Gene Simmons’ daughter did not spend Father’s Day with her dad. Instead, Sophie Simmons flew out to San Francisco to try out for The X Factor. While Gene and Sophie do have a close relationship, Sophie decided to spend Sunday with Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, Britney Spears and Demi Lovato. “This isn’t about my dad. This is all about my audition,” Sophie reportedly told the judges, asking to be judged on merit and not by her surname. Sophie may or may not have made it to the next round, but with a rock star for a dad, she’s likely not afraid of performing on the stage at least. Speaking of dad, he wasn’t feeling snubbed. Gene actually took a private jet out to see his daughter as she tried out for the Fox show. Awww. Other highlights of the San Francisco auditions: Britney Spears meeting a familiar face, a gay contestant who came out publicly after auditioning in front of The X Factor panel. Demi Lovato’s hair ! [Photo: WENN.com]
Wiz Khalifa formally begins the campaign for his sophomore album, O.N.I.C. , which expected to drop on August 28th. The first single is titled “Work Hard Play Hard,” which the Taylor Gang rapper premiered on 4/20, of course, at San Francisco’s “The Bake Off” concert at the Bill Graham Civic Center… Continue
On Friday, in solidarity with Bay Area LGBT youth, the San Francisco Police Department released an ” It Gets Better ” video featuring more than a dozen LGBT sergeants, commanders, dispatchers and police officers. Since 2010, the It Gets Better Project — a viral series of homemade YouTube videos — has aimed to prevent suicide by helping LGBT youths facing harassment see beyond the difficult teenage… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Huffington Post Discovery Date : 10/02/2012 19:15 Number of articles : 2
As accomplished as NBA legend Bill Russell was on the court, he was also a giant off the court. Why else would President Obama see fit to present Russell with a Presidential Medal of Freedom Award in 2010? On the hardwood, Bill Russell was the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics’ dynasty of the 1960s, winning an unprecedented 11 championships in his 13 seasons. A skilled shotblocker, Russell revolutionized NBA defensive concepts. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time All-Star, Russell averaged 22.5 rebounds per game and led the league in rebounding four times. He had 51 boards in one game, 49 in two others and a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds. William Felton Russell was born on February 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana. His family later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Russell would go on to attend the University of San Francisco, where he blossomed. Russell would lead the University of San Francisco to 56 consecutive victories and NCAA Championships in 1955 and 1956. Russell was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1955. Boston Celtics Coach and General Manager Red Auerbach drafted Russell to the Celtics in 1956, but Russell didn’t join the Celtics until December because he was a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic basketball team, which won a gold medal at the Melbourne Games in November. After another NBA Championship in 1965-66, Red Auerbach retired, and Russell took over as player-coach the following season, becoming the first African-American coach in the league. He led the Celtics to a 60-21 regular-season record, but Boston finally had their streak of championships snapped when they lost to a powerful Philadelphia 76ers team in the Eastern Division Finals. Having witnessed racism and all its ugliness firsthand as a child growing up in segregated Louisiana, Russell took public stands against discrimination throughout his career. Before the 1961–62 NBA season, Russell refused to play in an exhibition game in Lexington, Kentucky when he and his black teammates were refused service at a local restaurant. Russell also joined other prominent black athletes like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in publicly supporting Muhammad Ali’s decision to refuse to be drafted. Until the ascent of Michael Jordan in the 1980s and ’90s, Russell was considered by many as the greatest player in the history of the NBA.
Ten dollar HOLLER! San Francisco just became the first U.S. city to raise their minimum wage above $10. Well that’s a “lil positivity” at least! The sad part about it is that while the increase will benefit non-salaried workers, it’s not gonna help them as much as they probably need it — and the worst news is the increase may put some small businesses out of commission! San Franciscans passed a proposition in 2003 that requires the city to increase the minimum wage each year, using a formula tied to inflation and the cost of living. It’s just another way the progressive people of the City by the Bay have shown their support for the working-class in a locale where labor unions remain strong and housing costs are sky high. Karl Kramer of the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition said a decent wage for a single adult without children in the city would be $15, and that doubles when you have at least one child or more. But like other advocates of better wages, he’s still pleased that San Francisco will be the first in the nation to top $10. “It helps workers’ morale in a time of economic crisis; they feel that they’re able to tread water and get some relief from the recession,” said Kramer. While the city is at the forefront of attempting to provide a decent living wage, most employees say it’s still not a wage to live on, that the 32-cent hike seems like peanuts. And some employers say it could lead to layoffs by small businesses already forced to pay federal, state and city payroll taxes as well as a slew of other city-mandated taxes. Daniel Scherotter, chef and owner of Palio D’Asti, an upscale Italian restaurant in the Financial District, said the city’s minimum wage hike from $9.92 to $10.24 means that his highest-paid employees — the waiters who make most of their income from tips — will see more money in their pockets while his salaried kitchen staff will have to take the hit. If Scherotter raised menu prices to make up the