APEC in San Francisco: Biden is visiting

Angelika Even German newspapers have written a lot about the decline of San Francisco this year, and especially Downtown San Francisco was characterized as an apocalyptic place where only homeless and drug addicts wander through the streets. It's not quite that bad yet, although it is true that San Francisco's downtown has been struggling with horrific problems that have exacerbated during the pandemic, and then continued into a downward spiral.

Since the pandemic, over 30% of office buildings in San Francisco's downtown area have been vacant, coinciding with new trends like remote work on three days of the week. Many companies have downsized their offices, leading to fewer people frequenting the shops in downtown San Francisco or buying and eating lunch there, which then leads to more shop closures due to a lack of customers. A vicious cycle.

Even before the pandemic, cities worldwide have struggled with the concept of a downtown shopping district, primarily due to the boom of e-commerce. San Francisco compensated for this quite well pre-COVID and lockdown by attracting tourists and conferences that filled up hotel rooms in downtown and kept nearby stores afloat. And as long as the city's tax revenues was stable, city politicians blissfully ignored complaints from companies, like those hosting large conventions regularly at the Moscone Center, who threatened to take their conferences elsewhere if San Francisco didn't fix its safety problems. After all, convention attendees shouldn't have to navigate between tents on public sidewalks or painstakingly avoid stepping into used needles.

The situation now is that although tourists are slowly returning to the city, the vacancy rate of offices has not significantly improved. The Fentanyl crisis raging in downtown San Francisco, especially in the adjacent Tenderloin district, has made the decades-long homelessness crisis even worse. It will take years, if not decades, to see structural change. As of recently, the city has been relying on superficial improvements and enhancements like building a central skatepark as mentioned below.

For the APEC conference (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), which took place mid-November at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco, this machinery was running at full speed and was already taking on almost grotesque forms. San Francisco was not only expecting high-ranking diplomats but also US President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the city. As is customary when guests are expected, everything was spruced up and polished like there's no tomorrow. In the process, many issues were swept under the rug - all good, as long as the dirt wasn't visible anymore. This brings back memories of my teenage years when I used to stash everything away into my wardrobe so that my room looked neat and tidy.

San Francisco's officials in not only ensured that Biden and Xi Jinping did not see any tents with homeless people. Even the graffiti disappeared overnight, there were no more trash strews around in the streets and even the streetlights received a new coat of paint. Due to the strict security measures, workers then swiftly fenced off the entire area around the Moscone Center. The population of San Francisco was puzzled as to how it could be that the city was suddenly cleaned up overnight for high-ranking visitors, where previously no one cared for years.

Funnily enough, our governor, Gavin Newsom, admitted orchestrating this charade, although only by ways of a Freudian slip, saying "Oh, they're just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town. That's true, because it's true." We were laughing pretty hard.

Island in the Bay: Treasure Island

Michael Driving eastward from San Francisco, i.e. towards Oakland, you'll find yourself on the busy freeway I-80 that leads over the Bay Bridge. The bridge consists of two sections: the western section that leaves San Francisco and the eastern section that connects it to the other side of the bay in Emeryville. Almost exactly at the center of the bridge, which spans an impressive five miles total, it is propped up on an island in the bay, called "Yerba Buena Island". This mini-island is also connected to another, larger island named "Treasure Island" via a short road that leads over the water at sea level (Figure 5).

Yerba Buena Island used to be home to a fishing village of the then-residing Ohlohne Indians in the Bay Area. Around 1870 (i.e., after the Gold Rush) the military seized the island and since 1936, the Bay Bridge has been using it as a midway pillar. For an exhibition called "Golden Gate International Exposition" held in 1939, city planners had the idea to fill in the shallow waters north of Yerba Buena with debris and created the artificial island known as "Treasure Island."

Treasure Island officially belongs to the city of San Francisco, but so far only welfare recipients and government employees have lived in the squalid row houses located there. In addition, the ground is completely contaminated due to deposits from when the island was used as a military training ground. Anyone who wants to rent a residence there must contractually waive the risk.

