Posts Tagged ‘Bay’

Three Things You Don’t Know About the Bay to Breakers

Monday, May 20th, 2013

1.  THE TOP OF HAYES STREET HILL _ISN’T_ THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE BTOB FUN-RUN. JUST CHECK THE ROUTE PROFILE:

“Here’s your route profile, starting from the SoMA near the bay going all the way to the breakers of Ocean Beach. See that big incline just before mile marker three? That’s the vaunted Hayes Street Hill. (And actually, the highest part of Hayes Street on this part of the course is near Pierce, not “at Fillmore and Steiner“ and not ”between Fillmore and Sutter.”)

And actually, that part of Hayes peaks at around 260 feet, not 215:

Now, here’s your winner. It’s the 270-something foot high saddle on JFK Jr. Drive betwixt Prayer Book Cross and Stow Lake / Strawberry Hill, where ”Kennedy” is written:

2. THE BTOB FUN-RUN IS A 12K, AND YET IT’S NOT A 12K – THE CLAIMED “WORLD RECORDS” ARE NOT, IN FACT, WORLD RECORDS

“Race organizers and media have reported that the course records set by Sammy Kitwara in 2009 and Lineth Chepkurui in 2010 are also world records at the 12 km distance;[31] however, the International Association of Athletics Federations, the international governing body for the sport of athletics/track and field, does not recognize world records or world bests in either an indoor or outdoor 12 km.[32] The Association of Road Racing Statisticians, a non-regulatory group that collects road running data, does recognize world records in the outdoor 12 km provided that the race course meets certain criteria.[33][34] In order to rule-out the possibility of wind assistancein point-to-point courses, the ARRS stipulates that the course must have “not more than 30% of the race distance separation between that start and finish”, or 3.6 km for a 12 km race.[34] Given that the Bay to Breakers is run on a point-to-point course in which the start and finish of the event are approximately 10.5 linear kilometers apart, the ARRS recognizes two other marks as 12 km world records: Kenyan Simon Kigen‘s 33:46 in Portland, Oregon on May 19, 1985 and Chepkurui’s 38:10 at the 2010Lilac Bloomsday Run.[33][nb 2]

3. MOST PEOPLE _DON’T_ PAY THE ABSURDLY HIGH REGISTRATION FEE. MOST PEOPLE YOU SEE ARE “BANDITS”

HERE’S THE OFFICIAL ESTIMATE: “…more than in the hundreds but less than tens of thousands.” THE REAL NUMBER IS TENS OF THOUSANDS.

“The Bay to Breakers is known for the large number of unregistered runners, or “bandits”, who participate in the race. Ross Mirkarimi, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, reported that over half of the 60,000 participants in the 2010 Bay to Breakers were unregistered.[19] San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was among the runners in 2010 who did not pay the registration fee to obtain a race number.[19][22] Registered participation was 24,430 in 2010,[23] 43,954 in 2011,[24] 23,072 for 2012,[25], and approximately 20,000 for 2013.[26]

Beware, Car Owners: The Great B2B Tow of ’13 is a Coming This Weekend – Hundreds Will Get Towed by SFGov – Will You?

Friday, May 17th, 2013

I’ll tell you, I’m not exactly sure when the tow away signs went up for this year’s historic Bay to Breakers street party – maybe it was today.

No matter, hundreds of cars are going to get towed this Saturday and Sunday.

It’s going to be epic.

Here are the streets to not park your car upon.

Sometimes they give you a week’s notice, but not this year I don’t think.

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Let’s review.

Before we can have this…

…or this…

From hard-working Steve Nguyen

…we’re going to have to have this:

(I remember it as if it were just two years ago…)

“The Great Tow of 2011:

One car gets away  in the nick of time, but three others aren’t so lucky:

Ted and Al’s had like ten yellow tow trucks ready to go late Saturday night, in the driving rain. (Note how Bank of America is protecting its windows – the IndyBay crowd got to them, smashy smashy, about a year or so back, unrelated to Bay to Breakers.)

Now, speaking of prêt-à-porters, this is the main body, this is the largest array for the Golden Gate Park Panhandle:

And here’s the second-biggest grouping, along Masonic:

And there are some on the other side of Fell, typically in groups of six on some of the blocks.

But that’s it.

Not sure where B2B is hiding their 1000+ portable toilets claimed for 2011, at this point, just hours before the Kenyans take off on their winning runs.

