| Chef's Night In: At home, Maggie Pond's special is chicken
If an enlightened administration at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley hadn't ditched the stodgy, traditional home economics courses, Maggie Pond might have never become the top-notch chef she is now. Cooking had not been on the front burner for Pond as a teenager, but when the boring home economics curriculum was sent to the dustbin, to be replaced by a program called Feast in which students were taught real cooking, her interest was suddenly awakened. Several times a week, the students prepared meals for faculty and for themselves. Young Maggie soon decided that cooking and feeding people appealed to her on many levels. It still does. As executive chef of Cesar wine bar and restaurant on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto and its sister restaurant, which opened in 2006 on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, she fills her days with planning, experimenting and preparing small plates that fit one of the preferred contemporary dining styles without ever shouting "trendy." But at home, Pond often opts for comfort food like a fragrant chicken fricassee (see recipe): "It's delicious, it keeps well and you can make it with stuff you have on hand anyway," she explains.
Three chiropractors a take trip overseas -- to assist others
Three Edwardsville residents went on a mission trip to Honduras this fall, but not to spread Christianity, build houses or rescue victims of natural disaster. Nathan, Thad and Nikki Vuagniaux are chiropractors. They gave free upper-cervical "corrections" to thousands of patients with medical problems including paralysis, Parkinson's disease, cancer, asthma and hearing loss. "(Patients) were extremely grateful," said Nathan Vuagniaux, 33, noting some people brought food and other gifts. "In fact, most of our translators were working on their own time by the end of the week. They just wanted to help." Nathan and Thad Vuagniaux are brothers. Nikki is Thad's wife. They operate the Glen Carbon branch of Upper Cervical Health Centers of America. The three traveled to the capital of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with a team of 23 chiropractors and support staff from the United States, Spain and Canada.
25 million reasons they're in trouble
GORDON Brown suffered a seismic shock to his premiership yesterday, as it was revealed that the privacy of half the UK's citizens had been compromised. The Prime Minister listened solemnly as his Chancellor, Alistair Darling, laid bare a bureaucratic bungle on an unprecedented scale. .
FEMA: Decreasing Temperatures, Increasing Flood Risks for Western Residents
Winter brings more than just cold temperatures. It also brings an increased flood risk and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is warning residents of Idaho to prepare now -- well ahead of rising waters. This year, predictions for La Nina call for an even wetter-than-average 2007-2008 winter season in parts of the Northwestern United States, including California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Montana. The time to prepare for this year's rainy season and possible flooding is now. "Recovering after a flood can be overwhelming. With flood insurance, you have the financial support to get back on your feet as quickly as possible," said David Maurstad, assistant administrator of mitigation and federal insurance administrator for FEMA. "Too often, people mistakenly think flood damage is covered by a homeowners policy.
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