When Natasha Harden was unsatisfied at her job, she cashed out on her retirement and decided to do something different. She shared her story with Hear Here producer Wendy Baker. 

To learn more about Hear Here, a project of KALW Public Radio, visit KALW.org and click on "Hear Here."

Hear Here Oakland, Natasha Harden: Taking the risk of opening an independent business

Pamela Alston was raised in Emeryville along with her eight brothers and sisters. She noticed something particular about the place where she was growing up.

“In my neighborhood, it seems to me the most prevalent health problem was bad teeth. Missing teeth, rotten teeth. And I felt like if there was anything I could do help my community, it would be to treat their teeth,” Alston says.

So she went to dental school. Today, Dr. Alston is the dental director of the Eastmont Wellness Center in East Oakland.

She’s seen a lot of patients in the 30-plus years that she’s been a dentist. And once, she even saw one that reminded her a little bit of herself. She shared that story with our Hear Here community storytelling project at the Cesar Chavez branch library in Oakland.

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Hear Here is KALW’s local community storytelling project. We seek out the stories of people who live and work in San Francisco and Oakland neighborhoods – and share what we hear on air and online! To listen to more stories, visit www.kalw.org.

You can also find the project on Facebook and Twitter @hearhereradio.

Hear Here Oakland: Dr. Pamela Alston treats East Oakland's teeth

Caroyln Brandy started playing the conga drum in the late 1960s.

“It was something that women didn’t really do back in those days,” Brandy says. “You didn’t grow up and think, ‘I’m gonna be a conga drummer.’ I started just being really mesmerized by the conga.”

Ever since she was a young girl, Brandy has also been mesmerized by a mysterious dream. She shared that story with our Hear Here community storytelling project.

Click the audio player above to hear the story. 

Hear Here Oakland, Carolyn Brandy: A mysterious dream explained

Astor Lee shared her story with KALW's Hear Here project at the Visitacion Valley library branch. She told us about how the art of Tai Chi helped create a sense of community for recent immigrants to the neighborhood.

Click the audio player above to listen to the complete story.

Hear Here is KALW’s local community storytelling project. We seek out the stories of people who live and work in San Francisco and Oakland neighborhoods – and share what we hear on air and online! 

Hear Here San Francisco, Astor Lee: Finding community in an ancient Chinese art

KALW's Hear Here project has been popping into the 81st Avenue East Oakland library to record the stories of the people who live and work in the neighborhood. Michael Lefall spoke with us about the importance of role models.

For more stories from Hear Here, visit www.kalw.org. You can also find the project on Facebook and follow it on Twitter at @hearhereradio. 

Hear Here Oakland: Michael Lefall's role model

Eric Hannan was only supposed to work as the 81st Avenue Library's Teen Service Director for a few weeks. He ended up staying two years.

"There was a gunshot blast through one of the front windows,” he remembers. “And that was the very first thing I saw when I saw that library." Despite that first impression, Hannan loved his time at the library, and thinks that it is a wonderful place both for staff, and for the young people who came there.

He now works as the Teen Librarian for the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library, but says that he cried for weeks when he had to leave Oakland. He shared that story with our Hear Here community storytelling project at the Visatacion Valley branch library in San Francisco.

Hear Here is KALW’s local community storytelling project. We seek out the stories of people who live and work in San Francisco and Oakland neighborhoods – and share what we hear on air and online! To listen to more stories, visit www.kalw.org.

You can also find the project on Facebook and Twitter @hearhereradio.

Hear Here Oakland: Eric Hannan remembers working at 81st Ave. Library

Libraries are where many people go to exercise their brains, and now there’s at least one where you can exercise your body. The 81st Avenue Branch Library in East Oakland is finding that what people want in their neighborhood is to work out. And, they didn’t have to go far to find the right instructor.

Hear Here is KALW’s local community storytelling project. We seek out the stories of people who live and work in San Francisco and Oakland neighborhoods – and share what we hear on air and online! To listen to more stories, visit www.kalw.org

Hear Here Oakland: Dance at the library? Why not?

For about a year and a half now, KALW has been popping into the 81st Avenue East Oakland library to record the stories of the people who live and work in the neighborhood. Today we meet the man who helps make the library a safe and valuable place for the community, Anthony Propernick.

For more stories from Hear Here, visit www.kalw.org. You can also find the project on Facebook and follow it on Twitter at @hearhereradio.

Hear Here Oakland: Meet Anthony Propernick

Ryan Marcus Lee shares the story of how he fell in love with baking. 

He spoke with Hear Here producers at the Ortega Branch library in San Francisco. 

To learn more about Hear Here, a project of KALW Public Radio, visit KALW.org and click on "Hear Here."

Hear Here San Francisco, Ryan Lee: In the newlywed stage with baking

We all eventually figure out how to bounce back from a heartbreak – whether it's through listening to cheesy music or eating pints of ice cream. Jaimal Yogis dealt with it a little differently.  He found his breakup triggered personal fears - of rejection, abandonment... Those fears inspired him to go on a personal quest to conquer them. In this story, performed by Martina Castro live at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco, Yogis faces down one of his greatest fears -- on a surfboard. 

Heard Here Live: Facing life's fears on a surfboard

Hear Here is a project of KALW 91.7FM Local Public Radio, designed to illuminate life in Oakland and San Francisco. Our producers are asking residents to tell us about their favorite places – and their lives – in these two cities. We’ll share what we’ve learned on air, online, and on stage, drawing out the common threads that tie us together.

_How does it work?_
You tell us about one of your favorite places in your OAK or SF neighborhood by recording a short audio message on the Hear Here website, and we follow up and schedule a time to meet you at that place. We’ll bring our microphones; you bring the story! We’ll ask why this place matters to you and spend some time recording its natural sound. The stories we collect will go on our Listening Map for visitors to hear and explore. Some will even air on KALW 91.7FM.

It’ll be fun! And you’ll get to know the Bay Area through the people who shape it, day in and day out.

HearHereRadio

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