Vid: 'Inspect Twitter for Tax Evasion' Demanded of SFPD Fare Inspector
The 14 Mission bus I was riding yesterday afternoon was stopped at 11th Street so fare inspectors could demand proof of payment from riders.
At first, I thought Muni fare inspectors were about to board but it turned out to be gun-toting, uniformed members of the San Francisco Police Department.
Since I don't regularly ride Muni and I've not been subjected to a fare inspection before, it was quite a surprise to have a cop asking for my proof of payment.
As I taped the officer assigned to our section at the back of the bus, I taped his actions and he confirmed being a member of the SFPD force, before demanding he go inspect Twitter for tax evasion.
Okay, so the cops aren't responsible for tax matters I still wanted to make the point that while average folks struggle to afford public transit and other basic necessities, Twitter and other highly profitable tech companies are escaping paying their fare for use of various components of City infrastructure.
Twitter is also not paying its fair share of business taxation, and if they and other Big Tech firms were paying higher taxes commensurate with their vast revenues and cash flow we could operate Muni for free.
Oh, and for Sup. Scott Wiener and other who keep saying the SFPD is understaffed, there are plenty of cops for busting folks who can't afford Muni fares and to containing protests over the deaths of Mike Brown, Eric Garner and Alex Nieto and lack of justice in those cases.
We don't need more police in San Francisco. What's required is better community policing and police training to instruct cops to shoot to wound, not to kill.
Reports, proud muckraking, photos, videos and musings from the veteran LGBT and AIDS human rights advocate Michael Petrelis. Based in San Francisco since 1995. Contact: MPetrelis_at_AOL_dot_com. Vote Petrelis for BART Board District 9 in November!
Thursday, December 04, 2014
ACRIA = Silence = $$ = Art
Over a week ago, I contacted leaders at the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America with 11 questions about their agenda for mature persons with HIV, of which I am one of many, their funding sources and requested links to their research findings.
I am sorry to report that except for an email from a staffer who is an acquaintance from the first decade of ACT UP/New York, in which he asked me to phone him, I've not received a written response. No, I didn't call my acquaintance because of the importance I place on hearing from an HIV agency in their own words and in writing.
Looking over ACRIA's Twitter feed this week, I learned that they're a go-to AIDS nonprofit on World AIDS Day in the New York City market, and such appearances are used to show funders that the group is getting such attention and is a reason to keep the money flowing.
One of ACRIA's executives issued a wake up call about aging people with AIDS but he sure as hell isn't answering the wake up call I sent to his group last week.
You may recall that one of my questions concerned lack of links to ACRIA's research and finding on their web site, and I hope that their director of research soon understands the need for these links and embeds them at the ACRIA site.
On Giving Tuesday, they used aging HIZ pozzies to solicit donations . . .
. . . through a link to their donations page. We must remember ACRIA's mission as stated on their Twitter profile: Art Fashion Media & Design Fighting AIDS & Saving Lives
When ACRIA isn't trying to raise its profile or additional funds or evade answering questions from people with AIDS, they're hobnobbing with art world elites. Sheesh.
ACRIA has a murky mission and it's near impossible to figure out if they directly assist maturing PWAs in a significant way, while the need for such an organization is not at all clear, but it appears that this nonprofit stays in business because the foundation and Big Pharma grants keep rolling in.
Over a week ago, I contacted leaders at the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America with 11 questions about their agenda for mature persons with HIV, of which I am one of many, their funding sources and requested links to their research findings.
I am sorry to report that except for an email from a staffer who is an acquaintance from the first decade of ACT UP/New York, in which he asked me to phone him, I've not received a written response. No, I didn't call my acquaintance because of the importance I place on hearing from an HIV agency in their own words and in writing.
ACRIA joins @errollouis for his @InsideCityHall panel on #WorldAIDSDay, tonight at 7 and 10 on @NY1. #endAIDSNY2020 pic.twitter.com/7nlfFQiCA7
— ACRIA (@ACRIAsays) December 1, 2014
Looking over ACRIA's Twitter feed this week, I learned that they're a go-to AIDS nonprofit on World AIDS Day in the New York City market, and such appearances are used to show funders that the group is getting such attention and is a reason to keep the money flowing.
