The Raiders may have left Oakland for Las Vegas, but a villain big and bold is still robbing residents of their gold — or, more specifically, their outboard motors.

Pirates, yes pirates, have invaded the San Francisco Bay, taking advantage of defunded police departments by stealing into marinas in the dead of night on dinghies, pillaging just for fun, and then slinking back into the inky darkness.

SCHUMER CHOOSES DECLINE FOR SENATE DECORUM

Their main target so far has been the well-heeled yet unprotected marinas of the Oakland Estuary, an 800-foot-wide channel separating the city of Oakland from the island of Alameda. Yachts and houseboats docked at the Alameda Community Sailing Center, the Encinal Yacht Club, and even the Jack London Aquatic Center have all been targets.

While thieves will ransack a yacht for anything of value, and some entire boats have been stolen, the main target of the Oakland pirates appears to be outboard motors.

“Yeah, the motors are the thing,” Jaime Camacho told the San Francisco Chronicle. “You’ve got to figure a brand-new, small 10-horsepower engine is $10,000-$15,000. So, even in the black market, they can probably get a couple thousand.”

Marina residents believe most of the pirates come from the rapidly growing “anchor-out” communities that have grown along with the homeless populations on land. While a million-dollar houseboat with plumbing and electricity can pay $1,000 a month in docking fees, the anchor-outs drop anchor for free in the middle of the bay on semi-derelict boats free of charge. Everything they need to survive, including water, food, and medical supplies, must be brought in by dinghies, usually equipped with an outboard motor.

It is these vessels that residents think the pirates are using to raid their communities.

Oakland has just one officer dedicated to the Oakland Estuary, and unless there is a violent crime in action, the police aren’t responding to anyone’s call.

“It’s almost the Wild West,” Marina Village Yacht Harbor investor Steve Meckfessel told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s almost as if you were on a ship and there are pirates out there and there’s no government, no one to protect you.”

The piracy in Oakland has gotten so bad that the Coast Guard has started to patrol the area. “Our plan is to increase the level of Coast Guard law enforcement presence in the estuary at random times throughout the day,” Coast Guard Capt. Taylor Lam told KGO News. “Our primary effort from the Coast Guard is to ensure that there is a deterrent.”

Maybe with the federal authorities involved, at least one community in Oakland will get a semblance of law and order back.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

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Voters fill out their ballots at the Department of Elections at City Hall in September, 2021.

Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner

ELECTION 2022

Below are The San Francisco Examiner Editorial Board’s endorsements for Tuesday’s primary election.

San Francisco ballot measures:

Yes on Proposition A, Muni Reliability and Street Safety Bond. Prop. A will allow San Francisco’s public transportation system to make critical upgrades to reduce wait times, repair aging systems and enhance street safety with new crosswalks and street signals. Making such investments is critical in a densely populated world-class city crisscrossed by various modes of public transport that make it easy to navigate without ever setting foot in a car.

Yes on Proposition B to reform the Building Inspection Commission. The reforms will increase accountability and transparency in a scandal-plagued department.

Yes on Proposition C to reform recall timelines and vacancy appointments. An open competition with a level playing field is always the best deal for voters. Prop. C is a smart reform that respects the right of voters to recall their leaders while also helping to protect our democracy from destructive and wasteful political games.

Yes on Proposition D to help crime victims and provide legal services for domestic violence victims. Despite San Francisco’s progressive politics, the city falls far short when it comes to helping victims of crime. Prop. D would establish the Office of Victim and Witness Rights to act as a clearinghouse for access to services designed to help crime victims navigate one of the toughest moments of their lives.

Yes on Proposition E to restrict behested payments solicited by city elected officials. Prop. E seeks to reform city government by creating fewer opportunities for moneyed interest to corrupt the process. It would do this by creating tighter restrictions on the practice of receiving behested payments, which are donations a public official can solicit to benefit public agencies or private organizations.

Yes on Proposition F to reform Recology’s corrupt waste management contract monopoly. Prop. F would restructure the Rate Board that oversees the city’s contracts with Recology and its subsidiaries, adding a ratepayer advocate to the mix. This measure would also give the Board of Supervisors the power to undo Recology’s monopoly on residential waste management in The City. These changes are necessary in the light of Recology’s record over the past few years. Last year, the company admitted to stealing $95 million from residents by overcharging them through fraudulent rate hikes.

Yes on Proposition G to provide paid public health emergency leave to workers at companies with 100 workers or more. Given the toll COVID took on the health and safety of workers — and the very real possibility that such emergencies will become more frequent — guaranteed public health leave is a sensitive reform.

No on Proposition H, the measure to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. The recall campaign’s case against Boudin tends to be light on facts but heavy on anecdote, emotion and accusations that usually prove untrue.

City/County Offices:

David Chiu for City Attorney. San Francisco lucked out when Chiu became The City’s chief legal representative. His long experience as a legislator, coupled with his track record of standing up for what’s right, make him the right candidate for the job.

Voter-nominated state/congressional offices:

Gavin Newsom for California governor. Voters strongly endorsed Newsom’s steady leadership in last year’s recall election. The only challenge for Newsom now is to make good on the ambitious promises he made when he ran under the slogan of “Courage for a Change” in 2018.

Eleni Kounalakis for Lieutenant Governor. She is the clear choice for California lieutenant governor.

Shirley Weber for Secretary of State. Weber faces six challengers on the ballot, but none can match her experience or gravitas.

Malia Cohen or Steve Glazer for Controller. Cohen and Glazer come to the race with strong records of public service that would serve Californians well.

Fiona Ma for Treasurer. She has served ably and competently as a California state treasurer. Ma, whose elected career started on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, became a treasurer after winning the office with more votes than any other treasurer candidate in history, becoming the first woman of color to serve in the position.

