Posts Tagged ‘school’

RFK Jr. at USF! Big University of San Francisco Law School 100th Anniversary Celebration This Wednesday

Monday, September 17th, 2012

All the deets below.

“USF School of Law Celebrates 100 Years in San Francisco - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Speak at Convocation

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 17, 2012  – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will kick off a year-long celebration at the University of San Francisco School of Law, which is commemorating its 100(th) birthday and a century of providing a premiere legal education at the city’s first university.

Kennedy will deliver a keynote address during the public convocation on Wed., Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. inside St. Ignatius Church on the USF campus. Kennedy is a professor of environmental law at Pace University and co-director of that school’s Environmental Litigation Clinic. He was named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet” for his success in helping restore New York’s Hudson River.

“Our centennial celebration is about far more than longevity,” said Jeffrey Brand, dean of the USF School of Law. “It’s about one hundred years of offering an education with a conscience, and graduating top attorneys who empower the powerless and help change a world plagued by injustice. As we begin our second century in this magnificent city, we rededicate ourselves to our vital mission of educating for justice.”

Social justice is a cornerstone of the school’s identity. In 2011-12 alone, USF law students provided 22,000 hours of pro-bono legal work to underserved communities, and the school-sponsored seven free law clinics, including the Investor Justice Clinic where students represent investors in actions involving allegations of wrongdoing by securities firms or their employees, and the Child Advocacy Law Clinic in which students receive training and, under the supervision of the clinic director, represent abused, neglected, or abandoned children in child welfare proceedings.

The USF School of Law began on Sept. 18, 1912 on the corner of Market and 7(th) Streets in downtown San Francisco with three faculty and 39 students. Today, it has 40 influential legal scholars who teach 700 students on the USF Law School campus near Golden Gate Park. The school is proud to be one of the nation’s most diverse with nearly half of its law students identifying themselves as ethnic minorities, and 53% are women.

The USF School of Law is sponsoring a number of notable events during its year-long centennial celebration, including:

    —  Sept. 27: Presentation by Clarence B. Jones, former speechwriter,
        attorney, and advisor to the late Martin Luther King Jr.: “Pivotal Legal
        and Leadership Policy Decisions Faced by Martin Luther King.”    

–  Nov. 9: Public Interest Law Foundation Annual Auction and Award Ceremony
        honoring David Boies, chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller &
        Flexner. This is a fundraiser to provide grants to law students working
        in unpaid public interest law jobs during summer break. 

–  Feb. 7: Centennial Gala Dinner, San Francisco City Hall.

For a detailed calendar of all centennial events, please visit www.usfca.edu/law/about/centennial/events/

About the University of San Francisco School of Law

The University of San Francisco School of Law is located in the heart of one of the world’s most innovative and diverse cities. The law school pursues excellence in a humane, diverse, and intellectually vibrant learning community of outstanding teachers and scholars dedicated to training ethical professionals. Its diverse student body enjoys direct access to faculty, small classes, and innovative programming that educates students to be skilled and effective lawyers ready to practice law. Now celebrating its centennial year, the USF School of Law is ranked as one of the “Top 170 Law Schools” by Princeton Review and the 10(th) most ethnically diverse law school in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. For more information, please visit www.usfca.edu/law.

Journalists interested in covering the Sept. 19 convocation, or any other centennial event, must register in advance by contacting Anne-Marie Devine at (415) 422-2697 or abdevine@usfca.edu.

SOURCE  University of San Francisco, School of Law”

If the SFMTA Had Been in Charge of Fighting World War II, We Would Have Lost World War II – Fulton Street

Monday, September 17th, 2012

Together forever, in  Ignatius Heights from a few days back:

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PS: MUNI sucks. And San Francisco’s “strong Mayor” systems sucks as well. Perhaps there’s a relationship there…

PPS: Speaking of which, Mayor Ed Lee’s approval rating is now in the 40′s and MUNI’s on-time rating is down in the 50′s. Perhaps there’s a relationship there…

PPPS: An on-time rating is a fairly stupid way to keep track of MUNI, but it’s what we have so oh well.

