What could possibly go wrong?

Banning traffic stops by SFPD could have unintended consequences

by Frank Noto

•••••••••• November 7, 2022 ••••••••••

The San Francisco Police Commission is proposing to reduce traffic enforcement by police. The result could be more traffic accidents, fewer arrests or citations, more shootings … and more crime.

You read that correctly – at a time when traffic accidents are soaring nationwide and San Franciscans' concern with crime is near an all-time high, some public officials want to effectively ignore certain offenses and further handicap law enforcement. After all, if you pay no attention to crime, it will just disappear, right?

The professed goal of the Commission proposal to limit traffic stops is to reduce racial bias in the discretionary enforcement of our traffic laws, surely a worthy goal. The change is designed to reduce racial disparities in stops and searches, and would curtail the use of pre-text stops (defined as traffic stops conducted in order to conduct a criminal investigation unrelated to the motorist's driving, and not for the purpose of enforcing the traffic code).

Supporters of their use sometimes justify pretest stops because they often result in arrests for other, more serious violations. Police reportedly find that drivers who blatantly ignore small laws like littering or missing license plates are also more likely to disregard laws pertaining to violence.

Under the proposal before the Police Commission, police would be unable to stop vehicles for most non-moving traffic violations. SFPD would be prohibited from enforcing many traffic regulations, including:

Failure to signal while turning

Broken headlights/taillights/brake lights

Expired license registration

Missing license plates

Tinted windows and other obstructions of vision;

Littering from a vehicle; and various other offenses.

(There are exceptions, such as when the suspect is wanted in a murder or armed robbery, or there is a substantial likelihood of injury or death).

Many traffic stops result in seizures of and convictions for contraband – illegal weapons, supplies of drugs and drug paraphernalia, burglary tools, explosives, etc.—and crimes ranging from driving under the influence, robbery, murder and domestic violence. Why would some people object to such arrests? Is it perhaps that they don't actually want criminals arrested?"

But there are worse problems associated with this policy change. These traffic violations may not sound like a big deal, but the unintended consequences on crime are worrying. How do police acquire evidence and investigate criminals who commit more serious crimes? Police often collect evidence of heinous crimes when they conduct a traffic stop and find probable cause or a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. They may also have a blanket right to conduct a search after encountering a parolee or offender on probation. Or they may arrest violent or sex offenders on an outstanding warrant.

Defense attorneys typically complain that police arrest low-level dealers, arguing that the city should go after high-level suppliers instead. But police generally are unable to make such arrests up the drug cartel chain-of-command without collecting evidence from street dealers first.

Advocates of limits on traffic stops also typically want to prohibit officers from: 1) asking for consent to search; 2) asking questions about non-traffic crimes; 3) asking about probation/parole status; and 4) conducting probation/parole searches. Why do they take that position?

Logic suggests that banning most traffic stops will lead to fewer arrests and more crime. But perhaps there are still valid reasons for opposing such enforcement?

Some Police Commissioners and a coalition of more than 60 advocacy organizations point to statistics that show that people of color are cited more frequently for these traffic violations. Black drivers are both more likely to be detained and searched during a stop, and are less likely to be found with contraband, than white or Asian-American drivers.

One Public Policy Institute of California study found that during nighttime traffic stops (not specifically those under consideration by the Police Commission), Black drivers were found to have contraband in 19% of cases, compared with 25% for white drivers.

While advocates argue that these disparities are due to racial bias by police officers, the Institute says there could be other factors such as increased police presence in high crime areas, differences in traffic patterns, driving behaviors and vehicle conditions.

These researchers also employed the "veil of darkness" theory. It shows that racial disparities are only minimally impacted (2.2% decrease in stops for Black and Latino drivers) by the change to night lighting conditions, when police often cannot see skin color and racial features. Conversely, stops after the switch from dark to light increased by 1.4% (which is not statistically significant) to 2.0% for Black and Latino drivers. While these differences appear to show evidence of bias, they also indicate that such disparities based on race are minimal compared to advocates' claims.

The Police Commission ... has established a working group to take feedback on its (traffic enforcement) proposal from the public. So far, three working group sessions have been held, primarily in the Bayview, with no public meetings on the Westside. Does the Westside deserve to provide public feedback too?"

So what are we to do? Suggestions to reduce racial disparities in stops range from:

Minimizing police interactions by mailing citations to the registered vehicle owners for infractions such as tinted windows or a broken taillight, rather than stopping vehicles.

Installing traffic cameras to cite drivers rather than using police to conduct traffic stops. (However, a Chicago study showed that use of "race-neutral" traffic cameras resulted in households in Black and Latino neighborhoods receiving tickets at twice the rate of white neighborhoods.)

Reducing costs for vehicle licenses and registration for lower-income drivers, which would probably make it more likely that law-abiding lower-income drivers have up-to-date registration/licenses, and thus reduce racial disparities due to poverty.

Continuing to conduct traffic stops, but seek to increase police diversity and train officers (implicit bias training) to avoid racial profiling.

In my view, the first approach is not preferable. If a vehicle is not licensed, mailing citations won't work, and the owner of the vehicle might, justifiably in some cases, claim that they were not driving when the infraction occurred. While the traffic camera approach might increase the perception of fairness, it would require a change in state law in most cases, and the Chicago study indicates that this approach might create even greater racial disparities.

Western Edition traffic stop — Traffic stop in the Western Edition

The third and fourth approaches outlined above are more promising, but not a panacea, since the former would address only a fraction of stops, and the results from data on bias training are mixed to date. However, statistical analysis appears to indicate that a diverse police force can have significant impact in reducing racial disparities, and San Francisco already has significantly increased diversity in the police force.

The Police Commission, in collaboration with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, has established a working group to take feedback on its proposal from the public. So far, three working group sessions have been held, primarily in the Bayview, with no public meetings on the Westside. Does the Westside deserve to provide public feedback too?

What do you think? Share your opinions with the Police Commission by writing to: sfpd.commission@sfgov.org. And consider copying the Mayor or your Supervisor, though they have limited influence over the Police Commission: MayorLondonBreed@sfgov.org and myrna.melgar@sfgov.org.

Frank Noto is president of Stop Crime SF, a victims rights group dedicated to preventing crime in San Francisco and giving victims a voice.

November 7, 2022

GUEST OP-ED

WHY I’M VOTING “NO” ON PROP. H

I Oppose the Recall of Chesa Boudin

by D. M. Scott

Billionaires, tech moguls, and “law and order” advocates have tried to recall Chesa Boudin since he won the 2019 election for District Attorney and began his term in January 2020. I’m strongly opposed to the latest recall effort heavily financed by a Republican-leaning billionaire (a previous attempt failed to gain enough signatures for the ballot). Ditto the cheap red-baiting accompanying it.

I’m tired of deep pockets seeking to undermine democratic elections because they CAN, and to undermine the widely-recognized need to reform policing and the prison system, treat people who’ve committed crimes with dignity that every human being deserves, and level the playing field concerning arrests, pre-trial bail, and sentencing of people of color. For these reasons, I oppose the recall.

Chesa Boudin is one of a new breed of public prosecutors whose reform agenda goes against the grain of fear-mongering, amped up and lingering since the 2016 presidential election, and fed for the past two years by the pandemic. Fear – all around us -- is as contagious as disease, while a sense of safety requires community engagement, something harder to feel behind COVID’s heightened walls of isolation.

Those seeking to recall Boudin would have us believe he’s responsible for the statistical rise in crime that’s occurred since the pandemic, which coincided with his taking office. Research, however, suggests otherwise: that correlation doesn’t prove cause. As Susie Neilsen reported in the SF Chronicle (April 8), “While many in the city believe Boudin is responsible for changes in crime rates, for better and worse, research suggests district attorneys typically have little impact on the crime rate.” That is, there’s no evidence to support this claimed connection. Another reason I oppose the recall.

Last year, researchers looked at crime rate trends in districts with progressive DA’s, in relation to crime rate trends in other places, and found no statistically significant difference between the districts since the progressive prosecutors took office. “The truth about crime trends in San Francisco is complex, and reported crime data does not clearly show a trend toward [reforms] worsening public safety,” Neilsen stated.

A rise in crime may well reflect other economic changes though: shut-down of the local economy, forcing people – and businesses – to seek government relief, or illegal ways of supporting themselves, while salaried employees remain stable, and billionaires watch their fortunes grow!

Self-interest motivates those who’d recall Boudin: police unions and prison guard unions — whose budget shares depend on crime — and elected officials whose campaigns these unions help fund. (Likewise, some tech industry heads may feel threatened by Boudin’s launching an Economic Crimes Against Workers Unit to investigate wage theft resulting from classifying certain employees as independent contractors, and depriving them of health benefits and unemployment insurance.) Recall supporters cling to the false cause-and-effect crime narrative and like to paint this reformer as “soft on crime.”

Yet, prosecution requires arrests that police reportedly are reticent to make if they won’t result in felony convictions with prison time. (Prop. 47, passed by voters in 2014, five years before Boudin took office, raised the dollar amount bar for felonies, and opened a window, retroactively, for sentence review of those serving time who had been convicted of lesser thefts.) The press mostly picks up on sensational incident stories and raw statistics. As someone committed to fact-based reporting and thoughtful analysis, I oppose the recall.

I’m in good company: Boudin has progressive unions standing behind him – including nurses, SEIU, teachers, hotel workers -- as well as the Democratic County Central Committee, the S.F. Chronicle, and ACLU of Northern California. The ACLU applauds his achievements which support its values. It opposes the recall because Boudin has implemented public safety policies that hold people accountable and reduce youth and adult incarceration, including:
— ending cash bail; creating a commission to review wrongful convictions; reducing the county jail population; expanding rigorous prison diversion programs; and committing to never charge children as adults. These changes address a legal system “that disproportionately punishes Black and Brown people,” it says.

The ACLU also applauds Boudin’s efforts since taking office to put violent police officers on trial when they break the law, including a police officer who assaulted an unarmed Black man with a baton, and another officer for homicide. It supports programs he’s initiated to house and transport survivors of domestic and sexual violence. And he’s blown the whistle on police misuse of rape kits to link survivors to unrelated crimes that discourages reporting of sexual assault. As a card-carrying member of the ACLU, I, too, support these initiatives and oppose the recall.

Additionally, I support “decarceration” – not the same as prison or police abolition. Decarceration encompasses government and community strategies to reduce incarceration and lower the number of people imprisoned and in pre-trial custody by diverting those committing non-violent misdemeanor crimes to programs that address their physical and mental health, rather than warehousing them at high daily cost to taxpayers. It aims to reallocate resources to community-based support of people with low-level criminal convictions so as to prevent recurrence, and to restore their civil rights.

Zack Norris, an Oakland-born, Harvard-educated attorney, and until very recently, director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, wrote a narrative- transforming book on the disparate racial impact of the criminal justice system, and alternatives to it that retain accountability. Its title: Defund Fear. Using actual stories and statistics, he describes how restorative justice -- bringing those who’ve committed crimes into relationship with those they’ve harmed, to face the destructive impact of their actions and negotiate restitution -- can turn lives of both around and help heal wounds of both the individuals and their families.

Ending the school-to-prison pipeline and strengthening communities of color torn apart by crime, family separation, and imprisonment, are goals that dovetail with diversion-to-appropriate treatment and mental health services initiatives like those being implemented by Chesa Boudin. As someone who experienced family separation first hand, he knows the pain of prison separation and the true value of community support.

I support Boudin’s insightful reform agenda – and want to see the resources saved through prison diversion invested in programs that educate, heal wounds, redirect lives, and preserve communities. Ample reasons to oppose Prop. H, say NO to the DA’s recall, and give this reformer’s agenda a chance.

D. M. Scott is an Outer Sunset resident, a freelance writer and former editor of Legal Services publications.

May 2022

Park Road Closures

Westside neighbors need access to both JFK Drive and the Great Highway

by Paul Kozakiewicz

T The actions of one city department head are further fraying the nerves of westside residents already battered by almost two years of COVID-19 pandemic; people who are just trying to shop, get to medical appointments, get their kids to school and visit friends and loved ones.

Phil Ginsburg, the general manager of the SF Recreation and Park Department, closed the Upper Great Highway (April 28, 2020), and a portion of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the eastern end of John F. Kennedy Dr. in Golden Gate Park to allow San Franciscans more space to recreate while our restaurants and almost everything else were closed. He has exclusive responsibility for the decision per the City Charter. (The Upper Great Highway was made a part of Golden Gate Park in 1870.)

Ginsburg has been working closely with two city non-profit organizations, the SF Bicycle Coalition and Walk SF, to develop and implement a strategy to ban cars on JFK Drive and the Upper Great Highway during the pandemic. Plans are being made make the bans permanent after the pandemic ends.

The Bicycle Coalition and Walk SF get city funding every year through the SF Municipal Transit Agency’s budget (Muni). The two organizations have sole source contracts, meaning no one else can bid for the City’s business.

General Manager Phil Ginsburg

Upper Great Highway Debacle

There has been very little discussion of the Upper Great Highway with the SF Recreation and Park Commissioners, which set policy and have oversight of the Rec. and Park Department. The commissioners have either been kept in the dark about the deleterious effects for westside residents or they are indifferent to the problems their department is causing. (The commissioners are familiar with the JFK Drive closure, however, as they are often bombarded at public meetings with public comments calling for the roadway to remain closed in an obviously concerted effort.)

At the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, Ginsburg shut down the Upper Great Highway (UGH) seven days a week.

On Aug. 5, 2021, as the City was starting to reopen, SF Mayor London Breed, with the support of supervisors Connie Chan and Gordon Mar, announced a “compromise” reopening of the roadway from Monday morning to Friday at noon.

According to a confidential source directly involved in discussions about the UGH, the reason the roadway was closed at noon on Friday was because Ginsburg couldn’t get anyone from Rec. and Park to lock the gate after that time.

Frustration for westside residents has been brewing, with a small group of bicyclists blocking traffic on the UGH during Thursday night commutes and the recent addition of food trucks on the highway on weekends.

Because of the continuing park road closures, a group of Sunset residents formed the Open the Great Highway Alliance to raise money for an attorney. On Dec. 15, 2021, the organization, on behalf of six plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court claiming Ginsburg overstepped his authority. They are demanding the UGH, parts of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the closed portion of JFK Drive be fully reopened.

Banning Vehicles in Golden Gate Park

The closure of the eastern end of JFK Drive is a hardship for families, seniors and people with disabilities trying to get to the de Young Museum, Academy of Sciences, Conservatory of Flowers and other park attractions. Attendance at the de Young and Academy of Sciences is about half of what it was pre-pandemic.

During the evening, the Conservatory of Flowers’ Winter Lights and nearby “neon trees” exhibits are on display. These are wonderful exhibits, but with JFK dark and mostly empty of people, it is a situation the police warn against – an “un-activated space” that is off limits to thousands of San Franciscans.

The Rec. and Park Department is working in tandem with the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to explore a permanent closure of JFK Drive. On Sept. 22, 2021, the departments issued a joint press release.

“Public feedback is critical to determining the post-pandemic future of JFK Drive and we are eager to hear your thoughts and experiences,” Ginsburg said. “Golden Gate Park belongs to everyone, so neither safety nor access can be an afterthought.”

On the SF Rec. and Park Department’s website, “diversity” is touted as one of the great virtues of the current JFK Drive road closure.

I urge westside residents to visit JFK Drive to see how much diversity is on display. You won’t see many seniors, people with disabilities or people of color.

The closure of JFK Drive led SF Supervisor Shaman Walton to chime in, saying it was a “racist” plan that discriminates against African and Latinx Americans, who have few options to get to the park except by driving.

Rec. and Park claims, due to the closure of JFK Drive, that bus service has been improved to accommodate people of color.

“Transit service on the 44 O’Shaughnessy Muni line, which travels through the Music Concourse and serves the Bayview and Excelsior neighborhoods, was made faster and more efficient.”

According to Rec. and Park, attendance on JFK Drive has increased during the pandemic, saying: “Nearly seven million people walked, biked and rolled on car-free JFK Drive, a 36 percent increase over pre-pandemic usage.”
If the information was posted in November, that’s about 400,000 people a month using the roadway, or about 13,000 per day.

I have requested information from Rec. and Park concerning the department’s development and implementation of studies and polls and to identify those who conducted the independent and unbiased research. There was no response as of press time.

Fortunately for San Franciscans, Ginsburg and the parks commission do not make a final decision on closing park roads. Once an end to the pandemic is declared, a vote by the SF Board of Supervisors and approval by the mayor would be required to change the City Charter. Or, a ballot measure could be put forth so city voters could once again decide the contentious issue.

Over the years, city voters have rejected three ballot measures calling for a change to the City Charter to close JFK Drive. City residents realize limiting access to the park’s cultural institutions is not just; they realize you shouldn't have to walk or ride a bike to enjoy the park; and they know when they are being manipulated.

Ginsburg needs to fully reopen the park roadways as they were before the pandemic struck, and to respect the process by which change is created. He also needs to direct his department to be transparent and honest in its dealings with city residents.

For Ginsburg and his allies to exploit the people of the city of San Francisco during a pandemic to further their vision of a car-free utopia on the Upper Great Highway and in Golden Gate Park is indefensible.

Paul Kozakiewicz is an editor, and the former publisher, of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers.

January 2022

Here's why I support the SF School Board Recall

I'm a proud product of our public schools.

by John Trasvina

A record number of over eighty thousand parents and community members across every San Francisco neighborhood signed petitions to bring about the February 15 election to recall School Board members Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez & Faauga Moliga. Like many of them, I am a proud product of our public schools. The teachers of Commodore Sloat, Aptos and Lowell provided me the education to achieve my dreams and have a career devoted to advancing justice, education and opportunity. Decisions and inattention by the current School Board members make that path more difficult for today’s children and families and jeopardize the future of our city. The dire situation facing us requires a new Board now to get us out of the budget crisis and select the next superintendent. We can not wait until 2023.

I echo Frederick Douglass' words that “Education is the key to freedom. ” Equal educational opportunity is the foundation for societal and economic advancement, particularly for newcomers and people on the margins of society. In an effort to take a shortcut to that achievement, the School Board unwisely voted to abandon Lowell’s academic admissions in favor of a lottery system. In the process, they ignored the voices of stakeholders and their own record of failing to prepare 8th graders, not just for Lowell but for any high school: According to school district data, just 57% of 8th graders meet or exceed grade level standards in English and just under 50% meet math standards. Through the recall, we can direct the School Board’s attention to academic preparation at the earliest grades.

During the height of COVID-19, the School Board devoted greater attention to changing the names on the outside of school buildings than on accepting the Superintendent's recommendation for a safety coordinator to enable students and staff to return safely to those buildings. Their answer to the semester's long frustrations of distance learning was to offer all students “A ” grades in every subject, until state school officials threatened to deny academic credit to the scheme.”

Thousands of San Franciscans have concluded that the School Board has abandoned the quest for academic excellence and is making no progress on achieving equality. Many families are leaving our public schools. San Francisco has a record high population but our public schools enroll barely half the number of students we had in 1965. Despite our high housing costs, many parents take on private school tuition. in order to provide for their children. Those who can't afford to leave have little choice but to remain. While San Francisco voters consistently support school bond measures, the School District has failed to provide oversight of the money, has difficulty explaining where and whether it was spent and we are left with school building conditions that are unsafe and ill suited for children or staff members. School board members have undermined the legitimacy and quality of public education in San Francisco.