Rob Bonta for Attorney General. More than anyone else in the race, Bonta represents the future of crime fighting. He’s not afraid to prosecute felonies and seek prison terms when necessary, but he also understands that we can’t incarcerate our way to a safer society. He knows that smart criminal justice reforms, rather than police state gulags, are the best way to both reduce crime and increase public safety.

Insurance Commissioner. The Examiner is not endorsing in the primary.

Tony Thurmond for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Of the seven candidates running for California state superintendent of education, Thurmond is clearly the best candidate for the office. As the incumbent superintendent during the unprecedented COVID era, Thurmond has been a steady hand at the Department of Education, working with the governor’s office to reopen California’s schools and distinguishing himself as a champion of educational opportunity for all.

Board of Equalization Members, District 2. The Examiner is not endorsing in the primary.

Alex Padilla for United States Senator. Padilla’s name appears twice on Tuesday’s ballot. The first vote will elect him to finish the term he’s been serving since former Sen. Kamala Harris became vice president of the United States. The other vote will elect him to a full term in the US Senate. Padilla has earned both votes. During his short time in Washington, he distinguished himself as a senator who takes the job seriously, putting in the time and effort necessary to get things done.

Nancy Pelosi for United States Representative in Congress, District 11. Now more than ever, our nation needs Pelosi’s care and leadership, which are rooted in her deep faith.

United States Representative in Congress, District 15. The Examiner is not endorsing in the primary.

Matt Haney for State Assembly, District 17. As the District 6 representative on the Board of Supervisors, Haney has distinguished himself as a leader who is willing to confront tough issues. He also has proven himself to be someone who can get things done. This skill will be crucial in Sacramento, where building coalitions and moving legislation is the job.

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Noch vor zwei Jahren war San Francisco eine der am schnellsten wachsenden Städte des Landes. Seitdem ist es in fast allen Wirtschaftskennzahlen zu einem der schwächsten geworden.

Alles, was es brauchte, war eine globale Pandemie, die den internationalen Reiseverkehr stoppte, die Flut von Tausenden von täglichen Pendlern in die Stadt behinderte und Konferenzen und andere große Veranstaltungen absagte, die das Lebenselixier der Tourismusbranche von San Francisco sind.

Wirtschaftlich gesehen „hatten wir eine schwächere Pandemie als andere Städte, erheblich schwächer“, sagte Ted Egan, Chefökonom von San Francisco. „Wir werden wahrscheinlich eine schwächere Postpandemie haben, wenn wir zu dieser Zeit kommen, weil die Arbeit von zu Hause aus und in San Francisco weit verbreitet ist.“

San Francisco gibt sein Geld jetzt anders aus, da viele von zu Hause aus arbeiten. Während die Innenstadt früher das Zentrum der Wochentagsausgaben war, hat sich ein Teil dieser wirtschaftlichen Aktivität in die Nachbarschaften verlagert, in denen die Menschen leben. Diese Karte zeigt die Differenz der Umsatzsteuereinnahmen zwischen 2019 und 2021 nach Aufsichtsbezirken. Klar ist, dass einige Wohngebiete zwar einen geringeren Verlust erlitten haben als andere, die gesamtwirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen von COVID-19 und die verschiedenen Anordnungen für Schutz vor Ort jedoch in der ganzen Stadt negativ bleiben. (Prüfergrafik)

Innenstadt

Die Innenstadt von San Francisco wurde am stärksten von der COVID-19-Pandemie und dem dadurch verursachten Phänomen der Heimarbeit getroffen.

Pendler und Touristen, die einst die florierende Wirtschaft der Region ankurbelten, müssen noch zurückkehren. Und während sich die Handelskorridore in der Nachbarschaft etwas stärker erholen, reicht dies laut Egan nicht annähernd aus, um die Verluste in der ganzen Stadt auszugleichen.

Die Innenstadt von San Francisco, einst das Zentrum der pulsierenden Wirtschaft der Bay Area, fühlt sich heute leer an. Pendler hielten einst die gesamte Innenstadtwirtschaft mit ihren Ausgaben in Mittagslokalen, Happy Hour und Cafés am Leben. Die Zahlen der öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel zeigen, dass die meisten Menschen weiterhin von zu Hause aus arbeiten, und Touristen, die von berühmten Zielen in der Innenstadt wie dem Ferry Building angezogen werden, müssen noch massenhaft zurückkehren. (Prüfer-Darstellung)

Im Jahr 2019, dem letzten vollen Jahr vor Ausbruch der Pandemie, gab es 40,3 Millionen Ausgänge an den Transitstationen in der Innenstadt von San Francisco. Bis November waren es für das bisherige Jahr nur noch 6,9 Millionen gewesen.

Der San Francisco International Airport verzeichnete im Jahr 2019 42,1 Millionen Inlandspassagiere und 15,2 Millionen Inlandspassagiere. Im Vergleich dazu kamen im Jahr 2021 nur 18,6 Millionen bzw. 2,8 Millionen an.

Mit ihnen ist ihre Kaufkraft, die Hauptkunden für Dutzende von Geschäften in der Innenstadt und ein Teil der Steuerbasis von San Francisco, der für die Bereitstellung grundlegender städtischer Dienstleistungen von entscheidender Bedeutung ist, verschwunden. Die beiden Aufsichtsbezirke, zu denen auch die Innenstadt gehört, verzeichneten zwischen 2019 und 2021 einen Rückgang der Umsatzsteuereinnahmen – ein Maß für die Einzelhandelsausgaben – um mehr als 25 %.

