It’s 7 a.m., 46° and headed to 59°. Over the next few days it’s sun, sun, sun. Not tank-top sun, but brisk, jacket-weather sun. Details for the next 10 days are here.
Influential philanthropist Warren Hellman died last night of complications from leukemia. An excerpt from the Chronicle’s story:
Mr. Hellman built a fortune as an investor and seemed determined to spend much of it. Co-founder of the Hellman & Friedman private-equity firm, he poured money into local causes, some political, some personal.
He bankrolled San Francisco ballot measures that reformed the city’s pension system and created an underground parking garage beneath Golden Gate Park. He funded the San Francisco Free Clinic and helped set up an endowment to support aquatic sports at UC Berkeley, where he played water polo as a student. Concerned about dwindling local news coverage in the Internet age, he helped form the Bay Citizen online journalism site.
And in 2001, Mr. Hellman sponsored a free, outdoor concert devoted to bluegrass music, a love he had nurtured for years.
As per Hellman’s wishes, his daughter confirmed that the cherished Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival will continue.
And there was another death in the headlines last night, as Kim Jong-il was pronounced dead by North Korea’s state-run media.
As for some good news, for most, it’s the final week of buying — or making, for some — gifts for our loved ones. The New York Times reports that this year many people across the country are heading to pawn shops before the Big Marts. There are many Mission Street pawn shops to check out, though they probably won’t have a Santa Claus for the kids to visit.
Plenty of other local options out there, too.
And ’tis the season for giving! You too can join Team Awesome with this guy.
Happy Monday, Missionites!