Sam Spade's San Francisco

June is a busy month in San Francisco. Well over a million people come to San Francisco during June for the festivities. Just take a look at what we have planned for June in The City:

• Fillmore Jazz Festival
  
• SF Pride: the planet's original and largest
  
• SF Giants games at AT&T Park
• SF Ethnic Dance Festival
• Seventh Annual Dessert First Taste the Elegance fundraiser for Project Open Hand
• Israel in the Gardens cultural festival
• The North Beach Festival
• Pinot Days 3rd Annual Wine Festival
  

Fillmore Jazz Festival
The best talent the Bay has to offer is showcased on our stages, from up-and-coming jazz fusion and Latin-flavored acts to seasoned crooners belting out jazz standards. Groove to your old favorites or tune in to new sounds - our performance schedule will help you get the most out of the Fillmore Jazz Festival. June 30 - July 1, 10am to 6PM, on Fillmore Street between Jackson and Eddy. Email to: (musicians send your inquiries to: )


SF Pride
San Francisco Pride has been said to be "one of the last remaining pride events that can truly be called a rite of passage." This year marks the 37th anniversary of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade.

This year’s theme is, “Pride, Not Prejudice.” The event will be held over the weekend of June 23 and 24, 2007 in the Civic Center of downtown San Francisco.

With over 200 parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and 19 stages and venues, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade is the largest LGBT gathering in the nation.

The two-day event is packed with a wide variety of vendors, artists, music in a variety of genres, performers, dance stages and venues, and fun. There really is something here for everyone.

SF Giants
Watch the San Francisco Giants play Philadelphia, Oakland, Toronto, Boston, Milwaukee, South Dakota, Arizona and the New York Yankees! Enjoy a June afternoon or evening at beautiful AT&T Park which overlooks San Francisco Bay. See the June schedule here.


SF Ethnic Dance Festival
In our 29th year, the Festival will feature 29 Dance Companies representing dance traditions from 20 cultures and featuring over 300 dancers.
Click here for details


Seventh annual Dessert First Taste the Elegance - fundraiser for Project Open Hand
Sunday, June 10, 2007
VIP Reception: 4pm - 5pm; Main Event: 5pm - 8pm
W San Francisco
181 Third Street, San Francisco

Project Open Hand, W San Francisco and Patti Dellamonica-Bauler invite you to sample decadent dessert creations prepared by some of the Bay Area's most talented pastry chefs at our Seventh Annual Dessert First. This year, we are excited to announce that the event returns to the place where it began: W San Francisco.
This year's participating chefs include:

Patti Dellamonica-Bauler – One Market Restaurant,
Jessica Sullivan - Boulevard,
Emily Luchetti - Farallon,
Ellie Nelson - Jardiniere,
Elizabeth Falkner – Citizen Cake,
Nicole Krasinski – Rubicon,
Sarah Ballard - Perbacco,
Mimi Young – Palio d'Asti,
Tim Nugent - Scala's Bistro,
David Thompson – Grand Café,
Andrea Mautner - TWO,
Chona Piumarta – Lark Creek Steak,
Yasmin Hernandez – Lark Creek Walnut Creek,
Ryan Wells - XYZ Restaurant.

Besides the fantastic desserts, there will also be hors d'oeuvres, port tastings, wine and cheese, coffee, and silent and live auctions. Live music provided by the Hale Baskin Jazz Ensemble, winner of the 2007 DownBeat Magazine Jazz Vocalist Award.

There will also be a VIP reception immediately preceding the Dessert First event, from 4pm-5pm. This year's VIP reception will feature a dessert wine and cheese pairing presentation. What is the best cheese to serve with a champagne toast? What red wine would complement smoked gouda? Come hear (and taste!) what the experts suggest at this very special VIP pre-event reception. W San Francisco will provide hors d'oeuvres for the VIP reception.

Tickets for Dessert First are $75 per person until June 4 or $100 after. A group rate of $60 per person is available for groups of 8 or more (if purchased at the same time, and before June 4). Tickets for the VIP reception, which also includes admission to Dessert First, are $125 each. Click here to purchase tickets online.
100% of the proceeds go to Project Open Hand. For more information, call .

Israel in the Gardens
More than 15,000 people unite once a year to rejoice and commemorate Israel’s Independence. It’s an opportunity to show our solidarity and publicly recognize members in our community for their extraordinary commitment to Israel and their efforts in strengthening Israel - Bay Area relations.

Sunday, June 3, 2007. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (program)
Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco


North Beach Festival
Celebrate Father's Day, Italian-style on June 16-17 at the 53rd Annual Precious Cheese North Beach Festival.

The Precious Cheese North Beach Festival is the oldest urban street fair in the country, attracting more than 150,000 visitors annually. Each year the event promotes the Italian and Beat history of the San Francisco's North Beach area as well as highlighting entertainers and craftspeople from throughout the nation.

Listen to music in the heart of Washington Square Park, stroll through booths of juried arts and crafts or taste fine cuisine from some of San Francisco's best restaurants - the Festival has something for every taste - from the artistic to the eclectic and everything in between. Enjoy a variety of imported and domestic beers at the Beer Garden or enjoy any one (or two or three) of the vast assortment of both California Napa and Sonoma valley wines and imported wines that will be available to you at the North Beach Festival.

For more information call Marsha Garland, North Beach Chamber,


Pinot Days Wine Festival
More than 150 of the world’s top pinot noir producers will participate this year for the finest comprehensive tasting of the hottest grape around, pinot noir! Every region of California and Oregon will be represented during the many events over the course of the festival week. With 3 days of tasting events, this is a terrific opportunity to try wines you have sought but could not find, all while meeting the winery owners and winemakers.

