First Graduate's Cap & Gown Gala

On the way to Supervisor Mirkarimi's monthly Friday art show in his San Francisco City Hall offices, I ran into a small army of valet parkers.



Valet parking for events in Southern California is considered unremarkable on account of their overwhelming car culture, but in San Francisco it's rare and tends to signal the presence of the very wealthy.



The sheriff's deputies at the metal detectors on the Polk Street entrance didn't have a clue what the shindig was about, so I asked the coat check couple above, and they said it was a party for "First Graduate."



The young people with the nametags further explained that the organization was dedicated to people who were the first college graduate in their family.



Checking out their slick and beautifully designed website later (click here), I discovered that the party in City Hall was the organization's "Cap & Gown Gala," which looked every inch a donor appreciation party, down to the tuxedoed waiters.



The group is housed in the Presidio, one of the many non-profits that have flourished like mushrooms at the old Army base. The organization looks fairly new, but its overriding concept is as old as the hills. "Each kid who is the first in his or her family to graduate from college...acts as a very powerful motivator for future generations," as they put it on their site. They have a large staff, a very powerful who's-who of San Francisco on their board, and a huge slew of contributors from Dede Wilsey to Merrill Lynch.



There's an odd whiff of noblesse oblige about the organization, because with all this activity and all this money, only 24 sixth-graders are selected to be in the program each year, on "Discovery Day" in the Presidio, which sounds sort of frightening, though not as scary as the POLs (Presentation of Learning) which is another annual ritual.



If would be lovely if there was a more equitable distribution of wealth in this country and this world. Putting a few individual band-aids on that inequity doesn't strike me as particularly enlightened.

Burning Down The School District

On Thursday morning, police "do not cross" tape went up once again in the neighborhood on Van Ness between Hayes and Fell Streets.



The beautiful, decrepit old Mission-style building at 135 Van Ness currently houses most of the administrative offices for the San Francisco Unified School District.



At 2AM on Thursday morning, a fire broke out on the corner of Van Ness and Hayes and seriously damaged about three floors.



The complex of seismically unfit, rotting old buildings covers an entire city block, and I wasn't even aware that people still worked in them until calling the school district today. Because the real estate is obviously extremely valuable and the school district, like every other in California, is going through some very rough financial times, I wonder what will come next.

Bomb Threat

The 5-Fulton bus came to a gradual halt near Civic Center during the early evening rush hour, and the driver announced, "Well, it looks like we're not going anywhere. There's supposedly a bomb threat."



His tone of voice gave the indication that he believed in the threat about as much as he believed in Santa Claus, and he wasn't alone in that feeling as pedestrians clambered up McAllister Street underneath yellow "Police Line Do Not Cross" tape.



Every time somebody mistakenly leaves a gym bag around City Hall, the law enforcement troops tend to get hysterical and jump into martial law action.



The fact that I can't remember a bomb ever going off in San Francisco in the 35 years I've lived here doesn't seem to count for anything. You never know what them terrorists are up to, never mind that local law enforcement can't even seem to catch a garden-variety murderer unless somebody turns them in.



In the fuzzy background above, you can see a mechanical robot lifting up what looks like a plastic bag on the Polk Street stairs of City Hall.



This happens at least once a year around the neighborhood and it really has become absurd.

Small Business Week 1: Money

Monday evening in San Francisco's City Hall was the site of a party celebrating "Small Business Week," with the logo "I am small business." being projected everywhere.



A new "Small Business Assistance Center" had opened their doors in Room 110 in City Hall earlier in the day to supposedly streamline the thickets of regulatory agencies that small businesses have to navigate.



Regina (above), who used to be an aide in Supervisor Mirkarimi's office, is newly installed at the agency which is a good sign since she has always struck me as one of the more competent people working in City Hall.



There were troubling signs, however, that the entire event was a bit of a scam since most of the major sponsors were anything but small businesses.



In fact, Wells Fargo Bank logos and signage were plastered everywhere they could think of...



...and creepy Wells Fargo executives like the gentleman above were prowling around everywhere.



This is not to mention that other famous "small" business, Pacific Gas & Electric, which has been gouging all of us on behalf of old wealth for over 150 years.



Still, there were a few people who seemed to be doing some actual business education and networking, so maybe the event was worthwhile in that respect.

Small Business Week 2: Food

The real purpose of the party seemed to be a fabulous free food event...



...with people in long lines in the two "light courts" on the main floor.



The range of food and drink was amazing...



...from fancy sushi...



...to hof brau sandwiches...



...to glamour cocktails.



Heck, they were even feeding Walter, the infamous singing public commenter at Board of Supervisors meetings.