Der Tourismus ist seit langem ein Grundpfeiler der Wirtschaft von San Francisco und generierte 2019 vor der Pandemie Ausgaben von mehr als 10,3 Milliarden US-Dollar von Besuchern. COVID-19 stoppte die Reise nach The City fast über Nacht, und die Rückkehr kam nur langsam. Internationalen Touristen, die laut San Francisco Travel im Jahr 2019 für mehr als 60 % der Übernachtungsausgaben der Besucher verantwortlich waren, wurde die Einreise in die Vereinigten Staaten bis November untersagt. Experten der Reisebranche bleiben optimistisch, dass die Lockerung der Reisebeschränkungen in Verbindung mit Impfstoffen und die relative Milde der Omicron-Variante für die Geimpften dazu beitragen werden, die Rückkehr von Reisen nach San Francisco anzukurbeln. (Prüfer-Darstellung)

„San Francisco hängt von der Umsatzsteuer, den Bruttoeinnahmen und Sondersteuern für Unternehmen in der Innenstadt ab“, sagte Alexander Quinn, Research Director für Nordkalifornien bei der gewerblichen Immobilienfirma JLL. „(Downtown) ernährt im Wesentlichen die Nachbarschaften. Wenn Sie es also nicht zu einem lebendigen Ort machen, hat dies kaskadenartige Konsequenzen für alle Nachbarschaften in The City.“

Die wirtschaftliche Erholung der Stadt hängt weitgehend von der Rückkehr der Arbeitnehmer in gewerbliche Bürogebäude ab.

Laut Daten von JLL ist der Büroleerstand in San Francisco so hoch wie seit über 20 Jahren nicht mehr. Ende 2019 lag sie bei 5,9 %. Zwei Jahre später hatte sie 22,4 % erreicht.

Die Zurückhaltung der Unternehmen, von ihren Mitarbeitern zu verlangen, dass sie wieder Vollzeit ins Büro zurückkehren, hat sich in niedrigeren Angebotsmietpreisen für Gewerbeflächen niedergeschlagen. Laut JLL liegt der durchschnittliche Angebotsmietpreis heute bei 80 US-Dollar pro Quadratfuß, verglichen mit 93 US-Dollar im Jahr 2019.

Quinn glaubt jedoch, dass es Grund gibt, optimistisch zu sein.

„Was wir als Trend sehen, ist, dass sich die Belegungsverluste zu Beginn der Pandemie langsam verlangsamen“, sagte er. „Die Zahlen sind jetzt dort, wo die Leerstände steigen, aber es ist nicht annähernd so schnell, und wir erwarten, dass diese nächsten zwei Quartale den Tiefpunkt erreichen werden, und dann werden wir beginnen, eine Erholung zu sehen.“

Viele der Wirtschaftsindikatoren von San Francisco scheinen sich im Vergleich zu den tiefsten Trögen zu Beginn der Shelter-in-Place-Order zu verbessern; Sie bleiben jedoch deutlich unter dem Niveau vor der Pandemie. Beispielsweise lag die Arbeitslosenquote im November bei 5 %, verglichen mit 2,2 % im Jahr 2019, und die durchschnittlichen Mietkosten betrugen 2.222 USD gegenüber 2.757 USD. Ein Lichtblick ist jedoch das anhaltende Beschäftigungswachstum in den professionellen Dienstleistungs- und Informationssektoren. Beide verheißen Gutes für die makroökonomische Vitalität von San Francisco. Weniger klar ist, wie ein Homeoffice-freundliches Umfeld die Ausgabegewohnheiten verändern könnte. (Prüfer-Darstellung)

Auswanderung

Schon vor der Pandemie lebte nur etwa die Hälfte der Belegschaft von San Francisco innerhalb der Stadtgrenzen. Fernarbeit hat die Abwanderung von noch mehr Menschen vorangetrieben, und es ist unklar, wann oder ob sie zurückkehren werden.

Laut Egan ist die Miete ein großartiger Indikator für Wohntrends, weil sie „ein ziemlich klares Barometer dafür ist, wie viele Menschen in die Stadt ein- und ausziehen wollen“.

Die durchschnittlichen Mietkosten für einen Wohnraum beliefen sich 2019 auf 2.757 US-Dollar. Die Preise gingen in den frühen Stadien der Pandemie stark zurück, als die Menschen erkannten, dass sie aus The City ausziehen und trotzdem ihre Jobs behalten könnten, und sie müssen sich noch erholen.

Viele dieser Leute waren Arbeiter in der Technologiebranche oder Leute, die hauptsächlich wegen eines Jobs in San Francisco waren. Egan sagt, jüngere Bewohner, Menschen, die darüber nachdenken, eine Familie zu gründen, und diejenigen, die jahrelang in beengten Wohnungen mit mehreren Mitbewohnern gelebt haben, hätten möglicherweise die Gelegenheit ergriffen, woanders mehr Platz und mehr finanzielle Stabilität zu finden.

„Es gab einen großen Rückgang der Migration, und das ist wirklich noch nicht zurückgekommen“, sagte Egan und stellte fest, dass es noch keine aussagekräftigen Daten zur Bevölkerungsveränderung durch Pandemien gibt. „Sie würden also nicht erwarten, dass die Mieten zurückkommen.“

Auch die Preise für den Kauf von Einfamilienhäusern und Eigentumswohnungen seien „mancherorts schwächer, aber nicht so schlecht wie bei den Mieten“, so Egan.

Der Tech-Effekt

Nur weil die Leute nicht im Büro sind, heißt das nicht, dass die Tech-Industrie San Francisco verlassen hat.

Vielmehr haben Technologieunternehmen während der Pandemie einen Boom erlebt, da sich die Welt in Richtung virtueller Aktivitäten bewegt hat. Das Beschäftigungswachstum ist in einem halsbrecherischen Tempo gestiegen, das jetzt die Raten vor der Pandemie übersteigt, während andere Branchen ums Überleben kämpfen.

Laut Daten des City Controller’s Office wurden zwischen Februar 2020 und November 12.400 Arbeitsplätze im Bereich der professionellen und Unternehmensdienstleistungen geschaffen, und Informationsunternehmen schufen im gleichen Zeitraum 9.400 Stellen.