As we end #WorldAIDSDay, ACRIA's Joseph Lunievicz tells us to wake up and address the needs of older people with #HIV http://t.co/rT5fs5A6sQ
— ACRIA (@ACRIAsays) December 2, 2014
One of ACRIA's executives issued a wake up call about aging people with AIDS but he sure as hell isn't answering the wake up call I sent to his group last week.
Our Director of Research and Evaluation, Dr. Mark Brennan-Ing, on depression, loneliness and AIDS survivor syndrome http://t.co/ZpwvVU9lmd
— ACRIA (@ACRIAsays) December 2, 2014
You may recall that one of my questions concerned lack of links to ACRIA's research and finding on their web site, and I hope that their director of research soon understands the need for these links and embeds them at the ACRIA site.
On this #GivingTuesday, learn more about our work that improves the lives of people with HIV: https://t.co/UcmL8lzCNV http://t.co/zxflexIUoO
— ACRIA (@ACRIAsays) December 2, 2014
On Giving Tuesday, they used aging HIZ pozzies to solicit donations . . .
ACRIA has been there from the beginning of the AIDS crisis. Learn more at https://t.co/UcmL8lzCNV and support us at http://t.co/zxflexIUoO
— ACRIA (@ACRIAsays) December 2, 2014
. . . through a link to their donations page. We must remember ACRIA's mission as stated on their Twitter profile: Art Fashion Media & Design Fighting AIDS & Saving Lives
Come and visit ACRIA at @UNTITLEDmiami (Booth C22) from now until Sunday during @artbaselmiami! http://t.co/GzDmhy665x #UNTITLED2014
— ACRIA (@ACRIAsays) December 3, 2014
When ACRIA isn't trying to raise its profile or additional funds or evade answering questions from people with AIDS, they're hobnobbing with art world elites. Sheesh.
ACRIA has a murky mission and it's near impossible to figure out if they directly assist maturing PWAs in a significant way, while the need for such an organization is not at all clear, but it appears that this nonprofit stays in business because the foundation and Big Pharma grants keep rolling in.
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
Bill Cosby's University of SF Honorary Degree to be Rescinded?
America's favorite TV dad was all over the local news in May of 2012 when he was the keynote speaker at the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco's graduation ceremony.
Comedian Bill Cosby's celebrity status was put to good use by USF to generate a huge amount of publicity for the institution, when they awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. The SF Chronicle's Nanette Asimov reported he urged graduates to make no excuses for themselves and have no fear as they go forward.
Allegations of sexual misconduct, drugging victims and rape against Cosby continue but no charges by any district attorney in the country, and universities with links to him including Temple, Boston's Berklee Music School and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, have severed ties with Cosby.
I asked Annie-Marie Devine, spokeswoman for USF, if they'd be joining those institutions or otherwise had a position on their past relationship with him. She said:
The University of San Francisco is allowing the facts to be established by a court of law before making any decisions regarding Mr. Cosby's honorary degree.
Since there are no court proceedings pending at which Cosby is required to appear, it seems USF will take no action for quite some time.
America's favorite TV dad was all over the local news in May of 2012 when he was the keynote speaker at the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco's graduation ceremony.
Comedian Bill Cosby's celebrity status was put to good use by USF to generate a huge amount of publicity for the institution, when they awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. The SF Chronicle's Nanette Asimov reported he urged graduates to make no excuses for themselves and have no fear as they go forward.
Allegations of sexual misconduct, drugging victims and rape against Cosby continue but no charges by any district attorney in the country, and universities with links to him including Temple, Boston's Berklee Music School and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, have severed ties with Cosby.
I asked Annie-Marie Devine, spokeswoman for USF, if they'd be joining those institutions or otherwise had a position on their past relationship with him. She said:
The University of San Francisco is allowing the facts to be established by a court of law before making any decisions regarding Mr. Cosby's honorary degree.
Since there are no court proceedings pending at which Cosby is required to appear, it seems USF will take no action for quite some time.
