SFBG Blogs Archives — Page 540 of 597 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

Hootie and the Blowfish are NOT playing tomorrow night at the Bottom of the Hill

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July 6, 2007

By Robert Bergin

A tiny, weasel-ish looking man sits at his computer, typing furiously, snickering occasionally.

Experimental Dental School on Europe tour 2006, Lille, France. Photo by Fred (photorock.com)

“At last!” he cries, his nasally yelp going unnoticed by his cat, who remains focused on lapping up milk left over from that morning’s bowl of cereal. “I’ve finished my list of the top 25 most ridiculous band names in rock history, and I didn’t include those jerks in Experimental Dental School, Okmoniks, or Gravy Train!!!! Now no one will ever know that Okmoniks sounds like a more tuneful Boyracer with a female lead vocalist! Now no one will ever have their blood boiled by Experimental Dental School‘s ghoulish, organ-driven devil music! And no one will ever listen to Gravy Train!!!!’s album when it comes out on July 10!”

A gray square on his computer screen asks the man whether he’s sure he wants to submit his list. A white arrow moves toward the “yes” box. Click. Blackout.

Cut to members of Gravy Train!!!!, Experimental Dental School, and Okmoniks playing five on five at the Mack. Chunx browses the Web at a desktop computer nearby. “Egads!!!!” Her scream brings the basketball game to a halt. “None of us made the list!!!!” Silence.

“There’s only one thing to do,” Shoko says quietly. She rips the basketball in half. “Let’s rock!”

Cut to montage of members of EDS and Okmoniks building instruments. Gravy Train!!!! sews on the other side of the room. The montage — set to some DragonForce song — is interrupted when Helene from Okmoniks leans against a half-finished church organ and says, “Y’know, our name isn’t really that weird. It’s different, yeah, but it’s not especially crazy or anything. Right?”

Blank stares.

She awkwardly gets back to work.

Restart montage that ends with a triumphant show Saturday, July 7, at the Bottom of the Hill. The crowd is manic, and at one point a man in a suit and sunglasses yells “Boss, I just found the Next Big Thing! Thrice!”

Cut to the cat curled up under the merch table. Blackout. Credits.

Gravy Train!!!!, the Okmoniks, and Experimental Dental School make imaginary movie history on July 7, 10 p.m., at Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $10. (415) 621-4455.

Drums, not bombs

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July 5, 2007

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By Molly Freedenberg

A few years ago, a friend of mine lost most of his fingers when a firecracker went off in his right hand. Having gone to his house just minutes after the accident (and therefore seen the gory aftermath), it was hard to imagine a more gruesome, traumatic accident. And knowing he was a right-handed graphic designer, it was hard to imagine one more tragic.

Of course, that is, until I heard about the accident that befell Roisin Isner, drummer for the San Francisco band Tinkture. According to an email being circulated by her father, the poor girl lost her hand at Dolores Park yesterday when someone threw an M60 at Roisin and her friends. The M60 landed on Roisin’s right hand and blew it apart.

Says her dad, Chris, “She will undergo surgery later this morning but it doesn’t look good. Most likely she will lose her index finger; second and third fingers will also be permanently impaired and disfigured. Needless to say, her musical career is over.”

Oh, Vetiver! The grass is green; not so the SF-ish band

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July 5, 2007

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By Max Goldberg

As Andy Cabic and co. tuned up for another gentle folk-rock Vetiver jam Tuesday night at The Independent, my housemate gushed, “I feel like I’m at a real rock concert!”

Indeed, there was something pro about Vetiver’s set – it was some combination of a balanced, generous song list, tight arrangements, the Independent’s sharply defined sound, and the large crowd swaying to music that so conjures Northern California’s finest elements. Now that the band is totally famous having opened for Vashti Bunyan in Europe and playing Carnegie Hall at David Byrne’s request, any chance to see them is a real treat.

This one felt like a homecoming: the band was fresh off a recording session at Sacramento’s the Hangar, working on a series of covers, many of which (songs by Michael Hurley, Hawkwind, Jimmy Martin, and Biff Rose) were given workouts at the Independent. The tunes from the two albums – Vetiver and To Find Me Gone – felt well-worn and celebratory.

