Neighbors gather to celebrate a victory in the stretch of land between West Portal and Forest Hill
Neighbors Celebrate Rehab at Triangle Park
After years of neglect from City Hall, someone listened?
An abandoned neighborhood park at Vasquez, Balceta and Laguna Honda Blvd. has been renovated thanks to the work of neighbors Carol Dimmick and Roberta Bechtel, Jenny and Graham Stanley,
MaryLou Corrigan, Eileen Kahaner, Katy Henrickson and Paul Dent
An eyesore for many years, Triangle Park was a plot of brown weeds. What used to be a stone water fountain lay deteriated and moldering, crowned by what was once a flag pole erected sometime during World War II, but now most of the rusty pole lay on the ground.
It's been over a year since Joel Engardio first wrote about the neighborhood spot. Neighbors had been doing weeding and other voluntaeer efforts to improve the park.
Now the park renovations are complete, and neighbors are enjoying their neighborhood park. The celebration of the new park took place on October 3rd at noon.”
Then former Supervisor Norman Yee encouraged neighbors of the park to apply for the "Participatory Budget," a program Yee sheparded into being. Neighbors won funding in 2018 through that program, but when funds fell short and delays and problems with the Department of Public Works endangered the project, Supervisor Yee came to the rescue to funded additional costs during his last year in office.
Now the park renovations are complete, and neighbors are enjoying their neighborhood park. The celebration of the new park took place on October 3rd at noon.
Roberta Bechtel stands at Triangle Park before and after the renovations
"The party was a great success — attended by about 100 people," Roberta Bechtel, Triangle Park Steward said. "There were donations from many merchants on West Portal: Bursa, Calibur, Peets, Submarine Center, BullsHead, Trattoria da Vittorio, Spiazzo and Noe Valley Bakery. The neighbors expressed their thanks for the renovation and we were so glad to have Supervisor Myrna Melgar, former Supervisor Norman Yee and head of DPW Carla Short in attendance. The Board of Supervisors recognized the park committee with certificates. We had a bluegrass band and the Committee paid to have free ice cream for the crowd when the Mr. Softee truck came. We hope to make it an annual event."
October 2021
More Trending Articles
Is the City Really Committed to Trees?
by David Romano
Plans for Market Street, Van Ness Avenue & Main Library / Where are the trees?
UPDATED: Retirement System Funds Newspaper Looters
by Dr. Derek Kerr
Alden is widely reviled as a “vulture hedge fund” that gobbles up distressed newspapers, saddles them with the debt, draws out management fees, sells off their assets, decimates their newsrooms, cuts salaries and ramps up workloads
Proposed Medical Cannabis Dispensary in the Sunset District
2505 Noriega Street Update
On July 13, 2017 the Planning Commission approved a Conditional Use authorization to allow a Medical Cannabis Dispensary (MCD), the Apothecarium, to open at 2505 Noriega Street at 32nd Avenue. Two appeals have been filed in objection to the approved project. The Board of Supervisors held a hearing regarding the two appeals on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (As we go to press). In the meantime, send your comments to Katy.Tang@sfgov.org, who has promised to take all comments into consideration.
October 2017
Art Proposals for the Westside Pump Station Public Art Project
April 28, 2017 to May 12, 2017
Aileen Barr
Jovi Schnell
Jet Martinez
Proposal Viewing Location
Ortega Branch Library
3223 Ortega Street
The San Francisco Arts Commission is working with the Public Utilities Commission to commission a signature public artwork for the Westside Pump Station, located at the corner of Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway. The newly commissioned artwork is intended to beautify and complement the architecture of the building, and will be part of the improvement project at the Westside Pump Station. Three artists were chosen as finalists by a Public Art Selection Panel to create site-specific proposals for this opportunity: Aileen Barr, Jet Martinez, and Jovi Schnell.
May 2017
Public Works crews work to stabilize the hillside along O'Shaughnessy Boulevard between Malta Drive and Del Vale Avenue.
Recent storms forced the closure of O'Shaughnessy to traffic, including the 44-O'Shaughnessy Muni bus line, that was temporarily detoured while Public Works crews stabilize a cliff that has been eroding in recent rain storm. There have been no reports of injury or property damage.