Corks from more than 400 current release and barrel samples will be popped and ready to taste, along with delicious bites from specialty food purveyors. This is a weekend you do not want to miss. For m ore information contact:

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today alerted taxpayers to the latest versions of an e-mail scam intended to fool people into believing they are under investigation by the agency’s Criminal Investigation division.

The e-mail purporting to be from IRS Criminal Investigation falsely states that the person is under a criminal probe for submitting a false tax return to the California Franchise Board. The e-mail seeks to entice people to click on a link or open an attachment to learn more information about the complaint against them. The IRS warned people that the e-mail link and attachment is a Trojan Horse that can take over the person’s computer hard drive and allow someone to have remote access to the computer.

The IRS urged people not to click the link in the e-mail or open the attachment.

Similar e-mail variations suggest a customer has filed a complaint against a company and the IRS can act as an arbitrator. The latest versions appear aimed at business taxpayers as well as individual taxpayers.

The IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails or ask for detailed personal and financial information. Additionally, the IRS never asks people for the PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

“Everyone should beware of these scam artists,” said Kevin M. Brown, Acting IRS Commissioner. “Always exercise caution when you receive unsolicited e-mails or e-mails from senders you don’t know.”

Recipients of questionable e-mails claiming to come from the IRS should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the e-mails. Instead, they should forward the e-mails to (the instructions may be found on IRS.gov website by entering the term “phishing” in the search box).

Notice: For information about Memorial Day 2008 at the Presidio, follow the link to: Memorial Day San Francisco 2008 at the Presidio.

- - - - - - -

It was an absolutely perfect day. The sun was shining and a gentle ocean breeze continually bathed us in cool and sea-fresh air. The location was spectacular: the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio. The 27-acre cemetery is located where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is one of the most beautiful and magnificent spots on Earth.

Photo of the 91st Division Color Guard and ceremony courtesy of Brian Lum

Lieutenant Colonel Wallace Levin (Ret) of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Commission has been the driving force and all-around hero of the celebration for many years. I don't think there is a single veteran in San Francisco who doesn't know, respect and deeply appreciate Wally Levin. This year, as every year, Wally was the Master of Ceremonies.

The colors were presented by the Color Guard of the 91st Division, U.S. Army Reserve. The 91st Infantry Division (variously nicknamed as the "Pine Tree Division" or "Wild West Division") is a unit of the United States Army that fought in World War I and World War II. Since 1946, it has been a part of the U.S. Army Reserve. Its current name is the 91st Division (Training Support).

In its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations, the Department of Defense recommended relocating the 91st Division to Fort Hunter Liggett. The 4 Brigades of the 91st Division have been redesignated as separate brigades:

• 1st Brigade (Camp Parks) is now 5th Brigade, 75th Division.
• 2nd Brigade (Fort Carson) is now 5th Armored Brigade.
• 3rd Brigade (Hunter Liggett) is now the 402nd Field Artillery Brigade.
• 4th Brigade (Fort Lewis) is now 191st Infantry Brigade.

For much of its life the 91st Division was headquartered at the Presidio and the 91st has a long and rich history in San Francisco. Many San Franciscans have fought, and many of them died, in service to our country through the 91st Division.



Thank you to these wonderful and fine organizations for their support for our 2007 Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony:
The American Legion
AMVETS
Disabled American Veterans
Jewish War Veterans USA
Marine Corps League
Military Order of the Purple Heart
Veterans Affairs Commission
Veterans of Foreign Wars

Thanks also to:
Major General Bruce Zukauskas, Commanding officer of the 91st Division,
Colonel Richard Mollica, 91st Division Chief of staff,
CW2 Richard Servantez, 91st Division Band,
MSG Stan Kamiya, 91st Division Color Guard,
Craig Middleton, Executive Director of the Presidio Trust,
Brian O'Neill, GGNRA Superintendent,
Major Gerald McCarthy & Sergeant Michael Falzone, U.S. Park Police,
Theresa Griggs, Supervisory Park Ranger,
and a very special thank you to:
The Pleasanton Community Concert Band and to
H.R. "Bob" Williams, conductor, Pleasanton Community Concert Band

Most particularly, thank you to everyone who attended and by so doing, showed respect and admiration for the men and women of the United States military who laid down their lives for the country they so dearly loved.

It's good news that the Golden Gate Bridge is finally going to get a retrofit. It has been a well-kept secret that San Francisco's most famous landmark is old, brittle and vulnerable.

in the photo: the arch structure of the Golden Gate Bridge over Fort Point on the San Francisco side

The last time I walked out onto the bridge was to watch the Queen Mary 2 come into San Francisco Bay. I remember looking at the rivets and the arch bridge which covers Fort Point. I realized that the Golden Gate Bridge is a house of cards waiting to crumble.

That arch bridge has long been known to be the weakest point of the Golden Gate Bridge. The arch bridge is the section that spans Fort Point. The arch rests on steel pins. In a major earthquake the arch would be jolted up and off the pins, causing it to completely collapse. The result might be that the suspension portion of the bridge might still stand, but the San Francisco approach would almost certainly be cut off by the collapsed arch bridge section.

Seventy years ago steel was a lot different that steel today. The Golden Gate Bridge is built mainly of conventional plain carbon steel, which is iron and carbon alloyed with manganese, silicon and copper. Back in the 1930's they used increased carbon content to make steel harder and stronger, but it also made the steel more brittle, not a good attribute in a major earthquake.

