Now that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has spilled his guts about his obsessions, it’s high time for those of us in the public eye to come clean. So, here’s my confession: I have had, and continue to have, multiple, simultaneous, meaningful relationships…with plants! Now... Continue
Public Citizen
Once upon a time, well before the cell phone, there existed a surprising mystery to life. This mystery included a nagging uncertainty about things, yet, conjoined to this uncertainty was the majesty of faith. As long as there have been people on this earth, life... Continue
At some point in the not-too-distant future, 75 million American baby boomers will be 60 years old or older. I often wonder whether we will be healthier than our parents; time will tell. My dad, who is now a youthful 88 years old, grew up... Continue
I entered adulthood protesting and criticizing war, and it seems that I will leave it that way. As I enter senior-citizenship I can’t help but wonder why the world needs to learn the same sorry lessons over and over again. It’s not like there are... Continue
A perfect new restaurant just for you With the demise of the Harmony Club restaurant at the Ledson Hotel, I’ve been thinking about a few restaurant ideas that might be nice to have in town. Admittedly, when it comes to restaurants, I’m picky, and some... Continue
We’ve all heard about the certainty of death and taxes. Yet despite the ubiquity of this commonplace notion, few people ever reveal very much about either topic. Talk of death casts a pall over everything, and is a sure conversation-stopper at a party (try it!).... Continue
Once every decade or so a monumental land-use matter arises in this community which sets the stage for the decades to come. In the 1990s it was the luxury high-end Rosewood Hotels resort proposed for the hillside above the city cemetery, where the open space... Continue
I suppose that people have always had endless opinions. Roman gladiators probably had many opinions about the ruling class that set them to killing each other. I’m sure those who lived next door to Attila the Hun had no shortage of opinions. I recall a... Continue
The first of the year marks the anniversary of the 2006 New Year’s flood. Having trundled myself out of bed at 5:30 that morning only to find East Napa Street filled with a foot of water running strongly southwest, I thought to myself that this... Continue
Now that I have set aside my cloak of public office and have returned to the rank of ordinary citizen, it might be useful to consider exactly what some of the responsibilities of citizenship happen to be. While serving as a councilman, I had the... Continue