Cabic’s quartet has a loose, rootsy sound reminiscent of prime ’70s album-rock by Dylan, Neil Young, the Band, David Crosby, Graham Nash, etc. “My Maureen,” was given a folksy harmonica lead, “Oh Papa” slowed to a purring lull, and “You May Be Blue,” “I Know No Pardon,” and “Won’t Be Me” all given ample space to sparkle. The band was so relaxed and effortlessly tight that the set reminded me of an MTV-unplugged session in certain passages, but it hit me just the right way, gentle bay breezes and songs-like-old-friends all the way.

So lovely, and worth it, if nothing else, to soak up “Down at El Rio,” still a perfect evocation of San Francisco summer twilight. Also, watch out for openers the Dry Spells – Shirley Collins-style vocal harmonies sure to make the psych-folk set swoon!

Walk the walk

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July 5, 2007

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By Gazelle Emami

TOMS shoes have been around for a little over a year, but for the bulk of this time, the company has been thriving in boutiques and online through word of mouth. It’s only recently that TOMS have started popping up in Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and on Keira Knightley’s feet. Their basic principle is pretty admirable—for every pair that is bought, a pair is given to a child in need. Last October, founder Blake Mycoskie held their first Shoe Drop, where 10,000 shoes were hand-delivered 10,000 to children in Argentina.

Wolf in candidate’s clothing

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July 5, 2007

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By Steven T. Jones
Josh Wolf — the San Francisco blogger and videographer who spent months in prison for refusing to turn over to the cops raw footage of a protest where an officer was injured — has announced his candidacy for mayor, promising tor bring a host of fresh, relevant issues in the race. He’s calling for the city to sever many of its ties to the federal government, implement a community-based policing plan, bring more transparency into government (which he’ll start on the campaign by wearing a mounted streaming video camera, ala Justin.tv), making Muni free and bicycle path ubiquitous, facilitating more parties in the neighborhoods, and creating a public works program to give jobs to the poor. It’s a pretty bold and progressive agenda that will ideally spark good discussions. Maybe Newsom will even rip off a few of Wolf’s idea, as he is wont to do. But the real value of this candidacy seems to be to highlight the need for police reform and accountability, something that doesn’t seem to interest Newsom in the least.

Holy shit! Josh wolf is running for mayor!

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July 4, 2007

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By G.W. Schulz

So, people want to hate Josh Wolf for being what they perceive as a lawless anarchist. But he’s just so damn polite. He defies virtually every useless assumption about the actual history of anarchism (still little-known among many Americans).

Wolf is like the consummate Boy Scout, but with badges that feature political slogans and old crustcore bands instead. My mom would love this guy’s manners — the way he politely addresses everyone he communicates with and doesn’t seem to really have a hostile bone in his body.

And now he’s running for mayor. Jeez, Wolf’s already spent half the year in prison, and now he has to run against The Douchebag, because no one else wants to do it? (I have good reason for nicknaming Gavin “The Douchebag” — he’s always reminded me of the elitist bad guy from Better Off Dead who stole John Cusack’s girlfriend.) Good luck, Joshua. At least someone’s going to make The Douchbag work for it. Jello Biafra couldn’t even claim a prison stint when he ran for mayor back in 1979.

The Gentleman*
vs.
The Douchebag

Challenge to be reffed by Jello

“There’s always room for Jello”

*Photo from www.joshwolf.net

Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July…

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July 4, 2007

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Last week at 12 Galaxies, John Doe busted out X’s most patriotically-titled tune. I missed Exene on the chorus, but whatever. Independence Day traditions in my world include watching at least a few minutes of Independence Day — which I just tried to find on TV, and it ain’t on, so this tradition is in danger of not happening except in my photographic-movie-memory — and eating the biggest hamburger I can get my mitts around.

Oh, and FREEDOM ROCK. FREEDOM ROCK has it all! You know what to do, man.

Latest Jew

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July 3, 2007

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By Sarah Phelan

Latest Jew

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July 3, 2007

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By Sarah Phelan

More Ed Jew fireworks

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July 3, 2007

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By Sarah Phelan

City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued a statement at about 7 PM tonight, concerning Sup. Jew’s reply brief
to the Attorney General’s in Quo Warranto Action–and Herrera sounded none too pleased.

Maybe it was because Jew’s attorneys filed the beleagured supervisor’s reply brief just moments before the close of business today, (when most of the City had already left early in preparation for July 4.) Or maybe Herrera was incensed by Jew’s attorneys, who are arguing that City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s quo warranto petition, which seeks permission to sue for Jew’s removal from elective office, should be denied.