Oh well.

And there’s no sign of the fencing neither, except for what they have every year.

We’ll see.

The Great Fence of B2B100 is supposed to have upon it either images of Christ hand-selected by P. Anschutz or photos of people who ran the race before white NIMBYs moved into the Western Addition. (You’ll have to tell me about it…). Anyway, here’s the baby fencing they have on scene already along with, and isn’t this cute, a message from San Francisco Natives for a Fun and Buzzed Bay to Breakers. Apparently, the cops can’t arrest for an open container in San Francisco…

And doesn’t this just break your heart – this Vespa scooter has been forgotten on the slopes of the famed Hayes Street Hill, the second highest point on the “racecourse.” Will Auto-Return charge $700 for its return?

Remember, Transit First.

All right, have a great Bay to Breakers 100!

OMG, It’s Mini-Moby, the “Most Recognizable Porpoise in the Bay Area” – Extremely Rare – Almost All White

Monday, May 13th, 2013

Here you go, from the National Wildlife Federation, California:

Photo by Golden Gate Cetacean Research

Via Nikki Silverstein of the Pacific Sun comes the news:

“The bay has turned out to be a treasure trove for the investigators. In the five years since Stern saw that first pod of porpoises there, the GGCR has assembled a comprehensive photographic catalog of the species. It has identified 575 different porpoises, each with unique scarring or pigmentation. Included in the catalog is an extremely rare white porpoise, nicknamed Mini-Moby. In the past 100 years, worldwide, there have been only six other documented reports of white porpoises. A number of “citizen scientists” have reported white porpoise sightings to the GGCR, some sending photos snapped from fishing boats and the bridge. “This is the most recognizable porpoise in the Bay Area,” says Keener.”

An Arresting “Snapshot” from Photographer David Yu: Shifting Shafts of Shining Above Alcatraz

Monday, May 6th, 2013

Right here:

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All at once the clouds are parted 
Light streams down in bright unbroken beams 
Follow men’s eyes as they look to the skies 
The shifting shafts of shining weave the fabric of their dreams

American Badass, Pinole, CA

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

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Sucker Watch: Most Participants Won’t Pay to Enter the 2013 Bay to Breakers Fun Run So Why Should You?

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

Oh, you are a sucker. Well, then be my guest – pay $48 for a number. And actually, and you’ll enjoy this, sucker, it’s already too late to get a good deal on registration for 2013. Prices be higher now.

Most people who aren’t professional runners  don’t pay and here’s a good reason not to pay:

Your money goes directly to “Christian Billionaire” Philip Anschutz.

And then he takes your $$$$$ and uses it to, over the years, oppose the concept of evolution and fund anti-gay efforts.

(It’s funny that he even took an interest in this historic fun run and street party but he likes running so there y0u go.)

The reason that organizers won’t say how many “bandits” show up for the party is because they don’t want you to think that most people don’t pay.

But, IRL, most people don’t pay.

If you don’t believe me then take a NSFW look right here.

How many bibs do you see? Every year they say they will eject all these people and every year they don’t actually do it.

Now the San Francisco Nike Womens Marathon is different. You see, they give out coveted awards and people just can’t help themselves. And then stuff like this happens; “NO BIB NO BIB NO BIB!

But B2B aint like that.

One difference this year will be a limit on the size of the bags you might carry.

It’s like the size of Fook Mi’s backpack, best I can imagine.

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All right, have a great 2013 B2B.

And if you want to pay money to somebody, just take whatever your reg fee is and give it to Pride or whatever.

End Of Line.

Craigslist to Sponsor Bay to Breakers 2013 – All the Deets – Conservative Denver Billionaire + Craig Newmark = ???

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

Observations:

1. Hey, does christian activist Phillip Anschutz still own AEG? I think so. And AEG still owns the Bay to Breakers civic street party and fun run? And Obama donor Craig Newmark / Craigslist just made a sponsoring deal with B2B? How does that square? I mean, I’m seeing “April 1st, 2013″ here. Am I missing something? You pay money to advertise a job on craigslist and it goes to Mr. Burns IRL in Colorado so he can use it to attack the concept of evolution? Mmmm…

2. Here’s something – one time Craig Newmark had to admonish “craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster” for celebrating the vandalization of my Toyota after it got messed up on Ashbury. That was a like a decade ago, just saying. Ill tell you, that Jim Buckmaster isn’t your typical wealthy millionaire CEO-type. Anyway, it cost me $200 and State Farm like $2600, oh well.

