sfbg Archives — Page 56 of 59 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

SF Port to Vote (and maybe cash in) on the Trans Bay Cable

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March 12, 2007

By JB Powell

Tomorrow could be ‘show me the money’ day for the SF Port Commission. Commissioners there will vote on the Trans Bay Cable, a privately financed, $300 million power cord that would run underwater from Pittsburg. For weeks, staff members from the port as well as various other city agencies have been hammering out the details of a community benefits package with the cable’s developer, Australian financial firm, Babcock and Brown. The Guardian has obtained a staff report with details of the proposed benefits package. Several officials had already told us it was “significant” and they were right. If the deal goes through, the port will reap millions in rent and licensing fees, a needed cash-infusion for the strapped agency. The package also includes hefty sums for waterfront open space and, in perhaps the biggest news for the city, millions of dollars for the SF Public Utilities Commission. The SFPUC plans to use the funds to bankroll sustainable energy projects, including solar, wind, and tidal initiatives.
Why the largesse? Many of the cable’s shore-side facilities would be on port land. That means Babcock and Brown needs port commission approval before the project can move on to the last local regulatory step, the Board of Supervisors. If the cable goes through, it would plug the city’s electrical grid into 400 megawatts of power from plants in and around Pittsburg. But green power advocates claim the “59 mile extension cord” would be a “waste of resources.” Their biggest fear is that bringing all those relatively cheap megawatts into the city from fossil-fuel burning plants across the bay will derail the city’s plans to rely on more eco-friendly energy.
But the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) insists the city needs the cable or it will see blackouts in the future. Cal-ISO is the “public benefit corporation” in charge of the state’s grid. Sources in and around city hall have described the bind local leaders are in: they would rather look to greener power projects to solve the city’s energy needs, but electricity can be the third rail of California politics. Just ask Gray Davis. So, in an attempt to have their megawatts and eat them too, staff from the mayor’s office and several supervisors, as well as the port and SFPUC, pushed hard for the best “benefits package” they could get from the developer. It remains to be seen if the money for renewable energy projects will placate the activist community. Stay tuned to the Guardian for more coverage on the issue in the coming weeks.

SF Port to Vote (and maybe cash in) on the Trans Bay Cable

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March 12, 2007

1

By JB Powell

Tomorrow could be ‘show me the money’ day for the SF Port Commission. Commissioners there will vote on the Trans Bay Cable, a privately financed, $300 million power cord that would run underwater from Pittsburg. For weeks, staff members from the port as well as various other city agencies have been hammering out the details of a community benefits package with the cable’s developer, Australian financial firm, Babcock and Brown. The Guardian has obtained a staff report with details of the proposed benefits package. Several officials had already told us it was “significant” and they were right. If the deal goes through, the port will reap millions in rent and licensing fees, a needed cash-infusion for the strapped agency. The package also includes hefty sums for waterfront open space and, in perhaps the biggest news for the city, millions of dollars for the SF Public Utilities Commission. The SFPUC plans to use the funds to bankroll sustainable energy projects, including solar, wind, and tidal initiatives.
Why the largesse? Many of the cable’s shore-side facilities would be on port land. That means Babcock and Brown needs port commission approval before the project can move on to the last local regulatory step, the Board of Supervisors. If the cable goes through, it would plug the city’s electrical grid into 400 megawatts of power from plants in and around Pittsburg. But green power advocates claim the “59 mile extension cord” would be a “waste of resources.” Their biggest fear is that bringing all those relatively cheap megawatts into the city from fossil-fuel burning plants across the bay will derail the city’s plans to rely on more eco-friendly energy.
But the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) insists the city needs the cable or it will see blackouts in the future. Cal-ISO is the “public benefit corporation” in charge of the state’s grid. Sources in and around city hall have described the bind local leaders are in: they would rather look to greener power projects to solve the city’s energy needs, but electricity can be the third rail of California politics. Just ask Gray Davis. So, in an attempt to have their megawatts and eat them too, staff from the mayor’s office and several supervisors, as well as the port and SFPUC, pushed hard for the best “benefits package” they could get from the developer. It remains to be seen if the money for renewable energy projects will placate the activist community. Stay tuned to the Guardian for more coverage on the issue in the coming weeks.