Im Gegensatz dazu verlor die Freizeit- und Gastgewerbebranche in den knapp zwei Jahren 39.400 Arbeitsplätze.

MosconeMachine

„Das Problem ist, dass sie von zu Hause aus arbeiten, und wir wissen nicht, wann sie damit aufhören werden, von zu Hause aus zu arbeiten. Wenn sie es tun, wissen wir nicht, wie lange sie im Büro bleiben werden“, sagte Egan über die Einstellung von Mitarbeitern in der Technologiebranche. „Das ist das Risiko für die Erholung der Stadt, die ehrlich gesagt eine Erholung ist, die noch nicht ganz stattgefunden hat.“

Egans sprichwörtlicher Wendepunkt wird eintreten, wenn das Virus die täglichen Entscheidungen nicht mehr beeinflusst und die Arbeitgeber vor der Frage stehen, ob sie von den Arbeitnehmern verlangen sollen, ins Büro zurückzukehren.

Während andere Branchen wie der Finanzdienstleistungssektor eher darauf bestanden haben, dass Mitarbeiter mindestens ein paar Tage in der Woche ins Büro kommen, zögern Technologieunternehmen, ein solches Mandat anzunehmen.

„Das Hybridmodell ist hier, um zu bleiben“, sagte Quinn.

Aber auch die Anziehungskraft von San Francisco als Drehscheibe für Talente, Innovationen und raue Naturschönheiten.

„Wir gehen davon aus, dass in den nächsten Jahren Tech-Leasingverträge abgeschlossen werden, weil so viele ihrer Arbeiter hier leben“, sagte Quinn. „San Francisco hat immer noch die Infrastruktur und die Knochen, und es ist immer noch ein unglaublicher Ort zum Leben.“

San Francisco hat vorerst etwas Luft zum Atmen.

Es kam in diesem Jahr vor allem dank der erheblichen Finanzierung durch die Bundesregierung zu einem Geldsegen. Das hat den Druck von den städtischen Kassen genommen, notwendige Dienstleistungen zu bezahlen, Renten für Regierungsangestellte zu finanzieren und weiterhin Programme zu unterstützen, die darauf abzielen, die Wirtschaftstätigkeit anzukurbeln.

Quinn möchte, dass The City mit Technologieunternehmen zusammenarbeitet, um Pläne für die Rückkehr an den Arbeitsplatz zu fördern, und er ist auch der Meinung, dass sich lokale Beamte auf das konzentrieren sollten, was er „alltägliche Probleme der Stadtverwaltung“ im Zusammenhang mit der öffentlichen Sicherheit nennt, die die Wahrnehmung verändern könnten von San Francisco.

Was Egan betrifft, so wird er in den nächsten zehn Jahren auf die Bewegung der Grundsteuereinnahmen achten.

Die Stadt hat im vergangenen Jahr rund 2,2 Milliarden US-Dollar an Grundsteuern eingenommen, ein wichtiger Teil ihres Haushalts. Der größte Teil der wirtschaftlichen Situation wird sich im Laufe der Zeit von selbst lösen, aber langfristige Senkungen der Grundsteuer könnten die Erholung von San Francisco gefährden.

Wenn die Menschen weiterhin in so großer Zahl von zu Hause aus arbeiten, werden die Menschen weniger bereit sein, teure Geschäftsgebäude zu bezahlen. Ein Kaskadeneffekt könnte folgen und Gewerbe- und Wohnimmobilien in der ganzen Stadt treffen, wenn der Wert des Lebens in San Francisco durch weniger Unternehmenszentralen, Branchenveranstaltungen und andere persönliche Ereignisse verringert zu werden scheint. Mieten, Immobilienwerte und schließlich die Grundsteuereinnahmen aus dem Verkauf von Gebäuden könnten deutlich sinken.

„In San Francisco geht es im Wesentlichen darum, Menschen davon zu überzeugen, dass es wertvoll ist, hierher zu kommen, um in einem Büro zu arbeiten. Wenn dies nicht der Fall ist, wird dies zu einer umfassenden Umstrukturierung der Wirtschaft der Stadt führen“, sagte Egan. „Es wird nicht über Nacht passieren, aber das ist das größte Problem am Horizont.“

cgraf@sfexaminer.com

(Prüfer-Darstellung)

The post The downturn persists – The San Francisco Examiner appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

‘F9’, the tenth entry in the never-ending “Fast and Furious” series – spin-off “Hobbes & Shaw” – is a big summer movie that the industry is hoping to get people back to theaters on Friday too bring.

The audience must be in a forgiving mood.

Fans are used to looking past the ridiculousness, boasting, and soap opera drama of the series for the good things: chases, fights, and explosions.

“F9” delivers the goods in a handful of scenes and some really impressive, breathtaking stunts. But then there is the other 80% of a 145 minute film to deal with.

Directed by Justin Lin, the film focuses on Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his dark past in its fifth appearance in the series (he was also behind numbers 3-6).

Starting with a flashback to 1989, the young Dom cuts off his racing teeth and helps his father, a racing driver. Something goes terribly wrong during a race, and Dom and his younger brother Jakob have a huge argument. That might be enough information to fuel the little plot here, but the flashbacks go on throughout the film.

Today Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) live peacefully in a remote farmhouse and raise Dom’s son.

(In Part 8, The Fate of the Furious, it was revealed that Dom had a son he knew nothing about from a previous affair. While these films may be stupid, viewers must be fairly familiar with their extensive lore.)

The calm is quickly interrupted when Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) arrive.

They bring a mangled, twitching video message from Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell). (Why does a buggy video only look like this in the movies?)

Apparently someone is after a doomsday device called Project Aries. Two halves of the device must be procured, followed by a secret key that activates them.

