Marriage Decision Sets Huge Precedent, But Struggle Far From Over
by Paul Hogarth‚
May. 16‚ 2008
Yesterday’s decision by the California Supreme Court was historic because it set a huge precedent. Not because the Court found the ban on same-sex marriage similar to earlier bans on interracial marriage, nor because it said domestic partnerships are inherently unequal. What really mattered is that the Court ruled sexual orientation a “suspect class,” which means that all laws that discriminate on that basis must now pass strict scrutiny – a crucial step forward in the rights of LGBT people.
But same-sex couples in California still lack the federal benefits of marriage that straight people take for granted – like Social Security and immigration – because the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) precludes them from doing so. Marriage equality supporters must defeat a constitutional amendment in November that would repeal the Court’s ruling, but they also need a President Obama. If DOMA gets repealed in 2009, gay couples in California will finally be equal in the eyes of the law.
[more]->
Trilok Gurtu's "Twenty Years of Talking Tabla"
by E. "Doc" Smith‚
May. 16‚ 2008
"Twenty Years of Talking Tabla" is a 20-year journey through the career of percussionist Trilok Gurtu. Rita Ray of BBC Radio described him as “a serial collaborator” – this carefully chosen compilation shows exactly that side of him. As a world class virtuoso, now in his mid fifties, Trilok has attracted a world class set of collaborators; these started with John McLaughlin in whose trio Trilok flourished as the featured soloist for 4 years, other jazz greats continued this path – Joe Zawinul, Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders were all attracted to Trilok’s burning sense of rhythm. Of course he is deeply rooted in the Indian tradition, so it is no surprise to see that collaborations also took place with the glitterati of Indian musical society – his mother, Shobha Gurtu, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar, Shankar Mahadevan and Sultan Khan. World music has become an established genre in which Trilok has further “ploughed his own furrow” to great effect, collaborating with Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, Neneh Cherry, Tuvan throat singers Huun Huur Tu, the Malian musicians from the Frikywa family and the Italian, Arke String Quartet.
[more]->
‘BUG’ – Be Careful Who You Let In
by Buzzin' Lee Hartgrave‚
May. 16‚ 2008
LONELY WAITRESS LOOKING FOR LOVE GETS MORE THAN SHE BARGAINED FOR IN ‘BUG’.
Agnes, a waitress lives in a run-down hotel room on the edge of town. Her ex-husband has just been released from the ‘joint’ – and he barges in on Agnes (Susi Damilano). He wants her back and when she tells him to leave, he hits her in the mouth. This is not the kind of guy that takes no for an answer.
[more]->
Marin Progressives Target Joe Nation
by Paul Hogarth‚
May. 15‚ 2008
While State Senate candidates Mark Leno and Carole Migden duke it out in San Francisco for the June 3rd primary, ex-Marin Assemblyman Joe Nation has the race to himself in the northern half of the district. But two progressive donors in Marin County are trying to change that, and have pooled their resources to print a piece highlighting Nation’s record – which hit 61,000 mailboxes in the North Bay this week. Jonathan Frieman of San Rafael and Douglas Kerr of Larkspur have done this 3 times before – when they felt that local candidates did not reflect Marin County’s liberal values. They have a perfect track record so far, including their successful effort in 2006 targeting Joe Nation’s record on health care. But Nation is getting help from another independent expenditure – the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), a pro-business PAC funded by pharmaceutical companies and oil companies.
[more]->
Police Station Closures: Controller’s Folly
by Randy Shaw‚
May. 15‚ 2008
The San Francisco Controller’s Office issued a report this week calling for the closure of five police stations and their replacement with new larger facilities. While Mayor Newsom and every Supervisor quoted on the report has been understandably skeptical, the proposal does involve a great irony. As the agency charged with ensuring San Francisco lives within its means, the Controller’s Office would hardly be expected to promote pie in the sky, fiscally unsound proposals. Yet in proposing to close the Tenderloin police station among others, and to build a new larger facility, the Controller provides no funding source. Instead, it merely asks the Board of Supervisors to identify sources of revenue. One quick idea: save money by stopping the Controller from squandering money on such reports.
[more]->
Maintaining Bohemia in a Gentrifying San Francisco
by Randy Shaw‚
May. 15‚ 2008
During the late 1990’s, a zine in the form of a newsletter emerged in San Francisco’s Central City with the unusual name, Turd-Filled Donut. This title belied what was often an insightful and provocative look at the city’s politics. I never knew the people behind the publication, but its co-creator, Erick Lyle, has now put out a book that includes both stories from that publication as well as other materials he wrote from 1997-2005. At its heart, On the Lower Frequencies is the story of how some twenty-somethings sought to survive in San Francisco through their art, music, and political engagement at a time when most of their brethren were arriving in the city for high-paying jobs in the booming tech industry or in corporate offices downtown. Lyle raises some important questions about the prospects for an ongoing counterculture in steadily gentrifying cities like San Francisco, and also about the effectiveness of non-traditional strategies for impacting urban politics.
[more]->
School Beat: Californians Want More for Education
by Lisa Schiff‚
May. 15‚ 2008
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) recently released its annual survey of California residents and their attitudes towards public education. While Californians are most worried about jobs and the overall state of the economy, public education still ranks high on the list of important issues, coming in second. In fact, education is the area that our fellow residents are most concerned with shielding from the Governor's budget cuts.
[more]->
San Francisco’s Skyrocketing Condo Conversions
by Randy Shaw‚
May. 14‚ 2008
San Francisco’s condo law limits conversions to 200 annually. This should mean that a maximum of 2000 rental units were converted in the past decade, right? Well, a recent report by the San Francisco Planning Department found that a whopping 4147 rental units were converted to condominiums in the past ten years. 1500 rental units have become condos in the past two years alone. The reason conversions have more than doubled the 200 limit is that the conversion of owner-occupied duplexes are not subject to the law. But these conversions steadily reduce the city’s rent-controlled housing stock, helping to explain the city’s rising rents despite a slowing economy.
[more]->
Progressives Run for DCCC on West Side
by Paul Hogarth‚
May. 14‚ 2008
While the fact that three San Francisco Supervisors are running for the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) in June has garnered the most attention, three qualified grass-roots activists are also on the “Hope Slate” who have never run for public office before. Moreover, all three are running in the 12th Assembly District (the West Side) – which is not a normal target for progressives. ACORN member Giselle Quesada, Sierra Club activist Michael Bornstein and education advocate Hene Kelly are all running for DCCC on their grass-roots experience with issue-based politics. And it’s that kind of energy that could transform the DCCC over the next two years.
[more]->
No Scarcity of Tenant Horror Stories
by Tommi Avicolli-Mecca‚
May. 14‚ 2008
They came to tell their horror stories to members of the Land Use Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. They were tenants from units owned by Skyline/Citi Apartments, an outfit that has been rapidly acquiring rent-controlled property in San Francisco. Supervisor Chris Daly, in conjunction with several community organizations, arranged the May 12 hearing.
May 17, 2008
