SFBG Blogs

Sock that grape away, in style

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By Ailene Sankur

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Between the two of them, Brian McGonigle and Paolo Mancini have more than 30 years of experience in the wine industry. They’ve seen their share of ways to taste, pair, collect, catalog and, of course, imbibe. They’ve seen the division between the rarefied world of the “serious” wine collector and the intimidating nature of crossing that schism as a new wine collector.

And they wanted to close that schism, shift the paradigm of polarized wine culture: you either collect hundred-dollar bottles of wine or only buy what’s on sale at Trader Joe’s. Hence their joint project: the San Francisco Wine Center (SFWC), a wine storage facility with two rooms to be used for wine events and classes, as well as for members to just hang out and crack open a bottle.

Wine storage facilities are, typically, for the more serious collector, the ones that Brian McGonigle, co-owner of the SFWC, says “collect only expensive cult Napa Cab, first growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy.” Facilities are devoted to the idea of wine as investment—a temperature and humidity controlled place to drop off wines to ensure that they’ll develop correctly. The clinical sterility is reminiscent of a laboratory, while the emphasis on wine as horded possession is evocative of a bank, a place to drop off an asset and watch it grow, untouched.

McGonigle and Mancini want the SFWC to be more wine community than wine depository. McGonigle says, “We want members to think of it as a private wine club that they can enjoy regularly, attending events or just stopping in to see what new wines we have open at the end of the day. When we looked at the existing providers of storage services we realized that no one was offering these types of associated services and amenities and it just seemed natural to us.”

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The Reserve Room

Brew Holster Cult: Sling ’em!

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By Justin Juul

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Snazzy!

My birthday’s coming up in May, so for all of my fans out there, here’s what you should get me: A Brew Holster. And don’t just get one for me. Get one for yourself too. Just imagine all the BBQ’s you’ll be attending this spring and summer. Don’t you want to be the freshest dude/chick in the park? Yes you do. But what exactly is a Brew Holster you ask. It’s a gun sling for beer, but the awesomeness doesn’t stop there. Brew Holsters are made by two members of SF’s very own all-girl AC/DC tribute band, AC/DShe, so they’re extra-extra cool.

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Nici and Sara, the guitarist and bassist from Ac/DShe, came up with the idea when they realized that double-fisting cheap beer, while simultaneously jammin’ out with their clams out, was not as great as it sounded. Following a few close calls with drenched t-shirts and wet amps, the girls hit their backyard chop shop and The Brew Holster Cult was born. All you need to do to join the cult is to buy one of the things, so go visit their website and prepare yourself for the biggest balls of them all: backyard BBQ’s, outdoor concerts, and Bay to Breakers. Springtime in SF just got a whole lot cooler.

Get ’em here, suds-slingers: www.brewholstercult.com

4-20: High times at UC-Santa Cruz

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By Bruce B. Brugmann

Here’s the official word from University of Santa Cruz Executive Chancellor David Kilger on the kind of day that university administrations can’t stand. April 20 has become nationally known, as Kilger says in a letter today (April 17) to faculty and staff, “as the date when people gather to communally smoke marijuana in an expression of support for the reform or marijuana laws. In recent years, thousands of people have gathered on the UCSC campus to participate in the event.”

Kilgore in UCacademese says that the university does not “condone, support or otherwise sanction t his event.” To his credit, he doesn’t threaten damnation nor a flood of troopers but he does lay out some regulations Santa Cruz style. Thanks to an alert from a UCSC graduate, and roommate of a Guardian employee, we can turn up and tune in on the letter for you. Click on the continued reading link:

Newsom’s wind shifts Obamaward?

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This morning I attended the grand opening ceremony of the pretty incredible-looking Hotel Essex, an 84-unit rehab completed by Community Housing Partnership and Mercy Housing that now houses 84 formerly homeless people in their own apartments (complete with kitchenettes!), with on-site counselling, recovery, and job-training services available. (Full disclosure: My bf works for CHP and helped put this all together.)

