I expect a little more from the New York Times

It has been months since I have written anything here.  Honestly, the initial panic that the ABC and police were going to drive all my favorite clubs out of business has subsided somewhat with the creation of the California Music and Culture Association, and the empowerment of the Entertainment Commission.  But now today there is a story in the New York Times that truly disappoints.  It deals with the "high costs" of patrolling near nightclubs, with various SFPD folk suggesting that the clubs should be paying extra for patrols. 

Normally, I would think of the NYT as being a bastion of well-researched news.  This story leads me to think otherwise.  Nowhere does it mention the SFPD policy of shutting down traffic on Broadway during the weekends, which of course is killing business.  There is no mention of the man-hours expended by the SFPD in harassing legitimate nightclubs, such as DNA, Butter, Myst and the like.  This article makes North Beach sound like a war zone, when in actuality it is essentially a tourist mecca with strip clubs and expensive restaurants, that is only slightly more dangerous than Disneyland.

What's more, the club that the shooting happened  near was Suede, which is many, many blocks from the heavily-patrolled stretch of Broadway the article talks about. 

Police harassment on Broadway is nothing new.  When I was 19 years old, I drove some friends to the On Broadway because Metallica was rumored to be doing a secret show there.  The show was sold out, so I and my friends were  standing on the sidewalk deciding what to do, when we were approached by one of SFPD's finest.  He demanded our IDs, and when he saw that I did not live in SF, he told me I was not welcome in SF and should go home.  As if I and my dorky teenage pals were a threat to anyone or anything.  It taught me to believe that many policeman treat every human being they see as a potential criminal.  No wonder they see such a threat on Broadway.