San Francisco: Opening the Gate

For all the fabled glamour of its topless towers and clanking cable cars, San Francisco is a city of anguished minorities. They range from the black ghetto of Hunters Point, scarred by riot in 1966, to the hippie enclave of Haight-Ashbury, from the convoluted alleys of Chinatown to the psychedelic strip-and-clip joints of North Beach, encompassing en route labor unions, symphony lovers and Mayor Joseph L. (for Lawrence) Alioto, 52, the millionaire son of an immigrant Sicilian fisherman.* Last week, a scant 2½ months after assuming office, Joe Alioto was well on the way to opening the Golden Gate...