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The Essex was rehabbed with $22+ million dollars of city, state, and federal grants and loans — $1.1 million of which was federal, and very grudgingly contributed by an eviscerated HUD at the behest of Nancy Pelosi, who apparently can actually get some things done. Good for her!

This is the first homeless housing project completed under Mayor Gavin Newsom’s administration (stuff takes time, folks) and naturally Newsie was there himself to make some remarks. I must say, despite his odious record on homelessness, Gavin was actually quite gracious to all involved and even acknowledged that he had been on the wrong side of many of the disagreements he’d with the progenitors of the project. But, of course, he’s charming like that.

And then came a very weird moment. With cautious enunciation and in the wake the whole Obama-elitism-San Francisco-oh my! panic, Newsom, a supposedly staunch Hillary supporter, said:

“We’re turning this problem around — or, as Barack Obama says: We’re turning the page, bringing real change — on homelessness.”

Hmm. Quoting Obama, really? Right now? Either this was a very misguided attempt to pull a Hillary and tar Obama with any reference to scandal possible — keeping the smear ball in play, as it were — or perhaps Mr. Newsom knows something we don’t about the way the superdelegate winds are blowing, and is waving around a little penance. Either way, many confused looks were shot across the room.

Back to the actual issue at hand: Darryl, one of the Essex’s residents, who unfortunately spoke last, well after Newsom had slipped out the back, was the most eloquent speaker, talking about how the Essex was giving him and others a chance at real community and about the power of a little faith and empowerment to help change lives.

C.W. Nevius was not present.

Today’s Ammianoliner

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Today’s Ammianoliner:

Supreme Court rules in favor of lethal injection but decries listening to Baker’s Dozen acappella group as cruel and unusual punishment.

(From the home answering machine of Sup. Tom Ammiano on April 17, 2008.) B3

ABC’s Debate Debacle

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By Bruce B. Brugmann

Alas, I didn’t see the debate last night. Jean and I were hosting a small birthday party for our granddaughter, Bonnie Brenda Brugmann (B3 to me and her friends) at the Gold Mirror restaurant in West Portal. But here is the account of the debate that i like best, from Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR.) More to come on this trivia-overwhelms-policy theme, B3

Trivia and biased questions dominate Democrats’ debate
4/17/08

The ABC-sponsored Democratic debate in Philadelphia on April 16 emphasized trivial matters of little concern to voters, while the actual policy questions were often based on misleading right-wing spin.

During the first half of the debate, ABC moderators George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson avoided any mention of policy issues. As the Los Angeles Times noted (4/17/08), “With the moderators and Clinton raising assorted questions about Obama’s past for the first half of the debate, issues received relatively short shrift. Not until 50 minutes in was a policy issue– Iraq–asked about by the moderators.”

Mama said eat yo’ brunch

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Intern Ailene Sankur refs the Brunch Battle of the Bay: Mama vs. Mama.

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This culinary clash takes place between two cross-bay heavyweights—brunch staples with a maternal instinct to make sure you get your most important meal of the day: the one at noon that takes away the shakes. Oakland’s Mama’s Royal Café is a hipster enclave in the Temescal District while San Francisco’s Mama’s is a bougie North Beach eatery. Both are cash-only neighborhood favorites (I’ve said it before–the less a restaurant wants to convenience you, the better it probably is.) Let the fight begin!

Round 1—The Line

Both Mama’s Royal Café and Mama’s are, apparently, worth waiting for. The wait at Mama’s is known to take over an hour, while I’ve never waited over thirty minutes at Mama’s Royal. Both restaurants operate on the “turn and burn” philosophy: moving people in and out quickly to turn over the tables. At Mama’s Royal, sign up on the clipboard, grab a mug from the pile and pour yourself coffee. Then lounge in the front–with the ironically acid-washed-skinny-jean clad hipsters–smoke a cigarette and wait for someone to yell your name. At Mama’s, you wait in a line sans coffee–unless someone holds your place in line so you can run to Caffe Roma two blocks away–sandwiched between an ex-Cal frat boy/junior assistant something or other talking on his cell about how wasted he was last night and two impossibly thin and good-looking parents with impossibly “precocious” children. Either way, bring the paper!

