A local senior law enforcement official recently told me, “The truth will prevail.”
March 1st is a historic and memorable day for San Francisco in general and for Liz and me in particular.
Today March 1st 2025 San Francisco officialdom announced a date for the formal opening of Great Highway Park, the two mile stretch of road adjoining the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco.
Liz and Lee in younger days
On this first of March day in 1969 Liz and I moved to a place which came to be known as the ‘Beach House’ in the outer Richmond District. High on a hill this house, still standing 56 years later, overlooks Golden Gate Park and a view which stretches all along the coastline. Site of Great Highway Park.That night we took the 38 Geary bus downtown to the Chinese New Year Parade; ate dinner at Sam Wo and bought two LPs, which we still have today. ‘The Blues Alone’ by John Mayall and ‘Sailor’ by The Steve Miller Blues Band.
Todayofficials from City Hall announcedThe Great Highway Park will formally open on April 12th 2025.
The date,April 12th, has taken on a tragic, traumatic and long lasting significance in Liz’s life.
It was on this day, seven years ago April 12th 2018 that Liz, then 68, was subjected to the first of two citizen’s arrests.
This event has had an ever lasting traumatic impact on Liz’s life.
Liz self portrayal behind bars at San Francisco County Jail.
The fact The Great Highway Park will open on April 12th 2025 is a joyous event, one which we have battled for the past four years and will ease the hurt of what happened seven years ago. The fact Liz and I, along with countless other environmental advocates, persevered despite the opprobrium heaped on us taught us one thing.“The truth will prevail.”
Liz and Lee on JFK Promenade
Top photo: Looking down the Pacific Coast shoreline in San Francisco adjacent to Great Highway Park
Official date is April 12, 2025….But cars will be permanently banished in less than two weeks.
“Upper Great Highway will close permanently to cars Friday March 14, 2025.”
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Annual Sand moving operation at Great Highway Park March 14, 2025. Over the following weeks Friends of Ocean Beach Park will be working closely with SFMTA, SFPUC, and Rec & Park on major traffic and safety improvements at the Great Highway’s intersections—making it easier to access the park by foot, bike, and transit. At the same time, crews will be setting up seating areas, recreation spaces, and the first round of temporary public art installations.
It’s official. San Francisco voters citywide approved Proposition K with a 55 percent majority last November which mandated Great Highway Park as a two mile oasis along the Pacific Coast shoreline.
Six weeks from now this stretch of land will officially become a permanently car free oasis.
This landmark accomplishment, in large part due to the advocacy of former Mayor London Breed, will cement San Francisco’s reputation as an environmental leader.
Former Mayor London Breed whose advocacy for JFK Promenade and Great Highway Park was crucial meets with life long cyclist and car free space advocate Liz Heidhues at 4th anniversary celebration for JFK Promenade 4.28.2024
SAN FRANCISCO – SITE OF GENE HACKMAN CINEMATIC GEM “THE CONVERSATION”
Lee Heidhues 2.27.2025
I am truly saddened to read about the passing of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. The cause of their deaths is raising many questions which may eventually be answered.
One thing which will never be in doubt is Hackman’s greatness as a performer.Five years ago I published a blog post about this incredible film and am reprising it to commemorate Gene Hackman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Hackman
In my mind his most compelling role was that of private investigator Harry Caul. The Francis Ford Coppola psychological mind bender filmed in San Francisco and released in 1974.The Conversation won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, the highest honor at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also nominated for three Academy Awards for 1974,but lost to Francis Ford Coppola’s own The Godfather Part II. It won the National Board of Review Award for Best Film. – excerpted from Wikipedia.
Francis Ford Coppola and Gene Hackman during filming of The Conversation in San Francisco
Considered one of the best San Francisco movies of all time, “The Conversation” featured Hackman as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert and a loner who has been hired to record the conversation of a couple as they walk through Union Square. Retired San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick LaSalle 2.27.2025
The opening scene in San Francisco’s old Union Square is unforgettable.
Hackman appeared in another film which portrayed the perils of surveillance. The 1998 Tony Scott directed “Enemy of the State.” In its Appreciation of Gene Hackman the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Mr. Hackman would essentially reprise his character for a flashier thriller, the 1998 Will Smith man-on-the-run tale “Enemy of the State,” which was prescient about the potential for technology to keep tabs on us all.”
Two-time Oscar winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday afternoon in their home northeast of the city.
