Posts Tagged ‘chuck’
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” Kyle 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.”
Tags: 2013, Americas Cup, Bay, bay area, boat, c w nevius, california, CEO, chuck, Kyle McClellan, larry ellison, Nevius, ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, race, Regatta Pinata, San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle, Writer
Posted in sports | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
I haven’t heard word one about the long-promised lawsuit what was going to overturn SFGov and re-install the old tenant as the operator.
“The civil lawsuit begins March 2012 and will expose the truth about all the many laws that Rec & Park broke in order to bring in an out-of-state chain, with no boating experience to take over this historic boating recreation site.”
Oh well.
Just saying.
Ah, Stow Lake:
Click to expand
Oh, and the early reviews are in. And they’re pretty good, those reviews.
Leave us close this chapter of wealthy, white, real-estate-obsessed, dingbat, millionaire homeowner Preservationists vs. the Boathouse at Stow.
Tags: 19th, 2010, 740, accessible, am, armand, armand ortega, august, bathroom, bay area, blue skies, boat, boat house, boathouse, boats, Bruce McLellan, budget, building, cafe, california, chronicle, chuck, coalition, community, County Fair Building, department, dept., district, enterprises, Family, fm, frank klein, free, golden gate park, Hall of Flowers, historic, hoist, indoor, inner sunset, January 26, January 26th, kcbs, lake, lead, meet, meeting, Nevius, new mexico, Nick Kinsey, ortega, ortega family enterprises, paint, park and rec, park and recreation, parks, picnic, pink, popcorn, rachel gordon, radio, recreation and parks, restaurant, rfq, row, rowboat, San Francisco, Sandy Weil, save, save stow lake, Save the Stow Lake Boat house, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, seating, shane ortega, stow, Stow lake, Stow Lake Boathouse, STSLBC, sunset, Suzanne Dumont, Suzanne R. Dumont, swan
Posted in parks | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 26th, 2012
To the list of failed America’s Cup proposals that San Francisco Chronicle writer CW Nevius considers “just fine,” add the current proposal.
“The America’s Cup came to San Francisco with a trumpet fanfare and soaring expectations.”
TRUMPETED BY WHOM? CW NEVIUS. EXPECTATIONS FUELED BY WHOM? THE VERY SAME CW NEVIUS. AND ACTUALLY, THE AMERICA’S CUP HASN’T ACTUALLY COME YET, ONLY VARIOUS PROPOSALS HAVE COME, ALL OF THEM BAD YET ALL OF THEM CHEERED ON BY DULL-WITTED CW NEVIUS.
The Embarcadero waterfront would be transformed and finally developed.
I DON’T THINK ANYBODY WAS PROMISING THIS, ACTUALLY. IT’S JUST LARRY ELLISON’S LITTLE BOAT RACE.
Up to 10 sailing teams would skim across the bay for the right to challenge for the Cup.
ACTUALLY, IT WAS MORE THAN THAT. HOW ABOUT 14 OR 18? (ONLY THE SKY WAS THE LIMIT BACK IN THE DAY.)
Hundreds of thousands of people would attend an event that would create jobs, stimulate the local economy, and cost the city virtually nothing.
I DON’T THINK THAT WAS PROMISED, IRL.
OK, that was fun.
IT WAS FUN FOR YOU NEVIUS, BUT SO WAS ATTENDING MONEY-LOSING OLYMPIADS AND THEN MOVING ON – THAT WAS “FUN” FOR YOU AS WELL. REALLY, YOU PERSONALLY, CW NEVIUS, PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE NO OBJECTION TO ANY SPORTING EVENT HELD ANYWHERE AT ANYTIME, NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY IT LOSES.
Now here’s the reality. The waterfront will get a bit of a sprucing up, and the black hole known as Piers 30-32 will be shored up to extend their useful life another 15 to 20 years. There will be more like five sailing teams. And not only is the Cup not yet generating thousands of jobs, the America’s Cup Event Authority is cutting staff to save money. And frankly, we’re not sure how many spectators will show up, but the current thinking is to revise the numbers down.
SO IT WAS ALL A LIE, WASN’T IT? A LIE THAT YOU YOURSELF PROMOTED, CW NEVIUS.
Stephen Barclay, interim CEO of the event authority, says 28 employees were laid off Friday, but that only makes sense as we transition to America’s Cup Lite.
