash recruitment drive is setting targets to recruit another 18,000 officers to the president’s private police force (The Economist, “Trumpforce”).

California is a “sanctuary state” with the highest percentage of undocumented people in the U.S. (7%). Governed by one of Trump’s strongest opponents now and in the 2028 election—democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom—California is going to be heavily targeted. ICE will return to San Francisco. “It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better,” “Esteban” told me when we first met at the “American nostalgia” diner.

The activists I spoke to invite our readers to look at these elements of their adapting strategy and to try to find their part in it. Whether our readers are motivated by the fight for immigrants’ human rights and dignity, or to fight for the rights of the poor, minority rights, anti-racism, the fight against the billionaires, public safety, national security or by the preservation of our constitutional rights, these activists urge them to find their part in this fight. ICE is now the flashpoint in the fight against fear. Use these terms and names to begin one’s own research. Be brave; be unafraid. Fight.

Sanctuary States, Counties and Cities

Sanctuary declarations are based in constitutional law which except state and local officials in assisting in the enforcement of federal laws. The phrase “sanctuary” relates these laws to a religious tradition of sacred sanctuaries for the oppressed, amplifying moral outrage at their violation. Ultimately, they are a local declaration of passive non-cooperation with ICE—with no necessary commitment to resistance or to assistance to those who are fighting.

Putting Pressure on Elected Officials

Claudia Rios Manzo, the program director of the Sacramento F.U.E.L., a network of organizations for immigrants, recommended this key piece. Ask elected representatives what they are doing to actively support our undocumented neighbors. Through funding and partnerships, local government can support those actively fighting ICE terror for all of us. Help them be brave; even U.S. senators feel unsafe in this terror.

Boycotts

Conscientious consumerism quietly remains one of our most powerful political tools. In this way, the people can lead powerful corporations that have no morality but will always follow the money like cattle. Don’t buy from the corporations that have contributed to Trump in the last year or have contracts to supply ICE. If one has stocks in these companies—dump them.

Marches

Along with local chapters of No Kings, a host of local and national groups are organizing a wide range of nonviolent protests across the Bay Area. There are many calendars—I suggest the calendar at actiontogetherwest.org. I also recommend Gene Sharp’s Methods of Non Violent Action. Boycotts and marches are just two of the 198 methods of resistance listed in its pages.

Be Out

This part of resistance was advised by activists, especially for Latines and for persons of color. It is advice for all the communities—including LGBTQ persons—that feel targeted by this administration:

Be safe. Take care of oneself. And to the extent that it is consistent with safety, in one’s personal assessment, be out. Continue to go out—show one’s face, be loud, take one’s place, be proud. Gather. Dance. Live lives as free people. It is a political act. It is effective resistance. They want people to hide, and hide who they are. Be out.

Allies are advised to recognize, honor and support this everyday courage.

Talk About These Issues

Use platforms to keep these issues out in front. Have conversations with friends and family. Continue to educate oneself.

Print and Digitally Distribute Red Cards / Tarajetas Rojas

These index cards, available in 56 languages, have been prepared by the influential Immigrant Legal Resource Center. They have constitutionally protected immigrant rights printed on one side, and a script for talking to ICE agents on the other.

Keep the Number of One’s Local Rapid Response Network on One’s Phone

These networks collect and verify crowdsourced ICE sightings in one’s area and send trained legal monitors to observe and document ICE activity and arrests.

Look up “California Rapid Response Networks” to find one’s local network. And read up on how to identify ICE—false alarms fan the fear.

Train to Be a Legal Observer

Abigail [redacted], a legal observer for rapid response, suggested going to a training by one’s local network without commitment and “make your own assessment of personal risk” after. Some trainees may choose to become rapid responders, others to participate in “adopt-a-school” or “adopt-a-day-labor-site” programs or be observers at community events that might be targeted. Still other trainees become public sources of good information.

Besides adding to the safety of our immigrant friends and neighbors, observers’ video documentation discourages rights abuses by ICE agents, helps identify detained persons for family and becomes evidence in deportation hearings.

If One Is an Attorney, Consider Volunteering

There are corresponding rapid response networks for defense attorneys. Contact the Immigrant Legal Resource Center or one’s local rapid response network to learn more.