Recently, the eastern part of the Bay Bridge had to be demolished and rebuilt in order to protect it against earthquakes. Local bicyclist groups took advantage of this opportunity and demanded a bike path for the newly built section, separated from the bridge highway with four lanes per direction for car traffic.

Since shortly after the bridge renovation was completed in 2013, enthusiasts are permitted to ride a bike or walk from the small town of Emeryville, which borders Oakland, onto the eastern span of the bridge. Skateboards and rollerblades are prohibited, however! At the western end of the eastern span, though, there used to be a hard stop - the path down to the island was blocked due to construction until 2016. Since then, however, the entire path is now open, and you can proceed from Emeryville in approximately 30 minutes (it takes about two hours to walk, one way) via the bike and pedestrian path up onto the bridge, over to the center section, and then descend down onto Yerba Buena Island.

The bicycle path is located on the southern side of the Bay Bridge highway and leads down to Yerba Buena Island on a steep path. From there, you can procceed to Treasure Island by climbing a steep hill, descending onto the access road, and crossing over in just a few minutes. On the larger of the two islands, you can find old military barracks, but also cute bungalows, football fields, a whiskey distillery and several good restaurants.

For knowledgeable car drivers, the island has actually always been accessible, provided that you took the appropriate exit in the tunnel at the center of the bridge. A top secret tip for our visitors! With the now complete bicycle path from Emeryville to Treasure Island, I'm surprised no bike rental companies have stepped up to consider offering guided or unguided tours, a business which has been successful in the city for years. As always, people snap up my ideas and follow my lead!

The city of San Francisco has big plans for Treasure Island: As the City Council decided over 12 years ago, there will be housing for 19,000 residents, most of them crammed into unattractive apartment blocks, the Vancouver model. Furthermore, due to the limited space in our city because of its peninsular shape, calls for more accommodation are growing louder, as this is supposed to bring rents down - which, of course, is utter nonsense, perpetuated by high flying romancers who are detached from actual economics, which we are used to in San Francisco.

German Christmas Market in Mountain View

Angelika Michael always calls me Christmas Mouse. I stand for that, I find Christmas great with everything that belongs to it. That has actually always been like that. I love decorating the apartment for Christmas. Even in the bathroom we have Christmas decorations. I always make my own Advent wreath and there is a candle here and a candle there. That's how I want it, that's how it has to be. And of course, a real Christmas tree cannot be missing.

In the United States, many people also celebrate Christmas, but since the population is diverse, other important holidays like Chanukka are also celebrated. Therefore, public institutions such as public schools, usually refrain from putting certain holidays of religious origin at the center, as the American Constitution stipulates a separation between church and state. Of course, there are always grey areas.

This year I am fully into the Christmas spirit thanks to my job at the German School of Silicon Valley. There were Advent calendars and Advent wreaths in every classroom. The children opened the calendar's little doors and made stars out of the beautiful gold foil paper that I remember from my childhood days. I heard traditional songs like "Kling Glöckchen" and "Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen", but also the earworm "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei" by Rolf Zuckowski or English songs such as "Up on the Housetop".

The absolute highlight was, however, the school's Christmas market, which happened this year on December 9th. The proceeds of the market go to the school. Initially, I thought there would be just a few booths with handmade items, but I was wrong. The market was just like a German Christmas market in terms of size and range of goods on offer. There was gluhwein, bratwurst, Christmas decorations from the Ore Mountains, gingerbread, Stollen, jewellery, craftwork. I couldn't believe it. The market is completely organised by volunteers from the school and the festive treats are actually imported by ship container from Germany. The market has been running for over 10 years and unfortunately had to be cancelled last year due to a severe storm and was also affected by the Coronavirus pandemic two years earlier.