The team set out to find the first half, leaving the little kid behind, apparently not being watched by anyone. (There may be an explanation for this, but it’s more goofy and weird than anyone dares imagine.)

After a massive chase – including an amazing section of a rickety rope bridge – modern day Jakob (John Cena, making his “F&F” debut) grabs the first part of the device and drives away.

As in any “Must collect the three parts of a Dingamajig” story, the bad guys get the doomsday device working, and then it’s up to our heroes to stop it, preferably when the last, end of the world upload hits around 99.9%.

The task is to have two team members go where no F&F team member has been before: into space to create another of the movie’s few precious, super cool scenes.

There are many car chases along the way. In the last entry, “The Fate of the Furious,” filmmakers came up with crazy things, including a wrecking ball rushing through city blocks and knocking cars off the street, and a car chase between motor vehicles and a submarine!

In “F9” most car chases are connected to powerful electromagnets that, mounted in the rear of various vehicles, pull parked cars in front of moving cars or tear metallic objects out of shop windows when the heroes drive by.

It’s fun for a while and the stunts are varied at first. But the basic idea is repeated over and over again.

And in a smaller martial arts fight in an apartment, Lin falls back on his old jerky, jerky camera work, which creates chaos rather than suggests.

The “family” theme here focuses on the predictable and all too serious conflict between the cathedral and Jacob. Cena shows none of his natural humor, and Diesel has an unchanging grim expression throughout.

In other “family” stuff, previous actors reappear – including Cipher (Charlize Theron), Queenie (Helen Mirren) and Sean (Lucas Black) – for the purpose of audience identification.

But recognizing and feeling characters is different. Perhaps this franchise’s DNA is the problem. In the beginning, the films were nothing more than characters trying to outdo and outdo each other. Maybe the fear of being uncool remains.

Perhaps filmmakers feared that being silly or honest is the opposite of cool when the opposite is true. If “F9” had the courage to acknowledge its ridiculousness, it could have rushed into the sunset instead of spitting.

REVIEW: Q9: The Quick Saga

With: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, John Cena, Jordana Brewster

Written by: Justin Lin, Daniel Casey

Directed by: Justin Lin

Rated: PG-13

Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes

Movies and television

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The variety of styles and the expression of the terroir are strong factors behind the worldwide increase in Sauvignon Blanc production. New Zealand is often credited with bringing it to the fore, but Italy, South Africa, Chile and California have expanded the cultivation and production of the once obscure grape, originating in the Loire Valley and Bordeaux regions of France.

Sauvignon Blanc is lively, fruity and accessible to most palates and paperbacks. For white wine preferences, it can be a refreshing, food-friendly alternative to Chardonnay.

I hosted a California Sauvignon Blanc tasting for friends, which had wines priced from $ 12 to $ 45 a bottle. Each of the five wines tasted were great, but it was difficult to distinguish between them.

Lack of distinction was not an issue in a recent Sauvignon Blanc tasting and discussion with a diverse panel that included Craig McAllister / La Crema (Sonoma County), Daniele Vuerich / Attems (Italy), Warren Ellis / Neil Ellis (South Africa) and Nikolai Saint-George / Cloudy Bay (New Zealand) and Xavier Barlier, Ladoucette representative from the Pouilly-Fumé region in France.

I poured each wine side by side and was impressed by the variety of aromas from subtle and steely to intense and fruity. Again, the taste profile of each wine was exceptional, but unlike the Californian publications, very distinctive.

Craig McAllister is a winemaker at La Crema in Sonoma County. (Courtesy photo)

The tasting began with the first Sauvignon Blanc vintage from a well-known manufacturer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Sonoma County. After McAllister, a winemaker with roots in New Zealand, came to La Crema, it was only a matter of time. Sourced from the warmer North County’s vineyards, the 2020 La Crema Sauvignon Blanc Rittertal is partially fermented in neutral oak in the barrel for 28 days, which, according to Craig, gives the wine more texture with minimal oak notes. A lively bouquet of tropical fruits and stone fruits with floral notes that run through the aromas and a long finish. Craig pairs this wine with oysters, ceviche, and fried fish.

From the Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy, where there are many stony sandstone soils Attems Sauvignon Blanc 2019 represents a wine and a grape variety that, according to the winemaker Vuerich, are of crucial importance for the region. The wine is terroir-driven and balanced with steel, mineral notes on the nose and crisp stone fruit and green aromas. Daniele turned away from the exclusive use of stainless steel and found that egg formats for oak and concrete were increasing in the region. He pairs his wine with roasted trout and risotto.

Daniele Vuerich is a winemaker near Attems in Italy. (Courtesy photo)

Neil Ellis is a pioneer among South African wineries and has been a top producer since 1993 Neil Ellis Groenekloof Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is obtained from bush vines (without trellis) in the hills that run parallel to the Atlantic, where the evenings are cooler. According to winemaker Warren Ellis, the extra sunlight from the bush vines and the use of wild yeasts encourage a range of tropical and stone fruit flavors with green, herbaceous and mineral elements. Warren usually pairs his wine with grilled fish.

Warren Ellis is a winemaker for Neil Ellis in South Africa. (Courtesy photo)

The global rise of Sauvignon Blanc is triggered in Cloudy Bay and the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Although they started producing the variety in 1985, the 2020 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is the first vintage of the new winemaker Nikolai Saint-George. A balanced intensity best describes this wine, starting with lively citrus and passion fruit aromas. The unmistakable taste profile consists of a concentrated stone fruit base with subtle mineral elements thanks to a persistent finish. Nikolai talked about the agility of this wine and his preference for pairing it with buttered scampi that were briefly cooked in a pizza oven.