And no one’s been lying
‘Cause we don’t lie any more

Family Takes Junior to School, San Francisco-Style: Kind of Like a Tandem Bike, Kind of Like an XtraCycle

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

You’d rarely see this kind of scene ten years ago in the Western Addition, but now you can see it all the time.

Look, there’s room for another little one as well:

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I mean, I’m just saying, right?

It Takes a Village (of Cops) to Bust a Hippie – The Sad State Justice Stephen Breyer’s Old High School, Lowell

Friday, July 13th, 2012

Here’s your Lowell High School timeline:

  • 1913 – School moved to new, larger campus on Hayes Street between Masonic Avenue and Ashbury
  • 1962 – School moved to current campus to make room for future expansion and add a library, gymnasium and larger auditorium

So this is where Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer actually went to high school, on the #21 Hayes line, back in the 50′s. Now it’s the John Adams Campus of troubled City College of San Francisco.

There are fewer drug dealers hanging about these days, but they’ve been replaced by bike thieves…

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Speaking of which, I think this ride has been abandoned for months now. Oh well:

Oh, here’s what Lowell High School looked like in 1917:

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And here’s the same place today:

See if you can match up the bricks with the shot at the top.

(Not much difference excepting for the Toyotas out front and the bright white racing stripe up high. That’s an ADA-complaint elevator shaft hanging off the side these days, one would think. Probably should have been standing about ten feet to the left – that telephone pole in front of the main entrance on Hayes probably is in the same place today as 1917 so it’d be a good tool for alignment. A tilt-shift lens and/or Photoshop would produce an almost identical image as the 1917 shot.)

Campus Information

Built in 1911 as Lowell High School, the John Adams building consists of 64 classrooms and labs, an auditorium, a state-of-the-art child care center, and offices for counseling and administrative services.  At this campus, we offer a variety of credit and noncredit courses and programs.  John Adams Campus also houses the Dean’s Office of the  School of Health and Physical Education.  Our mission here is to assist students in accomplishing their educational goal and to ensure student success.

John Adams Campus

1860 Hayes Street
San Francisco, CA  94117
 
Google Map

  • #43 Masonic to Hayes/Masonic
  • #21 Hayes to Hayes/Masonic
  • #5 Fulton to Fulton/Masonic

High Culture in Mid Market: International Art Museum of America/Floor Tile Showroom and Marinello School of Beauty

Friday, June 22nd, 2012

It’s all coming together.

And look, the mandatory right turn trailer makes for a nice student lounge:

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So that’s 2.5 Yelp stars for the IAMA and 2.5 Yelp stars for the MSoB.

Put these two together and it’s five stars, baby!

Hey Lawyers, Here’s a Gig for You! Get Paid Six Figures to Represent Indebted California Culinary Academy Grads

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

Hey, remember Amador v. California Culnary Academy?

Good times.

Well they’re still doling out the cash on this one, so why not get some of it?

Now I’ll tell you, the only worser idea than going to law school these days (ooh, that link is a bit much, non?) is going to cooking school, am I right, GF? So why not use your JD to help the poor souls who were misled by the California Culinary Academy?

It’s a win-win, baby! Get all the deets below.

Sure, cooking school can be sexy, but does it pay off? 

This job is new, this job is you, Counselor:

“Senior Counsel and Director of Legal Aid Firm (downtown / civic / van ness)

This is an opportunity to found a legal aid organization. In Amador v. California Culnary Academy, students alleged they were led to believe the $46,000 12-month culinary education they received would make economic sense based on their post-graduation job opportunities. For most students that proved untrue.

In connection with the $41.8 million class action settlement of the case (judgement is expected to become final later this month), $2 million has been earmarked to provide student-debt-related services to class members. These class members need help dealing with their creditors. The director will set up and manage the firm under the oversight of the trustees of the fund, Ray E. Gallo and Robert W. Mills. The objective is to effectively manage and compromise the class members’ debts by all legal means. Also, through other fundraising efforts, we hope this new firm may live beyond its $2 million founding budget to become the first agency to focus on providing remedies to the economically disadvantaged when they suffer consumer-related tragedies like those at issue in Amador.

The ideal applicant is an attorney with 10 or more years of experience who enjoys being in a courtroom and has significant experience supervising other lawyers and staff members. Big firm training and top 10 schooling are preferred, but anybody smart and scrappy is welcome to apply. This will be a small firm environment, and effective use of technology will be essential, so you should be someone who welcomes those things.

