Recent Work in the Marin Independent Journal

Follow the links below to a handful of my recent stories published in the Marin Independent Journal. I am interning at the Novato-based daily newspaper from September through December 2009.

Marinwood foster parent honored for dedication
Nov. 1, 2009
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13692212?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com

Fundraiser launched for Mill Valley's historic Scout Hall
Nov. 6, 2009
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13733180?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com

Caltrans plan to close Corte Madera freeway interchange raises concern
Sept. 30, 2009
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13455116?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com

Fairfax pastor marks 3 decades of human rights advocacy
Oct. 11, 2009
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13539776?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com

Sleepy Hollow's rare fire board election heats up
Sept. 21, 2009
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13388235?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com

Denver Democratic National Convention on the Streets: First Major Clash Between Protesters and Police

Against the backdrop of a breathtaking sunset on Aug. 25, 2008, Unconventional Denver marched from Civic Center Park to the Wellington Webb Municipal Building on 15th Street, instigating a standoff with law enforcement.

Denver Police and Denver Sheriff departments cordoned off the area circa 7:15 p.m., trapping nearly 300 people in the process. Those not connected with the protest were ultimately released.

“This whole thing is complicated,” said 20-year-old Matthew Reyes, one of those detained accidentally. “The cops seemed confused and there was no logical explanation for who was arrested and who was let go.”

In a press release, Heather Barry, neighborhood liaison for Mayor John Hickenlooper, reported total arrests hovered around 100. Charges ranged from obstruction of streets or public passageways to interference and disobedience to a lawful order.


7:45 p.m.: One of the first protesters apprehended awaits arrival of the Denver Sheriff Department bus in front of the building at 1515 Cleveland Place.


9:20 p.m.: Denver Sheriff donning riot gear block public access to Cleveland Place at the 16th Street Mall intersection. Three buses were dispatched to shuttle protesters from the makeshift field facility 500 feet away (police vehicles were positioned in a manner that blocked this operation from public view) to the temporary processing facility at 3833 Steele St.


9:30 p.m.: Bystanders are pushed back from Cleveland Place to allow departure of the first Denver Sheriff bus. Inside the bus, those arrested pounded on the windows and yelled out to the crowd on the 16th Street Mall.

This story appeared on the blog www.journalistcitizen.blogspot.com on Aug. 27, 2008.

Life of a Railroad Boomer: James H. Johnson

Stockton, California: Early 2005

Booming and articulate, witty and persuasive, intelligent and communicative, one could easily mistake Engineer James H. Johnson for the general manager of a railroad. And while certainly capable, the polished and conservatively dressed Jim avoids supervisory positions like the plague.

A fourth-generation railroader and native Californian, Jim hired out with the Southern Pacific as a fireman right out of high school in 1961. Toiling in train service positions, his career saw promotions to conductor and engineer and – in typical boomer fashion - transcended tenures at numerous railroads: Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Western Pacific, and Union Pacific. Jaded with the large railroad mentality, Jim departed Union Pacific in 1990 and has since been an extra board engineer for short line railroads Napa Valley, Sierra, and California Northern.

Jim left the industry a few times during the last 43 years to further his education and pursue careers in law enforcement and teaching, but he simply could not resist the lure of the rails.

“Like a mistress in the night, railroading kept calling my name,” he admitted.

And while not number one as far as seniority is concerned, chronologically Jim – known alternately as “Pops” - is the oldest and most respected man on California Northern’s engineer roster.

Railroaders are idiosyncratic and Jim proves no exception. He will only work in an immaculate engine cab and periodically butts heads with union brothers that do not live up to his elevated standard of cleanliness. Jim dresses appropriately and expects others to follow suit. Gadgetry is his bailiwick: Digital cameras, palm pilot, Internet access, and cell phones are all kept practically within arm’s reach. A tireless and resourceful jack-of-all-trades, Jim moonlights as a wedding and school photographer.

In more serious moments, Jim extols time and again, “I’m blessed,” and he uses the phrase to describe more than family and faith. An engineer on one of the trains involved in a nationally publicized accident on the Western Pacific near Fremont, California, in 1980, Jim survived with a broken back, leading to excruciating pain and two years of paralyzing convalescence. His conductor and brakeman perished.

“At the time, I believed that I should have, too,” he shared after a pensive moment.

And like many of his brethren, Jim suffered from family separation issues and chronic bouts of alcoholism when out on the road for Western Pacific.

“I was drinking a bottle of beer in the shower on the 1979 day that my first wife walked out on me,” he said. “That was my last drop.”

