It’s fitting that Trader Joe’s was rung up because rocks were found in one of its best selling products. ‘Almond Windmill’ cookies. One of the blogger’s favorites. Maybe it’s time for Trader Joe’s and San Francisco to clean up the dangerous rocky pavement at Trader Joe’s doorstep. (see story at top. SF Chronicle 7.29.2023)
Trader Joe’s may be a premier destination for food enthusiasts. But as the blogger’s recent dangerous mishap proves, getting there can be dangerous for one’s health.
The lines are long at Trader Joe’s on Masonic
The streets of San Francisco leading to the store at Masonic and Geary are dangerous, treacherous and need to be repaired.
The blogger took a hard fall in front of Trader Joe’s the day after Thanksgiving. Leaving him cut and bruised. Swollen lips, battered nose, a damaged tooth and a severe bruise on his arm.
Fortunately for the blogger several citizens rushed to his side, went into the store and came back with kleenex to stop the bleeding. And, best of all, a nurse from nearby Kaiser administered some first aid and escorted the blogger to the 38R bus stop across Masonic.
The blogger two days later recuperating in the sun at Sutro Heights Park.
As the following photos vividly display the pavement adjacent to Trader Joe’s is treacherous. Particularly when the shopper is utilizing a cane to complete his shopping chores. The blogger tripped on the uneven pavement and crashed to the pavement. It was a scary and unnerving experience. The San Francisco Department of Public Works needs to repair this hazard immediately.
The dangerous broken pavement at Trader Joe’s doorstep. The spot where the blogger crashed to earth. The blood is still visibleThe spot where the blogger landed face first on the rocky pavement on November 28, 2025Three days later the blogger surveys the scene of the fall.
When the Beatles recorded their song ‘Day Tripper’ in 1966 they were thinking about something other than someone crashing to earth in San Francisco 69 years later.
Photos of broken pavement and Lee Heidhues three days after the fall – Liz Heidhues
More seriously—more sinister—the White House has just put up a wall-of-shame webpage tracking media outfits and reporters who “misrepresent” or “lie” about the administration. Names are named, outfits identified and shamed. All this is meant to intimidate; it institutionalizes attacks on the media and, considering the broader context, potentially prompts and gives permission to unstable people who might want to act in the president’s supposed defense. The webpage, paid for by taxpayers as part of the White House website, looks not like an insult but part of a sustained campaign. It is a threat. It should be taken down. Peggy Noonan in Wall Street Journal 12.6.2025 – https://www.wsj.com/opinion/were-in-an-era-of-political-violence-cc359449?mod=hp_opin_pos_3
Donald Trump is now utilizing the extensive power of the federal government to clamp down on First Amendment free speech rights. Make no mistake. Trump is a master of the media. Now, with all the levers of power at his disposable, this convicted felon, racist, misogynist is shredding the media.
People need only to look at Hitler’s Germany, Putin’s Russia for guidance on how to suppress the media. Dictators are Trump’s favorite leaders and he is utilizing their perverse playbook to quash free speech.
Where is the American media in reporting this real threat to First Amendment and its own livelihood?
Deutsche Welle 11.30.2025
The Trump White House launched a new page on its website on Friday called “media offenders,” listing news sites, reporters, and stories it claims misled the public.
US President Donald Trump calls lawmakers’ actions “seditious” and “treason.”
This week, Trump called a female reporter from The New York Times “ugly” after she co-wrote a data-driven report about the president showing signs of aging.
The president, who is 79, drew fire two weeks ago after telling a Bloomberg reporter to be “quiet, piggy” when she tried to ask a follow-up question about disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s emails.
The top publications cited as “media offenders of the week” were the Boston Globe, CBS News, and the Independent. Reporters from those outlets were singled out for stories about a controversial video released last week by six Democratic lawmakers.
The lawmakers, all of whom are military veterans or former intelligence officials, reminded service members they are not obligated to follow illegal orders.
In a video posted online last week, the lawmakers said, “Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.”
“Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal order. … You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution,” they added.
What the ‘media offenders’ page looks like
The page included an “offender hall of shame” with a list of stories the White House considers mistruths.
Each story is explained and categorized under labels such as “lie,” “omission of context,” or “left-wing lunacy.”
The White House described the site as “a record of the media’s false and misleading stories flagged by The White House.”
The page also features a leaderboard of news sites the administration claims reported stories incorrectly.
