This is why we don't let BART in our area code

Because the rules are just so confusing. Buy a snack. Don't eat the snack. M&Ms taste better in my Mercedes anyway.

Economically depressed area saved by economic depression

Uh, recession, sorry. Speaking too soon.

Anyway, a decade's long battle surrounding a proposed Home Depot that had seemed to conquer local fears of small shop owners and provide a glimmer of hope for a large, good employer in the area, has been dumped due to the dip in the home-improvement market. That housing stuff is killing everything.

Look out Migden, Hello Leno

Were you in the 'Jo this weekend? I heard there was a hellofa Migden/Leno smackdown over the all-important party endorsement. No one got the endorsement. Oh, and if you're a fan of procedural stuff, note that Migden won but Leno wrangled enough signatures to bring the endorsement to the whole body. That's pretty rare. And pretty awesome. What a sight to behold.

Of course, if you get bitch-slapped at least twice by the FPPC in one week after having been in a rather questionable and questionably explained highway accident, well, you probably shouldn't have super high hopes, right?

Oh, Gavin, You Mix, You

Gavin says he might run for Governor. Maybe. No, not really. Ok, maybe.

Don't you love the tap-dance two years before the election.

But Gavin does have some words for us:

"Be careful what you wish for," Newsom said Tuesday at the Sacramento Press Club.

It turns out hosting the Chinese Olympic torch relay is a bit burdensome. The city isn't releasing the route of the relay because of security reasons, but Gavin swears that's not why. And the Tibet relay is getting mad. They want the city to make it easier to protest.

"You don't need a permit to protest," Newsom said.

I understand government transparency, but, seriously, people if you want to protest, you should ball up and just do it.

Oh snap, busted AGAIN!

Served again. Last week, it was a record $350k fine from the FPPC for botched reporting and expenditures. This week, it's a $9m FPPC countersuit against Ms Migden after she sued them 3 weeks back:

Ross Johnson, chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, charged Migden has repeatedly "deceived" voters by "filing inaccurate campaign statements, fabricating the elimination of committees and concealing campaign funds."

"The sophisticated and pervasive pattern of deception by her various controlled committees has been ongoing for more than five years," Johnson said in prepared statement.

Oh dear. Someone's having a bad week.

Newsom Sues

Newsom is expect to announce today, in Sacramento, a lawsuit against....someone.

As part of the budget crisis, Medi-Cal experience a $568M mid-year reduction and doctors were allowed to stop seeing patients. As Mayor of a city with 115,000 Medi-Cal enrollees, Gavin is a little upset.

The Don Does It Again

The Don (Perata), the Democratic face of budget protests, held a press conference in Concord last week with Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier and Senator Tom Torlakson,

But the Don was on fire.

"I'm taking off my (sun)glasses so you can look in my eyes and see if I'm kidding," Perata told the crowd. He was referring to Republican assertions that Democrats are going through the motions in their budget protests. "Democrats will never leave Sacramento as long as the governor intends to cut education by even one dime."

"Can we afford to pay more taxes?" Perata said. "No. But do we have to pay more? Yes, and we will."

Oh, Don, what will we do when you're gone?

Higher Gas Prices = Higher Taxes

In a shocking* turn of events, higher gas prices have meant higher gas tax revenue.

See, this'll solve our budget problem.

"I think we've finally come closer, if not reached, a tipping point where gasoline prices are affecting people's behavior," said Bill Leonard, a member of the Board of Equalization. One evidence is the slight decrease in gasoline consumption for the past couple of years, he said.

Judy Dugan, research director at Consumer Watchdog in Los Angeles, argued it might be time to reconsider the sales tax on gasoline altogether because of increasing pump prices.

"The state is certainly stressed and they need money, but to do it on the backs of motorists who are screaming for relief is not the way to go about it," she said.

Right, because god forbid people actually maybe change their behavior.

Endorsements

Mayor Gina Papan got a big endorsment from state senator Leland Yee.