This year the atmosphere was so lively. The sun shone from the sky, and everything went great. The market took place on the town square in Mountain View, the city where our school is located. It was bustling with activity and people were standing in line for gluhwein and bratwurst like crazy. Michael and I had volunteered to work a shift at the sweets and baked goods stand. We sold chocolate sticks, dominoes, speculaas, printen, and more. We could hardly keep up with the customers. It was great fun and by the end of the day, almost everything had been sold.

Flowers Pots Against Wild Camping

Michael Unfortunately, the city of San Francisco's administration has been unable to prevent illegal campers from occupying the sidewalks of the city for years with their tents. Sidewalk camping, of course, is illegal, but timid city supervisors are hesitant to take action to address the issue.

Industrious residents however came up with the idea some time ago, to install massive flower planters on the sidewalks in front of their homes, which is indeed also illegal, but the city council notoriously shies away from any form of conflict and therefore refrained from taking any action against this countermovement either.

The system seems to be working. The massive aluminum planters, which are over eight feet long and three feet wide and cost over 200 Dollars each (I call them "flower coffins") take up so much space on the sidewalk that there's essentially none left for illegal camping. It appears that the floral citizens wait until the city gets around cleaning up a portion of the sidewalk, forcing campers to move their stuff to the next block. Then the vigilantes move in under cover of night with their planters, to swiftly barricade the temporarily open space.

By now these planters are spreading like mushrooms from the ground, the manufacturer must set records. When driving through our neighboring district of The Mission, which is almost overgrown with tents, one can already see hundreds of these planters sitting on the sidewalks. Sometimes they even stand in closed areas, presumably as material for the next night and fog operation.

That must be tasted on the tongue: While the city, as an example, mercilessly punishes illegal parking by issueing expensive tickets, it fails to prevent illegal campers from blocking the sidewalks for pedestrians. Even wheelchair users now have to move into the street to avoid the occumpants, the strewn around trash and unleashed fighting dogs. The fact that no one has yet filed a lawsuit for non-compliance with California's very strict accessibility regulations surprises me honestly. Or maybe not. And the solution is that taxpaying citizens buy flower pots at their own expense to restore human conditions. You really can't make this up.

And, unsurprisingly, so-called homeless advocates immediately protested against the planters as being Homeless-hostile architecture and accused the vigilantes as heartless right wing goons. Oh well. What more concerning actually is that these campers seem to be handling their warming fires rather carelessly, and have set several trees and buildings on fire. Fortunately, San Francisco maintains a well trained fire department (SFFD).

However, SFFD arrived too late at the scene of a fire in an unfinished building located on Octavia Street: the entire wooden structure burned down and only metal poles of the scaffolding remained.

San Francisco Civic Center Plaza

Angelika Many of San Francisco's problems are self-inflicted and have accumulated over years. This happens because there is no opposition on the city council. All members belong to the Democratic Party, and their stances on policy only differ in terms of how progressive they are. At first glance, one might think that a council that is firmly in the hands of one party would get a lot done, but unfortunately, this is not the case. On the contrary: The most absurd ideas are being implemented, and there are no opposing voices to insist on checking whether the measures actually work or are just a waste money.

The redesign of San Francisco's City Hall Plaza (specifically a portion of the UN Plaza) in the city's center is a good example. You should know that in San Francisco, City Hall borders on a rather seedy neighborhood called the Tenderloin. Since we have lived here, drug dealers have been selling on the plaza in front of City Hall. Loyal reader of our publication may remember that I worked in the Tenderloin for quite some time many years ago. During my active time in the neighborhood, there were a lot of undercover cops who caught drug dealers and then arrested them.

Later, the city entered a critical phase where drug dealers were simply allowed to operate freely, because supposedly according to some supervisors, they were just poor chaps who should not be arrested, no matter how many fatal overdose victims they caused by their drug business. Fast forward a few years, and the fentanyl crisis has made the situation by an order of magnitude worse, resulting in San Francisco having more drug-related deaths than coronavirus deaths even during pandemic times. Also, the numbers of drug-related deaths have continued to rise even after the pandemic. So far in 2023, there have been 752 drug-related deaths, most of them caused by fentanyl overdoses.