In a nutshell, Jew’s attorneys say that the City Attorney’s civil case should be stayed pending the adjudication of criminal charges against the District Four supervisor, which means, until the feds are done with him.

All of which got City Attorney Dennis Herrera issuing the following statement, which should be read while drinking beer, watching the fireworks and reminiscing on your favorite Ed Jew story:

“The citizens of San Francisco have a right to legitimate representation in their democracy that clearly outweighs the right of one politician to remain in office in violation of the law. The evidence is overwhelming that Supervisor Jew failed to meet the basic residency requirements to seek or continue to hold his office. It would be a terrible injustice if the legitimacy of our Board of Supervisors were to remain in doubt for the duration of a criminal process, which could take years.”

Herrera’s response brief is due to Attorney General Jerry Brown by July 13, 2007. Thirteen, Huh? That should be interesting. In the meantime, to review all the materials the City Attorney’ has collected as part of this investigation check out www.sfgov.org/cityattorney/ .

Pick-nik season is so on…

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July 3, 2007

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Step right up for the git-pickin’ pick o’ the litter at the first annual San Francisco Picker’s Picnic on Friday, July 6, at Bottom of the Hill.

King City with child.

Joe Price with Vicki Price, King City, Craig Ventresco with Meredith Axelrod, Gaucho, and Pat Johnson will be your shred-meisters. Your host: Chewy Marzolo – player of heavy metal, bluegrass, cartoon swing Latin soundtrack, rag, burlesque, abso-futurist black/death metal, gypsy jazz, cabaret, country, and he says, “a few other types of not-very-popular-to-the-hipsters styles of music in San Francisco for…well…let me see here…um…a very long time.”

Joe Price in action.

This time Marzolo bites into a first – the Picker’s Picnic. Among the offerings are the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame inductee Joe Price; gypsy jazz combo Gaucho (with Ralph Carney); and Marzolo’s own band, King City, who describe themselves as “a five-piece ragtime/tango/Latin/spaghetti western
instrumental San Francisco bonifiedly warranted excuse for a good time.” By the way, King City’s first official CD, The Last Siesta, comes out this summer on Spencer Muray’s Antebellum label and the cover was painted by graf giant Twist, aka, Barry McGee.

It’s all on July 6, 9 p.m., at Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $10. For more info, go to www.myspace.com/pickerspicnic. Be there – or be home pickin’ on your own.

Some say Pride…

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July 3, 2007

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By Stephen Torres

Pink Saturday was not kind to me. I had to work “Mango” down at the river and it never really reached the usual crescendo, but kept truckin’ along all through the night. I woke up at about one the next afternoon with the parade having already passed by. I felt obligated to go, however, and met some friends down on the mall in Civic Center.

It was an already faulty set- up in that I was exhausted and sober amongst a sea of bronzed, vibrant, inebriated fairies. By the look on my friend Jesse’s face, I knew we were on the same page. So what are two tired queens to do when confronted with such glee and sunshine?

Arnold’s thin green veneer

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July 3, 2007

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arnold&hummer.jpg
By Steven T. Jones
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest hypocritical move to undermine California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions shouldn’t surprise anyone. He has always been a political opportunist who seized the environmentalist label last year simply to score political points. The LA Times did the definitive piece on the ruse a couple months back, which closes with Arnold’s own secretly recorded admission about the fraud. Most recently, The Economist magazine analyzed how unlikely California is to meet its lofty goals for addressing climate change. But that’s the idea, right? Politicians set ambitious goals that make them look good today, with deadlines set for well after they’re out of office.
The only surprise here is that anyone is surprised. Then again, the Chronicle did endorse the guy last year (facilitating a deceptive and rapid rehabilitation of his once tattered image), so maybe they’re feeling a little foolish in retrospect.

Downtown’s car obsession

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July 3, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

So the developers and some businesses want to build more parking in San Francisco. We’ve seen this game before; in the past, the supervisors have been able to shoot it down, but now it may go before the voters. Here’s the part of the argument that infuriates me:

Supporters claim the initiative, sponsored by the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations, prepares The City for an expected influx of vehicles during the next five years.

Why is there an “expected influx of vehicles?”

Why is the city constantly looking for ways to plan for more cars?

Why isn’t it official city planning policy that the number of cars in San Francisco will decrease over the next five years?