Other than that, the race for the 19th Assembly District is still close.

Stay in the car!

So car A starts following car B and freaks out the car B driver, a father with his wife and 2 kids in the car. Car B exits the freeway - good move. The driver of Car B exits the car - bad move. Car B driver approaches car A. Car A's occupants proceed to beat the living snot out of car B driver in front of his kids. Here's some advice: in a road rage situation, stay in your car, drive it to a police station if you can, and call 911 while you are doing so. There was no way this was going to end well.

What the hell is up with the world sometimes.

Food gets pricey

Housing prices crash, the economy is in shambles, but food is getting more expensive the world over because there's not enough of it. Suddenly, worrying about most of our problems here seem less problematic.

That explains what happened to 'Are We There Yet?'

Netflix went down today, which could mean longer wait times for rentals. That's a better reason than what I believe is the current reason: they slow down the speedy renters because we cost too much money. I used to care more about this company.

Announce and diffuse!

What is up in Albany? That's Albany, New York, not Albany, California. The old governor, in case you've missed all local, national, and late night news, got caught whoring and the new governor so far has admitted to extramarital affairs (the free kind) and now extracurricular drug use.

Dude, that state is on fire!

Seriously though, perhaps it's good: this new governor is helping us all get over stupid non-scandal fodder that keeps us from having to think too hard about anything that might matter. Drug use? It was the 70s. Extramarital affair, that's bad, but, he's still married, his wife cheated too, they worked it out, they are still together, and they didn't have to do it at a press conference. Not bad.

Diffuse it. Good slogan.

Oh snap, busted!

Carole Migden got served! She was slapped with a $350k fine by the Fair Political Practices Commission - California's watchdog group that produces lots of reports about what candidates do so that reporters have something to write about.

Let's pause a moment and consider that figure. Three hundred fifty thousand dollars.

That's a 3 or 4 bedroom home in a decent Sacramento community or a 500 square foot squat in San Francisco. Or it's a decent salary . . . for seven years.

Who screws up bad enough to end up with this sort of fine? Oh, right.

And the Chron must not like her - check out this photo that ran with at least the on-line story.

Between this and her freeway troubles, I'm thinking the Leno camp is doing cartwheels. Of course, it was their complaints that led to the investigation that ultimately uncovered more than they probably hoped for.

Every 4 Years (Or 2 Kinda)

Let's talk about the Olympics. In case you don't pay attention to sports, politics or life, they're going to be in China. This year.

Some people are getting a little upset about this. Because China doesn't have such a good record on human rights or the environment or free speech or um, other stuff too. So there are protests, lots, and crackdowns, more, and talk of boycotting the Games. Because, you know, isolation always works so well (cough, North Korea).

As the Games get closer and the Torch Relay (ah, the lighting of the Torch) starts off, there are getting to be more and more protests.

And China, the state not necessarily the people, is preparing in excess for the event. They seem to think this is their 'grand opening', 'coming out', whatever your favorite metaphor is and that the past few years have really just been soft openings. So forget all that other stuff you heard, ignore the man behind the curtain.

The only thing is that EVERYONE knows they're cracking down on unrest, training their citizens in civic pride and rules of polite behavior and blowing away the polluted air by sheer force of willpower.

Now, I love the Olympics, no matter where they are. I understand they have become a commercialized, jaded, steroid-laden, medal count. BUT, people who really believe that don't give enough credit to the athletes who are capable of truly amazing things and who have trained harder than you could even imagine (no, whatever you think is a hard workout, a hard schedule, harder than that) and who only get this chance once every 4 years. To boycott an Olympics is to waste these people's talents. (Besides, every country that hosts ends up more in debt than they started, so wouldn't it be more of a punishment to go to the event than to stay away.)

So, if you were the Chinese government and you were worried about unrest and you knew there were lots of protestors and people pissed off about this, would you pick San Francisco (city of liberal activism) as the ONE city in the US for the torch relay to go through?? And if you want to highlight the traveties going on in Tibet would you stay away from San Francisco on April 9th? No and No.