In 1992, the Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center partnered with AISI and the Federal Highway Association (FHWA) to develop new and improved steel alternatives for bridges. The team brought together a cadre of professionals in steel production, bridge design, bridge fabrication and welding, as well as specialists from the U.S. government and academia.

The result was a new type of steel, known as high-performance steel (or HPS), which provided up to 18% cost savings and up to 28% weight savings when compared with traditional steel bridge design materials. The new steel is also more flexible, has greater strength and will last much longer than conventional steel. HPS went from concept to application in just five years, and is now being used in 42 states.

The fracture toughness of high-performance steel (HPS) is much higher than the conventional bridge steels. With higher fracture toughness, high performance steels have much higher crack tolerance than conventional grade steels.

When the Golden Gate Bridge was built in the 1930's, steel fabricators used the hot-rivet method. The GGB was fabricated by inserting rivets into holes pre-drilled in the steel; the rivets are then peened using an air hammer on one side and a bucking bar (an inertial mass) on the head end. As these cool slowly, they are left in an annealed (soft) condition, while the plate, having been hot rolled and quenched during manufacture, remains relatively hard. Under extreme stress the hard plates can shear the soft rivets, resulting in failure of the joint. A major earthquake would create that kind of extreme stress. The Golden Gate Bridge could very likely collapse in a major earthquake.

The rivets driven when the bridge was built in the 1930s will be replaced by newer, stronger HPS steel bolts that are twice as strong as the originals. The bridge's piers will have high-performance steel tendons wrapped around them which will significantly increase the ability of the base piers to withstand violent shocks and earth movement.

When the GGB was built is was a modern engineering wonder of the world. Even today is is often regarded as the best bridge ever built. Still, this engineering masterpiece is constructed of old materials and it is in need of retrofit ... and it needs the work done quickly.

Now ... if we can just hold-off that big earthquake!



Resource and Story Tools:

The San Francisco representatives on the GGB Board are:
(click on any name for a biography)
John Moylan, Board President
Tom Ammiano
Bevan Dufty
Dick Grosboll
Sabrina Hernandez
Jake McGoldrick
Lynne Newhouse-Segal
Janet Reilly
Gerardo Sandoval


Specifications and Details of Project:

Phase 1: Done in 2002

North approach viaduct: Installed isolators, replaced and added some bracing members, replaced towers, added cover plates, strengthened foundation, replaced expansion joints, closed roadway joints

Phase 2: Done in 2007

South viaduct: Installed isolators, replaced towers and bracing members, added cover plates, strengthened foundation, replaced expansion joints, closed deck joints

Pylon S2: Strengthened with steel plates, internally and externally, and anchored to bedrock

South anchorage housing: Strengthened by reinforcing internally, replaced west wall and strengthened east wall, strengthened foundation

Pylon S1: Strengthened with steel plates, internally and externally, and anchored to bedrock

Fort Point arch: Installed energy dissipation devices and expansion joints, added bracing, strengthened members and modified bearings

Phase 3A: Fall 2007-2011

Pylon N1: Strengthen by reinforcing internally, anchor to bedrock

North anchorage housing: Strengthen by reinforcing internally, replace roadway deck

Phase 3B: Early 2009-early 2012

Side span: Replace expansion joints, install dampers

Concrete fender: Replace portions of curb

Stiffening trusses: Replace some lateral bracing, strengthen connections

Tower: Install stiffeners, strengthen connections

Pier: Strengthen with prestressed steel tendons

Tower saddle: Strengthen and immobilize saddle/ cable connection

Suspension span: Install dampers at towers and pylons, strengthen stiffening trusses

More information: Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, San Francisco Chronicle

Monday is Memorial Day.

No matter what your plans may be and no matter what you think of George Bush and this insane, horrible nightmare of a war in which we are engaged, please ....

Please take just a few minutes from your life right now and watch and hear this video. It is not long and it is so, very much worth your effort.

Please.



If you are still with me, scroll down to the next story.

Take a look at the photo. That's the field at Gettysburg. The structure you see in the distance is the place where President Abraham Lincoln stood and delivered the Gettysburg Address.

(Click on the photo to enlarge it in a new window)

Since that day in 1863, there have been no barbecues, no parties, no bands and no beer guzzling at Gettysburg. That field, along with the nation's national cemeteries, are the places where Memorial Day is really and truly honored and kept.

The parties, the noise and the booze are fine - IF - you also set aside one day to truly honor Memorial Day in some real and meaningful way. Memorial Day is Monday. Have your parties on Saturday and Sunday, but on Monday, please ... show respect.

The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society presents:

Please join the members of the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society for a presentation by Senator Carl Levin, followed by discussion and a reception. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be provided.

There is no cost to attend this event.

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations. Founded in 2001, ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals. Our mission is to ensure that fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice enjoy their rightful, central place in American law.

To learn more about the ACS, please visit their web site at: www.acslaw.org

Please attend this free event, please RSVP here.

There is a revealing article in today's Chronicle that uncovers some damning facts for State Senator Carole Migden. In the article Migden explains why she decided to keep her illness and her use of medication a secret from everyone.

"I didn't want to be pitied. I didn't want to be seen as a goner. I believed I would live. I never lied, I just chose not to disclose," Migden said.

By the way, that's Migden in the photo along with the top brass of the CHP. She's carried legislation for them through the Senate. Carole Migden and the CHP are pals.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata had this to say, "There are very few things you can keep quiet, and your health is one of them. Only if the condition inhibits your work is a public explanation needed. When you can't remember what happened when you were driving, that's when it has begun to affect your public position, and it's time to disclose."