Fallen rock on O'Shaughnessy Boulevard
The rocky slope in danger of sliding is situated on the west side of O'Shaughnessy across from Glen Canyon Park. Geologists assessed the hillside for potential rockslides, and recommended that loose rocks near the top be knocked away Work crews began knocking loose rock off of the hillside beginning on January 19.
Geologists will conduct a thorough study of the area after the O'Shaughnessy area is stabilized, though more rains and winds could cause closures in the area again, until the department to develops a long term solution.
Feb 2017
After Sea Levels Rise
Projected view of SF Ballpark after sea level rise
Sea-level rise is coming. Even if we keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above historic norms—the benchmark for avoiding catastrophic climate warming—we may still see oceans creep four feet farther inland by 2100 and rise 20 feet by as soon as 2200. That's according to a new study published in the July issue of Science.
Feb 2017
Dog Management Rule on Hold at Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The National Park Service is putting on hold the signing of the Record of Decision and the publication of the Final Rule for Dog Management at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
The decision comes in response to requests from members of Congress to extend the waiting period for the Final Environmental Impact Statement. This pause will also allow the National Park Service to conduct a review of certain records being released in response to an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request related to the park's Dog Management plan and rule.
To date, the National Park Service has released more than 260,000 pages of documents dating as far back as 1999 in response to the FOIA request. As part of its ongoing release of records under FOIA, in late-December 2016, the Park Service learned that a former park employee had used personal email for official communications related to the Dog Management Plan planning process. Upon learning this, the Park Service contacted the former employee and obtained his cooperation to conduct a search of his personal email accounts for agency records related to the Dog Management Plan planning process. As a result of that search, the Park Service recovered approximately 137 pages of emails that were responsive to the FOIA request. Those FOIA records will be released and posted today at https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/management/dog-management-records.htm, "Records Released January, 2017".
The Park Service will conduct an independent inquiry into whether personal email was used in a manner that is not consistent with applicable laws and policies, and if so, whether its use affected the planning and rulemaking processes. The Park Service will report the results of the internal review to the public. To help ensure an independent and impartial review, the inquiry will be conducted by National Park Service personnel who were not involved in the dog management planning process.
Further action under the National Environmental Policy Act and the rulemaking process for the Dog Management Plan will await the findings and conclusions of the independent review.
February 2017
SFPD Rolls Out October Speed Limit Enforcement Plan
Officer writes a ticket
Citywide Effort Part of New Campaign to Reduce Unsafe Speeds on High-Crash Streets
The San Francisco Safe Speeds Campaign will begin this October and will continue through the fall of 2017.
SFPD will be enforcing the speed limits on targeted areas that have high speeding and collision rates that were identified by the SFMTA, Department of Public Health, and SFPD.
The goal of the Safe Speeds Campaign is to protect pedestrians who walk or bike, as they account for over half of the traffic deaths in San Francisco. A citywide map of the areas being enforced will be shared with the public in hope of spreading awareness to change dangerous driving habits.
When the Safe Speeds SF campaign ends in fall 2017, city agencies will have new data and analysis about the role of enforcement in citywide speed deterrence. The map below portrays the corridors for High Visibility Enforcement for Safe Speed Campaign. Visit the Safe Speeds SF Campaign website for more information:
James Corrigan, Forest Hill Extension, snapped this picture of a Coyote at Vasquez and Laguna Honda Blvd. on July 4, 2015.
July-August 2015
Settlement Reached — Forest Knolls Gets New Neighbors
Illustration of proposed Forest Knolls Project
After a lengthy dispute with Mount Sutro Wood Owners Association which lead to a battle in Superior Court that kept the project from proceeding as approved, “Outlook Project” settlement has been reached. Approved for development in early 2013 with a total 34-units (24 duplexes and 10 townhomes), at the end of Crestmont Drive on the western slope of Mount Sutro.
The settlement,reduces the units from 34 to 29, with five (5) duplexes will be reduced in height by a story as single-family homes.
May 2015
Renewed Controls On Massage Parlors?