The job may be available as early as July 1, 2012 and requires a commitment of at least two years. The location of the firm will be determined in consultation with the Director once hired.

Please submit cover letter, resume, writing sample, and salary history by email. Potentially qualified candidates will be asked to complete online assessments.

rgallo@gallo-law.com

  • Compensation: $100,000 to $200,000 (negotiable, DOE, etc.)
  • This is at a non-profit organization.
  • OK to highlight this job opening for persons with disabilities
  • Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
  • Please, no phone calls about this job!
  • Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.”

Does CA Really Need a “Social Media Privacy Act?” No Matter, SB 1349, the Job Interview Facebook Password Law, is Here

Friday, May 25th, 2012

Uhhhhhhhhhhh, I’m not going to articulate myself on this one.

But you, you go right ahead, feel free to tell your buds what you think. (But first, please email me your FB account names / passwords, and your intimate photos and whatnot.)

All right, off you go:

“California Senate Approves Social Media Privacy Act - Yee’s SB 1349 will prohibit employers, colleges from seeking Facebook, Twitter passwords

SACRAMENTO – On a bipartisan 28-5 vote, the California Senate today approved legislation authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) to stop employers from formally requesting or demanding employees or job applicants provide their social media usernames and passwords.

Yee’s bill also prohibits public and private colleges and universities from requiring such information of students.

The bill comes after a growing number of businesses, public agencies, and colleges around the country are asking job seekers, workers, and students for their Facebook and Twitter account information.

“I am pleased by today’s overwhelming vote to end this unacceptable invasion of personal privacy,” said Yee. “The practice of employers or colleges demanding social media passwords is entirely unnecessary and completely unrelated to someone’s performance or abilities.”

In addition to the privacy of students and workers, accessing social media accounts may also invade the privacy of family members and friends who thought they only were sharing information with their own social media network.

“These social media outlets are often for the purpose of individuals to share private information – including age, marital status, religion, sexual orientation and personal photos – with their closest friends and family,” said Yee. “This information is illegal for employers and colleges to use in making employment and admission decisions and has absolutely no bearing on a person’s ability to do their job or be successful in the classroom.”

“SB 1349 is a significant step towards securing Californians’ constitutional right to privacy, both online and offline, in the workplace and in school,” said Jon Fox, Consumer Advocate for CALPIRG.

“If employers are permitted to access the private information of job applicants, unscrupulous hiring managers will be given greater leeway to circumvent anti-discrimination laws,” said Joe Ridout of Consumer Action.

Rather than formally requesting passwords and usernames, some employers have demanded applicants and employees to sit down with managers to review their social media content or fully print out their social media pages. SB 1349 will also prohibit this practice.

Shannon Minter, Legal Director for National Center for Lesbian Rights, said that the practice of requesting social media passwords is the equivalent to reading a personal diary, and also LGBT employees, job applicants, and students already face significant obstacles when applying for schools and jobs.

Minter said that SB 1349 helps ensures individuals are “judged by their qualifications and performance, rather than elements of their private life.”

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law professor Lori Andrews, who specializes in Internet privacy, told the Associated Press that these practices even when given voluntarily should not be allowed.

“Volunteering is coercion if you need a job,” Andrews told the AP.

Johnny Veloz, an unemployed photographer, told KCRA Sacramento that he was asked for his Facebook password during a recent job interview. Veloz was denied the job after refusing to provide the information.

“For me, that’s rude and it’s not respectful,” Veloz told KCRA. “Someone has privacy and you expect them to respect that.”

Yee’s bill would also prohibit employers and colleges from demanding personal email addresses and login information of employees, applicants, and students.

SB 1349 will now be considered by the State Assembly before heading to the Governor.”

And oh, if I ever crafted a “social media privacy act,” I can just about guarantee you that Facebook WOULD NOT LIKE IT. Not one bit.

Just saying.

Cruel Shoes Update, Old World Edition: “These are pretty high for the airport!” – Plus, San Francisco Ballet Update

Monday, May 14th, 2012

Our San Francisco Ballet is on the road after just completing its 79th season.

