| Michael Bauer: Between Meals
When Ed Levine interviewed me for his book "Pizza: A Slice of Heaven," I listed as one of my favorites the arugula and prosciutto pizza from Firewood Cafe. This decade-old restaurant has three locations in San Francisco: in the Castro, in the food court at the Metreon, and at SFO. I've been to all of them but rarely venture beyond that pizza and one of the salads, which are consistently good. In the Castro, the original location, the feeling is upscale. Large windows overlook 18th Street, and each table is set with a complimentary bowl of olives. Diners line up in front of the wood-fired oven to order, and the food is brought to the table. Size: 10 inches ($8.50-$9.50). Style: Thin crust. Oven: Firewood oven that bakes the pie for 650 degrees for about 5 minutes.
Wall Street falls ahead of Fed rate move; Merrill Lynch CEO retires ...
Merrill Lynch shares fell $1.73, or 2.6 percent, to $65.69 after O'Neal's announced departure. Some corporate earnings reports disappointed investors. Procter & Gamble was the biggest loser among the 30 Dow components after cautioning that higher commodity costs will squeeze second-quarter margins. Despite a 14 percent rise in fiscal first quarter profit, P&G fell $2.85, or 4 percent, to $68.98. And although Qwest reported a third-quarter profit jump, its shares tumbled 73 cents, or 8.9 percent, to $7.45 as overall revenue dipped, and after the telecommunications company provided few details about its outlook. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 244.9 million shares. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.41, or 0.29 percent, to 819.31.
Tributes paid to Express stalwart who died aged 86
ONE of the North's best-known journalists, and former editor of the Stockport Express, has died. Jim Lovelock, pictured, who took the helm of the Stockport Express in 1949, died aged 86. He was as notorious for his socialising as he was famous for writing, and was in turn journalist, author, potholer, mountaineer and raconteur. Jim, born in Edgeley, overcame polio as a child of six, to become a legendary caver and mountaineer, despite losing his sight in one eye too. His father had decided against a calliper and instead bought him a small bicycle with only one pedal to strengthen his polio leg. He was later to be part of a team that made the first successful ascent of Everest's neighbour Nuptse, and another which set the world depth record in France's Gouffre Berger cave.
McCain Proposes Business Tax Cuts
McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin suggested the Arizona senator does not favor temporary relief at this time. "We haven't seen household declines in spending," he said. McCain told reporters he would help finance the reductions with deep cuts in what he considers wasteful pork-barrel spending, starting with nearly 10,000 local projects, or "earmarks," totaling over $10 billion in spending legislation recently signed by President Bush. As to calls by Bernanke and others for a temporary program of tax relief, McCain said, "It's not that I'm skeptical of short-term stimulus, I'm skeptical of any time you take taxpayers dollars without having a real good purpose and an object, Because somebody's got to pay it back. "I want to see where that money's coming from." McCain's plan would also establish a permanent research and development tax credit and allow tax breaks for equipment and technology investment.
Wind and waves, a poet laureate, and tough policing
As we enter the new year, some issues remain doggedly at the island's heels just as they were a year ago: the Champlin's affair, state budget constraints and high energy costs. But we also had some unexpected and welcomed turns: a potential solution to those energy problems, a state poet laureate selected from our ranks, and a busy summer held in check by competent police work.Some of the most exciting announcements — with the potential to change life on the island — occurred in the last few weeks of 2007.Wind and waves to the rescueAfter Governor Donald Carcieri announced his goal to provide a minimum of 15 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources, wind energy ended being high on that list.The state commissioned a study, and Rhode Island Commissioner of Energy Resources Andrew Dzykewicz announced in a series of on-island presentations that two of the prime locations for a wind farm are off the shores of Block Island.If approved, said Dzykewicz, there could be as many as 100 wind turbines, standing 450 feet high with blades extended, complete with foghorns and lights, anywhere from a mile to three miles south of the island.
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