Nikolai Saint-George is a winemaker in Cloudy Bay, New Zealand. (Courtesy photo)

I had the opportunity to visit the Pouilly-Fumé region in 2018. It is located in lower elevations over the Loire from the cliffs of Sancerre. On a terroir dedicated exclusively to Sauvignon Blanc, the rich limestone soils create a more rounded mouthfeel than that of Sancerre. We marveled at the view of the elegant Ladoucette Estate but didn’t visit. To that end, I was excited to have that 2018 Ladoucette Pouilly-Fumé was part of the tasting.

Described by Xavier Barlier as a Sauvignon Blanc with no makeup, it is made with minimal interference with the grapes, which are gently pressed by gravity and produce 80% free juice. It is fermented in stainless steel and then matured on yeast in concrete tanks for six months, resulting in complex tropical fruit flavors and a rich mouthfeel. This wine is a sublime expression of the region and Xavier likes to pair it with Sancerre goat cheese.

These Sauvignon Blanc expressions are distinctive, global, and readily available.

Lyle W. Norton is a Santa Rosa wine enthusiast and blogger who has been writing a wine column for 20 years. Visit his blog at lifebylyle.com or send an email to mourvedre sfewine@gmail.com.

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From Donna Domino

A Minnesota man was pulled over for expired vehicle registration. Another man was stopped in New York City on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes. A Missouri teenager was interviewed about jaywalking. A Baltimore man was arrested for carrying a knife.

All were black men who died in recent years following confrontations with police over minor crimes known as misdemeanors.

The most notorious incident was George Floyd, who died while being arrested for handing over a fake $ 20 bill in a Minneapolis grocery store. Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis man who kneeled by Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes after being handcuffed and lying face down, was recently convicted of murder.

In a recent virtual event, local and state law enforcement officials discussed a new documentary, titled “Racially Accused: America’s Crimes Problem,” which addresses these cases. Directed by Robert Greenwald and presented by the nonprofit Brave New Films, which is free to watch online, the film explores the devastating effects of the criminal justice system on minority communities.

Many cases of police violence that led to recent racial justice protests began with alleged low-level offense violations such as jaywalking, spitting, passing on fake bills, selling loose cigarettes, and a broken taillight.

Approximately 13 million Americans, mostly colored people, are charged annually with “idiot” offenses. They make up 80% of the country’s criminal cases, as the film showed.

“Offenses are the insidious first step in the racialization of crimes, petty crimes that can turn into police violence and death for blacks and browns,” said Paul Delano Butler, Georgetown University law professor who wrote “Chokehold,” in the film.

The police often treat petty, harmless behavior as a crime, noted Irene Joe, a law professor at the University of California at Davis. “Misdemeanors for trivial or fabricated things can have dire consequences for people, turning into years of incarceration or affecting a person’s ability to get hired,” she said.

Offenses are also a great source of income. The prison fees bring the city and county treasuries an estimated $ 80 billion annually. Traffic violations alone earn more than $ 6 billion a year. People are often caught between paying fines and being able to drive to work, and many cities rely on fines to keep their budgets, the film showed. The bail industry alone generates $ 2 billion in profits annually.

People have lost homes and jobs due to offenses related to suspended car licenses, and thousands jailed for offenses during the pandemic have died of COVID, the film reads.

Lisa James, who became a criminal justice activist after she was jailed for desperately feeding her children in a supermarket, said the offense derailed her life. “At the time I remembered, I thought, ‘I don’t know what they’re going to do, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but my kids are hungry. ‘And I just started feeding them stuff as we were walking through the store. “She was arrested by an undercover police officer.

“I remember coming home from prison thinking I could start my life over,” James recalled. “I didn’t know – I was so naive – that society had put in place a system that was absolutely against me and that made it from one level to the next in my life. I began to see the truth about how the system was designed to keep me from moving forward, to keep me from having my kids, to keep me from getting a job, to keep me from doing anything productive to do. “

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the film showed how the judicial system can have catastrophic and long-term effects. “Most families and most parents are so concerned because these supposedly minor crimes become major events that can escalate in seconds and change your life forever,” she said.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said misdemeanors could result in someone committing future crimes they would otherwise never have committed. “It introduces people to the criminal justice system in ways that can dramatically affect their life courses,” he said. “Millions of Americans experience this every year. This affects their ability to find work, secure shelter or avoid deportation. “

Boudin pointed to the broad power of the police force to arrest and arrest people for low-level crimes through near-uncontrolled discretion that is not fairly enforced. “It can lead to jail terms that turn a person’s life upside down and cause them to lose homes or custody of their children, often in ways that never make the news the way the devastating results of Daunte Wright did and George Floyd, often in ways that it is more damaging, more subtle ways that continue a system of oppression against the poorest in the country. “

Offenses are mainly enforced against color communities, Boudin said. “These are communities that are already struggling with limited access to education, housing, health care and employment, and access to government services,” he said. “So many misdemeanor crimes are related to poverty. Wealthy people can buy their way out of prison no matter how strong the evidence, while others languish behind bars simply because of their poverty. “

Watch “Racially Accused: America’s Crimes Problem” Visit https://misdemeanorfilm.org/.

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San Francisco plans to allow bars to reopen indoors for the first time since March 2020 next week, easing restrictions on other activities as it is expected to transition to the state’s least restrictive yellow COVID-19 tier.

The bars could reopen from next Friday with a 25% capacity and a maximum of 100 customers, said Dr. Susan Philip, Acting San Francisco Health Officer, on Thursday. In the past, bars could only be open if they also served meals, if restaurants were allowed to be served inside.

Philip said diners in bars need to be seated at tables rather than walking around “for this first phase of indoor bars”. The food no longer has to be served.

For al fresco dining, The City will remove the mask requirement, but the tables will need to be six feet apart. Those who have been vaccinated are still advised to wear masks when eating outdoors.

The indoor dining capacity remains at 50%, but there is no longer an upper limit for a maximum of 200 people. And there would no longer be a budget limit per table.

