Paper Trail

Keepin' It Real

I used to live in Vallejo, California. The town has much to recommend it, from fascinating history -- it was the first state capital -- to sublime weather -- 75 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny is the norm. But it also has an astonishing capacity to turn up in the news for distressing reasons. Some of you have seen the recent feature film Zodiac, which saw the town mentioned more in two hours than it previously had been in the history of cinema. It's a dubious fame, though. Being known as the probable home of a serial killer who was never caught is not exactly the pathway to civic improvement. And the current headlines aren't helping either. Today's San Francisco Chronicle has lead stories on both the madam threatening to reveal her high-profile clients in the nation's capital and a rapper who was gunned down, possibly in retaliation for previous killings. The latter story is particularly labyrinthine. Kim always says she doesn't miss the place. From my perspective, though, it's almost that you can't miss it.