WE’RE NOT REALLY TRANSITIONING TO A SMALLER AMERICA’S CUP BECAUSE THERE WAS NO BIG AMERICA’S CUP IN THE FIRST PLACE. THAT WAS SIMPLY WHAT LARRY ELLISON WANTED, WHAT HE FANTASIZED ABOUT.
“We now know the deal,” he said. “It means we have a reduced footprint and we will pay more but earn less. It therefore gives us the opportunity to organize ourselves accordingly.”
UH, NO. ACTUALLY, NOBODY REALLY CARES ABOUT LARRY ELLISON’S AMERICA’S CUP AND THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SAN FRANCISCO.
Quite frankly, that’s just fine.
NO IT’S NOT, IT’S STILL GOING TO COST SAN FRANCISCO QUITE A BIT OF MONEY. WHY NOT JUST HAVE LARRY ELLISON PAY FOR THE RACE, HAS THAT BEEN CONSIDERED?
This may be a downsize from the original extravaganza, but it will still be an awesome event in the perfect spot.
WHAT WILL MAKE IT AWESOME? WHY IS SAN FRANCISCO THE PERFECT SPOT FOR A OVERSIZED CATAMARAN RACE?
I continue to think that even people who don’t know a spinnaker from an anchor will find these races unexpectedly compelling.
SO, YOU’RE EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED BECAUSE. BECAUSE WHY? YOU’VE BEEN CONSISTENTLY WRONG ABOUT THIS EVENT FOR YEARS NOW – HAVEN’T YOU LEARNED ANYTHING YET, CW NEVIUS?
It will be a showcase for the city and the bay, and I will be extremely surprised if it isn’t a killer event.
IT WON’T BE A KILLER EVENT. SURPRISE!
There will be inevitable doomsayers as the expectations are downsized, but other than learning a good lesson about promising too much too soon, I don’t see this as a problem.
BUT NOBODY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE AMERICA’S CUP. EXPECTATIONS AREN’T BEING DOWNSIZED BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T ALL THAT BIG TO BEGIN WITH.
For starters, good for the city, the port and Cup organizers to reach a compromise for the repairs to Piers 30-32.
SO, CW NEVIUS HAS BEEN CHEERLEADING FOR ANY PROPOSAL PUT FORTH BY LARRY ELLISON OVER THE YEARS AND NOW HE’S SIMPLY DOING THE SAME, HAVING LEARNED NOTHING, SEEMINGLY.
The big, flat eyesore has been used as a parking lot, and there were high hopes of spending nearly $100 million to completely redo the pier and begin large-scale development.
THAT EYESORE MAKES MONEY FOR SAN FRANCISCO, NOT THAT YOU CARE ABOUT THAT, NEVIUS.
When that deal fell apart amid inflated expenses, concerns about development and deadline pressure, Supervisors Mark Farrell and some newspaper columnists howled at the lost opportunity. The city, we complained, lost an opportunity to build something modern and cool on that asphalt wasteland and ruined the Cup’s plans too. The idea was to stage the teams there, right in the middle of the waterfront, so spectators could come check out the boats.
BUT PEOPLE DON’T CARE ABOUT THE BOATS. YOU KEEP FORGETTING. SAN DIEGO JUST SNORED THROUGH THEIR VERSION OF THE AMERICA’S CUP SO WHY SHOULD SAN FRANCISCO BE ANY DIFFERENT?
Organizers compared it to getting a pass to the pits at a NASCAR race.
NO NO, YOU SEE, TV PEOPLE PAY MONEY FOR THE RIGHT TO BROADCAST SOMETHING POPULAR LIKE NASCAR, BUT TV PEOPLE GET PAID MONEY FOR THE OBLIGATION TO BROADCAST SOMETHING UNPOPULAR LIKE THE AMERICA’S CUP.
And now that expectations have been toned down, we can stop looking at this as a transformative real estate event or an economic boondoggle, and just see it for what it is – a boat race.
IT _IS_ AN ECONOMIC BOONDOGGLE.
Tags: 2013, Americas Cup, Bay, bay area, boat, C.W. Nevius, california, chuck, larry ellison, Nevius, race, Regatta Pinata, San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle, Writer
Posted in paranormal | No Comments »
Monday, January 30th, 2012
I don’t know, when you have like just one member of the public show up at a meeting hosted by Rec and Park, would you call that a successful joint?
