Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Must-Reads:

Teaching Behind the Mask: Young kids and nature, in the city.

'I am not sure whose idea it was to put children inside shoe boxes all day and call that schooling.'

Bill to limit environmental appeals in SF is dead for now

Supes committee rejects attempt to allow some projects to go forward without full CEQA review

We are community supported journalism

Movies

Screen Grabs: Roxie reopens with cinema classics (and a DC punk blast)

Ease back into the seats with beloved sights and sounds. Plus: Story of a Three-Day Pass, Honey Moccasin, Dance of the 41, more

Enter to stream a free movie from the Berlin & Beyond fest!

The 25th edition of the festival—running May 25-30—offers first-run films from Germany (and beyond, of course)

Screen Grabs: RRAWR! Balboa reopens with Godzilla’s Monster Bash

Plus: CCSF student film fest and three riveting new movies, one starring a very macho Mads Mikkelsen

Win a pass to stream Nazi reckoning doc ‘Final Account’

'An urgent portrait of the last living generation of everyday people to participate in Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.'

Asian American visions at CAAM Fest, from Lowell High to Koreatown ghosts

Annual festival also features Margaret Cho, Amy Tan, Dante Basco, and 'The Fabulous Filipino Brothers'

Music

Local Action Video: 4 clips show Bay life through the eyes of its bands

Roll video! Marinero's ode to displacement may draw a tear, but Love Jerks' world-record pregnant dance party should dry those eyes.

Want to save struggling live venues? Help pay their bills directly

New Independent Venue Preservation Initiative hits on a brilliant idea: rapid financial relief from the community

Out of the Crate: 4 vinyl gems, from Black jazz history to fresh R&B cuts

Vespre's much-needed banger, DJ Amir's stellar compendium of Strata Records hits, Black Crowes revisited, more

Rochelle Jordan’s excellent ‘Play With The Changes’ buffs up classic UK grooves

Echoes of underground London club jams and whispers of Aaliyah in commanding new release

Local Listen: Mae Powell’s surprisingly poppy ‘F*ck I.C.E.’ and more

Moses Herman Jacobs highlights the housing crisis, DJ Delon funks it up outdoors, and Xyla entrances

Art

Her childhood in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region inspires Nadezda’s haunting art

The painter channels mysterious, mystic imagery from a cat's dinner song, or the shadows around her sink.

Review: Clare Rojas’ cosmologies of uncanny animal intelligence and mystery

Soft-launching Jessica Silverman's Chinatown gallery, 'Here We Go' shades folkloric vignettes with dark energy

Tracking the turbulent concept of ‘care’ in a pandemic-ravaged world

'Contact Traces' at CCA offers entry points for urgent discussion, on topics from environmental racism to commercial wellness shams.

Review: Visceral silicone and resin expressions pour forth in ‘Gutz’

Local artist Sophronia Cook and Mexican duo ASMA conjure intriguing carnality at Et al.

Brilliant color and dynamic forms define Orin Carpenter’s poignant paintings

The Northern California artist addresses social issues and identity in his wide-ranging, spiritually-rooted work

Housing

Caltrans evicts rent-paying tenants from mostly empty parking lot

People living in vehicles tossed from under a downtown freeway despite possible legal rights of tenancy.

Not one dollar of state rent-relief money has arrived in SF

Hundreds of millions in federal funding is available -- but tenants aren't getting it.

Can people paying rent for a parking space be evicted for living in cars?

Caltrans is about to try to remove people from a lot under I-80.

Mother’s Day — for homeless mamas

A story of eviction, gentrification, poverty -- and hope.

Supes challenge planners over construction on toxic sites

Resolution points to Planning Department's record of allowing new luxury housing despite hazards. Plus: Why City College matters. That's The Agenda for May 3-9

Politics

Big Telecom giveaway bills head for state Assembly votes

Plus: Measure to limit CEQA appeals goes before supes and a rally to limit supportive housing rents. That's The Agenda for May 17-23

Is San Francisco a ‘conservative’ city? That’s what the Chron thinks.

