The Buddhists call them hungry ghosts. They are the dead. They wander the planet, ravenous for something they’ve lost or never had. They have not attained a peaceful place in the... Read More
AL CIPPOLINA AND BACCALA ALLA MESSINESE If you’re around North Beach on a Friday, you might want to drop into the Original U.S. Restaurant. That’s the day Al Cippolina ... Read More
These days everyone is a photographer. Have you noticed? If you are a 21st-century photographer with a cell phone, you’re posting your photos on Facebook, Instagram, and Phot... Read More
Last fall, Airbnb was embroiled in a nasty battle to beat Proposition F, which would have strengthened regulations on the short-term home rental start-up and its competitors. The company spent more than $8 million on deceptive ads to scare the daylights out of anyone using the service ("Don't let the government in your bedroom!").... Read More
Authors have always loved to write about San Francisco and have set the action of their novels in the city. A few that come to mind are McTeague by Frank Norris; A Girl of Forty by... Read More
A few months ago I came across a letter to the San Francisco Business Times. The author, an understandably frustrated San Francisco resident named Richard Kales, went on at length about the perils of working downtown with its throngs of drug addicted, mentally ill, and sometimes violent denizens.... Read More
The last time I saw Alphonsus McCourt was at the memorial for his celebrity bartender brother, Michael. Alphie, as everyone calls him, came out from New York and read one of his p... Read More
POLITICALLY INCORRECT AND THE CLOONEY PROTEST This paragraph should have appeared in my May Sketches column but monthly deadlines being what they are, I missed it. However, I think... Read More
San Francisco is a city that likes it views. I’m not referring to points of view on city politics, neighborhood gentrification, or restaurants. There are plenty of viewpoints on ... Read More
This California primary election on June 7 will be the most important in many years. So say the local politicos who are beating the drum for a big turnout this month. That drumbea... Read More
This month San Francisco residents will vote on Proposition C, which would raise the affordable housing requirements for developers from 12 to 25 percent and set aside some of that... Read More
PRIME TIME AND THE TUBES You may recall that I like to hang out at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store and Cafe. If you join me there sometime you may meet a Deadhead, a city superv... Read More
In April 2014, I received a call from someone inside the San Francisco Police Department. “You should look into the shooting of that dog at the projects,” he said. R... Read More
THE DISTRICT THREE DUDE Aaron Peskin is one cool dude — the big progressive Lebowski of District 3. He demonstrated his cool dudeness last month when more than 200 people showed ... Read More
Three years ago, headed down to the studios of radio station KGO to guest host on a Saturday afternoon, I had grown weary of giving up my prime parking space in the Lower Haight an... Read More