Perata is close, but not right on the spot. The time for a state senator to fully disclose that she is being treated for a very major illness and that as result of the treatment she is taking powerful medications is not immediately AFTER a disaster. The time to disclose is BEFORE any problems arise.

The public has a clear right to know these things about publicly-elected officials. Elected officials work for us, the people.

And just when you think it can't possibly get any worse, now we find out Migden's medication, Gleevec, has no history of causing like problems in anybody else. That history as well as the official prescribing information for Gleevec is available here. Read it yourself if you like.

So ... if Migden wasn't high on Gleevec, just what kind of drug was she using? It's always possible that Migden has some other undiagnosed medical condition, but one thing is absolutely certain: Gleevec didn't make Carole Migden turn into a fire-breathing Dragon Bitch on the highway.

Another issue a blog reader brought up is the issue of the CHP.

The CHP received numerous cellphone calls from people who were reporting Migden for driving at speeds estimated to be as high as 80. Other callers reported her for swerving in and out of lanes and still other callers reported that she had side-swiped a guardrail and just kept on going.
Most of the witnesses agreed that Migden was talking on her cell phone more often than not.

Then the CHP received calls that the same driver had just rear-ended a another car.

So, what did the CHP do? They gave her an alcohol test and let her go.

No drug search.
No drug tests.
Not even a lousy traffic citation.
Nothing.

The California Highway Patrol played favorites and now the entire world knows that they treat some state officials a lot better than the rest of us peasantry. The CHP gave a California State Senator the privilege of being above the law. That is corruption. It is dereliction of duty.

Attorney General Jerry Brown should launch an investigation into the behavior of the CHP during the Migden incident. Brown should dig into the guts of the CHP and find out exactly who is the CHP officer who decided Migden should neither be tested for drugs nor cited and even allowed to drive off from the scene by herself.

That officer should be dismissed from service (OK - at very least the officer responsible should be "re-educated" by the Commissioner) and an apology from CHP Commissioner Mike Brown should be made to the people of California.

The Attorney General's Office may be reached here.

Carole Migden just announced to the world that she is battling leukemia. Without any question whatsoever I am genuinely saddened by that news. Carole Migden has represented the people of San Francisco and others well.

However ... Why did Senator Migden choose this particular moment in time to disclose her illness?

She decided to go public with her medical problems after she was caught driving recklessly. Her driving was so bad that nearly a dozen people called the CHP to report her behavior. She swiped a guardrail at one point and generally scared the hell out of people all along the way. She was taking a number of calls on her cell phone and was conducting Senate business while barreling down the highway like a wild teenager on a Saturday night.

Minutes later Migden slammed into the back of a car. The car she hit was driven by a young mother who had her little girl in the car with her. The young mother, by the way, is scheduled to begin chemotherapy treatments for cancer next week.

Worse yet, the young mother told a television station that while a number of passersby rushed over to see if she and her child were OK, Migden didn't even bother to come over to check on the mother and child she had just rammed. Migden was too busy back at her car telling everyone within the sound of her voice that she was a State Senator. I guess she wanted everyone to know that she was a Big Somebody as opposed to the unimportant victims she had just rear-ended.

Migden needed the services of a spin doctor and she needed them very quickly. I don't know who the buffoon is she consulted, but someone with the ethical values of Scooter Libby gave her the advice to disclose her own medical condition to the media and blame it all on the medication she is taking. The fact that Migden has been taking the medication for seven years didn't seem to bother them at all. I suppose they thought that story would earn her the sympathy vote and in some way soften the devastating impact this has had on her campaign, her career and her reputation. They banked on people's willingness to give somebody a break and feel sympathy for someone who is down.

Well, bullshit.

First of all, if anybody deserves a break, its the mother and child Migden hit. They are the people we should feel sympathy for.

Secondly, Migden may very well have been under the influence of some sort of drug as she claims, but passing the blame and failing to solidly accept blame and responsibility is just plain _______ (insert your own word).

Carole Migden can only blame Carole Migden. It was Carole Migden who was flapping her lips on her cell phone while driving at the same time. It was Carole Migden who decided to reach into her briefcase as she was also trying to bring her car to a stop. Incidentally, it was Carole Migden who made the decision at some point in time (she's been taking this medication for seven years - plenty of time to think about it all) to continue being her own driver even though she was taking powerful medication. It was also Carole Migden who was more interested in making sure everyone at the scene of the accident knew that she was a State Senator than she was concerned about the mother and child she had plowed into. It was Carole Migden who made the decision to go on TV and blame her medicine instead of accepting the blame.

No, Carole Migden. The pills did not make you do it. Carole Migden made you do it. Blame it on Carole Migden. Everybody else does.

Carole Migden should learn a lesson from San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew, who is being investigated by the FBI and, at the same time, being accused by the City Attorney that he doesn't even live in his own district, which he is required by law to do. So, what did Ed Jew do? He's leaving for a vacation - in China. Even that is a better idea than blaming it on the pills.

I am absolutely convinced beyond doubt that Carole Migden has lost the election. She might as well concede tomorrow morning. It's over.

Migden didn't have much of a chance in the first place. She is running against Mark Leno and his support base is rock solid, massive and backed by the powerful San Francisco Democratic Party political machine. Leno has a reputation as being the statewide champion of marriage equality. He has become a genuinely effective legislator. Mark Leno developed a very important skill during his years as a San Francisco Supervisor and his two terms in the Assembly. He knows how to push, wiggle and slide bills through the sluggish committees and complex procedures of the state legislature. That is a skill which he can easily transfer from the Assembly to the Senate. Carole Migden was good, but she was never in Mark Leno's league and most people know that.