So, for the rest of us, the Torch Relay going through the city on April 9th is not going to be something to miss.

And, really, neither are the Games. Ever.

The Youth

Some students at College of San Mateo got an earful the other morning. Candidates for the 19th District showed up in their "California State and the Local Government" class to woo the youth.

Ah, the youth. Everyone wants them, except really no one know why they do.

Back to haunt you

With the magic of the internet, words don't die, they just wait, dormant, for their next opportunity to strike - usually for ill. Depending on your point of view, I suppose.

Obama's pastor said some stuff about the US and 9/11 that aren't going over so well now. He said them in 2003, but that doesn't matter. What I find curious, however, is that this pastor's comments are pretty close to similar sentiments offered by some big time white televangelists, as I recall. That didn't take down any Republicans along the way, did it?

Surprise! We're not blind and we're human. How disappointing.

As it turns out, some of us vote based on race and gender.

Yes, it's true. Polls record people saying that race is important to them when they cast their votes. And that's just the honest people who'll admit it. Think how many more there must be.

Of course, it's possible that we're voting for people BECAUSE they are xyz and not AGAINST them because they are xyz. Is that better? Is that only okay in this match-up because there are two others: a woman and a black man? If either faced a white male and someone voted for the white male because he was a white male, we'd call that racist, wouldn't we. Is it more acceptable to vote for Hillary Clinton because she's a woman or for Barack Obama because he's African American?

Ah, the 9th Circuit hits another one out of the park

Apparently, blanket drug testing isn't necessarily legal:

A city can't require all job applicants to be tested for narcotics and must instead show why drug use in a particular job would be dangerous, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled against the city of Woodburn, Ore., which argued it was entitled to maintain a drug-free workplace by requiring job candidates to be screened for drugs and alcohol.

The city was sued by Janet Lanier, whose job offer as a part-time page at the city library was withdrawn in 2004 when she refused a drug and alcohol test. A federal judge ruled the policy unconstitutional and awarded Lanier $12,400 in damages and $44,000 in legal fees, her lawyer said.

The appeals court said Thursday that the judge's ruling went too far, because the city may be able to justify drug-testing of applicants for some jobs. But the court found no basis to test applicants for library positions.

I thought we still had a drug czar and were committed to Just Saying No even if it doesn't have the cache of other, trendier causes. No? If there's a no tolerance policy, then should everyone be clean and sober at work - especially if employed by a public agency?

Don't get me wrong, I'm against unnecessary invasions of privacy, this just seems at odds with the rest of our culture as we treat drugs and booze.

Unpretty in pink

Bad news for teachers:

More than 10,100 teachers will see pink slips in their mailboxes over the next few days as districts up and down California meet a Saturday deadline to warn staff of anticipated layoffs due to the state's budget crisis.

Kristen Vogel is expecting two pink slips at her house.

The third-year San Francisco elementary school teacher knows she'll get one. A substitute principal at her school broke the news Monday. A union letter confirmed it Wednesday. The district's official certified letter is likely to arrive over the weekend.

Her husband, a fourth-grade teacher in his first year at a school in Santa Rosa, is waiting for one, too, but because he's a temporary teacher, the district doesn't have to tell him until the end of the school year.

The pink slips have to go out to comply with state law. But is this a bit of political theater? More fortunate operations of law laying the groundwork for Arnold to raise taxes without completely alienating the right? Or at least the mid-right since the right-right always feels alienated by, like, stuff.

Good thing we're on the South side of the bridge

Tolls look to be going up again! Ca-ching! From $5 to $6 for cash and $4 to $5 for FasTrak users.

North Bay officials, particularly from Marin County, have opposed the Doyle Drive toll, which they called a "Marin commuter tax" because tolls are collected from southbound traffic.

