Posts Tagged ‘month’
Friday, February 26th, 2010
What makes San Francisco’s monthly Critical Mass an illegal bicycle parade is the fact that nobody gets permits. ‘Cause getting a permit is hard - it would entail doing stuff that costs a lot of money and it would make you a magnet for lawsuits, so who needs that, right?
The thing is that corking intersections and running red lights as a group (hallmarks of Critical Mass going back to the mid-1990’s), those things are obviously illegal, so the SFPD could start issuing citations whenever it wants, of course. And that’s true no matter how they roll in the Empire State. (Actually, I question how the New York decision affects us here in San Francisco at all, but oh well.)
I’ll tell you, the biggest shock that drivers have when they get stuck at an intersection is that they get no sympathy from the cops. Drivers without criminal records tend to stay by their cars and watch the parade of bikes.
OTOH, drivers with criminal records, well, Critical Mass is a test of their ability to maintain. Some fail.
Do I think San Francisco has the will to kill Critical Mass? No. But do I think Police Chief George Gascon is planning on shaking things up, in the coming months, you know, when rain no longer threatens* and the number of cyclists is bigger? Yes.
“Hey, man, we don’t have any “leaders,” man. The City can’t do nothing to us, nobody’s in charge of CM, man.” Yes, roger that. I don’t think anybody’s going to stick you with a bill for $35,000 or anything, but changes are a coming…
Collateral damage from Critical Mass - MUNI vehicles stretching to the horizon in both directions. (Is that on the DO list or the DON’T list?) This kind of thing is one of the reasons you don’t see CM listed at the SFBC website calendar anymore.
Where’s Waldo, Cagney and Lacey on a recent Critical Mass ride:
The wonder of encountering an unexpected Critical Mass for the first time. Out-of-towners Rachel and Monica were delighted:
To Be Continued…
*Actually, tonight looks to be clear as a bell, Mel. But the forecast was for rain so tonight’s should be a smaller ride.
Tags: 2009, 2010, biclcye, bike, bus, chief, commute clot, confrontation, cops, cork, corked, critical, critical mass, cyclists, delay, department, dept., friday, fridays, George Gascón, intersection, Judge, last, market, mass, month, monthly, Muni, new york, parade, police, Police Chief, rain, San Francisco, sexy, SFPD, stalled, tacoed, transit, trolley, Wheel
Posted in bikes, crime | 2 Comments »
Friday, February 5th, 2010
Buffalo as in Buffalo Soldier - there are still a few around town. Bill Clinton loves this movie and he wants you to see it.
“Free Screening of “Inside Buffalo” This award winning documentary tells the story of the 92nd infantry division, an African-American combat unit that fought heroically in Italy during World War II. Nicknamed the “Buffalo Soldiers”, these men valiantly fought two wars at once: one against fascism in Italy, the other against racial discrimination at home.
Born and raised in Italy to a Ghanaian father and an Italian mother, director Fred Kuwornu details little known aspects of the story, including the profound and lasting friendships forged between the soldiers and the Italian villagers they liberated from Fascist rule. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the director.
Friday, February 12, 2010 — 6:30pm
Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop in the Presidio
Free Admission—To RSVP call (415) 788-7142 ext. 18
For more information visit: www.presidio.gov/calendar or www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it
Buffalo Soldiers engaging the Germans in Massa, Italy, 1944:
The 92nd Infantry chasing the Wehrmacht in the Po Valley, 1945. (If only they had given more time for the sanctions to work!)
All the deets, after the jump.
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Tags: 12, 2010, 92nd, black, Buffalo Soldiers, Consul General, doc. documentary, feb, February, film, free, Golden Gate Club, History, infantry, inside buffalo, italian, italy, Jeff Weik, massa, month, movie, presidio, sfrican american, trust, World War II
Posted in parks | 2 Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Bike NOPA organized a successful bicycle ride yesterday – join them on the last weekend of the month, why don’t you? They’ll always start and end in the North of Panhandle Area, conveniently located just west of the EaPA .
Organizer Lenore is Patty Hearst:
She matches up well with this awesome WANTED poster, anyway. (Warning: Photoshop just might have been used here, albeit more skillfully than what you can see in similar materials from Mayor Gavin Newsom’s inchoate gubernatorial campaign.)
But let’s start at the beginning, at the ridiculously popular Central Cofee Tea and Spice at the corner of Central and Hayes. Owner Ali was impressed with the early-morning turnout:
40+ cyclists began the trek:
It almost looked like Critical Mass, that monthly illegal bicycle parade, except that NoPA Velo riders actually stop at red lights to let cross-traffic through. And that makes all the difference…
And then the handsome crowd…
…went up the hill to visit the secure undisclosed location where Patty Hearst’s kidnappers* kept her in a closet on Golden Gate Avenue in the NoPA:
Off the riders go, through Golden Gate Park and on up to the Presidio to hear of recent developments from Ranger Dale:
And then it was over to Jannah on bustling Fulton for an apres-velo lunchtime bite.