The Washington Post tops the list, followed by MSNBC (recently rebranded as MS NOW), CBS News, CNN, The New York Times, Politico, and The Wall Street Journal.
There’s also a section with “repeat offenders” with outlets that the Trump administration objects to.
Trump administration escalates fight with media outlets
All outlets on the leaderboard, along with others, turned in their Pentagon press badges last month after rejecting new rules imposed by the Department of Defense.
The rules would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they reported information, classified or otherwise, that had not been approved by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for release.
Trump has also been involved in court battles against The New York Times, CBS News, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press over the past year.
Trump widens hostilities against female reporters
The administration’s broader conflict with media outlets has also taken a personal turn. In recent weeks, Trump has faced criticism for insulting female reporters.
Bendi has been found safe and sound. He is home, again. After a bit of sleuthing we learned that Bendi, wandering the nearby corner several nights ago, was taken in by kind neighbors. We located the neighbors via their social media posting. They treated Bendi very well during his stay. A comfortable home, plenty of food, good shelter. And most important, good neighbors who looked after him.We are so happy and look forward to once again seeing Bendi at our front door and back porch.
Lee Heidhues 11.30.2025
Our dear tuxedo cat companion Bendi is gone, again. Bendi had been our dear visitor for well over a year. Spending most days making life a joy before being taken to his home down the streeteach evening.
Due to a series of medical crises afflicting me beginning last August we could no longer enjoy Bendi’s companionship. Regrettably, we have failed to welcome Bendi back into our home. Even though he is constantly at our front door and back porch. Now he’s gone.
We have not seen him for several days.
We so much wish for his return when we will open our doors, again, for this marvelous companion.
Latest photo of Bendi at our front stairs – 11.25.2025Bendi on the back porchBlogger Lee and friendLiz entertains the always mischievous Bendi
Bendi being gone has me thinking of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song 4+20. His absence puts me in this frame of mind
Why does the American public let Felon Trump continue to get away with his misogynistic attacks on female journalists? These verbal assaults are being dutifully reported but where’s the outrage and disgust coming from the American public?
America writ large is so tranquilized by the abhorrent Felon Trump that this 79 year old racist abuser of any woman, particularly a journalist, who calls him out continues toget away with this despicable behavior.
Felon Trump, who incited a gang of thugs to besiege Washington on January 6, 2021 to overturn the 2020 election continues his personal and political assaults without suffering the consequences. Due to a sycophant like majority on the Supreme Court the Felon is a free man. Trump should be in prison.
The Felon deserves the fate of Bolsonaro in Brazil. A country which knows how to enforce the law even at the highest levels. Bolsonaro just began serving a 27 year prison term for inciting the mob and overturn his election defeat.
America is a democracy on the decline. The country has disgraced itself by putting this insurrectionist abuser in power, again.
“[T]he Radical Left Lunatics in the soon to fold New York Times did a hit piece on me that I am perhaps losing my Energy, despite facts that show the exact opposite,” the 79-year-old raged over Tuesday’s story. “They know this is wrong, as is almost every thing that they write about me, including election results, ALL PURPOSELY NEGATIVE. This cheap ‘RAG’ is truly an ‘ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.’”
Trump then rounded on Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers, who co-authored the story and who the president claimed “is assigned to write only bad things about me [and] is a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.”
It’s typical SF POA behavior to torch any politician who fails to toe the party line.It is a certainty that the powerful cops Union is leaning on Law and Order Mayor Daniel Lurie to not appoint Natalie Gee to the Board of Supervisors.
I am more concerned about Natalie Gee’s desire to dismantle Sunset Dunes Park than I am about her views regarding the San Francisco Police Department.
Look what happened to Joel Engardio. Driven out of office by the car centric entitled District 4 motorists.
Now former Supervisor Joel Engardio, driven from office for taking a courageous stand, speaks at the opening of Sunset Dunes Park – April 12, 2025
It is Natalie’s boss Supervisor Shamann Walton who notoriously described JFK Promenade as “recreational redlining” in 2021. Without a doubt she would bring these car centric views to the Board of Supervisors.
Louis Wong, shown in 2013 as an officer with the San Francisco Police Department, is now president of San Francisco’s police union. He wrote a letter to Mayor Daniel Lurie suggesting Natalie Gee should not be appointed supervisor of the Sunset District. Michael Macor/The Chronicle
Being able to Just Say No to the entitled motorists takes guts in District 4. Natalie would not be the one. Having said that, no D4 politician who wants to survive in office will advocate for Sunset Dunes Park.