This was the scene for last Thursday night’s big PowerPoint presentation. You had people there from the new tenant and the new tenant’s Marin operation and RPD and etc.
Is this low turnout due to the fact that grand battle has already been won by the new tenant, or is it due to the fact that there was zero publicity for this particular meeting,* or maybe a combination of both reasons?
Click to expand
Anyway, the latest developments at Stow are detailed here by Rachel Gordon.
And oh, the lawsuit against the City from the old tenant should have some activity soon, maybe something is scheduled for Superior Court in March 2012.
And the latest from the absurdly-named Save Stow Lake Coalition has to do with paint with lead in it, which, Gentle Reader, I’m sitting two yards from right now. And, this is true for you too, G.R. You know, ’cause paint with some amount of lead in it is everywhere. Simply everywhere. (If it turns out that this coalition is some long-running anti-NIMBY performance art project, I won’t be surprised…)
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Enjoy your upcoming rain-free, vernal paddle-boating season, everybody…
*I don’t know, was this meeting posted on the internet anywhere at all? NTMK.
Tags: 19th, 2010, 740, accessible, am, armand, armand ortega, august, bathroom, bay area, blue skies, boat, boat house, boathouse, boats, Bruce McLellan, budget, building, cafe, california, chronicle, chuck, coalition, community, County Fair Building, department, dept., district, enterprises, Family, fm, frank klein, free, golden gate park, Hall of Flowers, historic, hoist, indoor, inner sunset, January 26, January 26th, kcbs, lake, lead, meet, meeting, Nevius, new mexico, Nick Kinsey, ortega, ortega family enterprises, paint, park and rec, park and recreation, parks, picnic, pink, popcorn, rachel gordon, radio, recreation and parks, restaurant, rfq, row, rowboat, San Francisco, Sandy Weil, save, save stow lake, Save the Stow Lake Boat house, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, seating, shane ortega, stow, Stow lake, Stow Lake Boathouse, STSLBC, sunset, Suzanne Dumont, Suzanne R. Dumont, swan
Posted in paranormal, parks | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Here’s the word on the street:
“The Recreation and Park Department and Ortega Family Enterprises are hosting a community meeting to discuss the upcoming renovations of the Stow Lake Boathouse. The work will include creating an indoor seating area so that the building is open to the public for the first time, adding an accessible bathroom, upgrading the building systems as well as upgrading the general condition of the building.
Date: January 26, 2012
Time: 7PM
Location: Hall of Flowers (County Fair Building)”
But, am I getting punk’d here? ‘Cause I can’t find any evidence of this meeting online.
Now, I can find the Save Stow Lake insanity* webpage, right here.
And, I can find the Official Twitter for Stow Lake Boathouse LLC, right here.
But, to review, I can’t find any evidence of this meeting online.
Oh hey, look, it’s Ortega Family Enterprises’ Armand Ortega hisself, at the last big Boathouse meeting (the last one that I know of, anyway) at the Hall of Flowers.**
Click to expand
Oh well.
*Uh, Ortega Family Enterprises has “boating experience” now, doesn’t it? You might want to change that. And do you want the City and County poking about buildings in your real estate empire looking for paint with lead in it? I’d bet they’d find some. Oh no! And shrillness-wise, you’re giving us a 9. How about giving us a 3 instead? All right, take two, roll film, action.
**Yes, that’s the actual color of the interior of the Hall of Flowers. I call it indescribable green.
Tags: 19th, 2010, 740, accessible, am, armand, armand ortega, august, bathroom, bay area, blue skies, boat, boat house, boathouse, boats, Bruce McLellan, budget, building, cafe, california, chuck, coalition, community, County Fair Building, department, dept., district, enterprises, Family, fm, frank klein, free, golden gate park, Hall of Flowers, historic, hoist, indoor, inner sunset, January 26, January 26th, kcbs, lake, meet, meeting, Nevius, new mexico, Nick Kinsey, ortega, ortega family enterprises, park and rec, park and recreation, parks, picnic, pink, popcorn, radio, recreation and parks, restaurant, rfq, row, rowboat, San Francisco, Sandy Weil, save, save stow lake, Save the Stow Lake Boat house, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, seating, shane ortega, stow, Stow lake, Stow Lake Boathouse, STSLBC, sunset, Suzanne Dumont, Suzanne R. Dumont, swan
Posted in food and drink, parks | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Well here’s the news, CW Nevius has taken to the air, once again.