My advice to Carole Migden: Stay home and take care of yourself. You will be a lot better off without the stress of being involved in politics anyway. Thank you sincerely for all your service to us in the past. You have served us well and we sincerely appreciate your years of faithful service. Now, stay home and take care of your partner. Good luck and God bless.

Do you remember Kenneth Eng? He's the nut-case racist from New York who was recruited by the Fang Family to write a series of articles for their San Francisco tabloid paper, Asian Week. Eng is the creep who wrote articles in Asian Week titled, "Why I Hate Blacks" and "Proof that Whites Inherently Hate Us".

By the way, that's Florence Fang in the photo. More about her later, but first, read this breaking story out of New York:

Kenneth Eng was just arrested in New York by NYPD and charged with attempted assault, menacing, possession of a weapon and harassment. He threatened to murder an entire family and their pet. Eng's attorney has petitioned the court to allow Eng to undergo a mental exam. It's going to be either the nut farm or the prison farm for creepy Kenneth Eng.

Meanwhile, back here in San Francisco, the Fang family's decision to employ Kenneth Eng goes well beyond incompetence.

The Fangs have left a trail a destruction and incompetence wherever they have been. They bought the Examiner from the Hearst Corporation and promptly ran it into the ground - but not before they turned the once-proud "monarch of the dailies" into a cheap pulp tabloid rag.

Then the Fangs sold the Examiner to a right-wing out-of-state conservative owner who is on the opposite side on just about every issue of importance to San Franciscans.

Now the poor Examiner is a tabloid rag that's not worth the cheap paper on which it is printed. I suppose that's why the Examiner is no longer sold. Nobody wants to buy it anymore. The Examiner delivery people just toss it around on the streets to make us think they really have a readership. All over the City you can find old, yellowed rolled-up and rubber-banded Examiners in gutters, empty lots and back alleys.

Not content to wreck one of the nation's famous daily newspapers, the Fangs turned their attention to Asian Week, which they also own. The Fangs hired a writer from New York who billed himself as an Asian Supremacist. Why in hell did the Fangs hire someone they knew to be racist and a hate monger? What were they thinking? What in the world is wrong with Florence Fang, James Fang and Ted Fang? Are they closet racists? Are they Asian Supremacists? Are they the Ku Klux Fang? Or, maybe they are just plain knuckle-dragging stupid. That would, at least, explain their record of continuously repeated gross incompetence.

By the way, most of the media and blogosphere coverage of this affair have pointed to Ted Fang as being the culprit responsible for hiring and defending Kenneth Eng. The power behind Ted, however, is Florence Fang, who does her best to dictate to Ted and James how the family businesses should be run.

If you are as old as I am (which is doubtful) you may remember the term "Dragon Lady". This slangy term was originally the name of a villainous Asian woman in Milton Caniff's popular cartoon strip Terry and the Pirates (1934-1973), which ran in many newspapers. It was transferred to more general use in the mid-1900s. It generally means a domineering, belligerent and villainous woman.

I wrote about the Fangs and Kenneth Eng in February and I want to bring back the article as reference. All the gruesome details of Kenneth Eng's racist writings are described in the story. It follows below:



By now just about everyone has heard about the Fang's newspaper and the horribly racist article they published. Kenneth Eng, a writer who works for the Fang family, wrote an opinion piece titled "Why I Hate Blacks". The horrifying element of the story is not that Eng wrote the piece, but that the Fangs, who own and manage Asian Week, agreed to publish the piece. Doesn't that give the article the Fang Stamp of Approval?

The Fangs knew that Kenneth Eng is a racist. They had that knowledge well in advance of his "Why I Hate Blacks" article. On November 24th he published another inflammatory article, "Proof that Whites Inherently Hate Us" that ended with these incendiary words, "We vastly outnumber them (white people). When you have a disobedient child, you do not give him gifts to make him abide to your will. You show him the cane".

Not content with that article in November, Eng wrote another inflammatory hate piece this past January. Although he cleverly titled the story, "Why I Hate Asians", the true meaning and intent of the story became evident by the second sentence, which was, "The first thing I hate about Asians in America is how so many of them want to suck up to whites."

With this evidence clearly on the table, it is absolutely inexcusable that Florence Fang (Chairwoman of Asian Week), James Fang (President of Asian Week) and Ted Fang (Editor-at-Large of Asian Week) allowed Kenneth Eng to continue his relationship with Asian Week.

This latest cruel and hateful attack on African Americans is absolutely over the limits. It is unacceptable, inexcusable and completely reprehensible. Asian Week should not be published by the Fang family. The Fangs have so thoroughly humiliated and disgraced themselves, that they should never again be in a position of public trust.

It is the Fang family, not Kenneth Eng, who seem to be the instigators and hate-promoters here. The Fangs knew well in advance that Kenneth Eng is a racial supremacist by his own admission. On January 12, 2007 Kenneth Eng wrote these words that he used to describe why he was writing a hate piece that was published by the Fangs in Asian Week, "It seems like an odd title for an article written by an Asian Supremacist."

Kenneth Eng is a unrepentant racist. The Fangs knew that about Eng, yet they still permitted him to continue his relationship with Asian Week. The Fangs must have approved Eng's message. It is their newspaper and they have absolute and total control over the newspaper's operations.