3. Back before Google semi-censored naughty images, this shot here was the number image result in Google Images when people searched for the phrase Bay to Breakers. The problem was that a local money-making sports website claimed it as its own. That was going too far, IMO. Had to put my foot down on that one.

Good times on Fell Street:

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ALL THE DEETS:

“CRAIGSLIST CONFIRMED AS PRESENTING SPONSOR FOR 2013 BAY TO BREAKERS

This partnership marries two “San Francisco originals,” craigslist, which was founded in 1995 as an email distribution list of San Francisco events, with Bay to Breakers.

“We’re tickled pink to sponsor Bay to Breakers,” said craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster. “A fellow San Francisco institution, this storied footrace celebrates the unique character of our colorful city, drawing fans and participants from around the world.”

New course and post-race event location
The race will follow its recent historical route until you’re almost at the Finish Line. There’s a new twist (and turn) in Golden Gate Park, runners will turn left onto Bernice Rodgers Way, then right onto MLK Jr. Drive, then right onto Lincoln Way, then a quick right onto the Great Highway and the Finish Line.

All post-race activities will take place at the Finish Area on the Great Highway – sponsor giveaways, a Dos Equis Beer Garden, food trucks, and more. Information

Volkswagen Greater Body Expo presented by Big 5 Sporting Goods
One of the city’s largest health, fitness, and lifestyle expos will be held Friday, May 17th from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM & Saturday, May 18th from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The FREE and open to the public Expo will be held at the San Francisco Design Center located at 635 8th Street.

Check out the “Fuel Zone” provided by Crunchies, which features snacks to prepare for the race. See the all-new Beetle Convertible and Jetta Hybrid at the Volkswagen display and enjoy interactive games from our various partners. In addition, registered participants can pick up race packets and official race shirts. Learn More

T-Shirt Design Contest Artwork Revealed
The 2013 Bay to Breakers Official Participant T-Shirt Artwork has been chosen. Congratulations to San Francisco resident Arthur Lediouris who submitted the winning design.  View winning design

Big thanks to all the artists who created outstanding designs for consideration!

Register today for Bay to Breakers at www.baytobreakers.com. Discount registrations for groups of 10 or more are available. Email groups@baytobreakers.com or call 877-234-8425 to book your group!”

“CRAIGSLIST CONFIRMED AS PRESENTING SPONSOR FOR 2013 BAY TO BREAKERS

SAN FRANCISCO – (April 3, 2013) Bay to Breakers, one of the world’s largest and longest running footraces, today announced San Francisco based craigslist as presenting sponsor. The Bay to Breakers presented by craigslist partnership brings together two Bay Area classics – San Francisco born and bred craigslist, now the world’s leading classified ad service, and Bay to Breakers, the legendary 102-year-old San Francisco running race. More than 30,000 athletes from around the globe will descend upon the streets of San Francisco for the 102nd Bay to Breakers 12K running race, set to take place on Sunday, May 19.

“We’re tickled pink to sponsor Bay to Breakers,” said craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster. “A fellow San Francisco institution, this storied footrace celebrates the unique character of our colorful city, drawing fans and participants from around the world.”

In addition to becoming the presenting sponsor of the iconic footrace owned and operated by world leading sports and entertainment presenters AEG, craigslist will receive prominent on-course signage, inclusion in all marketing and advertising collateral, presence on the official Bay to Breakers presented by craigslist website and social media platforms and race entries.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Bay to Breakers to partner with one of the world’s most visited websites and another San Francisco original, craigslist,” said Bay to Breakers Race Director Angela Fang. “We are thrilled to add them as presenting sponsor. As the event moves into its second century, we can’t imagine a better addition to the Bay to Breakers community.”

Additional new sponsors confirmed for 2013 include: Crunchies Food Company, the official natural freeze dried snack; Dos Equis, the official beer and malt liquor; SnuggBuds, the official headset; and LinkedIn, the official professional network. Returning sponsors include: Volkswagen, the official automobile and title sponsor of the Greater Body Expo presented by Big 5 Sporting Goods; Big 5 Sporting Goods, the official sporting goods retailer and presenting sponsor of the Volkswagen Greater Body Expo; C20 Pure Coconut Water, the official coconut water; and the Hyatt Regency Hotel San Francisco, the official race hotel.

