No doubt, with the wild success of Glee. the TV show -- coupled with a bombastic cultural event that is American Idol -- kids everywhere are dying to ride their nascent singing talent to fame. That also means that those adults who want to provide the opportunities for them find themselves in a seller's market. They're selling the dream.
But fame doesn't come without a price, kids. Especially not at the San Francisco Children's Musical Theater, which will be signing up the last of aspiring thespian kiddies for its Gleeful Live! production on Wednesday night at the Union Square Hilton.
First off, interested kids need $195 dollars to register. You get a $30 discount if your sibling signs up, too, which knocks it down to a mere $165 for your reluctant kid brother. Next, parents should be prepared to shell out $40 to $80 for the spangled costume necessary for your child to shine on stage.
But that's not all.
A judge unsealed court records today detailing a whistle-blower's allegations that police and prosecutors might have been involved in an orchestrated effort to mislead auditors about the state of the San Francisco Police Department's DNA-testing lab.
Superior Court Judge Charles Haines ordered that a transcript of a lengthy closed-door interview he conducted with Rockne Harmon, a former consultant on DNA issues to the San Francisco District Attorney's office, be entered into the public record. He had previously ruled that the transcript could be disclosed to defense attorneys under a protective order barring them from sharing it with anyone.
In 2008, Barack Obama was the rising tide that buoyed all San Francisco ships -- at least the ones that floated a bit to the left. A massive turnout for "Hope" and "Change" -- 84 percent of a swollen turnout voted for Obama -- also led to victory for progressive candidates endorsed by the local Democratic party.
But let's not focus on them. How about the 16 percent of folks who didn't vote for the president? A new study indicates that, whatever reason they had for choosing other candidates, it likely wasn't because Obama is a black man. San Francisco ranked on the low end in quantifiable racism in a unique paper penned by a Harvard economics doctoral student. Its title: "The Effects of Racial Animus on Voting:
Evidence Using Google Search Data."
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz measured the frequency Googlers in around 200 media markets comprising 99 percent of the electorate looked up the term "nigger." He then compared "an area's racially charged search volume to its votes for Barack Obama, the 2008 black Democratic presidential candidate, controlling for its votes for John Kerry, the 2004 white Democratic presidential candidate." While self-reported surveys on racial attitudes have indicated that racism played little to no part in any recent elections -- overt racism is no longer en vogue in the United States -- Stephens-Davidowitz claims his work indicates the president overcame a 3- to 5-percent hurdle due to "racial animus."
But not here.
East Bay winemaker Mitchell Katz, is suing his wife and Chris Butler, the notorious Contra Costa County private eye who has been at the center of a massive police scandal, claiming the two were in cahoots to trap him into getting a "Dirty DUI."
Katz, 48, filed a lawsuit last week in San Francisco court alleging that Butler, a former Antioch police officer, worked with Katz's wife, Alicia Spenger, to ply him with alcohol and tip the cops off if he tried to drive his car. Their aim was for Spenger to gain leverage in a custody battle over the couple's two sons, according to the lawsuit.
In November 2010, Spenger met with Butler, explaining how she was "very, very, very angry -- very angry," according to the claim. Butler assured her that there was a good possibility they could have Katz arrested for driving under the influence by engineering a ruse, which he liked to call a "Dirty DUI."
Police are asking the public to help track down two men responsible for brutally beating and robbing a San Francisco man as he walked through the Tenderloin nearly two months ago.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Occupy protesters have come up with a more choreographed way to escape police.
The feeling is mutual between Mission residents and Occupy SF protesters: Neither group wants to see the encampment relocate to the Mission District, despite what city officials say.
The Chron's Matier and Ross report this morning that Mission District residents are pulling the NIMBY card, saying they are worried about dumping more violence and filth in a neighborhood that's already challenged by violence and filth. Besides, isn't that precisely why the city wants to move the camp out of the Financial District -- to clear out the sanitary and safety concerns on Justin Herman Plaza?
"It's insane," resident Roberto Hernandez told the Chron. "Not one meeting to ask us what we might think. We have enough problems here in the Mission."
Traffic headed into San Francisco is backed up on the Bay Bridge after an early morning crash shutdown a lane.
The far left westbound lane is closed after an AC Transit bus collided with three other vehicles shortly after 6 a.m. According to media reports, the bus driver was carrying 20 passengers when the bus collided with the other cars. One person was injured; however, officials do not know the person's condition at this time.
The accident was cleared by 7 a.m., but the traffic is still very much there.
