Portal:San Francisco Bay Area

The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge (officially, the John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge) is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end. It opened in 1956, replacing ferry service by the Richmond–San Rafael Ferry Company. The bridge—including approaches—measures 5.5 miles (29,040 feet / 8,851.39 m / 8.9 km) long. At the time it was built, it was one of the world's longest bridges. The bridge spans two principal ship channels and has two separate major spans, each of the cantilever type. To save money, both main cantilever sections were designed identically, including the angles, necessitating the "dip" in the central section, giving the bridge a "roller coaster" appearance and also the nickname "roller coaster span". This appearance has also been referred to as a "bent coat hanger". After it was completed, many were disappointed by the aesthetics of the low budget bridge, especially when compared to the engineering and historical marvels of the neighboring Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. (more...)

Ronald Vernie "Ron" Dellums (born November 24, 1935) served as Oakland's forty-fifth (and third African-American) mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Northern California's 9th Congressional District, after which he worked as a lobbyist in Washington D.C..

Dellums was born into a family of labor organizers, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps before serving on the Berkeley, California, City Council. Dellums was the first African American elected to Congress from Northern California and the first openly Socialist successful non-incumbent Congressional candidate since World War II. His politics earned him a place on President Nixon's enemies list.

During his career in Congress, he fought the MX Missile project and opposed expansion of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber program. When President Ronald Reagan vetoed Dellums' Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican-controlled Senate overrode Reagan's veto, the first override of a presidential foreign policy veto in the 20th century. (more...)

Dogtown (originally named Woodville) is an unincorporated community in the rural West Marin region of coastal Marin County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area's North Bay. It lies at an elevation of 187 feet (57 m). With a population of 30, the town is located beside the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore, in the Olema Valley west of the Bolinas Ridge mountain range. (more...)

• A two day pogrom waged against Chinese immigrants in San Francisco by the city's majority white population, resulting in four deaths and the destruction of more than $100,000 worth of property belonging to the city's Chinese immigrant population.
• The Argonaut literary journal is founded by Frank M. Pixley (pictured) in San Francisco

• ... that the vivid colors of the San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds (pictured), ranging from magenta to blue-green, come from the brine shrimp and microorganisms that thrive in the water?
• ... that the Laguna Creek watershed debouches into the San Francisco Bay near the site of the ghost town of Drawbridge?
• ... that the chase scene from the 1968 Steve McQueen film Bullitt starts on Cesar Chavez Street (then Army Street) before continuing through San Francisco?
• ... that the title of There There, a 2018 novel about urban Indians in Oakland, California, mirrors Gertrude Stein's quip about the city that "There is no there there"?

• ... that the 1878 constitution of San Francisco's Congregation Beth Israel prohibited members from praying out loud?
• ... that H. Brett Melendy was the first chairman of the history department of San José State University, California?
• ... that a new orchid species, Ornithidium donaldeedodii, was "discovered" when a mislabeled plant at the University of California Botanical Garden had its DNA analyzed?
• ... that California's first State House was originally a hotel in San Jose owned by businessman Pierre "Don Pedro" Sainsevain and his associates?
• ... that Medal of Honor recipient William R. Parnell (pictured) died in San Francisco, California on August 20, 1910, after falling from a street car?

April - June 2010

The San Jose Jazz Summer Fest (originally known as the San Jose Jazz Festival) is an annual music festival organized by non-profit San Jose Jazz, and held in downtown San Jose. The festival was established in 1990 and has grown to a 3-day weekend with jazz, Latin, salsa, R&B, blues (Bettye LaVette pictured), and other music styles. The main stage is at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.

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