Crosscurrents

BART's new fleet: Made in the USA, but maybe not in California; Remembering legendary Bay Area jazz musician, Eddie Marshall; New YBCA art director strives for creative risks; and local singer KC Turner

Many creative types in the Bay Area, from writers to radio producers, performers and artists, are managing multiple jobs to feed themselves these days. It's a struggle for many, but for some, wearing different hats isn't a matter of survival – it's actually a way of being. Marc Bamuthi Joseph is one such man: He's a poet, scholar, dancer, educator, director, and performer. He helped found Youth Speaks and the Living Word Festival.

Supporters of Proposition 8 will ask the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a full review of the panel decision that ruled the ballot measure unconstitutional. The gay marriage ban was expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court...

This year is BART’s 40th birthday. While some people swear that 40 is the new 30, when it comes to subway systems, 40 is just plain over-the-hill. About two-thirds of BART cars have been running the rails since the system opened, in 1972.

Paul Oversier is in charge of operations at BART. He says that because BART trains run long distances and at higher speeds than other subway systems, it gives the system a dubious distinction. “We have the oldest cars, and we run them the hardest,” he says.

700 Occupy demonstrators gathered outside San Quentin State Prison this past weekend to draw attention to the need  for police reform. Demonstrators' demands included eliminating solitary confinement, a ban on the death penalty, and to get rid of California's "three strikes" law. Meanwhile, the prison itself was placed on lockdown...