Occidental News

My great-grandfather invented the martini. His name was George Warren Hooper, and he was the proprietor of San Francisco's Occidental Hotel on Montgomery Street, which he ran until it burned down in the 1906 ...

Editor's note: Bee staff writer Bruce Dancis was a prominent anti-war activist and member of Students for a Democratic Society.

“It's not about population growth. It's about economic growth.”

On the eve of a key public hearing, Sebastopol's business community is stepping forward to debate an ambitious plan to redevelop the town's old apple packing district. via The Press Democrat

“It's near and dear to our hearts”

Races are all about getting to the finish in as short a time as possible, so most people wouldn't think to time how long it takes participants to cross the starting line. via The Press Democrat

Ecuador "handed over its sovereignty" when it signed international accords binding it to the bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Correa said during his weekly radio address. via SF Gate

If there really is a black cougar prowling Don Callen's woodlands near Forestville, it's a bona fide feline phenomenon. via Unexplained Mysteries

“We demand compensation -- our people are suffering”

It's a time-honored ritual for Occidental Petroleum Corp.: the yearly gathering of shareholders and protesters. via Los Angeles Times

Temperatures - high 69, low 44 Under the leadership of fourth- and fifth-grade teacher Jeff Stanner, several students from Cram Elementary School's Running Club will participate in the Run Through Redlands this ... via Redlands Daily Facts

Ecuador's energy minister says the country has settled a dispute with the U.S. oil company Occidental and will return U.S. $100 million in taxes. via KGET-TV Bakersfield

“To begin with Cow Hollow, and how it got its name.”

Seventy-nine-year-old Bill Hatman pushed his glasses to his forehead, leaned back in his chair and gazed out the window across Union Street to the brown stucco walls of the Sherman School, to the Western ... via SFGate

“He's wagging his tail so you know he's having fun”

Out of the clear blue sky Saturday, it rained garters on Occidental. Men in dresses marched down main street and a band of pink nymphs tossed Chai tea packets to onlookers - all to the beat of polka music. via The Press Democrat

“We all have our own level of comfort.”

Nancy Skall of Middleton Farm is the strawberry lady. Her luscious and aromatic berries have launched a thousand desserts, including Thomas Keller's strawberrry sorbet shortcakes. via Savor Wine Country

“We went through a lot of meetings and a lot of time.”

Occidental must find yet another solution to its sewage treatment problems now that residents from nearby Camp Meeker have declined to help out. via The Press Democrat

“Rising nationalism makes access to energy resources harder than ever, and Oxy has managed with amazing success to elbow its way into big deals, beating much larger rivals”

Occidental Petroleum Corp. has agreed to jointly fund energy production and refining projects with Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co., the Westwood-based company said Monday. via Los Angeles Times

“Its eyes are just this sort of embodiment of an animal that is superbly adapted to an extremely harsh environment”

The Indianapolis Prize is rapidly becoming as important to animal preservation as the Nobel Prize is to peace or medicine. via ABC7News

“A lot of the moms are nurses and work at [nearby] Good Samaritan and St. Vincent hospitals”

In his mind's eye, Bob Reed can see the boys of half a century ago playing dodge ball on the small playground of Precious Blood Catholic School, while the girls play jacks on the periphery. via Los Angeles Times

Please note: Deadline for Calendar submissions is 5 p.m. Wednesday of the week before the issue publishes. via Pasadena Weekly

Heading into Tuesday's presidential primary, the political landscape of Sonoma County is dominated by Democrats, making this a blue county in one of nation's bluest states. via The Press Democrat

Firefighters responded to several fires Friday morning, two of which they say are very suspicious. via KNDO - Yakima

“I like to mulch a lot, mulch a lot, mulch a lot”

LINCOLNVILLE : Robert Kourik's 1986 book "Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally" comes off my shelf regularly, for its abundance of clearly presented, specific information about gardening ... via Village Soup