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
SFPD Botched Feather Lynn Case Over 'Special [Vid] Processing'
The violent altercation on August 10 between Feather Lynn, nee Bryan Higgins, a member of the Radical Faeries and Castro resident, and unknown male assailant that lead to his death on August 13 is a case of concern to me.
After receiving a November 19 update from the San Francisco Police Department in which they stated there were no leads in the case, I asked Briseida Banuelos, head of the department's legal division, why they waited more than a week before releasing video and screengrab images of the suspect. Nearly two-weeks later, she replied today:
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) received your additional request for information on November 19, 2014. We have looked into your request and respond as follows:
The short video and still photographs were raw material. Special processing was needed to maximize and highlight the image of the suspect in an effort to increase the likelihood the suspect would be identified.
WTF? The department's budget is north of $470 million and it doesn't have tech equipment on hand to process cell phone or dashboard cam or closed circuit or other devices' capable of video recording to create images in a timely manner to help investigations in the crucial early hours and days after a crime has been committed?
Here's the screengrab image the SFPD eventually released and they didn't crop it to emphasize the male figure in the gray hoodie.
Back on August 21 at the Hoodline.com site, Andew Dudley reported on the police putting out this image and a short video of the suspect. Dudley's readers asked why it took eleven days for the images to be released and he received this response from SFPD spokesman Albie Esparza:
We do not release video/photos of suspects until our investigators have exhausted all possible leads. It doesn't matter how long it takes. We have to work up a case as investigators to try and ID suspects. If we just release info right away to the media, a suspect could flee or hide making it hard to locate. If an investigator tries to ID a suspect, our chances are higher in apprehending. We release info after all leads have been exhausted.
Nothing about special processing mentioned in August and this SFPD statement is very much at odds with what was released to me today about special image processing. If this is how the department takes its sweet old time to ask the public for help in finding a suspect, it's no wonder crimes go unsolved in San Francisco like they do.
The investigation into the altercation that brought about Feather Lynn's tragic death has been botched by the police and I fear a suspect will never be questioned or apprehended.
Instead of just demanding more money to train additional cops because of Feather Lynn's killing, the District 8 Supervisor should also be asking hard questions about this investigation and police procedures performed, whether timely or tardy.
And if the department truly lacks high tech equipment to rapidly process videos, let's have the SFPD make a public request to tech companies to supply them with the needed tools to turn videos into timely usable images.
The violent altercation on August 10 between Feather Lynn, nee Bryan Higgins, a member of the Radical Faeries and Castro resident, and unknown male assailant that lead to his death on August 13 is a case of concern to me.
After receiving a November 19 update from the San Francisco Police Department in which they stated there were no leads in the case, I asked Briseida Banuelos, head of the department's legal division, why they waited more than a week before releasing video and screengrab images of the suspect. Nearly two-weeks later, she replied today:
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) received your additional request for information on November 19, 2014. We have looked into your request and respond as follows:
The short video and still photographs were raw material. Special processing was needed to maximize and highlight the image of the suspect in an effort to increase the likelihood the suspect would be identified.
WTF? The department's budget is north of $470 million and it doesn't have tech equipment on hand to process cell phone or dashboard cam or closed circuit or other devices' capable of video recording to create images in a timely manner to help investigations in the crucial early hours and days after a crime has been committed?
Here's the screengrab image the SFPD eventually released and they didn't crop it to emphasize the male figure in the gray hoodie.
Back on August 21 at the Hoodline.com site, Andew Dudley reported on the police putting out this image and a short video of the suspect. Dudley's readers asked why it took eleven days for the images to be released and he received this response from SFPD spokesman Albie Esparza:
We do not release video/photos of suspects until our investigators have exhausted all possible leads. It doesn't matter how long it takes. We have to work up a case as investigators to try and ID suspects. If we just release info right away to the media, a suspect could flee or hide making it hard to locate. If an investigator tries to ID a suspect, our chances are higher in apprehending. We release info after all leads have been exhausted.
Nothing about special processing mentioned in August and this SFPD statement is very much at odds with what was released to me today about special image processing. If this is how the department takes its sweet old time to ask the public for help in finding a suspect, it's no wonder crimes go unsolved in San Francisco like they do.
