- Your San Francisco Giants are readying for their World Series battle with the Texas Rangers. Game 1 is Wednesday, 4:57 p.m. PT, in San Francisco. The Giants beat the Phillies Saturday night, you probably know by now unless you've been preoccupied with I don't know what else, to earn another go at their first championship since 1954. That was so long ago that Willie Mays patrolled centerfield at the Polo Grounds, 3,000 miles away from the site of his AT&T Park statue.
- Local businesses are gearing up to sell marijuana, the Bay Citizen reported this weekend.
In Oakland, nearly 300 individuals and businesses have listed themselves as “interested parties” to obtain business permits to sell or grow marijuana. The city’s largest medical marijuana dispensary is considering a 7,000-square-foot expansion if it is allowed to sell to recreational users.
Cafe owners are exploring plans for Amsterdam-like coffee shops where marijuana could be sold and consumed. The California State Package Store and Tavern Owners Association, which represents black liquor store owners, is holding discussions about how to position itself if the measure passes.
- Something I didn't know: For years, San Francisco has banned new restaurant openings on certain streets. The Examiner reports today that "the Upper Fillmore could become the third commercial corridor in recent months to see its ban on new restaurants lifted."
In April, the the Board of Supervisors repealed a similar proscription on 24th Street in Noe Valley. - In the midst of Giants' fever, let's not forget football. Last week 49ers' owner Jed York said the team's new Santa Clara stadium wouldn't be ready until at least 2015, due to uncertainty over upcoming contract negotiations between the NFL and the Players Association. The Chronicle's Matier & Ross this morning report that talks between the Niners and San Francisco about extending the team's lease at Candlestick Park are stalled.
Niners President Jed York says he hasn't talked to Mayor Gavin Newsom in two years and isn't holding his breath about the two having a meeting of the minds anytime soon.
"I'm happy to sit down with him, but I think he's focused on other opportunities outside the city at this point," York said, a pointed reference to the mayor's run for lieutenant governor.
But on one point York is clear: "We need to make sure the building is maintained and suitable for an NFL game at the highest quality that our fans deserve."
Newsom's press secretary, Tony Winnicker, said the city has already put $25 million into restroom, elevator, parking lot and other upgrades since 2004.
"But unless the team ownership is prepared to make a longer term commitment to the city, the idea that the taxpayers of San Francisco are going to foot the bill for millions of dollars of new luxury boxes and TV flat screens is straight out of the fantasy football league," Winnicker said. Full report.
And the Raiders had a great day yesterday, setting a franchise record for points scored in a 59-14 thrashing of the Denver Broncos.