But is opposing the Big Business and Big Tech Agenda really 'conservative?' Plus: Free Muni --and a complex new Muni yard. That's The Agenda for May 10-18.

When bosses lie, workers die

More and more data shows that COVID transmission is happening not just at gatherings but at worksites.

Gig workers aren’t getting the healthcare they were promised

Survey shows that most rideshare and delivery drivers are unable to access the benefits under Prop. 22

Preston wants details on the future of the City Hall scandal investigations

Supervisor wants to know how Herrera's move to the PUC will affect the city attorney's ongoing corruption probe.

Opinion

Opinion: AIDS denialism in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

In 2000, the Foo Fighters embraced the kind of anti-science thinking we still see today. It's time they apologized.

Opinion: ‘Reopening’ seems empty when so many beloved spots are gone

We can't move forward without mourning decades-old institutions like Tyger's Coffee Shop—and doing our best to save others.

Opinion: Public bathrooms are vital public infrastructure

If you are older and need to go, the Bay Area is not always a pleasant place.

If we don’t have to wear masks outdoors, how will we angrily judge each other?

The CDC rolls back restrictions for activities and small gatherings. Now what will we use to measure our moral superiority?

I finally paid off my student loans at 40. No one should go through this

Not even winning on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' helped me outrun Navient and condescending bootstrapper-types

Performance

SF Opera returns—with a lakeside, drive-in production of ‘Barber of Seville’

Director Matthew Ozawa reflects on his art form's new normal: “Sometimes it gets cold at night, and there’s a lovely duck that loves to say hello.”

Sean Dorsey Dance premieres nine ‘gorgeous’ new films in AT-HOME season

"We can't wait to connect with our audience again," says transgender dance trailblazer—now a director, too.

Global artists tackle an epic year in ‘Hindsight 2020’

A 'devised multimedia time capsule' addresses what we'll take with us from all of this.

Is art free speech under COVID? A local court case steams on

Ongoing San Francisco International Arts Festival lawsuit demands that arts reopen in parity with worship and dining.

The strange and wondrous story of the Sick & Twisted Players

Thirty years ago, the troupe brought camp movie mashups, blazingly real talent, and guaranteed Splatterama to nightlife stages.

Nightlife

How To Reopen Nightlife: Enough with the boys’ club, make room for women

DJ femmelectric and promoter Alex McGeagh speak about equity, access, and safety for women and nonbinary folks.

Letter to the Editor: ‘I have so many questions’ about nightlife after COVID

SF culture took a massive hit pre-pandemic, a reader writes. Can we let history guide us to better times?

How To Reopen Nightlife: Keeping it cute and safe for all on the dance floor

What should we expect from venues and each other when clubs come back? The first in a series exploring issues left to face.

Get up and do your thing for local art at The Lab’s interactive Dance A Thon

The experimental arts space hosts a fundraising, 12-hour virtual dance-fest full of local star-power

Major players fuel nightlife drive against anti-Asian hate—here’s how you can help

DJ Marky "Proof" Enriquez and emcee Fran Boogie threw a 40-hour online fundraiser for the cause. Let's keep it going

Cannabis

Puff: Social pains? Reopen with hash gummies and superlative body balm

Our intrepid cannabis writer tracks down the new Plus Hash Gummies drop, plus a Sweet ReLeaf balm his Texan dad swears by.

Puff: Spark up a safe and comfy 420 celebration

No big party in the park this year, but plenty to do—and enjoy—in our annual guide to the stoner holiday.

Puff: Prerolling into spring

We go down the stoney road for you, sampling latest offerings from Jeeters, King Roll, more

Puff: New strains, all the gains

Our brave and bold weed critic shifts into cannabis overdrive to bring you the latest and greatest news on just-dropped flower variants.

Puff: A Valentine’s Day stoner survival guide

Love yourself into a cloud of bliss, with Lava flower, massage oil, churro chocolate bars, more