Winner: Mama’s Royal Café. Come on, Mom would never make anyone wait outside without offering them a hot beverage.

Rilo Kiley’s Blake Sennett on flying solo, recycling, and filmmaking

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Oh, star-crossed phone interviews – who knows why or how they happen. Rilo Kiley‘s Blake Sennett and I met not-so-cute last week, thanks to poor hearing, mumbled questions, and a patched-in conference call that sounded like everyone in his publicist’s office could hear every “um” or “er” we uttered. Kismet! I’ll sparing you those awkward moments thanks to the magic of editing – I suspect their show tonight, April 17, at the Design Center Concourse will go much more smoothly.

SFBG: Where are you right now? [Sounds like rumored Winona Ryder fiance Sennett is tromping through a parking lot and into an elevator] And what brings you back to SF?

Blake Sennett: I’m in LA. Well, I think typically you do a couple tours for an album cycle so I don’t know it’s the natural thing to do – I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t do it. I don’t know. But yeah, I felt like the record deserved two tours.

Billy Jam hits the Whitney Biennial

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Contributing writer and WFMU DJ Billy Jam may boast a mean Irish accent, but he’s all about stateside hip-hop. Hence, the name, I’m guessing, of his event at the Whitney Biennial Saturday, April 19. If you happen to be in the hood – or even if you just wanna listen in via Neighborhood Public Radio’s live stream – check it out: Jam will be helming the turntables along with Demerock Wallnuts from 2-6 p.m., at the Whitney Museum, 941 Madison, NYC. He promises a live jam session with DJ Alf cutting and scratching, as well as freestyle drums, keyboards, and guitar – and spoken word. Oh, yes, and there will be plenty of art – graffiti or otherwise, from both coasts – to see.

Songwriter Tony Scherr dances with Waifs

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A recent clip of Tony Scherr performing “I Could Understand.”

By Todd Lavoie

So so so many choices of what to do this weekend, I know, but let me throw another one your way: this Saturday and Sunday, April 19 and 20, the Independent will be hosting a mighty fine double-bill for fill all your strummed-up twang-age needs. As part of the Green Apple Festival, Brooklyn singer-songwriter and endlessly versatile collaborator Tony Scherr and Australian roots-folkies the Waifs will be playing two nights of rustic goodness at the adventurously booked Divisadero joint.

Now, the Waifs are a marvelous folk-rock group; their latest, sundirtwater (Compass), was just released over here after hitting it big back home in Australia last year. The disc offers a looser, dustier version of their familiar harmony-rich folk meditations, instead opting for deeper forays into the blues and country-soul. Particularly ear-catching is the title track, a swampy little rumba driven by Josh Cunningham’s jazz-sweating guitar slinks and Vikki Simpson’s lusty vocals:

I want to focus on Tony Scherr, though: the guy boasts a massively impressive resume, as a band member, collaborator, and solo artist. Before eventually heading down the dirt roads and rolling fields of country- and blues-flavored songwriting, he was a jazz bassist, adding both acoustic and electric low-end to a variety of ensembles. Scherr started off – and only a teenager at the time – as a member of one of Woody Herman’s latter-day lineups, and then went on to perform with Russ Gershon’s Either/Orchestra, an ensemble well-known for its anything-goes approach to interpreting the work of others. (Bob Dylan, Bobbie Gentry, Robert Fripp, and Duke Ellington have all at one point or another been given the Either/Orchestra overhaul.)

Leno on Newsom’s budget cuts

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Assemblymember Mark Leno, who is challenging state Sen. Carole Migden in the June primary, responded this afternoon to our editorial on Newsom’s budget cuts.

Migden responded earlier today.