Although investigators do not suspect foul play in the deaths of the longtime Santa Fe residents, who over more than 30 years here became known for their involvement in the local cultural and business scenes, the circumstances of their deaths were “suspicious enough” to warrant a thorough search and investigation, according to law enforcement.
A search warrant affidavit filed by Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies offers scant answers to the question of what happened to the couple, who were both found dead along with one of their dogs inside their house just outside Santa Fe city limits Wednesday afternoon.
Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman at the Academy Awards – 2003
The bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were each found lying on the floor in separate rooms of their Hyde Park-area home, the affidavit says, and one of their three dogs was found dead in a kennel or crate in the closet, Sheriff Adan Mendoza told CBS. The door to the home was ajar.
The gang of Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) Neo-Nazis are the type people The Felon Donald Trump, Elon Musk and JD Vance cheered on during the recent German election.
AfD the descendants of The Third Reich
Deutsche Welle continues to report on last Sunday’s German elections.
The far right “Nazi Curious” Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) captured 152 seats in the 630 member Bundestag.
Deutsche Welle found several of the most incendiary AfD members who will now have an outsized influence in formulating German policy; some of which involve hate speech and neo-Nazi activity in a country ravaged by Adolf Hitler during his 12 year reign.
Details about each AdF Bundestag member were found on Wikipedia.
MATTHIAS HELFERICH. During his election campaign, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) banned Helferich from holding political office. Helferich had described himself in messages as the “friendly face of the ns [sic],” referring to National Socialism. Helferich also called himself a “democratic Freisler,” referring to a Nazi-era judge. Helferich later said that his statements were meant as parody: “If you are confronted with Nazi accusations as frequently as AfD politicians, you compensate for that in private spheres. You ridicule it.”MAXIMILLIAN KRAH: is a German lawyer and politician. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019 as a member of right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD). In April 2024, Krah gained international attention when the German Prosecutor General arrested his assistant, suspected of spying for China by passing on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to China’s intelligence service. This and comments Krah made about the Nazi era in a subsequent media interview were seen by observers as having triggered the decision by the European parliamentarian group Identity and Democracy (ID) to exclude the AfD from membership on 23 May 2024. Since then, Krah has sat with the non-attached members.JAN WENZEL SCHMIDT became member of AfD in 2014. One year later he was co-founder of the rightwing extremist youth organization Junge Alternative (young alternative for Germany) and became their first chairmen. In 2016 he was elected to the Landtag of Saxony Anhalt. He became member of the Bundestag in 2021.STEPHAN PROTSCHKA became member of the bundestag after the 2017 German federal election. He is a member of the Committee for Food and Agriculture. In 2019 he was involved in controversy after funding and supporting a memorial in Poland honoring German soldiers in WWII and the Nazi paramilitary organization Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz. The construction of the memorial was partially initiated by the neo-Nazi organization Junge Nationalisten which is being monitored by the German intelligence services. Polish courts started an investigation against Protschka for supporting Nazism and defamation of victims of the Holocaust. In 2024, Protschka agreed to pay a 12,000 euro fine in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges related to his calling Bavarian state premier Markus Söder “a traitor to the country” and “Södolf” at a political event in 2023.DARIO SEIFERT a German politician who was elected member of the Bundestag in 2025. From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the Junge Nationalisten, The youth wing of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). SEBASTIAN MUNZENMAIER. German politicianAfD and a member of the German Bundestag since 2017. Since 2023 he has been deputy parliamentary group leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the BundestagIn July 2017, Münzenmaier and many other people were charged with grievous bodily harm and attempted theft of fan trophies at the Mainz District Court . In 2012, he was alleged to have been involved in an attack by members of the 1. FC Kaiserslautern ultra and hooligan scene on fans of 1. FSV Mainz 05. This was preceded by a series of insults by Mainz ultras that had been practiced for years to denigrate the Kaiserslautern idol Fritz Walter. The masked hooligan group had ambushed and attacked buses of Mainz fans, which also contained children. The Kaiserslautern fans were chased away by the defensive Mainz fans with sticks and bottles. During the scuffle, Mainz fans are said to have suffered lacerations and broken fingers from punches. A representative of the Mainz ultras testified in court that the incident was a typical “beating” among ultras. The press has been critical of the legal investigation . According to Münzenmaier’s defense attorney , the defendant’s apartment was searched immediately after the crime . The police found a telescopic baton , a balaclava and “trophy” photos of masked hooligans with opposing fan paraphernalia. Three of Münzenmaier’s co-defendants pleaded guilty at the beginning of the main hearing, Münzenmaier denied the charges. On 18 October 2017, the district court sentenced him to a suspended prison sentence of six months with a probationary period of three years and a fine of 10,000 euros. Both Münzenmaier and the public prosecutor’s office appealed against the verdict . In December 2017, the German Bundestag lifted Münzenmaier ‘s immunity to allow the proceedings to continue. On 17 December 2018 , he was sentenced in the appeal proceedings before the Mainz Regional Court to a fine totaling 16,200 euros.
