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One thing you can say about Barack Obama and Joseph Biden, they know how to keep a secret. Obama told Biden he was the vice presidential pick on Thursday, and not even their most intimate friends knew. Biden didn't tell anyone, including his wife. He called his whole family together on Friday for a breakfast - and didn't tell them then either. Not until late Friday did anyone but Biden and Obama know the deal. The fact that they could make a decision and keep quiet about it until the time was right is the hallmark of a good working...

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown - whose new book includes an entire chapter on "Tricks the FBI Played to Try to Get Me" - found himself the other day in front of the federal grand jury investigating state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. The grand jury proceedings in Oakland are part of a nearly 5-year-old federal investigation into Perata's links to lobbyists, his payment of campaign funds to family members and his role in pushing for various contracts. Brown, who was known as the "Ayatollah of the Assembly" in his days in the capital, said it appeared from...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has plenty of plans for California and whether Democrats like it or not, the Republican governor is doing his best to tie those plans to his new-found friends in the other party. In a Tuesday afternoon speech to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, the governor praised the Democratic leadership in the Legislature early and often for their willingness to work with him on things like workers' compensation reform, last November's infrastructure bond package and the recent agreement of prison construction. These "great, great accomplishments" wouldn't have been possible without the help of both Democrats and Republicans,...

Willie Lewis Brown Jr., former "Ayatollah of the Assembly," ex-mayor of San Francisco, government consultant, fashion plate, lightning rod and — by his depiction — a living, breathing work of art, returns to center stage tonight in Sacramento. Improbably. No Democrat was more reviled by Republicans than Brown, who served a record 15 years as Assembly speaker before voter-imposed term limits — the "anti-Willie Brown law," he called it — chased him from the Capitol. And yet tonight he will preside over Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's second inaugural fete, resplendent, no doubt, in a bespoke tuxedo and symbolizing the bipartisanship...

Willie Brown correctly predicted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's landslide win to the chagrin of his own party, and now the Democratic icon will emcee the Republican governor's swearing-in ceremony in January. The governor's inaugural committee announced Tuesday that it had recruited Brown to serve as master of ceremonies during Schwarzenegger's Jan. 5 invitation-only ceremony at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento. "I think that Mayor Brown's choice shows the governor's commitment to bipartisanship," said Reed Galen, executive director of the inaugural committee.

Dan Riehl of the Riehl World View has run two very interesting posts building on published material about Nancy Pelosi’s family fortune(s), and the possible role of (gasp!) political influence in securing lucre for relatives. The issue immediately at hand is Treasure Island, formerly the property of the United States Navy, a man-made isalnd in the middle of San Francisco Bay. It is being decontaminated at taxpayer expense, and plans are for it to be developed to house 6,000 families.

Polls Show Democrats Not Connecting With Angelides. Former Assembly speaker and San Francisco mayor Willie Brown on Friday predicted that fellow Democrat Phil Angelides will lose his campaign for governor. Brown's forecast came during a fundraising breakfast for his public policy institute, which drew many of the state's top elected officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. With a nod to the Republican governor, who was seated in the audience, Brown told several hundred well-connected listeners that Schwarzenegger will win his bid for a full term next month. "No matter what, I think he'll be re-elected governor," Brown said. Angelides campaign spokesman...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promoted bipartisan dealmaking Friday at a breakfast hosted by Democratic political icon Willie Brown, who then gave his Republican guest a parting gift: a declaration that Schwarzenegger will win re-election "no matter what." Democratic gubernatorial challenger Phil Angelides was noticeably absent from the Moscone Center fundraiser for Brown's nonprofit public service institute, considering the audience of several hundred was heavily Democratic. Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, landed a prime speaking spot between two of the state's most powerful Democrats, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. Angelides trails Schwarzenegger by double-digit percentage points, according to...

Boyd faces up to 5 years in prison, $250,000 fine - A federal jury convicted a former aide to U.S. Rep. John Conyers of failing to appear for his sentencing in a fraud case. DeWayne Boyd, 49, was convicted of the charge Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy said Thursday. Boyd, formerly of Detroit, had been convicted Dec. 15, 2004, of charges including mail fraud, making false declarations under oath, making false statements to investigators, bankruptcy fraud and theft of government property. U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ordered that Boyd remain in custody pending an Aug. 29 sentencing hearing for the...