Then again, we'll have elections in the city next year and there is a growing sense of panic among those representatives because many residents of San Francisco have become increasingly frustrated with their politicians' laissez-faire attitude. Coincidentally, we've noticed a frenzy wave of actionism initated by those panicking politicians, inspired by the motto "Our city needs to be more beautiful."

In the context of this program, UN Plaza, a part of the City Hall Plaza, recently received two million dollars worth of cosmetic surgery. The city council decided it was time to evict the drug dealers from the plaza and chose to build a small skatepark instead. Additionally, there are table tennis tables, foosball tables, and some fitness machines available for public use, as well as Zumba classes. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this, but I don't quite understand why a skatepark would scare away drug dealers.

And then there's another problem. For over 40 years, a weekly market has been held twice a week on the UN Plaza in front of City Hall. This is an important source of fresh produce at reasonable prices for residents of the Tenderloin neighborhood, as there is no supermarket in the area. The market had to move due to renovation and is now located on the other side of UN Plaza. However, the temporary location is much smaller, so many vendors have had to reduce their booth sizes. They were of course not enthusiastic about not being consulted on the redesign plans at all. Furthermore, they cannot park their vans behind their stands anymore and must now park them further away, which is a high risk in a city where car windows are broken instantly if even a cable is visible inside. This would be a problem that needs to be addressed, but as mentioned, only superficial improvements are being made before the elections.

Registering at The Public Library

Francisco with no less than 31 different neighborhood branches? The system of borrowing a book from the shelf of a musty public institution has been familiar to me since my childhood days in Germany. In San Francisco, I had not managed to obtain a library card in over twenty years, but now that I have some breathing room, I thought: let's try it out.

So I went to a branch of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) in our neighborhood on Jersey Street, showed my driver's license and said "What's a guy gotta do around here to get a library card?" or something similar, anyway I wanted to imitate Kramer from Seinfeld as much as possible. The lady behind the counter entered my data into the computer, confirmed that my address was in San Francisco and asked me what motif i wanted on my future four-year, free library card. Portraits of any left-wing political heroes maybe? I decided to go with the cute cat motif (Picture 28).

In an impromptu briefing, I learned that the loan period for books is three weeks and one can extend it five times (if no other bookworm has reserved the book with a so-called "Hold"). Also, the maximum number of books that a person can borrow at the same time surprised me: up to 100 books! I presume you'd have to bring your own wheel barrel or shopping cart in this case. Books can be returned at in any (!) branch, either by placing them on the librarian's table or by dropping them into the mailbox downstairs.

Most of the books in the branch are outdated snores, not even classic American novelists, rather like the grab bag of the bookstore. An exception is the shelf labeled "Lucky Day," where new releases from major publishing houses are on display. There one can find (with luck) biographies about Elon Musk, or that quack book by Prince Harry, or even the latest New York Times bestsellers like "Chip Wars." However, one cannot extend the loan period of these sought-after books.

I have already borrowed myself a few copies and was very satisfied. Books that you can of course buy for $20, but a man like me has to count the pennies! Moreover, it forces one to adhere to the deadline, I'm not a fast reader and a book with 300 pages in three weeks time is already quite a stretch for me.

There's also a DVD rack, but who watches DVDs these days? And of course, even the ole city public library has embraced progress with digital books. Highly recommended! With the "Libby" app on your smartphone, you can choose your library and download a book that the library can lend a limited number of copies. Then swoosh and tap, and the book will appear in Amazon's Kindle universe 31, where you can read it with any Kindle reader. For three weeks.

After the three-week deadline, Libby and then Amazon will take back the eBook (Figure 32)! You have to imagine this: To adhere to the old concept of publishers from long ago that finance the production of a book through sold copies, the library must wrestle the digital copy from the reader who may not even be finished with it yet, so that too many copies are in circulation! I once had to press the emergency shutdown button on the network to be able to read the last pages of a book in peace. We live in strange times.

