“We appreciate the vote of confidence Mr. Bertelli, president of Luna Rossa Challenge, gave to the America’s Cup continuing as planned this summer on San Francisco Bay,”
Uh no. What you’re getting from Mr. Bertelli is NOT a vote of confidence.
In fact, it’s the opposite.
Let me show y0u. The Larry Ellison Safety Review Committee, which, of course, is reviewing, not investigating, oh no, never investigating, perish the thought, the safety issues created by, can you guess, anyone, anyone, that’s right, Larry Ellison, issued this statement last week:
Hey, is the SFPD doing a possible homicide investigation right about now? I think so. Think on that, Larry Ellison People. Think on that while trying to figure out how the very same “America’s Cup Family” that has brought us, already, the worst AC in history, is going to investigate itself, I’m sorry, review itself in a fair an impartial way.
Hey, doesn’t the Safety Review Committee have a whole mess of conflicts? Would you like me to list them for you? (Pillow Talk: “Hey Honey, do you think…”)
And that Artemis “Big Red” AC72 _didn’t_ fold up, as reported, “like a taco shell?” So how did it fold up? Like a chalupa? Oh, what’s that, it didn’t fold up at all? Is that what you’re saying?
The former Big Red upon San Francisco Bay, as seen last year, a ticking time bomb that went off this month, more expensive than some of the jetliners that flew above it, and more expensive and about as tall as some jetliners are long. And yet if you were killed flying to Vegas there’d be a big big investigation, right? And what’s the response from the Larry Ellison People? It’s if you want to make an omelette, you’re going to have to break some eggs.
It’s a great show. You (and your kin aged 12 and up) ought to go see it.
And oh, BTW, if you don’t already have tickets for The Book of Mormon, you know, the Best Musical of the Century (already!) per the New York Times, well, it’s time to start freaking out. You can’t buy tickets now because the only way to do that is to get a subscription for the 2012-2013 season (you know, Lion King, Wicked, etc.) but here’s the catch: SOLD OUT, baby! Already. So you’re going to need to move move move when individual tickets go on sale, whenever that will be. BoM, which is, fundamentally, a “love letter to religion written by an atheist,” however foul-mouthed it may be, will only be here for five short weeks. Every last show will sell out, just saying.
But uh oh, here’s what you’ll find these days on the Yelp:
“I’ve never even been on one of their buses, but I observed one of their drivers this evening on Hawthorne Street driving aggressively, honking the horn continuously at the car in front of him and overall behaving like a jerk.“
“Although the shuttle and driver were booked for 8 hours, the shuttle driver refused to drive at points of the evening! At the end of the night, the driver tried to ask for more money than was agreed upon based on an old quote the company had given. I had to pull out my laptop to show him the email that his boss had sent me to prove that I did not need to pay him more.”
“Horrible. This is NOT a real travel/ tour service. They constantly ask for more money and CASH. They are disrespectful and RUDE. They throw litter around, and stand around and smoke. They speak almost no English.”
And that doesn’t include the reviews what were taken down or the ones currently on the “filtered” page.
(So, as I said yesterday, get your tickets at SHN now - they’re not getting any cheaper and this musical leaves us on August 26th, 2012.)
Now here’s Emily L’s review from the Orchestra Section’s Row U:
“Extraordinary musical! Les Miz is a beautiful story of a man’s life struggles, portraying bourgeois issues such as poverty, child abuse, prostitution and other political corruption in 1800 France. I was instantly enthralled from the very first scene of the show. This cast is amazing and captivating in every way. The voices went with each characters’ every movement and the visual sets were stunning. The orchestra seating was a special treat as the sound resonated throughout, spot on with the actors. In 2 hours, Les Miz will bring out smiles, pains, laughs, cries, ‘aww’s, and cheers – it’s a roller coaster ride definitely worth riding at least once!“
So there you have it.