See you on the next ride!
*Patty Hearst Shaw managed to get pardoned by two different U.S. Presidents. Here she is, just after the second pardon, on the Larry King pwning local attorney Stuart Hanlon:
“KING: People not happy with your pardon, Stuart Hanlon, the defense lawyer for the former SLA fugitive Kathy Soliah, now known as Sara Jane Olson.
HEARST: What a surprise. He’s also my kidnapper’s lawyer, too.”
Pwned.
Tags: 1827, ali, area, attorney, bike, BIKE NOPA, central, central cofee tea and spice, closet, coffee, every, fulton, golden gate, hayes, jannah, kidnapped, larry king, lawyer, lunch, lyon, month, NOPA, nopa velo, north of panhandle, owner, patty hearst, ride, San Francisco, shaw, shop, stuart hanlon, velo nopa, western addition
Posted in bikes | 2 Comments »
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Here’s the thing – if you’re renting a place in San Francisco and you’re paying your monthly rent to your roommate, chances are that you could be considered a subtenant and your roomy the “Master Tenant.”* Particularly when the rent for your unit is way undermarket, due to rent control let’s say, you might end up spending more for your space than the Master pays for the Master’s part of the apartment.
So if you’re paying $900 a month for your half of a two-bedroom and your Master Tenant in the other room is only kicking in $100 (to pay $1000 total to the landlord for the whole place), then you can take steps to get some of that money back and lower your rent to boot.
“A subtenant who believes he or she is paying more than a proportional share of the total rent may file a Tenant Petition against the master tenant on that basis. If the subtenant prevails, the Administrative Law Judge will adjust the rent to the proportional share and order the master tenant to refund any rent overpayments.”
Is this a perfect system? No, but it’s what you end up with when your city has rent control.
Your San Francisco Rent Board just dealt with a subtenant/Master Tenant proportionality case. The names of the people involved aren’t important, but the situation is noteworthy, IMO. Let’s check it out.
Now, if you don’t like how the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) dealt with your case with your roomie, you can appeal to the board. As here, from the meeting of August 4, 2009:
“The subtenant’s petition alleging that he paid a disproportional share of the rent pursuant to Rules ß6.15C(3) was granted and the Master Tenant was found liable to the subtenant in the amount of $10,800.00. On appeal, the Master Tenant alleges that he was unaware of the requirement that the amount of rent paid must be proportional; that the decision will present him with a financial hardship; and that the subtenant is going to be evicted due to his uncooperative behavior.
MSC: To deny the appeal on substantive grounds but remand the case for a hearing on the Master Tenant’s claim of financial hardship. (Gruber/Crow: 5-0)”
See? The sub won big-time, to the tune of five figures because the rent split determined by the Master Tenant wasn’t proportional according to a judge and the full board.
But the master came back to say the ruling would be a hardship for him. From the meeting of November 17, 2009:
“The subtenant’s petition alleging that he paid a disproportionate share of the rent was granted and the Master Tenant was found liable to the subtenant in the amount of $10,800.00. The Master Tenant’s hardship appeal was granted and remanded for hearing. In the remand decision, the ALJ finds sufficient hardship to order a repayment plan in the amount of $150.00 per month. The Master Tenant again appeals, claiming that even the reduced amount will cause him severe hardship and possibly result in both tenants’ eviction from the premises.
MSC: To deny the appeal. (Mosbrucker/Gruber: 5-0)”
Is this what you might call a Phyric victory? Maybe. It’s probably too early to tell. Oh well.
Check the San Francisco Rent Board website for deets on the rules, or see you after the jump.
*The County of Los Angeles doesn’t want to buy equipment that has the term “master” written anywhere on it, like on a hard drive, a DVD burner or a brake cylinder. But in San Francisco, we freely label people “Master Tenants.” It’s our thing.
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Tags: +3, 1115 taylor, 1115 Taylor #4, 6.15 C (3), 615, 615c, AL090162, apartment, c, control, eviction, landlord, law, laws, lawsuit, lease, master, month, proportional, rent, rent board, rent control, room mate, roomie, roommate, rules, San Francisco, section, split, sub, subtenancy, subtenant, suit, tenancy, tenant, ß6.15C(3)
Posted in housing | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Brace yourselves – it’s Truffle Month at Godiva. That means that tomorrow, November 19th, 2009, they’re giving away truffles starting at 5:00 PM at malls everywhere.
Of course, it’s just one per person, while supplies last, yadayadayada. San Francisco (and Emeryville) locales are listed below – find any boutique in the U.S. right here.
Check it. Speaking of OMG, note the golden ”GOD Chocolat” part of the ad. Does Godiva know what they did there? Hell to the yes they know what they did there. Why they made the ad that way shall remain a mystery:
Click to expand
Now, they might try to slip you a truffle with sea salt on it, but all you have to say is, “Sea salt belongs in the ocean, not on my truffle. Give me a different one.” There you go.