All massage establishments will have to have a Department of Public Health establishment permit and all new massage establishments will have to receive Conditional Use approval with certain exceptions if Supervisor Tang’s legislation returning land use and regulatory controls over massage establishments to the city’s jurisdiction. This will allow neighborhood notification and input of their opening.
If you would like to send letters or emails of support for the legislation, please send them to the members of the Land Use & Transportation Committee noting your support of Files 141302 and 141303.
SEIU USWW janitors and handymen went on the picket line on Tuesday April 14, at Parkmerced management brought in a new contractor who refused to allow them to continue their jobs. Thirty two workers were terminated — many have worked for over 20 years at the large housing project. Replacement workers are being brought into the complex to take their jobs. Many residents of Parkmerced have voiced their support for the workers.
May 2015
Likely Ballot Challenge to Short-Term Rentals (Airbnb) Filed
April 29th, Share Better San Francisco filed an initiative ordinance for the November 2015 ballot to tighten regulations on short-term residential rentals to tourists, such as those offered by HomeAway, VRBO and Airbnb, and provide the tools City Planning staff say are needed to provide effective enforcement of the law.
· Imposes fines on hosting platforms that list illegal or unregistered short-term rental (STR) units
· Requires quarterly reports of rental nights from hosts and hosting platforms
· Caps the number of allowable rental nights at 75 per year, hosted or unhosted, to discourage conversion of units to full-time STR use
· Allows ‘regular folks’ who may be directly impacted by illegal short-term rentals access to an effective enforcement alternative only if the City elects not to act on valid complaints
· Provides notification to neighbors and HOAs when STR registration is issued
The City Attorney has two weeks to prepare an official summary of the initiative. “We expect to begin gathering signatures in mid-May and will submit more than the 9,700 valid signatures required by July 6th,” said Dale Carlson, from the public relations firm, Carlson Advisors.
UPDATED: Retirement System Funds Newspaper Looters
by Dr. Derek Kerr
Alden is widely reviled as a “vulture hedge fund” that gobbles up distressed newspapers, saddles them with the debt, draws out management fees, sells off their assets, decimates their newsrooms, cuts salaries and ramps up workloads
SF Park & Rec Needs to Decrease Toxic Herbicide Use
by Anastasia Glikshtern
Asked to commit to reducing herbicide use, the Integrated Pest Management’s answer was: “it is impossible ... and the quantity needed is impossible to predict.”
...not like the usual old pipelines that leak... It is the seismically reinforced, 36 inch wide, 4.4 miles long, replacement pipeline paid for by the $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) bond...
CEQA mandates ... that “the key question and first step” ... is whether any of a projects’ significant effects “would be avoided or substantially lessened by putting the project in another location.
A hotspot for complaints about workplace bullying, sexual harassment and racial discrimination
by Dr. Derek Kerr
... while Black employees comprised 15% of the workforce, they accounted for “36% of dismissals, 24% of probationary releases and 38% of medical releases..
With hospital blood use up, some elective surgeries are being delayed until the blood supply stabilizes, delaying crucial patient care. Your help is needed! rcblood.org/donate
The Fix Is In: Herrera’s SFPUC
A Public Farce—the Blow by Blow
by Dr. Derek Kerr
Few doubted that political intrigue propelled their deal. Less well known is how the SFPUC’s own search for a new General Manager (GM) was upended.
From 1934 through 1994 lead pellets as shot resulted in about 27 tons of lead in the lake per year. Lead pellets and targets containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ...
Social distance necessity has subsided, but a closed-door effort never to reopen the Great Highway fostered by the Bicycle Coalition and the allied groups inveigh willing collaborators.
Water users aren't out of the woods ... recycling, purification, groundwater, maybe desalinization, and conservation schemes are coming—guess who pays?
Hospital blood use is up. Some elective surgeries are being delayed until the supply stabilizes, delaying crucial patient care. Your help is needed! rcblood.org/donate
Wanna Cabin in Yosemite? Fuggedaboutit.
Perks, Privileges and Mistrust in the “City Family”
by Dr. Derek Kerr
Former City Attorney Dennis Herrera runs an SFPUC immersed in mistrust. Can he impose fiscal and ethical discipline?