Here’s Leno’s statement:

Dear Bay Guardian Editors,

You are absolutely right to assert that the Federal Government has turned its back on urban America and the Governor’s repeal of the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) has left our City in extremely challenged fiscal health. I agree with you, Tim, that new revenue is needed for the City. Current state law gives local government few options.

For that reason I have and am presently authoring legislation to bring more local control to our revenue streams, so that we can guarantee that San Francisco’s budget is not balanced on the backs of those who can least afford it.

In 2005, I authored AB 799, co-sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, SF Labor Council, Board of Supervisors and the Mayor, which would have allowed San Francisco voters to restore their own VLF which would have brought approximately 70 million new dollars to San Francisco. Unfortunately the Governor vetoed the bill.

I brought the bill back in 2007 as AB 1590. Unfortunately, it got held up in the Senate. I am working with all four co-sponsors to shake it loose this year.

Back in 2003, when cities and counties were faced with huge cuts, I authored AB 1690 to bring more revenue to the local level. The measure would have allowed voters to decide to levy a local income tax, which could have eased our way and pre-empted painful cuts to our local budget. That measure, though passed through the Assembly, was also held up in the Senate.

The Mayor and Board of Supervisors have a great challenge on their hands. The fiscal crisis we face is nothing short of tragic. I will continue to use my voice to argue that the cuts considered must be equitable, and those with the least should suffer the least.

I continue to argue that we have a revenue problem, not a spending problem. To forestall mean spirited cuts, we need to be as creative as possible to create new revenue streams. Otherwise, we will be continually faced with Sophie’s Choices.

Sincerely,
Mark Leno

And thanks to Mark for sending that, and for pushing for state legislation that would give cities more ways to raise revenue. I have always been impressed by his willingness to do that and his creative approaches.

I will note, for the record, that Leno declined to say anything critical of Gavin Newsom and his budget decisions.

Take that, PG&E!

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And congratulations go out to San Joaquin Valley Power Authority, which has reached a settlement agreement with PG&E over how the utility company has been behaving itself with regards to Community Choice Aggregation (CCA.) Best part: PG&E has to pay.

I’m giving a nod to the Associated Press here, which described SJVPA as a “public electricity cooperative,” because that’s essentially what a CCA is – a group of cities and counties getting together to buy or build their own power, and then run it through the grid that’s already established. Many CCAs say they can bring us cheaper, greener power. According to Tim Rosenfeld, who’s working on Marin’s CCA, “Public power can simply do things cheaper than investor-owned utilities.” For example, he says, the cost of financing a new power plant is about 5.5 percent for a municipality issuing a bond, and it’s more like 12 percent for a private company. “Apples to apples, building the same power plant we have a huge cost advantage,” said Rosenfeld.

As one might imagine, PG&E has some issues with CCAs because it means losing customers, and they’ve been lobbying hard against them throughout their service territory. They were so effective in San Joaquin that Fresno and Tulare backed out of the deal, meaning the SJVPA had less customers.

As we reported last year, SJVPA filed a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission, which had already decided that it was a conflict of interest for utilities to expound on the pros and cons of CCAs, and if they were going to bitch about it they better do it with their shareholders’ piggy banks. SJVPA had evidence to the contrary and now they’ve settled with PG&E. The terms: PG&E agrees to make sure their investors pay for the marketing and lobbying and that said lobbying will be “truthful and non-misleading” – which makes my job more boring. Best part: they’re also paying up to $450K of SJVPA’s litigation fees.

The other interesting aspect of this is PG&E admits they changed horses midstream.

Ammiano: Bush gives Pope rebate

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Today’s Ammianoliner:

Bush meets Pope personally to give him his rebate. Sweet.

(From the home answering machine of Sup. Tom Ammiano on April 16, 2008). B3

Sonic Overage: Triclops, Kanye, Ian Fays, Jay-Z and Mary J, Elf Power, Teenagers, and so much more

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What is this crazy lil’ magikal thing called Elf Power?