This week it’s San Francisco>London>Moscow>Yekaterinburg.

Here’s the view from a baggage carousel deep inside Russia, from Maria Kochetkova:

Indeed, these are pretty high for the airport.

Here’s your ballet update for May 2012:

“The 80th Season

A world of dance awaits you as part of San Francisco Ballet’s 80th Season. The 2013 Season includes world premieres by Yuri Possokhov, Wayne McGregor, and Alexei Ratmansky; Onegin— back by popular demand! Hamburg Ballet performing John Neumeier’s epic dance-theatre work, Nijinsky; the return of audience favorites by Robbins, Wheeldon, and Balanchine; and the U.S. premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, a production you don’t want to miss!

View the 2013 Season Overview

Subscribers, renew now to reserve your seats, or call415.865.2000, Mon through Fri, 10am to 4pm.

If you’d like to join the SF Ballet family as a subscriber, call 415.865.2000, Mon through Fri, 10am to 4pm, and you’ll have access to the best seats in the house when seating begins in July.”

 

SF Ballet School Student Showcase
May 30 – June 1 

Each year, the SF Ballet School Student Showcase gives Bay Area audiences the rare opportunity to experience the extraordinary talents of the next generation of world-class dancers, many of whom will go on to perform with SF Ballet and other companies around the world. The performance highlights not only the breadth and depth of the School’s students — ranging from youngsters to SFBallet’s pre-professional Trainees — but also the outstanding caliber of its world renowned faculty. The performances are held in the intimate Novellus Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Watch highlights of the 2011 SF Ballet Student Showcase

Purchase tickets to Student Showcase

 

SF Ballet School 2012 Student Showcase Dinner and Performance Thu, May 31

Performance: 6pm, Novellus Theater at YBCA

Reception: 7:30pm, The St. Regis Hotel

Dinner: 8:30pm, The St. Regis Hotel

Hosted by the San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary, the Student Showcase Dinner celebrates the SF BalletSchool. The event raises funds to support the scholarship and financial aid programs of the School, one of the leading ballet schools in the world. The evening features the Student Showcase performance in the Novellus Theater at YBCA, followed by a reception and seated dinner across the street at The St. Regis Hotel.

Information and tickets for Student Showcase Dinner and Performance

 

“Get in Front” Benefit Performance June 6 featuring SFBallet Dancers

The “Get in Front” Performance is the first-ever event of its kind, featuring performers from 11 of the Bay Area’s most respected dance companies. The creative team behind this event are SF BalletSoloists Garen Scribner and James Sofranko. They have partnered with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California to “Get In Front” of cancer with this one-night-only benefit. Enjoy performances by Yuan Yuan Tan, Maria Kochetkova, Sarah Van Patten, Frances Chung, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba, Joan Boada, and others in the intimate Herbst Theater.

Performance tickets start at $35. The After Party and Silent Auction, to be held upstairs in the Herbst Green Room, are included in tickets priced at $125 or higher. Buy tickets online  or call 415-392-4400.

Watch a “Get in Front” video featuring Garen Scribner and James Sofranko

 

Artist Spotlight: Vito Mazzeo

This month’s artist spotlight video features Principal Dancer Vito Mazzeo. Enjoy exclusive performance footage, and learn more about Vito’s life growing up in Italy, his training and career, and how he came to become a member of SF Ballet.

Watch Vito Mazzeo’s Artist Spotlight video.


How Many SFPD Cops Does It Take to Babysit 100 Occupiers at the 888 Turk Street Occupation Overnight? About 100?

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

As seen last night – some of the cops on the left and the occupiers on the right:

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Man, the cops were everywhere, as if they were getting ready for an early-morning raid…

The communique:

“On Sunday, April 1st, in solidarity with the Western Regional Advocacy Project’s “We Won’t Get Fooled Again” National Day of Action for the rights of the un-housed, Occupy SF working groups & affinity groups are liberating a vacant building and converting it into a social center, shelter and food bank for the people. We have already demonstrated, for 82 days, what is possible when a space is liberated and reclaimed. The encampments at 101 Market St and Justin Herman / B. Manning Plaza were successful experiments in non-hierarchical organizing where resources were shared in a gift economy and collective decisions made through consensus, while food, shelter and medical care were provided to the greater community.

