Sam Spade's San Francisco

At Project Open Hand (POH), there’s always enough food and love to go around. Every day POH provides 2,600 meals and 300 bags of groceries using the freshest, most nutritious ingredients for the people that depend on people like us. However, with the rising food costs POH needs your help more than ever.

In the photo: "When I started Project Open Hand, my friends thought everyone had relatives who could help them. But the people I was serving were pretty much alone. I did what I did because it needed to be done", Ruth Brinker, founder of Project Open Hand

Your support today helps ensure that people with symptomatic HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and the homebound critically ill and seniors –many who live in the barest of resources – won’t need to make a choice between buying food or paying for rent or essential medicine.

If you haven’t yet done so, please help POH provide more meals to seriously ill people and seniors by joining the Daily Meal Fund. Each $5 funds a meal for someone in need. A small monthly gift on your part translates into generous support to people who depend on Project Open Hand for nutrition.

A special thank you to POH monthly Daily Meal Fund donors who are continuing the great work we do at Project Open Hand in nourishing the bodies and spirits of our neighbors struggling with serious illness and old age. Your generosity enables POH to cook and deliver a nourishing meal, every day. Click here to learn more about becoming a part of the Daily Meal Fund.

Thank you for being generous with an ‘open heart’ today and giving the people served by POH so much to be grateful for.

Resources:
Daily Meal Fund
About Project Open Hand - San Francisco
Meal Times, the POH newsletter
The Project Open Hand Blog
Upcoming Events at Project Open Hand

The number of people newly diagnosed with HIV in San Francisco declined again last year, continuing a trend first noticed in 2003. AIDS cases also showed a decline in 2007 while AIDS deaths appear to be holding steady.

The positive diagnosis for the city's fight against HIV and AIDS can be found in the health department's 2007 HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report. Released earlier this month, the report states that by the end of last year, 8,980 of the city's residents were living with AIDS while 6,490 people were living with HIV.

The report also shows that the number of new HIV diagnoses fell from 839 in 2003 to 500 in 2006. Last year, the number was 467, though the figure is expected to climb higher due to delays in reporting. The 2006 report initially had pegged the number of new HIV cases that year at only 406.

In terms of AIDS cases, 1,642 people were diagnosed with AIDS between 2004-2007. That was a slight drop from the period between 2000-2003 when 2,096 people were diagnosed with AIDS.

As for AIDS deaths, the reporting in recent years is not yet complete, with data only showing 184 in 2007 and 213 in 2006. For both 2004 and 2005 the city recorded 304 and 315 deaths respectively.

To read the full story from the source, please read this page of the Bay Area Reporter.

Resources:

2007 HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report (download a .pdf copy here)

San Francisco Public Health Dept. - main web portal

AIDS Emergency Fund

AIDS Health Project

National AIDS Memorial Grove at Golden Gate Park

San Francisco AIDS Foundation

UCSF - University of California San Francisco Positive Resource Center

UCSF AIDS Research Center

35th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair
San Francisco's Japan Town

35 years ago three young San Francisco community activitists, Steve Nakajo, Ron and Kenny Kanzaki saw the changes taking place in Japantown, or "Jtown" as it is affectionately known. A new trade center was being built and families and businesses were being displaced. The Jtown they knew was being demolished. They knew something needed to be done...

The first Nihonmachi Street Fair on May 19, 1973, was a meeting ground for Asian American youths. The anti-establishment movement, Malcom X's birthday celebration, and the sprouting seeds of a revolution filled the air. Asian activists along with their community minded family and friends took to the streets of Jtown, bringing purpose to the first Nihonmachi Street Fair. A Fair unlike any other...organized and run by Asian Pacific American youths.

On Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th (11am - 6pm) in San Francisco's Japantown (Post Street between Webster & Laguna), the 35th Nihonmachi Street Fair will take to the streets again for another exciting weekend.

Celebrating the diverse Asian and Pacific American communities in the Bay Area.

The Street Fair is about the diversity in our communities and the common bonds we share. Come and learn about the issues facing Asian/Pacific Americans today and meet the people behind the nonprofit organizations that provide vital services to our communities.