Donna data

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March 7, 2007

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And while I’m on this posting old Noise Pop photos kick… here are some pictures from The Donnas playing Noise Pop at Bottom of the Hill last Friday night.

Want to know if the show was any good? I think the following photo of Guardian writer G.W. Schulz says it all.

(Molly Freedenberg)

Cake to audience: Eat me (then buy my record)

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March 6, 2007

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I had honestly forgotten how much I like Cake. Years of too much radio play hardened me to those catchy tunes like Never There and The Distance, making me forget all about the beats so steeped in funk you can’t help but move your hips, the spot-on transitions that would make any music major proud, the deep melodic sarcasm of John McCrea’s voice, and the plain old virtuosity of these people as musicians. What I hadn’t forgotten was McCrea’s attitude: bitter, jaded, and a bit antagonistic to his audience.

In fact, when I last saw Cake in Portland almost a decade ago, McCrea went so far as to insult the crowd for only showing up to hear the radio single I Will Survive, asking if anyone even knew their other songs. (Would it have killed him to thank them for padding his paycheck, however they found him?…) My embarrassment at being associated with one of the mindless minions (though I was a true Cake fan at the time, and didn’t even like I Will Survive that much), and my anger at McCrea for making me feel embarrassed about it, might have been part of the reason I’ve hardly listened to the Sacramento songsters since then.

Until the last night of Noise Pop, when it all came rushing back. The band took the stage at Bimbo’s in front of a packed crowd of mostly 30-somethings, all die-hard fans who sang along with nearly every song. And as that twangy guitar intros started and McCrea banged the vibraslap and they launched into some of my old favorites – You Part the Waters and Is This Love? – I remembered: This is is a great fucking band.

And then as McCrea yelled at people in the front row for taking pictures, and responded to audience requests by saying, “Thanks for the input, but we don’t want to feel like a jukebox. So what do we want to play?”, and as he launched into a tirade against the music industry, I also remembered that McCrea is still an asshole (or in need of a really big hug). A hilarious, sarcastic, droll, witty, talented asshole, but an asshole all the same.

Of course, that’s part of what gives Cake character. And if being an asshole isn’t enough to make me not date you (you know who you are…), then it sure isn’t enough to make me stop buying your records.

Since the band is on an anti-corporate (and anti-publicity) kick, the chances of them playing anywhere near here anytime soon is pretty slim. But you can get their self-released CD “B-Sides and Rarities,” with its scratch and sniff cover art, here. As for me? I’m getting another copy of Motorcade of Generosity. I suddenly have a craving to hear about birds falling from window ledges like small loaves of bread…(Molly Freedenberg)

More Noise Popping

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March 2, 2007

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By Deborah Giattina

I wouldn’t have traded seeing my fellow Bay Area Ladyfest 2002 organizer play her first Noise Pop show last Wednesday for anything–not even a Ponys/Gris Gris ticket. I’m referring to Macromantics (aka Romy Hoffman), who recently was signed to Kill Rock Stars. (Check out her first KRS release, Moments in Movement.)

Onstage, the chaos-loving Australian MC and erstwhile San Francisco denizen’s a capella onslaughts rocked the crowd as much as her body-moving escapades into metaphysical rapping.

Afterwards, my down under friend waved away a look-see at my snaps of her performance, stating, “I don’t believe in documentation.” This one’s gonna keep moving forward into uncharted territory rather than look back, but that doesn’t mean she minds if the rest of us cherish the memories.

The road looked like a ski slope…

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March 2, 2007

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By Kimberly Chun

Thought me and my pal were going to recreate the Donner Party’s flesh-chomping shenanigans this past weekend: we were caught in the snow storm over Highway 80 on Feb. 25, heading from Reno and the Who’s Feb. 23 US tour kickoff concert back to frisky ole Frisco. Scary, snow-slick road conditions and worse, frightening near-standstill traffic. We left Reno at 1 p.m. and at around 6 or 7 p.m. finally, carefully pulled into a slippery, icy, snowed-in Truckee – about five or six hours after we spotted a “Truckee: 12 miles” sign.

A winter wonderland for skiiers and fresh-air fiends – a nightmare for motorists.

The freeway resembled a ski run.

Californians really are equipped for “weather” conditions!
Check the dude in the T-shirt in the middle of a blizzard.