What my Mom's travails taught me about SF's broken system
Dr. Teresa Palmer
After she sold her home, the cost of sending in caregivers depleted her savings and then cut into mine. Could our family meet her social needs in my own home.
All children should learn how our country was born and that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution expressed ideals of equality at a time when racism and sexism flourished
With the COVID shutdown, tourism declined and local folks stayed home. … auto break-ins were no longer profitable. So criminals adapted by turning to burglaries.
Not only does the state want more water to go down the river, but also climate change is changing patterns of precipitation and runoff. SFPUC is being hit with a one-two punch.
In Boudin-speak, “my office filed the case” has the equivalent meaning of “my office read the SFPD police report” or “at least I didn’t let the arrestee immediately back to the streets.”
If DPH really believes in providing accurate and reliable facts to the public, why does it lie about whether it is able to track how many of its patients have been discharged out-of-county?
At press time, recall group San Franciscans for Public Safety had collected about 20,000 voter signatures and secured campaign donations totaling approximately $400,000. The necessary 51,000 recall voter signatures must be filed by October 25, 2021 ...
At the corner of West Portal Avenue and Vicente Street, an impromptu shrine collects memories and flowers and notes, love notes, to a man who no longer is with us.
Board of Supervisors: To Defund, or Not Defund, SFPD?
Patrick Monette-Shaw
BOS has complete discretion to reallocate funding formerly set aside for the minimum sworn police officer staffing, and additional discretion to use any portion of that funding for any public purpose
Dennis Herrera, Esquire has been nominated … as general manager of the Public Utilities Commission, without experience in managing a municipal water system or other public utilities.
"Earthquakes, climate change, and drought cause fires. Water suppresses fires. San Francisco is surrounded on three sides by water - yet today, over half the City is still not protected against catastrophic fires …
More surfaces are available for solar energy right under our feet. The answer is solar roadways, parking lots, sidewalks, driveways, athletic courts and bike paths”
On weekdays there simply isn’t a crush of bikers, walkers, skateboarders, roller bladders, and more demanding a little piece of blacktop as they move about.
The Commission was blindsided. From its perspective it is diligently engaged in a search, in good faith and fair, for the best possible leader of an important city enterprise that has suffered from allegations of corruption.
In Boudin-speak, “my office filed the case” has the equivalent meaning of “my office read the SFPD police report” or “at least I didn’t let the arrestee immediately back to the streets.”
Black Employees Slam White Privileged Telecommuting
by Dr. Derek Kerr
… even though employees of color tend to be under-represented in jobs that can be performed remotely. What is unjust is if already-privileged managers exploit telecommuting to dodge obligations.
We still have to live with gridlock, reckless commuters, and commercial vehicles speeding through our neighborhoods, all for a park that the majority didn’t ask for and a great many don’t use or want.
London Breed applauding SF’s 75% vaccination rate … deserves careful scrutiny … in reality — of the 769,000 vaccine eligible residents only 56% are fully vaccinated — a number slightly higher than the state average”
Nobody wanted to defund the police. All supported the deployment of Street Crisis Response Teams to address behavioral disturbances that do not require armed officers … community organizing is essential to deter crime
Youth of color are disproportionately sentenced to life without parole. Nationally, Black youth are sentenced 10 times more than White youth, and 22.5 times more likely in California
... the favorite stores of thieves — Lululemon, Apple, and Victoria Secret — were also closed for the majority of 2020. Eighty-one percent of the 23% drop in “overall crime” came from just a decline in property crimes ... not Boudin’s policies.
Some people will complain that Lowell does better because it is full of rich white kids. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The student body is about 72 per cent non-white and 35 per cent socioeconomically disadvantaged
..like people, coyotes have adapted to their new habitat with ease, and basically, just want to be left alone. In addition to their adaptability, coyotes have a lot of other similarities to humans and our human society.
SF School Board now faces a lawsuit to compel repeal of another flawed resolution abolishing Lowell High School admission upon the basis of grades and examination scores and substituting a lottery!
The California Constitution XIII (1996 Proposition 218) states that only costs for current services can be part of the customer rates. .The fundamental structure of a rate includes O&M (operation and maintenance) and debt service.