Much to his liking, Jim is now comfortably settled in a modest home in an established Stockton, California, neighborhood and no longer deals with the disorienting feeling of not knowing when he will work next or the transient nature of railroading out of a suitcase.

Jim has two families separated by time and little else. “My ex-wife lives in Modesto (California) and we have become friends; in fact, she often spends Christmas at my home.” Two now Generation X aged daughters from this first union live nearby and blessed Jim with three grandchildren apiece.

He met his present wife Robbie via a blind date in 1983 and their loving marriage has yielded two active children: Josh, 10; Jamie, 12.

Now 61, when asked if he will ever retire, a twinkle comes to Jim’s eyes and he humorously quips: “If I leave, who will be left to stir the pot? And besides, I love this shit.”

Author’s note: Jim retired from the railroad on June 30, 2006, and is today a self-avowed Mr. Mom.

This story appeared on the blog www.journalistcitizen.blogspot.com on Aug. 2, 2008.

San Francisco M-Ocean View Line Unreliability

The Muni line most utilized by SF State commuters received the lowest on-time performance rating in a survey, Muni officials reported March 3.

Muni posted a record 72 percent systemwide on-time performance rating. The M-Ocean View line, heavily trafficked by SF State students, faculty and staff, did not perform as well.

“Several times the M failed me. Once when I was on my way to giving a midterm exam,” said Linda Day, an SF State urban studies department lecturer who frequently commutes to campus via Muni. “I was late and it made the students very anxious.”

According to a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency service standards report released March 3, of the Muni metro lines surveyed, the M line posted the lowest on-time performance for the fourth quarter of 2008, at just 62 percent.

“We do have a shortage of operators and on some days we may have vehicle availability issues where we need to run some M runs as one car instead of two cars and that could potentially slow down the service and the reliability,” said Judson True, SFMTA media relations manager. “We try to get all the lines up to the standard that the voters have prescribed and we’re not quite there yet.”

In order to improve Muni service and see that it ran on schedule at least 85 percent of the time, San Francisco voters passed Proposition E in 1999. According to SFMTA's 2008-2012 Strategic Plan, Muni aims to meet this mandate by 2012.

SF State commuters access the M line via the SF State and Stonestown stations and ride inbound to central San Francisco or outbound to Balboa Park to connect with BART or the J-Church line. Weekday M service does not operate around the clock. The first train departs at 5:42 a.m. and the last at 12:10 a.m. Trains are scheduled to run approximately every nine minutes during peak hours and every 15 minutes in the evenings.

According to SF State’s 2008 Transportation Survey, 36 percent of university commuters rode Muni, and 45 percent of them took the M line in particular, making it the Muni route used most to access campus.

Steven Severn, an SF State business major and M line rider said he wants to see “more trains ... because there's like a billion students.”

A billion may not be in the university’s future, but enrollment is expected to balloon to 25,000 full-time students by 2015, according to the Campus Master Plan.

SF State has partnered with SFMTA and the city to perfect service and tackle the transit needs of a burgeoning student population.

Jason Porth, SF State’s associate director of community relations, said the university is involved in short-term solutions aimed at hustling service. Among them are modifying the boarding platform at the SF State station to ease overcrowding and to relocate some fare vending machines to campus to speed the ticket purchasing process.

The SFMTA, City Controller’s Office and communities cooperated in an evaluation of Muni operations dubbed the Transit Effectiveness Project, which yielded recommendations for future service. SFMTA’s board of directors voted to endorse TEP recommendations on Oct. 21, 2008.

The TEP calls for the M line from downtown to terminate at SF State and for extension of the J-Church line service west from Balboa Park to SF State and Stonestown. The move would shift more two-car trains to the M line's busiest sections.

“Speed, reliability and frequency would all be increased by terminating the line here at SF State,” Porth said. “What that means for SF State students is not only better M service, but for students coming from neighborhoods currently served by the J, it provides an entirely new route to get here.”

Before this line reconfiguration can occur, Muni infrastructure and facility improvements must be made along 19th Avenue, according to the Campus Master Plan.

“The M is a very heavily used line, especially for SF State students and we want to do everything we can to have it be as reliable as possible,” True said.

Note: This story - authored by Christian Goepel - appeared in the Mar. 12, 2009, edition of the Golden Gate [X]Press.

Nothing to LOL about: texting-crazed zombies run amok

Why must some San Francisco State University students exhibit disrespectful text messaging habits around campus and in the classroom?