This is just my opinion, of course, but I am entitled to mine just as much as the Fangs and Kenneth Eng are entitled to theirs.

It's time for ...
CARNIVAL SAN FRANCISCO

Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27
Mission District - San Francisco

The Festival draws hundreds of thousands of people for two days of dancing Salsa, Samba, Reggae, Tango, Hip- Hop, Merengue, Calypso, Cha Cha Cha, Cumbia, and Mambo into the evening. Food vendors offer traditional delicacies, while others sell crafts native to the Carnaval countries of their heritage. Giant stages sparkle with continuous entertainment.

Entertainment Lineup - Saturday, May 26:

Stage 1 - 17th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - MACY'S
*10:00-10:45 AM - Zebop!
* 11:00-11:45 AM - Sacred Fire
* 12:00-12:10 PM - Ariel
* 12:10-12:25 PM - Yaocuauhtli Danza Mexika
* 12:25-12:45 PM - Diego Diego
* 1:00-2:00 PM - Julius Melendez
* 2:15-3:15 PM - Tambores Do Brasil
* 3:30-4:00 PM - Frankely
* 4:05- 4:15 PM - Morenada Bolivia
* 4:15-4:45 PM - Batista
* 5:00-600 PM - Lefty Perez

Stage 2 - 18th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Inter-African Market Place
* 11:00-12:10 PM - Passion
* 12:25-1:25 PM - Cubanacan
* 1:40-2:25 PM - Omo Aiye
* 2:40-3:40 PM - lil' mo' love steel n' brass band
* 3:55-4:45 PM - Talking Wood
* 5:00-6:00 PM - Pan Extasy

Stage 3 - 19th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Reggaeton
* 10:00 -10:05 AM - DJ Scarface
* 10:05 -10:20 AM - Adre
* 10:20 -10:25 AM - DJ Scarface
* 10:25 - 10:45 AM - Katraman
* 10:45 - 10:50 AM - DJ Scarface
* 10:50 - 11:10 AM - Torombolo
* 11:10 - 11:15 AM - DJ Scarface
* 11:15 - 11:35 AM - Amor Latino
* 11:35 - 11:40 AM - DJ Scarface
* 11:40 - 12:00 PM - J Smooth
* 12:05 - 12:10 PM - DJ many
* 12:10 - 12:30 PM - Alan Y Maliante
* 12:30 - 12:35 PM - Dj Leonardo
* 12:35-1:00 PM - JCT - (Listen to MP3)
* 1:00-1:05 PM - Dj Many
* 1:05-1:30 PM - Lingo Y Nicoya
* 1:30-1:35 PM - Eric Dembo
* 1:35-2:05 PM - Trucho G
* 2:05-2:10 PM - DJ Happy
* 2:10-2:40 PM - Rico Y Panama
* 2:35-2:40 PM - Dj Many
* 2:40- 3:10 PM - Conde man
* 3:05-3:10 PM - Eric Dembo
* 3:10-3:40 PM - Sikario Y Alimaña
* 3:40-3:45 PM - Dj Leonardo
* 3:45-4:15 PM - Saoco
* 4:15-4:20 PM - Dj Many
* 4:20-4:50 PM - Sami Cultura
* 4:50-4:55 PM - DJ Platano Heavy Management
* 4:55-5:25 PM - Platano
* 5:25-5:30 PM - Dj Happy
* 5:30-6:00 PM - Jay & JL Madskillz

Stage 4 - John O'Connel
Sponsor - NBA
* 10:00-10:45 AM - Poetry Kick Off- Spoken Word-feat YMR & A.K Black
* 11:00-11:30 AM - Youth Movement Records
* 11:30-11:45 AM - Paradox Theory
* 12:00-1:00 PM - Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble
* 1:15:-1:30 PM - P-Nut
* 1:30-1:45 PM - Contaminants
* 1:45-2:00 PM - Company of Prophets
* 2:00-2:15 PM - Jendor - (Listen to MP3)
* 2:30-3:00 PM - Akosua
* 3:15-4:00 PM - One Struggle
* 4:15-4:35 PM - Fiyawata ft. Ryan Nicole
* 4:35-5:00 PM - Apakalips
* 5:15-6:00 PM - Finless Brown

Stage 6 - 22th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Budweiser
* 10:00-11:00 AM - Downtown Rhythm
* 11:15-12:00 PM - Los Nadies
* 12:15-1:00 PM - Bayonics
* 1:15-2:15 PM - The Jana Herzen Band
* 2:30-3:30 PM - Hot Pink Feathers & Blue Bone Express
* 3:45-4:45 PM - Mara Reggae - (Listen to MP3)
* 5:00-6:00 PM - Double D Platinum Band-Mas Makers Massive

Stage 7 - 23th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Encuentro at Carnaval
* 10:00 -10:05 AM - Intro with Emcees Jorge Bustamante & Graciela "Chelis" Lopez from KPOO 89.5 FM
* 10:05-11:25 AM - Banda Remelexo
* 11:40-1:00 PM - Marina Lavalle
* 1:15-2:00 PM - Gabriel P.A.S.
* 2:15 -3:00 PM - Mamacoatl
* 3:15 -4:00 PM - Rennea Josefina
* 4:15-5:00 PM - Fuga
* 5:15 -6:00 PM - Alúna Colombian Musica