It's a community grassroots event where you'll find young and old volunteering side by side in hopes to inspire others to give back to their communities. Encouraging the young, appreciating the elders, and acknowledging those who continue to support this vital event.

Here's the entertainment lineup:

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9
11:00am	West Coast Lion Dance
11:45am	Pulse
12:30pm
1:15pm
2:00pm	RYZE the Band
2:45pm
3:15pm
3:45pm	Mara Reggae
4:15pm	Colette Ikemi & Friends
5:00pm	San Francisco Taiko Dojo

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
11:45am	&
12:30pm	Manuia Polynesia
1:15pm	Rendevous
2:00pm
2:45pm	TBA
3:30pm	Carlos Reyes
4:15pm	Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church of Oakland Gospel Choir
5:00pm	Calisus

For more information please visit www.nihonmachistreetfair.org

August 22 through 24th 2008 will bring some of the most popular musicians in the country to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It's the Outside Lands Music Festival.

Here's the entertainment line-up:

RADIOHEAD
BECK
MANU CHAO
THE BLACK KEYS
COLD WAR KIDS
STEEL PULSE
LYRICS BORN
BLACK MOUNTAIN
BENEVENTO/RUSSO DUO
THE FELICE BROTHERS
HOWLIN RAIN
THE DYNAMITES
CARNEY

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS
PRIMUS
CAKE
STEVE WINWOOD
CAFÉ TACVBA
LUPE FIASCO
REGINA SPEKTOR
GALACTIC’S CRESCENT CITY SOUL KREWE
M. WARD
DEVENDRA BANHART
MATT NATHANSON
TWO GALLANTS
DREDG
ABIGAIL WASHBURN & THE SPARROW
QUARTET FEATURING BELA FLECK
THE WALKMEN
KAKI KING
THE COUP
LIARS
DONAVON FRANKENREITER
NELLIE MCKAY
GOAPELE
SEAN HAYES
RUPA & THE APRIL FISHES
THRIVING IVORY
SILA & THE AFROFUNK EXPERIENCE
EVEREST

Sunday, August 24, 2008:

JACK JOHNSON
WILCO
WIDESPREAD PANIC
RODRIGO Y GABRIELA
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
ANDREW BIRD
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS
STARS
ROGUE WAVE
ALO
JACKIE GREENE
LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES
MIKE GORDON
THE COOL KIDS
GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS
LITTLE BROTHER
BON IVER
VIENNA TENG
THE MOTHER HIPS
NICOLE ATKINS & THE SEA
K’NAAN
CULVER CITY DUB COLLECTIVE

Ticket Information - Click here

Map of Golden Gate Park and the stage locations

It is the largest celebration of food in the United States and it will take place in San Francisco over the Labor Day Weekend, August 29th through September 1st, 2008.

Slow Food Nation announced the California farmers and producers who will be featured at the Slow Food Nation Market, a unique farmers’ market in San Francisco’s Civic Center being held at the Marketplace at Slow Food Nation’s Labor Day Weekend event (August 29 – September 1).

A learning market, vendors will showcase their signature products which share the philosophy of each farm. With products such as M&M Peach Ranch’s desert peaches and Koda Farms’ Kokuho Rose Japanese-style variety rice, each booth at the Market tells the story of land, place and people.

The vendors at the Market were chosen for their commitment to using good (delicious), clean (environmentally friendly) and fair (socially just) production practices. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the next generation of farmers, water conservation and biological and cultural diversity in California’s food system.

The Marketplace also features Slow on the Go, where vendors demonstrate how fast slow food can be with sustainable and affordable “street food” for sale; the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden, the first vegetable garden in Civic Center Plaza since 1943; and a Soap Box, an occasion for farmers and others to share their stories in a small outdoor amphitheater situated in the Victory Garden. The Marketplace will be open Friday, August 29 – Sunday, August 31 from 9am – 4pm in Civic Center Plaza outside City Hall; it is free and open to the public with items for purchase.

To minimize the Marketplace’s waste and carbon footprint, participants are encouraged to bring their own reusable tote bags, used paper or plastic bags to hold fruit and vegetables. Market vendors are discouraged from using plastic packaging or bags and will compost all food waste.

