- Yesterday, the Obama administration appealed Judge Virginia Phillips' ruling overturning the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy and also asked Phillips to stay her order prohibiting discharges under the policy. Which seems unlikely, according to reports. From Politico:
During an afternoon hearing Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips said the government did not present a convincing case to suspend the landmark order she issued last week, which effectively ends the ban on gays in the military, according to reporters for the Associated Press and the Advocate magazine. Representatives for both publications attended the Monday session in Riverside, Calif.
Philips seemed skeptical of Justice Department arguments that her order – which instructs the Pentagon to stop all discharges of gays and lesbians, overturning a law Congress passed in 1993 – would cause a significant disruption in military operations, the reports said. The judge said the government’s case demanding a stay had “significant failings” – including offering as evidence a Rolling Stone interview in which President Barack Obama said the “don’t ask” policy had to be repealed in an orderly way, the Advocate reported.
- San Francisco's Exploratorium science museum unveils plans today for its new site at Piers 15 and 17, not too far from the Ferry Building. Plans call for the project to be completed within three years.From Quest:
The cost for the new museum, which is scheduled to open in 2013, and for rehabilitating Piers 15 and 17, is estimated at $175 million. In March, the Exploratorium - which is currently housed at the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District - announced it received two anonymous donations from Bay Area high-tech leaders totaling $90 million, provided that the museum raise an additional $40 million from other sources. The donations are the largest the museum has received since its founding in 1969.
The project for a new Exploratorium received a permit in March from the Bay Conservation and Development Commission which required the museum to mitigate for the environmental impact of the new construction and the dredging and hauling of nearly 75,000 cubic yards of mud from the Bay.
Related: Exploratorium web site
- I'm just guessing, but this may cause a wee stir. Amid the roiling debates this political season over public employee compensation and pensions comes this: a study by economists at UC Berkeley and Rutgers finds that California public employees actually earn on average 7 percent less than private sector workers. However, superior benefits roughly equalize their earnings.
- San Mateo County approved its first licensed medical marijuana dispensary, in North Fair Oaks. The San Jose Mercury News reports that 28-year-old Bradley Ehikian, who will head the 14,000-square-foot facility at 2676 Bay Road, said he hoped to open up for business in as few as eight months.
- Apple put up record numbers in its 4th quarter report yesterday: $4.31 billion in profit, or $4.64 a share, on revenue of $20.34 billion. Those figures represent about a 70% increase over the same period last year. Not good enough, apparently, for investors, who bought on the rumor and sold on the news. Apple shares are down around 2 percent as of 8 a.m. this morning.