Archives

June 2000

It's 9:00 a.m. and there’s a khaki-clad, 20ish man sitting in a cubicle at a biotech company in South San Francisco or an internet company in Redwood City. He feels great, refreshed and eager to review voice mails. He’s even looking forward to his upcoming two-hour meeting. That’s because he’s been polishing his presentation on his laptop for the last thirty minutes on the deck of a ferry boat leaving near his home at Mission Bay in San Francisco. More...

One of the smartest deals going – for tourists and Bay Area residents alike – is to take the Alameda/ Oakland ferry for an afternoon of wine tasting at Rosenblum Cellars. More...

Following the golden age of bay ferries in the 1930’s and the exigencies of World War II, the winding down of it all had set in shortly after. a "fifties" kid like me had to succumb to the charms of an exotic remnant of ferryboats in a hurry. With the coming of the 1960’s meant more bridges, the throes of growing up, and enduring various national tumults. After July 30, 1958 the bay would be ferryless until the 1964 startup of the Tiburon commute by the Red and White Fleet. Worse yet, we in the East Bay would have to suffer the indignity of accessing San Francisco by rubber tire only. That was remedied in 1974 with the opening of BART’s transbay tube. More...

Governor Gray Davis has announced the appointments of Charlene H. Johnson as president, and James Fang, Gavin C. Newsom, and Nancy L. Wagner as members of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority. More...

Richard H. Dillon has written over 20 books on California history, among them one dealing on the incredible story of Peter, James and Michael Donahue, "Iron Men" (Candela Press, 1984). Until his retirement he worked as head of the Sutro Library in San Francisco. He is a member of the Western Hostory Association, California Historical Society and the Book Club of California. More...

Walt Whitman, the second of nine children, was born 31 May 1819 in West Hills, Long Island, to parents of Quaker background. In 1823 the family moved to Brooklyn, where for six years Whitman attended public schools. It was the only formal education he ever received. At age eleven he worked as an office boy for lawyers and a doctor, then in the summer of 1831 became a printer’s devil for the Long Island Patriot. Unsuccessful in trying to land a job as a compositor he rejoined his family, who in the meantime had returned to Long Island. More...

Our monthly rumination from Richmond rider Christine Cordi. More...