AltWeeklies Wire
Baring Equalitynew
A pair of San Francisco court cases illustrate opposite ends of the "privilege drift" phenomenon, in which those who have political and economic power are accommodated by the government in extraordinary ways.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
11-17-2005 |
Commentary
Welcome to Talkalotnew
Mayor Gavin Newsom sees San Francisco as an aristocratic kingdom existing only in the realm of fantasy. He espouses employment in modern high-tech industries while allowing a return to the industrial age.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
11-08-2005 |
Commentary
S.F. Hosing Authoritynew
San Francisco city government officials promised victims of Hurricane Katrina a haven, then gave some of them the shaft.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
10-26-2005 |
Commentary
San Francisco Political Battles Worthy of Science Fictionnew
Like Godzilla vs. Mothra, marijuana clubs are fighting their neighbors, a left-wing politician is battling wealthy members of the San Francisco Tennis Club, and Green Party activists face off against local parents.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
10-18-2005 |
Commentary
Pig Governmentnew
This country's lack-of-mobility disease, made evident by the failed evacuation of New Orleans, gives off an unmistakable aroma of cooked pork.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
09-27-2005 |
Commentary
Stupid White Tricksnew
It's often embarrassing to be a middle-class Caucasian in San Francisco but the city's misguided response to Hurricane Katrina has made it excruciating.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
09-23-2005 |
Commentary
Pulling into a Remote Controlled Futurenew
Will a new generation of curbside sensors end our parking problems -- or help the government monitor our every move?
Tags: Health & Science
Fifty Years After His Disappearance, Poet Lives Onnew
Renewed attention to Weldon Kees is a peculiar literary revival tale, in which one enthusiast after another seems to discover his own life story in Kees, then proselytizes on behalf of the forgotten poet.
Environmental Cyclenew
San Francisco is the master of the art of hypocritical, Earth-friendly rhetoric. Official support for bicycle commuters could lessen the cognitive dissonance.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
06-16-2005 |
Environment
The 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Public Relationsnew
A Pulitzer Prize went to a series of newspaper editorials that resulted from the efforts of a publicist for Environmental Defense, Jennifer Witherspoon -- but without giving her any credit.
Dumb As a Potted Plantnew
California legislator Mark Leno aligned himself with potheads by introducing a bill that would create special agricultural licenses allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
04-12-2005 |
Commentary
Dogs Have Right to Comforts but No Public Sexnew
A blue law in San Francisco's Health Code says it's illegal for animals to "breed on public property." There's apparently no place for pets in this Mecca of free sexual expression.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
01-26-2005 |
Animal Issues
U.S. Regulators Ignore Massive Parmalat Fraudnew
The roar of U.S. silence in regard to the bankruptcy of the Parma, Italy-based food conglomerate gives the impression that it was a foreign affair. But evidence shows it was a largely American job.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
01-19-2005 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
Online Political Commentator Led Double Lifenew
The political elite of San Francisco turned out to extol Eric Allen Bass, creator of a local political commentary Web site called Joefire.com. None of them really knew Bass, who had embezzled nearly $60,000 from Bank of America, at all.
Tags: HIV/AIDS, Arlington National Cemetery, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, District Attorney Kamala Harris, Harvard University, Herbert Bass Sr., Herbert Harry Bass Jr., Linda Bass, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisors Chris Daly and Sean Elsbern, the House Democratic leader, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Vice Mayor for Homelessness Angela Alioto
Democrats Should Establish Urban Real Estate Cartelnew
The Democratic Party needs to wrap the greenest of its Utopians together with its fiercest capitalists in a strategy to protect the environment, house the homeless, and uplift the values of racial and cultural tolerance.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
12-21-2004 |
Commentary
