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ronrussellwriter

May 13, 20141 min read

Mercury News claims 'exclusive' on Mark Zuckerberg story published elsewhere last week

In case you missed it--and perhaps the folks at the Mercury News did--The Recorder, the San Francisco legal newspaper, published a piece...

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Chronicle columnists play the religion card while dumping on Mark Jackson

ronrussellwriter

May 11, 20141 min read

Chronicle columnists play the religion card while dumping on Mark Jackson

Now that former Warriors coach Mark Jackson has been fired, he's fair game for sports columnists to dump on. That's just the way it works...

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Raymond Sarlot, investor who saved Hollywood's Chateau Marmont, dies at 89

ronrussellwriter

May 10, 20142 min read

Raymond Sarlot, investor who saved Hollywood's Chateau Marmont, dies at 89

As a symbol of Hollywood lore, the Chateau Marmont knows few peers. Hard to believe the landmark hotel where Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe...

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ronrussellwriter

May 5, 20141 min read

Oh, goodie! Now the Eureka Times-Standard looks just like the San Jose Mercury News

Another newspaper just got sliced up in the MediaNews Group/Digital First cookie-cutter. Reporters, editors and photographers at the...

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ronrussellwriter

May 2, 20141 min read

Texas vs. California and the Toyota headquarters sweepstakes

Toyota's just-announced decision to move its U. S. headquarters from suburban Los Angeles (Torrance) to suburban Dallas (Plano) has...

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ronrussellwriter

May 1, 20141 min read

Early opening for Yosemite's Tioga Pass

Another byproduct of a Sierra snowpack that was 30 percent of normal this winter: Caltrans will open the 9,943-foot eastern gateway to...

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Kamala Harris says she won't investigate former officials in Hercules scandal

ronrussellwriter

May 1, 20142 min read

Kamala Harris says she won't investigate former officials in Hercules scandal

Four years ago Jerry Brown was attorney general and running for governor and his office was all over municipal corruption in the Los...

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For many newcomers in rapidly-growing Chowchilla, life is a bit confining

ronrussellwriter

Apr 30, 20141 min read

For many newcomers in rapidly-growing Chowchilla, life is a bit confining

New population estimates released today by the state show the Central Valley town of Chowchilla continuing to grow at a rapid clip -- 8.7...

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ronrussellwriter

Apr 28, 20142 min read

Donald Sterling's enablers

What you see above is a half-page ad that appeared in Sunday's business section of the Los Angeles Times. Which means it's time, yet...

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Is Fresno really California's most polluted city?

ronrussellwriter

Apr 24, 20141 min read

Is Fresno really California's most polluted city?

Maybe. But it's simplistic to single out Fresno in a pack of cities, towns and rural areas--many of them in the Central Valley and...

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ronrussellwriter

Apr 16, 20142 min read

In Los Angeles, a newspaper is born

After months of anticipation the Los Angeles Register has hit the streets. The offshoot of Freedom Communications' Orange County Register...

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ronrussellwriter

Apr 11, 20141 min read

Suburban schools superintendent earns $674,000; anger in Lawndale

Here's what the school board of a suburban Los Angeles district with 6,600 high school students and facing bankruptcy did a couple of...

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Death Valley wildflower show goes on despite drought

ronrussellwriter

Apr 10, 20141 min read

Death Valley wildflower show goes on despite drought

You might think that the drought would be the death knell for Death Valley National Park's spring flower season. Not so, apparently. ...

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San Jaoquin River is nation's 'most endangered.' Careful where you dive in.

ronrussellwriter

Apr 9, 20141 min read

San Jaoquin River is nation's 'most endangered.' Careful where you dive in.

Looking for a poster child for California's unbalanced water management policy? How about the San Jaoquin River, which hasn't had a...

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ronrussellwriter

Mar 30, 20142 min read

Cynics, get out your notebooks: Willie Brown weighs in on Leland Yee's downfall

Those who like dollops of cynicism with their political commentary should love Willie Brown's take on Leland Yee's being suspended from...

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City Hall takes a whiff at what ails San Francisco's public library

ronrussellwriter

Mar 10, 20142 min read

City Hall takes a whiff at what ails San Francisco's public library

As a card-carrying patron of San Francisco Public Library I've long had mixed feelings about it. And by it, I mean the...

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Google's barge rolls in and Stockton's hopes rise

ronrussellwriter

Mar 7, 20141 min read

Google's barge rolls in and Stockton's hopes rise

Here's what happens when a mysterious barge owned by a household-name tech giant pulls up at the river port of one of America's most...

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Tenants take flight from once-proud LAX office corridor

ronrussellwriter

Mar 6, 20141 min read

Tenants take flight from once-proud LAX office corridor

There's a nasty little secret about the imposing row of office towers that line both sides of Century Boulevard near Los Angeles...

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