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

News this month

British invasion

Tony Blair’s approval ratings have reached new lows in Britain, thanks in part to his relationship with George Bush. But in California, the British prime minister seems to be more popular than ever. Mr Blair dazzled the local elite during a four-day visit at the end of July that aimed to promote ties with the state, the world’s sixth-biggest economy. At a gathering in Monterey—organised by Rupert Murdoch, a media magnate, and attended by Bill Clinton, a former president—Mr Blair espoused Britain’s place in the world economy.

The prime minister took care to distance himself from the White House on two issues important to Californians: stem-cell research and global warming. Meeting leaders of the biotechnology industry in Silicon Valley, he announced a collaboration with California on stem-cell research, and a joint biotech conference is planned for November. Mr Blair also signed a pledge with Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s governor, to work together to fight global warming. For Mr Schwarzenegger, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign, the agreement provides an opportunity to beef up his eco-credentials and distance himself from the increasingly unpopular Mr Bush.

Having a heat wave

More than 160 people died during a 12-day heat wave that roasted California in late July. Temperatures in the Bay Area topped 110ºF (44ºC) for four days in a row. Most of the casualties were old people who died in homes without air-conditioning.

The heat raised concerns about the state’s future energy needs. As California’s population continues to grow and temperatures, according to global-warming theorists, continue to rise, the state’s power grid may not keep up with demand. During this heat wave, demand exceeded 50,000 megawatts on two days, higher than the record set last summer, and more than 1m people lost electricity. The state has built 36 new power plants since the blackouts of 2001, but because it has closed older plants at the same time, capacity has grown by only 6,774 megawatts.

Paying a heavy price

One San Francisco journalist was jailed and two others face imprisonment for refusing to co-operate with federal prosecutors. On August 4th a federal judge told two reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle that they may go to jail if they do not divulge the source of leaked grand jury testimony. The case is part of a steroid investigation involving Barry Bonds, a baseball player with the San Francisco Giants. Three days earlier, Joshua Wolf, a freelance video journalist and blogger, went to jail for refusing to hand over footage of a protest against the G8 summit in San Francisco last July. Prosecutors say that Mr Wolf’s tape could help identify who injured a San Francisco policeman and vandalised a police car.

Like most other states, California has laws that protect journalists from prosecutors' demands that they reveal sources and unpublished material. However, such laws do not apply in federal courts. Journalists gathered in San Francisco on August 5th to protest against Mr Wolf's imprisonment and the growing pressure to divulge sources. That same day Judith Miller, a former New York Times reporter who went to jail last summer for refusing to reveal a source, tried to interview Mr Wolf, but prison guards turned her away.

Olympic dreams

San Francisco has moved one step closer to its long-time goal of hosting the summer Olympic games. On July 26th the United States Olympic Committee chose San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago as the finalists for America's nomination for the 2016 games. The committee members stressed that they chose these three cities in part because each has an established reputation, independent of the country as a whole, at a time when international opinion of America has changed for the worse. The committee will announce a nominee in March, although it may yet rule out an American bid if the finalists do not address shortfalls in their proposals outlined by the committee.

San Francisco lost out to New York as the American contender for the 2012 games. Its candidacy is helped by a plan to make the most of the city's scenery, with marathon runners crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and cyclists racing through the Presidio. But there is still work to be done. Perhaps the most difficult task will be to convince local residents that hosting the Olympics merits spending billions of dollars on transport, security and new sports facilities, including housing for athletes and possibly a new stadium.

In the name of the gay father

The Vatican has chastised the Catholic Charities of San Francisco, the social-services arm of the city’s archdiocese, over its practices as an adoption agency. Despite the church's ban on homosexuality, the charity has matched some children with gay couples. Controversy erupted last autumn, when the Catholic Charities in Boston and San Francisco admitted to the practice, mostly involving foster children who were hard to place. The scandal prompted the Boston arm to give up its adoption services altogether.

The San Francisco charity, however, has made a compromise. On August 2nd the group announced that it will no longer act as a full-service adoption agency, but will continue to provide parents with information and referral. The organisation will work with California Kids Connection, a statewide adoption service, which means the charity itself will not directly place children with gay parents. The arrangement seems to have smoothed feathers—George Niederauer, San Francisco’s archbishop, said the new policy did not conflict with the church's views.

Catch if you can

August 2006

Sampling Oakland

Until October 8th 2006

Oakland tends to suffer from an inferiority complex vis-à-vis its neighbour, San Francisco. But its comparative lack of prestige makes Oakland a cheaper place to live—and hence more popular with young artists, who are bypassing San Francisco’s pricey warehouse districts in favour of Oakland’s working-class neighbourhoods.

As old buildings and warehouses are turned into hip studios and gallery spaces, Oakland is developing a thriving arts scene, one that is garnering national attention. San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts pays homage to this vibrant community with Sampling Oakland, an exhibition of works by Oakland's leading painters, photographers, filmmakers, sculptors and installation artists.

Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, 701 Mission St, San Francisco. Tel: +1 (415) 978-2782. See the centre's website.

More from the San Francisco cultural calendar