Entertainment Lineup - Sunday, May 27

Stage 1 - 17th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - MACY'S
* 10:00-11:15 AM - Mystique
* 11:30-11:45 AM - PM Tambores de Columbia
* 12:00-1:00 PM - La Ventana
* 1:15-2:15 PM - Mariachi San Jose
* 2:30-3:30 PM - Salvador Santana
* 3:30-3:40 PM - Tambores de Colombia (Platform)
* 3:40-400 PM - Aquarela with King Danilo Macarrao & Queen Marina Junqueira (Platform)
* 4:00-5:15 PM - Los Lonely Boys
* 5:15-5:30 PM - Fogo Na Roupa-Loco Bloco
* 5:30-5:55 PM - Fogo Na Roupa * 5:55-6:00 PM - All You Need is Love

Stage 2 - 18th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Inter-African Market Place
* 11:00-11:45 AM - Blackberry Soup featuring Mary Holland
* 12:00-1:00 PM - Jerry & The Champions
* 1:15-2:15 PM - Afro Cuban Ensemble
* 2:30-3:00 PM - Samba Do Mar * 3:15-4:30 PM - Samba Da
* 4:40-4:50 PM - Bolivia
* 4:50-5:00 PM - 3 N I
* 5:00-5:55 PM - Carlene Wells with Bay Area Caribbean Connection
* 5:55-6:00 PM - All You Need is Love

Stage 3 - 19th Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Stars of the Future
* 10:00 AM - St. Francis Steel Drum Band
* 11:00 AM - Damnage * 11:40 AM - Bazliani
* 12:00 PM - Organized Rhythm Crew
* 1:00 PM - Manicato
* 1:30 PM - G58 (Listen to MP3)
* 1:50 PM - DRE
* 2:20 PM - DLF
* 2:45 PM - Los Chicas
* 3:00 PM - HML Youth Ensemble
* 3:40 PM - Los Rakas
* 4:00 PM - The OG'S
* 4:45 PM - Bell Bottoms
* 4:15 PM - Bolivia Corazon de America
* 5:15 PM - The Pan Handlers
* 5:55 PM - All you need is Love

Stage 4 - John O'Connel
Sponsor - NBA
* 10:00-10:15 AM - Khallage
* 10:15-10:30 AM - Estrella
* 10:45-11:15 AM - Edge of Destruction
* 11:30-12:00 AM - Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company
* 12:15-12:45 PM - Keyon
* 12:45-1:15 PM - Gedo
* 1:15-1:45 PM - Spitzo The Prodigy
* 1:45-2:15 PM - Daniel Curtis Lee AKA Dan-D - (Listen to MP3)
* 2:15-2:45 PM - J Xavier
* 2:45-3:15 PM - Brandon Kane
* 3:15-3:45 PM - The Animaniakz ft. Stress
* 4:00-4:45 PM - Futuro Picante
* 5:00-5:55 PM - Pan Eternal Band-Sistas-Wit-Style
* 5:55-6:00 PM - All You Need is Love

Stage 6 - 22nd Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Budweiser
* 10:00-10:45 AM - John Payne and the Hurt
* 11:00-11:45 AM - Carne Cruda - (Listen to MP3)
* 12:00-3:00 PM - Burger King
* 3:00-4:00 PM - Louie Romero y su Groupo Mazacote
* 4:00-5:00 PM - Avance
* 5:15--5:55 PM - Grupo Samba Rio featuring Maisa Duke & ENERGIA DO SAMBA
* 5:55-6:00 PM - All You Need is Love

Stage 7 - 23rd Street & Harrison Street
Sponsor - Black Pearl
* 10:00-10:15 AM - AZIATIC, DJ BABY
* 10:15-10:30 AM - MR.BOY
* 10:30-10:45 AM - RICH LAWSON &CIRCUS
* 10:45-11:00 AM - TAZ & BEEZIE ,DJ BABY
* 11:00-11:15 AM - CHOSEN ONEZ, DJ NEGRO
* 11:15-11:30 AM - HELL BENT
* 11:30-11:45 AM - STAKS
* 11:45-12:00 PM - BARNONE, DJ NEGRO
* 12:00-12:15 PM - F.A.D. , DJ YANKEE
* 12:15-12:30 PM - CIENFUEGO ,DJ CELL
* 12:30-12:45 PM - BIG BOI, DJ CELL
* 12:30-12:45 PM - BIG BOI
* 12:45-1:00 PM - LOVA BOY
* 1:00-1:15 PM - VINCE PRICE, DJ CELL
* 1:15-1:30 PM - SKY HIGH, DJ YANKEE
* 1:30-1:45 PM - J-CHILD 1:30
* 1:45-2:00 PM - CATRA MAN, DJ NEGRO
* 2:00-3:00 PM - GARIFUNA BOYZ
* 3:30-4:30 PM - Loco Bloco
* 4:45-5:15 PM - Communidad Yucateca
* 5:25-5:55 PM - PFG Xelaju
* 5:55-6:00 PM - All You Need is Love

For more information go to: www.carnivalsf.com

PLUS ... You certainly don't want to miss the lavish costumes and plentiful flesh of the hundreds of dancers performing in the exciting Carnival Parade!

For a complete list of all 80 entries in the parade, click here.

When: Sunday, May 27, 2007
Time: Starts at 9:30 AM
Where: Starts at 24th & Harrison to Mission, then Mission & 24th to Mission & 17th
Parade Map: Click here to view parade route map
BART to the Parade! Stations: 16th Street, and 24th Street

Carnaval’s Grand Parade is a unique multi-cultural event that celebrates the traditions of many countries and cultures around the world. The floats are spectacular, the music and costumes lavish and varied. Beautifully designed floats depict rich multi-cultural themes, and often feature performers that excite and entertain the crowds. Brazilian-style “escola” samba contingents with up to 300 members dance through the streets in fantastic feathered headdresses or sweeping Bahia skirts, while Caribbean artist perform the music and dance of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and the Bahamas. Other Parade artists include Mexican Aztec performers, traditional African dancers and drummers, Polynesian dancers, Japanese Taiko drummers, Chinese Lion Dancers, giant puppets and folkloric artists representing Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia & Perú, and special children’s contingents.