Well, yeah guys, if you're the ones using the bridge then shouldn't you pay the toll? We'll continue to run 101 into the ground without being charged, but such is life!

Good help is so hard to find

A housekeeper is suing her former employers for unpaid overtime and other wage issues that could total $120,000 according to her legal aid lawyer.

The homeowners are represented by an attorney from Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati which in and of itself proves they can and probably should just fork over the money, even if rich neighbors throughout Atherton would prefer they not set a precedent of fairly compensating their staff.

You can read the complaint here.

His better half's worst task

Unlike similar scandals in the past, it seems there's far more flack over soon-to-be-ex-Governor Spitzer's wife standing with him as he aired some pretty dirty laundry for the national media. The flack isn't directed at Mrs. Spitzer - exactly - but it does take to task the Governor for having her stand there with him.

Well, this kinda directs flack at her. I don't get this column, frankly - it's the Chron's conservative columnist and she seems to be anti-marriage in this case. Reasonably so, but that doesn't mean I'll let it go when it comes from her pen (or keyboard, as the case may be).

But more broadly, all the outlets and even The Daily Show have made Spitzer out to be an even BIGGER cad (tough assignment) for dragging his wife out to show, uh, support?

My guess is that on the inside of any marriage in this situation, things are far, far more complicated than "Leave him, stupid!" implies.

I feel bad for her.

Let them eat moth cakes

That title doesn't really make sense, but it was the first moth joke I could come up with.

You've heard about this plan to spray synthetic pheromones to disrupt the mating cycle of an invasive moth, right? Well, people are all pissy about the plan. So officials hired a PR firm to pimp the pheromones and convince people everything is safe. Except it was a no-bid process and the contract went to a firm with ties to the Guv.

"The campaign is intended to counter the concerns raised by local environmentalists and residents, who complained of breathing problems and other ill health effects after the spraying." Some of the other effects include an odd attraction to lighting and a decreased attraction to their spouses.

That joke was as weak as a moth's sex drive!

As was that one.

E-mails obtained by the AP revealed a senior state contracting official questioned the arrangement. He said it was difficult to justify a public affairs campaign related to moth spraying as an emergency, which entitled the deal to be exempted from normal contracting rules designed to limit favoritism.

After The Associated Press published a story Wednesday detailing the deal, Schwarzenegger press secretary Aaron McLear said the contract had been suspended.

I doubt it's the Guv funneling money to someone at Porter Novelli. Probably someone who's spouse or BFF works there, but probably not the governor. Does that make it better?

Nothing in this story isn't sad

This story is sickening for the number of lives irrevocably changed:

The attorney representing a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy who struck and killed two competitive bicyclists in Cupertino said Wednesday that the officer had worked a lengthy shift the day before and that fatigue may have been a factor in the crash.

The deputy is 27 years old. The two cyclists were 29 and 30 years old. Can you imagine? How horrible. So far, there aren't allegations of drugs or alcohol having been a factor in the accident. I hope it remains that way. I don't feel worse for any particular party in this matter than for another, but I do feel terribly for the deputy who will never, ever outlive the crushing emotional aftermath of this event. The whole thing is just sad. And even that word seems inadequate.

Perhaps 12 1/2 hours per shift is too long to expect from anyone - especially someone with such an important job and with so much at stake.

Doggie Days

San Mateo may get a dog park. Apparently, the dogs were all just wandering around confused until now.

...it’s somewhat surprising that two of the Peninsula’s more populous cities, Millbrae and South San Francisco, still don’t have a dog park to call their own. Millbrae Mayor Gina Papan hopes to amend this problem in her town, but warned that it will be a slow process.

Playing the race card

A forced hand, perhaps?

Black voter support was key for Obama in key primary contests. But is too much support pushing working-class white voters back to Camp Hillary?

Can you believe I just typed that sentence? Neither can I.