On the financial side, the School Board is presiding over a structural imbalance producing a $116 million deficit this year and even larger deficits in the future. State education officials have stepped in to take direct action after not receiving a fiscal stabilization plan requested since 2020 from the School District. On the same day the state admonished the Board for its failures, the Board voted to spend more money on attorneys in a failed attempt, already rejected by the San Francisco Superior Court, to tear down murals at Washington High School at a cost of up to $1 million. In December, only after much internal resistance and over the objection of Board President Lopez, the Board accepted a District proposal that will require a sustained path of difficult budget choices and decisions ahead.

While a recall is a serious remedy, the damage to children's education is compounding daily. The time lost in the educational lifetimes of San Francisco students is too precious to wait to act. In your Voter Information Pamphlet produced by the Department of Elections, you will find past and present parents, students, teachers and administrators from Aptos, Lincoln, Lowell, Balboa and other schools providing their reasons to Vote Yes on the Recalls. You’ll receive your ballot around January 17 and can mail it in or leave it at specially designated ballot drop boxes to be placed by the Department of Elections at neighborhood sites. Together, by recalling School Board Members Collins, Lopez and Moliga, we can restore faith in our public schools and lift up educational opportunities for all children.

John Trasvina, an Ingleside native, graduated from Harvard College and Stanford Law School. He served in the Clinton, Obama and Biden Administrations and is immediate past dean of University of San Francisco Law School and immediate past president of the Lowell Alumni Association.

December 22, 2021

Let's Get Serious about Community Policing.

It's Time to Engage SFPD's Community Police Advisory Boards (CPABs)

By Julie Pitta

With the aim of promoting greater engagement between the police and the people they serve, in 2009 the San Francisco Police Department borrowed an idea from Los Angeles. Modeled after a successful Los Angeles Police Department program, the SFPD established Community Police Advisory Boards (CPABs) in the City’s 10 police districts.

A Missed Opportunity for Greater Community-Police Cooperation

Among other things, the SFPD’s CPABs were designed to heal its long-troubled relationship between police and communities of color. According to the SFPD’s CPAB manual, “Diversity considerations should play a significant role in selecting [CPAB] members.” In addition to racial diversity, CPABs should reflect a district’s age, gender, ethnic, religious and socio-economic diversity as well as “diversity of thought.” They should not be “restricted to those who openly support the department.”

In 2016, after five Black and brown San Franciscans were killed by SFPD officers during the preceding 12 months, the U.S. Department of Justice was called in to review the department’s activities. The resulting report’s findings were not pretty: Nine out of the 11 victims killed by the SFPD between 2013 and 2016 were people of color. Included in the report were 274 recommendations for correcting SFPD problem with Black and brown residents.

Among those proposals was making greater use of CPABs which were called “a good practice” failing to meet their potential. “[They] could play a more active role in policing decisions and communicating the policing activities and goals to the larger community,” the report stated.

A year ago, California’s Department of Justice issued a follow-up to 2016’s landmark study. A mere 15 percent of the federal proposals had been instituted. Of those being disregarded, was the recommendation that the SFPD carve out a larger role for its CPABs.

At their core, CPABs are an effort to get back to public safety as a shared responsibility between the community and the police,” Correia said. “To be effective the CPAB must be able to represent [and] to be aware of the needs of the larger community.”

CPAB information is hard to come by. SFPD stations rarely list CPAB members on their websites. (Obtaining the names of Richmond CPAB members required a public records request.) Minutes for the meetings are unavailable, an explicit violation of the SFPD’s CPAB guidelines.

Richmond's Mysterious CPAB

The Richmond Station’s CPAB meets monthly. Gaetano Caltagirone, the Richmond’s recently installed station captain, inherited a CPAB that is largely white, male and affluent—in short, everything the Richmond is not. Between 60 and 70 percent of the neighborhood’s 70,000 residents are renters. It is home to a large and diverse Asian population, and in recent years, has seen a dramatic increase in the number of Black and brown residents.

At the start of his tenure, Captain Caltagirone, though highly regarded, promised to review CPAB membership. Community activists called on him to make the body more representative of the neighborhood, and candidates who better reflect the Richmond’s rich diversity submitted their names for consideration. So far, Caltagirone has not done so.

Only one new member has been added since Caltagirone came to the station a little more than four months ago: Former District One Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer. A Chinese-American, the wife of a retired SFPD officer and a life-long Richmond resident, Fewer is an inspired choice. It should be noted Caltagirone opposed Fewer’s appointment, only relenting after he received pressure from police department higher-ups.

The Richmond’s CPAB still fails to adhere to the SFPD’s diversity guidelines. Typical of the Richmond CPAB is Mark Dietrich, who is white, male and owns a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home near the neighborhood’s affluent Lake Street corridor. Dietrich, a marketing director at The Gap, hosts an anti-burglary website urging Richmond residents to “fight back” against crime. Some residents felt encouraged to form a do-it-yourself neighborhood watch, an effort many feared would end badly.

The SFPD’s community arm, San Francisco Safety Awareness for All (SF SAFE) cautioned the approach and Richmond District Supervisor Connie Chan councelled circumspection. “Pushing an idea that [Richmond residents] take matters into their own hands to ‘fight back’ against [crime]. . . is totally unacceptable, needs to stop immediately, and has the potential to lead to some very bad outcomes for the community,” wrote Kyra Worthy, SF SAFE’s executive director.

Added Chan: “The only way to ensure our neighbors are not misguided or misinformed, and most importantly not put themselves in the harm’s way due to false sense of security and misinformation, is to encourage our neighbors to work with our law enforcement agencies directly about their safety concerns. Please note,” Chan added, “I have alerted Chief Scott’s and his team regarding this situation so his team can find way to direct our neighbors and address their concerns.”

Community Goals

Richard Correia, the Richmond District’s station captain between 2008 to 2011, convened the neighborhood’s first CPAB in 2009. Today, he leads University of San Francisco’s prestigious Criminal Justice Leadership Institute. Correia said CPABs should include “anyone who wants to join in.”

“At their core, CPABs are an effort to get back to public safety as a shared responsibility between the community and the police,” Correia said. “To be effective the CPAB must be able to represent [and] to be aware of the needs of the larger community.”

San Francisco, like many cities, is being forced to reckon with its police department’s racist past. The CPABs are an important way for the SFPD to gain a greater understanding of City residents, particularly those who have often found themselves the target of racist police practices. To accomplish this laudable goal means that station captains must be transparent in their selection of CPAB members, must ensure that membership reflects that of their districts, and must not hesitate to remove members who are not serving the best interests of the community.

Julie Pitta is a neighborhood activist. You can email her here.

August 15, 2021

California Communities Are Bracing for Drought

Does This Mean We Should Panic in the Bay Area?

By Peter Drekmeier, Tuolumne River Trust

Listening to news about the current drought, one might wonder how long we have before we run out of water. Fortunately, for those of us who live in San Francisco and other communities served by Hetch Hetchy, we can rest a little easier than just about anyone else.

The SFPUC, which manages our water supply, has a lot of reservoir storage capacity. Hetch Hetchy makes up only a quarter of it, and at full storage, the SFPUC has enough water to last six years. Right now they’re sitting on enough water to last four-and-a-half years. That’s like driving with your gas tank three-quarters full – hardly time to panic.

The SFPUC also has a long history of inflating demand projections. Just a few months ago they got caught trying to cook the books in their Urban Water Management Plan. When forced to use actual demand projections, potential rationing decreased by 27%.”

Despite being in an enviable position, the SFPUC wants you to believe our water security is far from certain. They want you to support their lawsuits against the State Water Board. The Board is in the process of requiring more water to be left in the Tuolumne River – the source of Hetch Hetchy – to help restore the San Francisco Bay-Delta and rivers that feed it.

In an average year, the SFPUC is entitled to three times as much water as is needed, so if next year is close to average, all of their reservoirs will fill. The drought will be over, at least for San Francisco.

The reason the SFPUC has so much storage is because their Regional Water System was designed for demand that is twice what it is today. As a result of increased water use efficiency driven by greater awareness of the value of water and a tripling of its cost over the past decade, we’re using 30% less water today then we were 35 years ago, despite population growth.

85% of San Francisco’s water supply comes from the Tuolumne, a 149-mile-long river that begins 13,000 feet above sea level in Yosemite National Park. Water from the Tuolumne irrigates over 200,000 acres of agricultural farmland in Stanislaus County, feeding people all over the world. It also provides drinking water for 2.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Where more than 100,000 salmon once spawned, barely 1,000 returned to the Tuolumne last year, impacting everything from insects that feed on their carcasses to orcas in the Pacific Ocean and the fishing community at Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s a disgrace the river that provides us with so much is worse off than any other in the Central Valley.

The SFPUC could do so much more to restore the Tuolumne, but Instead has produced a gloom and doom scenario that if more water is left in the river, we could face severe rationing. They inflate demand projections, assume hardly any recycled water will be brought online, and plan for an extremely conservative drought that is much worse than any over the past 1,100 years, based on tree-ring data.

It’s a disgrace the river that provides us with so much is worse off than any other in the Central Valley.”

In reality, rationing figures could be almost anything, depending on policy decisions. For example, at current demand the SFPUC could manage the worst drought on record (1987-92), with higher flows in the Tuolumne, without requiring any rationing or developing any new water supplies. By implementing reasonable rationing requirements and producing recycled water, we could extend our supply by another year or two.

In contrast, the SFPUC has manufactured a very different scenario. The “Design Drought” they use for planning purposes arbitrarily combines the 1987-92 drought with the driest two-year period on record (1976/77) to create an artificial 8.5-year mega-drought. To accommodate this scenario, rationing in the later years must be shifted into the earlier years, unnecessarily increasing rationing figures.

The graph below demonstrates how SFPUC policies harm the Tuolumne. Any time there’s a drought, they starve the river, hoarding water behind dams just in case we were to experience the Design Drought. Between 2012 and 2016, only 12% of the Tuolumne’s natural flow was left in the river. When precipitation returned in 2016/17, their reservoirs filled quickly, and all the water we conserved during the drought had to be “dumped.” The Tuolumne experienced one good year at the expense of five terrible years. This pattern has repeated for decades.

Balancing our water needs with those of the environment is not rocket science. Here’s what needs to happen.

1) The SFPUC should conduct a science-based probability analysis to determine how long of a drought they should plan for (adding a buffer to accommodate uncertainties).

2) They should identify what went wrong with past demand projections (their numbers have been off by an average of 22% over the past two decades), and correct the problems so they’re working with realistic projections.

3) Once they have a better understanding of how much water might be available for human consumption, the SFPUC should determine how much alternative supply (such as recycled water) needs to be developed to fill the potential deficit.

The possibility of running out of water is small. The likelihood of California’s Central Valley salmon going extinct is high if we continue to divert unsustainable amounts of water from our rivers. It’s time for the SFPUC to abandon their lawsuits and become a leader in river stewardship.

Peter Drekmeier is the Policy Director of Tuolumne River Trust

JUNE 2021

A Crisis of Leadership

by Mitch Bull, Publisher

When asked, ten people will probably have ten different answers on what constitutes leadership. In many cases, leadership has been exhibited by elected officials under times of conflict, tragedy, or turmoil.

I am a journalist and have a strong opinion on the recent mishandling of the events following the SFPD leaked report on the details regarding Public Defender Jeff Adachi’s passing. I believe in fact checking, decency, and abhor the sensational publications that line our checkout stands in the supermarket. While I do not condone the leaking of the SFPD report, the right of the freelance journalist who received it to report it, or market it is protected by law, under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the “Shield Law” of the California Constitution.

The SFPD obtained a search warrant, sledge-hammered the door to the freelance reporter’s apartment, handcuffed him for six hours, and confiscated his notes, computers, and materials.

This is a crisis of leadership. All of our elected officials are sworn to protect the laws of the United States and California. The actions of the SFPD were clearly against the law, and the actions of our elected officials condoning these illegal actions is shameful.”

Unfortunately, this is just the latest example of the free press being treated as “enemies of the people” as we have heard from some of those in Washington, the Philippines and other places.

Mayor Breed backed her police chief, failing to condemn the raid, basically saying that she is not a legal expert, but if a judge issued a warrant, it must be OK. Police Chief Bill Scott also supported the raid as a tool to get to the truth about where the leaked report came from. Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer stated that the journalist broke the law by receiving an illegally leaked report (incorrect), and that since he is selling the information the raid is somehow justified.

Now, several weeks later, Chief Scott admits the raid was a mistake and that the SFPD must do better due diligence in its investigations. Are we really expected to believe that he was not involved at the very highest levels when the SFPD applied for a search warrant and conducted the raid, violating the California Constitution and the reporter’s civil rights? What about the Superior Court judges who signed off on the search warrants? Surely they have heard of the Shield Law.

The Mayor started waffling in her responses almost immediately, but has never condemned the actions of the SFPD in the raid. Supervisor Fewer continues to “blame” the journalist for making money on the story and also claims she is not a legal expert.

The Shield Law exists for the protection of journalists and the integrity of the free press, one of the cornerstones of democracy. Anyone who is old enough to remember Watergate; “Deep Throat” and the Washington Post knows that leaked confidential information is protected by law.

Supervisors Peskin, Haney, Ronen, Brown and Stefani condemned the raid, as did District Attorney George Gascon. Even worse, ten days after the raid we have “no response” from several supervisors, including the President of the Board, Supervisor Norman Yee of District 7. No outrage, no concern for SFPD overreach? No comment on the trampling of free speech or civil rights? Nope, just crickets… still waiting for a comment.

This is not a “We made a mistake moment”, or “My Bad”. It is a violation of the California Constitution and a blatant attack on the press. All because someone in the SFPD (apparently) wanted to smear the memory and legacy of Jeff Adachi and the Public Defender’s Office.

The “duck and cover” mentality of those at the top is unacceptable. “I am not a legal expert” is a terrible excuse for violating the law. A clear lack of integrity and leadership is evident.

All citizens and voters within San Francisco should remember this when the next election for Supervisor, Mayor and Superior Court occur. I sure will.

Mitch Bull, Publisher, The Westside Observer, The Castro Courier

JUNE 2019

A Tragic Death on Woodside Avenue

Jose Carrasco relaxes with his two daughters

At the March 19 Health Commission meeting, Health Director Grant Colfax, MD announced the death of Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH) employee Jose Manuel Haros Carrasco.

On the afternoon of March 1st, the 37 year old LHH porter was struck by a vehicle while crossing near 255 Woodside Avenue alongside the southern border of the LHH campus. Haros Carrasco was rushed to SFGH but died 3 days later, leaving a bereaved wife and 3 children in South San Francisco. The Westside Observer requested and awaits the police report of the collision.

Though Haros Carrasco had only worked at LHH since June 2017, he was quickly promoted for his diligence in keeping the premises in “impeccable condition” and for his upbeat attitude. Recognized as “one of the hardest working; always on time and always doing the utmost quality work”, he “flashed a smile at every opportunity”, thereby spreading much-appreciated cheer within the LHH community. The Westside Observer extends its condolences to his grieving family and co-workers.

Following this tragic event, LHH supervisors reinforced safety tips to staff traveling to and from work. Representatives from San Francisco’s Vision Zero Task Force and the Municipal Transportation Agency visited the accident site to recommend street improvements that could prevent future injuries. The DPH Crisis Intervention Specialist Team has provided support to Haros Carrasco’s family.

Through March 2019, the City’s Vision Zero program recorded 10 traffic deaths, including 6 pedestrians. Among these was 14 year old student, Madlen Koteva, who died days after she was struck by a vehicle while crossing near the 600 block of John Muir Drive along Lake Merced on March 15th. Another 3 people died in freeway-related accidents, including one pedestrian. Despite SFMTA’s well-crafted Vision Zero Action Strategy, the 10 fatalities in just 3 months are alarming when compared to the 23 reported for all of 2018. Yet the stated goal is to reach 0 traffic deaths by 2024.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up to benefit his daughters.

MAY 2019

2019 James Madison Freedom of Information Award

James Madison Freedom of Information Award 2019

The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter, announced that the Westside Observer is the recipient of the 2019 James Madison Award in the Community News Media category. “The publication stands out among San Francisco’s neighborhood newspapers for fostering citizen journalism based on public records disclosures that shed light on city government and promote community engagement.” Publisher Mitch Bull thanked his intrepid team of reporters and the Editor for their commitment to San Francisco and their knowledgable efforts to hold City Hall accountable .

Please visit spjnorcal.org for information about past award winners. For additional information about the awards, winners, or awards dinner, please email the SPJ NorCal Freedom of Information Committee at spjnorcalfoi@gmail.com.

February 2019

An Apology from the Publisher:

In the March issue of the Westside Observer, we printed a story pertaining to the issue of housing in San Francisco, especially as related to Senate Bill 827, proposed by State Senator Scott Wiener, accompanied by a photograph of Senator Weiner participating in the Folsom Street Fair.

As the publisher of the newspaper I am ultimately responsible and I accept the input from the community groups (especially the LBGTQ community) that feels that it was a hit piece that promotes homophobia. This was not our intent, as we are part of an inclusive community of journalists who strive to bring quality local news to the citizens of San Francisco, and value inclusivity of all of our citizens.

We failed to recognize the ramifications of our actions, and it was a very large lack of judgment on our part.

I cannot undo the hurt feelings that we have caused, or the black eye that we have given ourselves. It does need to be noted that this error should in no way be attributable to the writer, or the large number of neighborhood groups and associations within the Westside of San Francisco, who welcome inclusivity.

I am extremely sorry about this and apologize to all citizens within the inclusive city of San Francisco, to the LBGTQ community and to our readers, our local community groups and advertisers who are our partners, and of course, Senator Wiener.

With this action, we failed all of you. It will not happen again.

Sincerely,
Mitch Bull-Publisher

An Apology from the Editor

Friends - I am the editor of the Westside Observer and take full responsibility for the photos, headlines and captions that appear in both the online and hardcopy editions of the neighborhood newspaper. I chose the photo of Scott Wiener with the caption "State Senator Scott Wiener at the Folsom Street Fair.” I choose photos, the writers do not, though they may recommend or supply photos from time-to-time. While I try to choose photographs with the goal of attracting interest in articles, I regret that this choice may have detracted from the content.

I realize that I sometimes have a strange sense of humor and it does sometimes get the best of me. This is possibly from my background as a cartoonist. I hope that, if anyone was offended, that they will forgive me, and know that I appreciate any criticisms that will help make the Westside Observer a better product. Be sure to email me editor(at)westsideobserver.com immediately if you have a concern.

As a long-time gay activist, I certainly had no homophobic agenda in the choice of that particular photo, and I am sorry some may have interpreted it that way. I take it for granted that homophobia is a thing of the past. I have removed it from the website because I do not wish to detract, in any way, from the fairness and accuracy of Mr. Wooding’s observations.

Doug Comstock
Editor, Westside Observer

A Modest Proposal:

Televise Bond Oversight Meetings

A committee created in 2002 to oversee bond spending has an image problem: Few have heard of the Citizen’s General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee (CGOBOC), or know of the many duties with which CGOBOC is charged. Broadcasting CGOBOC’s meeting on the City’s Government Channel (SFGOV-TV, Channel 26) would go a long way toward clearing up its image problem, and provide greater transparency of this important committee overseeing taxpayer money.

The public has a right to know how San Francisco government officials are spending billions in bond funds.

When Citizens General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee starts broadcasting and archiving its meetings, we’ll be watching.”