Local labor leaders are fuming over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's last-minute appearance at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast in San Francisco -- and a lot of their anger is directed at former Mayor Willie Brown. "We've spent a year and a half, and millions of dollars fighting this SOB,'' San Francisco Labor Council head Tim Paulson said of the governor. "For him to come to this breakfast was an absolute insult." Paulson also had a few words for Brown, the lawyer/lobbyist and talk-show pundit (he regularly appears on TV with this column's Phil Matier) who helped engineer Arnold's well-covered...

DETROIT (AP) - A former aide to U.S. Rep. John Conyers has been arrested in Africa after skipping his sentencing on a federal fraud conviction, federal authorities said. DeWayne Boyd, 49, formerly of Detroit, was arrested Friday in Accra, Ghana, said Daniel D. Roberts, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office. Boyd is a former aide to Willie Brown when he was the speaker of the California Assembly. Boyd was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear at the April sentencing hearing on convictions of mail fraud, making false declarations under oath, making false statements to...

Like a lingering, nasty winter cold, Willie Brown is one politician the Golden State just can't seem to shake. To remove the notorious former California State Assembly speaker from power, it took a constitutional rewrite that imposed legislative term limits. And after Democrats lost control of the chamber to the GOP in 1995, voters were dumbfounded when Brown outfoxed them, manipulating two Republican surrogates Manchurian-style to retain power. When those limits finally prevented Willie from any additional time in Sacramento, he promptly ran for mayor of San Francisco, serving two terms from 1996 to 2004. Even as many Californians saw...

While we gear up for our next major pieces, here's a roundup of the latest fodder: --- Did Al Franken really mock a disabled Vietnam Vet during a recent Asheville radio interview? BoreAmerica has the details, we'd like to hear the audio of this interview, if the host could please make it available. BoreAmerica also believes Janeane Garofalo has a promising future doing public service announcements, especially for booster seats. --- Lots of tension at ABC Radio, as worried staffers ponder who will be taking over some of America's largest talk radio stations (KGO, KSFO, WLS, WBAP, WABC, WMAL and...

At least one person is making a killing leading up to Tuesday's special election -- lawyer, TV pundit and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association has paid Brown a whopping $450,000 since March -- with more to come -- to plot strategy for the campaign against the prescription drug measure Proposition 79 and in favor of the industry's rival Proposition 78, as well as to help with other matters, according to statements on file at the California secretary of state's office. Prop. 79 was put on the ballot by unions and consumer groups as...

In a surprise move, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown has resigned from the board of the influential California Public Employees' Retirement System. The departure caught leaders at the nation's largest public pension fund off guard, leaving them with no explanation for the unexpected decision. Brown's replacement, Kings County Supervisor and farmer Tony Oliveira, was quickly sworn in Monday morning. "Nothing the mayor has ever done surprises anyone. You always took everything he did as being something that was just his style," CalPERS board President Rob Feckner said Monday. The exit came just before the board was to consider...

June 3, 2005 is the sixteenth anniversary of the brutal 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre of peaceful pro-democracy protestors by the communist Chinese Government. Many Americans remember the infamous photo of the unarmed Chinese student standing in front of a column of armored tanks, blocking their path. What most Americans did not see were the color photos of smashed and bloody bodies of protestors all over the ground, making the ground look somewhat like the top of a giant pizza. The following are links to the encyclopedia entry for "Tiananmen Square", which is also provided below: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/t/tiananme.asp http://www.encyclopedia.com/printable.asp?url=/ssi/t/tiananme.html The following...

SACRAMENTO -- Willie Brown, who for years was demonized as the autocratic liberal who stymied Kern County's Republican politicians, has become a registered lobbyist, and one of his first clients is the city of Bakersfield. Brown, the flamboyant and controversial former Assembly speaker and San Francisco mayor, has been retained to help get a bill passed that will give the city more clout in turf battles with nearby cities and the county. But he wasn't hired directly by the City Council, City Manager Alan Tandy said Monday. He was retained by a law firm that has a consulting contract with...

