(In Memory)

out & about

Photographs Part III

Photographs Part II

Photographs Pt. I

(And if you're feeling generou$$ ------>>>>>> )

RIP Edwin Mah Lee

...Formerly of Seattle's Beacon Hill, lately "Interim" Mayor of San Francisco. Passed at age 60 (even his bff Rose Pak left the earthly plane at 68 - Lee is too young!) [ed: correction: Mayor Lee was 65.] No matter what differences I and many of my friends had with the man, I am jarred and saddened by his death, and I offer my condolences to his family and intimates...

(It goes without saying that Lee's demise leaves a tempting vacuum in which, for many of the new San Francisco economy, yet another "statement" to the rest of us ought to be made...)

pop*pop***Firecrackers!***pop*pop

Salesforce née Transbay Tower

Monday Morning Quarterbacking: Salesforce Tower was not zoned at all residential, despite its being located South of Market - not in the financial district itself; that's a lot of square footage that doesn't need all to be commercial, particularly in a City with a perennial housing shortage.

I'd like to think shortsidedness of a certain sort would explain things, but it doesn't. Basically, as I've heard it surmised and scuttlebutted, the developer assumed from the outset that San Francisco is hostile to new building anyway in spirit, and decided along the following lines (independent of numbers crunching): by the time San Francisco knows what Caracas has been going through for decades, Salesforce Tower will by force of social economic necessity become a version of El Torre de David.

The thinking that billionaires bring to bear on San Francisco - really!

As a victim of criminal displacement by the unlikeliest of landlords to do so in the mess of [ed. for clarity, relevance, emphasis: sooper-dooper WRONG] evictions in recent years, I find my own unwillingness to believe half-baked and speculation-spiked explanations acceptable....

Sunday Is My Fun Day

San Francisco: Financial District, Civic Center (Asian Art Museum and City Hall in lights after dark.)

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Many of us see at least our spam folders (and plenty, our inboxes), flooded with e-mails our good sense knows originate with those who have no compunction about defrauding the well-intentioned, the (for whatever reason) embarrassed, the hard-up, the isolated or lonely, those who are not yet wise to the tricks employed, or those who are developmentally disabled or aren't yet mature.

These criminals seem to operate without conscience, and seem to think doing wrong turns to the vulnerable is acceptable; they rely on public apathy and the reputation law enforcement and the government often have for an unwillingness or failure to act.

If you or a loved one has been taken in by any such scam (and the scammers might be in another state), please know that plenty of people and organizations are around to offer their assistance. Here are a few contact options:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts (reporting scams)

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us (Internet Crime Complaint Center)

https://www.justice.gov/doj/spam (Justice Department,  spam)

https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds (more links, info)

https://www.treasury.gov/services/report-fwa/Pages/Report-Email-Scams.aspx (reporting to the Treasury)

https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing (For those scams reputing to be the IRS contacting you)

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/scam-emails (In the UK) 

IT IS MOST IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOT BE DISCOURAGED BY ANY CONTACT YOU HAVE WITH OTHERS IN WHICH YOU ARE TOLD YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, AND DO NOT BE SHAMED: MOCKERY OR UNWILLINGNESS TO HELP ON THE PART OF THOSE YOU TALK TO IS NOT THE FINAL WORD - KEEP TRYING. IF THAT HAPPENS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, INSIST ON SPEAKING WITH ANY SUPERIORS, CALL BACK, WRITE TO THOSE DEPARTMENTS OR INDIVIDUALS HANDLING OVERSIGHT. YOU KNOW WRONG FROM RIGHT, AND YOU DESERVE JUSTICE.

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The rest of Sunday better be a breeze. Tons of lamb from Jenny U. (yay!), might bother Joyce next door for some of those ripe olives so I might cure them (I prefer salt to lye, myself), and... IF YOU'RE FEELING SINISTER, JUST LOVE BELLE AND SEBASTIAN RIFFING, OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON (SPITE IS A GOOD ONE, AMONG OTHERS), FEEL FREE TO DONATE TO MY GOFUNDME, PAYPAL, OR VENMO LINKS TO THE RIGHT-->>

Lovely San Francisco

Ah... But now it's raining. Back to Vallejo, then Stonyford today...

As always, donations proudly accepted at the paypal, gofundme, and venmo account links to the right...