Sam Spade's San Francisco

Mayor Gavin Newsom's Campaign Kick-Off

Come meet and talk to Gavin Newsom tomorrow, Saturday, August 11th at 10:00 AM. Come to Gavin's campaign HDQ at 1320 Sutter Street at Van Ness. See you there!

For more information about Mayor Newsom or to browse the Mayor's web site, go to www.actlocallysf.org


Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy is on the Way Out!

A generational shift in attitudes toward gays among service members, as well as concerns over the loss of Arabic translators and other key gay personnel, are improving the chances of the military gay ban being lifted. Although a House bill to end the "Don't ask, don't tell" has considerable support, the measure reportedly still faces opposition in the Senate, where opponents are likely to stage a filibuster to block it. Thanks to American Legion Post 448 for championing this cause tirelessly for years.


Behind the Scenes at the Gay Presidential Debate

Blogger Pam Spaulding, who was blogging behind the scenes from Thursday's gay Democratic presidential forum in Los Angeles, reviews the event's winners and losers and includes direct reaction from Gov. Bill Richardson on his rhetorical "fumble" about homosexuality being a choice. Read more at Pam's House Blend


Amgen Reconsiders South City

Biotech giant Amgen has abruptly stopped plans to build a new research campus down in South San Francisco, and instead put the 365,000 square feet of new space on the sublease market. There are some interesting large spaces coming available in San Francisco and the City is (and has always been) the upscale Bay Area address. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Amgen pioneered the development of some novel products based on advances in recombinant DNA and molecular biology and they launched some of the biotechnology industry’s first blockbuster medicines. I imagine it would be nice for them to be close to UCSF Mission Bay research center.

Bloomberg on the Waterfront

The San Francisco Business Times (a great source for SF news) says that in the City's most expensive lease since the dot-com melt-down six years ago, financial news provider Bloomberg has inked a deal to take 30,000 square feet at the Piers, San Francisco Waterfront Partners' boutique historic rehab at Piers 1 ½, 3, and 5. You can the full text of the agreement made between the San Francisco Port Authority Commission and San Francisco Waterfront Partners LLP in .pdf format here.

Bloomberg will pay $70 triple net to lease the freshly built space. With the addition of about $30 a square foot in taxes and operating expenses, Bloomberg will shell out about $100 a square foot, a symbolic level that has not been cracked in San Francisco since 1999, when the city had 20 deals over $100.