This Friday September 6 at Perry’s on Union, John King, the architectural and urban design critic for the San Francisco Chronicle returns to the Seminar. The 2-time Pulitzer Award finalist will be introduced by Seminarian John Tysell.
King is author of the newly released Portal, San Francisco’s Ferry Building and the Reinvention of American Cities. https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324020325
Your editor enthusiastically recommends Portal for those who those who enjoy San Francisco history.
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RSVP TO ATTEND any upcoming seminar. To assist Perry’s kitchen staff with planning for our Friday lunchtime meetings please email Dennis Wheatley at dennis@triticum.com if you plan to attend and indicate if you’ll be bringing a guest. Dennis DOES NOT need to know you are not attending. If members have RSVP’ed a “yes” and need to cancel, please tell Dennis before the cutoff of Thursday noon prior to each seminar.
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POTENTIAL SAC SEM FACT FINDING TRIP: We are seeking to gauge the level of interest in a proposed Sacramento Seminar ‘Civil War Battlefield’ tour next year.
These are our current thoughts: Timing: April 2025 for one week. Estimated cost: $3,000 per person including accommodation, professional guide, transportation, breakfasts but excluding lunch and dinner. You will need to make your own arrangements to get to and from the start/finish point, likely Washington DC. We will likely set up appointments in our Nation’s Capital with local elected officials and representatives of the new administration.
Without committing yourself it would be appreciated if you could send an email to Dennis Wheatley dennis@triticum.com to indicate interest, if we get enough people showing interest, we’ll start to firm up the arrangements.
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UPCOMING SEMINARS
Gerard de Graaf is our speaker on Friday, September 13. He is senior Envoy for Digital to the U.S. and head of the EU office in San Francisco. Until his recent appointment, Mr. De Graaf was involved in the EU’s Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts, two landmark pieces of legislation which have been adopted in the European Union to keep the Internet safe, protect fundamental rights and enhance competition in digital markets. From the Netherlands, he studied Economic Geography & Regional Planning at the Free University in Amsterdam and European Economics and Law at the Catholic University Leuven (Belgium). Mr. de Graaf will be introduced by Sac Sem Speakers Chair Mike Fitzgerald.
Ambassador Balz Abplanalp, the San Francisco/Western States Consul General for Switzerland will be Sac Sem’s guest on Friday, September 20. He’s also the Swiss Technology Ambassador to the Western States focusing on Silicon Valley and San Francisco. In his career, Balz has served as Swiss ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Yemen, and to Oman. He’s been Diplomatic Advisor to the Swiss Co-Presidency of the European Space Agency, Deputy Head of Mission at the Swiss Embassy in Columbia and Science & Technology Counsellor at the Swiss Mission to the European Union. Seminarian Sean Randolph will introduce the ambassador.
Lori Brooke, co-founder of Neighborhoods United SF and longtime Cow Hollow Neighborhood leader will be our speaker on Friday September 27 at Perry’s On Union. Seminarian Jim Fuller will introduce her. Ms. Brooke was featured in the SF Standard https://sfstandard.com/2024/06/07/san-francisco-zoning-housing-element-united-neighborhoods/
Rob Thompson, the chief cultural officer of the Presidion Trust, is our speaker on Friday, October 11. The mission of the Presidion Truist, a federal agency, “is to steward and share the history, beauty, and wonder of the Presidion for everyone to enjoy forever.” https://presidio.gov/about/presidio-trust Rob is trained as an archeologist and historic preservation lanner. A graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in archeology. He holds a master’s degree from Columbia University in Historic Preservation. Mr. Thompson will be introduced by Seminarian Dan Riley.
California’s top political pollster, Mark DiCamillo, himself a Seminarian, returns to update the Seminar on pre-presidential election poling trends on Friday, October 25. Mark is with the University of California (Berkeley) Institute of Governmental Studies. https://igs.berkeley.edu/people/mark-dicamillo where he conducts the IGS poll focusing on California issues and campaigns.
Friday, November 8 will be the “big roundtable” to analyze the results of November 5th presidential, congressional and city election. This is your big chance to show yur chops as a pundit, amateur or professional. If seminarians miss this roundtable, they shall forever after be silent on the events of the bog day.
Mark your calendar. Sac Sem’s annual Holiday/Christmas/Hanukkah Lunch will be on Friday, December 20.
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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Seminarian Michael Semler sends from the New York Times, “How California Became a New Center of Political Corruption”
“A heavy concentration of power at Los Angeles City Hall, the receding presence of local news media, a population that often tunes out local politics and a growing Democratic supermajority in state government have all helped insulate officeholders from damage, political analysts said.” For the full article see: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/29/us/california-corruption-huizar.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Gk4.mRhJ.n-hb1GETFtV-&smid=url-share
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OTHER THOUGHTS: "When you're traveling, you are what you are, right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. There are no yesterdays on the road." William Least Heat-Moon
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