It’s her views on this issue which carries more weight than anything Natalie Gee says about the SFPD.
I am Lee Heidhues. My wife is Liz Heidhues. I am 78. Liz is 75. My wife is a San Francisco native and retired educator. I am recovering from prostate cancer and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff). My wife is being forced to care for me. We have nobody else. Our home is 120 years old. Last weekend, our ancient sewer pipes burst. We had a plumbing contractor come out immediately. He considered it a major job. We signed a contract for $78,000. He has done some of the work. As the photo shows, the front of our home, in which we have lived for over 41 years, is now a work site. Our water supply is tenuous. When the workers return next week to finish the job, we must vacate the house for a couple of days. We are on a fixed income and are in danger of losing our home. We will have to sell our small stock holdings, which we use to live on. Both of us have been life long athletes and have led a very healthy life style. We raised two children utilizing public transit. Our entire livelihoods are at risk. I am reaching out for help in this moment of severe crisis. Should there be a philanthropist in the Bay Area who recognizes our dire situation he/she may be the individual/organization to assist Liz and me.
I have been saying for months that “Interim” San Francisco Chief of Police Paul Yep is no “Interim” Chief.
When Mayor Daniel Lurie named Paul Yep as interim chief of the San Francisco Police Department in June, both said the appointment was temporary.
Finally, the mainstream media has laid out the truth. Paul Yep will be the next permanent SFPD Chief.
The search for a new Chief of Police Is it all cosmetic and the Deal has already gone down for Paul Yep?
The entire San Francisco Standard article is printed herein.
Jonah Lamb – 8.25.2025
In less than two months “Interim” San Francisco Chief of Police Paul Yep has made dramatic moves to reshape the department in his own image, appointing a command staff, reshuffling station captains, cutting civilian reform leaders, promoting a raft of officers to the rank of sergeant and lieutenant, and this week announcing a department reorganization that reduced its bloated leadership.
Over the last two weeks, Yep’s dismantling of the Strategic Management Bureau has raised eyebrows among current and former officers. The civilians who led the bureau had been elevated by Scott and led much of the department’s reforms, including increasing transparency and reducing and tracking things such as use of force incidents.
Catherine McGuire, who headed the Strategic Management Bureau, had been with the department foralmost 10 years; Scott had put her in charge of department finances and reform efforts. Yep divided the defunct bureau’s responsibilities among the remaining bureaus.
In an interview, McGuire said gutting her unit will harm the department in the long run. “This reorganization removes the resources that would allow the department to monitor reforms,” she said. “If you have the internal checks and balances you are able to prevent the external scrutiny, and public scandal, which distracts the department from doing mission-critical work.”
Several of McGuire’s former underlings have been demoted or dismissed from the SFPD, including Kara Lacy, who headed constitutional policing, and Diana Oliva-Aroche, who liaised with city politicians and headed the department’s transparency and equity initiatives. Neither responded to a request for comment.
Another former officer said disbanding the reform unit will set the SFPD back after years of progress and millions of dollars meant to transform the department.
Supervisor Jackie Fielder said she is concerned about where the department stands on reforms, how to handle detentions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and protests against them, and how to address overtime abuse.
“There’s a change-up of leadership in SFPD right now — a cross between [Police Officers Association] and anti-reform people,” Fielder said. “I am confused. Why are changes being made before a real chief is being found?”
Smiles all around.Paul Yep and the man who put him in the Chief’s seat, Mayor Daniel Lurie
The boldness of Yep’s moves suggest to former SFPD command staffers that the chief, who served as an officer for nearly three decades, is interim in name only.
“He came in, and he changed basically the whole upper management of the police department. That doesn’t strike me as the actions of an interim,” former SFPD Commander Rich Corriea said. “Wouldn’t you leave [the] status quo for the next person to set up their command staff? So it suggests to me he will be the next chief.”
Yep maintains that he is only a caretaker, saying the changes he is making will continue reform efforts while setting up the next chief for success.
“As I’ve said numerous times, I’m not a candidate for the permanent position,” he said in a press release. “There is a process for the search for the new chief, and I am confident that the best candidate will be selected.”
