For all the high-minded talk about diversity and working together on behalf of the public – and the relentless praising of their political colleagues and supporters – today's unanimous re-election of David Chiu as president of the Board of Supervisors once again demonstrated that much of the people's business is done behind closed doors.Read more »

Note: Follow @sfbg on Twitter for live updates on the vote for Board of Supervisors presidency.

UPDATE, 1:19 p.m. Sups. Malia Cohen and Jane Kim withdraw their nominations prior to voting; Sup. David Chiu is unanimously re-elected President of the Board.Read more »

Yesterday, after years of heated conflicts over the issue, San Francisco officially began charging motorists to use metered parking spaces between noon and 6pm on Sundays – and nobody seemed to notice.Read more »

Will the narrow, deceptive, and disempowering “jobs” rhetoric of the last two years continue to dominate San Francisco politics in 2013? Or can San Franciscans find the will and organizing ability to create a broader political agenda that includes livability, sustainability, and affordability?Read more »

Times in San Francisco have changed since the battles in the ‘80s against increased high-rise development and the “Manhattanization of San Francisco,” which peaked in 1986 with the passage of Prop. Read more »

The Synthesis 2012 Festival near Chichen Itza, Mexico got off to a rocky start, but by the time the Mayan Long Count calendar ended on Dec. 21, it had transformed into an inspiring example of working through adversity to build community and connect with another culture. Read more »

TULUM -- So rather than taking the 2:45pm bus today from Tulum to Chichen Itza for the Synthesis 2012 Festival and tomorrow's end of the Mayan Long Count calendar as planned, my sweetie's bout with some bad ceviche has delayed us by a day.
And frankly, I can't say that I'm disappointed as I hear the stories flowing back from the festival. The universe does indeed seem to give us what we need.Read more »

TULUM, MEXICO -- The Yucatan is filled with Americans and Europeans who have come for the Dec. 21 end of the Mayan Long Count calendar and/or the end of 2012 next week, and those looking to spend time in paradise before the end have come to Tulum.Read more »