Merl, I love your crosswords, and I know you like to be clever, and you are, but:
Clue - “given the go-ahead.” Yeah, my first thought was “okayed”, but it didn’t fit, and then you have the audacity for the answer to be “okd”? Ridiculous. Oh, you can bet that I googled it. And what do you know, no matches.
Clue - “on the ___”. C’mon are you kidding me?
Clue - “Southern ___”. See above.
Clue - “San Francisco daily, for short”. Answer: “Chron”. Yes, I am fully aware that San Francisco has a newspaper called the Chroncile, but I defy you to offer up, oh, one person that refers to it by that name.
Here is a clue: you “four letter word meaning to draw (as liquid) into the mouth through a suction force produced by movements of the lips and tongue” SUCK.
Now here’s a clue, do ya think you can figure it out, Merl?
Oh, wiaptrpkomypbIltyb
Translation: “While I am posting this rant, please keep on making your puzzles, because I love them, ya bastard!”
Again, I don’t really think that Merl should die, but c’mon, Merl, in your attempt to be clever, I think that you and I both know that Barackulars was a stretch. You can do better.
I agree with some of your criticisms, but as a Bay Area local I should tell you that the Chronicle is often called the “Chron” around here. Especially by the Chronicle’s own columnists.