Category: General

  • Comic relief on billionaire tax

    We occasionally need some comic relief here at the Voice. If it comes with a dose of common sense, so much the better. This week we were treated to an SF Comicle letter to the editor from one of those people who write (and get published) often. She is apparently with a group called the Richmond Progressive Alliance and wants to weigh in on the possible “billionaire tax” that we may have to vote on in November. That figures. It’s hilarious.

    Enact a billionaire tax

    Regarding “Progressives love him. Billionaires hate him. Can a Berkeley professor pass California’s wealth tax?” (California, SFChronicle.com, March 18): Any billionaires with a shred of wisdom and ethics will support the proposed tax. Why? 

    Because even after paying the one-time 5% tax, someone with $1 billion in assets would still have $995 million — sufficient to continue living in opulent luxury — while contributing to state revenues for needed services and enhancing the economy. 

    The billionaires who oppose this tax show their true colors of mean-spiritedness and greed. The only argument they can offer against it is threatening to leave the state in droves.

    Well, so be it. May they leave our beautiful state to those who value a more equitable use of resources that benefit all. The billionaire tax is a no-brainer. Don’t fall for the mean-spirited fear-mongering about it.

    Marilyn Langlois, Richmond

    OK, dear readers. Why is it hilarious? C’mon folks. 5% of $1 billion is $50 million, not $5 million. So the imaginary billionaire would be left with $950 million. Marilyn is only off by $45 million but expects us to take advice from her about taxes. Do you think the Comicle editors also failed 6th grade math? Or did they just publish it to see if anyone noticed? Matt Mahan is the only gubernatorial candidate with a D behind their name that has come out against the billionaire tax. He gets a gold star on his math quiz. Langlois gets an F. Same goes for her Econ 101 quiz.

  • The Many Flavors of California Fraud

    You have to take notes to keep track of all the flavors of fraud being uncovered in California. Not that you would read about even half of it in the SF Comicle or other establishment press. The drumbeat is loud elsewhere, and today’s drum majorettes are highlighting the “wildlife butterfly bridge” in LA to help mountain lions cross 101 in Agoura Hills. Scoped at $50 million in 2022, it’s now at $114M and counting since it’s not finished. Considering its short span (210 feet), it might rival high-cost rail or the state capitol annex on a percentage basis.

    It turns out the $31 billion with a “b” EDD fraud is just the tip of the fraud iceberg. There’s the homeless-industrial complex fraud, the drug treatment center fraud, Medicaid fraud, autism fraud, hospice fraud, Proposition signature gathering fraud, the community college financial aid fraud, the commercial driver’s license fraud, the non-profit fraud and the cap-and-trade sleight of hand.

    I’m sure there are more flavors, so we will just use this post as the “fraud bucket” to be continually filled. When you hear we need this bond measure or that tax rate increase or that new fee, remember how leaky the bucket is.

  • Schiff Watch: Priorities, priorities

    Some things politicians do are real head-scratchers and it often comes down to priorities–or misguided priorities. One of our US Senators, Adam Schiff, makes me feel like I have fleas there is so much scratching going on. I’ll use this post as an occasional catchall bucket to track priorities starting with this one from the WSJ:

    Sen. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) on Tuesday introduced legislation seeking to explicitly ban any entity regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from listing a contract “that involves, relates to, or references” terrorism, assassination, war or death.

    Federal law gives the CFTC the authority to prohibit event contracts involving war, terrorism, assassination or any activity that violates federal or state laws or is against the public interest. The bill seeks to explicitly ban such contracts from being listed, according to Sen. Schiff’s office.

    “With regulators turning a blind eye, prediction markets have rapidly become the Wild West,” Sen. Schiff said in a statement. “As the CFTC seeks to rewrite the rules of the road, Congress must make clear that these death bets are unequivocally prohibited, and this bill would do just that.”

    Like this is in the Top 50 things our senator should be worrying about. There’s massive fraud taking place all over the country including our Golden State. Energy prices are rising especially including our Golden State. Critical Federal employees are working without pay. The roads are a mess and transit is broke. But we should be concerned about prediction markets? Even the CFTC thinks this is misguided head-in-the-sand thinking.

