A black sedan with chrome rims and a rust-red bumper cruises by. Its bass thumps the beat of a hip-hop song I don’t recognize. I’m at Bad to the Bone Auto Shop and Accessories on 34th Street S, interviewing for … Read more

This time, he lets me try one. He drives the boat, as I stand with the gaff. We approach the buoy. I slide the wooden pole into the water to hook the line. The boat glides by. I miss the … Read more

The smell of paprika and car exhaust permeates the bustling parking lot. A scruffy dog wanders through a maze of legs. It’s 3:55 p.m. and the line outside the Crab Market is 15 strong and growing.

If you passed by … Read more

A silver Chrysler 300C glitters in the parking lot.

“That’s my baby,” she says with a flick of her prismatic pink fingernail.

Arletha Jackson, 41, calls herself the mother of seven — five children, one husband and her car, Spoiled … Read more

Sennatra Priester woke up later than usual. She dressed slowly, took her time doing her hair and makeup. It was her first day of high school, but she wasn’t concerned with looking good for her classmates.

She was afraid.

Hands … Read more

After volunteering at a youth sports fundraiser in June, Curtis McGee scoured U.S. Highway 19 for a bite to eat. His only requirement: the food had to be baked or grilled.

Curtis, a conditioning coach and trainer, drove past Arby’s, … Read more

The hodgepodge of neighborhoods that we call the “West of 34th Street” beat includes places as diverse as Childs Park, the Central Avenue business district, the Route 19 corridor and Fairmont. It’s bordered on the north by 12th Avenue North, … Read more