Since 1912, this legendary race has taken thousands of participants including elite athletes, centipede teams of 13, celebrities, costumed racers, marathon runners, weekend warriors and more from the edge of the bay, to the shore of the Pacific Ocean, via several San Francisco neighborhoods. In addition to the run, participants are encouraged to take part in the Costume Contest, Volkswagen Greater Body Expo presented by Big 5 Sporting Goods and enjoy the finish line festivities with food, fun and more.

About Bay to Breakers

The 102nd Bay to Breakers 12K running race, presented by craigslist, is set to take on Sunday, May 19. To register for this year’s footrace go tohttp://bit.ly/1252QGy, for more information please visit www.baytobreakers.com. Discount registrations for groups of 10 or more are available, please email groups@baytobreakers.com, or call 877-234-8425. For more details, please visit www.baytobreakers.com, or call 877-234-8425.

About craigslist

Running in San Francisco since 1995, craigslist has jogged ahead to be the most used classifieds worldwide, helping racers everywhere find jobs, housing, goods, services, friends, romance, events, sneakers, community information, and just about everything else atwww.craigslist.org. For media inquiries please email press@craigslist.org.

About AEG:

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or is affiliated with a collection of companies including over 100 of the world’s preeminent facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), The Home Depot Center (Carson, CA), Best Buy Theater (Times Square, New York), Sprint Center, (Kansas City), Rose Garden Arena (Portland, OR), Target Center (Minneapolis, MN), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), MasterCard Center (Beijing, China), O2 World Hamburg, Allphones Arena (Sydney, Australia), Ericsson Globe arena (Stockholm, Sweden), O2 World arena (Berlin, Germany) and The O2 arena and entertainment district (London, England) which are all part of the portfolio of AEG Facilities. Developed by AEG, L.A. LIVE is a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential & entertainment district featuring Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia, a 54-story, 1001-room convention “headquarters” destination along with entertainment, restaurant and office space that “officially” opened in 2010.In addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), assets of AEG Sports include franchises and properties such as the 2012 Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings (NHL), Two-time defending MLS Cup Champion LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo (MLS), two hockey franchises in Europe, the Amgen Tour of California cycling race and Bay to Breakers presented by craigslist foot race. AEG Live, the company’s live-entertainment division, is the world’s second largest concert promotion and touring companies and is comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions with fifteen regional offices. AEG Global Partnerships, a division responsible for worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships naming rights and other strategic partnerships and AEG Merchandising, a multi-faceted merchandising company are also core business units of AEG. In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program with the announcement of 2020 environmental goals and the release of the industry’s first sustainability report while in 2011, AEG introduced axs Ticketing, the first phase of its new entertainment platform serving as the company’s primary consumer brand which will also features a mobile service as well as a video content service now in development. For additional information, visit www.aegworldwide.com.

For More Information Contact:

DeeDee Taft/Shelbi Okumura
Spin Communications

If You Want to Walk Across the Bay Bridge on September 1st FOR FREE, Then You’ll Need to Sign Up Now

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

‘Cause by the time you hear about this opportunity from the MSM or a blog, it’ll be too late.

Now some people wanted to charge you for the chance to walk the bridge, but they ended up deciding to just require registration with no payment required.

C’mon, this thing is only two decades-plus late.

All the deets:

“We are excited to announce that registration for the Bay Bridge Walk will be FREE! Our next email will include more details on each event and registration dates.

Registration is required for all on-bridge activities and there will be limited capacity so sign up early!

Please tell your friends and family who wish to participate to visit baybridgecelebration.com and sign up for e-mail updates. You will be the first to hear when registration is open.

More details on the Bay Bridge Bike, Run & Walk coming soon!

-The Bay Bridge Celebration Team”

There’ll be plenty of space to roam:

See you there!

CW Nevius Spanking Machine: “America’s Cup will be good for SF” – ORLY?

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Of course, the solution to all of the problems associated with Larry Ellison’s boat race is to have Larry Ellison pay for Larry Ellison’s boat race, don’t you think? I’d say about $40,000,000 would cover it, and thousands of people agree – just check out one of the petitions.

But CW Nevius is cheerleading for Larry full-tilt NO MATTER WHAT – let’s have a look:

“The financial landscape has changed. As reported this week, fundraising efforts have fallen well short of a projected $32 million.”