Regardless, his actions represent a shift around policing in San Francisco, reversing course on some of the reform efforts that in many ways shaped the career of his predecessor, Bill Scott, according to several former officers. These people, some of whom held high-ranking positions, told The Standard that Yep’s actions indicate that he is auditioning to be the next chief and will return the department to the tough-on-crime model that predated Scott.
At an all-hands meeting soon after taking charge of the department, Yep repeated that he had no interest in taking the job and would not make any major changes to the department, said one person present at the meeting.
“Well, one of those isn’t true,” the witness said, “so I’m not buying the other one either.”
Bill Scott stepped down as SFPD chief in the spring. | Camille Cohen/The Standard
‘Streamlined and efficient’
As soon as he was appointed, Yep moved to replenish a command staff that had been emptied by retirements, elevating four people to deputy chief and eight to commander. Two new deputy chiefs, Derrick Jackson and Derrick Lew, have been rumored to be potential chief candidates.
Yep also elevated outgoing police union boss Tracy McCray to commander, paving the way for the election of a popular longtime cop, Louis Wong, as the new leader of the Police Officers Association.
Yep said the reorganization of his command staff couldn’t wait, and will help to modernize the department. As part of the ongoing reorganization, Yep has reduced the number of bureaus from six to five. He added that his moves will put more cops on the street, but declined to say how many.
“The San Francisco Police Department is more streamlined and efficient than ever,” Yep said early last week in a press release. “These necessary changes will give our officers the support they need to keep our city safe.”
Further down the ranks, Yep has promoted 13 officers to captain, reshuffled all 10 of the station captains, and replaced the head of the police academy. These moves came in addition to a raft of promotions of officers to sergeant and lieutenant, effectively creating a bench of future department leaders hand-picked by Yep.
Even in smaller ways, Yep’s moves have affected the city. He recently assigned additional lieutenants to stationhouses to stabilize leadership, due to the SFPD’s practice of shuffling captains every couple of years.
Not all of Yep’s efforts to shape the department have been successful. In mid-July, his attempt to revert the name of the Community Violence Reduction Team to the Gang Task Force failed after community pressure.
Yep and Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie speak to supporters in November at St. Mary’s Square. | Source:Jason Henry for The Standard
Head coach, interim chief
As interim chief, Yep’s moves are akin to creating a sports team and farm system, then saying he plans to hand the team to another coach. Few insiders buy that he doesn’t want the job of full-time chief.
The last interim chief, Toney Chaplin, who was appointed in 2016 by Mayor Ed Lee, kept much of the department structure in place despite saying he planned a top-to-bottom assessment.
Like Yep, Chaplin initially said he did not want the chief position, only to backtrack and put his name in the running.
After Scott was appointed as chief later in 2016, he expanded the command staff, creating two assistant chief positions, a chief of staff, and a civilian director who was essentially at the same rank and received $350,000 in compensation, equal to a deputy chief. Scott also hired a civilian communications director, Matt Dorsey, who was later elected supervisor for one of the city’s most crime-plagued districts.
Scott’s efforts were focused on shepherding the department through reforms that were only recently completed. The former chief announced his departure in early May, and much of his command staff followed suit. His second in command, Assistant Chief David Lazar, retired that same month.
Happy rank and file, worried reformers
Yep’s changes appear to be popular with the rank and file, who admire his choice of cops with street experience as leaders, according to current and former officers who spoke on condition of anonymity. Many are pleased that Yep has not insulated himself behind a huge command staff, as they believe Scott did. But some former officers worry the department is backsliding on reforms and contemporary policing practices.
One former cop said the promotions were popular among officers, as they involved “real cops,” who are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
A former department leader said Yep’s actions are meant to “right the ship” by getting rid of dead weight and putting into leadership officers who are popular among beat cops. Consolidating responsibilities and getting rid of some civilian leadership is “actually a good thing,” said the former officer.
But others worry Yep’s actions are a step backward, or simply cosmetic. A former department leader said none of the moves made by Yep are fundamentally changing the department: “This is smoke and mirrors.”
As Yep continues to transform the department, the city’s Police Commission is searching for a new chief. It has hired a search firm, Ralph Andersen & Associates, that has released material on the kind of chief the city is looking for, with an emphasis on reform and transparency initiatives and quality-of-life issues like homelessness, the mental health crisis, and open-air drug dealing.
The commission will choose three finalists to put in front of the mayor, who will ultimately decide on the hire. One of those names could very likely be Yep’s.