Elon Musk the AfD Neo-Nazi cheerleader
Top photo: Trump and Alternative for Deutschland (AfD). Kindred souls of Neo-Nazism
I will continue to question and call out any and all progressive groups and parties who oppose car free areas in San Francisco; JFK Promenade, Great Highway Park, and the Slow Streets program.
Green Voter Guide NO on K with its specious claim Great Highway Park, approved by 55 % of the voters, would create an “environmentally damaging park next to Ocean Beach.” So much for bogus disingenuous Progressive environmentalism. Voters didn’t buy this nonsense.
Political correctness runs amok in San Francisco progressive cadres.
The Green Party San Francisco, which I am a long time member, has “blocked” me on “X” formerly Twitter for questioning the political orthodoxy which infects doctrinaire organizations.
What is the sin which resulted in my banishment from Elon Musk land?
It was this message on ‘X’ which resulted in my banishment by the San Francisco Green Party.@Dogrunner47 San Francisco Dept. of Elections voter registration card – 11.29.2016
The SF Green Party falsely believes it is doing something for the environment by protesting at a Tesla Dealership. This protest does absolutely nothing except fatten Elon Musk’s wallet.
Traffic is getting worse in San Francisco, in part, thanks to the shameful adherence to the car by many so called Progressives.
Here’s a song for all the car addicted Progressives as they drive their climate killing vehicles courtesy of the Rolling Stones
Despite the ascendency of the far right “Nazi Curious” Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) the Green Party stands tall and will continue to fight for enlightened and progressive values.The Greens will have 85 seats and the surprising Linke (Left) party captured 68 seats in the 630 member Bundestag.
While saying that he was proud of the election campaign and he stood behind the Greens’ policies, “I know that we still wanted more.”
“This result does not live up to what I was hoping for,” Habeck said, announcing that the Green party would regroup and restructure itself in the coming days and weeks.
Habeck has been vice-chancellor and economy minister under outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and has taken the blame for many of Germany’s recent economic woes. He was also criticized for soliciting gas from oil-rich countries as a leader of the Green Party.
A Gang of Three: AfD leader Alice Weidel, Nazi Felon Donald Trump and Elon Musk
Naturally the Felon Nazi President is taking credit for the victory of German conservatives and the ascendancy of the far right, some would say Neo-Nazi Alternative for Deutschland (AfD).
Excerpted from Politico 2.23.2025
In a post on social media — written entirely in capital letters — Donald Trump did not mention either Frederick Merz or his party by name, referring to “THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY IN GERMANY,” but argued that the country’s swing to the right was part of a political shift that Germany shared with the U.S.
“MUCH LIKE THE USA, THE PEOPLE OF GERMANY GOT TIRED OF THE NO COMMON SENSE AGENDA, ESPECIALLY ON ENERGY AND IMMIGRATION, THAT HAS PREVAILED FOR SO MANY YEARS,” Trump wrote. “THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR GERMANY, AND FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF A GENTLEMAN NAMED DONALD J. TRUMP. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL — MANY MORE VICTORIES TO FOLLOW!!!”
Excerpted from The Washington Post 2.23.2025
Alice Weidel, the AfD’s co-leader, was triumphant Sunday, suggesting on television that Frederick Merz’s victory would be “pyrrhic” if he had to ally with Social Democrats or the Greens. She also mocked the Christian Democrats for trying to copy the AfD’s far-right manifesto and predicted her party would be waiting in the wings for the collapse of Merz’s “unstable government which will not last the next four years.”
Trump’s Rasputin Elon Musk was a substantial factor in the AfD surge.
Conservatives Win German Election, But Far-Right “Nazi-Curious” AfD Places Second in Historic Rise – Democracy Now on results of German election.
The former East Germany, which was ruled by Communist Russia from 1945-1949had the largest share of votes for the “Nazi Curious” Alternative for Deutschland (AfD).
Top photo: The birds of prey are circling German democracy with a boost from America’s Felon Nazi President Donald Trump and his Rasputin Elon Musk.
