If your family spent a majority of its disposable income on groceries and you were looking to tighten your belt, you might start by taking a scalpel to your grocery budget.
If Republicans are serious about reining in our out-of-control federal spending, they ought to start with the spending item that takes up 56 percent of our discretionary spending: defense. Conservatives, in their much-needed attacks on federal overspending, too often give the Pentagon a pass. For the budget of fiscal year 2011, taxpayers are spending $708 billion on defense.
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Ken Garcia’s Tuesday column overlooked what many people find to be the most objectionable element of the Board of Supervisors’ proposed charter amendments. Although the supervisors can veto the mayor’s commission appointments, as Garcia mentioned, the mayor cannot veto the supervisors’ appointments.
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Friday, May 28
Eating
Food: Known for its California-inspired Japanese fare served to-go at the Ferry Building, Delica rf 1 has added a dinner menu, boasting impeccable sushi and delicacies from the deep-fryer.
Drinking
Meet Your Mixologist: Anthony Martinez tends bar at Bistro Boudin — above the famed bakery — where the menu features creative cocktails, inlcuding strawberry lemonade: a mix of limoncello, strawberry Stoli, strawberry puree and soda water.
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A San Francisco real estate developer who was sentenced earlier this week for tax evasion has been given a second federal prison term in a separate case for poaching protected steelhead trout.
Luke Brugnara, 46, will serve the two sentences concurrently, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Jack Gillund.
In the more recent sentencing, Brugnara was ordered by U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney in San Francisco on Wednesday to serve one year and three months in prison for harming steelhead trout on property he owns in Gilroy.
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Lee DeWyze, a paint store clerk who overcame his shyness to impress "American Idol" judges and viewers with his spirit and soulful voice, triumphed Wednesday over bluesy musician Crystal Bowersox in the contest's ninth season.
When asked by host Ryan Seacrest how he felt, an emotional DeWyze said, "I don't know. It's amazing, thank you, guys, so much ... I love you. Crystal, I love you."
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San Francisco jurors Wednesday convicted a 20-year-old man of murder for the killing of a father of six during a marijuana robbery in The City in 2008.
Gregory Chapman, 46, was found shot near the intersection of Plymouth Avenue and Broad Street on May 13, 2008, according to police and prosecutors.
Yang, who police say was an associate of a street gang, was indicted in March as part of a crackdown against suspected members and associates of the gang for a series of robberies and murders in recent years, including Chapman’s.
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San Francisco Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday due to a strained right hamstring.
Renteria, who just came off the DL Saturday from a groin injury, hurt himself while running out a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning of Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Washington Nationals. He underwent an MRI test Wednesday before the decision was made to shelve him again.
Before getting hurt, the veteran infielder was batting .326 with one home run and 11 RBIs.
Juan Uribe started in place of Renteria against the Nationals on Wednesday.
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Nine high school seniors received a total of $11,000 in scholarships through the We Believe in Youth program.
The San Carlos Chamber of Commerce awarded the scholarships to six students graduating from Carlmont High School — Brittany Hernandez, Alex Kelson, Kyle McKee, Kevin Muller, Nolan Richins and Victoria Wood — as well as Dylan Hruska from Sacred Heart Prep, William Juri from Bellarmine College Prep and Marisa Mendenhall from Notre Dame High School.
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Burlingame has decided to stop using red-light cameras after only a year. The traffic-monitoring devices will cease operation at El Camino Real and Broadway at midnight Memorial Day. Police Department officials experienced several problems with the cameras, including being struck by motorists. Also, they were not catching as many violators as anticipated.
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Members of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 — representing approximately half The City’s 27,000 public employees — voted in support of a crucial $200 million deficit-cutting contract deal.
With a 92 percent “yes” vote, Local 1021 joined smaller unions to ratify a contract concession accepting 12 unpaid furlough days.
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A 55-year-old San Francisco man accused of killing of another man he allegedly struck with a stereo was ordered to Napa State Hospital on Wednesday after being found mentally unfit to stand trial.
Edward Holloway, a transient, was arrested after an apparently unprovoked attack on 38-year-old Matthew Adams, of San Francisco, inside a Carl’s Jr. restaurant at Seventh and Market streets on Jan. 16.
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A former top executive at Google Inc. who claims he was fired because he didn’t fit in with the Internet giant’s youthful culture took his case to the California Supreme Court in San Francisco on Wednesday.
Brian Reid, 60, claims he was unfairly fired at age 54 in 2004 because of illegal age discrimination. He has testified he was told he was not a cultural fit with Google.
Reid’s lawyer, Paul Killion, told the court at a hearing Wednesday morning, “‘Not a cultural fit’ is a code word for being too old.”
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The increasing costs of the court providing legal defense for those who cannot afford it is coming under scrutiny heading into budget deliberations.
San Francisco Superior Court’s legal-defense tab for those who cannot afford their own attorney has increased by more than 40 percent in five years for a total of $10.6 million. The burgeoning cost is not going unnoticed by city officials, who are facing another year of having to close an enormous budget deficit.
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An angry, frustrated President Barack Obama reportedly exhorted aides to just “plug the damn hole” a week after the crude oil and natural gas began blowing out of BP’s Deepwater Horizon well a mile below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico.
Here’s a better piece of advice for Obama, his aides and everybody else in Washington, D.C., dealing with what’s rapidly becoming the worst environmental disaster in American history: Stop the damn politics, quit pointing fingers and focus on finding a solution.
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Apparently, even Roger Federer, with his record 16 Grand Slam titles, was in need of some advice on a wet and windy Wednesday at the French Open.
Forced off court by two rain delays, and "pushed," as he put it, by a player with a career record below .500, Federer turned to Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi for words of wisdom during the breaks. Told to be more aggressive early, then to use more drop shots late, Federer survived for 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 victory over Alejandro Falla in the second round.
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