San Francisco, you’re just too much. And that goes for you too, Oakland and San Jose. There’s just far too much to do in the Bay Area – more than we have pages for. But well hell, that’s what Sonic Reducer Overage is fer, ain’t it. Check out all the fun you maybe oughta be checking out.

BLACK DIAMOND HEAVIES
These southern raspies do the blues-rock duo their own nasty, hard-ass way. With Or, the Whale and Low Red Land. Thurs/17, 9:30 p.m., $7. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk, SF. (415) 923-0923.



GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY
Pigtail fever! Who knew this Austin, Texas, electro-synth-soul-pop twosome would be blowing up as massively as they have. Expect ’em to break out the Cylon with the release of Robotique Majestique (Trashy Moped). With the Villains. Thurs/17, 9 p.m., $20. Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, SF. (415) 820-9669.

IAN FAYS
The SF-by-way-of-Humboldt-County Ian Fays like it sweet and soft, judging by the tender sounds coursing out of their new CD, The Damon Lessons (Homesleep). With Catholic Comb and Here Here. Thurs/17, 9 p.m., $8. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455.

INSTANT MESSENGERS AND DJ LAZER SWORD
The Bay Area party rappers get rambunctious with the realization of their just-released disc, Slammers, while the SF DJ brings a folded and spindled sensibility to the cracked beats (behold his remix of 50 Cent’s “I Get Money,” above). With Toy Soldiers and All Teeth and Knuckles. Thurs/17, 8 p.m., $8. Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell, SF. (415) 861-2011.

Moth Bills, Moth Balls

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The Assembly Agriculture Committee passed two pieces of legislation today authored by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and related to the Light Brown Apple Moth controversy.

“We need to back up and walk through each outstanding issue in a science-based, clear way using neutral third party experts,” said Laird, who has been dealing with the LBAM furor since last summer, and has one of the best website’s in terms of tracking the progression of arguments and lawsuits related to the moth.

So, just what will Laird’s legislation do?

ACR 117, an Assembly Concurrent Resolution, calls on the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and other relevant state departments to address unresolved health, scientific and efficacy issues surrounding the CDFA’s Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM )eradication plans.

The resolution passed 5-3, and next heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“It is the responsibility of our government to demonstrate its LBAM actions are necessary and do not compromise human or environmental health,” said Mr. Laird. “It isn’t the responsibility of the people to demonstrate the reverse.”

AB 2763, the Invasive Pest Planning Act of 2008 – would require the CDFA to create a list of invasive animals, plants, and insects that have a reasonable likelihood of entering California for which an eradication program might be appropriate.

For each invasive on the list, the department would prepare a written assessment on the most appropriate method of eradication. If pesticides were to be used, the assessment would have to discuss application methods, the chemistry of the pesticide and its inert ingredients, impacts on public health and the environment. If a pest was found, the department would have to notify various local agencies, hold public hearings, and comply with other requirements. The bill passed by a vote of 8-0 and next heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“The California Food & Agriculture’s Light Brown Apple Moth program has led to more contacts with my office than any single issue during my time in Sacramento,” said Laird. “Clearly, the state was not adequately prepared for LBAM. This bill aims to put in place a pest planning process that prevents the kind of public fear and confusion we’ve experienced with LBAM.”

Whether any of these efforts will succeed in derailing the feds’ trade agreement-driven plan to spray for the moth this summer in Santa Cruz, Monterey and the BAy Area counties remains to be seen.

Bill Maxfield

Director of Communications

Assemblymember John Laird

831-596-0910 Mobile

831-425-1503 Santa Cruz

916-319-2027 Sacramento

“Public confidence is at issue,” said Assemblymember Laird, who has been living through the ongoing LBAM spraying nightmare since last summer, when the feds announced they were spraying Laiird’s hometown, “We need to back up and walk through each outstanding issue in a science-based, clear way using neutral third party experts.”

