Stacey Abrams. Photo: AP Stacey Abrams’s official Democratic response to the State of the Union address will not make people beat on each other with big sticks, or elevate her to a 2020 presidential candidacy. But it did show a national audience qualities that Georgians know well, and that fed her audacious and nearly successful 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Indeed, according to the low bar set by SOTUS respondents of both parties in recent years, Abrams’s effort was likely the best at least since Jim Webb’s response to George W. Bush in 2007. Given the time constraints involved, Abrams nicely balanced multiple goals of relatability (her opening anecdote about her father and a homeless man was well-wrought), responsiveness, and comprehensiveness. She did not get around to her signature issue of voting rights until the end, and she set it up excellently as a reflection of the shared values she touted as central to her party’s agenda. She touched on enough … [Read more...] about Abrams Delivers in State of the Union Response
Union
Macy’s to sell former I. Magnin building at Union Square
Macy’s is downsizing its physical presence in San Francisco once more. The company will explore opportunities to sell the former I. Magnin building, approximately 240,000 square feet of retail space, from its flagship store in San Francisco’s Union Square. It will also convert the remaining street-level space into shops leased out to third-party sellers, the company said Monday. The announced sale falls in line with previous moves to reduce the brand’s brick-and-mortar presence and comes ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings call scheduled for Tuesday. Macy’s earlier announced that it will shutter its store in the Stonestown Galleria in March. That space was sold to General Growth Properties in January 2017, which plans to repurpose the square footage into a mix of smaller retail stores, restaurants and a multiplex movie theater. Now Playing: Despite having “solid’ holiday sales, about 5-thousand Macy’s workers will be getting pink slips. … [Read more...] about Macy’s to sell former I. Magnin building at Union Square
24-hour Starbucks in Union Square mysteriously closes: ‘I was shocked. It was always busy’
The closure of a Starbucks at 201 Powell St. in San Francisco's Union Square, surprised the neighborhood. The coffee shop served its last coffee on Jan. 20, 2019. The closure of a Starbucks at 201 Powell St. in San Francisco's Union Square, surprised the neighborhood. The coffee shop served its last coffee on Jan. 20, 2019. Photo: Amy Graff Photo: Amy Graff Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Image 1 of 14 The closure of a Starbucks at 201 Powell St. in San Francisco's Union Square, surprised the neighborhood. The coffee shop served its last coffee on Jan. 20, 2019. The closure of a Starbucks at 201 Powell St. in San Francisco's Union Square, surprised the neighborhood. The coffee shop served its last coffee on Jan. 20, 2019. Photo: Amy … [Read more...] about 24-hour Starbucks in Union Square mysteriously closes: ‘I was shocked. It was always busy’
Union Workers Heckle Bernie Sanders over His Medicare for All Plan
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) faced a dose of heckling Tuesday from workers who take issue with his Medicare for All plan during UNITE HERE’s Culinary Union town hall in Las Vegas, Nevada.According to reports, Sanders faced criticism from some union members during his discussion on Medicare for All, with some in the audience shouting, “Union health care! Union health care!” Another shouted, “How are you gonna pay for it?” Culinary Union president Ted Pappageorge ultimately addressed the hecklers directly. “We’re gonna let candidates speak without any kind of heckling. If you want to heckle, go outside and heckle. We want to learn. The town halls are to learn. Frankly not to learn from the hecklers, but the candidates,” he said, according to the Washington Examiner. “Second, I want to be very clear to everybody, this union stands very strongly that every American deserves to have good, quality health care. It’s a right, it … [Read more...] about Union Workers Heckle Bernie Sanders over His Medicare for All Plan
‘Bullsh*t’: Sanders Campaign Denies Shifting Positions on Union Health Benefits Under Medicare for All
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) campaign is denying that the presidential candidate shifted his position on union health benefits under Medicare for All, calling the Washington Post’s report “wrong” and “bullshit.”Members of the Sanders campaign pushed back against a Washington Post report, indicating that Sanders adjusted his previously held position that his Medicare for All agenda would “absolutely” erase union health benefits. The report noted the change, which was reportedly reflected on Sanders’ website, suggesting that companies with union-negotiated healthcare plans would hold certain negotiating powers through the National Labor Relations Board: Sanders’ website states: Bernie will require that resulting healthcare savings from union-negotiated plans result in wage increases and additional benefits for workers during the transition to Medicare for All. When Medicare for All is signed into law, companies with union … [Read more...] about ‘Bullsh*t’: Sanders Campaign Denies Shifting Positions on Union Health Benefits Under Medicare for All