The investigation into the altercation that brought about Feather Lynn's tragic death has been botched by the police and I fear a suspect will never be questioned or apprehended.
Instead of just demanding more money to train additional cops because of Feather Lynn's killing, the District 8 Supervisor should also be asking hard questions about this investigation and police procedures performed, whether timely or tardy.
And if the department truly lacks high tech equipment to rapidly process videos, let's have the SFPD make a public request to tech companies to supply them with the needed tools to turn videos into timely usable images.
Monday, December 01, 2014
Cost of SF Homeless Ads on Muni & BART?
An important basic fact was omitted from a story in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle about an advertising effort during December to humanize homeless people. Reporter Heather Knight failed to include the price tag for the social marketing campaign, explain where the money came from or if it was all done pro bono on behalf of the Coalition on Homelessness.
There is no information about the ads or images of them on the group's web site. I wrote to the coalition's leadership asking for this info and heard from Matthew Gerring, editor of their Street Sheet publication:
We did not use any money from our own budget. 100% of the ad campaign is funded by a grant we won that was specifically designed for projects like this.
We got a very deep discount from the company that manages advertising on BART and Muni, and labor for the production of the ads was provided pro bono by myself, a designer we're working with, and a friend of the designers who is a professional photographer.
People featured in the ads got a free lunch the day of the photo shoot.
We used as much of the grant as possible to cover our ongoing expenses in order to stretch our very, very small budget further. [...] We do not receive any money from San Francisco or US taxpayers, but we do sometimes benefit from internship programs funded by foreign public universities.
All these details are very appreciated but my central question of the cost of this social marketing campaign has not been addressed by the coalition. Between the Chronicle and the coalition, it sure would be great if one or both could inform the public about the price tag for the ads.
(Artist Ronnie Goodman, left, a homeless San Francisco resident, seen here posing after running a marathon, is featured in a new social marketing campaign. Credit: James Tensuan, SF Chronicle.)
An important basic fact was omitted from a story in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle about an advertising effort during December to humanize homeless people. Reporter Heather Knight failed to include the price tag for the social marketing campaign, explain where the money came from or if it was all done pro bono on behalf of the Coalition on Homelessness.
There is no information about the ads or images of them on the group's web site. I wrote to the coalition's leadership asking for this info and heard from Matthew Gerring, editor of their Street Sheet publication:
We did not use any money from our own budget. 100% of the ad campaign is funded by a grant we won that was specifically designed for projects like this.
We got a very deep discount from the company that manages advertising on BART and Muni, and labor for the production of the ads was provided pro bono by myself, a designer we're working with, and a friend of the designers who is a professional photographer.
People featured in the ads got a free lunch the day of the photo shoot.
We used as much of the grant as possible to cover our ongoing expenses in order to stretch our very, very small budget further. [...] We do not receive any money from San Francisco or US taxpayers, but we do sometimes benefit from internship programs funded by foreign public universities.
All these details are very appreciated but my central question of the cost of this social marketing campaign has not been addressed by the coalition. Between the Chronicle and the coalition, it sure would be great if one or both could inform the public about the price tag for the ads.
Polish 'Ida' Beats Gay 'Pride' & 'Love' at the Box Office
The Clay Theatre in Pacific Heights was half full when I caught "Ida" at a Monday evening screening, which pleased and surprised me since I expected a mere handful of folks would be in the audience.
When I saw "Pride" on a Sunday night at the Embarcadero Cinema, it was not nearly as well-attended as I thought it would be. Weekends are when theaters are more crowded and exhibitors rake in the most profits, and it seemed more LGBT folks and movie-lovers in search of an excellent film would be at the "Pride" show.
"Ida" is a brooding, black & white Polish film about a novitiate getting ready to take vows on her path to lead a cloistered Catholic nun's life and was distributed by the specialty outfit Music Box Films, and it' has pulled in $3.7 million at the box office. An astonishing figure, given all of its difficult-to-sell themes and factors.
