San Francisco Chronicle

ARNOLD AGONISTES: How the Election Changed the Governor -- and California

Articles — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Now what? The special election was a referendum on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and all eyes are focused on how he responds to a complete rejection by voters. But an even more important question is, what will voters do next?

They started this venture into uncharted territory with the unprecedented recall of an incumbent governor and the election of a political neophyte who promised to sweep out the status quo. Now, the rejection of the special election suggests the recall was a failed solution.

Voters are still as angry as they were two years ago. Roughly 3 out of 5… more

On Respect

Articles — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0400

I recently moved to Los Angeles. Along with the fun of exploring its interconnected cities, I experienced a string of racial incidents. Some were faintly ridiculous, like a spat with the owners of a spa who'd canceled my reservation. Others were all too familiar, like meeting a landlord who clearly didn't want to rent to me. It was as if the universe was saying, "Hold on, black woman, don't get too big for your britches."

Humility is a virtue black women--and African Americans generally--are expected to have in excess. But as I travel through the country speaking to students,… more

HURRICANE KATRINA

Articles — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0400

On the surface, San Francisco and New Orleans seem almost polar opposites.

The California city--where nearly half of its residents over 25 have college degrees and median household income soars above the national average--stands as a beacon for the highly educated, affluent and privileged. That's in searing contrast to New Orleans, where only about a quarter of its residents hold college degrees and median household income is a mere half that of San Francisco.

Yet these two cities--gems of American urbanism--actually have much in common. Both grew up as frontier communities on the cutting edge of American expansion. New Orleans was… more

Size Matters in Remapping State Legislative Boundaries

Articles — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0400

If we really want to do something about our electile dysfunction, we're going to have to do a lot more than pop a redistricting pill.

Thanks in large part to Dr. Schwarzenegger, Californians will be voting on a prescription for redistricting reform this November. But while a more neutral drawing of legislative district boundaries may lessen the symptoms of California's political disorder, it won't cure the disease. The real problem in California politics is the size of legislative districts -- as measured by population, not their shape.

In 1879, when Californians set the 120-seat ceiling on our state Legislature,… more

The Ephemeral City

Articles — Sun, 08 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

San Francisco today represents the ultimate expression of a new kind of urban area -- the ephemeral city. This urban form, dominated by the nomadic rich, the restless young and those living off them, has emerged across the advanced industrial world, but perhaps nowhere more clearly and arguably nowhere more successfully than in the city by the bay.

The ephemeral city differs dramatically from traditional urban centers. No longer populated mainly by middle class families and a diverse set of industries, it is dominated by a wealthy elite, part-time sojourners, hordes of tourists and those that serve them. "This is… more

Revenge of the Rubes -- High-Tech Marches on in the Hinterland

Articles — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0500

For much of urban history, major cities have enjoyed a remarkable monopoly of technology, information and economic power. Today, that stranglehold is being threatened in unprecedented ways that threaten the long- term health of large metropolitan economies, such as that of the Bay Area.

Ironically, this shift is being accelerated largely by the spread of telecommunications technology, which has been nurtured in places like Northern California, but which now provides great opportunities for companies far from the urban core.

What anthropologist Robert McC. Adams labels the "awesome technological destruction of distance" now undermines many traditional advantages enjoyed by established… more

California Must Keep its Edge

Articles — Sun, 02 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0500

California's strength in knowledge-intensive industries is so great that many policy-makers take it for granted. By some indicators, California has more top-ranked universities than Europe and Japan combined. It is also a world leader in transferring new knowledge from the lab to the marketplace, thanks to a skilled, entrepreneurial workforce and a heavy concentration of venture capital.

The result for decades has been a virtuous cycle of development in which the excellence of California's higher education system attracts more and more talent and investment to the state, which in turn enables it to dominate one emerging industry after another.

For… more

State of Risk

Articles — Sun, 02 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Politicians who embrace California's pioneering spirit hold the key to leading a rapidly changing electorate to a brighter future

One sign of what ails California is that the state that gave John Kerry nearly a double-digit margin two months ago is hemorrhaging Democrats. And Republicans shouldn't take any comfort in their opponents' misfortune.

Since 1990, when more than half of voters here were registered Democrats, the party's share of the electorate has dropped to just 43 percent today. In fact, even as the state has grown, the number of Democratic voters has shrunk. There are about 100,000 fewer… more

The $20,000 Bargain to Keep Your Seat

Articles — Sun, 05 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0500

What if you could pay the modest sum of $20,000 and end up with lifetime employment at a salary of $158,000 annually plus the best health and retirement benefits, frequent travel to Washington, D.C., and staff and paid expenses, all on the public's dime? What a deal, eh?

As the most recent election results show, that's the plum situation for California's congressional delegation as a result of gerrymandering their own legislative district lines in 2001.

The Democratic incumbents paid $20,000 apiece to the political consultant drawing the district lines -- who happened to be the brother of one incumbent -- to… more

Time for Financial Democracy -- and Trust

Articles — Thu, 07 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

In the litany of lessons emerging from the Enron debacle, three of the most important concern financial democracy (i.e. the rights and responsibilities that people have in managing their money), transparency and most crucially, the trust that underpins global finance.

In America, the supposed land of the free, many employees still do not have the freedom to choose how to invest for retirement. In most companies, this means that the company offers them a list of acceptable mutual funds for their 401(k)s.

At companies like Enron, the strictures were even tighter: Employees were encouraged (some would say forced) to invest… more