Remembering The Zebra Killings By James Lubinskas FrontPageMagazine.com | August 30, 2001 MOST SERIAL KILLINGS in America take on a life of their own through movies, books and documentaries. The crimes of Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and The Son Sam are still well remembered years after they committed. Yet there is one set of serial killings that been almost completely forgotten and is rarely mentioned popular culture. The Zebra Killings occurred in the Francisco bay area between 1972 1974 and left 71 people dead. They were dubbed the Zebra because of the radio channel used the police investigating the case...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is expected to scrap the costly signature design for the Bay Bridge's new eastern span and will instead recommend building a simple skyway, sources close to the negotiations said Thursday. The shift away from a single-tower suspension span to a viaduct, similar in concept to the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges, is expected to be announced today at a press conference in San Francisco, sources in state and local government said on condition they not be identified. The decision to go with a skyway brings the state all the way back to the original design for...

FORMER MAYOR WILLIE BROWN: I think this country believes that this president is capable of doing those things, Jim. I think when he got the overwhelming vote that he got on the popular vote side, when he got the response that he got from the collection of people, all age groups, all ethnicities, all genders, I think it was a clear indication that there's greater confidence in this president's leadership ability and his orchestration skills than the Democratic rhetoric gave him credit for. I share the view. I don't think we've had a candid discussion about the war in Iraq....

A San Francisco nonprofit group that touts its ties to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, Assemblyman Leland Yee and other well-known politicians made thousands of dollars in illegal campaign donations during the past three years, state and local records show. Campaign finance reports show that America Education Foundation International, a corporate-funded charity set up to help low-income schools and students, made $3,665 in banned political donations from November 2001 to September 2004. The donations include $500 to former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; $800 to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante; $500 to San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier; $500 to San Francisco...

Did anyone else hear Willie Brown's comment on Zell MIller and the KKK? I will have to paraphrase, as I have not found the transcript: Dennis Miller: Well, he is a Democrat. Willie Brown: Yeah, well a lot of the KKK use to be Democrats. And I think Zell Miller was a lot more comfortable being a Democrat when they were.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Amid evidence that a local nonprofit organization may have funneled grant money into illegal political campaign contributions, Mayor Gavin Newsom asked the city controller Thursday to conduct an audit to determine how the organization used city grant money. Newsom made his request after a San Francisco Chronicle investigation discovered the Neighborhood Resources Center, a nonprofit founded to assist Asian immigrants, had received nearly $200,000 in city funds to provide multilingual services but that few services had actually been provided. Newsom asked that the city controller and the city attorney's office investigate "the validity of the allegations"...

Not sure how many are tuned into the Bill O'Reilly interview with Ex-Mayor Willie Brown. I've already posted earlier today about my problems with SF, that is being a business owner and struggling to do business in SF. But, can you believe how Mr. Brown differentiates between the Clinton and Bush government? He says that the Bush administration has "failed on entitlements". Yet, O'Reilly indicates that overall spending towards education has doubled since the Clinton administration. I want to know from FR if Mr. Brown is considered a legitimate spokesperson for the Afro-American community. Because, what he is basically saying...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown filed paperwork Thursday to run for state insurance commissioner in 2006, a newspaper reported. Papers declaring Brown's intention to run and setting up his fund-raising committee were filed at the secretary of state's office, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Brown, 70, did not return calls to the Chronicle seeking comment. John Garamendi, the Walnut Grove Democrat now serving as insurance commissioner, said he was surprised by the move. Term limits won't force the veteran politician out of office until 2010, and he's already begun raising money for either a re-election...

<p>If Paul Revere rode today to warn of danger to California businesses and taxpayers, he might shout something such as, "The pension fund power-grabbers are coming." Actually, they're already here, and their attempts to inject special interest agendas into corporate boardrooms in the guise of shareholders' rights pose a threat to the state's recovery prospects and long-term economic health.</p>

<p>There's an interesting buzz going around the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission over Deputy Director Harlan Kelly's new Ford Explorer -- and the $4,000 paint job he ordered on the vehicle right after its delivery.</p> <p>Kelly was elevated from the Public Works Department by outgoing Mayor Willie Brown to help manage the Hetch Hetchy system's planned $1 billion bond overhaul. In the process, he was handed a sweet, five-year contract that paid him a $185,000 salary and called for him to get a new car.</p>

