Two years ago, the California Legislature passed a landmark bill (AB12) that was designed to leverage federal dollars to help support former foster youth until age 21 if they pursue an education or job training. But now the state is breaking that promise. In effect, counties have been given the option to phase in the program - which is a polite way of saying they can cut off support for foster youth on their 19th birthday. This policy has subjected our most vulnerable youth to a cruel game of roulette based on birth-date and residence. If they happened to have turned 19 before Jan. 1 - or live in a county that is living up to its obligation as a surrogate parent - then they ... Continue reading →
Keri Wiginton / McClatchy-Tribune News Service British Prime Minister David Cameron and President Obama met with NATO security force counterparts in Chicago on Monday. The good news out of the just-completed NATO summit in Chicago is that the allies are united in their "irreversible" commitment to put Afghanistan in charge of its own security in 2014. Weary of war, and struggling with economic stresses at home, the allies have decided that 10 years is enough. The bad news is that "the Pakistan problem" has not gone away. The withdrawal itself, and the postwar plight of Afghanistan, will be complicated immeasurably without the cooperation of a stable Pakistan. President Obama took a decidedly bold gamble by inviting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to the summit on ... Continue reading →
Jerry Telfer / Chronicle Staff Nate Thurmond battles for a rebound against Boston in 1969. Photo was taken March 21, 1969. The Warriors should celebrate their return to a world-class city by dropping that clunky, amorphous, second-class name "Golden State." Co-owner Joe Lacob was understandably evasive when asked whether the team would reclaim the name "San Francisco Warriors" when it returns to the city. After all, the team does have five years remaining on its contract to play in Oakland's Oracle Arena. He suggested "Golden State" would remain in its name for the foreseeable future, and "possibly forever." San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said the team "belongs to the Bay Area," and he insisted the lame-name issue was "not discussed at all." We say: Let ... Continue reading →
Jerry Telfer / Chronicle Staff Nate Thurmond battles for a rebound against Boston in 1969. Photo was taken March 21, 1969. The Warriors should celebrate their return to a world-class city by dropping that clunky, amorphous, second-class name "Golden State." Co-owner Joe Lacob was understandably evasive when asked whether the team would reclaim the name "San Francisco Warriors" when it returns to the city. After all, the team does have five years remaining on its contract to play in Oakland's Oracle Arena. He suggested "Golden State" would remain in its name for the foreseeable future, and "possibly forever." San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said the team "belongs to the Bay Area," and he insisted the lame-name issue was "not discussed at all." We say: Let ... Continue reading →
Art Zendarski / Future Cities A drawing shows a waterfront location for the arena. Pro basketball's Warriors want to return the San Francisco way, starting with their commitment to build a $400 million-plus arena by 2017 with no public funding. They also are willing to provide a substantial public benefit - spending upward of $100 million on dilapidated Piers 30-32 - and to produce an architectural masterpiece on the waterfront with cultural, aesthetic and economic benefits that transcend sports. It's a tall order, and there will be plenty to dissect and discuss before construction begins. Nothing comes easy in San Francisco, especially when the words "development" and "waterfront" are involved. But the Warriors are showing an appreciation for the city's sensitivities as they roll out ... Continue reading →
Does anyone really want to choose a president based on what he was like in high school? That question has come to the fore with allegations that Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, participated in cruel and possibly homophobic behavior while in private boarding school. Naturally, the attention on Romney's past has led some cable TV pundits and bloggers to resurrect President Obama's admission of having experimented with illegal drugs in high school and college. It's all such nonsense. Even worse than the focus on an incident of bullying or drug use is the tendency in this culture to try to expand such tidbits from the past into a definitive psychoanalysis of an individual. People change from their teen years, often profoundly and often for ... Continue reading →
What's broken Issue: Spotty Wi-Fi service is not available everywhere on BART despite promises that it would be available by 2010. What's been done: Signals are up from the Oakland underground to Balboa Park, but that means nothing until officials make all the cars hotspots that can receive the signals. Who's responsible: Contact company WiFi Rail representative Catharine Cooper at (714) 296-5250 or ccooper@wifirail.net. Chuck Rae is the BART project manager for the Wi-Fi project. Reach him at (510) 464-6895 or crae@bart.gov. Any commuter with a smart phone and fingers knows that something stinks on BART, and it's not just the soiled carpets. Wi-Fi on BART, which was dangled in front of Bay Area commuters as a perk to be available throughout the entire system ... Continue reading →