ACR 117, an Assembly Concurrent Resolution that calls on the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and other relevant state departments to address unresolved health, scientific and efficacy issues surrounding the CDFA’s Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM )eradication plans. The resolution passed by a vote of 5-3 and next heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“As stated in the resolution, it is the responsibility of our government to demonstrate its LBAM actions are necessary and do not compromise human or environmental health,” said Mr. Laird. “It isn’t the responsibility of the people to demonstrate the reverse.”

AB 2763, the Invasive Pest Planning Act of 2008 – would require the CDFA to create a list of invasive animals, plants, and insects that have a reasonable likelihood of entering California for which an eradication program might be appropriate. For each invasive on the list, the department would prepare a written assessment on the most appropriate method of eradication. If pesticides were to be used, the assessment would have to discuss application methods, the chemistry of the pesticide and its inert ingredients, impacts on public health and the environment. If a pest was found, the department would have to notify various local agencies, hold public hearings, and comply with other requirements. The bill passed by a vote of 8-0 and next heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“The California Food & Agriculture’s Light Brown Apple Moth program has led to more contacts with my office than any single issue during my time in Sacramento,” said Mr. Laird. “Clearly, the state was not adequately prepared for LBAM. This bill aims to put in place a pest planning process that prevents the kind of public fear and confusion we’ve experienced with LBAM.”

For more information on the Light Brown Apple Moth issue—including key documents, correspondence, news and other information, visit Assemblymember Laird’s LBAM resource page: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a27/moth.htm

###

Bill Maxfield

Director of Communications

Assemblymember John Laird

831-596-0910 Mobile

831-425-1503 Santa Cruz

916-319-2027 Sacramento

Randi Rhodes live in San Francisco

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Here is a video of Randi Rhodes doing a standup comedy routine and making remarks about Hilary Clinton that got her suspended indefinitely from the Air America radio network. She was doing an event on March 22 in San Francisco for Green960, an Air America affiliate. She is now back on Green960 weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m. on NovaM network. B3

Who let the Jews out?

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Passover’s around the corner (starts Saturday, as a matter of fact), so what better way to celebrate than with a bit of Jewtube humor?

And don’t forget to buy your last minute seder supplies at popjudaica.com. Where else will you find a “Let My People Go” toilet seat?

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McCain called his wife a what?

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Got an interesting letter from writer Paul Loeb today. It’s an open missive to Hillary Clinton outlining why she should remember that John McCain is the real enemy, not Barack Obama. It includes a little snipped I had somehow missed: A new book on McCain reports that he once lashed out at his wife during a campaign event and called her a “cunt.”

What a swell guy. CHeck it out:

Migden on Newsom’s cuts

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Our editorial this week calls on the two candidates for state Senate, Carole Migden and Mark Leno, to speak out against the Newsom budget cuts. I haven’t heard from Leno, but I got the following message from Migden this morning:

“I completely agree with your take that Mayor Newsom’s budget cuts are cruel and will take from those who have little or nothing to give. I have stood and spoken out with SEIU 1021 at two protests this year against these cuts to vital social services. Moreover I have stood with the California Nurses Association as we try to save St. Lukes and enforce staff to patient ratios. What is most vexing about the Mayor’s move to cut $18 million in healthcare for the City’s poorest residents, is that there seems to be no willingness to reach out and ask more from those who live in this CIty and can afford to pitch in extra. There is no question that the City and the State is in dire economic straits. Yet San Francisco also has a population of incredibly wealthy individuals (including our Mayor) and we must explore all options and pull in extra resources to make the City whole. Cutting is the quick and frankly the easier option; hard work and leadership is what is required to save vital services.

-State Senator Carole Migden”

So, go Carole. Mark?

TIny Moths, Giant Misinformation campaigns

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Just when you think there couldn’t be more to be said on the moths, a new flurry of arguments crops up.

Two competing pieces out today, both using science to support the pro and cons of aerial spraying for the Light Brown Apple Moth.

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In a piece called “Moths and Misinformation”, A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, addresses misinformation about the CDFA’s aerial spraying program for the Light Brown Apple Moth.