Such behavior is particularly bothersome considering the technology's myriad communication benefits and surging popularity among students. Individuals in the 18-24 age group sent and received an average of 790 text messages per month in the second quarter of 2008 alone, according to Nielsen Mobile. The same source reported that "the typical U.S. mobile subscriber now sends and receives more text messages than they do mobile telephone calls."

Texting provides valuable public service on campus. Gayle Orr-Smith, SFSU's emergency preparedness coordinator, said the university's Emergency Notification System warns students, faculty and staff of an emergency via text messaging. After the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, when a student shooting spree left 32 dead and 25 wounded, such capability is reassuring.

At least the cacophony of cell phone conversations has died down. Even so, students must realize that text messaging, like nosepicking, has its proper time and place.

It is irksome to navigate campus through a gauntlet of students too preoccupied with texting to see where they are going. These oblivious, hunched creatures are known as textwalkers. They impede safe, expeditious pedestrian traffic flow, and occasionally cause unnecessary human collisions as well. California outlawed motorists from text messaging on Jan. 1. Maybe the law should be expanded to protect us from textwalkers, too.

Students who text in class not only needlessly disturb professors and fellow students, but also impede their own education as well.

"Many people believe they can 'multitask,' but research is clear ... the brain cannot perform two conceptual tasks at the same time," said Dr. Mindi Golden, assistant professor in SFSU's communication studies department. "It is impossible to focus on class content while checking messages or texting."

Neither the California State University Executive Order of Student Conduct nor SFSU Student Code of Conduct broaches text messaging etiquette.

Donna Cunningham, university coordinator for student judicial affairs, is aware of the text messaging issue and said, "Just about any law or policy takes years to catch up with what is really going on."

Some faculty took matters into their own hands, admonishing students to turn off or silence phones.

It is unlikely that the university will craft policy soon. Frankly, why go to the trouble when the solution is so painfully obvious? If students simply demonstrated equal parts courtesy, common sense and self-restraint, the problem would vanish overnight.

Note: This op-ed piece - authored by Christian Goepel - appeared in the Feb. 26, 2009, edition of the Golden Gate [X]Press.

San Francisco Barleywine Festival: How Sweet it is

Entry fees, huge crowds, concerts and vendors hawking wares will not be in the cards for San Francisco's upcoming annual Barleywine Festival.

In its 16th year, the event will pay homage to its namesake alcoholic beverage from the confines of Toronado, an eclectic Lower Haight speakeasy.

Scantly broader than the width of two bowling lanes, it's a place where beer paraphernalia clings to the walls and cash on the barrelhead is the only acceptable means of payment.

The festival begins Feb. 14 and continues until Feb. 20 - or until the barley wine runs out.

"The festival is the most anticipated beer event of the year," said Steve Bruce, general manager of the Toronado.

"It will be pretty crazy here."

Strong ale of 18th century English origin, barleywine has an elevated alcohol content of 10 to 12 percent, according to the Campaign for Real Ale Web site.

From the standpoint of a dollar-to-buzz ratio, this relatively obscure nectar is moderately priced and provides an undeniable bang for your buck in trying economic times.

"More and more craft brewers are producing for this event," said Bruce, who believes that barleywine's popularity is brewing among mainstream beer drinkers.

This year, over 50 varieties will be featured from microbreweries nationwide with names as creative as those bestowed upon racehorses: Mortification, Old Guardian, Three Sheets and Noggin Floggin.

Barleywines will be judged professionally on the first day of the event.

Debate lingers as to whether barleywine is beer or wine.

Despite its potency and long-term storage ability - akin to wine - it is actually beer, owing to its grain-based formula.

Sweetness and bitterness are blended to create a sipping beer often served in wine glasses.

"It is an interesting time at the Toronado because the festival not only draws the regular crowd, but also connoisseurs from around the region who wish to get a once-in-a-year taste from breweries far and wide," said Gianpaolo Perrone, a San Francisco conservation manager and barleywine aficionado who has attended the festival for the last two years.

"Many of the barleywines on tap get their only pour at Toronado during the upcoming week, and there are numerous breweries that will only be showcased during the Barleywine Festival."

Maria Cisneros, a San Francisco waitress who sporadically patronizes the Toronado, smirks and points to a bumper sticker on the wall opposite a row of timeworn pub tables: Corporate Beer Sucks.

"This isn't the sort of place you come for a Miller High Life and pretzels," Cisneros said. "The Toronado's beer selection defies imagination and the barleywine is the best by far."

Barleywine's sweet scent will be interrupted only by the occasional aroma of food, as outside fare is welcome in the Toronado.