<p>The city-funded San Francisco nonprofit group accused of pressuring workers to vote and campaign for Gavin Newsom for mayor also pushed its employees to work to re-elect former Mayor Willie Brown in 1999, according to interviews.</p> <p>Three former employees of the nonprofit San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, or SLUG, told The Chronicle that they were ordered to walk precincts, attend rallies and debates and work a phone bank promoting Brown's candidacy.</p>

<p>Movie star-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's first State of the State address and first budget overshadowed another historic political event this week: the retirement of Willie Brown after nearly 40 years in public office.</p> <p>Brown ended eight years as mayor of San Francisco on Thursday, turning over the office to designated successor Gavin Newsom. His mayoral reign followed 31 years in the state Assembly, a record 15 of them as speaker and the self-proclaimed "ayatollah of the Legislature."</p>

<p>When Mayor Willie Brown becomes "Citizen Brown'' at noon Thursday for the first time in four decades, the shift into his new life, he said, "is going to be traumatic -- but not disabling.''</p> <p>After a groundbreaking 31-year career in the state Assembly followed by two terms as San Francisco's 41st mayor, Brown already is hatching his next moves: TV commentator, consultant, lawyer and head of a new public policy institute he's creating to train the next crop of politicians.</p>

<p>"The only thing worse than being misquoted is not being talked about at all."</p> <p>For the first time in four decades, when Willie Brown makes way for a new mayor of San Francisco on Thursday, he will no longer have what he calls "the leverage of power." "I'll have to find a replacement," he said. "After more than 40 years of having power, it's like you never were without it."</p>

<p>Gov. Jeb Bush joked during a Florida Cabinet meeting Wednesday that the people of San Francisco may be endangered and, "That's probably good news for the country."</p> <p>The subject was environmental land and Bush was looking at a map of showing locations with a lot of different wildlife at the time.</p>

<p>Governator Arnold had his first Sacramento get-together the other night at the home of campaign strategist Bob White -- and while there weren't any TV cameras to catch the comings and goings, there were more than enough politicos from both parties to get tongues wagging.</p>

Willie Brown on Arnold's Transition Team SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown says he's honored to join Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's transition team. The mayor, who along with most San Francisco voters opposed the recall, says he also believes California's cities must have a voice in the new government. Brown says he doesn't think the incoming Republican governor will slight the city. He says "you don't grab the symbol of the city and make him part of the transition team if you intend to rip the city off." Brown says he will be an active participant in the...

Originally published June 15,2001 THE GREAT GOLD HEISTThe Desert Wilderness Protection Act by Karen Lee Bixman Published in: Media ByPass Magazine (1-800-4-bypass) Senator Diane Feinstein: "The Modern Jesse James" Congress should be convening a criminal investigation. On October 8, 1994, the biggest gold heist in history occurred, but this theft lacked the melodrama of a Jesse James' holdup or the excitement of a Brink's truck robbery. Nary a word was reported by the media even though this thievery was committed in the light of day. The citizens that were being robbed tried to cry out for help but the lawmen...

<p>Big confab this week in San Francisco -- with the state's top Democratic and union consultants coming to town for a sit-down with Mayor Willie Brown.</p> <p>The mission: To come up with a plan to ensure that a Democrat is in control of the governor's office.</p>

Publication date: 06/04/2003 Post-9/11 pied piperBY J.K. DINEEN AND ADRIEL HAMPTONOf The Examiner Staff    A bit Ken Kesey and a bit Jim Jones, farmer and self-proclaimed "9/11 Bounty Hunter" John Jenkel is assembling a following of disaffected youth who ape his wild claims of government conspiracy.    Jenkel has been after Mayor Willie Brown and other Bay Area elected officials for at least several years. Now, he says a recent inheritance allows him to hire people to back up his campaign to impeach the president and expose Brown as shadow chief of the United States. He teaches them from a hand-assembled book some...