These include claims that the pheromone products are untested, that we are all going to be guinea pigs, that the treatments caused a red tide, poisoned the water, and even killed waterfowl.

And then there are what Kawamura characterizes as, “misleading and inaccurate references to describe a pheromone, including hormone, carcinogen, mutagen, endocrine disruptor and other scary-sounding descriptions.”

“I urge the public to seek out scientific studies and historical data,” Kawamura states.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dennis Knepp and Dr. Jeff Haferman, two Monterey area scientists, claim to have unearthed serious errors in an analysis of the particle size of the Suterra pesticide spray being used to combat LBAM.

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We can see how small the moths are, but just how big are the particles in the aerial pheromone spray?

Well, Knepp and Haferman recently reviewed particle-size data from Suterra and provided by CDFA. They claim to have found that the CDFA made serious errors in their review of the Suterra data.

“The CDFA states in their analysis that only 1.2% of the particles in the Checkmate spray were smaller than 10 microns, which is a critical size for inhalation to deep within the lungs.

“They based their computations on particle volume, not number of particles, which is simply incorrect,” Haferman stated. Knepp explained that when the analysis is corrected “we find the average particle size to be about 17 microns with significant numbers of much smaller particles.”

“Our analysis shows that the small particle sizes from the Checkmate spray can cause significant health issues, and the CDFA needs to seriously reexamine their findings” said Knepp.
Knepp has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in the areas of Geophysics and Electrical Engineering. Haferman has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, and has published over a dozen papers in the fields of Meteorology and Engineering, and also sits on the Monterey City Council.

Man hating: the new U.S. birth control

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By Paula Connelly

A highly effective birth control shot, made specifically for men, has been developed in Australia! It has been proven to be as effective as a vasectomy but without long-term effects. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies are not funding efforts to make this revolutionary mode of contraception available to the public. They don’t think men will buy it, even though it has demonstrated a fraction of the side effects associated with the female birth control pill. Unsurprising considering that politics, pricing and culture have been limiting access to contraceptives in the U.S. for years, resulting in inflated teenage and unwanted pregnancy rates, according to the Male Contraception Information Project. It is insulting to all the women who have suffered the insane mood swings, nausea, weight gain, diminished sex drive, increased risk of heart attack and breast cancer to hear men being quoted in the media saying, ‘”I would rather rely on a solution that doesn’t involving medicating myself and the problems women have had with hormone therapy doesn’t make me anxious to want to sign on to taking a hormone-type therapy,” says Hardin, 40, who is single and a college administrator.’

But this is just what’s being reported.

The reality is that plenty of men will use this option, and this trend would only increase over time as male birth control methods broke through the negative, emasculating stigma. I personally know many men who would love to try a non-barrier male birth control option and I know even more women poised to convince their partners to try it. Hell, I’ll even support the ‘girl’s secretly trying to get pregnant’ argument if that gets more guys thinking outside the (ahem) box.

Chain, chain, chain…

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According to intern Ailene Sankur, sometimes a girl just needs a subpar, average meal at a crappy chain restaurant.

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I have a confession to make: sometimes, I need to go to a chain restaurant. I know, I know, I live in a gourmand’s paradise. And yes, I love to support family-owned small Indian, Turkish, and Mexican joints. I hate corporations, hate cheesiness, hate tchotchkes and flair. But sometimes, I just need to go into my happy suburban place. The place that takes me back to the Target, Ross, and TJ Maxx stores of my youth, with their big, wide, unmonitored parking lots where I could probably leave my car for weeks unnoticed.
Yes, the food is subpar, but it’s consistent in its average-ness. And sometimes, you want to step away from all the culinary razzle-dazzle and just eat something blah in a place where the “kooky, original” décor is the same as it is in your fave chain back home for a Twilight-zone eerie, but strangely soothing effect. Talk about Walter Benjamin’s theories of “art in the age of mechanical production” in a ginormous booth—another wonderful thing about chains…no more tiny wood tables crammed next to a loud kitchen—decorated in southwestern tiles and a big sign that says “Chili cook-off.”

