NOISE: Winning Tortoise

09.20.06 - 9:01 pm | sfbg |

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Guardian contributor Chris Sabbath weighs in on the recent Tortoise show on Sept. 14 at Great American Music Hall:

Being a late bloomer in the whole Chicago post-rock department, I didn’t actually get around to hearing Tortoise’s eclectic jazz-prog-electronic post-whatevers until my early 20s. That being said, I went Thrill Jockey crazy for a summer -- endlessly stockpiling my college apartment with albums by such label staples as Mouse on Mars, Trains Am, and Oval. Read more »

Jesus -- not again

09.20.06 - 6:32 pm | Tim Redmond |

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By Tim Redmond

Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission are interested in pursuing tidal energy off the Godlen Gate. This is an excellent development, something that Matt Gonzalez pushed for when he was running for mayor. Read more »

Will Herrera fight the cops?

09.20.06 - 6:11 pm | Tim Redmond |

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By Tim Redmond

The Police Commission held a long, long closed session tonight, and I'm sure they were discussing the big issue of the day -- the California Supreme Court decision that the cops insist makes all cases of discipline against peace officers totally secret.

I have no idea how the behind-closed-doors discussion went -- but I do know that Commission vice-president David Campos, who is acting as a courageous champion of public access here, told me several days ago that he was going to push his colleague Read more »

Reconsidering redevelopment

09.19.06 - 12:28 pm | Steven T. Jones |

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By Steven T. Jones
My head is spinning after reading both the City Attorney's Opinion that struck down the successful referendum drive challenging the Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Plan, and the redevelopment plan itself. Reading the actual 62-page plan and its supporting documents is what Herrera contends voters needed to be able to do before signing the referendum. Read more »

Fuzzy police math

09.19.06 - 10:55 am | Tim Redmond |

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By Tim Redmond

After ducking the question for weeks, the San Francisco police chief has finally announced that she doesn't want foot patrols in high-crime areas because it will harm response times. Read more »

Let the craziness begin!

09.19.06 - 10:05 am | Marke B. |

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Oye -- this weekend -- Lovefest, Folsom Street Fair and Rosh Hashanah! Can I use my yarmulke as as a jockstrap? Can I twirl my flaming leather poi? I think I'm just gonna go all weekend dressed as a mime in lederhosen: the Silent Yodel, they'll call me. Funtime! Climbing the escalator of pants. Sliding down the invisible rope of chaps. I'm going nuts already. Too bad I'm sober. Read more »

Referendum struck down

09.19.06 - 9:02 am | Steven T. Jones |

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By Steven T. Jones
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera has invalidated the referendum that challenged the Bayview Hunter’s Point Redevelopment Plan, ruling that it didn’t include all the documents that the more than 33,000 people who signed it needed to make an informed decision.
“They didn’t have the redevelopment plan itself for voters to evaluate,” Herrera spokesperson Matt Dorsey told the Guardian just after the decision was released Sept. Read more »

Bad Pope

09.18.06 - 6:32 pm | Tim Redmond |

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By Tim Redmond

When I was in college, my friend Dave formed a group called Rastifarians for an Inherited Papacy. (Think about it -- Pope. Kids. Sex. Female heirs. As we said back then, Whoa ...) That pretty much reflected my views on the institution of the Papacy.

Even the good nuns and priests at my Catholic middle school couldn't convince me of the Pope thing; I've never been much for humans who claim to hear the exclusive word of God. I had plenty of problems with JPII.

But this is different. Read more »

Bad soccer dads (and moms)

09.18.06 - 5:54 pm | Tim Redmond |

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By Tim Redmond

My mom and dad never wanted me to play Little League baseball, and they were very clear about the reasons: They didn't want to deal with the other parents. Me, I'm glad my kids are in a local soccer league. I'm the team dad for the Pumas (Go Pumas!); we have a great coach and great kids and parents, we don't keep score at the games, and nobody takes it too seriously as long as the kids are having fun. The main job of the team dad is to make sure there's an adequate snack for halftime at every game. Read more »

Hotel Workers win after 2-year struggle

09.18.06 - 2:05 pm | sfbg |

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UNITE HERE Local 2 has reached an agreement with San Francisco's leading hotels after a two-year struggle.
So far, 13 CLass A hotels have agreed to a settlement that includes card check neutrality, which means that if a hotel buys up a smaller, or non-unionized hotel, workers at the non-unionized hotel have a right to join the union, too.
This settlement covers 4,200 workers.

UNITE HERE Local 2 is now working on settling with another 30 SF hotels, where contracts of 5,000 workers have expired.
As UNITE HERE Local 2 president Mike Casey put it, " we're not done until all of the hotels are sett Read more »