Victorinox Travel Bread Knife

Michael One day I will write a comprehensive guide on typical AirBnB accommodations and their lack of home accessories. Clothes hangers, for example. Where do you hang your jacket besides the apartment door when there is no appropriate hook available? Or in general storage space. According to my planned compendium "Now we are setting up our AirBnB rental unit," there should always be a small table or cupboard in the entrance area, or perhaps a shelf that provides space for utensils that one should always have at hand in a foreign residence: keys, wallets, phones, and their chargers.

A common problem with this type of accommodation is the absence of sharp knives. You have bought a fresh loaf of crunchy sourdough bread and want to cut it in your rental unilt, but you have to make do with a dull kitchen knife and ruin the whole lovely bread. That doesn't have to be!

Okay, Americans are laughing now naturally about my problems, because they buy their bread already cut in 99 percent of all cases. But also for other food products, having a sharp knife on hand during your travels pays off nicely. Alas, you can't take monster kitchen knives with you on a trip without causing a stir at the airport, besides, one must always pad and wrap the sharp edges safely, to avoid any accidents.

One day on Amazon, I stumbled upon a foldable bread knife by Victorinox, the well-known Swiss matador of the art of making quality kitchen knives. This particular knife is not long, the blade is only 4.3 inches, probably due to some safety regulations so that lunatics don't get any ideas. However, since the blade stays locked in the open position and the serrated edge is very sharp, you can easily slice through fresh bread, even German style sourdough with a murderous crust, without even a crumb falling off to the side. There it is, the slices will look amazingly clean and appetizing. The knife has earned a permanent spot on my travel list and has been with us on every trip since. Top product!

USPS Mailboxes Need Security Upgrades

Michael The blue mailboxes of the United States Postal Service differ from the yellow ones in Germany in that one could insert letters and even small parcels by opening a relatively large flap at the top, placing the mail or parcel on top of it, and then snapping the flap shut, launching the postage item into the interior. Sadly, this is now history!

Apparently, Criminals from the New York Bronx found out years ago, that the content inside the mailboxes could be extracted out by lowering a sticky insect trap on a string into the mailbox through the flap, and pulling out any postage items that got entangled with the trap.

This trend now appears to have arrived in our increasingly disorderly San Francisco, with rising complaints from postal customers indicating that mailbox theft is on the rise. In response, the United States Postal Service was forced to replace the old blue mailboxes with newer, more secure ones. Instead of a drop-off slot, these new mailboxes have a narrow opening that is secured by metal teeth and can only be used for depositing flat letters. This technology was previously only known to me from mailboxes in Germany belonging to millionaire urbanites and slot-type bank safes for cash heavy businesses.

Mail theft was relatively rare until a few years ago. It has always been considered a federal crime. If a mail thief is caught, it is not necessarily a local prosecutor who takes action, but rather a more stringent federal official, and the offense is tried in a federal court. However, the federal authorities seem to be less willing in recent times to investigate such offenses. There's even a growing number of reports of mail carriers being robbed on their routes,

What interesting, though, is that instead of legally intervening and bringing a few mail thieves to justice, the Postal Service now reduces the size of the mailbox slots. This inconveniences the majority of ordinary citizens, who could previously insert smaller packages into the mailbox, and must now travel to the next post office for every padded envelope.

Even our apartment building was recently hit by mail thieves: One night in November, they broke into the intercom system outside the lobby door, opened the front door and then pried open the combined mailbox for all tenants (Figure 40). Usually postal workers carry the master key for these boxes to open them at the top and drop mail into individual slots. Our property management reacted quickly had everything repaired within a day. A report was made to police, but it is highly likely that nothing will come of it due to too much bureaucracy and too little prospect of success.

Reporting live from the city under criticism.

Michael and Angelika