How did "Ida" become a hit? IndieWire takes a look at the marketing strategy:
The trailer also announces the film's Jewish themes. Although mostly quiet, one of the few key pieces of dialogue in the preview occurs 40 seconds in: Actress Agata Kuleszas's sultry chain-smoking cynical Aunt Wanda says to the pretty young nun, "You're a Jew."
"I do think the Jewish audience was crucial," commented Arentz. "They are a big component of the arthouse market in many cities, including New York, and New York is the biggest market for foreign language art-house films." But there was sizable Christian outreach as well, according to Music Box Films' marketing executive Brian Andreotti.
"We recognized that the film held appeal to other religious traditions. We solicited the support of Christian-Jewish interfaith groups and studies programs, and specifically reached out to Catholic press and bloggers." [...] "Ida" also may have played well to another underserved, though very large viewing audience: women. "At its core is the relationship between two strong and complex female characters, and their individual journeys of self-discovery," noted Andreotti. "There is still a shortage of films like this in both the multiplexes and arthouse cinemas."
Compare "Ida's" haul of $3.7 million versus the box office receipts for Sony Pictures Classics' release "Love is Strange", starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina as a gay married couple, with $2.2 million and the $1.4 million for the British film "Pride", about LGBT organizers in early 1980s United Kingdom raising funds for striking coal miners from CBS films.
All figures from BoxOfficeMojo and current as of Thanksgiving.
Pretty odd to have two gay-themed films in English, one with high-wattage names and a mini-major studio distributing it and the other backed by an advertising campaign proudly exploiting activist graphic design from a conglomerate's boutique division, taking in much less than the bleak Polish-language film.
Distributors of LGBT themed works might learn a few lessons from Music Box Film about successful marketing and a word-of-mouth strategy on a limited budget and scoring robust returns at the box office.
I've seen "Ida" and "Pride" and they're both among the best movies I've seen this year, and hope "Love is Strange" plays again in San Francisco before the end of 2014 so I can watch it on the big screen.
The Clay Theatre in Pacific Heights was half full when I caught "Ida" at a Monday evening screening, which pleased and surprised me since I expected a mere handful of folks would be in the audience.
When I saw "Pride" on a Sunday night at the Embarcadero Cinema, it was not nearly as well-attended as I thought it would be. Weekends are when theaters are more crowded and exhibitors rake in the most profits, and it seemed more LGBT folks and movie-lovers in search of an excellent film would be at the "Pride" show.
"Ida" is a brooding, black & white Polish film about a novitiate getting ready to take vows on her path to lead a cloistered Catholic nun's life and was distributed by the specialty outfit Music Box Films, and it' has pulled in $3.7 million at the box office. An astonishing figure, given all of its difficult-to-sell themes and factors.
How did "Ida" become a hit? IndieWire takes a look at the marketing strategy:
The trailer also announces the film's Jewish themes. Although mostly quiet, one of the few key pieces of dialogue in the preview occurs 40 seconds in: Actress Agata Kuleszas's sultry chain-smoking cynical Aunt Wanda says to the pretty young nun, "You're a Jew."
"I do think the Jewish audience was crucial," commented Arentz. "They are a big component of the arthouse market in many cities, including New York, and New York is the biggest market for foreign language art-house films." But there was sizable Christian outreach as well, according to Music Box Films' marketing executive Brian Andreotti.
"We recognized that the film held appeal to other religious traditions. We solicited the support of Christian-Jewish interfaith groups and studies programs, and specifically reached out to Catholic press and bloggers." [...] "Ida" also may have played well to another underserved, though very large viewing audience: women. "At its core is the relationship between two strong and complex female characters, and their individual journeys of self-discovery," noted Andreotti. "There is still a shortage of films like this in both the multiplexes and arthouse cinemas."
All figures from BoxOfficeMojo and current as of Thanksgiving.
Pretty odd to have two gay-themed films in English, one with high-wattage names and a mini-major studio distributing it and the other backed by an advertising campaign proudly exploiting activist graphic design from a conglomerate's boutique division, taking in much less than the bleak Polish-language film.
Distributors of LGBT themed works might learn a few lessons from Music Box Film about successful marketing and a word-of-mouth strategy on a limited budget and scoring robust returns at the box office.