Exile for SF's Subacute Skilled Nursing Patients — Continues
Dr. Teresa Palmer
His parents are afraid that if they are not able to visit Ken to oversee his care and emotional health, he will deteriorate again and potentially die. He is very vulnerable.
Former Chancellor Mark Rocha cut nearly a thousand classes at the same time he proposed hefty pay raises for the school’s administrators ... the current administration insists on following the same misguided course.
The promise of TOU metering is that the customer can adjust their usage to use electric devices when the cost is lower, during the day. That’s not really possible. For those working households ....
... the case took a stranger turn ... he had been kidnapped. Yet an hour later he was seen at Powell and Geary ... behaving in an unkidnapped manner ... then dropped from sight as well.
If I ordered a double scoop cone, how many times would I have to go to get all the possible combinations ? ... my husband reminded me it's not an eating contest.
Could the Controller’s Office be tainted by a conflict of interests?
Slow-walking the SFPUC Audit
by Dr. Derek Kerr
Although the Board of Supervisors had requested this audit back in July 2019, bureaucratic shuffling and delays almost turned it into a spectral fantasy.
... access to records enables the public and press to uncover “corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, prejudice and favoritism.” The “pay to play” scandal unfolding in San Francisco makes clear the extent of corruption in government...
Why did the SFPUC sign a contract with its peninsula agency (BAWSCA) ... so that BAWSCA customers would always have their taps filled while San Francisco would not — about 46% of the time?
What happened at Lowell... is happening because of our increased awareness of inequitable opportunities for many black and brown children. But let’s not jump to a solution without properly analyzing the problem.
There was a time when unsettling public disturbances were addressed by calling the cops. Peace Officers kept communal peace. That formula no longer works."
...it appears that approximately 2,100,000 signers ... such a recall election permits consolidation of a recall to remove District Attorney Chesa Boudin ..."
Now that many of San Francisco’s employers are allowing work from home, San Franciscans are leaving in large numbers to live in homes with more space — and for half the price.”
"Mr. Hall: Not only was Governor Newsom handling twice the population of NY dealing with a pandemic, — there were 9,639 wildfires burning over 4 million acres of our state...”
"" Dr. Kerr, San Francisco has already tried that. The lack of enforcement of laws against drug dealing and drug use has led to a de facto legalization for several years.”
"The Wheel is of little or no benefit to the de Young and I am disappointed that staff are calling in support of a private, for-profit vendor based in St. Louis, MO, with no transparency, and SF Parks Alliance, a private non-profit.”
The proper course of action for ratepayers is a simple repeal of the 1932 monopoly ordinance and substitution of an ordinance requiring garbage contracts to be competitively bid.
The Wheel is also a massive 150’ strobe light—strobe lights are sold to protect your pets in the backyard at night. The shadows strobe lights produce are intolerable to birds.
... in 2018, there were 693,000 marijuana arrests – 90% for possession only — exceeding the arrests for all violent crimes combined. Most drug-related arrests are for simple possession.
In my years of working with him before, during and after our stint together on the Board of Supervisors, he never once demonstrated that he had even the slightest knowledge or understanding of the basic tenets of good government ...
... something even more odd about Michaela’s account: One of her followers was Chesa Boudin ... his official San Francisco District Attorney Twitter account.
"Single use plastic bags, plastic straws are banned. Why is it a good idea to put plastic grass in Golden Gate Park? It lasts 8-10 years then becomes toxic waste that can't be recycled."
I have been assigned to chair the Land Use and Transportation Committee at the Board of Supervisors, as well as representing the Board on the First Five Commission ... We will begin holding regular office hours in the community this month ...
The Naperville, Illinois school board announced last month it would refund $10,000,000 to taxpayers this year, meaning a typical family will receive $200 to $500 ... Meanwhile, private and Catholic schools are open for learning without demanding extra tuition.
... the isolated resident, as they withdraw into depression and weakness, is quiet. Others are needy, there is always too much to do ... When they cry out or kick, family should approve sedatives. Comfort is best, isn’t it?
...the “nuisance neighbor” installed a Ring Motion Sensing floodlight camera ... The high beam floodlight activated within six feet of my patio door ...”
