Local news reporters cover crises like the Loma Prieta Earthquake, but they also experience those crises themselves, often in very personal ways. For some, like photojournalist Shmuel Thaler, the earthquake opened up new possibilities with his employer the Sentinel. For others, like writer/editor/translator Stephen Kessler, it closed the chapter on his alternative paper venture The Sun, only to open up new adventures in the near and distant future.