An unprecedented event, Slow Food Nation will bring together tens of thousands to experience an extraordinary range of activities highlighting the connection between plate and planet. It will feature extraordinary tastings in the Taste Pavilions, chef demonstrations, a major conference on food values, social justice and the environment, an urban farm, a music festival and workshops, forums, films and interactive exhibits. For more information, please visit: www.slowfoodnation.org

More than 60 California farmers and producers from 30 counties in the state were selected to participate.

Alameda

Blue Bottle Coffee Company, Coffee,

Charlie Frank’s Pies, Sweet Potato-Peach Pie

Oaktown Herbals, Herbs

Calaveras

Loulou’s Garden, Blueberry and Cherry Jam

Chico

Massa Organics, Medium-Grain Brown Rice

Contra Costa

Frog Hollow Farm, Peaches

G & S Farms, Corn

Fresno

Blossom Bluff Orchards, Elephant Heart Plums

Marian Farms, Biodynamic Raisins

Organic Pastures Dairy, Raw Milk and Butter

Kern

Weiser Family Farms, Potatoes

Lake

Bodega & Yerba Santa, Goat’s Milk Caramel

Los Angeles

M & M Peach Ranch, Desert Peaches

Marin

Ancient Organics, Ghee,

Point Reyes Preserves, Raspberry Jam

Straus Family Creamery, Cream on the Top Milk

Three Twins, Ice Cream

Cowgirl Creamery, Red Hawk Cheese

Mendocino

The Apple Farm, Fruit Chutneys

Merced

Koda Farms, Heirloom Variety Rice

Vista Almonds, Almonds

Monterey

Far West Fungi, Specialty Mushrooms

J & P Organics, Strawberries

Catalan Family Farm, Squash

Napa

Elixir Olive Oil, Italian Varietal Olive Oil

Katz and Co (Katz Farm), Orleans Method Vinegar

Marshall’s Farm Honey, Honey

Placer

Beauty Ranch, Asian Pears

San Benito

Four Sisters Farm, Greens

Pinnacle Organics, Melons

Coke Farm, Meyer Lemons

Happy Girl Kitchen, Vinegar Cucumber Pickles

Hain Ranch, Walnuts

San Francisco

We Love Jam, Apricot & Plum Jam

Pan-o-Rama, Bread

San Joaquin

Lagier Farms, Paw Paws or Bronx Grapes

San Luis Obispo

Windrose Farm, Heirloom Apples

San Mateo

Blue House Farm, Dry-Farmed Early Girl Tomatoes

Iacopi Farms, English and Sugar Snap Peas

Harley Farms, Goat Cheese

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Pistachio Co., Pistachios

Fairview Gardens, Tomatoes

Santa Clara

Van Dyke Ranch, Dried Blenheim Apricots

Santa Cruz

A Nagamine Nursery, English Cucumbers

Route 1 Farms, Peppers

Live Earth Farm, Berries

Yerena Farms, Strawberries

New Natives, Microgreens

Solano

California Vegetable Specialties, Endive

Sonoma

Beekind, Herb-Infused Honey

Dry Creek Peach & Produce, Peaches

Gravenstein Apple Presidium, Gravenstein Apples

Nana Mae’s Organics, Gravenstein Applesauce and Juice

Valley End Farm, Rare Melons

Vella Cheese Company, Dry Jack Cheese

Grindstone Bakery, Spelt, Rye and Barley Bread

Gabriel Farm, Pears

Stanislaus

Fiscalini Cheese Company, San Joaquin Gold Cheese

Traver

Bravo Farms Handmade Cheese, Silver Mountain Cheddar

Tuolumne

Farmhouse Culture, “Holy Smokes” Sauerkraut

Ventura

McGrath Family Farms, Beans

Yolo

Capay Organic and Farm Fresh to You, Heirloom Tomatoes

Full Belly Farm, Heirloom Melons

Yuba

Apollo Olive Oil, Mission Olive Oil

Resources:

Slow Food's Victory Garden at San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco's Plastic Bag Ban

California Water Crisis PBS Video

California Adopts First Green Building Code

California Tomatoes in San Francisco - Everything you need to know

Presidio of San Francisco: Resources and Restaurants

Grilling and Barbecue in San Francisco

San Francisco Bay Area Local Food Guide - RECOMMENDED READING

Restaurants in San Francisco - Inside Local Tips - The Ultimate Local Guide

San Francisco's Fabulous Lesbian Chefs

Coffee in the Castro

Garden Court at the Palace Hotel - SF's Most Elegant Sunday Brunch!