Smells like art

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March 2, 2007

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I knew I was in the right place. I could smell it before I even got in the building. The brazenly pungent aroma emanated out the glass doors, down the yellow walls of the entrance corridor, and out into the San Francisco Art Institute’s scenic courtyard.

It was a smell both foreign and familiar. The fragrant notes of beef stew, rich with clove, onion and rosemary, coupled with the sour musty smell of cognac, wine, and time.

Inside, behind a large black curtain, a dark gooey brew bubbled from within a deep silver pot atop a gas stove, while various vegetables and spices rested on a butcher’s block next to it.

However, the cook, Jean-Baptiste Ganne, is not a chef. And he won’t be feeding his creation to any group of hungry foodies. Instead the French photographer and artist hopes to speak to something different. For this exhibit, titled “The Cookist, a very informal seminar on the question of work,” Ganne prepares a traditional French dish called la daube, cooked over a three-day period solely to produce a smell. There is nothing to eat, and little to see, making the exhibit particularly unique, as the fragrance can be experienced only by those present at the moment.

Girls Rule

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March 2, 2007

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Oooh, how I love me some rockin’ women. And last night seemed to be chock full of ’em. (The men weren’t half bad either…)

First was Noise Pop Happy Hour at the Parkside (are we seeing a theme here?) featuring the mesmerizing Loquat. Listening to the adorable Kylee Swenson (pictured top right) layer gorgeous, haunting vocals over the band’s catchy guitar-pop-meets-danceable-electronica (thanks to bandmates Earl Otsuka, Anthony Gordon, Christopher Lautz, and the newest band member, a laptop) was the perfect way to start off an evening of rock.

Next up was Slim’s, for a stellar line-up featuring French Kicks (moderately far away photo here)and Scissors for Lefty(very far away photo here), both of whom were fantastic. But opening band The Oohlas really stole the show. The music was true, heart-pounding rock’n’roll — and so was frontwoman Olivia Stone (in the other two photos), whose smile was as engaging as her on-stage antics.

Watch video here.

(And by the way, this isn’t some “I Am Wemoon Therefore I Heart Womyn In Rock” thing. Merely having a vagina is not enough to make me like your band. These chicks have vaginas — presumably…I didn’t actually see ’em — and they fucking rock. Uh, the chicks. Not the vaginas….Never mind.) (Molly Freedenberg)

An evening of esoteric indie rock

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March 2, 2007

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So there’s this guy named Tommy Lee. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Played drums in a little-known rock band? Married some blonde in a red bathing suit? Starred in a salacious home video? Well, apparently this obscure musician is still making his art in the small, private, cult-following-type venues he’s become accustomed to (like Oakland’s Oracle Arena, on two different reality shows, and in a book he’s co-writing, among about a dozen other gigs).

And because I’m on the inside of the indie scene, with my ear to the ground and finger on the pulse and my nose buried deep in music mags you’ve never heard of, I caught wind of Mr. Lee’s recent appearance in the Bay Area. Not only caught wind, mind you, but rode that wind all the way to the stage and then behind it, where I watched this lean, muscled, tattooed, talented, teenager-in-a-man’s-body (If only he could be saved from his obscurity so the rest of the world could appreciate his crush-worthiness…) wail away on the drums while his friends from other little known bands (Guns N Roses, anyone? Black Crowes? Nah, I haven’t heard of ’em either…) and a guy they found on a TV show played along in their tiny garage band named Rockstar Supernova .

Now’s probably the part where I should review the show, but thanks to appropriately rockstar amounts of beer and Jagermeister that took me a week to recover from (and therefore that long to write about it), you’ve probably already read about the show somewhere else. And considering that I met (and liked) the fantastic Mr. Lee before he went on stage, I’m not exactly an unbiased observer anyway.