This is the great lie of urban planning (as practiced by developers and their advocates): First you “project” more cars (or more jobs, or more population or whatever). Then you automatically have a case to build — more garages, more parking lots, more condos, more highrise office towers — for your “projected” demand. And, of course, once you bild million-dollar condos, they fill up (perhaps with globe-trotting wealthy people looking for pieds-a-terre, but whatever), thus fulfilling the “projections,” and once you make room for more cars, you’ll get more cars in a city that already has too many.

These “projections” are a bogus, self-fulfilling prophecy. Let’s project a city we really want, and plan for that one.

Scooting Away with a Bang

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July 3, 2007

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By Sarah Phelan

George W. Bush clearly enjoys fireworks.
With a huge uproar going on over his July 2 decision to spare former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby a 30-month prison sentence, Bush is now stoking the flames by saying he won’t rule out a pardon.
Boom! Boom-boom-boom! Kapow, kapow, pow!

I can see G.W., kicking back at the ranch this Fourth of July, and laughing at all the bloggers like me who will spend today sounding off over his decision to let Scooter scoot away, instead of doing what folks outta do on July 3: stock up on Catherine wheels and bottle rockets.
“I made a judgment, a considered judgment, that I believe was the right decision to make in this case,” Bush told CNN as he left the Walter Reed Medical Center.

Was he enjoying the mental image of more leftists exploding, as it hit them that he, GW, had the nerve to talk about letting Scooter go scott free, even as he was finishing up visiting wounded vets of the war in Iraq. Kaboom, Kabul!
Or maybe the irony was lost on him.

So, will there be no justice in this whacked out, fireworking world?

Valerie Plame’s husband, Joseph Wilson told CNN today that Bush’s decision puts the president himself under suspicion of a cover-up in the case.

“I think there is a very real suspicion now that the president himself is an accessory to obstruction of justice in this matter,” said Wilson, whose wife worked in the CIA’s counter-proliferation division, before Bush, Cheney, Scooter, Wolfowitz et al decided that invading Iraq would make for really great fireworks.

I guess Bush et al are banking that, come next Fourth of July, we’ll all have forgotten who Scooter, Robert Novak, Richard Armitrage and Karl Rove are. Funny how some darn big explosions can distract from the truth.

Rescue Dawn spawn

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July 2, 2007

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to Screen Rescue Dawn for American Troops in Iraq

LOS ANGELES, CA, June 28, 2007 — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) will help America’s troops overseas celebrate Independence Day this year by screening the studio’s Vietnam War biopic Rescue Dawn in Iraq. On July 4, 2007, over 2,000 troops stationed at Camp Anaconda, a large U.S. base near Balad, will screen the film highlighting the amazing life of Dieter Dengler, the only American to ever break out of a POW camp in the impenetrable Laotian jungle during the Vietnam War. The film, which will also be released in Los Angeles and New York on July 4th, will be introduced with a taped message to the troops from the film’s lead actors Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. Rescue Dawn will expand its release domestically in ten markets on July 13, 2007 and release wide on July 27, 2007.

MGM arranged the Rescue Dawn screening in Iraq through the motion picture team of The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), a division of the military which provides products and services to military families worldwide and generates earnings to supplement military morale, welfare and recreation programs.

“We are proud of our troops in Iraq and we wanted to do something special to honor their commitment,” said Rick Sands, MGM’s Chief Operating Officer. “Screening a film about Dieter’s heroic life on Independence Day could not be more appropriate to show our thanks to the brave men and women overseas.”

“Given the extraordinary heroic story that this film portrays, I can think of no better venue to show it to America’s warriors than Camp Anaconda in the heart of Iraq,” said AAFES’ Chief of Communications Lt. Col. Dean Thurmond. “We are gratified and thankful to the distributor, producers and cast of this film for remembering our troops and giving them the opportunity to see this film.”

Legendary director Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Fitzcarraldo) and starring acclaimed actor Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Prestige), Rescue Dawn is the true story of a Dieter Dengler who, from the depths of total darkness, blazed his own willful path to freedom. Dengler, a German-American Navy pilot, received numerous honors for his heroism including the Navy Cross. An inspirational action-adventure and a stark epic of survival, Rescue Dawn reveals how Dengler relied on his courage, endurance and tenacity to find his way home.

