Raised by the Barre: The Legacy of Ballet on MacArthur Blvd.
Denise Davila
For more than 33 years, aspiring dancers from the greater Bay Area have made pilgrimages to MacArthur Blvd. several times a week. The Oakland Ballet Academy, near Maple St., opened in 1972, and dance has been a part of our community ever since.Ronn.

Metro Board Members Wanted
Dear Metro Readers,
The Metro Board of Directors is looking for new members. Some longtime Board members are ready to step down. We will miss them and wish them well as they move on to other endeavors. An organization thrives when new energy mixes with experience, so new applicants for the Board are welcome.

Kidz 'N Dance 'N Theater Arts
Meredith Florian
Kris Mueller, the enthusiastic and multitalented director of this popular new studio onMacArthur, danced and sang her way through her childhood in St. Louis, Missouri. Wantingto be an opera singer, she concentrated on voice in college, obtained .

Lighting Up the Dark
Toni Locke
Stella and Scott Lamb and their daughter Celine moved into their Patterson Avenue home in the Laurel District on the night of the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. Their next-door neighbors found them sitting among boxes with candles and sleeping bags, and befriended them.

Oakland's Oldest Oak
Joan Lohman
Who speaks for the trees?In the case of the champagne oak, a coastal live oak estimated at over 150 years old that lives in the heart of Dimond Park, the answer is, many residents of the Dimond District. While arborists are recommending that the tr.

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 Ray and Charlotte Har.

The Pied Piper of Oakland
Maryann Miller Novak
Trying to interview Robin Goodfellow is like trying to follow the Pied Piper. One has to bepatient while she casts her magical spell over gobs of adoring children and animals. It's fittingthat what brought this talented artist to Oakland in the .

No Ordinary Window Man
Greg Novak
You've seen him. Maybe you averted your eyes or gave a smile and a forgiving shrug. Youmay have reached into your pocket to give him a handful of change. Why? "They call me theWindow Man," Curtis says with a beaming smile. Most afternoons he's working the lot atFarmer Joe's.