Instead? Look at some pictures from the Rockstar Supernova show on Thursday, February 22 (with Juke Cartel, fronted by Rockstar Supernova reality show runner-up Toby Rand, and Panic Channel, featuring Dave Navarro):

Lukas Rossi, the former Hooter’s cook from Canada who won the reality show contest and now fronts Rockstar Supernova

Tommy Lee on keyboards during a cover of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony

The encore, a cover of Prince’s Purple Rain, climaxes with – what else? – a rain storm of purple confetti

(Molly Freedenberg)

Hella lot of pictures … (but not of Hella)

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March 1, 2007

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So I couldn’t get tickets to last night’s Hella show (with Pop Levi, Macromantics, Tartufi) at Bottom of the Hill (Yes, I tried to get ’em like a civilian. That’ll teach me not to use my press privilege…) Which meant that after the Noise Pop Happy Hour at Thee Parkside (where I enjoyed some lovely little lox-and-cream-cheese sammiches), I managed only to go out drinking instead of seeing live music. But that doesn’t mean I’ve nothing to post here. Oh, no. On the contrary, I have photos from opening night at Mezzanine, as promised:

Extra Action Marching Band:
Trumpet
Cheeky cheerleaders
The horn section
Tall f(l)ags
Majorettes
Rah rah rass
X-tra action close-up

Har Mar Superstar, after getting progressively less dressed:
Bringing sexy back?

And one dimly lit photo of Tapes ‘N’ Tapes:
Josh Grier

And hey, I never promised the photos would be good.(Molly Freedenberg)

Noise ‘N’ Pop

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February 28, 2007

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The line outside Mezzaninelast night may have been ridiculously long (the hidden cost of “free” admission), and the venue may have reeked of body odor (or cheap weed?), but both were worth the entertaining, irreverent kick off to a week of Noise Pop fun. We were immediately heartened that we all got in, even though I was the only one who’d registered online, and that the DJ was playing catchy, pseudo-indie (since what does “indie” mean anymore, anyway?) classics like the Ramones and Violent Femmes between sets.

And though there was plenty of hipster eye candy, the place was noticeably devoid of the pretentiousness one might expect from an event headed by uber-underground-cult-favorites Tapes n Tapes. No, we were all equally, geekily excited by the Extra Action Marching Band (your high school half-time show meets Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with tattooed tuba players and provocative pom pom girls … and boys), comedian David Cross (managing to simultaneously deliver and skewer sponsor Doc Martens’ marketing message – “Change the world, starting by buying these shoes…”), and one man freakshow – and talented vocalist and performer – Har Mar Superstar (whose mantra “I’m fucking awesome” is so ironic, it’s actually true).

The highlight of the night, though, was Tapes ‘N’ Tapes, all humble and sweet and soft-bodied and dorky, just like a proper indie band should be. The sound up front was a bit too loud and distorted for my taste (I hear the music sounded perfect from the bathroom), but the band’s energy mostly made up for it — and Cowbell was perfect: raw and lilting, just like I like it.

Mmmmm….poppy goodness at its noisiest. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week serves up.

P.S. More photos to come…

(By Molly Freedenberg)

Oi, oi, oh, yeah

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February 21, 2007

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In a town rife with electronic DJs and mellow indie bands, what’s a poor punk lover to do? Especially on a Monday night (otherwise known at most venues as either “open mic” or “fend for yourselves, you weekday drunks” night)? Is there an alternative to driving around in your friend’s old beater listening to Minor Threat on the tape deck?

The lucky answer is “yes.” Oh, yes.

There’s the Hemlock Tavern, that lovely not-quite-dive in the neighborhood-formerly-known-as-the-Tenderloin, with its four-year-old Monday night Punk Rock Sideshow (classic tunes and movies for those whose tastes tend more towards 7 Seconds than 30 Seconds to Mars) and its once-a-month free live punk shows (nice and early for those whose angst and anarchy is now relegated to the hours after 5 p.m. and before 9 a.m. Yes, even misfits sometimes have to work for the man…).

Last Monday, some friends and I made it in time to see Misled Citizen (like true aging punks, we were too busy napping to get there for Dead Ringers), a fast, loud, energetic fivesome playing old school punk to a crowd of spiky-haired, black-clad 20-somethings (including a great oi-oi cover of “The Boys Are Back in Town”). Afterwards, we chugged our PBR longnecks while bigscreens flashed ’80s skater videos and a Mike Ness documentary and DJ Tragic and the Duchess of Hazard spun everything from Op Ivy to Propaghandi. And, of course, we ogled the eyeliner queens and tattooed kings in the indoor/outdoor smoking room.

