Reforming democracy

10.20.06 - 9:49 am | Steven T. Jones |

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By Steven T. Jones
Wtih ranked choice voting up and working well in San Francisco, four other communities around the country are poised to approve it in the upcoming election. In addition to Prop. O in Oakland, ranked choice is on the ballot in Davis, Minneapolis, and Pierce County, Washington.
"I see these four elections as key. If we can sweep them, that's a tipping point," activist and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic said last night at a Prop. Read more »

Macy's loses

10.19.06 - 6:56 pm | Tim Redmond |

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By Tim Redmond

Sometimes you settle a lawsuit, and sometimes you roll the dice and fight.

Back in 2001, the San Francisco supervisors voted to cough up some $80 million in cash to pay off a group of big corporations that claimed the city's business tax was unconstitutional. Read more »

Macy's loses

10.19.06 - 6:27 pm | Tim Redmond |

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By Tim Redmond

Sometimes you settle a lawsuit, and sometimes you roll the dice and fight.

Impertinent questions on the new Hearst shenanigans (part 3)

10.19.06 - 1:00 pm | Bruce Brugmann |

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Email questions sent on Thursday to Chronicle Publisher Frank Vega, Editor Phil Bronstein, Managing Editor Robert Rosenthal, Metro Editor Ken Conner, and Business Editor Ken Howe

Folks:

I have some questions I would appreciate if you (or Hearst corporate in New York) would answer.

As you may know, the Guardian did a story this week on the Oct. 6th Wall Street Journal story on the Hearst subsidiary and prescription pricing. And I have done two blogs on the Bruce blog at sfbg.com.

Has the Chronicle/Hearst done any stories on the First Data Bank/Hearst settlement and story? Read more »

Arnold lovers

10.19.06 - 7:03 am | Steven T. Jones |

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By Steven T. Jones
It was disappointing -- but not entirely unexpected -- to see the Chronicle endorse Arnold Schwarzenegger today. After all, both the Chron and Arnold are, as they describe him "economically conservative, socially moderate" (and I'll leave off their next label, "environmentally progressive," which is complete bullshit in describing a guy who owns four Hummers and watered down every environmental bill he's signed, including the much ballyhooed global warming measure). Read more »

Speaking it

10.18.06 - 3:08 pm | Steven T. Jones |

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By Steven T. Jones
Service Employees International Union president Andy Stern was in San Francisco today to help christen SEIU Local 790's new digs on Potrero Hill -- and to give fiery voice to the prescription for national political reform that he outlines in his new book "A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track" (all proceeds from which go to SEIU's political struggles, so go buy one). Read more »

NOISE: Diddy doo dah!

10.18.06 - 2:48 pm | Music Blogger |

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NOISE: Get down with Oxford Collapse

10.18.06 - 2:37 pm | Music Blogger |

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So if you're not rambling down to LA for Arthur Nights - I'm still contemplating making the drive down for Sun Ra Arkestra, White Magic (!), Watts Prophets (!!), and Ruthann Friedman, special n'all - you really oughta check out Oxford Collapse. Dudes make raucous jagged indie rock of a fine order - and the NYC trio have a new album out on Sub Pop, Remember the Night Parties. Sounded just swell to me. And there's a pic of a partially clothed human on the cover. Read more »

Impertinent questions on the new Hearst shenanigans (part 2, see previous blog)

10.18.06 - 12:52 pm | Bruce Brugmann |

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Whenever a big media conglomerate like Hearst tries to cover up its corporate transgressions, the questions start flying like machine gun bullets. These are a few of mine following up my previous blog on the Guardian’s G. W. Schulz story:

Questions to Hearst Corporate (via Hearst/Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein and Business Editor Ken Howe):
Your sister paper, the Houston Chronicle/Hearst, ran a story on Oct. 6 by Theresa Agovino, an Associated Press business writer, with a New York dateline. Read more »

NOISE: By gum, it's Boris and the Village Green and...

10.18.06 - 12:38 pm | Music Blogger |

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Oh, Hump Day - what would we do without you, positioned perfectly between weekend bliss and workday toil? And who would expect so many intriguing shows to crop up in this humdrum time slot (to think we all wrote it off as Project Runway's)?

In short, check magnifico, metal-some Japanese guitar overlords Boris at Slim's tonight, Oct. 18. Why? A humongoid gong, smoke machine, Tokyo-based loudness par excellence, and the most kick-ass lady distortion peddler around: Wata. Read more »