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Changing of the Guard at San Francisco’s Last Shipyard

Published: May, 2003 First, it was San Francisco’s famed Union Iron Works established in the 1850s for building heavy machinery for California’s gold mines. As mining waned, however, the Iron Works cast about looking for other markets. Railroads and shipping seemed to be good answers, and in 1885, Union Iron works launched the first steel […]

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Libations

Published: May, 2003 First it was Los Angeles. Then New Orleans. Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco, and Boston followed. Every year I trailed along, being more interested in going to the city than the reason for going there: the annual Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) convention. I had a dim perception then of […]

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Bay CrossingsPoetry

Just a Glance By Bill Coolidge  Published: May, 2003 two egrets skid low among the branches of Live Oak trees their forward progress impeded by a stiff east wind their bodies, like sheets hanging on a clothes line tremble and shake   the wild horses are fidgity munching, glancing up the sky is heavy laden, […]

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The Port Of Oakland Needs Your Help!

Published: May, 2003 In our April issue, we learned that "Oakland Opens the Door to Its Waterfront" (Page 8), which described the development of the Middle Harbor Shoreline Park and the Middle Harbor Habitat. We pointed out that Middle Harbor Cove had been a tidal marsh that was dredged to accommodate ships docking at the […]

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For Whom the Bridge Tolls

Published: May, 2003 On Thursday, April 17, Senator Don Perata invited press and regional transit advocates to join him in announcing the details of a comprehensive regional Bay Area traffic relief plan, Senate Bill (SB) 916. This bill, which proposes a dollar toll increase on state-owned bridges to fund regional transit projects, is scheduled to […]

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Paving the Way for Buses – The Great GM Streetcar Conspiracy, (Con’t)

Published: May, 2003 In Part I, we found that General Motors (GM) was introduced to the concept of buying up transit and replacing it with "modern" buses thanks to the animosity towards transit of New York Mayor Hylan and newspaper owner William Randolph Hearst back in the 1920s. In 1974, Bradford C. Snell presented a […]

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Taste of Oakland on May 8 Offers Great Recipe for Food And Fun

Published: May, 2003 A Taste of Oakland 2003 on May 8 will offer just the right ingredients for an evening of food and fun. There’ll be tasty morsels and beverages from a variety of Oakland’s restaurateurs, garnished with lively blues music and spirited dance performances. Sponsored by the Oakland Convention & Visitors Bureau (OCVB) in […]

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New Ferry Building Sunday Garden Market Opening May 4th

Published: May, 2003 On Sunday, May 4th, the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market will open a Sunday Garden Market, offering an assortment of plants and gardening supplies for the Bay Area urban gardener. The Sunday Garden Market will feature 15-20 small, local nurseries that practice sustainable horticulture, and will sell everything for the gardening enthusiast–indoor plants, […]

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Port of Call: Cayenne, French Guyana

Published: May, 2003 Wanted for short-term occupancy with an option to colonize: quaint, oceanfront property in the equatorial region, new world. Should have multiship port with navigable river access to interior. Prefer a native population of savages for exploitation and forced labor, possible Christian conversion, eventual extermination. Room for two major raw materials, gold preferred. […]

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East Bay French-American School To Host Annual

Published: May, 2003 On Sunday, June 1, from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., the East Bay French-American School (Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley) will host its sixth annual "La Place du Marché." The school’s lower campus, located at 1009 Heinz Avenue and 9th Street in Berkeley, will be transformed into an authentic French marketplace, complete with […]