It was five years ago that Ahmaud Arbery, a young black jogger, was shotgunned to death in cold blood by two white men, father and son as he jogged through a white neighborhood in Georgia as they tried to make a vicious and without justification Citizen’s Arrest.
The two men, father and son, were convicted of murder and sentenced to long prison terms.
This image from video posted on Twitter shows Ahmaud Arbery running on a street in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Ga., on Feb. 23, 2020, as a pickup truck is stopped in front of him. Two men in the truck, Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, confronted Arbery and less than a minute later he was fatally shot. (Twitter via AP)
After this abhorrent and vicious abuse of Georgia’s Citizen’s Arrest statute the state changed its draconian Citizen’s Arrest statute.
Sadly, California which labels itself as enlightened still has its heavy handed Citizen’s Arrest statute on the books.
Excerpted from Atlanta News First 2.23.2025
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down by three white men while he was jogging in southeast Georgia on Feb. 23, 2020.
According to investigators, father and son Greg and Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan grabbed their firearms and chased Arbery down in the street, shot and killed him, after confronting him about recent burglaries in the area.
The Georgia General Assembly declared Feb. 23 as “Ahmaud Arbery Day.” As part of the resolution, state representatives encourage people to walk or run 2.23 miles on that day and reflect on how Arbery’s life was cut short while jogging in 2020.
In just 32 days The Felon President Trump has done more to destroy Democracy as we know it in America.
Words don’t suffice.
So I ignore all the media hand wringing about the turn to fascism in America. I sooth my jangled nerves by watching for the umpteenth time The Cure at Glastonbury, England in 2019 blast out their classic song. Burn. A song which can be found in the soundtrack of the cult classic film, The Crow.The star Brandon Lee, 28, died following a tragic incident during filming. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Lee
Clarksdale, Mississippi Press Register crushed in the Courtroom
A Mississippi judge ordered a newspaper to remove an editorial criticizing the mayor of Clarksdale and city leaders after the officials sued the news outlet, leading press advocates to criticize the order as one of the most egregious First Amendment violations in recent years.
Charlie Mitchell is the former executive editor of the Vicksburg Post and an attorney. He is a assistant professor at the University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media, where he has taught media law for years. He told Mississippi Today there were so many issues with the judge’s order that he didn’t even “know where to start.”
“The First Amendment allows restraint of expression, including by the media, only extremely rarely and only when there is clear evidence of immediate and irreparable risk to the public — such as blocking publication that would identify confidential informants,” Mitchell said.
Hinds County Chancellor Crystal Wise Martin issued a temporary restraining order against the Clarksdale Press Register
Without a hearing for the newspaper, Hinds County Chancellor Crystal Wise Martin issued a temporary restraining order against the Clarksdale Press Register on Tuesday after the news outlet wrote a Feb. 8 editorial titled “Secrecy, Deception Erode Public Trust.”
The column criticized the city for not sending the newspaper a notice about a meeting city commissioners held over a proposed effort to ask the state Legislature for permission to enact a local tax on alcohol, marijuana and tobacco.
As of Thursday morning, the news outlet had removed the editorial from its website, but Wyatt Emmerich, the newspaper’s owner, told Mississippi Today that he intended to fight the judge’s order in court, which he called “absolutely astounding.”
The United States Supreme Court in the famous New York Times v. Sullivan has stood strongly for the right to publish without interference of censorship by government authorities.
Adam Steinbaugh, a lawyer at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which supports free speech, criticized the city’s lawsuit, writing on social media that it was “wildly unconstitutional.”
He said that governments “can’t sue for libel” under New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark First Amendment decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964.
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), was a landmarkU.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled the freedom of speech protections in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limit the ability of a public official to sue for defamation.[1][2] The decision held that if a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit is a public official or candidate for public office, then not only must they prove the normal elements of defamation—publication of a false defamatory statement to a third party—they must also prove that the statement was made with “actual malice“, meaning the defendant either knew the statement was false or recklessly disregarded whether it might be false.[2]New York Times Co. v. Sullivan is frequently ranked as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the modern era.[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times_Co._v._Sullivan
There are still climate killing cars on Great Highway Park four months after San Francisco voters, by a 55 percent majority, approved creation of the permanently car free sanctuary along San Francisco’s Pacific Coast shoreline.
Cars continue to pollute Great Highway Park four months after the passage of Proposition K. Cars should have vanished by now.
The OCEAN BEACH landmark near Great Highway Park
We took this photo montage the afternoon of February 18th. A graphic exposition of the land and streets nearby the newly voter mandated Great Highway Park.