Volunteer

Donate time and skills to local immigrant rights groups. And also do the same for the food banks, community free clinics and homeless shelters, community of service providers that supply their very limited social safety net.

Donate

Donate money to those same local and national organizations. I will add that there is a special moral obligation on the part of employers in industries that have benefitted from hard-worked and cheap immigrant labor to donate. Immigrants have given to us; now it is time to give back.

Check in With Neighbors

Immigrant communities are fragmenting; families are isolated and scared right now. People of color are intimidated. Abigail [reacted] had this further piece of advice: “Reach out to each other. If you happen to know they are undocumented, offer to pick up their groceries. Let them know that you are on their side.”

Meet these people and build community. Force does indeed check force, but ultimately, communal love is the power that fights fear directly. And most assuredly, love wins.

CODA

After our intense interviews with the farm workers, “Esteban” wanted to show “Marisol” and myself his grandfather’s old wooden plow by way of refreshment. “He fed 10 children with that plow,” “Esteban” said with pride.

It made me think, once again, how fundamentally similar working-class Mexicans and Americans are. They are rural, independent, truck-driving, beer- and barbecue-loving, church-going family people, wanting only to work a square deal and for the government to leave them in peace.

At one point on our walk over crunching gravel, a sudden impulse made “Esteban” stop in his tracks and pull out his phone. “I didn’t show you this, ‘Marisol,’” he said. It was a video, now five years old, of two of his grandchildren, then aged three and five. They are in their PJs in a playroom before a keyboard. Together, they sing a song for him—grandpa. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” they sing in their small piping voices. “I watch it a lot these days,” said “Esteban.” And not for the first or second time that day, we cried together.

Learn more: linktr.ee/iceterrorANDamericandemocracy.

Social Eyes: Week of Feb. 5-11

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Social Eyes: Week of Feb. 5-11

THURSDAY, FEB. 5

JAZZ

CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT

One never knows what Cécile McLorin Salvant will do next. At 36, with three Grammy Awards and a shelf full of other honors, she seems as creatively restless as ever. After releasing two loose concept albums, Salvant created her strangest and most personal project last year with Oh Snap, a consistently surprising session laced with found sounds, synth-pop and folk influences. If she includes any of the recent material at her Cal Performances concert, it’s likely to be entirely reimagined. She’s joined by a superlative trio led by the most widely admired pianist of his generation, New Orleans-native Sullivan Fortner. – ANDREW GILBERT

INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 101 Zellerbach Hall #4800, Berkeley. $37-$117. 510.642.9988.

THURSDAY, FEB. 5

THEATER

‘THE MOUNTAINTOP’

Climb into Oakland Theater Project (OTP)’s 2026 season launch with Katori Hall’s reimagining of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final night. In room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, a maid and the great civil rights leader fall into conversation. Starring OTP co-artistic director William Hodgson as King and Sam Jackson as the maid, the limited two-week run sets a high standard. The work is potent, provocative, political and personal. Outside the company’s home base at FLAX art & design, authoritarian strong-arming attempts to rip out the core of what has long been America’s bedrock. The country that welcomes and protects all people is achieved not by silencing diverse voices, but through open dialogue. – LOU FANCHER

INFO: Thu, 7:30 pm, Oakland Theater Project, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $10-70. 510.646.1126.

FRIDAY, FEB. 6

BRAZILIAN

CANTA VIOLINO! BRAZILIAN TRIO

A virtuosic instrumental trio that focuses on original compositions representing state-of-the-art samba and choro, Canta Violino! brings together a triumvirate of award-winning masters. Asheville composer and violinist Andrew Finn Magill is known for his bluegrass prowess and international collaborations—he lived in Rio for several years and studied with percussion legend Airto. L.A.-based, São Paulo-reared percussionist Clarice Cast is an expert on the frame drum pandeiro. And Rio-born, seven-string guitarist Nando Duarte served as music director for the great vocalist Elza Soares before moving to L.A., where he’s worked extensively in film and performed and recorded with artists such as H.E.R., Melody Gardot and Empire of the Sun. – AG

INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $34. 510.708.9691.