Am I too idealistic? I just don't buy a lot of these early voter bloc rundowns that claim to point to the effect of black candidate + black supporters on the national contest. A guest on the Colbert Report the other night correctly point out that we don't have a white candidate and a black candidate. We have a white candidate and a mixed candidate who's been forced (or at least left with little choice) but to the The Black Candidate. He's just as white as he is black, but we don't let people be both really, do we? At least not when it comes to a black/white mix.

Ronald Walters, a University of Maryland political scientist who tracks racial trends and is writing a book on Obama, thinks Obama's strong support from blacks made it easier for some whites in Ohio and Texas to vote for Clinton.

"There's some of that," Walters said in an interview. He pointed to exit polls from Ohio, where 62 percent of all whites lack college degrees and many are anxious about their jobs in a weak economy.

"This is a racially sensitive group," he said, referring specifically to whites who earn less than $50,000 a year and did not attend college.

"They are the quintessential Reagan Democrats," he said. "They feel they've been left" and their resentment can have social and racial overtones.

Right, well, first off, isn't a bit soon to be writing a book on Obama? We're still writing history. Anyway - and why would lower-educated, job-losing whites take out their fear on a black candidate? I thought it was the browns taking their jobs?

Clearly I don't think that's a good reason to bloc-vote against any non-white candidate. There is no good reason, of course. But it just seems (like Michigan and Florida screwing themselves by screwing with the primary calendar) that we're trying too hard to make this election fit an outdated playbook. We get so damn uncomfortable without our prediction-enabling patterns.

This notion that "Obama's black support is driving some working-class whites into Clinton's corner" just floors me. Perhaps it's that "Clinton's strong support within the Ohio Democratic establishment, starting with the governor" is what is drawing people over to her. Does that create a secondary question of whether the establishment in some states is limited to whites? Ugh - you can't get away from it, can you?

Meanwhile, Clinton continues to draw about 10 percent to 20 percent of black voters, who sometimes have to defend their choice.

"She has the most experience," said Elexis Griffin, a black worker at a law office who attended a Clinton fundraiser in Canton, Ohio. "Obama has only been in the Senate three years. I'm not anti-Barack. I'm just pro-Hillary."

Griffin, who is 25 and considering law school, said, "I sit here almost every single day and hear debating: Hillary or Obama? My closest friends, I have very much influenced their vote for Hillary. They accuse me of being against the social movement. And I accuse them of voting with their emotions and not looking at the facts."

Having to defend ones vote is terrible. Celebrating ones vote is far more fun and engaging. Can anyone case a vote in this election that cannot also be said to be an ID vote? Maybe we need two white men back to ease our troubled choices here. No, no that's not the way to go. Do women get a pass in this race by being able to cite experience while still letting their ovaries guide them? Or is it valide to vote by ovary just as much as it is to vote by race if you finally get a chance to elect someone who looks like you to the White House?

Not the kind of laws he wants to be enforcing, I'm sure. I hope.

This story follows a Contra Costa county sheriff as he goes about his day evicting people. I can't imagine that's why he got into law enforcement. I can't imagine he feels great when he goes home every night. I know cops probably feel some empathy towards a lot of the people they collar in an average day - usually they've done something to deserve it. But the people being evicted . . . many people made bad real estate choices over the past few years. Many were led into it. Many shouldn't have lived so far beyond their means - but isn't that what we do. We're Americans, dammit.

Sad stuff.

Not news news of the week: Gav wants to be Guv. Duh

In what can only generously be called "news" the Chron says:

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is considering a 2010 run for governor - a campaign that would embrace many of the same divisive causes he has championed as mayor, including same-sex marriage, universal health care and protections for illegal immigrants, The Chronicle has learned.

Newsom has long been rumored to be a potential contender in what is likely to be a crowded field of Democrats looking to succeed Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a list that includes Attorney General and former Gov. Jerry Brown, former state Controller Steve Westly and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

D to the Uh, kids.