Les Miz reminds me of that other famous, long-running show, Phantom of the Opera, in a way. But guess who saysLes Miz is “far superior?” It’s Steven Winn of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Just saw #lesmiserables@shnsf at the Orpheum – perfection – standing ovation .. Highly recommend it!”
All right, see you there!
“Cameron Mackintosh presents a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schönberg’s legendary musical, LES MISÉRABLES, with glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. This new production has been acclaimed by critics, fans and new audiences and is breaking box office records wherever it goes.
Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, LES MISÉRABLES is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of LES MISÉRABLES includes the classic songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” “One Day More,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” “Master Of The House” and many more.
If you’ve never seen ballet before,* this is it. This week is your last chance to see the debut performances of Onegin from our world-class San Francisco Ballet in our world-class War Memorial Opera House.
The plot is super simple – it’s easy to follow along. So, as Sean Martinfield points out, you shouldn’t expect a bunch of twists and turns and “resolving climaxes.”
No matter, this production is VERY IMPRESSIVE.
Get your tickets here for tonight or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday. And then it will be gone, before you know it. And then you’ll have the rest of this full-spectrum season to consider.
Onegin: Pierre-Francois Vilanoba; Tatiana: Sarah Van Patten; Lensky: Isaac Hernandez; Olga: Courtney Elizabeth; Gremin: Tiit Helimets. Conductor: David LaMarche. Performance begins at 8:00 pm.
Onegin: Ruben Martin Cintas; Tatiana: Yuan Yuan Tan; Lensky: Jaime Garcia Castilla; Olga: Dores Andre; Gremin: Damian Smith. Conductor: Martin West. Performance begins at 8:00 pm.
* And if it turns out you don’t like what you see, then you don’t like ballet. And that’s fine, at least you tried. And how much money will you be out, like double the cost of going to see Ernest Goes to Camp II 3D at the Metreon? Something like that.
“Former state Supreme Court Justice and UC Davis School of Law Professor Emeritus Cruz Reynoso is the first member of task force that will review report about UC Davis pepper spraying from ex-L.A. police chief William Bratton.”
I, for one, am prepared to allow our UC some breathing room on this one. Let’s give them a little while and then see what they come up with, on both this incident and the prior UC Berkeley baton incident, m’kay?
Click to expand
“Cruz Reynoso chairs task force on pepper spray incident
Date: 2011-11-28
University of California President Mark G. Yudof announced today (Nov. 28) the appointment of former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso to chair the task force formed to address the pepper spraying of UC Davis students.Reynoso, a UC Davis law professor emeritus who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, will be “absolutely fair,” Yudof said.The task force is part of UC’s efforts to address policing issues in the wake of the Nov. 18 pepper spraying of UC Davis students and other incidents involving law enforcement officers and protesters. Acting in response to a written request from UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, Yudof last Tuesday announced that former Los Angeles police chief William J. Bratton would lead an independent fact-finding of the pepper spray incident and report back the results to him within 30 days.Bratton, who also led the New York City police department, now heads the New York-based Kroll consulting company as chairman. He is a renowned expert in progressive community policing. Assembly Speaker John A. Perez also had made a request to Yudof and UC Regents Chair Sherry Lansing for an independent investigation.Under the plan, Bratton’s report also will be presented to the task force that Yudof is forming, again at Katehi’s request. The task force will consist of a cross-section of students, faculty, staff and other UC community members. Reynoso is the first member named to the task force. The task force will review the report and make recommendations to Katehi on steps that should be taken to ensure the safety of peaceful protesters on campus. She will present her implementation plan to Yudof.
Reynoso, a farmworker’s son, rose from an Orange County barrio to become the first Latino to serve on the California Supreme Court. He has a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College and a law degree from UC Berkeley. His distinguished career includes serving as director of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, a UCLA law school professor and as vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He joined the UC Davis law school faculty in 2001 as the inaugural holder of its Boochever and Bird Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality.
In remarks at the regents meeting today, Yudof reiterated his support for protecting the right to peaceful protests on campus and emphasized that Bratton’s investigation will be independent.