OH LORD. SO, WHEN DID OUR GREAT RECESSION BEGIN, SHALL WE SAY 2008 OR SO? ALL RIGHT, SO WHEN DID SFGOV / AMERICA’S CUP LACKEY KYRI McCLELLAN LAST COMMIT TO RAISING $40 MILLION FOR SAN FRANCISCO? LATE 2011, RIGHT? (SEE BELOW*) SO HOW DOES THAT WORK? ISN’T THE “FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE” ACTUALLY BETTER NOW IN 2013? I THINK SO. MAYBE PEOPLE WERE LYING? I THINK SO. OR MAYBE NEVIUS IS SAYING THAT THE FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE OF THE CUP ITSELF HAS CHANGED? BUT, CW, THERE WAS NO MONEY TO BEGIN WITH, THERE WAS NO $10 BILLION IN “FINANCIAL IMPACT,” THERE WAS NO “FLEET OF SUPER YACHTS” THAT WAS GOING TO COME IN AND RAIN DOWN MONEY ON US. IT WAS ALL MADE UP.

“…this will still basically be a break-even prospect for the city and a boost for the Bay Area’s economy.”

WELL THAT’S WHAT _YOU_ THINK, THAT’S WHAT YOU SAY. SOME WILL BENEFIT, SOME WILL LOSE. BUT IS IT REALLY SUCH A NOVEL IDEA TO HAVE LARRY ELLISON PAY FOR LARRY ELLISON’S BOAT RACE? DID WE EVEN ASK HIM?

“The anticipated windfall may not materialize, but the money won’t be taken from the general fund.”

WELL THAT’S WHAT _YOU_ THINK, NEVIUS.

“Instead of the mandated $64 an hour (yikes!), some contractors were paying as little as $27 an hour.”

COUNT THESE PEOPLE, THOSE UNSKILLED LABORERS MAKING 700% MORE THAN MARKET WAGES, AMONG THE WINNERS.

“However, Barkley had a good comeback. The Event Authority has arranged to reimburse the workers who were underpaid.”

UH NO, THAT’S _NOT_ A GOOD COMEBACK. WHY WOULD THEY AGREE TO PAY PREVAILING WAGE AND THEN NOT PAY PREVAILING WAGE? MAYBE THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING?

“As deadlines approach, you can expect more sniping at the event – some reasonable, some pure political posturing, and some that is simply absurd.”

UH, SNIPING AT THE POOR DEAL THE CITY HAS STRUCK? SNIPING AT ALL THE CORRUPTION AND LIES THAT WE’RE DISCOVERING? ARE YOU ALLOWING THAT THAT’S REASONABLE THING TO DO, NEVIUS? ACTUALLY, I THINK YOU’D PREFER A WELL-NEGOTIATED AMERICA’S CUP DEAL OVER WHAT WE HAVE BUT YOU’RE  PRETTY MUCH INDIFFERENT. IT’S NOT YOUR MONEY THAT’S BEING WASTED AND YOU, THE SHARP-AS-A-MARBLE, EX-JOCK, EVERYMAN NEWS COLUMNIST/QUASI SPORTSWRITER, PROBABLY LOOK FORWARD TO ANY SPORTING-TYPE EVENT COMING TO TOWN, NO MATTER WHAT THE COST, NO MATTER HOW MUCH CORRUPTION.

“Those who complain that the Cup is taking place in a wealthy neighborhood that doesn’t need the benefit are an example of the latter. It’s a sailboat race. It pretty much has to be near the water.”

OH YOU SO FUNNY, NEVIUS! ACTUALLY, I THINK AVALOS WAS LOOKING FOR THE AC34 PEOPLE TO THROW A BONE TO THE OUTER DISTRICTS. SO THAT’S NOT SO “ABSURD,” IN FACT.

“It all boils down to a single question: Would you rather have this event here or not?”

OOH, THAT’S EASY! LET’S NOT HAVE THIS POORLY-NEGOTIATED EVENT HERE UNLESS LARRY ELLISON WANTS TO PAY FOR IT.

“In fact, Farrell put it very nicely at the end of the hearing.”The bottom line is this is going to be a great event at zero cost to the city,” he said.”

THAT WHAT HE SAYS. WE’LL SEE HOW IT GOES. THE FACT IS THAT DEAL WAS POORLY NEGOTIATED BY OUR SHORT-SIGHTED POLITICIANS. AND WHAT IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE NOT A GREAT EVENT. WHAT THEN?

