Pay the rent or buy a BMW?

The best-kept secret is that America’s Cup fans can rent a place near the water for only $50 a night. Once they check in, they can take in the natural beauty, kick up their f... Read More

Technology

Texting etiquette tips for dummies and smarties

By John Zipperer

We bought Mom an iPhone last month so she will be able to communicate with us when she travels. No, this isn’t a story about a senior being technologically ignorant; she is a... Read More

Travel/Sports

Now, for the action: After legal and political wrangling, America’s Cup is putting on a show at the Marina’s doorstep

By John Zipperer

People who think that the America’s Cup is an uneventful playtoy of billionaires are given second thoughts when they hear that the large AC72 catamarans used in these races a... Read More

Real Estate

City knocks homeowners with TIC deal

By John Zipperer

On June 11, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to change the tenants-in-common (TIC) condo conversion system. But they took a bill to enable a larger-than-normal group of... Read More

Business

My surveillance problem and yours

By John Zipperer

Bay Area tech companies found themselves in some unfamiliar, muddied waters when it was reported in a British newspaper that a massive U.S. government spy program was collecting da... Read More

News

It’s here: Mandatory seismic retrofit for ‘soft story’ buildings

By John Zipperer

If you own a multifamily building in San Francisco, start saving your pennies. On April 18, the 107th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake that destroyed 80 percent of the City, Mayo... Read More

Business

Time for online sales taxes

By John Zipperer

If your local retail owner is smiling a little more than normal the next time you buy something, he might not be flirting with you. He’s probably happy about some legislation... Read More

SFMTA pushes for revised Polk Street renovation

By John Zipperer

Following an at-times contentious round of back-and-forth with community groups regarding a planned remake of Polk Street’s traffic and parking design, the San Francisco Muni... Read More

Real Estate

Everybody can win the lottery

By John Zipperer

One of the laziest and most clichéd phrases in business is when something is called a “win-win solution.” With that caveat, we have a problem in this town that can be ... Read More

Back Story

The meaning behind Mother’s Day cards and flowers

By John Zipperer

Mother’s Day is a rare holiday that is celebrated worldwide but was begun here in the United States. Almost uniquely, it is a major American holiday creation that does not in... Read More

Community News, News

Polk Street back-and-forth intensifies

By John Zipperer

Concern over plans by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to make major changes to Polk Street has stepped up, with more meetings, petitions, and community or... Read More

Real Estate

Values in the sky

By John Zipperer

Someone commented to me recently that he didn’t see where much more new building could take place in San Francisco. The City, already heavily built up and undergoing still mo... Read More

Real Estate

We’re No. 1 – in housing unaffordability

By John Zipperer

Consider it the price you pay for not having to live in Ogden-Clearfield, Utah. By the end of last year, San Francisco became the metro area with the lowest percentage of its house... Read More

Polk Street latest site for parking, biker clash

By John Zipperer

Whether they got there by car, bike, bus, or on foot, locals filled the basement hall of the Old First Presbyterian Church on March 18 to discuss plans to remove parking spaces to ... Read More

Real Estate

Micro-apartments come to the City

By John Zipperer

Micro-apartments. Twitter-apts. Mini-flats. There are many descriptive names one could come up with for the small apartments that we will soon be seeing more of in San Francisco. B... Read More

John Zipperer