Economist.com Cities Guide: San Francisco Briefing - January 2006

News this month

Stormy weather

Nearly two weeks of rain culminated in a ferocious storm on New Year’s day, ravaging northern California to such an extent that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state governor, declared 34 counties disaster areas. In all, the rain caused the region an estimated $290m in damage.
Flooding closed the main highway through Napa Valley, famous for its vineyards, and damaged 600 homes and 150 businesses in the town of Napa alone, 50 miles north of San Francisco. A foot of water covered many vineyards, but owners said damage was minimal. Shop-owners in San Anselmo, a smart town north of San Francisco, were less lucky: a creek overflowed and submerged antique shops and other businesses with up to four feet of water.

The flooding drew attention to the region's vulnerability. The storms caused a minor breach in a levee in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and raised the spectre of a Hurricane Katrina-like catastrophe in an area where farms and new housing developments are protected by 1,100 miles of levees in varying condition. Efforts to strengthen levees and widen creeks are already underway, and Mr Schwarzenegger made repairing the levees a priority of a $222 billion public-works bond he proposed in his state-of-the-state address on January 5th.

Not welcome

Mr Schwarzenegger got a mixed reception when he visited San Francisco on January 16th. Many chafed to see the Republican governor at a breakfast honouring Martin Luther King, Jr, an annual mixer for top local Democrats and community leaders. The city’s unions were particularly huffy about it: they had bitterly opposed Mr Schwarzenegger’s ballot propositions, arguing that they would curb political spending for unions and make it harder for public-school teachers to win tenure.

But since November, when voters soundly rejected his “reform” measures, Mr Schwarzenegger has been inching back towards the political centre. His last-minute appearance at the breakfast was orchestrated by Willie Brown, a former San Francisco mayor and current lobbyist. Mr Brown said he told the governor that coming to left-leaning San Francisco would demonstrate his more moderate persona. The governor certainly did his best not to alienate anyone at the breakfast, benignly commenting on public service and the value of public education. Some attendees proposed a walk-out in protest, but most ended up being polite—at least until the event was over. Later, Tim Paulson, head of the San Francisco Labour Council, a lobbying group, fumed that Mr Schwarzenegger’s appearance was an “absolute insult”.

No parking

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ended a tradition of old-school patronage in early January by revoking more than 100 free parking passes that had been issued to politicians, socialites and others with wealth, good connections or both. Gavin Newsom, the city’s mayor, put pressure on the airport to recall the passes after the San Francisco Chronicle printed an embarrassing list of 169 people who had received passes in 2005. The list did not just include city supervisors, airport commissioners and senators, but Mr Newsom’s wife, brother-in-law, and several aides, as well as business and labour leaders, lobbyists, and relatives and friends of one airport commissioner.

SFO is one of the few major American airports that dole out free parking to those who are ostensibly conducting public business. And while the number of people with free passes may have been offensive to some, the list was once even longer: in the early 1990s, about 5,000 members of the local elite had them. Under the city’s new policy, the airport will issue passes only to government officials who frequently travel on taxpayers’ behalf and to people who conduct business with or do charitable work at the airport.

No lab lost

On December 21st the University of California (UC) won a contract to run the Los Alamos National Laboratory for another seven years, beating out some serious competition. UC has managed Los Alamos, one of two nuclear-weapons labs in America, for more than 60 years, and is famous for developing the atomic bomb in 1945. But the university had been criticised recently for its management of the lab, and a series of security breaches and financial scandals prompted Congress to open the contract to outside bidding. Lockheed Martin, an aerospace manufacturer, made a strong bid with the University of Texas, but UC and its new partner, Bechtel National, came out on top, getting a contract worth up to $512m.

UC officials, relieved that the contract will reinforce the university’s role as a scientific leader, must now make big changes to the way they run the lab. The Department of Energy last summer criticised Los Alamos—and Livermore, America's other nuclear lab, also run by UC—as lacking direction. Energy officials urged leaders to manage the labs in a more business-like way, and to develop new kinds of warheads.

Stranger than fiction

The literary world is reeling over revelations that JT Leroy, an elusive young writer, may be the creation of a middle-aged San Francisco couple, Laura Albert and Geoffrey Knoop. Mr Leroy, or the idea of him, had been hailed by famous authors and celebrities entranced by his “raw” writing and hard-luck story. But by early January, it became increasingly clear that Mr Leroy himself was a work of fiction.

Mr Leroy, or so the story goes, is an HIV-infected former heroin abuser whose mother sold him into cross-dressing and truck-stop prostitution at the age of 12. He was rescued by a San Francisco “outreach worker” and her husband, who took him in and encouraged him to write. At 17, Mr Leroy penned “Sarah”, a “semi-fictitious” book about his mother. The book caused a sensation, and Mr Leroy—or at least a mute, androgynous version in blond wig and sunglasses—began appearing at literary events. And though he claimed that he was pathologically shy, he was in regular phone and email contact with noted authors, editors and compassionate celebrities. But investigations by New York magazine and the New York Times suggest that Mr Leroy is a hoax. The person writing under his name may be Ms Albert, the “outreach worker”, and the Mr Leroy appearing in public may be Mr Knoop’s half-sister.

Catch if you can

January 2006

The San Francisco Ballet's 78th Season

January 28th-June 6th 2006

The San Francisco Ballet, thanks to a continuing quest to expand its repertory, has crafted a season sure to enchant. The company will perform eight diverse programmes, including the beloved “Swan Lake”, choreographed by Helgi Tomasson, the company’s artistic director, and “Sylvia”, a three-act ballet by Mark Morris, an acclaimed modern choreographer.

Another highlight comes in March, when the company will perform a programme dedicated to the work of Jerome Robbins. Born in Poland, Robbins became king of both Broadway and ballet in the middle of the last century, and continued to be an innovator of American dance until his death in 1998. The San Francisco Ballet will pay homage to Robbins with a company premiere of his “Afternoon of a Faun”, an ethereal duet which debuted in 1953, as well as “Other Dances”(1976), “Glass Pieces”(1983) and “Dybbuk”(1974), based on a Yiddish play and set to music by Leonard Bernstein, Mr Robbins’s collaborator on many works, including the musical “West Side Story”.

San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue. Tel: +1 (415) 865-2000. For more information, visit the company’s website.

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