I don’t know if you remember much about being in kindergarten, but I sure do. And what I remember most is my teacher, Mrs. Ellis. She didn’t speak a word of Spanish and I hardly spoke a word of English. But she liked me. That’s all I knew on my first day. Mrs. Ellis knew what to do. She called me “honey,” and I knew by the way she said it that it meant something nice. During those first days of school when I couldn’t understand a thing at all, I’d hear her call to me with that special new English word, and I felt safe. Read More

➤ “Muni for today, Muni for tomorrow,” Opinion, Thursday Muni’s spending has gone out of control In Thursday’s opinion piece, Muni Transportation Director Ed Reiskin complains how Muni will be $510 million in the red each year for the next 20 years just to maintain its current operations. He calls Muni crowded, late and dirty. He is a master of understatement. Read More

➤ “Beach Chalet soccer field plan panned by state agency,” Local News, Thursday Turf plan criticism is misinformed I support the installation of artificial turf fields at the Beach Chalet site. And I personally take issue with the California Coastal Commission’s staff summary recommendation to stop the proposed Beach Chalet field renovation project. Translated into English, the staff recommendation says: Read More

A recent report by staff members of the state agency that controls development along California’s coastline argues against a plan for new playing fields near the Beach Chalet in Golden Gate Park. But the document is flawed in its reasoning and its recommendations should be rejected. When the California Coastal Commission takes up the issue of the Beach Chalet soccer fields during its Thursday meeting, the members of the agency will have before them a document based on a false understanding of what this portion of the park was, is and should be. Read More