To conclude, OMG, OMG, OMG - free truffles!
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GODIVA BOUTIQUE
Westfield San Francisco Center
865 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
PHONE: 415 543-8910
Street Map
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GODIVA BOUTIQUE
Embarcadero Center
Two Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111
PHONE: 415 397-7878
Street Map
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GODIVA BOUTIQUE
Stonestown Galleria
3251 Twentieth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132
PHONE: 415 566-5058
Street Map
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GODIVA BOUTIQUE
Bay Street Emeryville Mall
5645 Bay Street
Emeryville, CA 94608
PHONE: 510 595-0185
Street Map |
Verily, the mall has it all. See you there!
Tags: 19th, 2 embarcadero, 2009, 4th, 5645 Bay, 5th, 865 market, ad, boutique, california, chocolat, chocolate, chocolatier, Embarcadero Center, emeryville, free, Galleria, god, godiva, mall, market, month, November, omg, participating, San Francisco, stonestown, store, street, truffle, westfield
Posted in food and drink | Comments Off
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
San Francisco’s monthly semi-unauthorized bicycle parade was well-attended and exceptionally ugly last night. Did your bike suffer any property damage (“let’s fucking beat up his car!”)? For whatever reason, Halloween Critical Mass 2009 had lots of gaps so that led to confrontations at every intersection – confused car drivers were tempted to just push through to end their lengthy waits. And the SFPD seemed less pro-bike than I’m used to seeing. Oh well.
Now, grab your parasol, pack your marshmallows, count the choppers, put on your PJs, and raise your fixie. Let’s take a gander.
Just look at the stalled MUNI buses and trolleys (trollies?) stretching from Mid-Market all the way back to the Ferry Building last night:
Click to expand
The riders could only just sit and stare:
Stare at this, a car-free Market Street:
via geekstinkbreath
Now let’s take it to the streets. Ichiro was there. He started going on about how there’s “sexiness in the infield.” OK fine:
About an hour or so after the six-ish P.M. starting time, the stalled buses started to pile up:
A happy corker vs. an unhappy corkee at the intersection of 8th and Market Streets.
After a while, car drivers start getting into this rolling Rorschach test. Some sit on their cars…
…while others, like this SUV driver, get out to fruitlessly confront the madding crowd:
IMO, parolees display the least tolerance for CM. Oh well. They just can’t handle it.
A stalled driver gets freaked out by Pumpkinhead:
Thank Gaia the cops were there:
Oops, here there are, pushing along the stragglers on Market:
And then an error – the main body of riders hung a right and headed up Van Ness. That’s not the way to cork MUNI, which got back to normal on Market Street round about 7:30 PM. Oh well. Van Ness from Hayes looking north up to California – the whole thing was entirely filled with bikes:
So there’s your Halloween Critical Mass 2009. See you next year.
Tags: 2009, 30, 30th, biclcye, bike, bus, confrontation, cops, cork, corked, costumed, costumes, critical, critical mass, cyclists, delay, department, dept., friday, fridays, halloween, intersection, last, market, mass, month, monthly, parade, police, San Francisco, sexy, SFPD, stalled, tacoed, transit, trolley, Wheel
Posted in bikes | 4 Comments »
Friday, March 27th, 2009
The signs in the windows on Post Street tell the story – MEAT DAY is coming this Sunday, March 29th. If this is all you can see, then it’s tough to figure out the meaning. The only clues are bull, rooster, and pig icons along with Chinese characters that literally mean “meat day” or “day of meat.”
But this is in Japantown, so the pronunciation “Niku no Hi” can also sound like “2-9 Day“ - “ni” is the voicing for “two” and “ku” is one of the ways of saying “nine.
Mit-te [look]! It’s Meat Day! Click to expand.
The upshot of this is that Nijiya supermarket at 1737 Post near Webster, just across the street from the haters at 1600 Webster, is taking 20% off the price of any meat you buy, one day only.
Is fish included? No, ’cause meat is meat and fish is fish.
Why isn’t it 29% off? Good question.
Is the 29th of every month Meat Day? Don’t know.
Are ham, sausage, deli items and advertised sale items elegible for 20% off too? Another good question – the answer is no, those things are not included in the celebration according to the fine print.
But isn’t there a pig icon in the poster? Yes, good point.
What about bacon? All the kids are loving the bacon these days, right? Perhaps, but don’t know.
Crooner Morrissey says that “Meat is Murder.” What about that? Yes meat CAN be murder, on your pocketbook that is, so you should take every chance to save save save.
See you Sunday at Meat Day!
Lyrics after the jump
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Tags: 1737, 2, 29th, 9, beef, chicken, cow, day, hi, Japanese, japantown, kanji, market, meat, meat day, meat is murder, miorrissey, month, nijiya, niku, niku no hi, nine, pork, post, sale, San Francisco, singer, smiths, street, supermarket, two, vegetarian, webster
Posted in festivals | Comments Off