Taxicab Crooks and Scam Cabs in San Francisco

San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace - A Complete Guide

Dessert Plant May be Key to World Food Survival Under Climate Change
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The U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau's homeport is Alameda in San Francisco Bay. The Morgenthau, however, just changed commanders in Singapore.

In the photo: USCGC Morgenthau under Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.

Captain Douglas J. Smith relieved Captain Kevin M. O’Day as commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau during a ceremony at Sembawang Wharf, Singapore, July 29.

Smith assumed command of Morgenthau following an assignment in Washington, D.C. as the executive director of the federal interagency group interdiction committee.

Although Morgenthau’s home port is in Alameda, Smith traveled Singapore to assume command because the cutter is in the region taking part in annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises.

Read the rest of the story from CoastGuardNews.com

For more information, please use the following resources:

Coast Guard and Related Stories from Sam Spade's San Francisco:

• Coast Guard Dogs Guard Their Eagle - Photo
  U. S. Coast Guard's Bertholf at Sea - Commissioning Aug 4 in Alameda
  USCGC Bertholf Comes Home to Alameda for First Time
  U. S. Coast Guard Ocean Rescue - see video here
  USCGB Eagle - America's Tall Ship - New Photo

USCG Resources:

• Eleventh Coast Guard District- USCG (headquartered in San Francisco Bay)
• Sector San Francisco, USCG
• Air Station San Francisco, USCG
• Station Golden Gate, USCG
• Main web site for the United States Coast Guard

Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.
The United States Coast Guard
Proud History. Powerful Future. Click here.

Equality for All is the lead organization fighting to defeat California's Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that would enshrine discrimination and homophobia into the California Constitution. The forces gathering together to defeat Prop 8 are getting larger by the day.

Click on the image to go to the No on Prop 8 Campaign headquarters.

The Equality for All campaign is a large and diverse coalition of civil rights, faith, choice, labor and community of color organizations working to stop and defeat any ballot measure, especially proposition 8, that has the intent to discriminate against LGBT Californians and deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.

The No on Prop 8 website is: www.noonprop8.com

ACLU of Northern California
ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties
ACLU of Southern California
API Equality
API Equality-LA
API Equality-SF
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
Bienestar
Billy DeFrank Lesbian & Gay Community Center (San Jose)
Black AIDS Institute
CAA Chinese for Affirmative Action
California Faith for Equality
California NAACP
California NOW
The Center Advocacy Project (San Diego)
Children of Lesbian and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE)
Congregation Kol Ami
Courage Campaign
Equality California
Family Equality Council
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast (GALA)
GSA Network
Human Rights Campaign
Jordan Rustin Coalition
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
Lambda Legal
Latino Coalition for Justice-LA
Liberty Hill Foundation
Log Cabin Republicans-California
Marriage Equality USA
Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Jewish Women California
National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Our Family Coalition
Pacific Center
Pacific Pride Center (Santa Barbara)
PFLAG
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Pride At Work
San Diego LGBT Community Center
San Francisco LGBT Community Center
Stonewall Democrats’ California
Trans Equality LA
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry Action Network
The Wall Las Memorias
Zuna Institute

On a personal level, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out against Prop 8 and so has Senator Barack Obama.

The business community is beginning to show substantial support for the No on Prop 8 effort. PG&E just donated $250,000 to fight the marriage ban proposal. Read the story about the PG&E donation here.

There have also been a number of truly outstanding personal contributions made to the No on Prop 8 campaign. One man came all the way down from Utah to attend a fundraiser dinner at the St. Francis Hotel where he donated one million dollars to the campaign. It's a developing trend among wealthy people of conscience. Read more at: California's Prop 8: Huge Donations Rolling in to Fight the Marriage Ban.

To learn more about marriage law as it is currently in California, how it might change and to get answers to your questions, please go to: Stop the Initiative: Defend Same-Sex Marriage in California.