Here’s an early review, from Rich Lieberman 415 Media:
“I heard Chronicle metro writer, Chuck Nevius’ new report on the 810 “news” Tuesday. It was plain horrific and god-awful. Nevius’ forte is as a writer. He’s NOT a radio guy. His voice was tantamount to listening to wallpaper. He tried in vain to be funny. He was not. The subject matter was the lights going out at Candlestick at the 49ers game Monday Night. It would have been merely bad if the segment ran a couple minutes. Nevius’ piece droned on well past four minutes. If this is supposed to draw listeners, then some moron needs to get his head examined.”
(Meesa say, “How wude!”)
Anyway, listen for yourself:
SF Chronicle columnist CW Nevius has joined the KGO 810 news team as a daily news commentator.
Nevius is well known to Bay Area readers for his unique look at the Occupy Movement, San Francisco politics, and even street toilets. His first commentary for KGO is a sad farewell to Candlestick Park, where Monday Night’s blackout during the 49er’s game may have signaled the end of the stadium.
C.W. Nevius has been a columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle for over 20 years, covering sports, reviewing movies, and spotting trends. He is currently a metro columnist, appearing on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
As a sports columnist he climbed the ski jump at the Norway Olympics, ate bee larvae in Japan, and skied in the French Alps. In all he covered eight Olympic Games, from Australia to Spain to Korea. (And the strangest place of all, Los Angeles.)
He also wrote about riding the “Straight Talk Express” with John McCain during his first presidential bid, parachuting out of an airplane, and running the Boston Marathon. Although he only reviewed movies for a year, he did rate a blurb with his byline on the DVD box of “Santa Clause II,” to the undying embarrassment of his kids.
He co-authored “Splash Hit,” about building the Giants’ new waterfront stadium with Joan Walsh. His latest book is, “Crouching Father, Hidden Toddler. A Zen Guide for New Dads.”
News and Program Director Paul Hosley said, “We’re thrilled to have a journalist of CW’s caliber join the news team. We look forward to hearing his perspective on the Bay Area’s news stories.”
Realize that this might mean that you’ll have less Nevius to kick around, SF Chronicle-wise.
Oh well.
Tags: 2011, 810, am, bay area, c w nevius, c. w., C.W. Nevius, california, Candlestick, chronicle, chuck, Columnist, Crouching Father, Hidden Toddler., kgo, KGO 810, Nevius, newspaper, open mic, park, permanent waves, radio, rush, San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle, sfgate, spirit of radio, sports, stadium, Writer, Zen Guide for New Dads
Posted in media, paranormal | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
[UPDATE: Bagdad by the Bay just looked into things.]
Well, everything’s going great at your new and improved yet-pretty-much-the-same-except-for-the-food Stow Lake Boathouse in Golden Gate Park.
Here’s what it looks like these days:
Click to expand
Just check the Yelp for early reviews. They’re almost all highly positive.*
But what’s this? Some “brother” from Oakland, “Les. L,” is not happy, not one bit! He’s the only Yelper giving a less than positive review.
I’ll allege that Les is not some youngish dude from Oakland, but rather a wealthy, white, preservationist-minded, NIMBY-mentalitied, real-estate-obsessed, highly-opinionated woman of a certain age who lives in the West Bay.
Let’s check it out her one-star report:
“What happened to the cool local people that worked there?”
Um, this is an improbable start to a Yelp review. Gee, maybe they busy themselves with sock puppetry on Yelp these days, just like you, “Les L?”
“Everyone we saw was white, which is weird for SF. We drove over from the East Bay to rent boats with my 2 kids and my mom.”
Oh what’s that, Les? There’s not enough flava for you over here in the West Bay? That’s funny? Did you know that all the people behind the old boat house and the Save the Boat House Coalition are white, or pretty much? What were you expecting?
“The kids couldn’t reach the pedals in the boat we rented. How’s that? It’s for kids, right?”
The old boats, the ones sold off for $500, maybe they were inappropriate for adults? Maybe the kids can just come along for the ride? A paddleboat is a paddleboat, pretty much.
“After a unhappy boatride, my mom tripped on the crappy stairs in front of the boathouse. She was bleeding, the kids were crying, and no one bothered to help us.”
What were you unhappy about, Les? That Bruce lost his lease? It happens. Or you were unhappy because there were too many Whities about?