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., through its operating subsidiaries is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,000 titles. Operating units include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United Artists Films Inc., Ventanazul, MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM Networks Inc., MGM Distribution Co., MGM International Television Distribution Inc., Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Worldwide Digital Media, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in international TV channels reaching nearly 110 countries. MGM ownership is as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%), TPG (21%), Sony Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%). For more information, visit http://www.mgm.com/. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

Brazilian psych free-for-all!

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July 2, 2007

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By Sean Manning

Nearly 40 years ago, Brazil’s Os Mutantes sewed the seeds of their now-legendary status by creating a pastiche of hallucinatory sounds and good ole fashioned Beatles-like harmonies so fluidly that they’ve inspired a whole new generation of followers extending far beyond the city limits of their native Sao Paulo.

After a successful reunion stint last year, the Baptista brothers – minus founding member Rita Lee – will be doing it again this year for a handful of performances. One of those will be for the Stern Grove festival on Sunday, July 15, with Venezuelan rockers Los Amigos Invisibles supporting. There aren’t many opportunities to get this kind of experience for free, so make sure you show up early to catch the band before you miss your chance.

Os Mutantes perform Sunday, July 15, 2 p.m., at Sigmund Stern Grove. 44 Page St, SF. Free. (415) 252-6252.

CCA: FULL STEAM AHEAD

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June 29, 2007

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by Amanda Witherell

Solar panel.jpeg

This afternoon Mayor Gavin Newsom signed legislation permitting the city to move forward with its plan for Community Choice Aggregation.

Rumors were flying around all week that Newsom might veto, especially after his press conference coup with PG&E last week. PG&E is none too keen on this CCA thing.

That’s because it intends to kick PG&E’s ass at the renewables game. But what’s a little friendly competition? The plan is for the city to build or buy 51 percent of our electricity from renewable sources, which is permitted under a state law pushed by Carole Migden in 2002, and some 30 percent more than what PG&E is offering. Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Ross Mirkarimi have spent the last few years hammering out legislation and what they came up with was passed by nearly all their fellow board members. (Alioto-Pier and Jew were the no-go’s.)

Newsom issued a letter expressing his concern that the plan must “meet or beat” PG&E’s rates in the first 60 days, but ended on a lighter note with his commitment to “moving forward expeditiously.” He’s asked the SFPUC to get on it by July 15. They’ll be issuing a Request for Information, followed by a formal call for proposals for more wind, water, and sun power in the city.

Paris Hilton is not news

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June 29, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

Holy shit — watch Mika Brzezinski try to argue that on MSNBC and get treated rather shabbily by her male co-anchors.

There’s fire, a shredder, a sniffing scene — and a very good journalistic point. Don’t miss it.

Fiona Ma and the cops

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June 29, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

Thanks in part to a San Francisco legislator, a bill to reform police secrecy is dead in the water. SB 1019, by state Sen. Gloria Romero of Los Angeles, did in the Assembly Public Safety Committee when not a single committee member would move to consider the bill. Assembly member FIona Ma, who represents San Francisco, sits on the committee; she as among those who killed the bill.

BeyondChron has a pretty good summary of this, including the astonishing information that one of the police unions threatened to scutle the Legislature’s attempt to amend term limits if this bill passes.

The bill is still (barely) alive, and could come back for reconsideration — if Ma would stip kowtowing to the cops and agree to at least bring it up for a vote.

The Good Old Days in Rock Rapids, Iowa, The Fourth of July, l940-1953

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June 29, 2007

3

By Bruce B. Brugmann

(Note: In July of l972, when the Guardian was short a Fourth of July story, I sat down and cranked out this one for the front page on my trusty Royal Typewriter.)

