Friday, March 27, 2009

3/27: Worker-owned Cooperatives

7 - 8 pm: Worker-owned Cooperatives - Democracy in the Workplace, Responsibility in the Community. A conversation about the concept of worker-owned businesses and workplace democracy. We'll be joined by two guest hosts:
- Poonam Whabi (Design Action Collective and Board Member of NoBAWC - Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives)
- Dan Thomases (Box Dog Bikes, Board member - NoBAWC)

They will be leading a discussion with this panel:
- Tim Huet (Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives)
- Kasper Koczab (Rainbow Grocery Cooperative)
- Suzanne (AK Press)

NOTE: Only a one-hour show this week because we're going to stop by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi's office for his annual Persian New Year party. Come on by City Hall from 5:30 - 8. The party is free and open to the public. Meanwhile, back on Pirate Cat Radio, Common Thread radio will be covering for us from 6-7 with their usual amazing collection of local musicians, poets, and other performers.

Friday, March 20, 2009

3/20: Joe Lynn on the Ethics Commission & the LGBT March to Sacramento

Download the podcast:
http://www.nerdnetworks.org/pcr/KingsOfSF-20090320.mp3
(Need help figuring out this podcast thing? See our handy guide.)
6pm: Joe Lynn on the Ethics Commission - Former Ethics Commissioner Joe Lynn talks to us about how what's wrong with the San Francisco Ethics Commission, how lobbyists and politicians exploit loopholes in the law, and what can be done to close the loopholes. Check out his Guardian editorial about reforming the ethics enforcement division, and this open letter about reforming rules for lobbyists.

7pm: Kip Williams on the LGBT March to Sacramento - Kip Williams from One Struggle One Fight talks to us about their civil rights march from San Francisco to Sacramento. They're marching for the repeal of Proposition 8, but they're also working to connect the marriage rights movement to other issues of discrimination like immigration, health care, and employment.

Join them for a kick-off rally next Tuesday, March 24th at City Hall at 12:30. Speakers will include:
- Cleve Jones, friend of Harvey Milk and long time LGBT activist
- Andrea Shorter, the Director of And Marriage for All
- Biko Baker, a hip-hop activist and Executive Director of the League of Young Voters.

Friday, March 13, 2009

3/13: Gavin's Sunshine Problem & Ammiano Tries to Legalize It

Download the podcast:
http://www.nerdnetworks.org/pcr/KingsOfSF-20090313.mp3
(Need help figuring out this podcast thing? See our handy guide.)
1st hour: Is Gavin Avoiding Transparency? - The Newsom administration claims it strongly believes in government transparency and that it adheres to the City's Sunshine Ordinance, but Rebecca Bowe's excellent cover story in this week's Guardian tells a different story. We'll speak with Bowe and Sunshine Task Force member Rick Knee to get to the bottom of this issue that is so crucial to the health of our city's democracy.

2nd hour: Can Legalization Save California? - Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is introducing a first-of-its-kind marijuana legalization bill that could generate billions of dollars of revenue for the State coffers, cut down on thousands of arrests, and drastically reduce drug traffic related violence. Ammiano's press secretary, Quintin Mecke, will be in the studio to break it down.

Also: Anarchist Bookfair - James Tracy stopped by to tell us about the Anarchist Bookfair happening tomorrow at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park at 9th and Irving. He also read us one of his kick-ass poems.

Friday, March 6, 2009

3/6: PowerShift Report Back & Sanctuary City Update

Download the podcast:
http://www.nerdnetworks.org/pcr/KingsOfSF-20090306.mp3
(Need help figuring out this podcast thing? See our handy guide.)
6 pm: PowerShift Report Back - Last weekend, the SF League joined 12,000 young people in D.C. at PowerShift 09, a conference on clean energy and green jobs, culminating in 350 meetings with our representatives in congress, and a protest that shutdown the coal-fired power plant that powers the Capitol. We were joined by a bunch of folks from the League and Green for All.
Here's what we learned from lobbying our SF representatives and CA senators:
- Speaker Pelosi: We had a positive meeting with her chief of staff who said that our pressure made it easier to push for stronger legislation. She's hopeful that Pelosi will be able to make it to our climate townhall meeting in April.
- Congresswoman Speier: Her climate policy staffer said Speier supports our platform and will push for strong climate legislation.
- Senator Boxer: Her climate policy guy basically lectured at us. Boxer won't push for an outright ban on coal or nuclear plants, and it sounds like she wants to put most of the money from a carbon cap into tax cuts instead of green jobs for disadvantaged communities.
- Senator Feinsten: Her staff strung us along all day and ultimately wouldn't meet with 100 young people from California. Really, Diane? Friggin Oren Hatch met with PowerShift, and you wouldn't? Once again, you're our Asshole of the Week.

7 pm: Our Sanctuary City - Immigrant rights, ICE raids, and racial profiling. Why isn't San Francisco living up to it's sanctuary city status and what needs to be done about it? Our guests included:
- Bobbi Lopez and others from the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee
- Several members of Young Workers United
- Supervisor John Avalos called in to tell us about his work on legislation to make it City policy that the police shouldn't turn over youth charged with felonies to ICE.