It's cool though, I actually kinda like Gavin Newsom - especially compared to the other potential candidates. Especially compared to Antonio from down South. But anyway, Governor Jerry Brown again? Really? And Steve Westly - let it go my friend. It didn't work last time and you certainly won't seem any more interesting compared to this field. If you couldn't seem more interesting than Phil Angelides then no one can make it happen next to the Gavster.I think that guy sucks.

And though I still ache for the 2004 loss, I don't blame Gavin for deciding he had to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses that particular year. There never would've been a good time.

But some of the other issues on which he's gone pretty left aren't going to win him fans in large parts of the state. He is - or was - pretty conservative compared to the prevailing SF winds, but take him into the bigger pool and he does seem to be off the deep end, no?

Don't drink the water

Eww:

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

I'll start by saying I'm no scientist and I generally dislike people with a thin grasp of science who over-apply what little they know. But here's what the world seems like to me: humans aren't going to evolve anymore. At least not according to the march of natural selection, that is. With the aid of fertility drugs and doctors, people who couldn't reproduce can now reproduce. At the same time, everything we're doing that seems designed to make us genetically weaker simultaneously makes our biggest enemies - little tiny bugs - stronger than we can know . . . until they start getting us, of course.

Does that make sense?

It's interesting what drugs come up in what cities. There's anti-anxiety meds in SoCal and sex hormones in SF. Oh dear. But it's the antibiotics that scare me. We're just making our germ-anic enemies stronger. Did you see War of the Worlds? If not, don't. If you want to see it, but haven't, stop reading. You know what gets the aliens and saves humans in that movie? A headcold. No joke. Superior alien firepower is no match for their ill-prepared immune systems. But we won't even have to leave the planet will we? We're going to make our killers ourselves. Tylenol by tylenol, whizz by whizz.

Not good.

P.S. Or maybe we're changing too, after all.

If You're Running for Assembly, Shouldn't You Show Up For Debates

The Democrats running for the Assembly district debated the other night. But one of them didn't feel like showing up. Isn't that a necessary but not sufficient qualification for being elected?

San Mateo County Supervisor Jerry Hill who did not attend last night’s forum. Instead, Hill’s legislative aide, Eric Pawlowsky, fielded questions and ticked off Hill’s qualifications.

ByeBye Canciamilla

Joe Canciamilla drops out of the state Senate race for. That's a shame. Kinda. Not.

Revenue Enhancements

The Governator is changing his story again. Now he's for taxes. Kinda. If we call them something else.

"We should not get caught up in what something is called," he said. "That doesn't bring anyone any healthcare. It doesn't bring any education. . . . What we need to do is fix problems. Let's just put everything on the table and not debate over the definitions."

BUT

Republicans still oppose a tax hike by any definition.

Do they really think that the general fund budget -- currently at $103 billion -- can be balanced with only spending cuts? "That's our goal," says Senate GOP Leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine.

"Is it going to happen? I can't tell you that."

Hey, look, a shot at homeownership in the Bay Area!

Every homeownership article I've read lately tells me two things: first, that the National Realtors Association is really good at planting stories and second, that all articles about homeownership are written for Not-California. All the rent vs. own calculations are based on $1500/month mortgages. Where in the hell can you find a mortgage that low in California? Certainly not the hell around here, I can tell you that. In Tracy? I don't even think there.

Anyway, because the allure of homeownership and the demanding squeal of the American Dream insists we all have access homes we can't really afford - presto! - we have new options!

The FHA is a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development agency that insures mortgages for people who can't get conventional financing. This guarantee encourages private-sector lenders to make loans and investors to buy them.

Before today, however, FHA could not insure single-family home mortgage loans in the continental United States that exceeded $200,160 to $362,790, depending on location. Because of these low limits, FHA guaranteed only 5,000 loans in California in 2005.

Starting today, FHA can temporarily insure single-family loans up to 125 percent of each area's median price, with a minimum of $271,050 and a maximum of $729,750.

