Before Gems and Apathy could watch the paint dry on another one of their masterpieces in Homestead, the pair started sprinting up the hill behind them — they realized a cop had become witness to their work. “We would run 30 yards, take a break...

Vladimir “Volodia” Padunov’s office looks like a curiosity shop. A tiara, rattlesnake eggs and other trinkets line the shelves. Cluttered beneath are rolls of film. Hats from the former Soviet Union dangle from the ceiling. A jar of homemade...

Bearing a name like Matisse might seem like an awful lot of responsibility for a lot of people — living up to such a well-cultured namesake can be a challenge. But on a stretch of Parkview Avenue in Oakland, from Oakland Square to the Boulevard of...

At 5 p.m. in her Tower A dorm, Monica Henderson begins her familiar routine — right sock, left sock, right shoe, left shoe — and ties her turquoise and grey running sneakers. Bending down to touch her toes, she begins her lengthy, 10-minute stretching...

It was a chronic condition. Dead keys, they said, and the prognosis was bleak. More than 50 years of occasional aggressive banging coupled with normal wear and tear had made Baldwin mute. His hammers were dull and worn. When they hit the strings, he...