SFGOV-TV broadcasts and archives all meetings of the Board of Supervisors and its five or more various sub-committees; meetings of 34 separate Boards and Commissions in the City, including the Police Commission, Ethics Commission, Fire Department Commission, Public Health Department Commission, Recreation and Parks Commission, Planning Commission, and Public Utilities Commission, among others; and broadcasts free publicity for the Mayor.

Why should CGOBOC be exempt from broadcasting its meetings?

In March 2002 voters passed Proposition F to create this nine-member bond oversight committee to monitor expenditures of general bond proceeds and ensure bond revenues are spent only in accordance with stated bond measure provisions. Prop F’s legal text stipulated CGOBOC could commission independent outside auditors to review bond expenditures, and if the Committee found that funds weren’t being spent for purposes approved by voters, it could prohibit sale of any remaining funds.

CGOBOC currently oversees 11 general obligation bonds totaling $3.6 billion, and has received $3.6 million (one-tenth of one percent) from bond proceeds to support its functions. As of March 23, 2017 CGOBOC had a $1.73 million current account balance.

In November 2003, voters approved Prop C to create a City Services Auditor (CSA) in the City Controller’s Office. The CSA function sought to ensure every City program and City department receives regular management and performance audits. The Controller’s statement in the 2003 voter guide indicated that based on the FY 2003–2004 budget, an additional $5.3 million would be set aside, in addition to the $3.2 million then budgeted for auditing and performance measurement, for a total of $8.5 million. CSA’s annual allocation — two-tenths of one percent of the City’s overall budget — is now $16.3 million in the current City budget.

What are we getting for that outlay? Every City program and department has not received performance and management audits from CSA in the 14 years since Prop C passed. About half of CSA’s audits have been compliance audits of City contracts. Virtually no comprehensive departmental or programmatic audits.

Prop C also expanded CGOBOC’s duties to serve as a Citizens Audit Review Board (CARB) to review audits CSA prepares, to ensure all audits meet requirements, and also requires that CGOBOC review complaints submitted to the Controller’s whistleblower program.

In October 2016 members of a loosely-knit group of accountability activists known as the Sunshine Posse, members of San Franciscans for Sunshine (veteran activists for open government), and members of Friends of Ethics began advocating that CGOBOC broadcast its meetings to increase transparency of its many oversight functions.

Change orders to bond-funded capital improvement projects have long been a problem CGOBOC has all but ignored. Change orders — various categories of changes to a project’s scope of work — lead directly to project cost overruns, construction delays, and higher project costs.

Back in 2010, CGOBOC’s then-chairperson, Abraham Simmons — a former member of San Francisco’s Civil Grand Jury — agreed CGOBOC should demand that the City Controller work closely with CGOBOC to develop a thorough and standardized change order management policy to supplement CGOBOC’s limited focus on just financial bond encumbrances and expenditures to prevent cost over-runs. Since then, CGOBOC has all but abandoned examining change orders.

Broadcasting and archiving CGOBOC’s meetings on SFGOV-TV is estimated to cost just $9,579 annually, a ridiculously modest 0.55% of CGOBOC’s $1.73 million current budget balance. That’s why this is characterized as a modest proposal.

At its January 2017 meeting, CGOBOC voted 3-to-2, plus one abstention, to approve broadcasting, two votes shy of the threshold, so the motion failed.

City Controller staff mistakenly told CGOBOC members in January that there was a “wait list” for agencies seeking to broadcast. But Kathleen Clark, Acting Deputy Communications Director at the Department of Technology, said “SFGOV-TV does not have a ‘wait list’ for coverage.”

Due to public comments submitted prior to its March 23 meeting, CGOBOC re-considered its decision, voting 7-to-1 to approve broadcasting and archiving its meetings, with the lone “No” vote cast by CGOBOC’s Chairperson, Brian Larkin.

One member who voted “No” in January changed his vote to “Yes” after he listened to audio tapes on CGOBOC’s web site and agreed the quality of the out-dated audio technology is terrible. The member who “Abstained” changed his vote to “Yes” after being chided during public comment.

Cultural anthropologist Margaret Meade’s famous dictum — “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” — proved true in San Francisco on March 23.

When CGOBOC starts broadcasting and archiving its meetings, we’ll be watching.

April 2017

California Supreme Court Clears the Cobwebs

California Public Records Act (CPRA) gave the public access to government documents and records in 1968, "access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state." (§ 6250.) But it was originally designed to deal with paper documents. Today, much of governments activities take place in the digital realm, and may take place outside the office, often using private e-mail and other digital means.

Here, we hold that when a city employee uses a personal account to communicate about the conduct of public business, the writings may be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act."

So when Ted Smith requested disclosure of 32 categories of public records from the City of San Jose, and other agencies, and officials in June 2009, he was disappointed when e-mails and text messages "sent or received on private electronic devices used by" and "on the personal accounts" of the mayor, city council members, and their staffs were not disclosed. He sued the City, arguing that CPRA defines "public records" as all communications about official business, regardless of how they are created, communicated, or stored. The City maintained that such messages "are not public records because they are not within the public entity's custody or control." The trial court agreed with Smith and ordered disclosure, but on appeal the higher court stayed the disclosure.

Now, in a unanimous decision filed on March 2, 2017, the Supreme Court has reversed the Court of Appeal: "Here, we hold that when a city employee uses a personal account to communicate about the conduct of public business, the writings may be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act."

Reacting to the decision, Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors responded that "This is nothing new for the Members of the Board. Since the lower courts decision, I personally brief the Members, (including the new Members and their Legislative Staff) and I can tell you they understand and operate as city employees if they use their personal account to communicate official business the content may be subject to disclosure…"

Board Clerk Calvillo is to be commended, but City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who provides guidance for the other 40,000 full and part-time City employees has been less forthcoming. Sunshine activists have long been disturbed by Herrera's obstinate blocking of public access to records. John Coté, Communications Director for his offices, responded meekly, "We are aware of this opinion and we're reviewing it. We will be communicating to city employees about it in an appropriate manner."

A particular bone of contention between the City Attorney's Office and the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force has been the City's contention that older e-mails stored off-site are too burdensome to access, and therefore need not be disclosed. Herrera's Good Government Guide opines, "… departments need not search their back-up electronic files in response to a public records request. Back-up files serve the limited purpose of providing a means of recovery in cases of disaster, departmental system failure, or unauthorized deletion. They are not available for departmental use except in these limited situations. Electronic records such as e-mails that an employee has properly deleted under the department's records retention and destruction policy but that remain in back-up files are analogous to paper records that the department has lawfully discarded in the trash but may be found in a City-owned dumpster. Neither the Public Records Act nor the Sunshine Ordinance requires the City to search the trash for such records, whether paper or electronic."

David Snyder, Executive Director of the First Amendment Coalition agreed, "Smith v. City of San Jose helps clarify the definition of "owned, used or retained" under the CPRA. Specifically, it applies that definition to e-mails sent via personal (i.e., nongovernmental) e-mail, concluding that such records are indeed "owned, used or retained" by the government agency, even though the records are no longer literally within government possession, in the sense that they are not held on government-owned servers.

"Analogizing to the physical world, it stands to reason that if records are removed from city offices and taken, for example, to the private home of a city employee or to an off-site storage facility, they would and should still be considered to be "owned, used or retained" by the city and, thus, subject to the disclosure requirements of the CPRA."

It would be "appropriate" now for Herrera to revisit his "Good Government" model.

March 2017

New Laws for 2017 –
How Aware are You?

With the New Year celebrations, the swearing-in of a new administration in Washington, and new local politicos, taking office, you, may have missed the advisement of all of the new laws that took effect on January 1.

What you may not know is how busy the California legislature was in 2016, and some of the new laws and statutes. The members of the State Assembly and State Senate sent a whopping 1059 pieces of legislation to Governor Jerry Brown's desk for signature in 2016. Of those, the Governor signed 898 bills into law, vetoed 159, and let two become law without his signature. While many of the laws are fairly esoteric or a small tweak to an existing measure, there are several that could have a big impact if you run "afoul" of them.

Drivers are only allowed to activate or deactivate a feature or function on the device with a single swipe or tap and cannot do that while holding the device”

cell phone First and foremost is the new law regarding cellphone use while driving in a vehicle. While it has been against the law for several years to talk without using a hands-free device in your car, the new law (aimed at those who text) takes it one step farther: Californians are no longer allowed to use a handheld wireless telephone or wireless electronic device while driving, unless the device is mounted on the vehicle dashboard or windshield in a way that doesn't inhibit the driver's view of the road. Drivers are only allowed to activate or deactivate a feature or function on the device with a single swipe or tap and cannot do that while holding the device. Hold your phone in your lap and look down at the screen at your peril. The fines are high (exceeding $200) and are being strictly enforced, according to the CHP.

earpods Senate Bill 491 also affect drivers as it prohibits them from wearing headsets, earplugs or ear buds in or over both ears while operating a vehicle or bicycle.

Another new law affecting you and your car is SB 838, which increases the vehicle registration fee from $43 to $53 beginning on April 1.

infant AB53, passed in 2015 but just now going into effect, requires that all children under the age of 2 be fastened into rear-facing child safety seats. There is an exception for children who weigh at least 40 pounds or are at least 40 inches tall. Children under the age of 8 are required to ride in the back seat.

SB3 raised the California minimum wage from $10 per hour to $10.50 per hour for all businesses that have over 26 employees. Of course it is already higher in San Francisco.

Per SB 819, alcohol in a powdered form (yes it does exist) is now illegal to possess, sell, manufacture or use. It includes powdered alcohol that can be combined with water or other liquids to be reconstituted, but does not cover "vaporized" alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, beginning on January 1, it is now legal for beauty salons and barbershops to serve free wine and beer to their clients until 10 PM.

ballot Voter registration and mail-in balloting: AB1436, passed in 2012 but just now taking effect, allows people to register to vote on Election Day, with county election HQ serving as election hubs starting two weeks prior to Election Day. It allows for "conditional voter registration" which means the ballots aren't counted until officials verify that the voter is eligible and hasn't cast a ballot elsewhere. Current law cuts off voter registration 15 days prior to an election. SB450 also make casting a ballot much easier, as voters can now return mail-in ballots to any county elections office in the state, not just in the county that issued the ballot.

Epipen AB 1386 allows businesses to stock "EpiPens" in case there is a need to treat people suffering from life-threatening allergic reactions. The law allows pharmacies to give the devices to college, private businesses and other venues that have a plan in place for using them.

unisex AB1732 requires that all single-user toilet facilities in any business or public place to be "all-gender" facilities.

showers Homeless students at Community Colleges: Under AB 1995, all community college campuses with shower facilities on campus must allow homeless students who are enrolled, paid, and in good standing to use the facilities. Another law, AB 1747, requires public and private institutions that offer food services to apply for a state-funded program that provides food for homeless students.

Assault Weapon law: Voters passed a law that will require all Californians who own gun magazines with more than 10 rounds to give them up, starting July 1. Buyers must undergo a background check before buying ammunition and will be barred from buying new weapons that have a "bullet button, " which were developed by manufacturers to circumvent the state's assault weapons ban. A bullet button allows a gun user to quickly dislodge the gun magazine using the tip of a bullet.

AB 30 bans the use of the name "Redskins" from all California public school sports teams.

consent Sexual assault clarification: A person who sexually assaults an unconscious or severely intoxicated person will become a crime that is ineligible for probation, under SB 2888.

right Right-to-die legislation: Terminally ill patients in California will now be allowed to use experimental drugs, which do not have full regulatory approval, to decide when they want to end their lives. It authorizes, but does not require health plans to cover investigational drugs and protects physicians from disciplinary actions if they recommend them once other treatment options have been exhausted.

These are just a few of the 898 laws that were passed. To see more of the new legislation go onto the website of the State of California.

February 2017

Measure RR: Keep BART Safe and Reliable

By Phil Ting,Assemblymember, and Nick Josefowitz, BART Director

On your November 8 ballot, you have the opportunity to dramatically improve our regional transportation system. Measure RR is a $3.5 billion bond measure to keep BART safe and reliable after 44 years of operation. This funding will allow BART to replace over 90 miles of old rails, upgrade its 1960s train-control system, repair aging tunnels, update electrical power systems, and enhance existing stations. This will be the first time since its opening in 1972 that BART has asked the voters to fund major renewal of its essential infrastructure.

Measure RR is the culmination of years of work by a new generation of BART leadership committed to reinvesting in the core. These efforts began by securing funding to replace BART’s aging rail cars with new trains that will begin to be put into service early next year. BART has also transformed how it does maintenance, shifting from a system that simply reacted to malfunctions and urgent repairs to one that proactively repairs and upgrades equipment before problems occur. This has nearly doubled the number of miles each train car can travel before it experiences a breakdown, and has made BART the best subway system in the country in terms of portion of its fleet stuck in maintenance yards.

With the funding that Measure RR will provide, BART can take the vital next step in this turnaround. In addition to maintaining safety and reliability - these investments will allow BART to significantly increase capacity. Power upgrades and a modern train control system will allow BART faster and more frequent service, accommodating nearly 200,000 additional daily riders. This additional capacity is more than the daily ridership of Muni Metro and would represent the single largest increase in public transit capacity in the history of the Bay Area.

Many Westside residents do not have a BART station nearby, but BART is a critical piece of our Bay Area transportation system that helps everyone get to work. These fundamental infrastructure investments are essential even for those who don’t ride BART, such as Muni riders and car commuters. More congested streets and highways are what we see when BART is unreliable, or when it can’t keep pace with regional growth. For example, studies found that without BART, congestion on the Bay Area’s busiest highways would triple.

Measure RR investments will also generate deep environmental benefits. BART already has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile of any major US rail system. Upgrading BART’s electrical infrastructure will allow more on-site solar power at BART stations and yards, helping BART deliver its commitment to go to 100% renewables by 2025. And increasing BART’s capacity is also one of the most cost effective tools to get drivers off the road, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping improve our air quality.Westside residents know as well as anyone the importance of clean air and livable streets that aren’t clogged by an endless procession of cars.

When BART works, we all benefit.

BART is at a critical moment. Without meaningful investment, declining reliability and capacity constraints will undermine our sustainability goals, increase roadway congestion, and disrupt access to jobs and services. On November 8, it’s time to take responsibility for our transportation infrastructure, and rebuild BART from the ground up. Please vote yes on Measure RR.

November 2016

PROP C: A Lot of Bang for the Bucks

By George Wooding, Peter Cohen

San Franciscans will have Proposition C before us on the November ballot. It is a very simple measure to allow already-approved bonds to be used for one of the City's most pressing issues of our day—preserving housing affordable for low and middle-income San Franciscans.

…what's the impact to Taxpayers from Proposition C? Nothing. Updating the 1992 bond would address today's housing needs without any increased costs to voters."

Proposition C would expand the eligible uses from the 1992 seismic safety bond for unreinforced masonry (ie, brick) buildings to also include the rehab of at-risk residential buildings, including wood-frame "soft story" seismic retrofits and other fire, safety and code upgrades, and in the process allow the buildings to be made permanently affordable. There are at-risk buildings scattered across the City, usually small mult-unit apartments like in the Mission, Castro, SoMa and Richmond, and along commercial streets.

With $260 million in remaining bond authorization, that could result in over a thousand homes brought up to safety and long-term affordability.

It is a lot of bang for the bucks, a smart investment for the City in maintaining the value of residential buildings as part of San Francisco's infrastructure.

And you might ask, what's the impact to Taxpayers from Proposition C? Nothing. Updating the 1992 bond would address today's housing needs without any increased costs to voters. No new bonding capacity would be created beyond what was previously authorized. Prop C also includes oversight and transparency provisions to ensure accountability.

Finally, as important, Prop C is an urgent anti-displacement initiative, funding the preservation of existing homes to provide stability for tenants at risk of evictions. Often these tenants are facing threat of Ellis Act evictions, which can be avoided if the buildings are acquired on the market and made permanently affordable housing for those residents and other low and middle-income tenants in the years ahead. Proposition C is an important step toward ensuring stability and housing for all.

Proposition C is endorsed by the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods and the San Francisco Neighborhood Network, and supported by Supervisor Yee and all other members of the Board of Supervisors, as well as the Mayor. Join us in making this great investment in housing!

Peter Cohen is the co-director of the Council of Community Housing Organizations, George Wooding is the President of the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods.

September 2016

Thank you Chief!

By John Farrell

First off, I do not personally know Police Chief Greg Suhr and was disheartened to read that he resigned. He was a year ahead of me at St. Ignatius but we never crossed each other's paths over the years to really get to know each other. I know people close to him, and know a lot of the rank and file. I have read about his career over the years through the newspapers and have always rooted for him.

As a native you grow up competing against other schools like Riordan, Sacred Heart, Lowell, Lincoln, to name a few, but as you get older you root for them as fellow San Franciscans, and wish them all the best because the City is the common bond we all have.

Whether you liked the Chief or not, which I do, I can tell you one thing, Greg Suhr would never sell out the City. And as Al Pacino said in the movie Scent of a Woman, "That is called integrity.”

In my opinion, he is the first Police Chief hired over the last 20 years based on qualifications and not based primarily on race or gender. The prior chief was selected by our previous Mayor who was running for governor and needed the Hispanic vote. Do I have anything personal against this man? No. Was he qualified? Probably yes. Was he hired for the right reason? No. He wasn't hired for the best interest of the City but for the best interest of a political campaign. But what else is new.

That's why Chief Suhr was different. Whether you liked the Chief or not, which I do, I can tell you one thing, Greg Suhr would never sell out the City. And as Al Pacino said in the movie Scent of a Woman, "That is called integrity."

There are over 1700 police officers who protect our City every day. I thank you all for that. Just because a handful make bad judgment calls shouldn't overshadow all the positives. Keep in mind that we all have our differences, but we all bleed red, and we are all in this together. There isn't one organization in the world without a couple of bad eggs.

I will continue to root for Greg since I know his heart is in the right place. And that heart is in San Francisco.

John Farrell Broker/Realtor® – Farrell Real Estate, MBA, Former City Asst. Assessor-Budget/Special Projects, 5th Generation San Franciscan, Westside resident - farrellreinvestments@yahoo.com

June 2016

Harvesting the Cannabis Taxes

With Governor Jerry Brown’s signatures on AB 266, AB 243 and SB 643, California took historic and progressive steps to collect taxes and provide a regulatory framework for California’s 20 year-old medicinal Cannabis Industry, bringing an underground economy out of the shadows.

...it is still classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance and banks or credits unions face the threat of criminal prosecution if they provide banking services to medicinal (or recreational) cannabis operations.”

Local control will be the basic component of the new regulations that state and county officials will now begin to consider in public meetings and legislative research.

The core effect of the new laws will be to strengthen the rights of local officials to levy taxes, regulate land use and zoning, and specify rules of cultivation and sales.

Despite the current federal administration’s hands-off policy toward marijuana, it is still classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance and banks or credits unions face the threat of criminal prosecution if they provide banking services to medicinal (or recreational) cannabis operations. This remains true even if financial institutions follow the federal guidance of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued by the Justice Department and Treasury, as well as the money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970.

Job one: get Medicinal Cannabis Dispensaries (MCDs) banked. This is the first step because that would allow California to get back the taxes it is owed. In 2014, according to Fiona Ma, Member of the State Board of Equalization (SBOE), $28 million of sales tax was collected from licensed dispensaries—only about 35% of the MCDs in operation in the state. That leaves about $73 million uncollected from the Medical Cannabis Dispensaries that are not paying sales taxes.

