Lois Kazakoff is the deputy editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Before moderating a panel on the future of the California Delta, she talked about the subject she’d most like to ban from the opinion pages, why she loves E.J. Dionne’s columns, and what’s so special about San Francisco.
What’s the last board game you played?
Monopoly.
What cheese best describes you?
Camembert. It’s kind of moldy on the outside but soft on the inside.
What do you wake up to?
NPR.
What profession would you practice in your next life?
I would be a project manager, specifically on landscape design.
What’s the last really great dessert you ate?
My sister-in-law’s—a tart with fresh plums that she’s picked and baked in, like, a little pocket. That’s what she calls it: a plum pocket.
What inspires you?
People who figure out how to work together to solve their own problems.
What subject would you choose to ban from the opinion pages?
Marketing.
What’s your favorite thing about San Francisco?
Everything. It’s different every day, but it’s the same. You just have this sense that there’s something going on, and you can feel that in the air, and you can see it when you walk around, and you can hear it when you talk to people.
What item would you bid for on eBay?
An antique Hawaiian print. My dad was from Hawaii.
Who’s your favorite columnist of all time?
[Laughs.] Of all time! Boy … I love E.J. Dionne. I think he just has heart and senses when things are shifting and has his finger on the pulse.