If you would like to know more about the No on Prop 8 campaign - or - if you would like to sign-up for email news alerts or offer your time or money to the campaign, please go to: www.noonprop8.com.

Efforts to protect the fundamental freedom to marry received a power boost from Pacific Gas & Electric Company—to the tune of $250,000. PG&E, Northern and Central California’s utility provider, announced its contribution to NO on 8–Equality California at a press conference today in San Francisco.

Across California, individuals and businesses like PG&E are pledging to vote NO on Proposition 8 because they know it’s wrong to single out one group of people to be treated differently.

But PG&E’s support doesn’t end there.

In addition to the $250,000 contribution, PG&E will become a founding member of the Equality Business Advisory Council, an organization that will challenge other businesses to join NO on 8 in supporting fairness and equality for all people.

That’s what this campaign is about—fairness and equality. We all deserve the freedom to marry, and PG&E stands behind this idea.

This level of early support is critical. With businesses like PG&E—and people like you—behind us now, we are able to buy television advertising time for the NO on 8 campaign at a fraction of the cost we would spend if we waited to buy it in the fall. The campaign is also able to open field offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego this weekend!

For more information - or - to get involved go to: www.noonprop8.com

www.72Hours.org

In a major San Francisco disaster, it might be several days before vital services are restored.

San Francisco is exposed to a wide variety of hazards, both natural and man-made. Earthquakes, fires, severe storms, power outages, and acts of terrorism are just some of the potential emergencies we may encounter.

Imagine that you have no electricity, no gas, no water and no telephone service. Imagine that all the businesses are closed and you are without any kind of emergency services. What will you do until help arrives?

Get the answers at www.72hours.org

Some people seem to have much more money than brains. A San Franciscan plunked-down $109,000 for a new state-of-the-art electric sports car, the Tesla. It was delivered to his home. Ten minutes later he managed to drive his new car into the rear-end of another car and turned his new super-car into a pile of carbon-fiber junk.

No word yet on who the guy is, but Wired.com's Autopia is working on getting the police report so Bozo's identity will not remain a secret too much longer. After all, someone with that much money and so little awareness is a public danger. The guy should be required wear an orange vest in public that reads: DANGER - LOOSE SYNAPSES.

Read the full story from Wired.com and take a look at the series of photos taken of the wreck that occurred on Geary Boulevard in front of St. Mary's Cathedral.

Read the story and see the photos: Wired.com's Autopia

Resources:
Tesla Motors

When Bruce Bastian of Utah stood up Saturday night at a San Francisco dinner and wrote a $1 million check for the campaign against Proposition 8, he made it clearer than ever that November's ballot fight over a ban on same-sex marriage won't be a California-only affair.

Supporters of the effort to ban same-sex marriage already have taken in more than $1.2 million from out-of-state contributors for the fall campaign. And even before Bastian, a co-founder of the WordPerfect software company, opened his checkbook, gay and lesbian rights groups and their supporters from around the country had put more than $1.3 million into the fight against the ballot initiative.

"This is a campaign that's important to the entire country, not just California," said Brad Luna, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, sponsor of the fundraising dinner that brought more than 750 people to the St. Francis Hotel on Saturday. "The result will have effects across the United States."

Read the rest of the story from SFGate.com, the online presence of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Contact the No on Prop campaign at: (noonprop8.com)
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The exposure to Beijing's thick, toxic heavy-metal-laden air may not kill our athletes outright, but they may pick up carcinogens and ingest sufficient heavy toxic metals that may create life-long health problems for them and, at some point, may contribute to their deaths. This is the hell hole to which we are sending America's athletes.

About the image: This is a photo of downtown Beijing, China. The air is thick with heavy toxic metals. It is the most polluted place on Earth.

Why are we sending America's best and finest young athletes to compete in a city that has air quality that is the worst on Planet Earth? Why are we putting their health in such serious jeopardy?

Why did the IOC choose a polluted city like Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Are they not aware that the end result will be that China will lose face in the international community?

- - - - -

Olympic host city Beijing was shrouded in haze on Monday 11 days before the Games begin, raising anxieties about whether it can deliver the clean skies promised for the world's top athletes.