difference, he’d risk going out of business in this economy. What the average San Franciscan may not know, he said, is that business owners also must pay another $1.23 to $1.85 an hour per employee for health-care coverage if they don’t offer health insurance. San Francisco is also the only city in the state that charges a payroll tax of 1.5 percent; it also mandates nine paid sick days annually per employee. “So that drives me nuts, that as a chef, I have to cut my kitchen allowance,” Scherotter said. “What I pay for a waiter is more than double what Manhattan pays, it’s more than double what Chicago pays, and it’s four times what Boston pays. And those are … other big, expensive, pro-labor cities. But I pay what they all pay added together for tipped employees.” Scherotter said the double whammy of recession and wage hikes has led to eight layoffs in his kitchen in the last four years. “We hear that all the time,” said Steve Falk, president and CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. He said that by the time you add up all the mandates and taxes that city employers must pay for their minimum-wage workers, the payroll burden is at least 25 to 40 percent higher than other Bay Area cities. He gave the example of catering companies bidding for the contract at the city’s Treasure Island. In the end it went to a Napa firm over a San Francisco catering company because Napa was able to come in lower. “You can’t on one hand as a city impose mandates and fees on a local business and then exclude them because their costs are too high when they go to bid on a city contract or a city service,” Falk said. The chamber of commerce is calling on the city to build in a 25 to 30 percent bid allowance for San Francisco companies. “Fortunately, it’s a very attractive place to own a business and businesses thrive here because of the number of visitors,” Falk said. “But we always worry: where’s the tipping point?” That tipping point needs to lean toward the worker, said David Madland, director of the American Worker Project at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for American Progress Action Fund. He said the best studies on minimum wage indicate that the benefits outweigh the burdens placed on employers. “I think it’s a big deal when a city is making a commitment that says, `Our workers are going to get paid a livable wage for a day’s work,”‘ he said. “It’s also very important that in today’s economy when a core problem is lack of demand … that a city is actively taking steps to put more money into consumers’ pockets.” Source h1> More On Bossip! Must Be Nice: Chad Ochocinco Gives His Future Wife A Maserati And Other Expensive A$$ Gifts For Her Birthday (Photos) SMH: Peep The 15 Black And Latina Bangers Who Made Men’s Health’s 100 “Hottest Women Of All Time List,” Only One Made The Top Ten Which One Would You Wife? “Basketball Wives: Miami” Reveal A Few Shots From Their Season 4 Promo Photoshoot Ballers: Britney Spears Renting This Beautiful Thousand Oaks Mansion For $25K A Month Source
“ Racism still exists, they just be concealing it”… in one of the most tolerant cities in the country? Authorities say the number of white supremacist groups in San Francisco is a serious and expanding. Last November, two Mexican nationals were attacked outside a bar in the tTenderloin by a group of white supremacists yelling as they beat one of the men unconscious. Three men were arrested. One of the men, Anthony Weston, testified against the other two. “In exchange for giving us the information about skin heads moving here to San Francisco he was offered a plea bargain,” San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Victor Hwang said. Weston served 10 months in prison. The other two have not been sentenced. But Weston gave investigators information about white supremacist groups in San Francisco. Investigators also found Nazi and white supremacists paraphernalia inside one of the attacker’s apartment. According to San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, there are three groups operating in the city. “We have probably in excess of 40 to 50 individuals that are documented white supremacists and nearly another 150 or so that are associates that are operating within the city,” Gascon said. The district attorney’s office says they are involved in drug trafficking, identity theft and other crimes. Most of them belonged to a white supremacist group in prison and have moved to San Francisco. Wow, San Fran… Can’t say we’re totally surprised though.
At yesterday’s Facebook f8 developers conference in San Francisco, Andy Samberg kicked off the event impersonating Mark Zuckerberg, before the real Mark took the stage for his keynote. Back in January Jesse Eisenberg, Andy Samberg and Mark Zuckerberg did the opening monologue of Saturday Night Live, all three playing the role of Mark Zuckerberg. photo Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Laughing Squid Discovery Date : 23/09/2011 16:33 Number of articles : 2
[Video Link] A San Francisco office worker who takes a personal day off from work is surprised to see how crowded the cafes and parks are. “Why is this place so full? Everybody should be at work right now!” Miss … Continue reading → Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Boing Boing Discovery Date : 23/09/2011 17:31 Number of articles : 3
Michelle Le disappeared May 27 from the parking garage of the Hayward, Calif., city hospital where she works as a nurse. On Monday, Esteban, 26, was in court to answer to a charge of murdering Le, also 26, whose body was found over the weekend. Once they were the closest of friends – two former classmates at Mount Carmel High School in San Diego who later lived near each other in the San Francisco area. But that friendship was shattered when Giselle Esteban allegedly felt that Michelle Le ha
San Francisco teen Kyle Fa, the son of two gay fathers and a lesbian mom, shares a little bit about what its like to be in such a special family—and the power of community—in this short film made in conjunction with COLAGE, an organization for people with LGBTQ parents. We’re stymied how people can see Fa’s Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Queerty Discovery Date : 01/09/2011 17:55 Number of articles : 2