    CFTC Chair Michael Selig came out swinging in favor of prediction markets in February, saying he sees their platforms as a way for society to channel the wisdom of crowds for useful information, offering a check on news media and other gatekeepers.

    Watch this space for more questions on priorities.

  • Broadway: Gas Leak Lawsuit

    I was pretty sure a lawsuit would be filed over the extended closure of businesses on and around B’way. I didn’t see the merchants being represented by one of the top 25 plaintiff law firms in the country, but offering local merchants support is meritorious. From the DJ piece

    A class action lawsuit on behalf of merchants in Burlingame’s Broadway area has been filed against the owner and operator of A&A Gas & Mart, who were previously named as responsible parties in a gasoline leak that caused days of power outages and road closures in the business district. 

    Burlingame law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy chose to move forward with the suit, filed Feb. 23, to seek an undetermined amount of damages for businesses that lost customers, revenue and inventory as a result of those outages and closures, attorney Nanci Nishimura, who is representing the plaintiffs, said.

    The merchants mentioned range from Maverick Jack’s at the old train station to Bonne Sante at the other end of B’way. The total number is more than 100.

    In a real twist of fate, the A&A Gas website’s “About us” page shows the B’way station! They appear to have four of their six locations on the Peninsula. We’re not talking Shell or Chevron here so expect some sort of settlement as they realize what they are up against. In the meantime, Broadway is lovely shopping and dining district and there has been a lot of free parking as the city deinstalls the old parking meters and waits to install the fancy new ones.

  • A bit of the Bit of England

    In another Only-On-The Voice moment, my sleuthing has uncovered rare pieces of Burlingamia that merit being shared with the old timers in town. At the current site of Stella on the Avenew was a local pub called the Bit of England. Very English. Real English ales on tap (I seem to recall it had my favorite, John Courage, and Watney’s). It was far from upscale and that’s what we loved about it.

    It closed about 30 years ago (looking for fact checking help here, old timers. Sir Paul? Mark Lucchesi?) Our buddies Jeff and Barbara Moore were long time B’gamers who eventually decamped for Maui. Jeff had managed to procure the original Bit bar stools and used them with his Tiki Bars in B’game and on Maui. They slipped through his fingers during a move, but he has reacquired them. At his recently completed Tiki bar he and I enjoyed a tipple and a seat on the original Naugahyde Bit of England stools. Anyone with memories of the Bit, please weigh in here. I’ll be chatting with the Historical Society to get a photo or two to add to the Tiki bar.

  • Save OSH: SFPUC threat

    One of the most missed businesses in our area was the Orchard Supply Hardware in Millbrae that closed in 2018. Our little Ace in downtown is awesome, but there is no replacement for square footage in that business. Outdoor Supply Hardware stepped into the breach a few years ago and it’s a perfect replica of the old OSH. When you need something, they have it. I’m mostly done rehabbing two old B’game homes, but maintenance never ends. So this news in the DJ was concerning:

    The Millbrae community is voicing concerns about an SFPUC proposal to oust its tenant, Outdoor Supply Hardware, to expand its Millbrae operations facility because of seismic concerns at a nearby location.

    The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission oversees the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, providing water supply for around 2.7 million Northern California residents, Steve Ritchie, Water Enterprise assistant general manager, said during a Millbrae City Council meeting Jan. 13.

    Its Millbrae operations center already hosts almost 500 division employees, Ritchie said, but seismic concerns at the existing SFPUC Burlingame facility means around 100 more employees and assorted equipment will need to move to the Millbrae location.

    Can’t we find a spot for these employees that is not right in the heart of the Millbrae commercial district and providing a key service to the public? Please.

  • A Magical Start to 2026? No thanks

    Our second wave of heavy rain this season has brought with it some colorful additions to the garden. This bright fellow might be familiar to fans of Alice in Wonderland. It’s Amanita muscaria and according to Wikipedia

    Ingestion of the mushroom can cause poisoning, especially in children and those seeking its hallucinogenic effects, however, fatal poisonings are extremely rare. Parboiling reduces toxicity, though drying converts ibotenic acid into muscimol, retaining psychoactive effects. Some cultures use it as food after preparation. Indigenous peoples of Siberia used A. muscaria as an inebriant and entheogen. It has been controversially linked to Santa Claus, Viking berserkers, Vedic soma, and early Christianity, though evidence is sparse and disputed. Its rise in the 2020s as a legal hallucinogen alternative has led to Food and Drug Administration scrutiny.