I've seen "Ida" and "Pride" and they're both among the best movies I've seen this year, and hope "Love is Strange" plays again in San Francisco before the end of 2014 so I can watch it on the big screen.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
AIDS Health Fdtn Recruiting SF Patient via Postcards
Let's look at the snail-mail postcard campaign that hit many LGBT and straight mailboxes this weekend from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The image above is the front of the postcard Mike and I received in Saturday's postal mail delivery.
The back of the postcard features info about services offered along with the days and times the health center is open.
How huge was the revenue figure raked in last year by Michael Weinstein's behemoth AHF? It was $514,000,000 according to their latest IRS 990 filing. They have an incentive to sign up new clients for their various offerings of medical care to keep insurance and other dollars flowing to the organization, is the cynical take.
However, the upside of a new healthcare facility in the Castro is that for the expanded number of area LGBT residents who aren't in care now, they have another option to receive medical services and maintain sexual-health wellness.
I think it's been a full decade since Weinstein and his Los Angeles based nonprofit decided to penetrate the San Francisco AIDS community and lucrative HIV medical delivery market, opening thrift stores with testing on-site, then direct medical care and patient advocacy services and ruffling plenty of feathers of local longtime peacock groups.
For all the years they've had operations in the city, AHF simply hasn't developed good relations with establish groups or grassroots advocates particularly prevention workers and HIV negative dudes taking Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis. Will the new facility and outreach effort improve AHF's relationship with locals?
Neither Mike nor I can recall ever receiving a postal mail pitch like this regarding HIV testing and primary care services. Let us know if another nonprofit has ever used postcards to drum up AIDS business in San Francisco.
Let's look at the snail-mail postcard campaign that hit many LGBT and straight mailboxes this weekend from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The image above is the front of the postcard Mike and I received in Saturday's postal mail delivery.
The back of the postcard features info about services offered along with the days and times the health center is open.
How huge was the revenue figure raked in last year by Michael Weinstein's behemoth AHF? It was $514,000,000 according to their latest IRS 990 filing. They have an incentive to sign up new clients for their various offerings of medical care to keep insurance and other dollars flowing to the organization, is the cynical take.
However, the upside of a new healthcare facility in the Castro is that for the expanded number of area LGBT residents who aren't in care now, they have another option to receive medical services and maintain sexual-health wellness.
I think it's been a full decade since Weinstein and his Los Angeles based nonprofit decided to penetrate the San Francisco AIDS community and lucrative HIV medical delivery market, opening thrift stores with testing on-site, then direct medical care and patient advocacy services and ruffling plenty of feathers of local longtime peacock groups.
For all the years they've had operations in the city, AHF simply hasn't developed good relations with establish groups or grassroots advocates particularly prevention workers and HIV negative dudes taking Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis. Will the new facility and outreach effort improve AHF's relationship with locals?
Neither Mike nor I can recall ever receiving a postal mail pitch like this regarding HIV testing and primary care services. Let us know if another nonprofit has ever used postcards to drum up AIDS business in San Francisco.
53% of City-Funded Nonprofits Failing Accounting Standards
Two weeks ago, I blogged about the City Controller's Office replying to my query about the last time HIV service groups receiving public dollars were last audited and it was back in 2007-2008 when the books were combed over by the City.
The City Controller also made me aware of the FY13-14 Annual Report of the Citywide Nonprofit Monitoring and Capacity Building Program, which was issued in October, and while it's not specific to AIDS organizations, it's still of interest to me.
This chart shows the nonprofits with the most "outstanding findings", which is bureaucratese for failure to comply with accounting standards. The report says, "In addition to repeated findings, having a large number of total findings can also illustrate potential instability."
Yes, and just one or two findings of noncompliance could be about major faults at a City-funded nonprofit that should be of concern to the Controller and taxpayers.
This is quite an alarming statistic: "62 contractors (53%) had one or more findings (i.e., did not meet a standard in some area)." More than half of the nonprofits receiving City dollars weren't in compliance with all mandated accounting standards.