It was fantastic, just like those shows we used to go to in high school — minus the sticky floors and windowless warehouses and 14-year-old skinheads dominating the mosh pit. Perfect. Just the thing to get the thing taste of Bassnectar out of your mouth. (Molly Freedenberg)

UCSF Welcomes 28,000 Pound Scanner

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February 21, 2007

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By Cara Cutter

Whether you agree with coach Jimmy Dugan’s facetious comment in “A League of Their Own” that the brain is simply “the lump that’s three feet above your ass,” or take the more reverent view that it is the most extraordinary and complex creation in the universe, there is little doubt that the human brain is a subject of great interest to all of us. As the organ that orchestrates the symphony of our consciousness, it dictates our motions and emotions, our passions and purposes, and has garnered much public attention. President George W. Bush, in Presidential Proclamation 6158, declared the 1990’s as “the Decade of the Brain.” Time Magazine’s January 29, 2007, cover featured a compartmentalized brain and the headline, “The Brain: A User’s Guide.” The brain is fascinating!

Scanner side profile.jpg

Justin Barker Does Community a Service

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February 16, 2007

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According to the courts, Justin Barker, 25, is guilty of something—just not everything he was originally charged with after jumping behind KTVU Fox News Reporter Amber Lee during a live taping in the Castro last Halloween and shouting, “Fox News is bullshit!”

The comment led to his arrest, as well as charges of assaulting Lee and resisting arrest. But the DA dropped the resistance charge after learning that Barker had tracked down a witness who claimed to have watched the entire incident from her balcony and was prepared to testify on Barker’s behalf, if necessary.

Barker was ultimately sentenced to ten hours of community service for assault against Lee, who at the time said she “didn’t know” whether Barker had even touched her. Lee was not present at any of the hearings.

One hundred hours of community service was reduced to 25 over the course of several court hearings. In a phone interview, Barker said this proves the DA never had a real case against him. His public defender later negotiated those hours down to10.

Despite now having a criminal record, Barker believes this was a free speech victory. “I feel confident that if I would’ve pushed this thing all the way [to trial], the jury would’ve definitely seen things my way.”

Barker plans to create a 45-minute documentary about free speech in San Francisco and beyond. He has yet to decide which community service project he will do.

New New York

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February 8, 2007

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By Sam Devine

Looking towards Downtown from the Guardian’s rooftop, no less then seven cranes can be seen, spearing the skyline.

It’s still happening. The buildings keep creeping toward the ceiling. Even though the Guardian published a study in 1971, which showed that for every $10 the City received from the then new high-rises, $11 was spent providing services, San Francisco is still turning into New York.

And New York ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.

Newsom’s dodge

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February 6, 2007

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By Chris Albon
Mayor Gavin Newsom is still dodging questions about his affair with his campaign manager’s wife and his alcohol problem, even as masses of reporters show up at his public appearances, such as today’s event touting a PG&E program.
The small press conference at the Academy of Art University on San Francisco’s new $11.5 million Energy Watch program, sponsored primarily by PG&E, was Newsom’s first event since he announced yesterday that he was seeking treatment for alcohol abuse at Delancey Street Foundation.
Newsom was 15 minutes late and a small crowd of reporters were anxiously loitering and watcing every Lincoln Town car that crept through lunchtime traffic. When the limo finally arrived, Newsom locked in a smile, looked forward, and walked in the building to PG&E’s display table of high-tech light bulbs.
The mood was tense and the event’s organizers and the mayor’s staff seemed skeptical that the media was there to get information on the plan to distribute more energy efficient light bulbs to small businesses.
“I know many of you are here because you care so deeply about climate change,” was how Jared Blumenfeld, director of the San Francisco department of the environment, expressed his cynicism.
When Blumenfeld introduced Newsom to speak, the room was awkwardly quiet. No one applauded.
“Thank you everyone, for the applause,” Newsom said. Only then did the small crowd applaud.
After his speech on the new plan, the mayor did take questions, but he was not going to dive into the affair or his alcohol problem.
“Any more questions,” Newsom asked adding, “on this issue?” before it was too late.
As the mayor walked out, I thought it a perfectly appropriate and respectful question to ask the mayor “if there was going to be a time when he would take questions on his alcoholism or his affair,” but apparently he didn’t agree.
“You’ve taken liberty with the question,” he said.
I took that as a “no.” Maybe I should have asked why a mayor who purports to support public power was helping to prop up PG&E’s aggressive greenwashing efforts. Next time.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

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February 6, 2007

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After Sunday morning’s half marathon (no, I didn’t run it. But do I get any points for watching a friend do it?), there was nothing we needed more than a good breakfast and a strong Bloody Mary. And though our usual favorite, Ti-Couz, is famous for both, we weren’t in the mood for crepes — or an endless wait. So we took a chance on a new (to us) restaurant in Cole Valley: the also French Zazie.

