By Tim Redmond

We've often accused the San Francisco Chronicle of acting like a public-relations mouthpiece for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. But it's not even funny anymore: The Chron today has a big front-page ad from PG&E -- and, perhaps not coincidentally, the paper almost totally ignored the news about a key step toward public power.

The front-page ad, accompanied by a note from the publisher, has turned some heads among local journalists. Read more »

By Tim Redmond

The Guardian of London has a short but poignant editorial on why the United States, despite a long string of terrible gun-driven tragedies, can't seem to control guns. The rest of the world seems baffled, too.

By Tim Redmond

By the way, Virigina was one of only two states that as recently as 2004 was defying the U.S. Supreme Court and enforcing anti-sodomy laws. So it's perfectly okay to buy guns and kill people in that great state, but you can going to jail for being gay.

(For the record: Nobody knows yet where Cho bought his guns; if it turns out that he got them in Texas or something, or that he bought them illegally from a dealer somewhere, I will apologize to the Great State of VA -- sort of.

By Tim Redmond

I'm surprised that this hasn't gotten more attention: Immediately after hearing of the horror at Virginia Tech, President Bush express his condolences for the victims -- then made a point of commenting about "the right to bear arms."

The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed. Certainly, bringing a gun into a school dormitory and shooting ... Read more »

By Tim Redmond

Sad news. For months now, all of us in the neighborhood have enjoyed watching a pair of Great Horned owls, who had made their home in a tree on Bernal Hill. Read more »

By Tim Redmond

You've seen the late-night cable-TV ads. You've seen the drag queens portraying him on Halloween in the Castro. Read more »

By Tim Redmond

Casey Mills, the former managing editor of BeyondChron, has a great piece today that explains how too much of the "new urbanism" fails to consider affordable housing:

A disturbing trend already underway involves sustainability and ‘green’ advocates aligning with developers to promote density above all other considerations. Read more »