A public bank could provide the City with low interest loans, could provide a safe place to deposit bridge toll fares and could invest in Green Business instead of “Big Tobacco,” the fossil fuel industry or industries of war.
UC proposes a project that would add over 2 million square feet to the currently over-built campus — the equivalent of a Sales Force Tower and the TransAmerica Pyramid combined.
Only in San Francisco do you get a judge who looked at the entire trajectory ... Two strong-arm robberies, followed by a burglary, then an auto burglary, a loaded firearm charge, a third armed robbery, and finally graduating to attempted murder.
With charges of elitism and racism, the school board made a major blunder in voting to change Lowell High School’s merit based admission policies to a lottery ... not looking at all the facts.
Now Rec and Park has backpedaled on the one-year commitment and asked ... for four more years. If one year is not enough, will four years be enough ... or is this the beginning of a permanent midway in the midst of our premiere landscape park?
In late January MUNI restored the T-Third light rail line, as well as the 27-Bryant, 33 Ashbury and the 15-Bayview. But no services have been restored on the west side of the City.
When not engaged in larceny, Long worked as a salesman. His persuasive skills made him a top salesperson ... but the lure of the dishonest dollar proved too strong for him.
City Faces Multiple Racial Discrimination Lawsuits
Herrera's Curious Union-Busting Law Firm
by Dr. Derek Kerr
Recent lawsuits alleging discrimination against Black employees are startling in egalitarian San Francisco. Doubling the consternation is the City Attorney’s paying a Union-busting law firm to fight these claims.
All of these reductions in value for her personal benefit were arranged while appeals for reductions before the Assessment Appeals Board from regular mom and pop homeowners were vehemently opposed by the Assessor’s Office.
Others stand by, keep these links and don't get discouraged yet!. There are A LOT of vaccine appointments... If you get a text notification, try to get an appointment right away as they may be exhausted later in the day.
"Now a pedestrian or a car cannot cross Taraval for three blocks ... Chow said. "How are residents and merchants going to conduct business or even get in and out of their driveways?”
"The city has a high school for the arts, and another for students interested in the trades. There is a bi-lingual Chinese-American high school. Why shouldn't there be a school for those interested in academics?
"The Wheel has been totally shut down, partially opened, and then totally shut down again ... the glaring, flashing lights are still turned on every day and into the night, and the noisy diesel generator that powers the Wheel runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
"... Berkeley-UCSF Agreement that included UC paying money every year to Berkeley for fire and emergency services ... a precedent for the City to require UCSF to offset our currently unreimbursed City costs...
Gay Black Man Charges SFFD With Racism & Homophobia
... when he came into the room, his coworkers turned and left — only the other black workers remained. Baraka was called names such as “faggot” and “sissy” as well as “Sambo.”
Boudin "Takes Action" — Now a 3rd Person is Murdered
Lou Barberini
Internet computer records show that Ali Hudson was booked at 1:46am that night into Sacramento County Jail for both murder charges and for a still outstanding warrant...
The Revenue Bond Oversight Committee issued another MOU with the Controller
...this illegal union is an important aspect of the swamp that City Hall has become.
Whether or not another impeachment of the lying, cheating, draft-dodging Donald Trump is inarguably warranted ... It’s no surprise that Trump aspired to pardoning himself; that would constitute his ultimate historical achievement.
(Analysts) obtained 10 years-worth of records related to the PUC’s Community Benefits Program, grants and contracts. Then…nothing. The PUC audit evaporated as City Hall, DPW and the PUC were rocked by corruption investigations
Board of Supes to UCSF: "Hold on there buckaroo..."
by Doug Comstock
"There's not even been one meeting on the underlying project. The plan itself has never been reviewed by any public body or by any group of advisors ..."
Since Proposition 19 passed, estate-planning attorneys are scarcer than toilet paper during the pandemic. Thanks to Governor Newsom’s misleading Proposition 19, we are seeing panicked strategizing ...
...the Atomic Energy Commission allowed NRDL researchers ... radioactive waste into laboratory drains at the shipyard, radiation contaminated materials into the industrial landfill on the shoreline and radioactive fuel ships hauled back following atomic explosions ...