FRIDAY, FEB. 6

ROCK

DARK STAR ORCHESTRA

With the recent passing of Bob Weir, Deadheads will likely flock to this performance of a group that’s been around almost 30 years, celebrating the Dead’s music and featuring, from time to time, Weir himself. The current seven-piece band performs shows based on actual Dead set lists, but also creates their own sets, giving younger fans a chance to see and hear what a Grateful Dead concert might have been like—a true communal event for people who know and love not just the music, but what the Dead represented: freedom, creativity and really, really long drum solos. Performance on Saturday as well. – JANIS HASHE

INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $56. 510.302.2250.

SATURDAY, FEB. 7

DEATH-ROCK

ALTAR DE FEY

There would be no goth scene without death-rock, the forgotten stepchild of punk-rock with a goth aesthetic that came out of the late 1970s and birthed bands like 45 Grave, Christian Death and Altar De Fey. While Los Angeles was known as ground zero for the genre, San Francisco’s Altar De Fey quickly gained notoriety as one of the Bay Area’s premiere bands. Like all good things, they burned out quickly and broke up in 1986 after only three years. However, the band reunited in 2011, stitching musicians together into a Frankenstein’s monster of a group that proves nothing stays dead forever. – MAT WEIR

INFO: Sat, 8:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $17. 510.526.5888.

SATURDAY, FEB. 7

HEAVY METAL

SAVAGE MASTER

Savage Master trades in classic heavy metal drama without treating it like museum work. Balancing street-level grit with occult flair, the band takes pleasure in galloping riffs, sharp hooks and a simmering undercurrent of menace. Their 2025 release, Dark & Dangerous, is sleek, aggressive and unapologetically theatrical, keeping one foot in heavy metal heritage and the other in a darker, charismatic world of flame and prophecy. Onstage, Savage Master favors forward motion over excess, with tight tempos and razor-edged solos. It’s metal that knows its lineage and makes old-school urgency into something lean and eccentric. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT

INFO: Sat, 9pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $20-$25. 510.808.7565.

SUNDAY, FEB. 8

HIP-HOP

GZA

GZA, a.k.a. “the Genius,” brings a rare focus to the stage. While Wu-Tang’s mythology thrived on volatility, GZA’s presence is controlled and exacting, with cool delivery and chessboard logic. His U.S. tour is centered on his second studio album, Liquid Swords, now 30 years old. The record was built on grimy beats and martial arts imagery, and the material still cuts clean and rewards close reading: no excess, no nostalgia gloss. GZA is a technician at heart, more interested in structure and precision than spectacle. – SBB

INFO: Sun, 7pm and 9pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $56-$99. 510.238.9200.

TUESDAY, FEB. 10

METAL

CORONER

When it comes to metal, nobody does it quite like Europeans who come from countries that are known for snow. And Switzerland’s Coroner is a great example of this. Technically formed in 1983, but known for their solidified lineup from 1985, they incorporate the brutality and speed of thrash-metal with the technical stylings of jazz, classical and prog-rock, earning them the nickname the “Rush of thrash metal.” Which makes sense considering the original members started as roadies for another infamous Swiss avant-garde metal band, Celtic Frost. What’s more metal than that? After a 15-year break-up, Coroner reunited in 2011 and recently released their sixth studio album, Dissonance Theory, last October. – MW

INFO: Tue, 7:30pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $40. 510.214.8600.

TUESDAY, FEB. 10

LATIN JAZZ

PEDRITO MARTINEZ & ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ

Cuba has produced numerous remarkable musicians, among them, Martinez and Rodriguez, who buddy up to bring their Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz sound to Yoshi’s. Infinitely rhythmic, simmering with vibrant color tones, and gracefully curving the parameters of folk, jazz, rumba and classical music, it’s no surprise their 2019 album, Duologue, garnered high praise. Every now and then, when two artists braid together their individuality, they create a never-before-exactly-this kind of partnership. Which makes right now the moment to see and hear them perform live. Delivered by two masters of the form, the show makes it plain why the East Bay is a land for music lovers. Show on Wednesday as well. – LF

INFO: Tue, 8pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $35-79. 510.238.9200.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 11

FOLK

LEO KOTTKE

Leo Kottke’s first album, Twelve String Blues, was recorded in 1968 on a Viking quarter-inch tape recorder. But since that time, he’s been a quietly influential presence in the guitarist community, nominated twice for Grammys and simply continuing to make music his own way, a fingerpicking style that draws on folk, jazz and other genres. Not a stellar vocalist, he nonetheless does occasionally sing, describing his own voice as “geese farts on a muggy day.” Worth noting: This now-80-year-old artist resides in Minneapolis, where many hearts and minds are right now. – JH

INFO: Wed, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $64-$69. 510.644.2020.

