Arts & Culture

The first time I went to Pacific Heights, I expected to be surrounded by mansions, flower gardens, and expensive boutiques. Those weren't difficult to find, but while sitting in Lafayette Park during my first visit, I was surprised to see eight story apartment buildings nestled in between gold trimmed Victorian houses. That's when I began to investigate what was behind that juxtaposition – and what it meant in a neighborhood with a history of fighting up-zoning to preserve its dignified nature.

The US dominates in many Olympic sports – track and field, swimming, basketball. But, one sport the US has never won a medal for is table tennis.

This year, the US team is hoping to change that. It’s going to be challenging. Only 4 players qualified to compete on the 2012 US Olympic Table Tennis team. Three of those four live and train right here in the Bay Area at an unlikely Olympic training ground – a converted warehouse that’s part of the Indian Community Center in Milpitas (ICC).

Every two years, the Olympic spotlight shines most brightly on the athletes participating in the games. Amidst all the glamour and commotion some people who most of us don’t think too much about are the journalists, those tireless foot soldiers who bring the games to your screens and speakers. Well, we thought about them. What is it like to be a reporter covering the most prestigious sports competition on earth? We put that question to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Scott Ostler.