North Beach Citizens toast Tosca owner Etheredge

Last year, director Francis Ford Coppola was surprised with a tribute at the 10th anniversary dinner in support of North Beach Citizens, the neighborhood homeless outreach program he founded.

This year in the basement of SS Peter and Paul’s Church, a similar surprise was heaped upon longtime organization supporter and Tosca Cafe owner Jeannette Etheredge who, for once, was at a loss for words when a big-wigged Tammy Nelson and her “Beach Blanket Babylon” crew took the stage to toast, and roast, Etheredge, on Sunday.

Academy of Sciences gala raises record $2 million

Big brains and bucks collided in glorious combustion last week at “Illuminate,” the California Academy of Sciences’ Big Bang Gala, which raised the museum a record $2 mil and change for its youth science education programs.

Led by intrepid explorers and academy board members Randi Fisher, Carrie Penner and Wendy Schmidt, this excellent evening glowed with knowledge and philanthropy.

“The academy introduces science to kids who don’t even know they like science,” said Schmidt. “Tonight my co-chairs and I are providing a dollar-for-dollar match challenge to supporters who fund our new digital learning program.”

Read more at:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/25/DDCV1O81OK.DTL