Serious national political commentary: Forget about it
Somehow, as 2019 comes to a merciful close, our family, neighbors and friends have been able to avoid any serious conflicts related to politics over the past six weeks or so.
Considering the tattered emotional state of the union, that circumstance has to count as a real holiday blessing.
It’s not that none of us has an opinion. It’s just that we seem to understand that, when you come right down to it, no one really cares what we think about this stuff.
That’s right. If you dig down a bit, it becomes clear: Your view is as good as anyone else’s. And that includes yours truly — hence the lack of any blatant political pontificating in this space. What’s the point?
It would be a waste of space because, frankly, it would be irrelevant and boring. And that realization stands all of us in good stead.
If there is one New Year’s resolution this addled corner is going to keep in 2020, it’s this: Anything smacking of serious commentary on the national political scene is off the table. Not gonna do it. Again, no one cares.
Have a nice day.
Soul of South City
In many ways, Emanuele Damonte, known to all as Midge, was the longtime heart and soul of South San Francisco.
He touched thousands of lives in the Industrial City during its period of intense growth in the busy decades after World War II.
He served with the Army in the Pacific theater during that conflict.
An educator, he was a public elementary school principal at two South San Francisco Unified School District campuses. He later became a city councilman and mayor in his chosen hometown.
Then he served as a trustee with the school district; he also did a productive stint on the San Mateo County Planning Commission. He died last month at the age of 93.
He is survived by seven children, 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
A funeral Mass and a celebration of his life will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Jan. 11 at St. Veronica’s Catholic Church in South San Francisco.
Damonte was an original member of that church.
Trolley times
We almost forgot about a significant anniversary.
For fans of public transit on the Peninsula, it’s worth recalling that it was 70 years ago that a trolley line stretching from San Francisco through the North County and into downtown San Mateo was shut down.
For much of its length, the 40 Line was parallel to the Southern Pacific Railroad (now Caltrain) tracks. The San Mateo terminus was near the old SP depot on B Street.
The 1949 decision to terminate the trolley setup was caused by severe financial challenges that made it fiscally untenable. The postwar popularity of cars and buses had a lot to do with that move.
A lofty listing
The federal Bureau of Economic
Analysis has estimated that the combined counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco produced 3.1% of the nation’s 2018 gross domestic product, reported to be about $20 trillion.
That 3.1% share would amount to just over $600 billion, putting this robust hightech/biotech region within the top 25 in a worldwide GDP listing of individual countries.
By the way, sprawling Los Angeles County and New York City’s five boroughs were pegged as contributing 3.8% and 4.8%, respectively, to the GDP by the bureau.