HARD CASH

An assistant Vice-Chancellor at UC Berkeley has been removed from her position with the university after officials learned that not only was she engaged in an affair with a subordinate, she also gave him four salary increases within eight months of hiring him.

During their 15-month romance, his pay was increased from $57,864 to $89,400. He went on to receive five more salary increases between 2009 and 2010.

Wow. He must have been REALLY good.

How come I never seem to have these bosses?

DRINKING THE KOOL-AID

Hey, stranger things have happened.

THE MOST RIDICULOUS CITY IN THE WORLD IS . . .

. . . San Francisco.

Are you shocked?

Anyway, this vintage Coca-Cola sign was discovered under some siding when the Bernal Heights neighborhood building it was painted on was being remodeled. Believed to have been painted around 1930, the owner of the building had planned to restore the sign to its former glory.

However, the NIMBY'ers decided they wanted something different.

"Neighborhood activists" took it upon themselves to declare that this historically significant ad be painted over because it violated San Francisco's anti-billboard laws. They also complained that it promoted obesity by advertising a sugary drink to kids who attend a nearby elementary school.

WTF?

The owner was forced to go through a planning commission hearing for permission to keep the sign where it was. He did eventually win a conditional use permit (by a unanimous vote, I might add), which allows the sign to remain.

Way to choose your battles, folks.

FOODIE CALL

Salmon and Fromage en Blanc Pot Pie

Banana Creme Pie

This is all I have to say:

Go directly to the Petaluma Pie Company. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

STARRY, STARRY NIGHT

TRIBUTE

The Love Boat, soon will be making it's final run.

The Pacific Princess, the ship used as the backdrop for television's classic nighttime dramedy, has been sold to a turkish demolition company for $3.3 million. Officially decommissioned three years ago, the Princess is currently making its way to a New York City dry dock, where it will be dismantled and sold for scrap metal.

SWIMWEAR

I went to the beach last weekend, where I witnessed a guy wearing a swimsuit that was strikingly similar to the panties our newly hired in-house model Tanya is wearing.

It looks much better on Tanya.

EAT SHIT AND DIE

It's not good enough for McDonalds, but it's okay for the USDA school lunch program?

As profiled here last month, the fast food giant announced it was no longer using a mix of "meat" that included slaughterhouse salvage scraps and connective tissues, and Ammonium Hydroxide - a chemical that is normally found in household cleaning solutions and fertilizers.

Cleaning solutions and fertilizers, WTF?

The USDA has agreed to buy 7 million pounds of this, well, shit, from meat processor Beef Products International for it's school lunch program. Officials have said they plan to use no more that 15% of the so-called Pink Slime in each hamburger served.

Absolutely disgusting.

SUMMER 2.0

Here I am "shooting the pier" (surfing under a pier, for all you non-surfers out there) yesterday afternoon, as the temperature soared to 71 degrees.

Welcome back, Summer.

BIKE RIDE

Fellow former Petaluman Brad P. is doing the AIDS/Lifecycle this coming June. It's a 7-day, 545 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and benefits the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay/Lesbian Center.

It would be really cool to see him surpass his fundraising goal of $3,000, so if you're looking to make a charitable donation somewhere, go ahead and show Brad some Poop Love by sponsoring him on his quest.