    A. muscaria has appeared in art and literature since the Renaissance, becoming iconic in fairy tales, children’s books, and media like Disney’s Fantasia (1940) and the Super Mario video games. It has also influenced literary depictions of altered perception—most notably in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

    As pretty as it might look be careful around it. So far, my dogs haven’t shown any interest, but I will probably pull it up all the same. Happy New Year. Don’t go berserk!

  • Diane Papan: Legislative highlights

    Our rookie assemblywoman Diane Papan just sent us all a mailer listing the legislative highlights for this year. Let’s have a look:

    AB 93: Data centers: Water use reporting

    AB 900: Stewardship of conserved lands

    AB 527: Geothermal exploratory projects

    AB 1250: Paratransit service

    AB 60: Safer cosmetics for California families

    AB 650: Cutting through bureaucracy to build homes

    AB 411: The Caring About The Terrain, Livestock, and Ecosystems (CATTLE) Act

    There you have it–postage paid State of California Assembly. It was quite a year.

  • EssEff: Tone deaf regulation

    If you thought the push to force homeowners to abandon their gas lines and appliances for electric was expensive, check out what SF is planning for older apartment buildings. The Comicle is reporting on 126 apartment building built before 1975 that will be required to add sprinklers to every room of every unit. The price tag is expected to be $300,000 per unit–an estimate that has tripled since the ordinance was first proposed in 2016. After being adopted in 2023, that number leaves out the cost of moving out while the walls and ceilings are torn up and pipes welded in place. The Comicle notes:

    Condo owners say the unexpected assessment, which applies to about 9,800 units, could force them to sell their units, while real estate brokers say the ordinance is already depressing prices and sales activity in the buildings that are on the list. (Owner) Ayre said she doesn’t know where she will go if she has to move out of her condo during sprinkler installation. Because most of the towers targeted by the ordinance are historic, it’s likely that the sprinkler installation process will involve removing lead paint and asbestos.

    But wait, there’s more

    Many of the condo buildings impacted by the ordinance have recently spent upward of $10,000 a unit to comply with the city’s “sleeping ordinance,” which requires residential buildings with three or more units to have a minimum fire alarm sound level of 75 decibels in sleeping areas.

    Owners need to get the permit for the sprinklers by January 2027 and complete the work by 2035. HOA Board members must be loading up on Tylenol as they run the numbers on what the assessments need to be starting now.

  • Happy Columbus Day 2025

    The second Tuesday in October is and always will be Columbus Day. Courtesy of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy, we learn:

    Each October, we gather as a community to celebrate Italian-American Heritage Month — a time to reflect on our proud history and honor the legacy of those who came before us. At the heart of this celebration stands a figure of profound historical importance: Christopher Columbus.

    Columbus was more than an explorer; he was a visionary of the Renaissance era. His daring voyage in 1492 opened the door to the first permanent European presence in the New World — a moment that profoundly reshaped global history and laid the foundation for the world we know today.

    It’s worth remembering that the Pledge of Allegiance, recited daily by students across America, was written in 1892 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ journey — a testament to how deeply his legacy is woven into the American fabric.

    There will always be some small haters who think that by changing or removing symbols of the past, they can change the future. Think the Father Serra statue up at the I-280 rest stop as reported by the Merc:

    Extending a cultural fight that started years ago, Caltrans has quietly demolished a statue of 18th-century missionary and Catholic saint Junipero Serra that had overlooked Interstate 280 in Hillsborough — a move that pleased Native critics who had questioned Serra’s legacy, even as it enraged some in the church.

    The composition of the artwork — built half a century ago, using rebar sprayed with a powdered form of concrete — meant that it could not easily be moved to another site, officials said, so it was demolished instead. Crawford did not respond to a question about which criteria the statue did not meet.

    “Which criteria?” and “Why no public notice or discussion?”. Crickets. But Columbus and Serra will live on in history while the small haters will be forgotten as they should be.

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