For the summer books issue, an annotated bibliography of favorite in-the-woods-alone reads.

Use this link to see what I’ve written about recently for the Post, including news (the Sept. 12 Taxpayer March on DC) and features (dedicated Labor Day celebrators who stake their claims to the best picnic tables by showing up in the wee hours of the morning).

The Washington Post

An A1 story about a growing movement to push yoga beyond its reputation as boutique exercise for the well-to-do and use it as therapy for groups such as at-risk and homeless teens, HIV/AIDS patients and torture survivors.

The Washington Post

A preschool in the Virginia suburbs is the first school in the region to install a vascular recognition system — a machine that reads vein patterns — to secure its doors. Parents say they appreciate the extra security; critics say such a system just heightens fears.

A Food section cover story on virtual farmers markets — a small but growing way to get locally grown food from farm to fork.

Marketwatch

In Silicon Valley, fortunes rest on flashes of inspiration, shrewd investing, high-tech engineering — and quality foam.

Part of a Marketwatch series on the range of work and compensation in Silicon Valley.

I helped launch this Webby-winning news site, which covers San Francisco’s Mission District, and worked as an editor and reporter. Click here for links to records-based stories to which I contributed.

Three stories on Gus Murad, local businessman and contributor to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s campaigns, and his failure to comply with a city law beloved by housing rights advocates:

Medjool owner failed to file SRO reports
Medjool owner Murad’s SRO saga continues
Murad gets thumbs-up on SRO paperwork

What’s a donor to do? The Mission’s largest community-serving nonprofit has a long history of financial problems, but the services it provides are essential and widely praised.

Too big to fail?

A cover story about Wyoming writer Annie Proulx, her examination of a little-known part of the West — and her challenge to conservationists to reimagine what it is that makes a place worth protecting.

I produced this audio slideshow about the Red Desert. Annie Proulx provided her voice and Martin Stupich his gorgeous photographs.

An audio piece about going to a laughter yoga class — less like yoga, more like purposeful silliness for grown-ups — and converting from skepticism to appreciation. Listen here.