This action on Sunday is not a temporary protest, but a permanent occupation intended to establish a social center. We will transform this vacant building into a productive and vibrant space, just as we did in the plaza occupation, and we wish others to take similar actions and more.

Wealth inequality is increasing, the environment is being destroyed, the police state and drug war are devastating our communities and social movements, while our foreign wars enrich the 1% at the expense of our troops and innocent civilians. In San Francisco alone, thousands sleep on the street while thousands of houses and apartments lay empty. From Chapel Hill to Seattle, from New York to Oakland, people are rising up to directly change the social and economic system by liberating vacant buildings and reclaiming them for the people.

We are taking this action to bring immediate relief and housing to homeless youth in our community, and to provide a space for assembling, sharing food and healing for all people.”

What’s That PG&E? You’re Sponsoring a “Green App” Contest for $25k? Well, That Makes Up for San Bruno and EVERYTHING!

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

I don’t know, PG&E. Sometimes I get the idea that you don’t know that you are the suckiest major utility in the United States…

Hey, I know, why not develop an app what tells you how to do your job without blowing people up?

(And then apply to the CPUC to get reimbursed for all your related expenses. Hooray.)

Via David Yu - click to expand

“PG&E Sponsors U.S. Department of Energy Green Button Apps Contest

Utility Offers $25,000 Toward National Prize for Top Energy Apps

SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2012 — After seeing the potential for customers to save energy and money by downloading personal energy data through its Green Button service, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is supporting further industry innovation by sponsoring a nationwide search for the best Green Button energy apps.

The Apps for Energy contest is a partnership with the White House, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and U.S. technology firms. The developer finalists who create the winning apps for phones and computers will take home part of a $100,000 cash prize from sponsors PG&E, Itron and the DOE, as well as national bragging rights.

“Green Button will arm millions of Americans with information they can use to lower their energy bills,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Innovative tools like these are good for our economy, good for the health of our communities, and an essential part of our approach toward a secure and clean energy future that works for Americans.”

PG&E launched the Green Button in December 2011, responding to a challenge from the White House to design a standard format for customers with SmartMeters(TM) to download their energy use data online. The Green Button aims to promote personal energy awareness and development of phone and computer apps to aid customers in making informed decisions about their energy use and help them save money on their monthly energy statement. To date, there have been about 220,000 Green Button downloads.

“There is incredible power and potential in providing our customers with new visibility into their energy use, with information that’s clear accurate, timely, and easy to use,” said Tony Earley, PG&E Corporation’s Chairman, CEO and President. “Today’s announcement shows PG&E’s commitment to stimulating growth and innovation in the developer community. When it comes to energy management, we are driven to help transform the way our customers manage energy in their home.”

The DOE has long supported energy innovation, driving a nationwide push for more renewable energy sources and encouraging every American to become more engaged with how they use energy.

“Providing consumers with easy access to data on their energy consumption can help give them the tools they need to make informed decisions about their energy use,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has said. “Developing applications and services to help consumers understand and control their energy use is a field ripe for American innovation.”

App developers will be able to participate by registering at challenge.gov and submitting a description, video, photos, and a link to their app. The website energy.gov/developer will be the main resource page for developers. Both sites will go live April 5. Until then, the public can submit ideas for energy apps at energy.gov. The winner is planned to be announced in May.

PG&E customers with an electric SmartMeter(TM) and a My Energy account can log on at pge.com/myenergy, click on the Green Button icon, and download up to 13 months of their hourly electric usage data. About half of the utility’s electric customers – or 2.3 million – are registered with My Energy.

Green Button is one of many energy- and cost-saving benefits available to PG&E customers with a SmartMeter(TM). Other benefits include:

– Hourly electric and daily gas usage data charts via a secure PG&E
website
— Energy Alerts to notify customers when they’re approaching a
higher-priced electric tier and to encourage a change in their energy
use
— Outage detection to help PG&E quickly restore service
— Remote service connection as a convenience for customers
— Special time-varying rate programs like SmartRate(TM)
— Enabling in-home energy management devices that display the energy usage
of appliances

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Pacific Gas and Electric Company”