On the Barbie

News out of SF is usually dominated by the City's silly progressives that it's easy to forget that there is just as much silliness in SF's ethnic neighborhoods. In Chinatown, some are upset that a one-time gangster - the immortal "Shrimp Boy" - is muscling in on the Chinatown farmer's market: Change In Chinatown Market Under City Scrutiny

A notorious former gangster has taken over a Chinatown street market that is financed by San Francisco taxpayers, a development that has set off alarm bells at City Hall.

Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow - who was once sentenced to 25 years in prison on gun charges but says he's gone legit - was named manager of the Chinatown Night Market on Friday by the Chinatown Neighborhood Association, a group with close City Hall ties.

The potential embarrassment of Chow's involvement, we're told, prompted a contentious closed-door debate about the city's $35,000 grant to the program - with Board of Supervisors President David Chiu cautioning against the deal, Mayor Gavin Newsom's staff largely noncommittal, and Planning Commissioner Bill Lee arguing to move ahead.

In all the drama over Democrats v GOP, liberal v conservative, etc v et al., it's refreshing to see someone getting involved in politics for some good old fashioned corruption and graft. Shrimp Boy, you will be surprised to know, used intimidation tactics against his rivals. He is also a suspect in the unsolved murder of a Chinatown merchant three years ago. Shrimp Boy denies all.

"Under this kind of monitoring," he said, referring to a tracking ankle bracelet that authorities still require him to wear, "do you think anyone with common sense would do anything stupid?"

Case Closed!

In the Small World file (and just to show that Shrimp Boy knows where the action is in politics): he and Norman Hsu had some dealings years ago: Hsu And The Shrimp Boy. You should read the whole thing.