<p>Unless they all sit down and settle this thing soon, a case will go to trial Monday that pits a 41-year-old Sacramento woman against the state of California. On the surface, the case of Pamela "P.J." Harper vs. the California State Assembly is a discrimination lawsuit brought by the former director of the Legislative Travel Office, who says she was squeezed out of her $75,348-a-year job after returning to work from a 5 1/2 -month maternity leave.</p>

<p>Friend, can you spare some serious cash?</p> <p>It's the kind of question two California Democratic heavyweights -- San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and former Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy -- are asking would-be donors.</p> <p>But not for another campaign.</p> <p>Both men are raising money to create legacies for themselves: public policy centers bearing their names at Bay Area universities.</p>

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - With less than a year left in his latest political incarnation, Mayor Willie Brown has aroused intense speculation over his future plans by tossing his trademark fedora into the ring for the presidency of the nation's largest pension fund.</p>

As Governor Gray Davis begins his 2nd term, he faces a host of problems. One in particular that is likely to be among his greatest challenges - yet to date has received limited attention -- is reform of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). CalPERS is the nation's largest pension fund. In keeping with what Smart Money described as "the nation's most formidable force in shareholder activism," it has a reputation of being an international corporate governance watchdog, using its weighty economic clout to impose its will on large and small companies alike. Yet due to the Davis...

<p>San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown would probably not have enough votes to become president of California's mammoth government pension fund -- even with the support of Gov. Gray Davis.</p> <p>The mayor is in a dead heat for the board's presidency with Sean Harrigan, a vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and Robert Carlson, the retired chief counsel for the state Department of Transportation.</p>

<p>Gov. Gray Davis declared his support Tuesday for Willie Brown's bid to be elected president of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, calling the San Francisco mayor his "anchor tenant" at the powerful pension fund.</p> <p>"Willie is the governor's man, and he didn't need to be lobbied," Steve Maviglio, the governor's spokesman, told us.</p>

San Francisco Real Estate Welcome to the only San Francisco Real Estate site catering to the budget minded consumer. You won't find a mansion fit for King Willie, but you may find one fit for one of his cousins. Join Real Estate magnate Cletus Holmes for an exciting tour of what could potentially be a great opportunity to break into the newest rage in home ownership, the PortaEnclave. The first Listing that we acquired is this wonderful, one bedroom with ensuite bath. Throughly handcrafted of the finest fiberglass and chain link fence and  a designer entry. This is a perfect...

--- Does a Trail Exist? --- Published November 4, 2002 by Forest Glen Durland Copyright 2002 by Forest Glen Durland Contents Introduction Treasures attracting various types of people. Gold Fever!!! Tracks - Footprints in the Sand. Here is where the action starts. Definitions Land Swap Game - Here's the routine. Players in the Game References and sources of documentation with excerpts to help research scholars. End Note   Introduction Only facts are presented with links to documentation. The readers are free to check that documentation and form their own conclusions. There definitely exists a big bucks scam involving the swapping...

Ex-SFUSD official held in fraud caseBY NICK DRIVEROf The Examiner Staff    Police arrested a former school official Wednesday on charges of embezzling and diverting $875,000 in district funds meant for school repairs and equipment.    Tim Tronson, the former interim head of school facilities, was being held on $2 million bail, according to District Attorney Terence Hallinan. Five others, including Tronson's wife and brother-in-law, were also charged.     Tronson, who left his school job in 2000, faces up to 21 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines on 22 felony charges of fraud, misappropriation of school funds and money laundering.     "This...

<p>Tuesday, September 10, 2002 ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.</p> <p>San Francisco's acting elections director John Arntz said he stood by his decision to preclude people from using Chinese characters to sign paid ballot arguments in the English version of the voter information guide.</p>

<p>The California Public Employees Pension System steered $700 million in investment capital to a wealthy financier who has donated more than $600,000 to Gov. Gray Davis and thousands more to officials who serve on the CalPERS board, according to state records.</p>

Millions involved; no laws broken SACRAMENTO - Newly released documents from the nation's largest pension fund show board members voted to invest $760 million with a company after its founder gave several of them more than $25,000 each in campaign contributions. Ronald Burkle, who worked his way up from a grocery bagger at 13 to run the nation's largest supermarket company, has given more than $2 million in political contributions - mostly to Democrats - in recent years. During that time, he's traveled on national trade missions with Cabinet members, hosted heads of state at his historic Beverly Hills mansion,...