Crosscurrents

If you missed the premiere of Bravo’s “Shahs of Sunset” on Monday, you’re not alone. I did, as did another colleague who was planning to watch. Perhaps ethnic reality TV has become less of a must-see. Not that most of these shows have been must-sees in the first place, though some have tried harder than others.

Governor Jerry Brown and the California Federation of Teachers are expected to announce a compromise on competing state tax initiatives by the end of today. The new joint plan would raise the state sales tax by a quarter percent, down from a half percent in the previous proposal. It's a bit late in the signature-gathering season to put forth a new proposal, but sources at the Teachers Federation expressed optimism about the effort.

The song you’re hearing is by Even Taylor of Oakland. Her blend of melodic folk music and the occasional pop-rock cover will make you think, laugh, and maybe play the kazoo – if there are enough to go around.

She's playing a cozy concert this Friday, March 16 at Matching Half Café in San Francisco, starting about 8pm. 

Susan Cieutat is a nurse, an attorney, and she runs the San Francisco Donor Network, which connects hopeful mothers with prospective egg donors. Below is her response to a story on egg donation that aired on Crosscurrents on January 25, 2012. Cieutat says that story portrayed a "very false image of egg donation."

The $18 billion foreclosure settlement announced last month for struggling California homeowners could take years to materialize. The nation's five largest mortgage servicers have three years to deliver mortgage relief to troubled borrowers, with no penalties for noncompliance until 2015...