Where You Come In
Maryann Miller Novak
The thumping of basketballs against the gym floor, squeals of children's laughter, and the playful conversations of teens on their ubiquitous cell phones greet you the moment you set foot inside the walls of the Anna Marie Whalen branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland on High Street.

Letters to the Editor
Metro,
On our way to my place after a stop at the Post Office, as we passed Kasper's, I suggested we have one of their famous hot dogs, "with everything!"Then my son Gene handed me a copy of the Metro. I had just moved back to Oakland after a few years away, and I love to read local newspapers.

It's Time for the Annual Pro Arts East Bay Open Studios
Rita Sklar
You won't have to travel far to see fine art for your home and garden. Seventeenneighborhood artists from the Dimond, Glenview, and Laurel districts will be showing theirwatercolor, acrylic, oil, fabric, or mixed-media paintings, glass or paper .

Journalism in Our High Schools Alive and Well
Madeline Smith Moore
I haven't entered a high school since (well, I graduated from high school in 1950, you do the math). I recently visited the journalism classes of Skyline, Fremont, and Castlemont. Guess what, folks? Our world will not go to hell in a handbasket. Good.

Onions & Orchids
Peter Bond
Dear readers: This writer does search for individuals and businesses worthy of inclusion in this column, but he relies mostly on input from others. So please e-mail your ideas for Onions & Orchids to bpbond\@aol.com.Orchids to Councilmember Jane Br.