On Wednesday I attended a noontime fund raiser for John Edwards, and was pleasantly surprised to see Joan Walsh in the audience. Ms. Walsh is Editor in Chief of Salon.com, the influential news site based here in the South of Market area. If you’re a news junkie, you’ve likely seen her on CNN or MSNBC, where she makes regular appearances discussing le scandale politique du jour, but one rarely sees her at San Francisco social events. And why? Because the woman works! This is what I mean — …

Photo by Luke Thomas, FogCityJournal.com.
It was definitely an OMG, WTF! moment when I saw this photo by Luke Thomas.  It was taken at Alex Tourk’s party at Tommaso’s on Monday.  SFluxe friend Elaine Santore wrote about the event in her CrackBerry Chronicles, and as I scrolled through the photos of a bunch of political folks I’ve never heard of (it’s just not my crowd, although I did recognize future Senator Joe Alioto Veronese and lovely wife Julie Veronese), I did a double take on this one.   I mean, I …

Last week I attended the re-opening of Enrico’s on Broadway.  The much beloved North Beach landmark has been all spiffed up by the glamorous new owner, Christina Deeb, who is photographed here with original owner, Enrico Banducci.

Also at Enrico’s — Joe Alioto Veronese and Assemblyman Mark Leno. One of these two men will be elected to the State Senate in 2008. (Sorry Miss Migden, but I’m afraid your time is over.)

Location: Enrico’s, 504 Broadway
Photos: Drew Altizer for SF Chronicle [sfgate.com]
Photos: Social Studies [7x7sf.com]

Bill Wilson photographed Gavin as he tested the reclining action on the new Virgin jet a few days ago. Flights begin taking off August 8 — and they’re cheap. Only $139 to fly coach, one-way, from SFO to New York (hunky Mayor, not included.)

Photos: Bill Wilson [billwilsonphotos.com]

All eyes were on Rosario Dawson at the Clift Hotel last week, and for obvious reasons. She’s beautiful, friendly, smart and charismatic. As Chairwoman of Voto Latino, she was in town to launch the organization’s 2007 Inspiration Program, “VL Voices.” It’s a local awareness campaign devised to get more eligible Latino voters to register and vote in California.

The Spanish Suite was packed for the event. Gavin Newsom, shown here with Rosario and Maria Teresa Petersen, dropped by to give a few inspirational words (and, apparently, to relieve tension from …

Time is running out to buy tickets for this week’s more exciting events.
On Wednesday the 11th at the Clift, Rosario Dawson and Gavin Newsom are unveiling Voto Latino’s 2007 Voter Inspiration Program, called “VL Voices.”  Rosario co-founded the organization to reach the more than 2.45 million eligible  Latino voters in the state.  Honorable Speaker Nancy Pelosi is on the host committee, but SFluxe doesn’t know if she will be at the event — just a wild guess, but she might be busy.  General tickets are $150, and the VIP reception …

SFluxe rarely gets into politics, but one must for just a moment. According to Elaine Santore, in this (not really) blind item at Fog City Journal, Gavin Newsom refused to be photographed with Elizabeth Edwards when she spoke in San Francisco at the Alice B. Toklas Pride Breakfast on Sunday, an event where she made national headlines.
Photographer Luke Thomas managed to get this shot of them together with Newsom’s back to the lens, but Newsom would not stop and pose with her even while being trailed by Mr. Thomas and …

“I’ve actually given him a new name — Martin Luther Penn.”
– Robin Wright Penn, in Interview Magazine, speaking of bay area political activist/actor Sean Penn.

Gossip pixie Elaine Santore has a new column at FogCityJournal, and I’m glad to see it’s full of her usual spit and vinegar. She calls ABC newscaster Cheryl Jennings “a young 72,” refers to Bevan Dufty as “Buffy,” and has a run-in with Gavin Newsom’s girlfriend Jennifer Siebel, who politely puts her down: “I don’t read any of that anymore,” said Siebel, of Elaine’s remarks on SFist. “I feel much better now …

The newly designed (and much improved!) “San Francisco Chronicle Magazine” ran a fabulously amusing cover story this weekend about the goings-on at 2500 Steiner, the great co-op atop Pacific Heights on the corner of Steiner and Jackson.

Markos and Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis.
I find it surprising that the high-profile residents agreed to not only discuss the details of their fund raising activities their, but to let the Chronicle come in and take photos. Don’t co-op folks seem — I don’t know — more private than that? I guess when you live …