During a Presidential election year it is unlikely that the federal government will address the conflict between federal and state laws. The state needs to step up and find a creative proposal to bank this well-established industry. Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Healdsberg, has introduced AB 1549 to create a credit union within the SBOE. Keep an eye on this next year when the Legislature reconvenes.

California needs to provide leadership to resolve this legal roadblock. What this state adopts will force the federal government into action, let’s hope they get it right.

November 2015

Bad Apple Alert

The “Clean Power” ballot initiative many people encountered as signature gatherers circulated in the last few weeks is actually an effort by long-time opponents of clean power alternatives to assure that it will never happen. Many people who were duped into signing the petitions were assured that they were supporting clean power, public power or renewable energy. They may be surprised to learn that its restriction to 100% renewables would make obtaining commercial energy very nearly impossible in the real world—there is no such thing as 100% renewable power. A system without some fossil fuel capabilities or access will fail under high stress situations —proponents do not apply these restrictions to the current power monopoly.

… its restriction to 100% renewables would make obtaining commercial energy very nearly impossible in the real world—there is no such thing as 100% renewable power.”

If proponents of this measure wish to assure that the status quo continues unabated, why not just put the question on the ballot in a straightforward manner?

State law specifically prohibits “Willfully and knowingly circulating, publishing, or exhibiting any false statement or misrepresentation concerning the contents, purport or effect of any petition for the purpose of influencing any person to sign that petition.”

While it is too late to withdraw a name from a petition once it is in the validation process, citizens need a better way to file complaints when they have been mislead.

July/August 2015

It’s Our Right and Our Duty to Petition

By Doug Comstock

Supervisor Scott Wiener at Folsom Street Fair

As Californians we all have the power to make law. The initiative process gives us that power. It was adopted at the turn of the last century and it served to break the railroads’ monopoly at a time when elected politicians were firmly in the railroads’ pockets. Recent “citizen initiatives” — petitions by regular folks who have hit the streets to get signatures for various causes including saving our cable cars, raising the minimum wage, protecting neighborhood firehouses, limiting campaign contributions, bringing Sunshine to the backrooms of City Hall and stopping the growing height limits on the waterfront.

Now Supervisor Scott Wiener, another politician firmly placed among the powers that swing the purse, has taken it upon himself to “improve” the citizen initiative process. We’re not sure if he’s sore that his pet projects, like 8 Washington went down to ignominious defeat or that height limits on the waterfront were adopted — both via citizen initiative. Whatever it is, Supervisor Wiener wants to water down the process and make the signature gathering so difficult that only his wealthy special interests can participate, and ordinary citizens will have to go before the Board of Supervisors, hat in hand, to beg for the right to exercise their civic duty.

With local politicians dancing to the tunes that high priced lobbyists and contributors play it has never been more valuable to have the citizen initiative process available to solve the problems that elected officials refuse to confront.”

The City is changing fast, and monied interests are at the front of the line. The sway that highly capitalized campaigns have to persuade voters was very apparent in the last several elections. With local politicians dancing to the tunes that high priced lobbyists and contributors play it has never been more valuable to have the citizen initiative process available to solve the problems that elected officials refuse to confront.

As Quentin Kopp put it in last month’s Westside Observer column: “Wiener will undoubtedly persuade power-loving colleagues to present his anti-democratic measure to November 2015 voters; I invite all readers to join efforts to stop the silencing of voters by voting “No” on Wiener’s sly scheme this November.” This is important.

April 2015

City College—What’s all the Fighting About?

San Francisco is in danger of losing an irreplaceable asset, our 80 year-old college. Yet the problem is not the quality of its education; educational standards exceed the Accrediting Commission’s (ACCJC) requirements. Nor is the College in financial trouble, the duly elected Trustees—prior to their undemocratic replacement with a “Special Trustee”— left the college in the green, with a balanced budget.

Especially hurt by this rule are seniors who enjoy taking an exercise class or any of the wonderful art classes, or immigrants who need to repeat basic skills or master English as second language (ESL).”

So if it’s not the education or the finances, what is the problem?

The ACCJC’s beef with our community college is about data—they want a top-down administration that concentrates on graduation numbers. This is needed, they contend, to deal with fiscal problems generated by students who do not graduate or transfer. They contend the state can no longer subsidize students who want or need to repeat a class. But their solution, “no repeatability,” is causing irreparable fiscal harm.

Since California community colleges began enforcing the “repeatability” regulations last fall, enrollment has fallen 17% at SF City College. While much of it is caused by the ACCJC, much can be ascribed to the rule. Teachers are scrambling to keep enough students to qualify classes, and many classes have closed, excellent teachers have given up, moving on to other colleges or professions. Especially hurt by this rule are seniors who enjoy taking an exercise class or any of the wonderful art classes, or immigrants who need to repeat basic skills or master English as second language (ESL). Where else can newcomers become acculturated? It is not easy for everyone.

Our formerly balanced budget cannot survive this newly imposed agenda.

Last month we asked our readers (Don’t Kick Grandma Out of Pottery Class) to sign the petition to reverse the repeatability rule and we appreciate the response. If you haven’t signed the petition, please do it now:

October 2014

Don't Kick Grandma Out of Pottery Class!

By Karina Morales senior potter

One of the biggest problems currently facing City College is declining student enrollment and its domino effect on funding. A big share of that problem comes, not from the City, but from Sacramento, led by one Barbara Bento, whose war on San Francisco’s City College is wreaking havoc that may be irreparable.

Using the rationale that “Budget cuts have forced us to ration education” the Board of Governors, who worry that “we are currently turning away hundreds of thousands of students from our campuses,” have issued a statewide blanket regulation, turning away thousands of students, causing classes to close, all while we are losing great teachers and endangering the financial health of the greatest community college in the state. “No repeatability of classes,” is the pinion regulation of the “Student Success Plan”.

The rule against repeatability is devastating to seniors for whom ongoing class participation can mean the difference between years of isolation or association with like-minded friends.”

The repeatability rule means professionals who took a class in Dreamweaver, version 3, now find they cannot return and take Dreamweaver in version 8; similarly InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Excel, Word and many continually changing tech programs are no longer repeatable. What an incredibly ill conceived ruling, considering San Francisco has become home to several of the world’s most innovative technology producers. It is critical to keep current with technical advances, yet the college can no longer offer this valuable service to interested learners.

Many seniors have formed friendships and communities with fellow students. The rule against repeatability is devastating to seniors for whom ongoing class participation can mean the difference between years of isolation or association with like-minded friends. Gerontologists tell us social engagement is a key to healthy aging. Throwing Grandma out of the pottery class she loves is not the solution to the high cost of education.

The Governors want to privatize these ‘unnecessary’ classes — “join a gym,” or “take a private pottery class” is their solution. Now exercise and visual arts classes can only be taken once—aerobics, dance, music, painting, drawing; all the arts that need continual practice. Why not offer repeatability, so City College is fulfilling its mission of access to everyone? Students and faculty traveled to Sacramento and testified against the change.

Now, students who wish to take one class, repeat classes, pursue a certification, or transfer to four-year colleges and students who are not aiming for a degree — like our seniors — have been pushed out of classes in music, dance, exercise, and art classes. They may only be taken once. Who thinks that’s a good idea?

Reversing the repeatability ruling could return a lot of students, perhaps enough to fill the 23% enrollment decline. It is very shortsighted of the Governors to take this hard line against life-long learning, long a mission of City College.

Take a step — sign up for a class — join Trustee Anita Grier’s petition to restore repeatability here.

September 2014

Affirmative Action in Admissions: One Perspective

By John Lum

Recent articles and letters-to-the-editor in Bay Area newspapers concerning race as a factor in admissions to the University of California have lacked perceptive and depth. The major inference has been that most Asians, particularly Chinese, are against affirmative action.

Just getting a high GPA and scoring highly on standardized tests alone are no longer sufficient. Every student admitted must demonstrate a real potential …”

It should be clarified from the start that racial consideration is only one kind of affirmative action. Asians have long borne the brunt of all other affirmative action tactics. They have complied with busing and diversity measures that have placed them away from their nearby schools into underperforming schools. They have endured much non-Asian on Asian violence during, traveling to and returning from those underperforming schools. They have complied with school assignment practices which required them to have higher grades and test scores to get into the schools of their choices, when that was a legal school district tactic. And now, they are meeting additional affirmative action admissions criteria developed by the University of California.

Proposition 209 forbids race as a factor in college admissions, among other places. In compliance, the University of California has instituted a number of affirmative action admissions initiatives that have given all races and ethnicities more equal footing in competing for acceptance. These initiatives have been staffed by well-trained diverse staff members at all levels of leadership who are sensitive to, and aware of, all the unique issues that students face at the schools they come from, public or private, performing or underperforming.

“Ideal” students are no longer those only with high grade point averages and test scores. Consideration is now given to how well students perform and rank within their individual schools relative to resources available there and in their communities. Consideration is given to those who take advantage of challenging courses and activities, both within their schools and outside of their schools. Consideration is given to those who have made great strides in overcoming adversities in their homes, schools, and communities. Consideration is given to those who demonstrate sustained participation and meaningful leadership. In a word, consideration is given to all those factors that impact upon students’ backgrounds, regardless of their ethnicities and schools, factors that they need to have resolved if they are to enter prepared at a university system that emphasizes research, the creating of new ideas, and social responsibility. Just getting a high GPA and scoring highly on standardized tests alone are no longer sufficient. Every student admitted must demonstrate a real potential to fulfill the high purposes of the University of California. By using the holistic considerations mentioned here, there is a leveling of the playing field without resorting to one’s skin color, which of itself reflects nothing. All of these considerations apply, regardless of the type of school one attends.

If race were to be authorized as a consideration for UC admissions, Asians and others, for once, cannot adjust, as they have done at all other times before. They cannot change their skin colors. Indeed, it is not far-fetched to say, in the case of SCA5 (Senate Constitutional Amendment 5), that using racial or ethnic preference for any one group is, at the same time, using it as anti-affirmative action against other groups.

We do not hear that the emergency unit of a public hospital has to stop serving emergency patients because it has reached, say, 10% of a particular racial group, and can therefore accept no more of that group until a parity of 90% of other racial groups are admitted. The qualification for acceptance is specialized medical need, not race or ethnicity.

We do not hear that a public library has to stop loaning out more than 10% of its books to that same particular racial group until 90% of other racial groups take out books. The qualification for loaning out books is the desire to read, not race or ethnicity.

We do not hear that Asians can qualify for welfare benefits if they have no income, but Hispanics cannot unless they have earned income of at least $10,000 first. The qualification for welfare type benefits is economic need, not race or ethnicity.

Similarly, the qualifications for entry into the University of California are well-defined levels of competencies and preparedness that all racial and ethnic groups, regardless of their backgrounds, can compete on a level playing field. All racial and ethnic groups have resources and opportunities, academic and social, within their own schools, homes, and communities of which they can take advantage to improve their standings in the eyes of the University of California.

The University of California continues to find and to address the debilitating conditions that different people face. Asians have and will continue to comply with UC’s affirmative action practices. To infer otherwise is a disservice to all.

John Lum is a concerned citizen.

May 2014

Prop 16-PG&E’s Public Option Perplex

You’ve got to hand it to the ad boys over on Beale Street. The day they realized they could not compete in the marketplace against cheaper community rates must have been a sobering moment. Seems PG&E’s monopoly is threatened by Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in Marin and San Francisco counties. Since Sacramento’s SMUD continues to provide cheaper power to the capitol building itself and provides money for community welfare as well, the CCA competition has befuddled the PG&E lobbyists in Sacramento. They were unable to wine and dine the elected representatives to get their anti-competition legislation passed the old-fashioned way.

While PG&E can’t compete in the marketplace, they’ve proved they can outspend opponents at the ballot box. So, what they couldn’t accomplish in the domed halls of Sacramento, the bright guys in the caverns of Beale Street’s Madvertising Department seek to accomplish via a new multimillion-dollar campaign cloaked in the trappings of voter’s rights, to assure that their monopoly continues in perpetuity, the real purpose of Proposition 16.

In a way the initiative has underscored the “public option” fight in Washington, where well-paid lobbyists squelched public demand for an alternative solution to health care outside the insurance lobby. In California, led by the venerable ratepayers rights organization TURN (Toward Utility Rate Normalization) the right of ratepayers to buy cheaper (and usually greener) power known as Community Choice Aggregation survived the legislative process. Additionally, this PG&E funded initiative casts an unflattering light on the recent Supreme Court decision to allow corporations to maintain their stranglehold on the public by spending unlimited amounts of money in elections. Recent reports estimate that PG&E has spent $35 million for TV, mail and every other contrivance known to campaign consultants.

As a “Voters Rights” campaign, Prop 16 contradicts itself. The basic premise of “voters rights” is one man, one vote. By requiring a two-thirds majority Prop 16 seeks to impose the view of the minority of voters on the majority, rather than the majority rule usually associated with “voters rights.” Hundreds of junk-mailers touting “voters rights” will soon be in our mailboxes aiming to gloss over that disparity, but it remains a fatal flaw in the legislation. There are better ways to protect the minority than making permanent changes to the state’s constitution.

Community Choice Aggregation may or may not be the best alternative energy solution and we do not intend to tackle that complex question in this commentary. We think that is best left up to local governments assessing their available resources. Questions like this should be presented by elected officials at publicly noticed hearings, complete with public hearings that allow free flow of information from both sides and followed by a vote of representatives who will have to answer for their choice at the polls.

What is most troubling about this obviously misleading campaign is the misuse of the citizen initiative process. Originally conceived to break the railroad monopoly by the great Californian, Hiram Johnson, at a time when the Assembly and Senate of California were in the grip of the moneyed interests, the right of citizens outside the legislature to originate legislation is sacrosanct—too important to be interfered with. Proposition 16 seeks to establish a monopoly, not by citizens without access to their elected officials, but by a corporation seeking to prevent competition. Here a multi-billion dollar corporation clearly subverts the process, pouring $35 million into gathering signatures to place this initiative on the ballot, and to assure its passage.

PG&E should spend the millions they extract from the ratepayers to improve service and compete in the marketplace with alternative sources of energy, not at the ballot box. We join the Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, LA Times and most other newspapers in the state in questioning this unprecedented assault on voters. No on Proposition 16.

May 2010

Human Error, Murder or Steroid Abuse?

By H. Brown

The New Years Day shooting of 22 year-old Oscar Grant III by BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, now under arrest, is a red flag for anyone who follows steroid abuse by law enforcement officials.

“The source described him (the officer who shot Oscar Grant) as physically fit and respected by peers within the organization.” That’s from Demian Bulwa’s Chronicle piece. There is general agreement that the drug makes your body bigger and your actions more aggressive.

Go Google ‘BART shooting’ and check out the video of the murder (call it what it is) ... check out the video that draws a circle around the cop and clearly shows him rise up clear of the victim, draw his weapon and simply shoot him in the back when the officer was in no danger whatever.

As someone who has studied the steroid phenomenon since my days as a fireman, I immediately recognized that these cowboys were way too large for normal people. Call me a silly, but it occurred to me that this could be yet another instance of steroid rage. I pushed all the media moguls on my list again. Challenged them to ask if the shooter was tested for steroids.

None asked. The Chronicle did a couple of editorials but despite their record of keeping the word ‘steroids’ on their front page for a couple of years as long as it applies to a black athlete, they kept it out of their reporting when it came to police.

The Examiner’s Tamara Aparton was the only one who broached the topic of drugs at all. She got Alameda County D.A., Tom Orloff to say in the Examiner that “Results from drug and alcohol tests on former BART Officer Johannes Mehserie and findings from the autopsy of 22 year-old Oscar Grant III will also be expedited.”

What drugs was he tested for? Steroids? You can bet not. And, not testing for them should be a point at the guy’s trial (assuming he’s one of those rare individuals actually tried). Lemme give you a quick story.

On ‘60 Minutes’ a decade or so back there was a segment where they interviewed a guy who had been a highway patrol officer in some western state. He was in prison for mudering a woman who ran a roadside diner. He killed her because she complained about him wanting to use the phone for free.

He told the correspondent that he got more and more angry with her as he drove away from the place and finally (under the influence of steroids) became convinced that she was such a danger to the police community that she had to be killed.

So, he drove back and killed her and buried her body in a shallow grave in the desert. Steroids may make you bigger and stronger but it does not improve your judgment. But, for some reason, though every editor in town knows that steroids and cops are a deadly combination, they will not touch the subject. Barry Bonds? Of course. Officer Mehserle? No way.

Steroids beget behavior problems. It is rumored to be de rigeur for members of certain units to take the drug in order to work in their surroundings. Motorcycle cops. Jail and prison guards. And, of course, anyone who wants to bat in the fourth slot for the Giants.

Grant family attorney John Burris should immediately demand this guy be tested for steroids. I’ve been lobbying for this for years and not a single local news outlet has had the guts to pick it up. ‘Roids are a recognized problem nationally but not here.

Of course they’re a problem here, too. Candidates to replace Heather Fong should all have to present their views on police use of steroids and testing of same. The SF Police Officers Association pushed through their last contract with provisions for drug testing of officers for everything except steroids.

I went home and Googled ‘aggressio and steroids’ and got over a half a million entries. The National Institute of Health and their National Institute on Drug Abuse is of the mind that steroids cause female breasts on males, acne and heart attacks and several kinds of liver cancer.

They think steroids bring on early death and rage and mania and delusions. Without exceptions, contradictory claims are reported in astro-turf publications funded by various drugs companies who manufacture the various types of steroids.

I do not think it is too radical an idea that our safety officers should be tested for steroids.

Editor’s Note: Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKy-WSZMklc

February 2009

Guest Editorial: Exclusive to the West of Twin Peaks Observer

JROTC in San Francisco Public Schools

By Dr. Dan Kelly

Vote No on Proposition V

Before phasing out JROTC, the School Board listened to students, parents and community members on both sides. It weighed the arguments and considered what might be lost and what might be gained. It learned that many students seek leadership and community service opportunities, and that they want electives and after school activities which confer skills that translate into careers later.
Students identified these qualities in numerous activities, such as Peer Resources, sports teams, outdoor education, student newspapers, activity clubs, Service Learning, Student Government, and others which already exist in the District without the drawbacks of JROTC. Eight hundred students petitioned the School Board to end JROTC and to use the $1,000,000 saved to expand and add to existing programs.
JROTC's contract with the School District requires a "course of military instruction" by instructors who don't need even a college degree. No JROTC classes meet State academic standards, and military skills translate poorly into real-world job skills. Lower skills mean lower prospects for the poor and minority students who are the primary targets of JROTC. But four years of military classes leave less room for the math, science, and foreign language classes, which do provide solid preparation for college and careers.
San Franciscans overwhelmingly opposed recruitment in schools when they passed Proposition I in 2005, so JROTC supporters now deny that JROTC recruits children locally, while admitting that it does so elsewhere. JROTC directives and policy statements urge instructors to "facilitate contact with recruiters", to "sell the Army story", and to contact students as early as possible. "Seventeen is too late", states one such directive. The Pentagon boasts that 40 – 50% of all JROTC cadets join the military. JROTC supporters continue to deny it. But the School District has no information on local enlistment and the supporters don't either. They simply haven't asked for real numbers from the Pentagon, the only agency that could know.
How voluntary is JROTC? Many students are forced into San Francisco JROTC for purely administrative reasons, or as punishment. Immigrants have been told to accept JROTC assignment to protect their families from deportation. Three quarters of those who chose JROTC said they wanted to avoid Physical Education, and half of JROTC cadets would take non-military marching band if offered.
Before it voted, the School Board also noted that JROTC instructors, who are chosen by the military, can't be openly gay; that JROTC creates funding imbalances between schools; and that JROTC instructors, who carry half the student load, receive much higher pay than credentialed teachers.
Last year the School Board ended involuntary placements in JROTC, and enrollment dropped 30%. This year it is allowing more substitutes for Physical Education, exploring band funding, and starting a new, four-year Leadership track. It is responding to what students want and need.
Proposition V is a divisive wedge issue placed on the ballot with funding from conservative groups outside SF, and outside the State. Students deserve greater opportunities without military sponsorship. Vote No on Proposition V.