For more information go to: www.carnivalsf.com

The University of California is going to build a major new hospital at Mission Bay that will focus on children, women and cancer patients. Preliminary plans call for the hospital to be finished by 2014. The UC Regents have authorized UCSF to raise $500 million to start the project.

The new hospital will be built on a 14-acre parcel located just south of the existing 43-acre life sciences campus at Mission Bay. The approximately 865,000-square-foot hospital complex will include:

* A 183-bed children's hospital, along with pediatric primary and specialty outpatient facilities.
* A 36-bed women's hospital and some women's outpatient services.
* A 70-bed cancer hospital.
* A central utility plant, underground tunnel, bridge, helipad and parking facilities.

The campus has received significant early indication of private support for the project and has begun the initial phase of a capital campaign to raise at least $500 million. The fundraising campaign is being conducted jointly by the University and UCSF Foundation, under the leadership of Senior Vice Chancellor Bruce Spaulding and Associate Vice Chancellor James Asp.

The plan to build new facilities at Mission Bay allows UCSF to increase inpatient and outpatient capacity to meet growing patient demand, address old and outdated facilities, and comply with state-mandated earthquake safety standards for hospitals.

UCSF Medical Center’s facilities on the Parnassus campus are composed of two adjoining 15-story buildings that function as one hospital: Moffitt, built in 1955, and Long, built in 1982. Long is seismically sound and viable beyond 2030, but Moffitt must be replaced by 2030. Both facilities are overcrowded, costly to maintain and functionally obsolete. UCSF Medical Center also operates facilities at Mount Zion, where buildings date to 1948.

It must have been interesting to live in the final decades of the 19th century. One would have seen the demise of the stagecoach and the blazing introduction of the Iron Horse, as railroad locomotives were once known. Stagecoach travel dwindled and before long the stagecoach was history. About the only place one can see an original stagecoach today in San Francisco is at the Wells Fargo History Museum at 420 Montgomery Street. Admission is free, by the way.

It is even more interesting to be alive in the first decade of the 21st century. We are changing our world on an unprecidented scale. New technologies are being introduced and many of the old and familiar elements of society are disappearing. One of those disappearing elements is the great American newspaper.

Hearst Corporation, which owns the San Francisco Chronicle, has announced it plans to eliminate 80 union jobs and 20 management positions out of a newsroom with 400 employees. Nearly a quarter of the Chronicle's entire news staff will be sent packing.

Financial losses continue to build at the Chronicle despite the newspaper's efforts to be competitive through its SFGate web site. Not many years ago Hearst bought the Chronicle from the deYoung family and sold the Examiner to the Fang family. The Fangs promptly ran the Examiner into the ground and turned it into a cheap tabloid, which it remains today.

Now it is the Chronicle's turn to enter the slow death spiral that has been followed by so many other major American newspapers. Stagecoaches and newspapers - memories of the way it used to be.

HIV Matters: Looking Forward

Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center's Annual Fundraiser and the 3rd Annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Date:
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Time:
5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Where:
Metreon Fourth Floor Terrace
101 4th Street
San Francisco, California 94103
Cost:
Individual tickets: $40.

Commemorating 20 years of leadership in the HIV/AIDS movement, this year's theme — HIV Matters: Looking Forward — declares oAPI Wellness Center's commitment to sustaining and expanding their efforts to address the constantly evolving impact of HIV on Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities. HIV Matters: Looking Forward purposely coincides with the federally endorsed 3rd Annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, initiated by A&PI Wellness Center as part of The Banyan Tree Project — a national campaign to fight HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination in A&PI communities.

This year on May 19th, A&PI Wellness Center will launch a photo exhibition that showcases the work of individuals living with HIV and seeks to view the impact of HIV through their eyes. This exhibit will precede our fundraiser and is free and open to the public.

The API Wellness Center's annual fundraiser celebration promises an entertaining evening of community award presentations, local and national celebrities and entertainers, a silent auction, delectable food, and an array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Honorees include US Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu.

The Host Committee for the event includes:
Tita Aida
Supervisor Michela Allioto-Pier
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
Claudine Cheng Judy Chu, Vice Chair, California State Board of Equalization
San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly
San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty
San Francisco Supervisor Sean R. Elsbernd
U.S. Representative Eni F.H. Faleomavaega
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris
California State Assemblymember Mary Hayashi
Ken Henderson & Joe Seiler
U.S. Representative Mike Honda
California State Assemblymember Shirley Horton
Supervisor Ed Jew
U.S. Representative Tom Lantos
California State Assemblymember Mark Leno
California State Assemblymember Ted W. Lieu
Tiger Lily, Absolute Empress XL of San Francisco
Campbell Councilmember Evan Low San Francisco Supervisor Sophie Maxwell San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi
Al & Jane Nakatani
Tom Nolan, Project Open Hand
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
Lia Shigemura & Helen Zia
California State Assemblymember Alberto Torrico
California State Assemblymember Van Tran
Assembly member Fiona Ma
Betty T. Yee, Chair, California State Board of Equalization
California State Senator Leland Y. Yee
Vance Yoshida

For more information go to www.apiwellness.org