In addition, restaurants offer buffets or self-service items such as sushi boats or self-service yoghurt.

Offices could be 50% busy, up from 25% now, but the state continues to recommend that those who can telework continue to do so. Fully vaccinated workers do not count towards the capacity limit.

San Francisco has been hoping to get into the yellow category since early April, but the number of new daily COVID cases has not decreased as expected.

He has an average of 33 new COVID-19 cases every day. In the worst of the pandemic, The City saw a high of 373 new cases every day.

“We have a small and stable number of cases each day,” said Philip. “We are very happy about it.”

Hospital admissions have decreased, with 21 COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals and 10 in the intensive care unit.

On March 23, San Francisco moved to the orange tier, the second lowest restrictive tier in the state. With the move, The City opened downtown offices with some restrictions, as well as outdoor bars and festivals. In-person participation in the San Francisco Giants games resumed with limited capacity, as was the case with Warriors games at the Chase Center.

Of the state’s 58 counties, 41 are in the orange tier, 13 are in the second most restrictive red tier, and four are in the least restrictive yellow tier. Other counties, including Los Angeles, are expecting them to move to the yellow league next week.

Governor Gavin Newsom previously said he expected to lift all tier restrictions by June 15. However, Philip said that this date “is not a magical shift that will bring us back to normal”.

“We have to move slowly and gradually towards the reopening,” she said.

The concern is that removing restrictions too quickly can, in some cases, lead to a spike.

Vaccinations are found to be effective against the virus. Seventy percent of residents aged 16 and over have received at least one dose of vaccine, approximately 540,190 people. 46 percent received both doses.

Mayor London Breed celebrated the vaccination numbers on Wednesday on Twitter.

“Only 0.7% of our COVID tests are positive,” wrote Breed. “We are nearing the end of this pandemic and will hold the pace until we get there.”

San Francisco has not yet relaxed its requirements for outdoor masks, despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention introduced new rules this week that vaccinated people are not required to wear them outdoors unless they are in large crowds.

Philip said The City intends to do so, but is waiting for the California Department of Health to change its own rules as they cannot impose any lesser restrictions than the state. Newsom said Tuesday that “we are working to bring California guidelines into line with these sensible updates.” The new mask rules are expected soon.

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Glenn Whipp

Los Angeles times

Eight months ago, Chloé Zhao drove from her home in Ojai down the 101 Freeway to the Rose Bowl to see the pop-up drive-in premiere of “Nomadland,” the poignant story of a widow dealing with and with grief one on the street community finds group of travelers. While near Pasadena, Zhao noticed RVs and RVs and wondered if they were among the actual “nomads” attending the lively event dubbed the “Telluride from Los Angeles”. She also saw ash clouding the orange sky. The Bobcat Fire burned in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains, adding an apocalyptic atmosphere to a supposedly festive evening.

Zhao was initially dejected, wondering if the audience could even see the makeshift screen through the soot. But as the evening played out and Zhao was watching the movie from the back of the parking lot – after glancing at “The Empire Strikes Back,” which happened to be playing at a drive-through next door – she realized that both take and the timing were perfect.

“I wouldn’t ask any other way about a philosophy that I believe in very much: Everything happens for a reason,” says Zhao. “It brought people closer together.”

“Nomadland”, which won the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, had this effect on people. Watching Fern (played by Oscar nominee Frances McDormand) on a literal and spiritual journey of discovery was deeply touching for the audience and academics, who were largely confined to their homes for the past year of the pandemic. That Rose Bowl screening was, in fact, the only Oscar contender many people in the industry have seen outside of their living room in the past 12 months, and it kicked off the awards season in a surreal way.

“They had a combination of nomads with their rigs and a lot of Los Angeles people with their Teslas who had no idea how to turn off the lights,” recalls producer Dan Janvey. “It was really nice to hear people express their affection by honking their horns. It’s an unusual way of feeling something. It was strange. “

“Nomadland” beat all fall film festivals in one way or another, winning the Venice Golden Lion (which was not merged for those in Europe personally), the Toronto Audience Award (a mix of virtual and personal programming) and screening as the centerpiece selection at the almost fully virtual New York Film Festival. It immediately became the Best Picture Best-seller and received rave reviews that received multiple awards from prestigious groups of critics, including the National Society of Film Critics’ Best Picture Award.

But the “Nomadlands” trip wasn’t without a couple of speed bumps. The film’s portrayal of people living on the margins of society has been scrutinized, and the scenes of Fern working at an Amazon warehouse and participating in the online retailer’s CamperForce program have been criticized for having the harsh realities in the workplace that many employees face.

“The visual power of the film and its emotional core, Fern’s grief over the loss of her husband and her previous life, preoccupies the audience, not Amazon’s problems,” wrote ProPublica reporter Alec MacGillis. “You could easily get away from the movie if you got a good look at the toll Amazon imposes on its workers, including temporary ones.”

These complaints made some headlines, but did not tarnish the picture in the eyes of voters. Nomadland weathered the delayed awards season, won top visuals at the Golden Globes, Producers Guild Awards and the British Academy Film Awards, and won four Independent Spirit awards on Thursday, including image and director.

In fact, Beijing-born Zhao won almost every directing award, including from the Directors Guild and BAFTA. When she won the Oscar, she was the first woman of color to receive the award, and she joined Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) as the second director to be honored.

The win for “Nomadland” was the fourth time in the past eight years that a Searchlight film won the best picture. This is a remarkable run that includes “The Shape of Water” (2018), “Birdman” (2015) and “12 Years a Slave” (2014). (Slumdog Millionaire won in 2009.) Disney acquired the specialty studio when it bought 21st Century Fox in 2019. Her longtime senior executives Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley recently announced their retirement and made the Oscar for best picture a lovely (and fitting) picture farewell gift.

