Man, today had a tough start, with the news that San Francisco Media Company has abruptly pulled funding for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Which means tomorrow, Wednesday, is the last day the paper will be released—after 48 years of “printing the news and raising hell.” But the fat lady has not sung her last song for the progressive weekly—there’s still an opportunity and hope that someone could buy it (read that SFist link for more from my kick-ass publisher, Marke Bieschke). Time will tell on this one—for now, everyone in the SFBG office had to pack up their offices today, their emails were shut down, and the website only has a placeholder message up for now. Hard stuff. (At least they managed to retain control of their Twitter handle, so follow along for updates.)
The SFBG is an iconic part of our SF fabric, and I have so enjoyed contributing to it each week over the past year. If you had told me when I moved here 20 years ago that I was going to be writing a food column in the Bay Guardian, I wouldn’t have believed it! It’s a cruel twist that tomorrow is the release of the annual Best of the Bay issue (did you know the “best of” issue was a style that the SFBG started?!). It’s a damn good issue, and if you’re in it, you should be especially proud. Sadly the staff wasn’t able to get the online version of it posted in time before the curtain so cruelly dropped, but here’s the PDF of it! Here’s hoping for a phoenix chapter in the paper’s important tale.
The winds are gusting outside, a storm is trying to form, it feels appropriate. Hey Giants, make some good news for the city today, okay?
Before we dive into the news here, I’d like to point you to this important piece by Dominique Crenn about “female chefs.” Please give it a read, thanks.
See you Friday. Marcia Gagliardi
An incredible course at The Lab: pumpkin soufflé (with a pumpkin gelato popsicle) and Almanac’s heirloom pumpkin barleywine. Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Oct 14 2014
