In This Issue

I DON'T CARE what they say about San Francisco not having real seasons: This was a long, cold, wet winter. And it's been a warm, sunny spring that actually feels like, well, summer. We even planted tomatoes in my backyard, which I admit was a bit ambitious (and so far they remain stunted little ratty things, maybe six millimeters taller than they were when they came home from the garden store). But they gave Michael, who's almost five, an excuse to set about 1,000 ladybugs loose in the yard (and a few dozen loose in the house), in the hope that if the tomatoes ever grow, and then happen to get some sort of little pests on them, the good bugs will devour the bad bugs without need for harmful pesticides.

So it's summer in my house, and I don't care how bitter the wind is getting in the afternoons. And it's summer at the Bay Guardian, which means it's time for our annual Summer Guide.

There is, as the cover so subtly suggests, a guide to getting naked in the city. (Heather Smith asks an appropriate question: how come Berkeley had a nationally famous Naked Guy and San Francisco never did?) Also on the nudity front, there's Gary Hanauer's 30th annual report on the nude beaches of northern California. (Thirty years of skin and sand – impressive by any standard.)

And for those boring types who insist on wearing clothes, there's plenty more: a guide to great bike rides (please – don't try this naked), fun ways to get your hands dirty while volunteering with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the best of ballpark cuisine (did you know you too can eat the same Acme Chophouse baked chicken and mashed potatoes that the Giants have served to the players before home games?), Cheryl Eddy's opinionated guide to summer movies, a list of 109 amazing things to do this summer, and much, much more.

On the other hand, if you want to get depressed this summer, just drive through the Presidio, where, as Liam O'Donoghue reports on page 12, the private operators who've taken over the national park essentially admit they've put the vast majority of their resources into buildings – and very little into environmental preservation. An office park for George Lucas, an apartment complex for the landlords – and a bunch of dead trees. Thanks, Nancy Pelosi.