The win for “Nomadland” obviously felt different, obviously due to the tumult of the past year and its ongoing impact on a film industry that was struggling to recover. But there was another distinction peculiar to the time, yes, but also positive in terms of access. Since the cinemas were closed or the capacity was reduced, Searchlight entered into a partnership with Hulu and released “Nomadland” on the streaming platform on February 19 at the same time as the theatrical release. Anyone who wanted to see it just needed a decent internet connection and Hulu membership (or trial).

“This was one that you didn’t have to wait for it to come to your town to see,” says Janvey. “It was nice for people to have that option.” He hopes that moviegoers will have such alternatives in the future.

Zhao shot “Nomadland”, built her own RV, called it Akira and drove through the west, exploring places, meeting nomads and listening to their stories. “She takes you to a place of trust,” says McDormand, “and is really intrigued by people and their stories, which makes you want to keep sharing.”

Many of these stories ended up in the film, including a key scene with temporarily living advocate Bob Wells, who spoke movingly of the grief that consumed him after his son’s death. His scene with McDormand – two people who share the grief over the loss – became the backbone of the film and resonated with viewers as they grappled with their own feelings of heartbreak and distress over the past year.

“A lot of people, especially people this age, live this lifestyle because they were brought out on the streets through loss or grief and their recovery and choose this lifestyle to heal from,” says Zhao.

Little did Zhao know we were all trying to heal from something when she started filming in the fall of 2018. The time for the arrival of “Nomadland” couldn’t have been happier – for everyone.

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From Libby Copeland

Home DNA testing has become a cultural phenomenon – with at least 37 million test kits sold in America – and the San Francisco Bay Area is central to its development, impact, and potential. Bay Area residents will have an unobstructed view as this industry evolves and raises profound questions about privacy, criminal justice, and the future of healthcare.

No home DNA tests were started in California. Its American origins began in 2000 when FamilyTreeDNA of Houston sent out its first testing kits for ancestry purposes. However, the field was changed 15 years ago with the formation of 23andMe in Sunnyvale, which from the beginning focused on the effects of home DNA testing on health and inherited traits. 23andMe is truly a Silicon Valley creation, with major early investments from Google, Genentech, and Mohr Davidow Ventures.

The field has been transformed again in the past few months by three major acquisitions: 23andMe announced that it will go public through a merger with a company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, valued at $ 3.5 billion. Blackstone completed the majority acquisition of Ancestry for $ 4.7 billion. And MyHeritage announced that it will be acquired by Francisco Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, for a reported value of $ 600 million.

Home DNA testing, which grew early in popularity as a product to assist amateur genealogists, turned into a bargain purchase and a popular Christmas gift for tens of millions of people eager to learn more about their heritage. But 23andMe is betting that the future of the industry lies in initiatives like new drug development on the health side. “We have always seen health as a much bigger opportunity,” said Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of the company, recently. According to Wojcicki, the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed 23andMe’s vision to advance health care, which has sparked a greater buzz in both disease prevention and pharmaceutical development.

However, the three recent acquisitions have revived questions about the privacy of sensitive genetic information when companies merge and change hands. Interesting questions also arise about the relationship between the home DNA tester and the information revealed by the test.

Consumers typically pay around $ 99 for parentage testing and more when health and parentage testing are bundled. The research that is based on this genetic data and information, voluntarily provided by consumers, can in turn be used to develop future therapeutics for diseases such as cancer. However, the tester who provided the critical data does not benefit from the lessons learned, leading some industry observers to describe the relationship between industry and consumers as deeply asymmetrical.

Clear ethical issues have arisen with the use of DNA test results at home in another area called the criminal justice system, and again here the numbers in the Bay Area play a prominent role. Paul Holes, at the time a cold investigator with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, urged the use of consumer genetic information in the infamous Golden State Killer after years law enforcement databases failed to find a match for the killer’s crime scene DNA. The approach resulted in the arrest and conviction of Joseph James DeAngelo.

However, recent reports from the Los Angeles Times revealed that MyHeritage’s DNA database was used to solve the Golden State Killer case without the company’s knowledge or permission, and that FamilyTreeDNA granted database access to the FBI without telling its clients. Such revelations raise questions about the willingness and ability of some companies to protect at least the most sensitive information of their consumers.

Even the sheer number of people tested poses problems. According to Pew Research, more than 15% of American adults have had a mail-in DNA test. This has led to a tipping point – far more of us are potentially affected by this technology than actually tested. Because of the nature of family – our shared genetic segments and life together – people who are not in consumer genetic databases are still often identifiable by genetic relatives searching for them.

This has a myriad of effects. It has challenged promises about the anonymity of sperm donors, given adopters access to knowledge about their birth families, and resolved long-held family secrets, leading to widespread intergenerational billing. Millions of Americans have been affected by these revelations, leading to an increase in mental health professionals offering therapeutic support for a phenomenon that barely existed just 10 years ago – “misrepresented ancestry experiences” resulting from DNA testing of Surrender to consumers. This is a technology that touches our most intimate lives and represents great cultural changes that we will talk about in the decades to come.

Industry experts say privacy concerns, as well as the saturation of home DNA testing, explain why spit kit sales have slowed over the past two years, as so many Americans with genealogical interests have already used one or more services. However, 23andMe’s long-term focus has always been on health – medical research, pharmaceutical development, preventive intelligence – and the databases have already grown large as testing for ancestry purposes continues to grow in popularity.

The era of genetic reckoning is upon us, with all that it implies about the future of privacy, criminal justice, and health care. The Bay Area will no doubt be at the forefront of what’s to come, as it has been for years. To see the future of this extraordinary cultural phenomenon we only need, as they say, “to observe this space”.

Libby Copeland, an award-winning journalist and former media scholar at Stanford University, is the author of “The Lost Family: How DNA Tests Tell Who We Are”. The paperback edition will appear in June.

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