It occurred to me the other day how many things from the past always seem to come back. Mostly bad things — T.B. …yellow fever … Tom DeLay. Some things remain incurab... Read More
Is this a sign of the times, or is it just the season of the glitch? I received an e-mail from the law offices of that mover and sometimes-persistent shaker, Angela Alioto. It read... Read More
ANGELA’S BASHES Angela Alioto announced an on-again-off-again bash recently — a press conference to make an announcement about the Piazza St. Francis. You will remember tha... Read More
Correction: Before launching into Part 3 of this series, let me correct an error in Part 2. Harry Rabin, a San Francisco City Guide called it to my attention. I confused Commodore ... Read More
At the end of this month, people young and old will dress up and go to parties, or stay at home and hand out treats to visitors, or pull the shades and watch TV with the lights dow... Read More
Hero worship comes naturally to me — perhaps because I’m nonheroic. But I’m a late bloomer so I still have a chance. Here are three of my North Beach heroes, past and... Read More
On July 9, 1846, Commodore John D. Sloat, commander-in-chief of United States Naval Forces in the Pacific, arrived at what would later be called San Francisco aboard his sloop of w... Read More
When I voted in favor of San Francisco’s formula retail ordinance in 2006, I thought it was to keep huge national retailers like Walmart from opening on what I call “st... Read More
I wandered down to Capp’s Corner the other day to check out the linguine and clams, and ran into James Melling. Some may recall that in earlier columns I referred to him as t... Read More
Yes, it has been a turbulent season. Much of America has been driven to its knees. Getting their fingernails dirty, helping their neighbors, trying to find evidence of life — or ... Read More
At a meeting of the San Francisco Council of District Merchants (DCM) held July 16, 2013, Michael Levy, co-owner of Pet Food Express (PFE), was invited to speak. Kathleen Dooley represented the San Francisco Pet Store Coalition, asking the council to send a letter to the Planning Commission denouncing efforts by PFE and the Pets Unlimited Cat Adoption Center to move into 2460 Lombard Street.... Read More
Today most newspapers in San Francisco are tame lap dogs whose bark is worse than their bite. But it wasn’t always that way. This three-part series is about newspapers from 1... Read More
The death of Jonathan Winters a while back sent me slipping into a reverie of memories of when there were comic giants walking the streets of North Beach. Winters was such a giant.... Read More
Before the June 10 meeting of the San Francisco Small Business Commission (SBC), I overheard Commissioner William Ortiz-Cartagena say he was recusing himself from an agenda item du... Read More
Isn’t it exciting to live in a city that has such wonderful old restaurants? I’m thinking of places like the Old Clam House, founded in 1861; the Cliff House, 1863; Sam... Read More