Features

Pageant queen Dedra Bauer appears handpicked from a fairy tale, with her bright-eyed smile and sparkling list of accolades. Bauer’s upbeat, melodic voice evoked Disney princess vibes when she graced Las Positas’ Cultural Community Center with her royal demeanor. She exuded a…

It was the second day of finals at the Bob Myashiro pool in Santa Rosa, and exhaustion was setting in. Larwence Thomas was getting ready for the 200 butterfly. He’d already impressed himself in the morning preliminaries, cutting 2 seconds off his…

The way Ashley Padilla commands the Saturday Night Live stage, melting into her characters, it’s easy to forget that even that most excessive mom-bob isn’t actually her hair. That after curtain calls, she doesn’t leave Rockefeller Center in a Honda Odyssey…

Like most students, professor Mark Salinas commutes to LPC’s campus, where he teaches ethnic studies. Once those classes conclude, he commutes back to his hometown, Hayward, to instruct at Chabot College. His days don’t finish on a college campus — after Chabot,…

Upstairs in the 1600 building. Past the glass doors. Tucked behind the front counter of easily the most important office on campus. A woman sits quietly. Out of the way, as if she’s avoiding a spotlight, making a front-facing position feel like…