In my view, we need a full and public discussion about this October report to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors. I don't recall any attention given to its release and findings, but if there were hearings or coverage of the report, please let me know about where or when if was scrutinized at City Hall or in the community.
Two weeks ago, I blogged about the City Controller's Office replying to my query about the last time HIV service groups receiving public dollars were last audited and it was back in 2007-2008 when the books were combed over by the City.
The City Controller also made me aware of the FY13-14 Annual Report of the Citywide Nonprofit Monitoring and Capacity Building Program, which was issued in October, and while it's not specific to AIDS organizations, it's still of interest to me.
This chart shows the nonprofits with the most "outstanding findings", which is bureaucratese for failure to comply with accounting standards. The report says, "In addition to repeated findings, having a large number of total findings can also illustrate potential instability."
Yes, and just one or two findings of noncompliance could be about major faults at a City-funded nonprofit that should be of concern to the Controller and taxpayers.
This is quite an alarming statistic: "62 contractors (53%) had one or more findings (i.e., did not meet a standard in some area)." More than half of the nonprofits receiving City dollars weren't in compliance with all mandated accounting standards.
In my view, we need a full and public discussion about this October report to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors. I don't recall any attention given to its release and findings, but if there were hearings or coverage of the report, please let me know about where or when if was scrutinized at City Hall or in the community.
Friday, November 28, 2014
SF Chronicle Outs Sens. McConnell & Graham as Gay?
What are we to make of today's "Bad Reporter" comic strip by Don Asmussen in the San Francisco Chronicle satirizing suspected GOP, as in Gay Old Party, closet cases Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lindsey Graham?
The first panel shows the South Carolina politician's mug superimposed on a woman preparing a turkey for cooking under the words, "CNN: Your Aunt at Thanksgiving is Not Sen. Lindsey Graham".
The incoming U.S. Senate Majority Leader is shown in the third panel wearing a wig and necklace over a black shirt. The text reads, "Your Grammy at Thanksgiving is Not Mitch McConnell".
In the center panel U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama are featured and neither is feminized like the senators.
Has the Chronicle outed Graham and McConnell? To my queer mind, the answer is yes.
(Click to enlarge.)
What are we to make of today's "Bad Reporter" comic strip by Don Asmussen in the San Francisco Chronicle satirizing suspected GOP, as in Gay Old Party, closet cases Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lindsey Graham?
The first panel shows the South Carolina politician's mug superimposed on a woman preparing a turkey for cooking under the words, "CNN: Your Aunt at Thanksgiving is Not Sen. Lindsey Graham".
The incoming U.S. Senate Majority Leader is shown in the third panel wearing a wig and necklace over a black shirt. The text reads, "Your Grammy at Thanksgiving is Not Mitch McConnell".
In the center panel U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama are featured and neither is feminized like the senators.
Has the Chronicle outed Graham and McConnell? To my queer mind, the answer is yes.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Mike+Mike & Grand-Niece Malina Wish You Happy T-Day
It's a beautifully sunny late November day in San Francisco, as Mike and I enjoy our quiet time at home together this Thanksgiving Day.
We have much to be thankful for on this holiday, including each other and being in good health, fine spirits and knowing we are loved by friends and family near and far.
Speaking of loved ones far from us, here are two photos of my grand-niece Malina all bundled up in girly pink winter clothes enjoying the snow that fell this week in New Jersey.
We wish you all a safe and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.
Since I'm not back East in the chill and looking at snow, I can say I'm glad there is enough snow on the ground for my niece Alexis and her husband Kevin to build a snowman for their beautiful daughter Malina.
It's a beautifully sunny late November day in San Francisco, as Mike and I enjoy our quiet time at home together this Thanksgiving Day.
We have much to be thankful for on this holiday, including each other and being in good health, fine spirits and knowing we are loved by friends and family near and far.
Speaking of loved ones far from us, here are two photos of my grand-niece Malina all bundled up in girly pink winter clothes enjoying the snow that fell this week in New Jersey.
We wish you all a safe and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.
Since I'm not back East in the chill and looking at snow, I can say I'm glad there is enough snow on the ground for my niece Alexis and her husband Kevin to build a snowman for their beautiful daughter Malina.
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