The "Martinez"

As editor of the city magazine 7x7 that launched in 2001, I commissioned lots of stories on local history.

One of those was the origin of the martini, perhaps America's favorite cocktail. As near we were able to determine, a gold miner who had struck it rich headed to San Francisco when he stopped at a bar in Martinez, where the bartender served the drink.

The miner loved it, called it the Martinez, and headed for the Barbary Coast, then the most raucous part of a raucous town. He described the drink to a bartender there, where the modern name apparently emerged.

In the startup business we would call that a founding myth, and this one is generally accepted as true.

After all, history belongs to whoever is paying for the next round.

We published all sorts of fascinating tidbits during my brief tenure at 7x7, which was named for the 49 square-mile footprint of San Francisco. The 49ers refer to the gold miners, the football team and a 49-mile scenic drive for tourists.

As it turned out, free martinis were one of the main benefits of editing 7x7, though not for a celebratory reason. We launched the magazine one week before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As the tourist trade here collapsed, we struggled to publish, deferring our salaries and accepting "trade' instead of cash from advertisers.

That trade basically meant all the free food and drink we could have wanted in San Francisco's best restaurants and bars -- night after night. As we navigated our way through this debauchery, it often felt as if the Barbary Coast was alive and well once again, at least for our merry band of staffers.

Despite the odd circumstances, I worked with a great group of editors, writers and designers, and it was a good chance to learn the city's rich history first-hand. Among the people I met was a young city council member named Gavin Newsom.

A week or so after our meeting, I received a hand-written thank you note from Newsom. Alas, soon after that, I had to leave 7x7 in order to earn an actual paycheck again.

HEADLINES: 

• US top court allows Trump to use wartime law for deportations (BBC)

• The Supreme Court’s New 5–4 Bailout for Trump Couldn’t Be More Ominous (Slate)

• Donald Trump has embraced sweeping arbitrary executive power in a manner not previously seen in American history. He is circumventing Congress, ignoring the courts and using the power of the state to crush any opposition to his agenda. This is a turn away from liberal democracy and toward autocracy. [HuffPost] 

• Trump warned foreign governments they would have to pay "a lot of money" to lift sweeping tariffs, characterizing the duties as "medicine" and triggering further carnage across global financial markets. China called the tariffs 'bullying' and urged others to continue with consultation. (Reuters)

• Hands Off! demonstrations were organized for more than 1,200 locations in all 50 states by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LGBTQ+ advocates, veterans and election activists. The rallies appeared peaceful, with no immediate reports of arrests. [AP]

• Trump threatens additional 50 percent tariffs on China as markets slump (WP)

• The Trump White House Cited My Research to Justify Tariffs. They Got It All Wrong. (NYT)

• Asian markets fall sharply as Trump’s tariffs spark recession fears (WP)

• Ex-official says he was forced out of FDA after trying to protect vaccine safety data from RFK Jr. (AP)

• I Should Have Seen This Coming (Atlantic/David Brooks)

• 'A critical crossroads': Business leaders speak out against Trump's trade war with the world (NBC)

• Trump administration asks Supreme Court to block order to return deported Maryland father (USA Today)

• U.S. appeals court won't block order requiring return of man wrongly deported to El Salvador (Reuters)

• Are There Trump Internment Camps for Political Opponents in America’s Future? (Daily Kos)

• Social Security website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff (WP)

• Netanyahu is set to meet Trump to discuss Israeli hostages in Gaza and U.S. tariffs (NPR)

• Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Trump says U.S. is engaged in ‘direct talks’ with Iran (WP)

• Israel military razed Gaza perimeter land to create ‘kill zone’, soldiers say (Guardian)

• NIH scientists have a cancer breakthrough. Layoffs are delaying it. (WP)

• Trump Is Loomering His Own Administration (The Nation)

• AI is coming to skin cancer detection (WP)

• Aaron Rodgers Fuming That NFL Hasn’t Added Expansion Team To Sign Him (The Onion)

MUSIC VIDEO:

Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson "Okie from Muskogee"