When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
We will dispense with the double entendres: Carol Doda, who we lost in November, was a San Francisco hero who will be rightly celebrated and remembered as long as the town she helped create still stands, the torch held aloft along Broadway and kept alight in neon.
There’s a new Sheriff in Black Rock City, and he’s not a fan of Burning Man.
As the Reno Gazette-Journal reports, former deputy Jerry Allen replaced Richard Machado as Sheriff of Pershing County in January. Unlike his predecessor, who was lax on marijuana possession and nudity, and who patrolled the playa with retired officers instead of active-duty cops, Allen talks tough when it comes to enforcing desert law.
Over the weekend, Monterey County sheriff's deputies arrested a man identified as Douglas King after discovering 1,502 marijuana plants, 6.71 pounds of processed marijuana, and butane honey oil manufacturing equipment in his San Miguel home.
As Kron 4 reports, King told police he had a marijuana prescription card, which turned out to be expired. Another (admittedly unrelated) strike against King: He’s a registered sex offender.
Deputies were reportedly led to the house after a California Fish and Wildlife officer investigating illegal trash dumping stumbled on a PG&E bill listing an address on Hidden Creek Road. Deputies later determined that King was stealing electricity to maintain his illegal grow operation.
PostedByChris Roberts
on Tue, Jun 9, 2015 at 12:33 PM
CSU Fullerton
Phil Bickford, presented without comment.
The San Francisco Giants are OK with a little marijuana use, as Tim Lincecum's brush with the law a few years back demonstrated. (Though the less said about the team's history with performance-enhancing drugs, the better).
The Giants used their first round pick in this year's amateur draft to select right-handed pitcher Phil Bickford. A Southern California native who attended Cal State Fullerton for three years, Bickford was a Top 10 draft selection in 2013. This year, he tested positive for marijuana in pre-draft drug test this year, according to reports.
No problem for the Giants. Welcome to San Francisco, Mr. Bickford.
Approval from the state Senate and from Gov. Jerry Brown is still needed. But all of the above is huge. It's a long time coming — and just in time for the expected legalization of recreational cannabis next year.
PostedByChris Roberts
on Wed, Jun 3, 2015 at 12:33 PM
It was cannabis Wednesday in Congress, where lawmakers gave the strongest support yet for ending the country's laws prohibiting marijuana use.
In the strongest sign yet that deciders in Washington may soon be ready to undo federal marijuana prohibition, both Democrats and Republicans voted to approve three pro-cannabis budget amendments — and came very close to approving a fourth in support of recreational marijuana.
This is easily the biggest day for cannabis in Congress to date — and it led one pro-marijuana lawmaker to predict that federal cannabis prohibition will be done within five years.
PostedByChris Roberts
on Wed, Jun 3, 2015 at 7:00 AM
click image
Tahoe Wellness Cooperative
Raided in retribution?
Lake Tahoe-area medical cannabis dispensary Tahoe Wellness Cooperative was raided by law enforcement on Monday. All cash, cannabis, and medical records on site were seized, but no charges have been filed.
Initial reports suggested federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents were involved, but this wasn't a Justice Department bust. It was all El Dorado County Sheriff's deputies — with whom Tahoe Wellness Cooperative founder Cody Bass has a history.
Newsom, an avowed supporter of cannabis legalization, is also chairman of an American Civil Liberties Union task force on marijuana policy that will, in 60 days, issue a "final report" on how the drug can be legalized in California. His visit to Garberville in southern Humboldt County, a junket joined by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey, Assemblyman Jim Wood and other office-holders, is part of a series of meetings convened around the state to gather input from affected parties.
Newsom et al spent the morning touring a local cannabis farm before convening a public meeting, where a capacity crowd of growers, hash makers, edibles bakers and legalization advocates squeezed into a school auditorium for the chance to speak to the decision-makers.
The takeaway? Politicians and the public can't even agree on what to call marijuana, let alone what to do about it.
PostedByChris Roberts
on Tue, May 26, 2015 at 11:48 AM
Alex Grey
Alexander and Ann Shulgin, MDMA pioneers.
Like most of the substances forbidden in our free society, MDMA was accepted medicine before it became contraband. And unlike heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, MDMA was legal and legitimate in (many of) our lifetimes: It wasn't until the mid-1980s that MDMA, the active chemical ingredient in Ecstasy, was added to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
Prior to that, therapists and sufferers of various mental traumas — depression and anxiety as well as PTSD — sung MDMA's praises as an unparalleled aid to therapy. The drug had many influential supporters, including East Bay chemist Alexander Shulgin, who figured out how to synthesize MDMA in the 1970s and described the state of unabashed openness that resulted after its use as a "completely magical place."
The crowd of 100 or so people at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street at around 2:30 p.m. today was not your typical gathering on Pill Hill in the Tenderloin, where murmurs of "Oxys," "Roxies," “Heroin,” and “Xanax" normally waft in the air like smoke from a crack pipe. This crowd included Mayor Ed Lee, District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, author and publisher Dave Eggers, and others, who came out to cut the ribbon on a new 826 Valencia Writing Center.
Photo by Mark Segal Kemp
A crowd gathered in the Tenderloin to celebrate the opening of a new 826 Valencia writing center.
The new center, formerly a Big Boy Market on what Kim told the gathering was "one of the most problematic corners in the city," will now be a safe spot where neighborhood kids can go and explore their creativity.
Founded in 2002 by Eggers and teacher Nínive Calegari, 826 Valencia offers under-resourced students free workshops, tutoring, and mentoring on writing and editorial projects of all kinds, from essays, research papers, literature, and journalism to cartooning and starting independent 'zines. The workshops are run by volunteers that include published authors, journalists, filmmakers, and teachers. The first lab was located at the center's namesake, 826 Valencia Street in the Mission District, and has expanded to spots in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Washington, D.C.
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