September 2008

JROTC School Board Decision

When ideology comes before students, students lose.

By Johnnie K. Wang

On June 26, the Board of Education called its second Special Meeting in two weeks to re-vote on a resolution that failed to pass during the first Special Meeting the week before. The Board chose to re-interpret its own procedures and precedent to guarantee a passing vote for this resolution. The meeting was scheduled on a short notice when both board members who support JROTC, Hydra Mendoza and Kim Shree-Maufas, were out of town. The public did not have a fair hearing. This underhanded political move not only hurt the students, their program, and the schools, but it significantly undermined what's left of the school board's reputation and will force them to reopen all 3-3 failed resolutions.

Eliminating P.E. credit for JROTC is fiscally and operationally a nightmare for our 7 high schools: Burton, Balboa, Lincoln, Lowell, Mission and Washington. Since freshmen and sophomores must take classes awarding PE credit, we are assured that PE classes will swell and JROTC enrollment will fall drastically. The very tight 2008-2009 school budget was approved without any room for extras. Schools are desperately trying to hire more P.E. teachers and figure out how to accommodate these extra students with existing school facilities.

Jill Wynns informed the Board that the school sites cannot accommodate more PE classes, especially at two of the largest high schools (Lincoln and Washington) which are under construction. The master schedule for next fall has been set and students have selected their schedule. Principals are away for the summer so nothing can happen until they come back in late August.

Next fall will be horrendous for students, principals and counselors given the elimination of P.E. credit for JROTC. There is no plan or extra budget to deal with this.
Some real programmatic issues for which parents and the community should be concerned:
(1) 90% of JROTC cadets are minorities,
(2) 70% of JROTC instructors are minorities,
(3) 98% of the JROTC cadets go on to college and
(4) less than 3% of JROTC cadets enter the military.
The government also funds 50% of the instructors' salaries and 100% of the program expenses such as computers, drum corps instruments, field trips, uniforms, etc.

The Board has also turned its back on government funding. So what has the school board offered to replace this it? Not much. The current recommendation is an ethnic studies program that has yet to be developed and or piloted. And it only addresses a "during" school program. What about an after school program? There is no talk of it, let alone any money to fund it. Where are these students at the 7 high schools supposed to go after school?

Why is the school board targeting JRTOC when the cost is so high? The Board claims threats of lawsuits by Public Advocates but no "threat" has been filed nor has there been an intent to file. Is it purely politics? Is the Board catering to the anti-military progressive agenda, which many board members perceive as a springboard to higher office — even though the JROTC is only military by name.

The Board of Education has failed to fulfill their responsibility to the schools and to the community. Rather, they have chosen to follow a political ideology. The School Board should not be a stepping stone to higher office.

August 2008

Sunshine Government

Listen Up

By Kimo Crossman

Imagine sitting at home — or in your office, or on the drive to work (or on the bus/BART) or in your favorite café or really anywhere with your ipod mp3 player (podcast) — and listening in on what are now essentially secret, backroom policy discussions and even decisions in the San Francisco mayor’s office just like Books on Tape. Imagine listening to a Department of Environment discussion about the need for more trees in the city which was not covered by the few full-time local City Hall reporters left. Or listening to discussions about the five/ten year capital planning for future bonds (like Prop A for the SF General Hospital seismic retrofit or the recent scandalous Library reauthorization) or reading a same day local political blog post about how the current bonds are being (mis)spent with accompanying audio recriminations by the Citizen’s Bond and Oversight Committee. Possibly, you’ve stumbled onto the local government access COMCAST channels SFGTV 26 or 78? If so, you’ve seen colorful discussions at the Taxi Commission or video shorts about candidates for upcoming elections.

Right now only about 30 of the 80+ regular City Hall meetings are televised and posted online for on-demand or download viewing. Some of the remaining 80+ meetings are at least audio tape recorded, and those recordings are available to the public by special request but must be paid for, often in advance. Earlier this Summer, in an effort to increase transparency, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi introduced legislation to expand the recording mandate and require that hearings held in City Hall be recorded and be posted online within 72 hours. Currently only policy bodies must audio tape their meetings but this mandate increased the requirement to agency and departmental hearings and lesser known advisory bodies filled with citizens passive meetings like the Library CAC.

It was such an obvious and popular idea that the Board of Supervisors overwhelmingly supported it and overrode a Gavin Newsom veto, enacting the first enhancement to the Sunshine Initiative since it was passed by the voters. Newsom claimed that the enhanced transparency mandate would be too costly, but further research has shown that the city has all the equipment, contracts and staff in place to implement this transparency mandate today, and the measure will probably save money. Yet the bureaucrats at City Hall continue to resist further public scrutiny. Jack Chin, head of SFGTV following apparent mayoral prohibitions and Angela Calvillo, Clerk of the Board through Frank Darby Administrator of the Sunshine Task Force continue to raise spurious technical, budget or procedural reasons to prevent implementation of this simple improvement.

It is even more disappointing that the Sunshine Task Force has not been aggressive about implementing the new law. So far there has only been one agendized discussion on this failure, and that lasted a paltry 20 minutes. Since this recording and posting procedure is now required over any regular job duty for a civil servant at SFGTV, the meeting clerk staff or any other city employee must comply.

It is sad that Newsom, city staff and Dennis Herrera’s City Attorney’s are doing everything they can to prevent the ability of you and me to easily monitor the discussions and decisions which happen every day in City Hall. Giving citizens and reporters quick access to the goings-on at City Hall is a major step forward, we should demand that the foot-dragging cease.

Kimo Crossman is a government watchdog, a member of the Sunshine Posse. He is available at kimo@webnetic.net

Local News.

We can’t do it without you.

I’m In !

Is the City writing off 120 badly needed public nursing home beds?

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

120 newly built rooms will remain empty indefinitely. Many San Franciscans who needs a bed will have to wait or go out of county.

Read More

SFMTA’s Traffic Calming Fiascos

Are the “Safety Projects” Safe?

by George Wooding

As the death rates increase, will SFMTA stop building slow streets, neck-down configurations, and quick-build projects?

Read More

Remember Prop E in 2024?

Here Comes the Commission Streamlining Task Force

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

Voters passed Prop. E in 2024 to establish a Task Force charged with modifying, eliminating, or combining the City’s appointive boards.

Check it out

Neighbors Review Plans for Brotherhood Way

by Anne Marie Kristoff

Three bold proposals unveiled for Brotherhood Way and Alemany Boulevard go beyond traffic safety to tackle environmental concerns.

Check it out

Philanthropy—Billionaire Style

“Conservatives,” their Hawkers and Shills Who Target SF Progressives

by Julie Pitta

Signing up for trash pick-up required handing over an email address that became the property of TogetherSF and their multi-year campaign to move San Francisco rightward.

Check it out

Ratepayers Alert...

Disquieting Takeover of PG&E

by Steve Lawrence

Does PG&E do a splendid job? There’s room aplenty for improvement. But not via SFPUC takeover of our old, complex electrical system. Down that path lies trouble.

Read More ...

Neighborhood Opposition to High-rises Re-emerges

by P Segal

San Francisco has, at last official count, 61,000 unaffordable empty rental units, and the City’s iconic skyline suffers from too many of these monstrosities.

Check it out

SF Must Take Steps NOW

LA Style Wildfires Can Happen Here

by Denise Louie & Jake Sigg

Last year the National Weather Service issued unprecedented red flag warnings for San Francisco... yet vegetation management is minimal across city-owned lands.

Read More ...

Rec & Park Fudged the Numbers for Sunset Dunes

by Lou Barberini

To promote the closure of the Great Highway via Prop K last November SF’s Transportation Authority and Rec & Park inflated the count of pedestrians and bicyclists on the weekends

Read More ...

SF’s Wheelchair Accessibility
on the Skids

by Howard Chabner

I was almost hit by a bus in 2018, because there was no curb ramp in the direction I was crossing at one of the corners.

Check it out

Participatory Budget Time!

Winners Update

Voting began on June 6th — you had until June 22nd to cast your vote if you live in District 7 and you are over 16 years old.

Check it out

Much to Celebrate—Much to Castigate

by Quentin Kopp

Our board and mayor refuse to require competitive bidding for garbage collection rates—thus the highest in California.

Check it out

”Trump’s Deep Cuts Strike Bayview/Hunters Point

Moritorium Halts Cleanup Efforts

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

EPA verified falsification of radioactivity data submitted by Tetra Tech, and Parcel G was the site of extensive soil fraud. Only 3% of Parcel G samples were not falsified

Check it out

Sunshine anyone?

SF’s Superior Court Records Maze

by Mark M. Hull, PhD

... people who risk their safety to fight crime deserve better than bureaucratic guesswork.

Check it out

“Congestion Pricing” Won’t Work for SF’s Downtown

by Stephen Martin-Pinto

Every entrance would require a toll collection gantry. These are not an insignificant cost, and SF would require many toll collection points.

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Engardio must go — Jenkins must stay

by Quentin Kopp

On May 22nd, citizens delivered 10,985 recall voter signatures to the Department of Elections. Volunteers secured 8,200

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Here’s Looking At You

SFPD’s Drone Program

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Drones, license plate readers and security cameras are partially responsible for some 500 felony arrests using technology in Oakland.

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Challenging Pelosi?

Pelosi Challenger Chakrabarti’s Uphill Battle

by Maura Corkery

Chakrabarti is inspired by FDR’s 1933 New Deal, and the years of prosperity that followed.

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Is Lurie’s Approach Working?

Repeating Breed’s Failed Policies

by David Romano

Lurie has consolidated the old billionaire-insider influence and continued all of Breed’s major policies.

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Japan’s Leadership

Design Buildings to Withstand Earthquakes

by Glenn Rogers

4,000 buildings in SF were built with no rebar to resist side-to-side shaking before 1990. These buildings were usually built as office spaces or multi-family houses.

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Funny Money at Fine Arts Museums

by Anmarie Mabbutt

The Board of Trustees, the City Attorney, and Director Harry Parker knew that without that approval, the lease would be null and void. Yet, they all stood by and said nothing

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How Managers of SF’s Public Pension Left $5 Billion on the Table

by Lou Barberini

Cronyism, often cleansed by the term networking, involves hiring managers favoring friends for loyalty instead of for their potential value to the organization.

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I bet Trump never worried about after-school programs for his kids

Trump Cuts Hit Neighborhood Schools

by Carol Kocivar

Hey Donny–most families don’t have nannies or private tutors or hired drivers to pick up the kids.

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Some Trees Are Not Appropriate for City Sidewalks

by Howard Chabner

Mayor/Supervisors: the issues I am raising are exactly what you claim to prioritize ... walk the walk. Prove my cynicism wrong.

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Could things get worse?

by Quentin Kopp

UC changed course and abolished its 75-year practice of requiring a sworn national loyalty oath of all faculty members.

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Is It Time to Revisit Birthright Citizenship?

by Stephen Martin-Pinto

Birthright citizenship needs to be clarified in a modern context, and it is not wrong to revisit rulings, legislation, and policy and update it.

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Neighborhoods Reject Lurie’s Upzoning Plan

by Neighbors United SF

We want our Supervisors to stand for and defend our neighborhoods, not hide behind 'state-mandated' reshaping of our city for expedience or donor pressure.

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SF Neighberhoods

Wienerville

by George Wooding

On the verge of destroying the character of neighborhoods, they aim to make residential units smaller, denser, and affordable...

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Chaos and Loss at a City Clinic

What Killed Tom Waddell Clinic Urgent Care Clinic?

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Mismanagement impairs employee morale and patient care. Conscientious employees will try to remedy the dysfunction. If ignored or repressed, they will burn out and leave.

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A Sobering Silence

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

CMS refused the recent SFDPH request to re-license 120 nursing beds at LHH. These semi-private single rooms are still in jeopardy

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The Chronicle and Phony Neighborhood Groups

by Julie Pitta

The focus on misdemeanors, funded by astroturf groups was driven substantially by the Chronicle’s unrelenting crime coverage.

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Housing at Balboa Reservoir Set to Begin Building

by Anne Mariee Kristoff/The Ingleside Light

Building A will apply for tax credits this year. Construction may start in Winter 2026.

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Promised 375 Housing Units — Reality 124

LHH Housing Slashed

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

No neighborhood-serving retail within an eight-block radius of the LHH’s campus The isolated site features steep hills all around.

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Color Me Thrilled!

The mural honors visionaries and changemakers who inspire the world

by Carol Kocivar

Keep your eyes open as you drive past Laguna Honda. A new mural celebrates public school arts educators.

Read More

”We Goin’ to Trial!!

Appeals Court Rules in Favor of 6,500 Bayview-Hunters Point Residents

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

Judge Donato: maximum recovery of $51.5 million for harm and damages to the people of BVHP.

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Fare Evaders Joepardize MUNI’s Fiscal Health

by Lou Barberini

In 2021, Muni was projected to earn $219 million from transit riders. Now they are projecting 33% less — $140 million.

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Muddy Waters

All Eyes on the Amazon

by Glenn Rogers

In the last 50 years, the Amazon Rainforest has lost land equivalent to the size of Texas.

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Four more years... Meanwhile...

by Quentin Kopp

The suit names Engardio and Melgar, Mandelman, Preston and Dorsey all Prop K proponents as Real Parties in Interest.

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Trash Talk

Garbage Rates: A Whopper Increase

by George Wooding

Single-family homeowners in San Francisco will see an anticipated 30% increase over the next three years

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Laguna Honda: Almost out of the woods?

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

Remaining hurdle: 120 LHH semi-private rooms are still in jeopardy. 2016 regulations limits bathroom sharing to 2 patient beds. The building opened in 2010—and the rooms are spacious and safe.

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Scammed and Slammed!

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

I received calls representing they were claiming “We are PG&E”. They told me I was eligible for a 30% discount on my PG&E bill.

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How did shredding urban assistance work out?

Urban Decay Began with Reagan

by David Romano

In 1980, federal dollars accounted for 22% of big city budgets. By the end of Reagan it was only 6%.

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Scaling back scientific Federal employees

Farallones — It’s for the Birds

by Glenn Rogers

Today, the islands are considered off-limits to all but a few scientists; they are considered the Galapagos of California.

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Inner Sunset: The Once Great Neighborhood

by Harry Pariser

Back in the '60s, you could spend a day visiting the park—all free! Rents were affordable, the neighborhood diverse...

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Trans Athletes and School Sports

A San Francisco liberal accepts some MAGA arguments: What’s going on?

by Carol Kocivar

This issue is not hypothetical for me. My son has played on a girl’s team, and my daughter has played on a boy’s team

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The Quandary at Fine Arts Museums SF

by Anmarie Mabbutt

It should have been Diane Wilsey’s last meeting as President but FAMSF Trustees voted to elect her to a sixth term.

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Please No Artificial Turf in Crocker Amazon

An Open Letter to the SF Giants

by David Romano

Microplastics are crossing the blood-brain barrier and accumulating in human brainsNature Medicine

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SF Author’s Remarkable Novel

by Linda Ayres-Frederick

The Doctor from Madras is the epic story of one family’s collision between old ways and a changing world

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A new Mayor and some new, some old problems

by Quentin Kopp

Mayor Dan Lurie, however, has acted twice in a questionable manner insofar as taxpayers are concerned.

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Mayor Lurie’s Hiring Freeze Hits Laguna Honda Hospital

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

Under Mayor Ed Lee and Mayor London Breed employees grew to 42,584. Wages skyrocketed by 94.8%, from $2.5 billion to $4.9 billion.

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Officials Need to Act Now to Prevent a Sunset District Conflagration

Ted Loewenberg

It is not prudent to rely on drinking water from the Sunset Reservoir —quake survivors will need potable water after a major earthquake.

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Two Sensible Oceanview Library Sites

Will New D11 Supe Meet Reality?

by Glenn Rogers

It’s next door to the existing library and accessible public transportation with safe platforms is nearby.

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Educating Undocumented Children

by Carol Kocivar

About a fifth of California students live in a family with insecure immigration status, many include a mix of authorized and unauthorized. ones.

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Pardons, recalls, bridges & undocumented voters — just for starts

by Quentin Kopp

When the Bay Bridge opened in 1937, motorists were charged 25¢ per crossing and were assured tolls would end once the bonds sold to fund it.

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Letters: Tumlin Hatchet Job

It was such blatant advocacy of cars as a solution to the city’s transportation problem.

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Letters: Futile Prop K battle

Sunset residents may blame Supervisor Engardio but the Pacific Ocean is an invincible foe.

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Letters: Pedestrians Out of Control Too

Pedestrians enter crosswalks against the red signal as drivers are the midst of a turn.

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Tumlin resigned from his $400,725 annual salary + benefits

Jeffrey Tumlin: The Real Story

by George Wooding

SFMTA reports inflation and the end of emergency funding will leave a $260-million to $322-million deficit beginning in 2026...

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Betrayal in Golden Gate Park

by Harry Pariser

For decades, Strybing served as a gathering place for one and all, hosting people from all walks of life and every economic strata. What could possibly go wrong?

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Sorry Melania...

by Carol Kocivar

With a sincere sense of regret, I declined the invitation to sit next to Melania at the presidential inauguration.

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Designing for Fire & Wind Safety

Lessons from LA

by Glenn Rogers

The common belief is that homes are too close to woodlands, where fires catch on easily. However, one home in Pacific Palisades contradicts that notion..

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Breed Expands Drug Tourism

by Randy Shaw / Beyond Chron

People unable to afford rent come to San Francisco and wait until a city-funded outreach worker offers them an unlimited stay in a tourist hotel with a private bathroom. Plus two meals a day.

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Laguna Honda: Finish the Job
—Open the Doors.

Health Commission?

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

Why are ALL types of admissions so slow? As of the end of November, less than 430 of the 769 licensed nursing home beds at LHH were occupied.

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”A DUTY TO PROTECT“!

DPH’s Preparedness Plan Ingores climate change and sea-level rise

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

Its policy and directives need to be updated to incorporate climate change, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and chemical and radiological exposures

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Despite Funding, City’s Warning Sirens Silenced

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

The devastation in Maui was a tragic example of how important emergency notifications are, we must be ready when the time comes.

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Open Letter to Mayor Lurie

by John Farrell

We can either continue the downward spiral of government waste, unneeded bureaucracy, and patronage or start running City Hall as a business.

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You Are What You Learn

by Carol Kocivar

Do white Christian nationalists, some advocates of liberated ethnic studies, and fascists have anything in common?

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SF’s Undocumented and Other Resolutions

by Quentin Kopp

Remember that a New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

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West Portal Beat

Two Injured As Miraloma Club Sustains Significant Damage

by Maura Corkery

A man drove through the front wall of the Miraloma Club on Portola Avenue, injuring two and essentially demolishing the bar’s façade.