The city's chronic pollution, a sometimes acrid mix of construction dust, vehicle exhaust and factory and power plant fumes, has been one of the biggest worries for Games organizers.

Beijing has ordered many of its 3.3 million cars off roads and halted much construction and factory production in an effort to cut pollution before the Games open on August 8.

But a sultry haze persisted on Monday, and state media said Beijing might be forced to restrict more cars and shut more factories if the pollution persists.

Read the rest of the story from ENN (Environmental News network)

The old veteran meets the new Guardsman!

The U.S. Coast Guard christened its second National Security Cutter, Waesche (WMSL 751), Saturday, during a ceremony at the Northrop Grumman Ship Building yard in Pascagoula, Miss.

The Waesche's keel was laid September. 11, 2006, about six months after first-in-class Bertholf's keel was laid. The Bertholf is scheduled to be commissioned August 4, 2008, in its homeport of Alameda, here in San Francisco Bay (see the story link below).

"This is an exciting time for both the Waesche, and the National Security Cutter program," said Rear Admiral Gary T. Blore, the Coast Guard's assistant commandant for acquisition. "With the Waesche in the water and christened, it has not only passed a major construction milestone, but it has also demonstrated the Coast Guard's ability to simultaneously oversee multiple National Security Cutter construction contracts. We look forward to the next steps, including Waesche's initial at-sea trials and commissioning next year."

The christening of a vessel is a traditional part of shipbuilding when a ship generally enters the water for the first time and is named. More recently, in the interest of the safety and comfort of ceremony participants and observers, ships are launched into the water several days before the christening. The Waesche was successfully launched July 12, during an overnight float-off. Waesche will remain under construction at pierside through 2008 and is slated to start sea trials in 2009.

"Today's christening represents a significant milestone for the Coast Guard as we begin to see the certainty of a changing of the guard in our aging cutter fleet," said Waesche's prospective commanding officer, Captain Lance Bardo. "The crew looks forward to commissioning and sailing this all-new ship once construction is complete. The new capabilities brought by Bertholf, Waesche, and each future National Security Cutter will change how maritime missions are accomplished for the next generation."

Waesche is named for Admiral Russell R. Waesche who led the Coast Guard from 1936 through World War II until 1946. Waesche assumed the duties of commandant as a rear admiral and was the first Coast Guard commandant to achieve the ranks of vice admiral and admiral. His granddaughter, Marilla Waesche Pivonka, is the cutter's sponsor. Her father, Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Jr. and her maternal grandfather, Captain B.C. Thorn, were both career Coast Guard officers as well.

Waesche is the second of eight planned National Security Cutters (NSC). The NSCs, part of the Coast Guard's Deepwater major-acquisition program, will be the flagships of the Coast Guard fleet and will replace the 378-foot, Hamilton-class High Endurance Cutters, which entered service during the 1960s.

Story Resources:

• Coast Guard's National Security Cutter Program
  Admiral Russell R. Waesche, USCG
  Northrup-Grumman report on the construction of the Waesche

Coast Guard and Related Stories from Sam Spade's San Francisco:

• Coast Guard Dogs Guard Their Eagle - Photo
  U. S. Coast Guard's Bertholf at Sea - Commissioning Aug 4 in Alameda
  USCGC Bertholf Comes Home to Alameda for First Time
  U. S. Coast Guard Ocean Rescue - see video here
  USCGB Eagle - America's Tall Ship - New Photo
• USCGB Eagle Meets USCGC Bertholf in San Francisco Bay - Historic Photo!
  

USCG Resources:

• Eleventh Coast Guard District- USCG (headquartered in San Francisco Bay)
• Sector San Francisco, USCG
• Air Station San Francisco, USCG
• Station Golden Gate, USCG
• Main web site for the United States Coast Guard

Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.
The United States Coast Guard
Proud History. Powerful Future. Click here.

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Chemical Engineers developed a way to break down plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate -- or PET, and recycle it back into high value uses like more soda bottles, water bottles, beer bottles.

Inside the recycling plant's extruder, water is removed from ground up plastic. Then, the plastic is melted and chemically broken down -- in a process called depolymerization. The breakthrough in this process is to be able to go from chips of this plastic to the recycled material in about five minutes.