It was another trip via the mode of transport which is generally foreign to me.
But, here is the blogger On the Road Again. Forced to utilize the American way of life to take care of my continued well being. Speeding down the streets and highways into the future.
Oyster Point Boulevard in South San FranciscoHighway 101 at Candlestick Point passing by the former home of the Giants and 49ers.
Hard to believe. We’re celebrating a remarkable fete. 48 years married and a 78th birthday.
Actually the relationship goes back much further.
Raised three blocks from each other. Only meeting at San Francisco State during the tumultuous late ’60s. Surviving the ongoing unrest and making way through the four month student strike we bonded and have experienced life in all its joy and bitterness.
As the old saying goes “The People United Will Never be Defeated.”
We took a walk through the neighborhood we have lived nearly 50 years and enjoyed a good meal and companionship at the nearby Pacific Cafe. A local treasure since 1974.
Liz and Lee together at The Pacific Cafe
Lee beams at Pacific Cafe co-owner Frank Gundry delivers a special birthday treat
Liz, leg aloft glass of wine in hand, shows off her special sox worn specially for the occasion
Liz brandishes her carrot and enjoys the feast before her.
Maureen, the co-owner of Pacific Cafe, deftly handles plates full of delicious sea food to the waiting patrons.
The hard working chefs in the Pacific Cafe kitchen
A wait staff member readies a table for the next guests at Pacific Cafe
The busy scene on a Saturday evening.
Chef Specials on the menu board. Maureen, a wait staff member and Frank serve up the guests.
Liz at the entrance.
Home on birthday Sunday. Lee shows off the special card created by Liz as Bendi looks down from the back porch fence.
The perfect tune for Pacific Cafe. J’Attrendai by Rina Ketty on a CD purchased by Liz at the nearby Legion of Honor
Liz and Lee made it official as Judge Ollie Marie-Victorie signed the marriage certificate in her chambers at City Hall – 8.17.1977
Top photo: Liz in black and white pose at The Pacific Cafe. A throwback art style to the 1960’s
The Supreme Court effectively criminalized homelessness.
San Francisco, the City of St. Francis, was shamefully in the lead.
I have lived in San Francisco most of my life. I have never felt intimidated, afraid, concerned or fearful being around and amongst the unhoused.
The problem is not with our marginalized citizens. The problem is with the uptight, paranoid citizenry which has been unleashed to put their obsessions on full display. Shame!!!
A long time subscriber I posted this ‘Comment’ in the Wall Street Journal response section. I was deluged with responses attacking the unhoused in general and my thoughts in particular.
Below you will find these comments. I have deleted the names of the authors to spare them the personal embarrassment of having their intolerance publicly exposed.
A homeless man asks for money in the Financial District in San Francisco, California REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES – Tags: SOCIETY POVERTY BUSINESS) – RTR300S7
Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal 8.16.2025
San Francisco Has Embraced a New Tool to Clear Homeless Camps
In San Francisco, homelessness became a defining issue in last year’s mayoral race, won by Daniel Lurie. The Levi Strauss heir, allied with the city’s tech sector, won on a platform emphasizing cleaning up streets to boost economic growth.
Former SF Mayor London Breed talks with a homeless man in front of Outfit on Castro Street as she takes a neighborhood walk this morning on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018 in San Francisco, Calif. (Photo By Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
City officials point to cleaner streets as evidence that a more active approach is working. Some say the tactics are making conditions worse.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted cities more power to penalize people for sleeping outside, handing city leaders a new tool with which to clear homeless people from the streets.
Since then, San Francisco has been among the most aggressive in wielding it.
Street people of San Francisco
Between July 2024 and July 2025, the city arrested or cited more than 1,080 people on illegal-lodging charges, over 10 times the number of illegal-lodging arrests during the same period a year earlier. In April 2025, illegal-lodging citations and arrests hit 130, the most in a single month since the Supreme Court’s ruling.
In the 12 months following that ruling, around 220 new anticamping ordinances have passed across the country, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Nowhere has the ruling had a bigger impact than in California, which accounts for a third of those ordinances. The state is home to nearly half of the unsheltered homeless people in the country and includes about 70,000 shelter beds to accommodate more than 187,000 homeless people.
An unhoused citizen with his belongings in the shadow of San Francisco City Hall
Lee's Perspective 