So, if you’re like me and sometimes you just want to eat an homage to your Stepford childhood, here’s a list of chain restaurants close to the city:

Q: Will the Spray Cause Erectile Dysfunction?

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A. Not if you keep looking at porn.

Yesterday’s, er, news that men (sex, sex, sex, money, money, sports) take greater risks after viewing porn, got me wondering what will happen to the stock market when the feds start spraying female moth pheromones.

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Will the market go soft? Will everyone, drag queens included, start dressing as giant female moths?
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Will my cat start puking? And is Fodor really warning folks to stay the f*** away ?
(These latter two questions are raised in a somewhat erratic piece at the Huffington Post)

But don’t worry, Mommy, Arnie says the spray is safe.
Seriously folks, to reassure us all, the California Department of Food and Agriculture sent this transcript of the Governor speaking from Salinas.

“Hello-Today, Governor Schwarzenegger was in Salinas to continue statewide discussions on budget reform.
After his event, the local ABC station asked him about LBAM spraying. The transcript is below. Thought you may find it interesting.

ABC: Will you comment on LBAM spraying?

Governor: It’s important we do everything we can because it can destroy our agriculture products and harm our environment. Other countries can cut off our agriculture trade. Public safety is my number one priority and there is nothing that shows this program is unsafe.

ABC: Senator Migden is proposing legislation to prevent spraying before an EIR is done. Do u have a position?

Governor: We have done all the studies in the world and nothing says it is unsafe. We wouldn’t spray if it were unsafe.

ABC: You would look these people in the eye and tell them it is safe?

Governor: This is safe. The spraying is safe and there is nothing that says otherwise.

Meanwhile, folks who remain unconvinced that the spraying is safe are being urged…to catch a bus to Sacramento tomorrow, April 16.
Read on for details:

Chevron spinning out

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Yuck. Ecuadorian oil pit. All cleaned up, you say? Photo courtesy of Amazon Watch

As if publicly disputing the credibility of the Goldman Prize weren’t enough, Chevron has gone into serious corporate spin cycle, taking out a full page ad in today’s Chron and penning a guest editorial claiming they’re not to blame for 18 billion gallons of toxic waste dumped in unlined pits in the Amazon rainforest. The repeated cry of Charles A. James, Chevron’s vp and general counsel: It’s not us, it’s the government. Chevron, the parent company of Texaco, which began pumping Ecuadorian oil back in 1964, says noone cared about the environment back then, they’ve cleaned up their mess anyway, and anything left over is the fault of Ecuador’s national oil company, PetroEcuador.

Lawyer Pablo Fajardo and activist Luis Yanza, two natives of Lago Agrio, Ecuador – a small village in the heart of the spoils — were just awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, what our congresswoman Nancy Pelosi called “on par with the Nobel Peace Prize.” Fajardo put himself through law school to take the lead in a suit against Chevron, claiming the company’s responsible for destroying soil, water, and natural resources. Lago Agrians suffer significantly elevated incidences of cancer, disease, and death.

Chevron, which ignored Fajardo at last year’s board meeting, now has Sam Singer handling spin. Singer’s other recent clients: the SF Zoo, post-tiger attack, and Don Fisher’s Presidio art museum. They also have William Haynes on the case. Why does that name sound so familiar? Yes, a la Kevin Ryan, we have another Bush Administration fall guy washing ashore in the Bay Area.

Reading through Chevron’s website on the lawsuit and taking in the pretty green pictures, it seems like there isn’t a thing wrong with this Amazonian rainforest. Everything’s been cleaned up, and if the indigenous people who live there are getting sick, it’s because they shit where they eat.

But MoFilms, an Oakland-based documentary company, shot footage of the region that shows someone has been wrecking environmental hell down there. Their film, Justicia Now, is screening this Thursday at the Roxie, 8 pm, 3117 16th St. San Francisco. The filmmakers will be on hand to answer questions about the issue and the movie, which they also distribute for free on their website.

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