Proposed Medical Cannabis Dispensary in the Sunset District
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
April 28, 2017 to May 12, 2017
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| Aileen Barr |
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| Jovi Schnell |
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| 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
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.
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
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
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:
www.sfmta.com/about-sfmta/blog/safe-speed-ads-hit-airwaves
October 2016
July-August 2015
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
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.
Supervisor Scott Wiener
Supervisor Malia Cohen
Supervisor Jane Kim
Supervisor Katy Tang
Andrea Ausberry (Clerk)
May 2015
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
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.
May 2015
(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
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"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 ..."
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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.
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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 ...
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...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 ...
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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.”
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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.
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D7 Neighborhood News Sources Westside Observer, Ingleside Light, and West Portal Monthly pose tough questions
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Openness applies to wrongdoing as well. When taxes pay for investigations ... taxpayers deserve to know which City agencies break rules ..."
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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...
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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.
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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.
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It has taken a pandemic to help all of us process just how critical schools are to our children and our communities.
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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 ..."
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...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."
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"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."
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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
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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.“
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The Dept. of Public Health Lacks Transparency. Deaths surged 76% and the media went quiet. Why the lack of stories?.
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Water, Fish, and You.
...In super dry years, no way there’s enough water. You will be forced to ration fifty percent, that is, you get half rations of water.
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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.
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"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."
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Once a “benefit” district is formed ... private firms are hired ... The disgraced former head of DPW, Mohammed Nuru, was personally involved ...
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... allow restaurants to increase indoor dining capacity from 25% to 50% ... cases stood at 11,275 confirmed cases ... Another 3,048 COVID cases occurred ..."
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... 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.
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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.”
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... 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.
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...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.”
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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.
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...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.
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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
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... 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.
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Déjà vu: Controlling Pay-to-Play Donations
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 ...
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"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?"
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"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.”
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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.”
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Inside City Hall’s Web of Corruption
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)
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If LHH was too small for 160 units, how is it now suddenly big enough for up to 375 units?”
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" ... 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”
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Prop. A's — $960 Million Oversite?
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.”
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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 ...
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Audit's Unanswered Questions:
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.”
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Taraval Crime Report
Police officers from the Tactical Unit, Specialist Team, and Taraval Neighborhood Team (TNT) served a search warrant on the 1500 block of 48th Ave.”
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Any time someone mentions a good book, I literally just go to my phone and reserve it on the App. That says a lot...”
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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
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Six contenders respond to the questions that will guide the next 4 years in the district.
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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.
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"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"
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That’s not a balanced budget; it’s a gaping hole she plans to solve by kicking pay-raises bargained for in good faith down the road.”
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"Assuming teachers agree to these and additional detailed conditions, school begins August 17th."
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While the FBI is investigating city bigwigs, SFPUC personnel included ... Everyone in power is complicit in forcing the rate payer to “donate”
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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.
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"The authors of the San Francisco Plan Bay Area 2050 are asking for public feedback on their 9-county plan to provide solutions ... "
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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.
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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.
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Dennis Herrera's retaliatory sewer-gate debacle, alongside the FBI's recent arrest ... jab at the City's anti-graft capabilities.
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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."
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"... 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."
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"... 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."
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"Teachers, who are already using their own money to buy school supplies are now also purchasing masks and materials in order to be prepared ..."
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"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 ..."
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"SFPUC Failed to Protect Clean Water The Beach Chalet Soccer Fields (BCSF) in Golden Gate Park used to have a permeable surface; it's called grass."
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"... your water, wastewater, and garbage rates are special taxes ... Your great-grandchildren should not be paying for a service provided in 2020."
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Morale was sagging. Capt. Rainsford ... apparently referenced how the police had handled previous protests.
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...whether the discrepancy is due to President Trump wanting CMS to “slow down” the testing and positive test results...
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...the attitude of professional sports team-owning billionaires that local taxpayers must provide stadiums for their professional sport businesses ...
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a $1.7 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years which could reach over $2.5 billion per Controller Ben Rosenfield...
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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.
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Life returns slowly to West Portal People are beginning to return to West Portal — and other Westside businesses are ready to make sales...
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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.
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Tommy refused to social distance...... Upon arrival, the two officers immediately observed Tommy was bleeding from his mouth ...
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Double Whammy... Schools throughout California are facing severe budget cuts for the next few years...
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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...
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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 ...
Check it outWhere Are Our Priorities? Nursing homes are like cruise ships, and the outbreak at Central Gardens is illustrative...
Check it outNuru was not the FBI’s main target of the investigation—he was the bait to lure someone bigger.
Check it out...a coyote attack raises the question... How do we coexist with wildlife?
Check it out...suspending access to public records — even temporarily, is clearly dangerous to open government.
Check it outTaxpayer 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...
Read More ...Don’t be fooled: you’re being sold insurance. Do you have a choice? Yes you do…
Read More ...… City Officials are worried that Nuru is about to negotiate a plea bargain deal naming names as he is facing twenty years in prison.
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