"For many people putting down less than 20 percent, I think it may become the preferred loan," says Joe Rogers, retail national sales manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Look, kids, have the last 8 months taught you nothing? If you don't have 20%, don't buy a house. If you can only find a house that's more than 3-4x your gross annual income, don't buy a house. Really, that b.s. about tax deductions, etc, is, uh, b.s. if you end up having to sit on milk crates and driving a modern-day pinto because your so house poor.

Don't get me wrong, there should be some kind of allowances made for our bat poo crazy real estate market, but I think it would be great if we were a bit more realistic about why we want to OWN a home. It's because someone said you were supposed to want one. Because you're an American. Americans need a single-family home.

But really, is there any market in which that makes LESS sense than this one, right here, on our own spit of land.

All Bay Area counties qualify for these new FHA limits. Except Sonoma and Solano. Ha! Suck it Sonoma! You got the grapes, but we got your mortgages!

Note to Florida and Michigan

So, you guys want to hold your primaries again? Take it from us here in California, we who hold statewide elections as often as we possibly can because we adore spending money on stuff we don't actually need to do, just skip it. You bet badly and lost. Don't play history when everyone can see the election is set to make history.

Somewhere a Grocery Store Worker is in Trouble

Over in Concord, our friendly neighborhood nut seems to have found every shopping cart and electronic in the area.

There's something to be said here about not cutting the mental health budget. What is it, what is it.

Good news for CDP delegates

San Jose is shiny clean. Go enjoy downtown! It's all due to a program called "Groundwerx." You can tell it's cool because of the intentional, yet not, yet meaningful misspelling. Awesome! Buff away, San Jose!

'No cell phones, no eye contact'

A Chron columnist makes some modest proposals to help Starbucks reconnect with the masses. Like rent-a-cats. And beds. I like it.

You can't go ten feet without tripping on a smiling mermaid in this town, true, but, like Jon Carroll says, when you're out of town and driving for hour after hour, does ANYTHING look as welcoming as that green circle of salvation on the horizon? I think not. And you don't either. Admit it!

A blogger once told me that grande hot chais delivered by normally unreliable campaign volunteers daily at 3pm was the only thing that kept her from going postal on the presidential campaign trail. Starbucks provides services. And medical coverage for its employees. So, not like SO evil, right?

Sweet charity

San Jose Assemblyman Joe Coto has proposed legislation aimed at directing charitable donations toward more diverse recipients.

Wow. I didn't know there was a way to make me speak out again charitable giving, but high-five, Mr. Coto.

And the Merc's article quotes right-wing bloggers on the matter. Right-wing bloggers! You know you're in trouble when . . . .

Anyway, about the bill:

California's charitable foundations give hundreds of millions of dollars each year to non-profit groups, but the money rarely reaches organizations led by minorities, says a South Bay lawmaker seeking to regulate philanthropy as a way to boost funding for a more diverse group of recipients.

The legislation proposed by Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose, would require the state's largest philanthropic foundations to disclose the race and gender of staff and board members.

Coto hopes such information will push foundations to redirect their giving to gay and lesbian, African-American, Latino, Asian-American and American Indian causes.

What, holding a mirror up to the whites in charge of distributing cash will ignite within them such liberal guilt that their souls will demand they expand their giving?

"Foundations work in the dark. There's no oversight; there's no reporting regulations on them," he said, "and because nobody knows what they're doing - I think unintentional on their part - they have excluded minority-led organizations."

Some of California's largest foundations - the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation - invested "practically no dollars" in minority-led organizations, Gamboa said.

Do only minority-led organizations fund minority-services? I just am not getting it. I agree that more money should flow freely through charitable channels and that the same handful of organizations benefit because, historically, they always have, but I don't think the fault lies with the color of foundation leadership. The article and the facts cited within it seem to alternate the terms minority-led and minority-based organizations. There's a huge difference there, however, if Coto is trying to show a need for his legislation.

It seems a divisive and - I hope and really do think - antiquated notion. I hope it fails miserably.