President Obama Visits Bay Area

President Obama was scheduled to arrive in the Bay Area Thursday to attend a series of fundraising events in San Francisco for his 2012 re-election campaign.

Arriving from Los Angeles, Air Force One is scheduled to touch down at San Francisco International Airport early Thursday afternoon.

The president's first stop is at a private reception at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel on Nob Hill at 2 p.m.

Obama then heads to a private fundraising dinner at a Pacific Heights home, and then to give a speech at an 8 p.m. fundraiser at the Nob Hill Masonic Center featuring a performance by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

Among those in attendance at Thursday's event will be 15 excited teenagers from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, spokeswoman Brittany Johnson said.

The 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds were selected to see the president based on their achievements in school and leadership roles they have taken on in the community, Johnson said.

"They're absolutely thrilled," Johnson said.

Several activist groups plan to protest Obama's visit.

"Frostpaw," a polar bear mascot for the environmental protection group Center for Biological Diversity, will appear outside the Masonic Center to call on the Obama administration to halt oil drilling in the Arctic.

Medical marijuana activists also plan to gather outside the Masonic Center as part of a nationwide day of protest against the administration's crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, organizers said.

Activists from CodePink, World Can't Wait SF, and the Occupy movement have also indicated they will protest outside that event.

Obama was scheduled to spend the night in San Francisco before departing for Washington state Friday morning.

-- Bay City News

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