“An old man sitting on a bench helped us and said the boathouse was just taken over by a New Mexico chain. We won’t be back.”
More improbability. Oh well.
Oddly, Les L., straight outta Oak-Town, also has a big beef with Chicago Title Co. in lily-white Campbell, CA, the wealthiest(?) part of the South Bay.
And, oddly, “his” dentist, with whom “he” also has a big beef, is clear all the way in the burbs of the West Bay.
On It Goes…
*Perhaps too positive. “Ashley c.” is a another one of those Yelp fraudsters, it would appear.
Tags: 1946, 2011, asphalt, august, Bagdad by the Bay, bay area, bicycles, bikes, blog, boat, boat house, boathouse, Boathouse Dog, boats, booats, Bruce McLellan, cafe, cal tilden, california, chuck, Cloudless Skies, coalition, com, community, department, dept., district, electric, enterprises, facebook, Fair Trade, Family, frank klein, free, golden gate park, historic, hoist, hot dog, hot dogs, inner sunset, interim, Jeff Fones, lake, Let's Be Frank, levy, mclellan familty, meeting, menu, music concourse, Nevius, new mexico, october, org, ortega, ortega family enterprises, paddle, park, park and rec, park and recreation, parks, parkwide, picnic, pink, popcorn, radio, rec, recreation and parks, rent, rental, Reopen, reopening, restaurant, Restoration Time, rfq, row, rowboat, rpd, San Francisco, Sandy Weil, save, save stow lake, Save the Stow Lake Boat house, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, savestowlake, SaveStowLake.org, sock puppet, sock puppetry, stow, Stow lake, Stow Lake Boathouse and Café, STSLBC, sunset, Sustainable, swan, twitter, yelp, Yelp fraud
Posted in food and drink, parks | 4 Comments »
Friday, October 14th, 2011
Well, lots of things are pretty much the same these days at the Stow Lake Boathouse, which was reopened by the new tenant on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011.
See?
Click to expand
Check the new photo gallery – it’s quite complete.
But, here’s something new. It’s a sign in honor of boathouse founder Mr. Cal Tilden & the McLellan* Family, 1946-2011:
(Quite civil to post this sign, if you ask me.)
Get more deets via Aaron Sankin - here’s Huffington Post San Francisco going long-form on this issue: Stow Lake Boathouse Fight: A Battle For the Soul Of Golden Gate Park. Or there’s this here, if you want to click through the lengthy history over the prior months and years…
Le mise-en-scene:
If anything, the pace of life is even slower than that of the era of the prior tenant. Nobody’s hurried at all. And there’s more room, more benches for “old people” to lollygag about.
And here’s your new Boathouse Dog, which is from a better supplier and which is being sold at a cheaper price:
Yes, pink popcorn from Wright’s:
All the players:
And what’s this, new paint, finally, after all these years? These guys started working on Wednesday:
So there you have it.
*Yes, that’s a rapping raven, a confabulating corvid at the end of the first video, calling for a boycott of the boathouse.
Tags: 1946, 2011, asphalt, august, bay area, bicycles, bikes, blog, boat, boat house, boathouse, Boathouse Dog, boats, booats, Bruce McLellan, cafe, cal tilden, california, chuck, Cloudless Skies, coalition, com, community, department, dept., district, electric, enterprises, facebook, Fair Trade, Family, frank klein, free, golden gate park, historic, hoist, hot dog, hot dogs, inner sunset, interim, Jeff Fones, lake, Let's Be Frank, levy, mclellan familty, meeting, menu, music concourse, Nevius, new mexico, october, org, ortega, ortega family enterprises, paddle, park, park and rec, park and recreation, parks, parkwide, picnic, pink, popcorn, radio, rec, recreation and parks, rent, rental, Reopen, reopening, restaurant, Restoration Time, rfq, row, rowboat, rpd, San Francisco, Sandy Weil, save, save stow lake, Save the Stow Lake Boat house, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, savestowlake, SaveStowLake.org, stow, Stow lake, Stow Lake Boathouse and Café, STSLBC, sunset, Sustainable, swan, twitter
Posted in parks | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
At long last, it’s here. It’s the interim menu for our Stow Lake Boathouse & Cafe.
Is this menu too foo-foo yuppie for you? Is $3.25* too much for a “Let’s Be Frank“ grass-fed beef** hot dog?