DPH decided to present data only on the number of COVID cases among residents of the 19 Skilled Nursing Facilities in the City, eliminating reporting cumulative case reporting for healthcare workers (staff) at the 19 facilities.”
When the war ended they were free to leave. But they had to find their own way back. To escape the harsh weather they made their way to Kazakhstan via river raft. To return to Poland was dangerous because as Michalski noted, “nobody wanted the Jews.
Breed and her allies asserted that placing housing on public parcels would save massive amounts of time two years later—still no publicly revealed plans...
General Manager, who has been charged with corruption. That’s the bad news. A new report about expected capital costs is out, and costs are up 42%. That’s even worse.
For almost two decades, “pay-to-play” has pervaded our “City Family” with bribes to obtain millions of dollars in public contracts. Presently, criminal charges have been filed only against powerful non-elected officials.
Preston accused the Marina Times of being “an entity that has proven time and again that they are a mouthpiece for disinformation ... on par with the likes of Breitbart News and Tucker Carlson ..."
...even if he and his wife did donate $75 million ... his net worth is $101.2 billion as of November 2020 ... that’s no reason for Zuckerberg’s name to despoil the good name of SF General Hospital."
"Seven acres of artificial turf that is so toxic nothing can live in it... Toxins from tire crumb can enter the body through inhalation of particulates, fibers, and volatile organic compounds."
While I was repeating over and over “wear a mask...wash my hands... he was creating spaced learning for the alternative universe. Don’t wear a mask... And I am not even going to touch whether he washed his tiny hands
Since people tend to like money, to varying degrees, I was surprised by the lack of websites about “How much your neighbors or countrymen give to charity.“
In District 7, despite Joel Engardio accruing the most first place votes for supervisor, the third place candidate, Myrna Melgar, employed ranked choice voting to win.
"SFPUC Watchdog or Lickspittle?
From the first meeting of the RBOC, SFPUC operatives and aligned city-family loyalists injected themselves into the business and governance of the RBOC."
... public utilities were formed so that public officials would not steer the ship of modern electricity. ... the state Public Utilities Commission, would review, and ensure fair treatment.
His approach bears the fingerprints of first-lady-elect Dr. Jill Biden ... President-elect Biden ... “You’re going to have one of your own in the White House.”
... we are down 37% in vehicle burglaries, 27% in assaults, and 36% in robberies. We are currently up 24% in vehicle thefts and 8% in home and commercial burglaries.
Persistent Sleaze in the “City Family’s” Contracting
by Dr. Derek Kerr
...a patronage network that recycles retiring City employees - including former Willie Brown special assistants” In return, these former City employees provide access to City department managers.”
After being hired in 1998 , she rewarded her benefactor by running against him ... she raised $563,000 for her campaign ... signed under penalty of perjury a ... $211,000 campaign expenditure limit.
...the largest job, almost a billion dollars, has not gone well. The so-called biosolids digesters — the heart of the operation ... pre-construction services have increased in cost by a factor of 18 times.
Since March 2000 voters passed three parks bonds totaling $800.5 million in principal and interest. If this new bond passes, pushing park bonds to approximately $1.3 billion
Will Restricting Public Scrutiny Fix City College?
Harry Bernstein
... the new regime under Interim Chancellor Gonzalez abruptly ... returned to the previous agenda structure, with very limited public comment — and only near the beginning of the meeting — reservation is now required in advance as well.
In October 2009, former Supervisor Chris Daly proposed an Ordinance that prohibited department heads and employees from steering donations to “Friends of…” non-profits that raised funds for their departments ...
"Our beloved Golden Gate Park ... natural environment is being replaced by concrete and artificial turf. Two and half million dollars are being spent so dogs can run around?"
"There is an obvious power grab designed to attack Lowell’s long-term academic status, that provides a unique service to a unique student population, just as School of the Arts does.”
I agree that we should not celebrate those who represent the worst in our society. But there is true historical value to recognizing leaders who have made our world better—and recognizing them warts and all.”