Last Tuesday, in a separate effort, Yudof also appointed UC General Counsel Charles Robinson and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Christopher Edley Jr. to lead a systemwide examination of police protocols and policies as they apply to protests at all 10 UC campuses. The review is expected to result in recommended best practices for policing protests across the 10 UC campuses.
University of California President Mark G. Yudof moved on two fronts today (Tuesday, Nov. 22) to address policing issues in the wake of the pepper spraying of UC Davis students and other incidents involving law enforcement officers and protesters.
Acting in response to a written request from UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, Yudof agreed to conduct a thorough review of the events of Nov. 18 on the Davis campus.
As a first step, Yudof reached out to former Los Angeles police chief William J. Bratton to undertake an independent fact-finding of the pepper spray incident and report back the results to him within 30 days.
Bratton, who also led the New York City police department, now heads the New York-based Kroll consulting company as chairman. He also is a renowned expert in progressive community policing.
“My intent,” Yudof said, “is to provide the Chancellor and the entire University of California community with an independent, unvarnished report about what happened at Davis.”
Assembly Speaker John A. Perez also had made a request to President Yudof and UC Regents Chair Sherry Lansing for an independent investigation.
Under the plan, Bratton’s report also will be presented to an advisory panel that Yudof is forming, again at Katehi’s request. The panel will consist of a cross-section of students, faculty, staff and other UC community members.
The advisory panel, whose members will be announced at a later date, will review the report and make recommendations to Chancellor Katehi on steps that should be taken to ensure the safety of peaceful protesters on campus. She will present her implementation plan to President Yudof.
On a second track, Yudof appointed UC General Counsel Charles Robinson and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Christopher Edley Jr. to lead a system-wide examination of police protocols and policies as they apply to protests at all 10 UC campuses.
This effort will include visits to campuses for discussions with students, faculty and staff, and consultation with an array of experts.
The review is expected to result in recommended best practices for policing protests across the 10 UC campuses.
“With these actions,” Yudof said, “we are moving forward to identify what needs to be done to ensure the safety of students and others who engage in non-violent protests on UC campuses. The right to peaceful protest on all of our campuses must be protected.”
“UC Board of Regents chair Sherry Lansing says in a video statement that she is “shocked and appalled” by the images of police actions during recent student protests at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.
Lansing supports UC President Mark Yudof’s effort to review systemwide procedures so that students can engage in peaceful protests.
“We regents share your passion and your conviction for the University of California,” Lansing says. “We want all of you to know that we fully and unequivocally support your right to protest peacefully.”
Lansing also invites the people to express their views at the Board of Regents meeting on Nov. 28. The rescheduled meeting will be open to the public and connected by a teleconference with regents participating from UC San Francisco-Mission Bay, UCLA, UC Davis and UC Merced. As usual, the meeting will also be streamed online. The public comment period has been expanded from 20 minutes to at least one hour.”
"We had a technical issue updating Forum last night - Pat Buchanan will not be our guest at 10am. The guests will be:
Linda Katehi, Chancellor, University of California, Davis Nathan Brown, Assistant Professor Organization: Department of English - University of California, Davis. And member of the Davis Faculty Association, which on Saturday called for the resignation of Chancellor Katehi over the pepper spray incident. Fatima Sbeih, Senior at UC Davis - She was among those demonstrators pepper-sprayed"]
“The pepper-spraying of Occupy Wall Street protesters at the University of California, Davis by a law enforcement officer on Friday has drawn criticism outrage from around the world. At 10am pst KQED’s popular call-in show, Forum, will discuss the incident with UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, who has been the target of student protests following the pepper-spraying and has been asked to resign by the university’s faculty association.
UC Davis announced today that it has placed university police chief Annette Spicuzza on leave after her officers used pepper spray to move seated Occupy UC Davis protesters on Friday. The incident, which has gained international media attention, also led the campus faculty association to call for the resignation of Chancellor Linda Katehi. She says she will not step down. We discuss the controversy.”