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West Portal Beat

Two Injured in Walgreens Crash

by Maura Corkery

The driver accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake as she pulled into the parking spot.

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BEST OF THE NET

Engardio Recall Faces Uphill Battle

by Zhe Wu / SF Public Press

A cadre of west side San Franciscans want to recall District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio for supporting Proposition K

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DPH Commissioners Could Cut Long-Term Care

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

This is not the first or last time that SFDPH will keep periodically trying to eliminate long-term care at Laguna Honda.

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West Portal Notebook

Westside Underwhelmed by Tsunami

The Wave that Wasn't

by Maura Corkery

Emergency Management sent a warning to stay away from Ocean Beach as many people ignored it as took it to heart

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How Billionaires Beat Dean Preston

by The Phoenix Project

Under Breed’s direction, Redistricting removed progressive Inner Sunset from Preston’s D5. At the same time, the Tenderloin was grafted onto District 5.

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SF Jail Overcrowding

Lock ‘Em Up Ain’t Working

by David Romano

We haven't funded the support systems to divert offenders to other programs programs that make real public safety possible.

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Reader Response

SF Ready to Repeal Rent Control?

Now More Than Ever

by Jennifer Fieber/SF Tenants Union

In 1979, facing an unprecedented housing crisis, Supervisors enacted rent control for hundreds of thousands of renters.

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Be Good for Goodness Sake

Kids Books for Christmas

by Carol Kocivar

Truth, kindness, empathy, good choices, equality, and patriotism there's some confusion over what these words mean.

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White House Dilemma, City Hall’s Muddle

by Quentin Kopp

Quentin wraps-up a Disappointing Year

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BEST OF THE NET

Melgar Beats the Bigbucks

GrowSF/TogetherSF Left in the Dust

by Kelly Waldron/Mission Local

When the city’s district boundaries were redrawn, D7 lost its most conservative precincts to D4, and gained more progressive ones from D5.

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West Portal Notebook

Chancellor Bilked City College—$8 Million

From Deficit to Surplus

by Maura Corkery

We were led to believe City College was in dire financial straits—the fiscal reality was a substantial surplus.

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Admissions at Laguna Honda Slow to Snail’s Pace

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

Does that mean San Franciscans needing skilled nursing carewill continue being dumped out-of-county?

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SIP the Poison

...by any other name.

by Steve Lawrence

No doubt about the cost to ratepayers. SIP is not free, since the lowest bidder may not get the job. That costs ratepayers.

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SF Ready to Repeal Rent Control?

Voter’s Rejection of Prop 33 Opens the Door

by Stephen Martin-Pinto

I am not suggesting an elimination of rent control over night... it is too late for many tenants to move and afford another unit. However...

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Following SFPUC Over the Cliff?

Open Letter to the Coastal Commission

by Glenn Rogers

Yearly, as much as 1.2 billion gallons of combined stormwater runoff and sewage containing feces, bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and trash are dumped into the Bay.

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Saving the Religion/Public School Divide

Focus on Education

by Carol Kocivar

Our country’s political divisions are again raising basic questions about the separation of church and state.

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Indecisive Supes Bequeath Voters 15 Ballot Measures

by Quentin Kopp

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.—George Jean Nathan’s warning.

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SFPD’s Toy Drive is on!

by Jonathan Farrell

“Release your inner child—buy a toy for a kid who needs one.

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Billionaires Target SF Mayors Race

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

TogetherSF Action’s Project 2024–2028 scheme starts with a Mark Farrell victory. From there it seeks to eliminate district elections.

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Trump v Harris: Weighing Education Policies

Kamala, Trump, and public education

by Carol Kocivar

On the campaign trail education policy has taken a back seat to other really important national issues, such as eating dogs and the size of crowds.

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West Portal Notebook

Farrell & Lurie at Bookshop West Portal

by Maura Corkery

Candidates Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie both spoke at the neighborhood bookshop and attracted considerable audience attendance.

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Prop B: Deciet Exploits Laguna Honda Patients

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

The $390 million bond allocates just $66 million for our two hospitals. The rest—$324 million—is for other totally unrelated projects.

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Sunshine Anyone?

Candidates on Open Government?

by Richard Knee

The City’s sunshine laws are in need of updating, but most mayoral and supervisorial candidates are mum on how to increase city government transparency.

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Presto Chango!

New Docs Reveal Trail of Navy Deception

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

The Navy’s Parcel F Radiological Impaction map was excluded from the Record of Decision of September 2024. Raw data was also excluded from environmental testing for radionuclides.

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Another SFMTA Disgrace

Distressed Cab Drivers Speak Out

by Glenn Rogers

With no limits on the number of ride-share cars on the street undercutting fares, taxi drivers cannot make a living.

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Letters: Prop K Rebuttal

It’s a logical, environmentally sound plan for what is already happening to the Great Highway.

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Letters: West Portal’ Decline

We now are beginning to see the filth and degradation Breed’s gang has encouraged to infest West Portal.

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Nobody wants to close schools

SFUSD’s Quandry

by Carol Kocivar

An under-enrolled school does not have enough students to offer educational opportunities we want for them in a fiscally responsible way.

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Prop D: The Strong Mayor Sans Oversight

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

Following the money. Prop D is the billionaire’s attack on citizen oversight.

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D7 Supervisor Candidates

Do you support Props D or E?

Candidates Melgar, Martin-Pinto & Boschetto all agree on one thing.

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Over-Controlled Housing

by Steve Lawrence

Should we double down–on what has so far failed? Do we just need to spend more public money?

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West Portal Notebook

Aaron Peskin at Bookshop West Portal

by Maura Corkery

Over the next two months, each mayoral candidate will have an evening to greet attendees and answer questions in a laid-back “meet the candidate” event.

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Why is SFF’s Crime Rate Dropping?

Should We Believe It? Is It Enough?

by Frank Noto

Property crimes have plunged the most (42%), led by a steep decline in car break-ins, but violent crimes...

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Prop K is wrong for San Francisco

Misleading Attempt to Close Great Highway

by David Romano

5 supervisors put Prop K on the Ballot, unannounced and at the last minute. No community input, no questions answered, no concerns addressed, no discussion by the Supervisors.

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Prop K: a new park for all

Ocean Beach Park: A significant asset for SF

by Supervisor Joel Engardio

Why transform a section of the Great Highway into an oceanside park? It will help the environment, boost local merchants, and bring people joy.

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Escalating power, water & sewer rates

by Steve Lawrence

At present, there is no citizen group concerned with rates paid for water, sewer and power. Few attend or comment to the SFPUC Commission.

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D7 Needs a New Supervisor

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

The West Portal debacle, Laguna Honda disaster & neghborhood density. She’s out of step.

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Shipyard toxics—activists join forces

The Bomb Within Us

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

They originally consisted of fifteen residents and UCSF workers, located within six blocks of the western fence line of the NRDL campus and industrial landfill”

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SFUSD needs chutzpah...

to tackle antisemitism

by Carol Kocivar

District must provide training about the American Jewish experience and antisemitism to ensure that instruction is free of anti-Jewish hate

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Environmental Windfall

Revolutionary Process Turns Rubble Into Concrete

by Glenn Rogers

This new concrete removes many of the wasteful steps commonly used in producing concrete.

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D7 Supervisor Candidates

Were Westside RV Dwellers Mistreated?

Reaction from the candidates for Supervisor in D7 ranged from pleased to dismayed.

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West Portal Notebook

SCOTUS’ Homeless Ruling Hits the Streets

by Maura Corkery

Ruling that “cruel and unusual punishment” does not apply to fining, ticketing, or even arresting homeless (even when there are no public shelters available),overturning the 9th Circuit Court.

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Will School Closures Dampen Back-to-School?

It’s a Good Idea.

by Carol Kocivar

After too many years of ignoring financial crisis, SFUSD is biting the bullet. It’s called resource realignment...

Read More

Supervisors Throw Drivers Under the Bus

Paul Kozakiewicz

On the last day the Supervisors could put an initiative on ballot, Engardio and Melgar pounced and forwarded the legislation to the Department of Elections.

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Sisterhood Gardens Light Up Oceanview

by Glenn Rogers

Once just a border of California native plants around the garden’s perimeter, providing habitat and nourishment for local fauna it’s now a beautiful neighborhood gem.

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Looking at the November Election

by Quentin Kopp

How I’m voting? I plead guilty in favor of a write-in candidate—me! Therefore, I proceed to the local ballot measures.

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Harris or Trump? No Contest

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

No matter how much my esteemed colleague at the Westside Observer, Quentin Kopp, wants to quibble over Kamala Harris ...

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No break for DPH

Class Action Lawsuit Looms Over Laguna Honda

by Dr. Derek Kerr & Dr. Maria Rivero

City has long minimized the root cause of LHH’s dysfunction and decertification. Just look at the self-congratulatory Press Release announcing its re-opening.

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West Portal Notebook

SFMTA’s Plan for West Portal Station Pushes Buttons

by Maura Corkery

West Portal merchants, residents, and long-time frequenters have weighed in for months on the City’s plan to institute significant new traffic regulations and barriers primarily at the mouth of the MUNI station.

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Time for the Governor to Do the Right Thing

Newsom—Declare a Public Health Emergency at Hunters Point

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

The Precautionary Principle affirms SF’s leaders duty to prevent harm through anticipatory action. ‘There is a duty to take anticipatory action to prevent harm.”

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Open Roads

Keep the Great Highway a Highway

by Glenn Rogers

SFMTA claims 10,000 people visit the Great Highway on a weekend. Residents ask for an unbiased study.

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What happened to the education budget?

Some good news!

by Carol Kocivar

California no longer lurks in the basement of national school funding.

Read More

Who Vetted Kamala Harris?

by Quentin Kopp

Visualizing Ms. Harris as president makes me fear for the future of our country. Coupled with convicted felon Donald Trump, we possess little choice.

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D7 Supervisor Candidates

Are Laguna Honda’s Problems Fixed?

Since the Mental Health Rehabilitation Facility closed, the City began relocating mentally troubled and drug addicted patients to LHH, mixing them with frail senior and disabled populations.

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Our City Our Power Our Pocketbook

by Steve Lawrence

No doubt PG&E is quite imperfect. But is the City bureaucracy an improvement? Shall we expand an already oversized City department?

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How will Education fare under Republicans?

by Carol Kocivar

It’s not only how schools are funded but how important topics are taught. At stake is what our children learn about democracy as well as about their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

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West Portal MUNI Station Committee

Melgar’s Plan for West Portal Station

by Maura Corkery

West Portal accounts for 6% of the City’s accidents; after the implementation of Project Zero in 2014, accidents of every kind in the West Portal area have dropped from 20% - 48%.

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West Portal MUNI Station Committee

Community Panel Pans SFMTA’s Plan

by Maura Corkery

Right now, there’s no timeline or budget for this project. The SFMTA admitted it had not conducted a preliminary cost/benefit analysis despite the multi-million-dollar deficit they’re facing this year.

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City’s Granny Dumping Spike

City Health Department’s Missing Report Concealed Shameless Patient Dumping

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

The hospitals shed their Skilled Nursing bed capacity in the City’s private sector hospitals en masse. It Was adversely affecting profits

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West Portal Notebook

West Portal Merchants Want Cameras & Cops

by Maura Corkery

Police patrolling up and down the block, speaking to residents, shop owners significantly prevents possible crime.

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Build Artists Housing to Revitalize City

by P Segal

...before artists were forced out by rising rents and landlord policies, artists made up about 7% of the City’s population, around 50,000 people.

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City’s Decline is SFMTA Designed

Are Bike Lanes Choking Businesses?

by Glenn Rogers

San Francisco is designed by SFMTA planners who have more design clout than any other agency in the City, except perhaps the State.

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Budgets, Candidates & Salaries

by Quentin Kopp

The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” Thus spoke H. L. Mencken

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An Open Letter to City Hall

Laguna Honda may not close
—but is it open?

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

There is a dire shortage of nursing home beds in SF—especially for those on Medi-Cal—which pays for chronic long-term care when a resident cannot afford $15,000 a month.

Read More

D7 Supervisor Candidates

Do you support
Mayor Breed’s Upzoning?

Doug Comstock

Mayor Breed has proposed an unprecedented rollback of San Francisco’s height and density limitations that would allow six story buildings in areas previously zoned for one and two-story construction

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We Can’t Wait

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

The slow pace of climate action has never been about lack of science or even lack of solutions; it has always been about lack of political will.

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Newly recertified
—same old problems

Laguna Honda Recertified:
Hold the Fireworks

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

How long will the Health Commission delay the “LHH sustainability plan” that will shape its management in the future?

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Happy Birthday America!

Hope it's not your last.

by Carol Kocivar

Many of the basic rights we value are under attack. There are even those who think Jan. 6th should be celebrated instead of July 4.

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City for Sale

First Mayoral Debate Defines Candidates

Doug Comstock

The format made it difficult for candidates to evade tough questions—all four seasoned politicians are skilled in. Even non-politician Lurie was not exempt.

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Showdown at Hunters Point

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

A confluence of major legal actions has moved forward to pretrial deposition testimony in BVHP Residents v Tetra Tech brought by SFPD and whistleblowers under the False Claims Act.

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Yes, trees can be weeds

Trees in McClaren Park

by Jake Sigg

Removal of the weedy species is necessary. All plants have natural predators in their native ranges, but landscape plants imported from, say, across the ocean, left their predators there.

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Bureaucrats, Bicyles, Taxes & Immigration

by Quentin Kopp

While gasoline tax-paying automobile owners finance the streets of San Francisco San Francisco’s Budget finances the SF Bicycle Coalition, a private entity?

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Nightmare Plan from Melgar, Breed, and Tumlin

Showdown on West Portal

by George Wooding

SFMTA still has no quantifiable road safety data other than right turns are bad, left turns are bad, fast-moving cars are dangerous, slow-moving cars are dangerous, cars are bad, and bikes are good.

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12 Questions to Ask School Board Candidates

by Carol Kocivar

Local school board elections used to be sleepy affairs. No more. Political activists now pay close attention to these local contests — for good reasons.

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Designing for Drought

SFPUC pushes drought scenario

by Glenn Rogers

Despite a surplus of water in our reservoirs sufficient to withstand a drought for four years, the SFPUC has imposed a drought surcharge on San Francisco ratepayers.

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A Great Day for Kids and Books

by Susan Tunis

A perfect illustration of the magic that independent bookstores can create—It was a day filled with joy, connection, and a shared love of books!

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City Hall’s Budget Deficit Step One

by John Farrell

The previous City Administrator was a protégé of Willie Brown—resigned due to corruption. The current City administrator is a protégé of a protégé of Willie Brown.

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Tony Hall’s Blueprint to Save SF

by Tony Hall

What happened to The City that Knows how? What happened to the City that Everybody Loves?

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So What’s the Damage?

Counting the Costs of the Laguna Honda Debacle

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

Sadly, LHH has not been recertified, patient admissions have not restarted. So patients needing skilled nursing care are displaced out-of-county.

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Addressing the West Portal Tragedy

Planning for a Safe Intersection

by Supervisor Myrna Melgar

The winning projects will be most closely align to the criteria and can be successfully completed with the funding allocated as a one-time grant.

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City’s Clear Cut

More SF Trees Get the Ax

by SF Forest Alliance

According to the SF RPD’s plan at least 809 trees were planned to be cut down in McLaren Park

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City Hall’s Dilemmas

by Quentin Kopp

With housing and commercial vacancies like Park Merced and businesses still closing downtown, on Market Street, and in most neighborhoods, it’s dogging the Mayor’s election.

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In Praise of PTA’s Stars

by Carol Kocivar

California’s PTA got started in San Francisco way back in 1897 with the California Home and School Child Study Association.

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Overdose Deaths Bewilder DPH

Battling lethal drug combinations

by Dr. Derek Kerr

The devastating effect of drug addiction is evident from the human wreckage ...Yes, it’s a nationwide plague. But SF overdose rates are twice the national average.

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Thumbs Down

Everyone Hates MUNI’s City College Transit Plans

by City College Group

“It is a significant reconfiguration of the street. A two-way bikeway would replace existing parking. Bus stops would relocate from the curb to new transit boarding islands in traffic lanes.

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Homeless seek respite at Ocean Beach

Life at the end of the safety net

by David Romano

If you do get into a shelter — they’ll take away your belongings, you can’t have a pet, you can’t have visitors and after a few days or a week, you’ll likely be turned out on the street again with nothing.

Check it out

Major Surprises in the Primary Vote

by Quentin Kopp

Two surprises. Republican Steve Garvey, and Democrat Adam Schiff were the top two finishers. Schiff concentrated on making Garvey his opponent rather than Barbara Lee and Katie Porter.

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Removing density controls in western and central SF?

Mayor’s Upzoning Plan Endangers Our Neighborhoods

by Dennis Antenore

Demolitions, speculations, and displacement are in store if the city moves forward with Breed’s approach.

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SFPUC’s Employee discontent under Herrera

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Herrera’s team has settled in. The disruptions from the FBI probe and COVID had abated. Employee satisfaction should have improved. It didn’t.

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Big Changes in Store for Twin Peaks

by Jonathan Farrell

“As it is right now...there is no plan to manage and care for Twin Peaks

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SFUSD Considers School Closures

by Carol Kocivar

No one wants to close schools. Not the communities. Not the school boards. Not administrators and school district personnel..

Read More

Phil Ginsburg: Stop poisoning our world

by David Romano

Will Rec and Park be satisfied when every square foot of Golden Gate Park is concrete and artificial turf?

Check it out

Is Hydrogen in our future?

Consider Hydrogen Power

by Glenn Rogers

Unfortunately,it also has many disadvantages. The gas is explosive. It needs to be compressed or converted into other chemicals, such as liquid ammonia...

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Don’t Miss Pipeline

by Linda Ayres-Frederick

African-American Shakespeare’s stunning production at Taube Atrium Theater

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Every five years, the EPA determines the success of superfund cleanups

New Shipyard Report Confirms: Unsafe for Habitation

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

Take-home message: Cleanup efforts in 15 parcels and sites do not protect residents from hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants emanating from the dirty base

Check it out

Trump, Harris and other pains in the neck

by Quentin Kopp

The problem is Harris replacing him — she’s the D.A. who defeated incumbent Hallinan by lying under oath in that 2023 campaign

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How Safe is SF’s Aquifer Water?

City’s Emergency Water Plan

by Glenn Rogers

Unlike Flint, we don’t use salt to deice roads. However, if we over-tax our ground aquifers, we could draw salt from the Pacific into our drinking water.

Check it out

Letters: Cavalier Cease-Fire Call

Re: David Romano’s recent commentary — is simply bad journalism.

Read More ...

Letters: Sutro Tower’s Future

When the tower comes down what will replade it?.

Read More ...

Bevy of Lawyers Target Laguna Honda Mismanagement

More Trouble for DPH

by Dr. Kerr & Dr. Rivero

Just when Laguna Honda seemed to be turning the corner on its struggle toward reform, three law firms have teamed up to expand their Class Action lawsuit.

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Algebra and District Elections Bedevil SFUSD

by Carol Kocivar

It reminds me of when my kids did something that I thought was not well thought through. I tried to bring them back to reality.

Read More

Original Joe’s Goes Mexican in West Portal

by Jonathan Farrell

“Tamales are such a delicate process... things like the balance of masa to filling, or how long you steam them for, or how tightly they’re wrapped in their husks And time... timing is crucial to ensure they do not become dry and tough.

