By Ian Sherr

When Whole Foods Market Inc. opened a store in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury early this year, many locals and community leaders hoped it would help improve a grungy corner of their famous neighborhood. Nearly a year later, they’re still waiting.

Since the upscale market opened in February across from a section of Golden Gate Park known as Alvord Lake, known for attracting drug dealers and homeless people, crime within a 500-foot radius of the store has shot up, according to the San Francisco Police Department. At the same time, Whole Foods hasn’t lifted the overall neighborhood’s business prospects, sales-tax receipts data from the San Francisco Comptroller’s Office show.

While the Whole Foods store has brought new customers to the neighborhood, changing the feel of the area, “the riffraff hasn’t gone away,” says Joe Goldmark, who co-owns an Amoeba Music store across the street from the store.

For its part, Whole Foods has tried to meet these challenges. It hired security guards and one plainclothes officer who are at the store throughout the day. The store’s management also regularly confer with police about crime in the area.

The company has also tried to help improve the local economy in Haight-Ashbury by partnering with local food producers in its efforts to offer healthy food to customers. “We’re always concerned about the neighborhoods we’re in,” said Libba Letton, a Whole Foods spokeswoman, who added that the store’s managers are always looking for more ways to help the community.

Whole Foods’ experience in Haight-Ashbury so far shows how nearly a half-century after the 1960s “Summer of Love,” when thousands of people swarmed the neighborhood as part of the counterculture movement, the area is still grappling with the uneven gentrification unfolding there.

Today, vacationers flock to the area to snap pictures of the famous intersection at Haight and Ashbury streets. The neighborhood has become a destination for tech workers, as well as aging hippies and runaway youths. Amid that mix, property values have risen over the years, but some areas, like the end of Haight Street that Whole Foods inhabits, have improved at a snail’s pace.

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

(Originally published Dec. 8, 2011, in the Wall Street Journal.)

By Ian Sherr

Apple plans to close some of its retail stores for at least an hour Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter, a gesture that coincides with the company’s planned celebration of co-founder Steve Jobs’s life at its headquarters.

Retail employees were informed that a private company event was scheduled and that the retail stores will temporarily close during that time, according to two people who work for Apple but aren’t authorized to speak on its behalf. One of the employees said the event would last for up to three hours.

Apple hasn’t told retail employees why it plans to temporarily close the stores during normal working hours, though these people note that such closings rarely happen for events other than special product launches. Some retail employees were told about the meeting over the phone rather than by a widely distributed internal message, one person said.

Apple is planning a celebration of co-founder Steve Jobs’s life at its Cupertino, Calif. headquarters Wednesday. Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an email to staff that the event, which comes two weeks after Jobs died following a long struggle with pancreatic cancer, was meant “to take time to remember the incredible things Steve achieved in his life and the many ways he made our world a better place.”

A small, private funeral was held on Oct. 7, followed by a much larger event for coworkers, friends and other industry executives last Sunday.

Apple reiterated that the celebration on Wednesday is for employees only.

(Originally published Oct. 18, 2011 in the Wall Street Journal and on wsj.com.)

By Ian Sherr

People don’t have tablet fever; it seems they simply have a mania for iPads.

The latest evidence: Hewlett-Packard Co. is dropping the price of its TouchPad tablet by 20% little more than a month after it hit stores, as the computer giant tries to goose sales of its answer to Apple Inc.’s iPad.

H-P, Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. have all jumped into the tablet market this year, trying to close the gap with Apple.

The electronics giant created a multi-billion-dollar business last year when it launched the iPad—and has since seen its profits and market value swell as others have tried to keep pace.

Rivals have been routed so far. Motorola cut the price of its Xoom tablet after its February launch, released a cheaper model and warned shipments will decline this quarter. RIM’s PlayBook was delayed until April and still isn’t being offered for sale by the two biggest U.S. wireless carriers.

Samsung Electronics Co., which was the quickest to market an iPad rival and has shipped millions of tablets based on Google Inc.’s Android software, is now embroiled in a patent dispute with Apple that threatens sales of its Galaxy Tab in most of Europe.

Apple, meanwhile, says it is having difficulty keeping up with demand and selling every iPad it can manufacture. Five months after its release, its iPad 2 can be hard to find in retail stores. The company said it shipped 9.3 million iPads in the June-ended quarter.

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

(Originally published Aug. 12, 2011 in the Wall Street Journal.)

By Ian Sherr

Chinese regulators are clamping down on Internet-phone services that aren’t provided by the country’s state-owned telecommunications companies, according to Chinese media, a move that could make services like Skype SA unavailable in the world’s most populous country.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said voice-over-Internet protocol, also known as VoIP, services are illegal on the Chinese mainland unless they are provided by China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Ltd., according to a report in Shanghai Daily on Thursday. The newspaper said the ministry hadn’t determined a timetable for implementing the ruling, which was released earlier this month.

Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., said he was unaware of the development, but added that it sounded consistent with the government’s prior actions. “The Chinese government regulates the Internet according to its laws and by following international standards,” he said.

The decision could become a roadblock for Luxembourg-based Skype, which last week suffered a global service disruption that lasted for roughly a day. The company is seeking new users, especially business customers that pay to use premium services, as it gears up for an initial public offering.

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

(Originally published December 30, 2010, in the Wall Street Journal.)

By Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO—California’s top court ruled Monday the state has the authority to furlough state workers, potentially clearing one more hurdle to the eventual passage of California’s budget.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of California ruled the state’s 2010 budget, passed in 2009, gave Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger authority to furlough state workers being paid under that budget. The ruling doesn’t directly address furloughs recently enacted by the governor. California is currently operating without a budget.

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

(Originally published Oct. 4, 2010, on Dow Jones Newswires and WSJ.com.)

By Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — The estimated $78,000 price tag for a full-fledged court battle has some soon-to-be ex’s looking for alternatives.

Note, while I was not allowed to voice the piece, I reported, produced and wrote the script.

(By Ian Sherr. Originally aired on KCBS News Radio in San Francisco, and republished on the web, here)

By Ian Sherr

Many factors went into making Barack Obama the man he is today. But had he come of age at any other time, the color of his skin would have dashed any of his hopes.

Ian Sherr traveled to Selma, Alabama, to revisit its civil rights legacy and to find out exactly what Barack Obama’s presidency means to the people who struggled all those years ago.

Download the file, here.

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By Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO (KFOG) — A story from the Tenderloin of the struggle to keep your teeth healthy when you live on the street.

Download the file, here.

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By Ian Sherr

More of china’s people wander their country and the world seeking work, love and community. Yet Beijing’s new magnetism pulls at them. Watch stories of hustle, stress, and solace on the streets of Beijing and beyond.

“Nesting”

(Beijing Beat was produced for the Washington Post’s “Emerging Voices” project, and published on the front page of the Washington Post website for nearly a week during the Beijing Olympic Games. The entire project is available at the Post’s website, here.)

By Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Francesca Salcido went on 300 dates in 24 hours without breaking a sweat.

Her encounters with aspiring beaus happened online at SpeedDate.com, a US start-up built on a belief that it doesn’t take more than 90 seconds to find a life partner.

“We may be using webcams and Internet technologies, but you’re still trying to find that chemistry,” SpeedDate co-founder Dan Abelon told AFP. “And if it isn’t there, you just move on to the next person.”

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