Dan Reed, a reporter at the Mercury News from 1995 until he was laid off in July 2007, died Thursday in Oakland, the Merc reported. After he was laid off, he freelanced and worked at part-time writing jobs. “He missed being a real reporter from the good old days. It troubled him greatly. It really took the wind out of his sails,” Joe Levi, a close friend, told the Merc. [More]