TILT: Stories on the Edge comes to the Marsh Arts Center 

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TILT: Stories on the Edge comes to the Marsh Arts Center 

If someone gathered together 100 people, they would hear 100 different stories. Coming up on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Marsh Arts Center is TILT: Stories on the Edge. It’s a collection of storytellers, story slam champions, caregivers, survivors and clinicians all deeply touched by a neuroimmune and autoimmune disorder referred to with the disarmingly cute name, PANS/PANDAS. 

While the storytellers will weave their magic with joy, growth, humor and unexpected possibility, the bottom line is PANS/PANDAS is frightening. Imagine: A child, typically 3 years old to late teens, gets a cold and within a blink of the eye they turn into somebody else. They emerge with sudden uncontrollable thoughts, repetitive behaviors, wild aggression and a host of other alarming symptoms.

It sounds like a scarier version of Pluribus, but the reality is more challenging than a TV show. 

Terry Downing is a Silicon Valley mom whose work in public relations is well known and applauded. She is also one of the people behind this storytelling showcase.

“My daughter was Patient No. 1 at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital,” Downing said from her home in San Jose. “My daughter was hit on July 8th of 2011. She was 13 at the time. Overnight she became psychotic and developmentally delayed, and was misdiagnosed for 10 months as having bipolar and schizophrenia, when she actually had PANS, or we also call it autoimmune encephalitis of the brain.”

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital started a clinic that consisted of two doctors and Downing’s beautiful daughter, Tessa, to study this elusive disease. With a deep background in PR, Downing wrote a story about her difficult journey in The Mercury News and it went viral.

“She’s about ready to turn 28. Because of the misdiagnosis, she is brain-damaged. She lives in a group home in Milpitas. She’s more like a 12-to-14-year-old. It’s an autoimmune disease. There’s no cure right now, and any type of infection whatsoever can put her into a tailspin and into a flare. And we just got out of a flare literally last month. It was a 17-month flare,” Downing said.

Gathering together to support these parents, and their up-turned lives, is crucial for them. Not only for them to process the heaviness of the day-to-day through the power of storytelling, but also for any parent who struggles to find support. And to spread the word on this often misdiagnosed disease. PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections) and PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) is still a mystery that needs attention. 

Luckily there is a nonprofit, The Alex Manfull Fund, started by Susan Manfull, whose daughter Alex passed away from the disease at 26 years of age. This giving arm, dedicated to promoting education, funding research and raising awareness for PANS/PANDA, is a benefactor of TILT.

Another storyteller, and TILT co-producer, is East Bay resident Noreen Raja-Halpern. Raja-Halpern grew up earning her chops in debating contests, and is fierce about getting her point across and being heard. Two of Raja-Halpern’s three children have the disease.

“So about a year ago, two of my kids were diagnosed with PANS/PANDAS,” Raja-Halpern said, her children playing in the background. “It’s a really tragic and horrible disorder, and it often affects kids. My kids just got sick on different occasions. And we thought, ‘OK, this is normal. Kids get sick.’ And just a couple of days later, they woke up, and they were not the kids we knew anymore.

“My son in particular, who both of my stories are actually about,” she added. “He’s really easy to tell stories about; he’s a fascinating, amazing and brilliant kid. He’s so funny. And he’s struggling a lot. And so it makes for a really good story.”

This storytelling show premiered in Hermosa Beach, but the Berkeley edition offers new voices, with incredible personal stories. Ongoing stories—stories from the edge of our community. 

‘TILT: Stories on the Edge’ takes place on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6pm, at The Marsh Arts Center at 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. Tickets are $30. More info at givebutter.com/TILT-BERKELEY#.

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