Recycled bottles are not made into new bottles -- they're used for lower grade plastics to build things like playgrounds -- but a new machine may change that!

"What you want to do, ideally, is take that material and recycle it back into high value uses like more soda bottles, water bottles, beer bottles", said George Roberts, a chemical engineer at North Carolina State University.

Read the full story from the source, Science Daily magazine. There is also an accompanying video interview with Dr. Roberts discussing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) depolymerization.

Resources:
San Francisco's Plastic Bag Ban - a Report from the City
Progressive Green Radio for San Francisco

On May 20, 2008 San Francisco's plastic bag ban, which already applied to large supermarkets, was expanded to cover chain pharmacies. The pharmacies were granted an extra six months to comply with the law.

In the photo: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signs into law the landmark plastic bag ban. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the legislation's author and creator, looks on.

The bag ordinance, which was introduced and championed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, bans traditional plastic carryout bags. The implementation of the ordinance marks a significant victory in the fight to reduce the amount of plastic entering the City's landfills, especially given that similar ordinances in several other cities are facing lawsuits and other pressures aimed at delaying implementation of their plastic bag bans.

San Francisco's ban on plastic bags has ignited a worldwide interest in banning these ubiquitous scourges of modern life. In addition to the immediate benefits stemming from using and discarding less plastic waste, the law has helped people to become more aware of how their actions affect the environment and led many to realize that the minor effort involved in shopping with reusable tote bags is a small price to pay for improving the environment of the City and the world.

Sale of cloth and canvas bags has increased measurably and it is becoming common to see people carrying re-usable cloth bags. I think they are the best solution. I fold one up and stick it in my back pocket, just in case I decide to stop at a store for something.

Walgreen's and Rite-Aid, the two primary mega drugstore chains in San Francisco, have switched - one to plain brown paper bags in place of the familiar plastic bags they have used for so long - and the other switched to even thicker plastic bags.

"What!", you say?

Wait a Minute! - Something's Not Quite Right!

Some stores are using extra-thick plastic bags in substitute of the toss-away plastic bags with which we are all familiar. The extra-thick bags are acceptable, they say, because they are so thick they are considered permanent re-usable bags. That means the stores may possibly be creating even more tons of plastic waste, rather than less. Obviously this is a loop-hole that needs to be plugged.

One fellow asked if the extra-thick bags are not made out of cornstarch, something that would indeed make them entirely acceptable to everyone. Cornstarch bags are tough, durable and they are completely eco-friendly and biodegradable. But, unfortunately those extra-thick bags are truly plastic. The code printed on the bottom of the bags reveal they are a petroleum-based plastic.

The next step in this evolving legislative process is to limit bags to certain materials - paper, cotton and cornstarch for example. I haven't heard of any pending legislation to specify materials, but that seems to be the next logical step.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and the plastic bag ban legislation he created are featured in the April 28 issue of People magazine (see below). The article notes that San Francisco's plastic bag ban is the nation's first and that now more than a dozen US cities and four states are considering similar bans. It goes on to record that our country consumes between 30-100 billion bags per year, that untold thousands of sea turtles and other creatures are killed by these bags yearly, and that plastic bags have been reported to litter even remote Antarctica.

In addition to serving San Franciscans as a member of our Board of Supervisors, Ross Mirkarimi is co-founder of the California chapter of the Green Party.

For current reports about environmental leadership in San Francisco please also read:

1) Green in San Francisco - America's Greenest City

2) San Francisco's Eco-Evolution: America's Greenest City

Further information on how the ban is spreading and helping to enhance environmental awareness can be found in this NPR story and this USA Today article.

Also read:

Green in San Francisco - America's Greenest City

San Francisco's Eco-Evolution: America's Greenest City

Resources:
San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi
San Francisco Environment Department- sfenvironment.org - plastic bag ban
sfenvironment.org - homepage for San Francisco's Environment Department
California Green Party
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She has friends in the civilian world, and while some work for companies that promote people on merit, others say their bosses pay lip service to the idea.