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Will Nancy Pelosi represent San Franciscans?

by David Romano

She is out of step with the majority of San Franciscans who are calling for an immediate cease-fire and a halt to military aid to Israel

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Could SF be the next Lahaina?

Budget Scrunch Endangers Westside Firefighting

by Thomas K. Pendergast

Hetch Hetchy water supply comes from 167 miles away, crosses 3 major faults, goes under the bay and then up the San Andreas Fault for 25 miles.

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Today’s students alarming lack of knowledge

Don’t know much about history

by Carol Kocivar

This is an education emergency made worse by a divided America where many believe it is ok to make up your own facts.

Read More

Looking to the 2024 Elections

by Quentin Kopp

Confronting taxpayers and other voters are six ballot measures, one state measure, and presidential, Congressional and legislative primaries.

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Parkmerced Residents complain to SFPD

by Glenn Rogers

The complaints ranged from as many as ten squatters living rent-free, theft, casinos, dog kennels, brothels and drug laboratories at Parkmerced.

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Sowing Discord

by Julie Pitta

Big money ‘neighborhood’ groups step up their campaign of take-over tactics in 2024 elections.

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Say NO to expanding yacht harbors for the wealthy

by Evelyn Graham

Rec and Park’s plan expands access for the privileged few bupkis for the rest of us.

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New proposed location for Ocean View Library is ideal

by Glenn Rogers

Few were surprised when Supervisor Safai learned the library was not to be built in the Greenbelt — he feared the worst. No library at all.Since 2023, the Library Commission has been considering 466 Randolph Street, where the I.T. Bookman Community Center and the Pilgrim Community Church are located.

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San Francisco. In Alameda? Wait, what?

by David Osgood

When the runways for the Alameda Naval Air Station were extended out into the bay—using dredged bay fill, the same way Treasure Island was created — they crossed over the city line. The federal government apparently didn't know or care.

Read More ...

San Franciscans need nursing home care

Will Laguna Honda Admissions Start Soon?

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

The survey attests to a quality of care that is higher than in for-profit private nursing homes. But there are ongoing problems.

Read More

Your ballot will be in the mailbox in a few weeks

Issues and Candidates on the Primary Ballot

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

The March 5 election is fast approaching. The San Francisco Department of Elections will start mailing all registered voters automatic vote-by-mail ballots in early February.

Check it out

Looking to the 2024 Elections

by Quentin Kopp

Your local self-appointed sage hopes Trump is barred from his presidential candidacy by high courts such as the Supremes. (And I don't mean the singing group!).

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Parking Control

RV residents on Winston Drive face uncertain future

by Thomas K. Pendergast

A four-hour parking limit is going to make things even more difficult for RV residents.

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Does this look like wildlife habitat?

Oppose Botanical Garden’s Lightshows

by Kathy Howard

“GG Park provides not only habitat for wildlife but also a haven for San Franciscans who find refuge in nature in our parks.”

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UCSF proposes settlement for Joseph Miranda and his radioactive truck

ONE BIG MAN — ONE HOT TRUCK!

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

Two UCSF workers with respiratory disease, cancer and lung disease were not evacuated during shipyard landfill fire that erupted in “green, yellow, and orange” flames.

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Chris Duderstadt’s Mission

Good Benches Make Good Neighbors

by Jonathan Farrell

“A Bench helps promote a sense of community,it encourages neighbors and passersby to stop and visit and enjoy some sunshine.”

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Peripheral Canal Redux?

Delta Conveyance Plan leaves Northern California dry

by Glenn Rogers

Delta Conveyance Project is back on the drawing board, attempting to move clean water to the Los Angeles Southern Basin.

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Assessing Judge Bergert’s use of mental health diversions

by Lou Barberini

Fortunately for Mendez, he appeared in ultra-liberal Judge Michael Begert’s court. Despite Mendez’s failure to comply with diversion, Begert nevertheless granted Mendez “mental health diversion’ (again).

Read More ...

Remembering the Heroine We Lost in 2023

A Tribute to Nancy Wuerfel, Mentor to Many

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

Newsom, Breed, and SF’s Supervisors may all have taken a hands-off waiting game approach I knew Nancy and her good government advocacy for years, sometimes crossing her path when we both attended meetings at City Hall.

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Sending Judges out to pasture

by Quentin Kopp

The unreliability of American and San Francisco media today is not new to our country. Neither is the people's right to discard biased, unsound judges.

Check it out

SFMTA’s Grinch Strategy

RV Residents Brace for Christmas Evictions

Doug Comstock

To families parked along Winston Drive the dreaded December 19 date is less than a month away. Four-hour parking restrictions approved by SFMTA will certainly upend their lives and dampen their holiday spirits.

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Neighbors apprehend a thief in the act, but will he be back on the street?

A Man Walks Into a Walgreens ...

by Michael Antonini

Aware that his escape was implausible, or perhaps it was the ear-splitting sound of approaching police cars, the thief turned and ran back into the Walgreens

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SF’s Enlightened Pretrial Diversion Programs

Diversion Programs for Criminals are a Disaster

by Frank Noto

The Judge denied a motion to detain an alleged drug dealer despite the defendant had over half a kilo of drugs, including 170.8 grams of fentanyl, enough to kill 85,400 people.

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Delayed Inspections Mean Dumping More Seniors Out-of-County

Laguna Honda Hospital’s Endless Waiting Game

by Patrick Monette-Shaw

Newsom, Breed, and SF’s Supervisors may all have taken a hands-off waiting game approach to LHH’s Medicare recertification inspection process that will take four months to complete.

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The Future of Journalism in the Bay Area

Falling advertisements, digital transitions and major lay-offs plague journalists

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Emilio Garcia-Ruiz worried about the New York Times becoming a “huge competitor” in the Bay Area by “undercutting the market on subscription costs to $1/week.

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SFUSD needs to take responsibility

SFUSD: The White Supremacy Strawman

by Carol Kocivar

At last! SFUSD has identified why students aren’t learning. Ready? The real cause is White Supremacy. That’s right. White Supremacy Culture is preventing our students from learning.

Read More

Our Transit-First Policy is Long Gone.

Is MUNI on Deathwatch?

by Glenn Rogers

Today, ridership is entirely different — a problem. And the money Congress spent to save transit dries up next year.

Check it out

sending Judges out to pasture

by Quentin Kopp

The unreliability of American and San Francisco media today is not new to our country. Neither is the people's right to discard biased, unsound judges.

Check it out

Behind Peskin’s Dark Maneuver

Sudden Death of Remote Public Comment

Patrick Monette-Shaw

It effectively punishes hundreds, if not thousands, who want to participate in our local government. Even worse, it will force those who have disabilities to disclose their special needs. Or face the burden of traveling to City Hall.

Check it out

New Playgrounds for the Wealthy from Diverted Clean-up Funds

by Laurent Philonenko, Erin Roach & Evelyn Graham

Rec and Park’s plot to build a new boat harbor will close the Bay views and access from Marina Green.

Check it out

Three Consecutive Burglaries at Star of India

by Jonathan Farrell

It cost Star of India nearly $5,000 to replace the glass doors and to put new bars up.

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District Elections, London Breed & the Housing Exageration

by Quentin Kopp

Construction of new housing? I’ve concluded from present vacancies and dispirited new home construction the matter is extravagantly exaggerated by City Hall politicians and local media.

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Streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during the day

Signs of Climate Change Beneath Our Feet

by Glenn Rogers

Unlike the temperature in the atmosphere — ground temperatures become increasingly warmer over time a recent study found

Check it out

Neighbor Power

Support for Shaw’s Candy Victims as New Evidence Emerges

by Thomas K. Pendergast

It is alleged that on the afternoon of September 27th, Janda was sitting on the bench in front of her ice cream shop.

Check it out

Bait and Switch in the Marina

by Laurent Philonenko & Evelyn Graham

The city fought PG&E for 20 years over Marina harbor’s toxic waste. And when they finally secure a settlement of $190 million?

Check it out

The Atlantic’s attacks on San Francisco miss the point

by David Romano

When so much wealth is concentrated in the hands of so few people without money and power lose out.

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Undaunted, Shaw’s Candies Gears Up for Halloween

by Jonathan Farrell

Owner Diana Zogaric has little time to bemoan setbacks. She notes that the original owner, Douglas Shaw, opened the business during the Great Depression in 1931.

Check it out

Follow the $$$

by Julie Pitta

Phony ‘neighborhood’ groups exploit a loophole in campaign laws — evading the $500 limit on campaign contributions.

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SF’s Armenian Community

Homeland Troubles Loom as Locals Celebrate

by Jonathan Farrell

Tragedies in Azerbaijan were overshadowed at local Armenian Food Festival at St. Gregory’s.

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Troubles in the ‘Transit First’ City

by Gerald Cauthen

SFMTA’s capital deficit is projected to grow at an average rate of $1.1 billion a year to create a total gap of $20 billion by FY2040.

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Laguna Honda Wake Up Call

SFDPH Must Act Quickly to Save 120 Critical Beds

Patrick Monette-Shaw

SF has lost 1,381 Skilled Nursing Facility beds. If LHH loses 120 more beds it will leave only 2,161 meanwhile 4,186 patients were discharged to other counties in 2022.

Check it out

District Elections, Ward Politics, Hidden Gas Taxes & Ministry of Truth

by Quentin Kopp

Instead of 100,000 votes to elect Supervisors, now with ranked-choice voting a paltry 8,237 votes, elected Supervisor Matt Dorsey.

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State Mandated Development Endangers Westside's Greenbelt

by Glenn Rogers

Does SF needs more housing? Downtown is 31% vacant and Parkmerced has a 25% vacancy.

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SFUSD High School Task Force:

Color Me Disappointed

by Carol Kocivar

How familiar are the Task Force members with the research and how well are they equipped to make data driven recommendations?

Read More

Letters: Outside Land Growls & Grumbling

RE: David Romano’s recent commentary — the neighbors are supposed to smile and put up with these shows year after year...

from Dennis Minnick & others

Read More ...

Anxious Residents Crowd Town Hall

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Over 100 crowded the room to address Westside disorder, homelessness and street crime.

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Stop Crime SF seeks to inform voters about our judges...

Who’s Keeping Score on Local Judges?

by John Trasvina

California law entrusts its citizens to retain or reject sitting judges. We need more light, not less.

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Humans Have Crossed 6 of 9 Essential Safety Boundaries

by Glenn Rogers

Scientists who analyzed Earth’s safety boundaries found humans are currently transgressing six.

Check it out

Outside Lands — not a good neighbor

by David Romano

After neighborhood protests at Rec & Parks residents got more, not less concerts.

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Failing Grade for SF High School Task Force

by Carol Kocivar

How familiar are the Task Force members with the research and how well are they equipped to make data driven recommendations?

Read More

Five of the state”s dirtiest beaches are in the Bay Area

SF’s Sewage Agency Needs Some Treatment

by Jeff Ruch

Want your taxes & utility fees to pay to pollute our beaches? SF taxpayers and ratepayers are footing the bill to fight for that privilege.

Check it out

Thank You Nancy Wuerfel

by George Wooding

Oh no! You don't want Nancy Wuerfel on your case! That woman does her homework, which means that you're going to have to do yours as well!.

Read More

Laguna Honda’s battle to keep 120 skilled nursing beds is unnecessary.

Patrick Monette-Shaw

LHH’s bedrooms exceed the minimum square-foot restrictions. They have sliding doors between each bedroom — essentially making them all private, single-person rooms.

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SFDPH enables contaminated development

Health Dept. Streamlines Article 31

by Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai

The Health Department’s Article 31 needs to prevent housing on radioactive sites.

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Inside the State’ Education Budget

by Carol Kocivar

Budgets are built on predictions. Will Californians actually earn income and pay taxes at the levels predicted? No one knows for certain.

Read More

Judges, Justice and the Re-naming Game

by Quentin Kopp

Our critic of all things civil tackles the City, State and the rest of the world.

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Laguna Honda Seeks Additional $18 Million for Consultants

Recertification accomplished - so what’s this for?

Patrick Monette-Shaw

On top of the $64.9 M already spent — including $30.5 M on consultant contracts, $22.3 M lost Medi-Cal reimbursement, and $12 M misc.

Check it out

Beyond the tangle of red tape

Will SF be the first City with a Public Bank?

Doug Comstock

Mired in Dull-as-Dishwater Details, It's an Amazing Accomplishment — But Will Oakland Beat Us To It?

Check it out

Race-blind Admissions in California

by Carol Kocivar

Schools scramble to comply with Supreme Court’s admission decision AND still create diverse college communities

Read More

Greenland Will Cause Sea Rise First, Not Antarctica

by Glenn Rogers

Should all the ice in Greenland melt, we could expect the sea level rise an additional 23 feet.

Check it out

It’s time to assess Prop 47’s havoc on the safety of San Franciscans

by Lou Barberini

Before Prop 47 eliminated California Penal Code section 666, a police officer could charge a thief with a criminal history with “felony theft with-priors” and take him to county jail.

Read More ...

SF's Housing Snag

... E.T. versus City

by Steve Lawrence

Pretend you're an alien (E.T.) come to earth in human form to live and learn and even to rationally guide humans who have lost their way. You land in San Francisco.

Read More ...

Don't Let High Rises in the Sunset Overshadow Other City Hall Absurdities

by Quentin Kopp

Have any such housing units been built? Of course not! Why? Probably because there’s no market for them. Why not? Because the population has declined

Check it out

Costs to Rescue Laguna Honda Continue to Escalate

Managers disregarded the risks to patients

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Known costs climbing to $65 Million but City Attorney conceals ($5 million?) in legal fees.

Check it out

A Few Cheers for What’s Great About San Francisco

by Carol Kocivar

I’m reminded again and again that there are really great things the world of San Francisco.

Read More

West Side Stories

by Julie Pitta

SF has 60,000 market-rate apartments standing empty. They’re unlikely to be filled any time soon since about 70,000 left in the last three years.

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Corruption Central

... & The Family Enterprise

by Steve Lawrence

Some say a little bit of corruption greases the wheels. Just don't kid yourself ... each of these words, Social Impact Partnering, are buzzwords. There's a reason for that.

Read More ...

A Home in the SF’s Countryside

by Glenn Rogers

The neighborhood was much different then. Yellow and white margaritas were everywhere in wild areas on the south and north side of Alemany Blvd. There was no Highway 280.

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Grand Jury Tackles Homeless Providers

by Dr. Derek Kerr

City Family’s coziness with contractors sustains a “Homeless-Industrial-Complex." Politically-connected entrepreneurs are awarded City contracts and return the favor.

Check it out

Laguna Honda’s Mismanagement Costs Reach $64.1 Million

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Moss Adams’ contract increased by by $5.9 million to $9,987,293 — just $12,707 shy of requiring Board of Supervisors approval.

Check it out

Selective Admissions

by Carol Kocivar

One small problem. Although we called it a computer match, we did not have a computer. Yup, that long ago.

Read More

Ethics should be called The Narrow Commission

by Sullivan

Giving a complaint to the “Ethics” Commission is like giving a complaint to a black hole. Your complaint goes in and the chance that anything comes out is slim.

Read More

Ignoring the Neighbors — Rec & Park Shows How It’s Done

by David Romano

Neighbors were not adequately notified — the few who showed up were ignored.

Check it out

Supervisors Honor Nancy Wuerfel

Long-time Westside activist commended

by Kathy Howard & Sally Stephens

The Supervisors celebrated her preservation and conservation efforts and recognized her significant contributions.

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Bored? Libraries to the rescue

My Summer Reading List

by Carol Kocivar

The good news: it's available to every child though our public libraries in every corner of San Francisco. And it's free!

Read More

A History Lesson and the State’s Future

by Quentin Kopp

Observations and criticisms with a bit of the usual snark.

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Laguna Honda Admits Its Own Staff Jeopardizes Its Recertification

Patrick Monette-Shaw

We will lose Laguna Honda Hospital if immediate jeopardy citations continue.

Check it out

Major Meter Hike Hijinks

by Glenn Rogers

Budget Problem? City Hall's Reliable Cash Cow to the Rescue! Stop the exploitation.

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Laguna Honda Finally Hires a Nursing Home Administrator

Patrick Monette-Shaw

After 20 years without a licensed Nursing Home Administrator at the helm, that will change. At last someone knowledgeable about Federal nursing home regulations will be in charge.

Check it out

The Greatest Story Never Told

Hunters Point Continues to Poison San Franciscans

by Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

The Health Department burned down a village of Chinese fishermen dependent on the lucrative shrimping industry when the Navy purchased the 934-acre property using eminent domain for the Naval Shipyard.

Check it out

Rec & Parks Scheme to Cash in on Outside Lands Income

by David Romano

“ You guys had a bunch of secret planning meetings ... no Brown Act notice ... now you want to permit an additional 60,000-person event ...”

Check it out

Let’s Fight SFPUC for Affordable Water

Ratepayers may need to rely on the courts

by Brian Browne

1985 to 2022, the nominal SFPUC rates have increased annually by an average of 10.1%.

Check it out

Railroaded Out of Town

by Sullivan

Inside the Sunshine Task Force’s “Compliance and Amendments Committee.”

Read More

The day before evictions of all residents — a final last-minute reprieve

Too late to save Laguna Honda intact?

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

CMS extended federal funding while the facility continues without resident evictions until September 19, 2023

Read More

Families Sue Laguna Honda for Transfer Deaths

LHH “disregarded” the risk of transfer trauma to elderly dementia patients

by Dr. Derek Kerr

3 families filed suit, alleging LHH culpability in the deaths of patients transferred to outside facilities last year.

Check it out

It's Game On!

D7’s Participatory Budget Selection Nears

by Doug Comstock

The selected projects will be up for public voting beginning June 12.

Read More ...

Letter Re: Fear and Trembling — Frisco Style

Julie Pitta’s most recent commentary misrepresents what I said in a TMZ interview — “to stoke fears about public safety.” This is false.

from Joel Engardio

Read More ...

SFUSD: Failing Math and Literacy for Kids

Can the Commission admit they were wrong?

by Carol Kocivar

The evidence is in time for SFUSD to change.

Read More

A Spring Collection

by Quentin Kopp

Newsy bits and quips Quentin’s monthly criticisms, and encouragements.

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Melgar's Crime Town Hall signals public dissatisfaction

District 7 residents grill officials

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Grassroots anti-crime and pro-accountability organizing could imperil elected officials who can’t get a handle on the disorder.

Check it out

The Truth about SF's Crime Spree

Fear and Trembling
— Frisco Style

by Julie Pitta

San Francisco has experienced a spike in property crime, no surprise in a city of wealth disparity.

Check it out

Laguna Honda on Last-Gasp Status

Patrick Monette-Shaw

While consultants released three follow-up reports ... details of the complete picture are still dripping out, like a leaky faucet.

Check it out

Stop Crime SF engages in election advocacy

Anti-crime group to test its political strength

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Judges can undermine the good work of the police and the DA ... Judges are elected, but the public doesn't know about their decisions

Check it out

Is AI Ready for Prime Time?

by Glenn Rogers

It Could lead to more arrests of protestors, minorities, or anyone the State considers a threat if artificial intelligence is designed and executed improperly.

Check it out

It's Teacher Appreciation Week

Time to Reassess the Value of Teachers

by Carol Kocivar

Flowers and cards are great, but teachers deserve a fair wage for their valuable work.

Read More

Public Records Request with a Side of Fries

by Sullivan

When I made a simple request for documents what I got left me confused — should I laugh or cry?

