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Street Spirits is a monthly feature in which someone who lives on the street tells us their story.

Tyrone Jones: Husband, landscaper, adventurer

By Noah Baustin on January 13, 2021

Street Spirit vendor Tyrone Jones selling papers by the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Vine Street. But Berkeley feels like a far cry from Jones’s childhood in a small community north of St. Louis, Missouri.

Al Mayfield: Jazz musician, fisherman, optimist

By Simone Rotman on December 2, 2020

Features Street Spirits

On Friday November 13, Al Mayfield sells Street Spirit at his usual spot: the corner of College Avenue and Shafter,

Olantis Livingston: the Big Man of Downtown Berkeley

By Katherine Blesie on November 3, 2020

Features Street Spirits

Meet longtime Street Spirit vendor Olantis Livingston. “I’ve been through the good, the bad, and the ugly, and this right here is my therapy.”

Alando Williams: friend, father, South Berkeley staple

By Katherine Blesie on October 1, 2020

Features Street Spirits

Around 12 years ago, Alando began selling Street Spirit. “I’m out here every other day,” he explains. “Some days I come out here and don’t make nothing. I just like conversating with people.”

Ken Jones: Cat owner, Street Spirit vendor, Berkeley staple

By Alastair Boone on June 30, 2020

Features Street Spirits

Ken Jones stands on the corner of Addison and Shattuck, waiting for people to exit a concert at the Freight and Salvage, or a play at the Berkeley Rep. In the cool evening light, he catches the eye of patrons spilling out of the theaters, flashing a broad smile at each person who looks up as he broadcasts his patter over the crowd.

Celebrating the life of Mike Zint

March 1, 2020

Features News Street Spirits YSA youth contributions

Michael “Mike” Zint, an outspoken activist whose “Poor Tour” around Berkeley thrust the plight of homeless people in city officials’ faces, died on February 14. He was 53.

Jojo: singer, writer, free spirit

By Emma Arnesty-Good on February 1, 2020

Features Street Spirits

JoJo doesn’t always consider herself homeless. The twenty-nine-year-old prefers to live outside of that label. “I consider myself a part

Danny McMullan: Advocate, agitator, longtime contributor

By Julia Irwin on January 1, 2020

Features Street Spirits

in 1984, Danny McMullan was zipping down the highway on his motorcycle —eager to join his friends by the bay—when he hit a power box. The force of the impact tore his right leg clean off and left Danny, then 21, with broken bones in his pelvis, ribs, arms, clavicle, and back.

Travis: Sommelier, traveler, clothing designer

By Emma Arnesty-Good on December 1, 2019

Features Street Spirits

When Travis moved to San Francisco in 2011, he was 21 years old and had $174 in his pocket. His first job was tossing salads at a restaurant on 2nd and Market. But soon, his career in the service industry would take off. His next job was at Quince, a fine dining restaurant that now has three Michelin stars.

Derrick Hayes: Street Spirit vendor, community member

By Alastair Boone on October 1, 2019

Features Street Spirits

Walking down Franklin Street in Downtown Oakland you’ll see a larger than life mural of a man in a baseball cap. With gentle eyes and a wide smile, he looks east over the city, watching over the people passing by. Small businesses line Franklin Street to the left and right. Below the mural is a parking lot, and shiny office buildings tower above. In between lies the portrait of Derrick Hayes, a 59-year-old homeless resident of Oakland who has been selling Street Spirit for almost 20 years.