"I have never once felt like I needed to be defensive [because of race or gender], or that no one was going to listen to what I said," said Army Lt. Col. Fern O. Sumpter, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen, Netherlands.

In the photo: Lt. Col. Fern O. Sumpter, left, garrison commander for U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen, Netherlands, and Command Sgt. Maj. Mary L. Brown both say their success is proof the U.S. military takes equal opportunity seriously. Photo by Stars and Stripes.

In today’s Army, she added, it’s "all about performance, and I’m really glad that it is."

Sumpter has President Truman and her predecessors in uniform to thank.

Sixty years ago Saturday, Truman signed an executive order stipulating that "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin." Unfortunately that document failed to recognize discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender citizens of this country that continues to this moment.

To commemorate the occasion, Installation Management Command-Europe is encouraging communities to sponsor events over the next two weeks to celebrate the Army’s diversity and equality.

Events such as fun runs and luncheons are in the works, though nothing has been finalized, said Tom Saunders, a spokesman for IMCOM-Europe.

The anniversary, Saunders noted, is an opportunity for people "to remember the challenges and champions of integration."

Richard Kohn, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, said one of the challenges today is defining the very meaning of "progress" as it relates to racial, ethnic, gender and religious integration. How finely grained do you want it, he asks.

"I think the progress in the military has been, in historical terms, enormous," Kohn said in a telephone interview last week, "but at times it has been uneven."

Among the services, Kohn believes the Army leads the way, particularly within the officers corps. But progress along such a front is not always linear, he added.

"We are somewhat of a prisoner of our expectations and definitions," Kohn said.

Within the Army in Europe, there are plenty of examples — past and present — of minorities and females rising to the top of an organization.

In Schinnen, for example, both Sumpter, the commander, and Mary L. Brown, the command sergeant major, are female and black. The same is true of the garrison leadership in Kaiserslautern, Germany. And the former senior enlisted member of U.S. Army Europe, Command Sgt. Maj. Iuniasolua T. Savusa, is a native of American Samoa.

Advancement "is based on the best-qualified person for that job," Brown said. "I don’t look at race. I don’t look at gender. We are an equal opportunity employer."

When Brown was asked how that squares with the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, she chose not to tackle the question. Lt. Col. Mechelle Hale, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, passed as well.

"Whatever orders come from my leadership, I will follow them," Brown said.

Hale would like to see even more minorities in leadership positions and greater emphasis on recruitment and mentorship programs.

"We have come a long way," she said, "but there is still some distance to go."

However, based on social science research, the military is well in front of the civilian world in terms of equal opportunity, said James Burk, a professor of sociology at Texas A&M University who specializes in civil military relations.

In the U.S. military, "good race relations are not an end in themselves," Burk said, "they are a means to an end."

That end is military effectiveness.

"Does that mean the Army is a racial utopia?" Burk asked rhetorically. "No, it is not, but it is better than the civilian world."

Source: Stars and Stripes

The military may be a better life for most minorities than life in the civilian world, but not for all. If you are gay or lesbian discrimination is alive and very active in our military. Being gay in the military is like being Dick Cheney's official friend - but having him stand next to you with a loaded shotgun. That's the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

The last wall that must be torn down is to permit all qualified citizens of the United States to serve openly in uniform in all the branches of military service. Gay, lesbian and transgender Americans must be allowed our (their) rights as American citizens to equal opportunities to serve in the Army, in the Navy, in the Air Force, in the Marine Corps and in the Coast Guard.

So, congratulations to the U. S. Army for implementing non-discrimination laws well. I am convinced the Army will do an equally fine job of assuring that gay, lesbian and transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen are given equal opporunities to rise up through the ranks in key commands.

The great civil rights movement of the 21st century is the gay, lesbian and transgender civil rights movement. It's just a matter of time before every American citizen will be equal and treated as such. It is just a matter of time and it's a time that is long overdue.

If you are active duty military and if you are being discriminated against, or, if you are gay, lesbian or transgender and would like a career in today's Army (or any other branch of service) then please get in touch with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. If you need their help, they are waiting for you. If you don't need their help, then please know that they need yours.

To learn more about institutionalized discrimination within the military please read: DADT is Dying - the Slow End of Military Homophobia