Liz passes by an exercising couple.
Why the delay in implementation of the voter mandate?Where is it, San Francisco City Hall??
Hands up for Tai Chi.
Two old guys parley off the beaten path in the park while practicing martial arts.
San Francisco is full of fascinating people and places.Great Highway Park will add to the international city’s allure.
The well trodden path only a wanderer can appreciate.
Two elves in the bush.
During our trek, we met the genuinely friendly inhabitants of this great city. They were not sitting in their cars. They were out enjoying nature and cherishing the environment.
Liz sitting on a log in Golden Gate Park musing about Great Highway Park while birds sing in the background.
Lee stands amongst the remains of a fallen tree in Golden Gate Park.A group of young students learn about nature off the beaten path in Golden Gate Park near The Chain of Lakes.Liz was greeted by a Recreation and Park staff member in Golden Gate Park.
Explore the natural unspoiled scenery sans the Car of the two neighborhoods running the length of Ocean Beach.
A coot in her home territory.Orange mushrooms in the park. Colorful and potentially deadly.
It is as easy as a walk in the park when you toss your car keys and put on comfortable shoes and a backpack.
Lee surrenders to the impassable path in Golden Gate Park.
Be aware that the car-craving penchant to drive rather than walk to stores a short distance from your home may not be a common occurrence.
A Waymo leads the caravan of climate killing vehicles through a section of Golden Gate Park where cars can still pollute.
But be assured it’s a healthier life style than sitting in a car and experiencing road rage.
Luna and her owner greet Liz and Lee.
It’s always a Dog’s Day in Golden Gate Park.
Cycling on a beautiful February morning in Golden Gate Park.
Father and child enjoy a February cycle in Golden Gate Park.
The go-getter shopper expending the time and physical exertion to turn a shopping trip into an outing can show off their photos. To natives and tourists alike, giving insight into what’s uniquely San Francisco.
The San Francisco Fire Department hook and ladder truck. An essential tool for the safety of all citizens and animals.
Entrance to the now shut down Equestrian corral in Golden Gate Park.
A worker from Rec and Park, dog walkers, a legacy business dog stylist, the servers at the historic Java Beach Café where the colorful N-Judah train reaches the end of the line at the Pacific Ocean, and a fashion model-looking Hungarian shopping at Safeway, all are staples of San Francisco life.
Lee peers through a portal as the Muni Metro rumbles by.Portal to the San Francisco Muni Metro ‘N’ Judah line.
The end of the Line …or the beginning .. of the N Judah line in San Francisco.
We saw many aspects of the legendary San Francisco people oriented culture. From a Hippie mother and daughter reminiscing over lunch at the Café to a class of school children studying the habitat and wildlife of Golden Gate Park.
Liz and Lee enjoy their triple decker sandwiches at Java Beach Cafe.
The people oriented and the politically charged, the nostalgia for what’s gone and the anticipation for what’s to come. All juxtaposed together as only two San Francisco old timers can view and appreciate it. The genuine San Francisco as experienced during our adventurous outdoor trek through the Richmond and Sunset districts on a beautiful day in February.
A community wall of art at Judah and 43rd Avenue in San Francisco.
Liz swapped Italian heritage stories with Matt the dog groomer who bathed our dogs for years.
A colorful display drying food in the sun graces the front and balcony of a pink home.
An old house in the Sunset neighborhood displaying a poster, “VOTE FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.”
Newly constructed affordable housing adjacent to an old funky house with roped off CAUTION tape on 43rd Avenue
Our trek through the Park was ostensibly about shopping for staples at Other Avenues, a supporter of Great Highway Park, the worker owned co-op store, and the monolithic Safeway at Ocean Beach Supermarket at either side of Golden Gate Park.
Liz proudly displays her Miyokos plant butter. The alternative to saturated fat.
Soak in the occult at the bath soap section of Other Avenues Co-op.
Liz in Safeway at the Beach holds aloft her organic bananas at the end of the trek.
We are waiting for the scene of cars being towed from car free Great Highway Park. We have never owned a car.
A car being towed on Street Sweeper Day at 43rd and Irving. This is the fate which should await the motorists who violate The Great Highway Park sanctuary.
We won by a 55 percent majority. Open The Great Highway Park NOW!!!
Top photo: Lee stands frustrated as cars whiz by on what should be car free Great Highway Park.He’s been assured the car free oasis is coming soon.
Lee's Perspective 