The choice was almost perfect: The space was both cozy and classy, the staff friendly, the wait berable, and the food fantastic (definitely try one of their poached egg options, including one with eggplant and chevre sauce, and the potatoes, which come with whole roasted garlic cloves.)

But the Bloody Marys…

A good Bloody Mary is like a meal in itself: spicy, complex, and comforting. But a bad Bloody Mary is like the liquidy catsup that comes out of the bottle if you don’t shake it up first. And the Zazie version is pretty bad. It’s not, as you might think, because of the Soju — which I think is a perfectly acceptable vodka substitute, by the way. It was because of everything else. The cocktail was bland, watery and missing all of my favorite garnishes (any one of olives, pickled green beans and pickled okra would have been fine). The best part was the celery stalk, but it certainly wasn’t worth the $6 I spent on the drink.

The conclusion? I’ll definitely return to Zazie for French Toast made with challah bread and Eggs Benedict made with crab. But when it comes to beverages, next time I think I’ll stick with the orange juice.

I Think You’re Crazy … Just Like Me

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February 5, 2007

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Oh, Crazy Sushi. You’re so…well…crazy. Getting us all liquored up on beer and sake (Unfiltered! In stylish glass decanters! Who could resist?), letting our rowdy 30th-birthday-bash bunch take over your whole restaurant on no notice, and priming us for a night of debauched revelry with your naughtily named Lesbionic Roll (Didn’t I try that in college?) and your Black Magic Woman (Crab, BBQ eel, avocado, cucumber, black caviar and that special spicy sauce, all to make a devil out of us…).

I’d like to blame you for the way we bulldozed through The Transfer after we left you, for the horrific game of pool I somehow managed to win, for the “What? Are we 22?” after-party that went way too late.

But I can’t. Because it’s probably thanks to you and your insanely good food that we didn’t end up even worse off than we did.

So thank you, Crazy Sushi. You saved our (aging) asses.

(Molly Freedenberg)

Mama Jonez is in the house

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January 31, 2007

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Our new Assistant Culture Editor, Molly Freedenberg, may have just gotten to town, but she hasn’t wasted any time finding other media professionals — or free booze. Here’s her account of Tuesday’s Mother Jones shindig.

Bay Area old-timer Mother Jones is making an effort to be known as something other than, well, your mother’s leftie magazine (or, even less accurately, as a magazine about mothering.)

And last night’s celebration at Minna Street Gallery was a good start -stylistically, at least. There were almost as many fresh-faced, hipster, intern types as there were “grown-ups” (as referenced by the fresh-faced bouncer). The tattooed coat check girl, hoodie-wearing bartender, and grommet-eared busser were a good contrast to Mother Jones’ hemp-and-henna image. And though neither the DJ nor the tables of MoJo memorabilia were enough to override the shortage of both hors d’ouevres and personal space, (I’ve never been jostled so much at such a mellow party. I guess being socially aware doesn’t necessarily mean you’re spatially aware.), I do feel inspired to see what the mag’s been up to since my parents shed their Birks for Crocs. So I suppose you could say MoJo’s new mojo (ha ha ha) is working …

January 13 is Kay Gulbengay Day

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January 10, 2007

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Who is Kay Gulbengay, you ask?
The most knowledgeable person, legislatively speaking, at City Hall, judging from the accolades she received at the Jan. 9 Board of Supervisors meeting, which was dedicated to Gulbengay in honor of the 35 years that the soon to retire deputy Clerk of the Board has served at City Hall, with Board Chair Aaron Peskin also declaring January 13 as Kay Gulbengay Day.
Gulbengay is also, “a wonderful karaoke singer,” according to Sup. Tom Ammiano.
“An awesome power-walker,” according to Sup. Bevan Dufty, who admitted to having crawled back to the relative safety and comfort of the gym after accompanying Gulbengay on one of her many high-speed forays up and down Market Street.
“You didn’t get to know what it’s like to get in her crosshairs and your stuff goes to the bottom of the pile, that’s the story that won’t get told,” Board Chair Aaron Peskin told Sup. Ed Jew, who, as the newest member of Board hasn’t yet had the opportunity to get his legislative knickers in a twist.