Back where I come from, a small town beneath a tall standpipe in northwestern Iowa, the Fourth of July was the best day of a long, hot summer.
The Fourth came after YMCA camp and Scout camp and church camp, but before the older boys had to worry about getting into shape for football. It was welcome relief from the scalding, 100-degree heat in a town without a swimming pool and whose swimming holes at Scout Island were usually dried up by early July. But best of all, it had the kind of excitement that began building weeks in advance.
The calm of the summer dawn and the cooing of the mourning doves on the telephone wires would be broken early on July Fourth: The Creglow boys would be up by 7 a.m. and out on the lawn shooting off their arsenal of firecrackers. They were older and had somehow sent their agents by car across the state line and into South Dakota where, not far above the highway curves of Larchwood, you could legally buy fireworks at roadside stands.
Ted Fisch, Jim Ramsey, Wiener Winters, the Cook boys, Hermie Casjens, Jerry Prahl, and the rest of the neighborhood would race of their houses to catch the action. Some of them had cajoled firecrackers from their parents or bartered from the older boys in the neighborhood: some torpedoes (the kind you smashed against the sidewalk); lots of 2 and 3-inchers, occasionally the granddaddy of them all, the cherry bomb (the really explosive firecracker, stubby, cherry red, with a wick sticking up menacingly from its middle; the kind of firecracker you’d gladly trade away your best set of Submariner comics for).
Ah, the cherry bomb. It was a microcosm of excitement and mischief and good fun. Bob Creglow, the most resourceful of the Creglow boys, would take a cherry bomb, set it beneath a tin can on a porch, light the fuse, then head for the lilac bushes behind the barn.
“The trick,” he would say, imparting wisdom of the highest order, “is to place the can on a wood porch with a wood roof. Then it will hit the top of the porch, bang, then the bottom of the porch, bang. That’s how you get the biggest clatter.”
So I trudged off to the Linkenheil house, the nearest front porch suitable for cherry bombing, to try my hand at small-town demolition. Bang went the firecracker. Bang went the can on the roof. Bang went the can on the floor. Bang went the screen door as Karl Linkenheil roared out in a sweat, and I lit out for the lilacs behind the barn with my dog, Oscar.

The Nation blasts SF Weekly’s parent

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June 29, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

Long, detailed article in the Nation this week by John Wiener on how sharply the LA Weekly has declined since Village Voice Media, the parent company of SF Weekly, took over.

It’s exactly what a lot of us predicted: No more endorsements. No more progressive politics. No more reporting or commentary on the war in Iraq. Sad.

Who paid for Migden’s billboards?

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June 29, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

There’s been a fair amount of flap over the big billboards featuring Carole Migden that appeared all over the Third Senate District around Pride weekend. The messages — describing Miden as a leader and thanking her for her work — don’t include any statements identifying the donor who paid for them. That’s led some to suggest that it’s a clandestine gift from Clear Channel, which owns the billboards.

But according to Michael Colbruno, a former Migden aide and close ally who now works for Clear Channel, there’s another explanation:

The billboards, he told me, are “issue advocacy” ads — which means they’re not regulated by campaign-finance disclosure laws. They were purchased, he said, by an individual or entity that is not a campaign committee — and Clear Channel won’t say who it is.

“It’s not a political sale,” he said. “It’s an independent advocacy ad, and the payment information doesn’t have to be disclosed.”

I asked him if Clear Channel charged the ad buyer full price or perhaps offered a discount. “We don’t disclose rates,” he said.

The ads sure look political to me: One of them thanks three local legislators for supporting the infrastructure bonds — Migden, Don Perata and Leland Yee — and pointedly leaves out another member of the local delegation, Mark Leno, who also supported the bonds, and who happens to be challenging Midgen in next year’s state Senate primary.

But what Colbruno is telling me is that an unknown donor has just done a huge favor for Migden, worth potentially tens of thousands of dollars — and the public will never know who it was.

Leno, not surprisingly, was furious to hear about this:

“The only way this situation can be considered legal is if the suggestion is that these billboards are issue-advocacy ads and not campaign related — but anyone who believes that is a fool,” Leno told me. “If anyone tried to thank me this way, I would tell them no and make them take it down.”

I’m pretty dubious, too — I’m sure Migden knows who paid for the ads, and she ought to tell the rest of us.

Finally, a real Chicken takes on Newsom

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June 28, 2007

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Chicken John’s was among the first “Faces of Burning Man”
the Chronicle ran as part of their series a couple years ago.
By Steven T. Jones
We’ve seen people dressed as chickens mocking Mayor Gavin Newsom and progressives who are too chicken to run against him, but now we have Chicken John announcing that he’s running for mayor. You know Chicken John, right? The showman, the provocateur, the facilitator of art and innovation, the guy with the fake mustache and the cool bus and Army Street address and the truck that runs on trash, the MC of the Ask Dr. Hal Show. Yeah, THAT Chicken, aka John Rinaldi. Well, he’s decided to run for mayor and called upon the San Francisco underground to rise up and support him. Will they? Will Chicken follow through if they don’t? What issues will this enigmatic political newbie stake out? Will Newsom debate him? I don’t know the answer to any of this or, frankly, how I feel about it. But there is one thing I do know: the mayor’s race just got a helluva lot more interesting.
Chicken’s announcement follows: