In the October 2015 Marina Times, I wrote a column about tech-investing billionaire Ron Conway’s influence over Mayor Ed Lee (“Project Political Runway: In Mayor Lee’s regim... Read More
I’ll be frank here. I seldom dine at San Francisco Michelin-starred restaurants. Nor do I frequent the San Francisco Chronicle’s top-rated selections. Why? It’s because I’... Read More
Yes, our city is changing. but not all the changes are good. Not all the changes are bad, either. And, here in North Beach — one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods — change i... Read More
When my stepmother, Kickie, passed away last February, I had to go through closets full of clothes, shoes, and handbags she began purchasing when she moved to California more than ... Read More
COIT TOWER IS FILLED WITH PHO I used to entertain the not too far-fetched idea that Lillie Hitchcock Coit’s wonderful tower on Telegraph Hill was filled with red sauce piped down... Read More
I know I’m getting old when elderly Chinese ladies offer me their seats on the 30-Stockton bus. … Jane Fonda says when she turned 60, she knew she was entering the third act of... Read More
A year ago, San Francisco Examiner reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez sent shockwaves with one big number: 45,000. According to data he received from the San Francisco Treasurer’... Read More
THE ORIGINAL BULL SHOT Recently I had a yen for a Bull Shot, so I got myself over to Original Joe’s and consulted with bartender Michael Fraser. While preparing one for me — vo... Read More
There’s something to be said for dullness. Something to be said for things that are quiet, still, and safe. Recollected in tranquility. You know the old Chinese curse: “May you... Read More
When you ask politicians if they’re running for office, you expect coy deflection or a flat-out no, even if that no really means yes, but that’s not how Angela Alioto rolls. �... Read More
When my Irish and Ukrainian father married my mother, it didn’t go over well with my Sicilian grandfather, but when he decided to move her across the country from Rhode Island to... Read More
It’s reassuring to see San Franciscans pull together and help their neighbors when trouble arises. Case in point: There was a fundraiser last month at the Buffalo Theory restaura... Read More
It was my intention in this sketches column to give readers some positive news on the Piazza St. Francis-Poet’s Plaza, Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s visionary plan to turn a short se... Read More
“So your Airbnb tenant now has Airbnb tenants?” — Erlich Bachman to Jared Dunn upon learning an Airbnb tenant is squatting in Jared’s San Francisco condo on HBO’s Silico... Read More
Do you recall that song from Chubby Checker from the 1960s, “Let’s Twist Again (like we did last summer)”? Well, I recall this. Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer were dancing on... Read More