Turns out Gulbengay is also a very funny speaker, as witnessed by the crowd of wellwishers that filled the supervisorial chambers to pay their respects.
“I’m touched, but I’m not speechless,” began Gulbengay, adding, “It sounds like I’m dying,” as she began to recall her years at City Hall in the past tense.
“At times you made me feel like a Mother Superior,” said Gulbengay, who is threatening to launch a TV series called Desperate Retirees, along with Clerk of the Board Gloria Young, who is also set to leave City Hall very soon.
“I’ve seen the make-up of the Board got from 11 men, to 10 men and I woman to 9 men and 2 women, to 8 men and three women (which I consider perfect.”
Thank you—and I will be watching.”

January 13 is Kay Gulbengay Day

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January 10, 2007

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January 13 is Kay Gulbengay Day
Who is Kay Gulbengay, you ask?
The most knowledgeable person, legislatively speaking, at City Hall, judging from the accolades she received at the Jan. 9 Board of Supervisors meeting, which was dedicated to Gulbengay in honor of the 35 years that the soon to retire deputy Clerk of the Board has served at City Hall, with Board Chair Aaron Peskin also declaring January 13 as Kay Gulbengay Day.
Gulbengay is also, “a wonderful karaoke singer,” according to Sup. Tom Ammiano.
“An awesome power-walker,” according to Sup. Bevan Dufty, who admitted to having crawled back to the relative safety and comfort of the gym after accompanying Gulbengay on one of her many high-speed forays up and down Market Street.
“You didn’t get to know what it’s like to get in her crosshairs and your stuff goes to the bottom of the pile, that’s the story that won’t get told,” Board Chair Aaron Peskin told Sup. Ed Jew, who, as the newest member of Board hasn’t yet had the opportunity to get his legislative knickers in a twist.

Turns out Gulbengay is also a very funny speaker, as witnessed by the crowd of wellwishers that filled the supervisorial chambers to pay their respects.
“I’m touched, but I’m not speechless,” began Gulbengay, adding, “It sounds like I’m dying,” as she began to recall her years at City Hall in the past tense.
“At times you made me feel like a Mother Superior,” said Gulbengay, who is threatening to launch a TV series called Desperate Retirees, along with Clerk of the Board Gloria Young, who is also set to leave City Hall very soon.
“I’ve seen the make-up of the Board got from 11 men, to 10 men and I woman to 9 men and 2 women, to 8 men and three women (which I consider perfect.”
Thank you—and I will be watching.”

More reporters facing jail

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December 29, 2006

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Josh Wolf may soon have company: Two more reporters have been ordered to testifyin a court hearing, and neither one of them seems about to give in

Sarah Olson, an Oakland freelancer who writes for Truthout, and Dahr Jamail, who has done some amazing reporting from Iraq, both received subpoenas from Army prosecutors, who want them to testify against 1st Lt. Ehren Watadam who is charged with refusing to accept orders that he deploy in Iraq. He has been quoted as saying that he thinks the war is illegal, and prosecutors want the reporters to confirm their interviews with him.

Not likely.

Cho Us the Money Shot

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December 15, 2006

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The word was out that Margaret Cho would be appearing at the Good Vibrations candy-themed Goodie Shoppe holiday party. It was no surprise, considering the comedian serves on the sex-toy company’s Board of Directors. But we had no idea the lengths she would go to fulfill her role.

I mean, we just thought members of the board went to meetings and complained about falling stock prices.

Here she is showing us her holiday package….

Watch out Rizzo!

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November 19, 2006

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The word on the street is that Johnnie Carter has passed John Rizzo for a seat on City College’s Board. According to Ross Mirkarimi’s aide, Boris Delepine, on Friday Carter was up 100 votes and angled to take the third available seat on the Board. The final results of the ballot count will be out on Tuesday.