Amanda Witherell

Death of fun, the sequel

NIMBY assault! Crackdown on nightlife and outdoor events continues, even as the backlash gains strength
|
(0)

> news@sfbg.com

Fun - in the form of fairs, festivals, bars, art in the parks, and the freedom to occasionally drink alcohol in public places - is under attack in San Francisco.Read more »

Small Business Awards 2007: Cooperative Award

Woodshanti Cooperative
|
(0)

Down near the dead end of Palou Avenue, beside the old Hunters Point Shipyard, whose claim to infamy is being the city's sole Superfund site still rife with toxic waste and radioactive material, there's a woodworking shop that goes against the grain.

Woodshanti, a worker-owned cooperative of custom-furniture builders, strives to be as peaceful as its Hindi-inspired name suggests - "not a negative but a positive part of the ecology," cofounder Shawn Berry says. Read more »

MORE RENEWABLE THAN YOU

|
(0)

by Amanda Witherell

Oakland is destroying us at the green game. All told, California is doing pretty well though, thanks to AB 32, but keep an eye on Oregon. Portland's shooting for 100 percent renewable by 2010. How's our evergreen Gavin going to compete with that? Read more »

IT'S CCA TIME!

|
(0)

By Amanda Witherell

Ever since the California State Assembly passed AB 117 in 2002 legalizing “Community Choice Aggregation” (CCA) public power advocates have been eagerly awaiting the day San Francisco would get the legislative ball rolling and start divorce proceedings with it’s current electricity provider, Pacific Gas and Electric.

That ball got a big push from Sups. Read more »

Green isn't PG&E

The private utility is trying to sell itself as an ecofriendly company. Here's the truth
|
(0)

amanda@sfbg.com

You've seen the ads, lime colored and screaming from the sides of Muni buses, papered to the walls of BART stations, popping up on local news Web sites. "Let's green this city," they proclaim in a chummy, we're-all-in-this-together way. Like any good ad campaign, these broadsides, brought to you by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., are designed to snap your eco-consciousness into thinking, "Hell yeah! Read more »

Pandora Needs Help

|
(0)

by Amanda Witherell

logo_pandora.gif

We just got a letter from Tim Westergren, one of the founders of Pandora, the supercool website that builds you a radio station by tracing the musical genes of song or musician you like and connecting it to others with similar aural DNA. Read more »

Pelosi steps up

|
(0)

by Amanda Witherell

The ongoing saga at Alcatraz has finally caught the attention of Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Read more »

Feinstein Resigns

|
(0)

by Amanda Witherell

Looks like Senator Dianne Feinstein has stepped down from her seat on the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, where she's spent the last six years as chairperson and ranking member.

While serving on that committee, which is tasked with reviewing and supervising federal military contracts, her hubby Richard Blum was making millions of dollars on the same deals his wife was overseeing. Read more »

Leno and Ma Scrutinize Alcatraz

|
(0)

by Amanda Witherell

Did poo get washed into the bay or not? Mark Leno and Fiona Ma really want to know. They've written another letter to the National Park Service's Superintendent, Brian O'Neill, calling for an independent investigation, and essentially telling him his excuses and explanations hold no water. Read more »

From Iraq and back

Omar Fekeiki's work with the Washington Post in his native country brought him death threats and a rare ticket to UC Berkeley. So why does he want to return?
|
(0)

amanda@sfbg.com

Omar Fekeiki sits alertly at a café table on the terrace of International House, his dorm at UC Berkeley. His straight posture belies his relative ease. It's the only sign that he may not be entirely at home.

Like any other 28-year-old graduate student, he's wearing jeans — not the pressed slacks necessary for a meeting with Iraqi officials. His hands are resting on his knees, rather than poised with a pen and a reporter's notepad, scribbling Arabic words from an informed source. Read more »