“We’re talking about (an estimated) $900 million in economic activity and (a potential) 6,500 jobs. A lot of cities would pay a lot for that.”

UH, THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE WAS 9.9 BILLION. THEN 1.4, THEN .7-SOMETHING AND NOW, APPARENTLY, $.9 BILLION IN “ECONOMIC IMPACT,” WHATEVER THE HELL THAT MEANS. ALL THESE ESTIMATES ARE NOTHING BUT HOCUS-POCUS FROM PEOPLE WHO REALLY, REALLY WANT AC34 TO BE PUT ON IN SF, NO MATTER WHAT THE COST. AND OH, HERE’S A QUERY: WOULD MARK FARRELL BE SUPERVISOR WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF THOMAS COATES? OH NO, LORD NO.  WITHOUT TOM COATES, FARRELL WOULD BE JUST ANOTHER ANONYMOUS WHITE MILLIONAIRE DUDE WHO GREW UP A RICH KID IN THE MARINA. HERE’S THE THING: COATES LIKES BOATS. OH, AND WHAT YOU MEAN IS GIGS, NOT “JOBS,” MR. FARRELL. AND IF A LOT OF CITIES WOULD PAY FOR AC34, WHY NOT LET THEM?

“Then he went for the big finish. ”World-class cities put on world-class events,” he said. “And I think our city is going to shine.”

WORLD-CLASS CORRUPTION, FROM WORLD-CLASS LIARS, YEP.

“Sing it, Mr. Supervisor.”

YOU’RE SUCH A FUCKING BROWN-NOSING, OBSEQUIOUS KISS-ASS LICKSPITTLE TOADIE, YOU KNOW THAT, CW NEVIUS? (OH, AND YOU DIDN’T HAVE FARRELL’S PHONE NUMBER UNTIL TWO WEEKS _AFTER_ HE GOT ELECTED? YEP. HEH. YOU BELIEVED IN HIM _THAT_ MUCH, HUH?)

IN MITIGATION, I DIDN’T SEE THE PHRASE ‘NATURAL AMPHITHEATRE” ANYWHERE IN YOUR ESSAY, NEVIUS, SO THANKS FOR THAT.

IN AGGRAVATION, THE ABHORRENT PHRASE “WORLD-CLASS” APPEARED TWICE. (AND “WIN-WIN,” WELL, YOU DIDN’T SAY IT, BUT YOU WERE THINKING IT SO WE’LL CALL THAT A WASH.)

DIAL-A-CLICHE SCORECARD:

*Here it is, America’s Cup Project Update from September 2011. Now I’ll tell you, the “commitment” that Organizing Committee “CEO” Kyri McClellan (she actually was on both sides of this deal – it’s kind of a scandal) is talking about is “endeavoring” to raise $32 million or $40 million or whatever.  What she actually says is a bit different though. It seems as if she thinks (or thought, back in 2011) that her commitment was to actually raise the promised money as opposed to just trying to raise the promised money.

I think we are on track to meet the commitments of the host city agreement at the end of this year. We are out in the marketplace raising those funds and we have a great operational model with the event authority on — we provide corporate sponsor introductions and they help facilitate our outreach to philanthropists whether individuals or families and are providing us with the assets that are necessary.

“So when you ask someone for a seven figure gift, we can articulate the benefits that are coming to the city for that, helping us pay for environmental review and pay for the transit and doing it the San Francisco Way. The folks who made early commitments to us before we had our tax exempt status are really proud of the way it is unfolding. as more definition comes to the plan and people have a better understanding of the community benefits, what are the youth opportunities, what are the workforce and job plans and that is unfolding the next three months so we are going out to sell those opportunities for folks to help us facilitate our obligations.

“Generally I say I’m raising $40 million if you count the $32 million specified in the host city agreement. There is a bond provision and other obligations, whether taxes or utilities, garbage. Then I have the operational expenses. So if you roll it all up, a little bit of contingency, I think we are generally comfortable saying we are raising $40 million.”

Uploaded on Sep 21, 2011

This Press Conference held at San Francisco City Hall unveils schedules for America’s Cup racing around the world for the next three years, culminating in the ultimate America’s Cup held in San Francisco in 2013.”

Morning Blue Over San Francisco Bay – A Unique View by David Yu

Thursday, December 27th, 2012

See?

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