For those of you who like the flavor of the San Francisco, the band is coming to town. Though, the trip was nearly cancelled due to salary issues. This was due to the fact that that orchestra members were earning a mere $112,320 a year. For this they went on strike. I suppose that being an orchestra member must be something like being a member of the cast of Friends. Under the proposed plan their salary would rise to about $130,000 a year.

So don’t miss them when they come to town, and you can even learn a thing or two by listening in on their classes at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. These classes are to commemorate the sisterhood of Shanghai and San Francisco. Really, they have been sister cities for 25 years now. How’d I miss that one? Being sister cities probably involves some sort of bonding thing such as teasing each other and blaming each other when something goes wrong.

Senator Feinstein (1979 mayor of San Francisco) had this to say:

“I established the Sister City relationship between San Francisco and Shanghai twenty-five years ago to promote goodwill and friendship between our two cities through a constructive series of economic, social, and educational exchanges. Twenty-five years later the relationship is intact and growing. For those of us who believe in ‘people’ diplomacy this relationship is a successful and glowing model.”

Goodwill- check. Friendship- check. Constructive relationship- Well, if you don’t count the countless San Francisco businesses going belly up, especially the garment industry, because of inexpensive and plentiful Chinese imports, sure everything is rosy. India is the reason for all the tech jobs going overseas, so that doesn’t count either. Anyhow, enjoy your “relationship”.