Home away from home

Breathing is difficult for me right now, but it’s not because of fear or excitement. I have just returned from a week in my childhood hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, where ... Read More

Finance

As San Francisco leads a new economic upswing in the state, it’s time to act unnaturally

By John Zipperer

The $25 million man, as I called him, was the symbol of California’s boom-or-bust economy. In the early 1990s, when California was struggling through one of its cyclical bust... Read More

Back Story

The stories behind St. Valentine’s Day

By John Zipperer

Hearts, cupids, boxed chocolates, and mailboxes stuffed with greeting cards are all signs that we’re approaching Feb. 14 or, more formally, St. Valentine’s Day. America... Read More

Pets

Ashes: A queen in waiting

By John Zipperer

An American vice president whose name I forget once defined his job as consisting of little more than checking on the president’s health each day. Still alive? OK, I’ll... Read More

Zippy

Things to look for in 2013

By John Zipperer

At the beginning of every year, millions of Americans try to estimate how the new year will shape their lives. Psychics have their brief annual moments in the media spotlight as th... Read More

Opinion

The golden ticket: City’s reverse Robin Hood spending

By John Zipperer

For years, there has been a movement to convince cable television providers to charge for their channels on an a la carte basis. You can select each of the channels you want and pa... Read More

Science

A sky full of earths

By John Zipperer

Stroll along Crissy Field at night and look up into the sky, and you will see lots of stars. But because of the interference of other lights in the metro area, you won’t see ... Read More

Socially Responsible

Bay Area a hotbed for social entrepreneurs

By John Zipperer

In 2012, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama visited Silicon Valley looking not for votes – everyone knows this is the bluest of blue areas – but for money. If they had spent ... Read More

Opinion

Car wars: The phantom menace

City plan would waste money in a 1970s retread

By John Zipperer

For several years now, there has been momentum to close a large stretch of Market Street to automobile traffic. The Better Market Street organization is pushing a plan that would d... Read More

Travel/Sports

Dew Tour brings BMX heat to town

By John Zipperer

The America’s Cup isn’t the only high-profile sporting event in San Francisco this month. The City will host a four-day action sports event in October, drawing athletes... Read More

A & E

Marina author Kimberly Lovato lands travel writing awards

By John Zipperer

Proving that a lifelong love of France can pay off, Kimberley Lovato received two awards in September from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. Lovato’s book Wa... Read More

Pets

Feisty fur and fangs

By John Zipperer

Everyone who owns a longhaired cat knows the challenge of keeping that fur clean and unclumped, especially as the cat ages. Just count your blessings you don’t have to battle... Read More

Zippy

Big honking deal

By John Zipperer

You don’t honk. No, that’s not an order; it’s an observation. You, or at least typical San Francisco Bay Area drivers, are very reticent about honking car horns. ... Read More

News

Kat Anderson’s task for DC3: Unity

By John Zipperer

With the election of Marina resident Kat Ander-son to San Francisco’s Democratic County Central Committee (DC3), the City’s Democrats have put one more piece in place f... Read More

Features

Cara Black: International woman of mystery novels

By John Zipperer

If you walk down market Street with mystery novelist Cara Black, what else do you talk about but murder? As she chatted about the chilly late July weather, she occasionally flipped... Read More

John Zipperer