As always, You Make The Call:
Click to expand
*Well, I’ll tell you, that’s cheaper than what the former tenant was charging. Here’s some more from the clinically-absurd SaveStowLake.org crowd:
“Seniors will no longer be able to gather freely at the boathouse. Prices will be more than doubled on all food items. Middle class and low-income families will be driven out of this spot that is designed to be for all…not just the wealthy.”
I’ll tell you, everything that the Save Stow Lake people have predicted has turned out to be shrill, alarmist bullcrap. JMO.
** “These snappy dogs are loaded with flavor, not junk! Using premium cuts from cattle raised on pasture in California (naturally high in healthy Omega 3 fatty acids!) and organic spices, we’ve crafted a delicious dog that’s lower in fat, calories and sodium than conventional franks. No nitrites, nitrates, hormones, or antibiotics, ever.”
Tags: 2010, 2011, 6, asphalt, august, bay area, bicycles, bikes, blog, boat, boat house, boathouse, boats, booats, Bruce McLellan, cafe, california, chuck, Cloudless Skies, coalition, com, community, department, dept., district, electric, enterprises, facebook, Fair Trade, Family, frank klein, free, golden gate park, historic, hoist, hot dog, hot dogs, inner sunset, interim, Jeff Fones, lake, Let's Be Frank, levy, meeting, menu, music concourse, Nevius, new mexico, october, org, ortega, ortega family enterprises, paddle, park, park and rec, park and recreation, parks, parkwide, picnic, pink, popcorn, radio, rec, recreation and parks, rent, rental, Reopen, reopening, restaurant, Restoration Time, rfq, row, rowboat, rpd, San Francisco, Sandy Weil, save, save stow lake, Save the Stow Lake Boat house, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, savestowlake, SaveStowLake.org, stow, Stow lake, Stow Lake Boathouse and Café, STSLBC, sunset, Sustainable, swan, twitter
Posted in food and drink | 4 Comments »
Monday, October 10th, 2011
[UPDATE: Rachel Gordon has the deets of Opening Day right here.]
I don’t know, if I had an expired lease with the City and County of San Francisco and they asked me to leave by a certain date, I think I’d leave by that date. But the former tenant at the Stow Lake Boathouse doesn’t roll that way, so he kept on running the place, overstaying his lease, defending an eviction action through the drier $pring and $ummery tourism months. The result is that the new tenant is taking over in Autumn, in the rain. O.K., did that help San Francisco? No.
Also, the old tenant charged $25 per hour for paddleboats and $20 for rowboats until he got caught, even though the contracted rate was for $20 and $15 per hour. O.K., did that help San Francisco? No.
Oh, and the workers for the former tenants left little surprises for the new tenants haha. O.K., did that help San Francisco? No.
Oh, and the trial pitting the former tenant against all of us is skedded for March 2012.
Moving on…
Your new Stow Lake Boathouse & Cafe will open on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011, rain or shine, boats and food. It’s official ‘n stuff.
Meet your new fleet:
1. Electric boat – lead-acid type batteries, like from Your Father’s Oldsmobile;
2. Paddleboat – Captain and First Officer/Stoker facing forward with two passengers facing rearward;
3. Rowboat
Click to expand
And actually, the forecast is for Cloudless Skies on Wednesday, so you’ll be richly rewarded if you skip out of work to see the soft opening.
See you there!
Tags: 2010, 2011, 6, asphalt, august, bay area, bicycles, bikes, blog, boat, boat house, boathouse, boats, booats, Bruce McLellan, cafe, california, chuck, Cloudless Skies, coalition, com, community, department, dept., district, electric, enterprises, facebook, Family, frank klein, free, golden gate park, historic, hoist, inner sunset, Jeff Fones, lake, levy, meeting, music concourse, Nevius, new mexico, october, org, ortega, ortega family enterprises, paddle, park, park and rec, park and recreation, parks, parkwide, picnic, pink, popcorn, radio, rec, recreation and parks, rent, rental, Reopen, reopening, restaurant, rfq, row, rowboat, rpd, San Francisco, Sandy Weil, save, save stow lake, Save the Stow Lake Boat house, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse, Save the Stow Lake Boathouse Coalition, savestowlake, stow, Stow lake, Stow Lake Boathouse and Café, STSLBC, sunset, swan, twitter
Posted in parks | 2 Comments »