DPW’s subaccounts at the Parks Alliance amassed $990,000... donated by 8 contractors who received $572 million from DPW plus 7 companies that obtained 218 building permits from the Department of Building Inspection (DBI)
" ... the cleanup reports need to be available to the public. Skipping these steps will result in future lawsuits and the city will be ultimately held accountable, making the taxpayers liable”
Problem is, the Bond Oversight Committee has held only one meeting in 2020 ... Then COVID detonated. Unfortunately, CGOBOC never figured out holding remote meetings accessible to the public.”
San Francisco Sees Itself as a 'Green' City - But is It?
by Kathy Howard
The developer is proposing a six-unit condo development on the site of a former auto repair shop contaminated with benzene and other pollutants at levels 900 times above residential standards ...
The audit fails to mention that no retaliation claims have ever been sustained by the Ethics Commission. That startling fact has been hidden by reporting only that cases are “dismissed” or “closed.”
The federal subpoena demanded the resumes, job descriptions, and performance evaluations for “any PUC employee who earned at least $100,000” since 2010 ... Evidently, the feds are probing cronyism as well as self-dealing
The arts touch our emotional core, whether it is song or dance or drama or drawing. The arts can connect the mind and the spirit and help guide children from crisis to confidence.
"The giveaway, linked to corrupt leadership, sacrifices precious public land for private profit ... leaves City College more vulnerable and is a significant reversal in our goal of income equality"
A photographer goes in search of life on the Avenue ... dining and browsing are available on sidewalks, parking spaces and in some stores inside within strict limitations.
Our city is in big trouble. And it is not just because of Covid-19 It is because of a continued string of bad policies and decisions by City Hall over the past 10 years.
Whether it’s protests about police violence and racism or defiance of government orders to wear a mask, the most fundamental issues of our democracy are being played out every day in front of millions of people.
Irreparable Damage to City College — Legal Violations at Balboa Reservoir Project Cited
City College Stakeholders File CEQA Appeal"This is NOT the time for any Project to go forward that will all but destroy the access for 70,000 college students, most of them from working class, immigrant, black or brown communities."
"... the heralded notion of "defunding" police ... risks a return to the high-crime era of the 1960s and 1970s that damaged so many American cities. That applies to San Francisco, which suffers supervisors who berate police and ostracize them politically."
"... the issue of Black Lives Matter is on everyone’s lips. Unfortunately, many Americans do not acknowledge institutional racism. But consider the numerous steps that led to the problem and two alternative policing solutions."
"If schools do not open this fall, it is likely to induce students to interact with one another outside of school. At school ... it is easier to enforce facemask and social distancing ..."
SFPD officers spend 99% of their day responding to where 9–1–1 customers direct them. It is 9–1–1 callers themselves who determine the location and quantity of encounters.
Development is in trouble. If Parkmerced, which is the largest multifamily property in San Francisco is an example of the future of development in San Francisco, it is in very real trouble.
Board of Supervisors seek solutions ... raising concerns among the public about the possibility of long-term use of parkland to address social and economic problems ...
The SF PUC will sell over 17 acres, for approximately $11.2 million — about $640,000 per acre for prime SF real estate to a privateer for more than 90% below market rate ...
Hopes were that recovering from COVID-19 would generate antibodies, thus conferring immunity and peace of mind. Plus, survivors could help treat newly-infected COVID-19 patients by donating their convalescent plasma. It's not that simple.
While water and sewer bills are not taxes, they are worse. They hit ordinary people harder ... and rates are determined by cost. When costs rise, so do rates.
My Mom is Not Disposable...universal testing in all group care facilities, where asymptomatic staff can begin a deadly outbreak, is now being publicly recognized. But it is slow to happen.
We've been here before...after the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the incomprehensible murders in Guyana...AIDS and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake...
Planning to 'streamline' CEQA? ... projects that formerly might have needed extensive review under CEQA would be approved unilaterally by Planning staff if the projects met specific requirements ...
Court Upholds $5 Million Whistleblower Judgment against City Attorney Herrera
by Dr. Derek Kerr
Taxpayer costs will exceed $5 million since the City has been paying the Keker & Van Nest law firm $850/hour to defend Herrera. They already billed the City $2,267,75, in September 2016...
