Downtown Real Estate Bankrupts City Budget
by Paul Hogarth‚
Nov. 20‚ 2009
Let me see if I get this straight. The City Controller announces we’re broke: we can’t spend another dime of non-appropriated funds, and we expect a $500 million deficit by the end of the fiscal year. Meanwhile, Downtown commercial landlords – who shouldn’t be benefiting from Prop 13 anyway – are filing for tax breaks to pay less than what Prop 13 already grants them. The General Fund is currently $53 million in the red, with most of that coming from a hit in property tax revenue. It’s one thing if it was homeowners who bought at the wrong time (and are now seeking tax relief), but the City already gave rebates to most of these folks. No, the money San Francisco stands to lose largely comes from corporations who bought office buildings at inflated prices during the bubble – and now, as the City stands on life support, want a downward adjustment in their property tax bill. And without changing the state constitution, there’s little we can do to stop them legally.
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Jeff Adachi's Brilliant "You Don't Know Jack"
by E. "Doc" Smith‚
Nov. 20‚ 2009
SF Public Defender by day, family man by night, Lord knows how the talented Jeff Adachi finds time to make phenomenal documentaries. His award winning "The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film & Television", won at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival and the Berkeley Film & Video Festival respectively. His latest is the aptly titled, "You Don't Know Jack".
Last week, following rave reviews garnered at the recent SF Asian Film Festival and venues around the globe, the Asian Pacific Democratic Club held a screening at Dolby's state-of-the-art theater in Potrero. No one has captured the life and times of the man known first as Goro Suzuki perhaps as well as Adachi. From Suziki's humble beginnings in the East Bay; his family's internment at the Japanese camps at Tanforan during World War II; his escape in Ohio and the origin of his new moniker, "Jack Soo", Adachi takes us on Soo's most improbable journey. A journey that would in fact, pave the way for many Asian Americans in the world of film and entertainment today.
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Beautiful Thing – “Brilliantly Acted!”
by Buzzin' Lee Hartgrave‚
Nov. 20‚ 2009
BEAUTIFUL THING IS PASSIONATE
This coming of age story is SOMBER, WITTY, TOUCHING and GRITTY! Two young teenage boys are feeling their way into new ways to fall in love. Their romance is totally believable as the two actors Ben Carver and Brant Rotnem really make us believe in the characters. They are perfectly cast. Carver plays a young Boy that is confused about his sexuality. The acting is brilliant. Carver brings out emotional nuances that eventually explode to the surface. Brant Rotnem, Carter’s love interest -- is a rock. He loves sports – and his emotions are teetering on the edge. Yep, Rotnem has plenty of male pheromones that would make anyone wilt in his presence. His performance is both heartwarming, and heartbreaking. Hollywood may just discover this guy.
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Disability Perspective: Holiday Parties - Inaccessibility Revisited
by Bob Planthold‚
Nov. 20‚ 2009
Last year, I wrote a column pointing out that many groups have holiday parties, including fund-raising pitches, at inaccessible spots and that these groups can be influential enough to warrant attendance by various public officials -- elected and appointed.
Let's take a look at one such venue -- the Forest Hill Clubhouse, at 381 Magellan. Not only is it not accessible, but it is not even transit-accessible, according to MUNI distance standards.
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St. Francis Doesn’t Live Up to Its Name
by Carl Finamore‚
Nov. 19‚ 2009
Ed. Note: Local 2's vigil in support of the national campaign for Boston housekeepers fired by Hyatt is tonight at 4:30 pm at the Grand Hyatt, Sutter and Stockton Streets.
The name St. Francis generally invokes serene images of the devout canonized Catholic aesthetic who is a favorite even among the non-religious because of his professed humility and sincerity. Not so in San Francisco.
The name St. Francis brings howls of anger and disapproval, sometimes amplified with a bullhorn. Each one of Local 2, UNITE-HERE’s six hundred and fifty members at the Westin St. Francis Hotel walked off the job on Wednesday, November 18, and began a loud, moving picket line surrounding the hotel.
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Anti-Gay Attacks Get Nasty in Houston Mayor’s Race
by Paul Hogarth‚
Nov. 19‚ 2009
On December 12th, Houston Controller Annise Parker could become the first openly gay Mayor of a major U.S. city. But in a town with a history of anti-gay politics, the race has taken a nasty turn. Right-wing operative Dave Wilson has mailed out a hit-piece attacking Parker, asking if a lesbian Mayor is the “image Houston wants to portray.” Wilson has a history of waging such attacks, but the question is whether he’s getting tacit support from Parker’s opponent (and fellow Democrat) in the run-off – former City Attorney Gene Locke. Locke had disavowed earlier anti-gay smears against Parker, but is also courting support from the same right-wing forces. Republicans are the swing vote in the run-off election, so future hit-pieces like this could prove effective. Moreover, Locke’s base is in the African-American community - and he will need a high turnout there to defeat Parker. With the right-wing eager to form an unholy alliance with black ministers against the LGBT community, will Locke succumb to letting homophobia fuel turnout to help him win the election – or will Houston prove that it’s moved beyond this hateful rhetoric?
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School Beat: Puente — Bridging the Gap to Higher Education
by Jane Pieri‚
Nov. 19‚ 2009
Forty-nine per cent of all California public school k-12 students today are from Latino households, and most are doing poorly in the state’s public education system. While the failure of a huge percentage of students to achieve their academic and civic potential bodes ill for California’s future, it also represents an incredible and unacceptable failure on the part of the state’s education system to be responsive to the needs of its current population.
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Vatican: Come Home, E.T.
by Tommi Avicolli-Mecca‚
Nov. 19‚ 2009
Believe it or not, the Vatican thinks there could be alien life on other planets, even though for most of its history it has denied the possibility and even murdered those who proposed the idea.
The Vatican made the proclamation after a recent, five-day astrobiology conference, held to mark 2009 as the Year of Astronomy. With scientists from around the world in attendance, the gathering looked at the possibility of life on other worlds, among other topics.
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BREAKING: SEIU Throws Eggs at NUHW Supporters in Los Angeles
by Randy Shaw‚
Nov. 18‚ 2009
One night after withdrawing its support for the California Democratic Party and picketing progressive politicians and labor leaders in San Francisco, SEIU threw eggs at those attending an event honoring NUHW in Los Angeles. Among those hit were the Vice President of the United Teachers of Los Angeles, the union whose support for NUHW led SEIU to threaten to organize teachers in charter schools (not that SEIU has any staff available to implement such a threat). NUHW supporters from UNITE HERE Local 11 were also targets of eggs and water bottles, with reports that one organizer was “roughed up” as they tried to enter the event. Meanwhile, the LA County Federation of Labor rebuffed SEIU’s threats to withdraw its funding -- a threat it has also made in San Francisco and the North Bay -- as each member voted to raise its per capita contribution to make up for SEIU’s withdrawal. Through its tactics, SEIU is unifying the labor movement -- against it.
In Google Books Settlement 2.0, Obama Justice Is the Great Decider
by Irvin Muchnick‚
Nov. 18‚ 2009
An audacious global settlement of a copyright dispute between Google’s “ask forgiveness, not permission” book-scanning project and two trade groups, representing some book publishers and some authors, was sent back to the drawing board two months ago after the Justice Department filed a blistering 28-page “Statement of Interest.” The brief attacked the deal on antitrust, copyright, and class-action abuse grounds.
November 22, 2009
