SAN FRANCISCO BRIEFING May 2005
News this month
Leading the pack
San Francisco is vying to host the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine—the headquarters for the state’s $3 billion stem-cell research programme. Members of the institute are considering ten proposals from cities around the state. Their report, released on April 13th, places San Francisco at the top of the list, eliminating San Jose, Los Angeles and four other bidders. San Diego is in third and Emeryville fourth.
Mayor Gavin Newsom has been bullish about the city's prospects, emphasising the $11m in private-sector contributions that include laboratory space recently vacated by the J. David Gladstone Institutes at San Francisco General Hospital. State officials will name the winning bid on May 6th.
Bridge of troubles
Construction on a new eastern span of Bay Bridge has stopped to allow FBI and independent inspectors to investigate allegations from workers that the bridge's steel legs are riddled with faulty welds. The delay is the latest setback in the effort to build a seismically safe bridge connecting San Francisco with Oakland. If the charges are true, it may be necessary to rebuild large parts of the bridge.
The project is the most expensive public work in California's history, and its cost has ballooned from $2 billion to $6.2 billion over a decade. Arguments over mounting costs and changing designs have involved Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislature. The latest trouble is with the legs that will support a $1.5 billion skyway portion of the new bridge. Workers told the FBI and the Oakland Tribune that they were told to cover up defects, but Caltrans, the state transportation agency, contends that earlier inspections prove the work is sound. Caltran has also pointed out that stopping construction will cost taxpayers $400,000 a day.
Fingered
Police believe that Wendy's, a fast-food chain, was the victim of a prank. Ever since late March, when Anna Ayala of Las Vegas claimed she found a finger (complete with manicured nail) in a bowl of chili at a Wendy’s in San Jose, the company's stock has suffered. Sales at restaurants in the San Joaquin Valley and San Jose have fallen as much as 30%, and the company claims that the bad publicity has cost it millions of dollars in lost sales.
Ms Ayala notified Wendy’s of her intention to seek financial compensation, but backed off after police started to scrutinise her past, which includes 13 civil actions in California and Nevada. Police also interviewed Wendy’s employees and ran tests on the finger, concluding it did not originate in the meal’s preparations or ingredients. On April 21st, police arrested Ms Ayala for placing the finger in her own food in an effort to extort money. She has been charged with grand larceny, but has stuck by her story. Police have so far failed to identify the owner of the finger.
Dodgy dealings?
Julie Lee, a leading volunteer fundraiser for Kevin Shelley, California's former secretary of state, has pleaded not guilty to illegally diverting $125,000 from a state grant to Mr Shelley’s election fund. Mr Shelley was forced to resign in February after the San Francisco Chronicle questioned his use of election funds. State prosecutors charged Ms Lee with eight felony counts, alleging that she forged documents to obtain state money. Authorities say there is no evidence so far that Mr Shelley knew about Ms Lee’s alleged wrongdoings, but he could be prosecuted for an unrelated campaign contribution matter.
No smoke without fire
San Francisco supervisors will hold public hearings to regulate the city’s 43 marijuana clubs. “Pot clubs” sprang up after Californians voted to make the medical use of marijuana legal in 1996. Since then, concerns have grown that some San Francisco clubs are selling marijuana illegally to drug dealers who then peddle it on the street.
San Franciscans must produce a medical prescription and special identity card before they can buy marijuana. But there are worries that unscrupulous doctors are issuing prescriptions and some clubs do not vigilantly check their customers' credentials. Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed regulating club advertising, limiting where the clubs can operate and forcing their records open to inspection.
A heated debate
The Sierra Club, one of America's highest profile environmental groups, has settled (at least temporarily) an internal debate over whether to step into the contentious politics of immigration. Some 84% of the club's members rejected proposals for the organisation to favour strict limits on immigration into the United States. An overwhelming majority also said no to candidates for the club's board of directors who argued that reducing the number of immigrants would ease worldwide environmental problems.
The club, based in San Francisco and founded by John Muir, a conservationist, in 1892, has long debated the issue of immigration. In 1998, members voted to remain neutral on the topic, but last year’s election sparked off new debate. A vocal faction of the club’s 750,000 members favour immigration limits. They contend that America's population could double this century if no limits are set, threatening the erosion of wilderness areas and the extinction of species.
Catch if you can
May 2005
San Francisco International Film Festival
April 21st-May 5th 2005
This film festival has a reputation for being less preoccupied with red-carpet photo opportunities than with high-mindedness. The current programme includes some 185 films (narrative, documentary and shorts) from 49 countries, including 14 world premieres. The festival opens with “The Ax”, a new, dark comedy about corporate life from Constantin Costa-Gavras, a Greek filmmaker. It will close with “The Dying Gaul”, a satire on show business written and directed by Craig Lucas, an award-winning playwright, and starring Peter Sarsgaard, Campbell Scott and Patricia Clarkson.
In between there are plenty of films from rising independent filmmakers in Latin America and Malaysia. “Midnight Movies” features horror films with zombies and flesh-eating monsters. On April 28th, there will be a black-tie awards ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, celebrating Taylor Hackford, director of “Ray”, and Paul Haggis, who wrote “Million Dollar Baby”.
The San Francisco International Film Festival. Various locations including the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatre and the Castro Theatre. Tel: +1 (925) 866-9559. See the festival's website.
More from the San Francisco cultural calendar
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home