Myriad plates - including sausage and wild boar - can be ordered from Rosamunde next door and tamales wrapped in paper towels are sold from a wheeled plastic cooler by a regular street vendor.

During the festival, the Toronado will be open from 11:30 a.m. until 2 a.m. daily.

As has been the case with past festivals, it will be expected for lines to form outside before the doors open and for the bar to be crowded throughout the day.

Those who catch a heavy buzz from the barleywine can let Muni be their designated driver.

Muni trolleybus routes 6 and 22 stop within a block of the Toronado, and the K, L and M metro lines serve the Church Street station, three blocks south.

Note: This story - authored by Christian Goepel - appeared in the Feb. 12, 2009, edition of the Golden Gate [X]Press under the title "Barleywine varietals offer comfort at festival."

Fighting Hip, but Formula Retail in the Mission District

The eclectic Mission District – fashionable with San Francisco State University students - is a hipster paradise. Yet some residents and businesspeople hip to American Apparel’s bid to add a store to the neighborhood are voicing opposition.

“Nothing is more important to me than stopping American Apparel from coming into the Mission,” said Stephen Elliott, a writer and neighborhood resident, who formed Stop American Apparel in response to the clothier’s desire to open a location in a vacant narrow storefront at 988 Valencia St.

Since its creation in mid-January, the group has launched a blog, distributed posters and postcards – and, with the assistance of local Pirate Cat Radio – it has assembled a grassroots coalition of individuals and business owners.

The group aims to protect the colorful character of the Mission and save independently owned concerns from closure or relocation due to inflated rents.



“The people that suffer the most are local business owners, I think, because there is no rent control for businesses in California,” said Elliott.

David Marks opened Room 4 down the block last year to peddle vintage clothing and expressed concern about how American Apparel’s presence may alter the economic climate of Valencia Street.

“In the short term it would bring more people down here, but I think in the long term it would really hurt the street because rents are going to go up,” Marks said. “I don’t want them here because I don’t want to go out of business.”

Elliott and Stop American Apparel believe this situation will set a precedent for future development in the neighborhood.

“For Valencia, this is the first time that this has come up since Proposition G passed in 2006, so it’s really a test case,” said Elliott. “It’s not about American Apparel; it’s strictly about formula retail.”

San Franciscans passed Proposition G in 2006, requiring that formula retail companies – those operating 11 or more stores in the U.S. that maintain standardized features - attain a conditional-use permit from the city before starting a business in a designated neighborhood commercial district like Valencia Street. American Apparel’s permit application comes in front of the San Francisco Planning Commission at City Hall on Feb. 5.

California-based American Apparel manages a sweatshop-free factory in Los Angeles, provides employees with healthcare benefits and competitive wages, speaks out politically and showcases controversial advertising. The company has 260 locations in 19 countries and already operates stores in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow, Haight-Ashbury, and Union Square, according to its Web site.



“I believe in San Francisco that it’s not really possible for chain stores to beat out local businesses … the demand for diversity is so great,” said Mark Pauley, a software engineer and occasional American Apparel customer who lives within shouting distance of the proposed store location. “I think that being extremely protectionist and getting a bunch of people out to say that this would be horrible for our neighborhood is a little bit extreme.”

If Elliott has anything to say about it, Stop American Apparel will live up to its name and mission.

“I think there are probably some people that want American Apparel, but they are definitely the minority,” said Elliott.

Nevertheless, plans to open the store are progressing.

“The lease is signed and the reason it has been such a deliberate, methodical process is that we’re trying to get it right,” said American Apparel strategist Ryan Holiday in an e-mail interview. “We’ve been getting feedback from officials, making sure that everything is in compliance, getting a genuine sense of the neighborhood so the store can be a part of it.”

The company informed the community of its intent to enter the neighborhood lightly via a letter posted to the Mission Mission blog on Jan. 26. “Because at the end of the day, if the community doesn’t want us there, we have no intention of forcing our way in,” the letter said.

“A lot of people have asked to speak on behalf of American Apparel, and it looks like a big part of the community is going to recommend that we continue with the plans,” Holiday said.

Stop American Apparel is busying itself by bolstering community support, accumulating petition signatures and hosting events. Twenty individuals assembled in front of 988 Valencia St. to demonstrate on Jan. 31. A rally and session for composing letters to city supervisors and the Planning Commission – on typewriters, no less - will be held at Amnesia Bar on Feb. 2.


This story - authored by Christian Goepel - appeared in the Feb. 5, 2009, edition of the Golden Gate [X]Press.

Update: The San Francisco Planning Commission denied American Apparel's request for a conditional-use permit on Feb. 5.