Read More

SF's Public Guardian Sues Laguna Honda for Abuse

The lawsuit cites seven Causes of Action

by Dr. Derek Kerr

It took courage for the Public Guardian to file suit. Hopefully, the public will learn the full extent of the scandal. The timing couldn’t be worse for LHHs struggle to survive.

Check it out

April 14th is the anniversary of Laguna Honda's decertification

Just Released—Laguna Honda Hospital's Revised Closure Plan

Patrick Monette-Shaw

LHH mostly serves low-income, medically indigent patients, likely to face discharges, exile, and displacement to out-of-county facilities, away from their families, and support networks.

Check it out

The Crisis in Housing for Artists

by P Segal

The City's vacant downtown businesses and escalating housing rents are a San Francisco disaster. Roadkill: San Francisco's artist communities.

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Does SF Enable Drug Use?

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Fentanyl overdoses have killed more San Franciscans than COVID. Yet, SF fails to prosecute dealers; no convictions for fentanyl sales in 2021. Most dealers are granted diversion.

Check it out

I am plain worn out listening to all the things that have gone wrong in our City and our Country.

Arts, Music, Dance, Drama: Great work SFUSD!

by Carol Kocivar

The arts are more than alive and well in San Francisco public schools. In many cases, they are spectacular. A little hyperbole? Nope.

Read More

Sporting Trolls, Reparations and Highway Tolls

by Quentin Kopp

The history of liberty is the history of the limitations on the power of government. And the provenance of government usually expands on federal, state and local levels

Check it out

Tranq - the Next Drug Scourge

Fentanyl has a new rival

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Xylazine is infiltrating North American fentanyl and heroin supplies. It is causing more fatal overdoses, zombie-like intoxication— addictions that are harder to treat than simple fentanyl dependency.

Check it out

April 14th is the anniversary of Laguna Honda's decertification

Root Cause Factors Refute DPH Claims Minimizing LHH’s Violations

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Inept managers from SF General and SF Health Network are principally responsible for the current mess at LHH, not LHH's caring and dedicated staff.

Check it out

San Francisco's $780 Million Budget Deficit

by John Farrell

Controller's estimated $290 million deficit — $90.1 million more than projected in January. For the next two fiscal years, the shortfall is projected at $779.8 million.

Check it out

Let the Bay Lights go dark

Heather Knight Plugs the Bay Lights

by David Romano

Our resources are precious, and we shouldn't be using them for displays of lighting that serve no practical purpose.

Check it out

Is the Sunshine Task Force Ethically Challenged?

by Sullivan

When the City Attorney and the Ethics Commission demur — the SOTF needs to police itself.

Read More

Billions and Billions Later, California's High-speed Rail Future Is Still Illusive

by Quentin Kopp

The project cost for the non-high speed rail portion in the Central Valley increased last month to $35.3 billion from $25.2 billion. It obtains money from a cap-and-trade program which adds 23 cents to every gasoline gallon besides the state’s 53.9 cents tax per gallon

Check it out

Hiding the Deadly Risks of SF's High-Rises

Facing the under-reported facts

by David Osgood

For decades, the City has allowed weaker standards for buildings shorter than 240 feet — no signs of seriously considering these structural deficiencies.

Read More ...

SFPUC: 90% Rate Increase

... & Housing Dreams

by Steve Lawrence

Our Board of Supervisors is keen for the City to acquire the PG&E infrastructure.An offer of $2.5 billion has been rejected.

Read More ...

Keep Diego Rivera's Mural at City College

This mural is currently on loan from City College to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) — The agreement includes the return of the mural to City College which has been its owner and guardian since 1940.

by San Francisco Resident

Read More ...

Screen California Students for Dyslexia

by Carol Kocivar

In third grade...nearly 60% of students are not yet proficient in reading — students can't “read to learn” until they have successfully learned to read.

Read More

Tuesday, March 21st - 9:30am

Westside Neighbors to Protest Climate-Hostile Banks

by Ken Hoegger

West Portal's Chase Bank protest highlights banks’ dominant funding of fossil fuels.

Read More ...

Dreams Come True

Get That Neighborhood Improvement Funded

by Supervisor Myrna Melgar

The winning projects will be most closely align to the criteria and can be successfully completed with the funding allocated as a one-time grant.

Read More ...

Recology, Reparations, Preservation and Supervisor Walton are among Quentin's Observations

by Quentin Kopp

Concerns that trouble Quentin but may only annoy most folks.

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Stop Using Herbicides in San Francisco

The Oxalis Obsession

by SF forest Alliance

The herbicides don’t kill the bulbs. You can kill the top growth and other plants, but you won’t kill the oxalis.

Read More ...

Fighting Against a Stacked Deck

by Sullivan

No wonder the City finds itself in scandals — when the Ethics Commission and the City Attorney doesn't enforce misconduct.

Read More

Parents Who Help SFUSD

by Carol Kocivar

PTA's Honorary Service award recognizes people for outstanding service to children and youth — above and beyond what is asked of them.

Read More

Mayor Breed’s Mysterious Appointments

Is it true that none of Mayor Breed’s four nominees for the Homelessness and Supportive Housing Oversight Board seem to have any experience or credentials in dealing with the problems of homeless citizens?

by Chris Gray and Susan Chen

Read More ...

Laguna Honda Debacle: Root Cause Analysis

DPH kept the report secret for months

by Dr. Derek Kerr &
Dr. Maria Rivero

The report finally gives us a complete picture of LHH's problems and the path to recover.

Check it out

The Weed That's Destroying our Native Habitat

Oxalis is rampant in the Bay Area

by Jake Sigg

Its a tragedy for all the foragers who depend on native plants: myriads of insects, the birds and others that feed on them ...

Read More ...

The Mystery of the New Housing Element

Roadmap or Pipedream?

by Steve Lawrence

Well-resourced Neighborhoods are guilty of plenty, explains the new Element. Racism, greed, selfishness– ... it's time to reform

Read More ...

Did 20 years of mismanagement prompt the Feds to intervene?

The Bungled Management of Laguna Honda

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Kanaley had no experience running a skilled nursing facility whatsoever and certainly no experience or training to run a 1,200-bed nursing home with approximately 1,500 employees

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What could possibly go wrong?

Judge Gives Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card for Union Square Ransacker

Frank Noto

It had major consequences for SF's economy, and millions in lost tax revenue City taxpayers spent an additional $2 million for police patrols.

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Ignoring document requests, misinforming Supes and Boards — are Feds feed up yet?

Squeezing the Truth from Laguna Honda Management

Patrick Monette-Shaw

The showdown at LHH. Now the Feds are demanding SF hire qualified Nursing Home Administrators!

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An easier way to pass local taxes for schools

California Supreme Court grants a wish to school communities

by Carol Kocivar

Can regulating taxation by local governments (two-thirds vote for a parcel tax) override a majority vote in a citizens initiative? Nope.

Read More

”Moderates“ Organize to Change City Hall

According to TogetherSF, District elections is the problem

by Dr. Derek Kerr

The proposed fix is to return to at-large board seats to get more done for the whole City.

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Problems looming at the Shipyard

Newsom's Albatross

by Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

Newsom violated ethics laws by signing into law Shipyard redevelopment measures he sponsored before the Board of Supervisors and accepted the transfer of Parcel A at the cost of one dollar

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Let's Rethink Hospice Admissions

Oversight for Patients’ Rights

by Brian Browne

A group of friends formed to rescind her hospice disposition and return her home to live or die among her treasured surroundings...

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Laguna Honda's 12 Transfer Deaths

Culpability extends to the feds as well as LHH

by Dr. Derek Kerr

So far, twelve patients are dead. 11 patients were severely disabled and had profound cognitive impairment.

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Weeks After Forced Discharge, Patients Began Dying

Laguna Honda Residents Face Resumption of Mandatory Discharges

Patrick Monette-Shaw

LHH wants to avoid culpability when patients die, but actions have consequences, sometimes grave

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PG&E, SFPUC

and even stranger things

by Steve Lawrence

A look at the City's lawsuit against PG&E, at at SFPUC's mismanagement of flooding, AI's artificial idiocy, and aging in SF!

Read More ...

Will changing Lowell admission policies fix the achievement gap?

by Carol Kocivar

The issue is heating up AGAIN. the SFUSD high school task force will present recommendations on admission policies

Read More

Say No to Bay Lights; Stop polluting the night sky

We Have Better Uses for $11 Million

by David Romano

Our resources are precious, and we shouldn't be using them in displays of lighting that serve no practical purpose.

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What do Recology, Nate Albee, President Peskin, & Bloated City Government have in common?

by Quentin Kopp

City Hall and its environs are fair game for Quentin’s inquiries.

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Are Progressives Making Homelessness Worse?

A book review of San Fran-sicko

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Poor people seldom end up on the street. But, addicted and mentally ill people become “disaffiliated” from supporters – a key determinant of street homelessness

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Immediate Jeopardy Violation Further Risks Laguna Honda

DPH Reveals Troubling Laguna Honda Developments

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Unanswered questions: will they continue admitting behaviorally disturbed patients ... will forced discharges resume on February 2?

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Could Parkmerced Transform to Affordable Housing?

by Glenn Rogers

30% of Parkmerced's 3,221 units are vacant. If the Prop M Vacant Unit Tax does not encourage lower rents, the City might purchase them at a bargain, making thousands of new units available...

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California Deserves Better

Time for Feinstein to Step Down

by David Romano

Feinstein has been an enthusiastic supporter of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. How have those wars benefited the families of California?

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Madam Mayor parties down as City is deluged in “atmospheric river”

Mayor's Clueless New Years Fumble Signels Trouble

by Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

Adorned in a feather boa and accompanied by City Attorney David Chiu, Breed's City Officials were oblivious to the massive flooding NASA satellite images predicted December 16, 2022.

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Ask the right questions to fix SF High Schools

by Carol Kocivar

A huge number of students who enter high school are not proficient in English and math — almost 45 percent of SFUSD 8th graders are not proficient in English. More than half are not proficient in math

Read More

Gender Neutral, Affirmative Action, Gary Kamaya and John Arntz

by Quentin Kopp

Moses was a great lawgiver. He was satisfied to keep the Ten Commandments short and to the point . . . he was not an ordinary lawyer..

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First Victim of Redistricting: Supervisor Gordon Mar

by Doug Comstock

Mayor Breed’s backroom manipulations brought the defeat of Mar and the election of Dorsey — more targets in 2024?

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No Religious Discrimination for the Holidays

by Carol Kocivar

It's America! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah

Read More

Root Cause Analysis: Key Report Missing?

Costs to Rescue Laguna Honda Climb to $20 Million

Patrick Monette-Shaw

... it tells us that they are maintaining secrecy to cover up the loss of greatly needed skilled nursing services in SF

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Banned Books for Christmas

by Carol Kocivar

Banning children’s books from schools and libraries is a threat not only to freedom of speech but also to our commitment to teach our children well.

Read More

What Happened at Laguna Honda? Update

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

...the mission of a nursing home is to promote resident autonomy. This is not compatible with the treatment of persons with unstable behavioral issues, which requires structure and agreement to "house rules." If LHH continues admitting persons with active substance use or unstable mental illness, we will lose Laguna Honda.

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Central Subway Boondoggle

by Quentin Kopp

Willie Brown predicted the Central Subway would reduce (can you imagine?) Muni’s operating costs by $23.9 million annually. Muni’s operating costs will now increase by more than $25 million per year.

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Renne's Gambit Goes Belly Up

LHH Patients' Class Action Lawsuit Tossed Out

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Renne sought to take credit for the Tobacco Settlement Revenue lawsuit. It was used, in part, to pay for the LHH rebuild project. Renne had done no such thing.

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UNs’ COP27 / Healing Starts at Hunters Point

Heeding the Clarion Call for Climate Reparations

by Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

Climate reparations dominated Egypt's UN Climate Change Summit this month — overburdened communities demand help cutting emissions, adapting to climate change…and compensation for damages!

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Expectations

by Carol Kocivar

The expectation is that children attend school. The latest data from SFUSD severely challenges these expectations.

Read More

Laguna Honda Settlement Agreement

Too many questions remain unanswered

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Has LHH been skirting its Admissions Policy — by accepting patients who endanger themselves and others by using and distributing drugs?

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Willie's Pay-to Play Lives On!

by Tony Hall

Residents of single-family homes will be watching this variance ... if this could happen to my property, neighbors could easily be the next victim.

Read More

Nobody Home?

Prop M: SF Grapples with Vacant Apartments

by Thomas K. Pendergast

We’re not building at the price points where the demand actually is, so we’re overproducing what folks can’t afford.

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What could possibly go wrong?

Will the Police Commission
Ban Traffic Stops?

Frank Noto

3 meetings held so far —will Westside feedback be considered?

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Can the Supes Clean-up the Shipyard?

by Glenn Rogers

… the statistics remain grim. In 2018, DPH found that Bayview is significantly more at risk than other neighborhoods.

Check it out

City Attorney’s Legal Case Was Strong

But Then He Rolled Over

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Why did Chiu do an about-face and drop both his lawsuits merely to delay re-certification?

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The Myths about School Money

by Carol Kocivar

School districts with the more low-income students, English learners, foster youth and homeless students get a lot more money.

Read More

Reassesing DA Boudin's Recall

"Failed City" fails to convince—Pt. 2

by David Romano

We are reaping what was sown in 2004. Newsom and Mark Buell, a real estate developer, had big plans for the City

Check it out

Behind-the-scenes machinations explain our surging utility rates

by Brian Browne

His required learning curve and that of his associates is just the opposite of what theory teaches is a management requirement.

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The Cow Palace & Ruminations on Immigration & Gun Control

by Quentin Kopp

On the eve of an election, a candidate asked a reporter: “Did you hear my last speech?” The reporter replied: “I certainly hope so.

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Ongoing Issues Threaten Re-Certification

Worrisome Proplems Plague Laguna Honda

Patrick Monette-Shaw

The first survey completed in July found Laguna Honda would not pass a CMS certification.

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Reassesing DA Boudin's Recall

"Failed City" fails to convince

by David Romano

Within months, single-handedly, this incredibly powerful man was causing misery and making people feel unsafe throughout San Francisco.

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Showdown: Dennis Herrera v. Sunshine Task Force

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Since its inception, the SOTF has been a thorn in City Hall’s backside. Why? ... Engaged citizens and journalists seek more information than officialdom likes to share.

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School Board: Learn from Your Mistakes

by Carol Kocivar

The school board, ... voted to create these Muslim holidays. The threat of a costly lawsuit then forced the school board to reconsider.

Read More

Vote NO on L!

by George Wooding

Post-Pandemic Light rail and buses are running empty. SF’s mass transit was designed to take people to a deserted downtown ... a ghost town.

Read More

The City is In Shambles — Here's What to Do.

by John Farrell

Audit non-profit agencies and City contracts to ensure that services are provided ... especially those providing homeless services. ...revenue-generating departments need to ensure all revenue sources are addressed

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Whistleblower and the Disappearing Inventory at SFPUC

by Dr. Derek Kerr

A 21,000-gallon diesel fuel deficit ...despite spending $230,000 on a fuel monitoring system...and the struggle to track $4.7 million tool inventory.

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Face It!

But Don't Hold Your Breath

by Steve Lawrence

Housing and crime are driving residents out of the city, so too does the rising cost of utilities!

Read More ...

What Me Worry? Owning DPH’s Mistakes

Rising Costs to Rescue Laguna Honda Hospital

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Laguna Honda followed the wrong rulebook and failed to follow training guidelines

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$Math in chalk$

Solving California's Math Problem

by Carol Kocivar

Reducing access to advanced mathematics — elevating trendy but shallow courses could cause lasting damage

Read More

September is the best month for skywatching

Searching for the Night Sky

by David Romano

You won't see from downtown what you can see from Mt. Tam. Out here at Ocean Beach the nighttime fog makes viewing an occasional event. Happy skywatching!

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Travel: Sergio is back!

Looking for Leonardo—Florence

by Sergio Nibbi

Florence, where the Renaissance blossomed and its endless treasures are still here for all of us to enjoy.

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What Happened at Laguna Honda?

Step-by-step
& Where are we now?

by Dr. Teresa Palmer

LHH has always been a nursing home facility, has no locked beds and no licensing to take care of behavioral, substance abuse or mental illness.

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Outside Lands Outrage

More concrete replaces grass in Golden Gate Park

by David Romano

It's clear Outside Lands damaged Golden Gate Park but has not honored its agreement to repair any damage to the Park

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DPH's Slipshod ”EPIC“ Datasystem Compounds Senior's Problems at Laguna Honda

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Laguna Honda Update EPIC software bungles safe transfer process - Will Failed ”Restorative Care“ program be a major cause of closure?

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Digging Into the PG&E Buyout

Public Power

by Steve Lawrence

Is there any company easier to despise than PG&E? Explosions, fires, outages: PG&E is constantly in the “ain’t it awful” column.

Read More ...

State Budget Helps Schools Recover

by Carol Kocivar

At about $17,000 per student, California funding no longer lurks in the national basement.

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Travel: Sergio is back!

My Orcha - Mallorca and Barcelona

by Sergio Nibbi

I would think that a small island like Mallorca would have a simple, antiquated airport, but that was quite the opposite.”

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Laguna Honda: Denial, Complicity, Resistance

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Despite these commitments to ensure safe and minimally-stressful transfers ... it did not fully grasp the number and complexity of LHH patients. So, LHH was “pigeon-holed into rules applying to standard nursing homes.

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Westside Fire Response

City Leaders Value Saving Money Over Saving Lives and Property

by Frank T. Blackburn
and Nancy Wuerfel

Mayor Breed remains blissfully silent on the need to extend adequate fire protection to approximately half the City, even though she has knowledge of Fire Department needs having been a fire commissioner in 2010.

Check it out

City's Pathetic Defense of Laguna Honda

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Supervisor Myrna Melgar rallied Supervisors, passing two urgent Resolutions — before the Board went out on summer recess. She achieved this victory!

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Dead Trees of LaPlaya

The Mystery of the Trees

by David Romano

D5 gets $50,000 for tree planting. D8, $246,000 for sidewalk gardens and street trees. And that's it for the entire City. If there is a climate emergency you wouldn't know it from San Francisco.”

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Act Now to Save the Youth Guidance Center

by Glenn Rogers

There is a need for a routine and consistent review of this facility. Programs that exist here are rarely audited, and when they are, the list of improvements required is long and important.

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Tammany Hall, District Elections, November and Boudin

by Quentin Kopp

“A successful man or woman is one who thinks up ways of making money faster than the government can take it away from him or her.”

Check it out

Time to Shine a Brighter Light on SFUSD Chronic Absences

by Carol Kocivar

Children living in poverty are two to three times more likely to be chronically absent—and face the most harm because their community lacks the resources to make up for the lost learning in school.

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The City's Muffled Defense of Laguna Honda

by Dr. Derek Kerr

As of July 11, just 623 patients remain at LHH, compared to 681 in May. Most have been transferred to San Mateo nursing homes. Three went to homeless shelters.

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Will District 7 Join the Progressives?

Voting in the Redistricted D7

by Doug Comstock

Banished D7's western precincts voted 76% in favor of the recall. Acquired Inner Sunset voted 61% against the recall, the future is in flux.

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DPH Plan: Splitting Laguna Honda's Unsuitable Populations Won't Work

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Carving Up LHH Patient Towers into Two Uses, “Cohorting” Different Patient Populations in Each Tower? A Disaster for SF's Health Needs

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West Virginia v EPA

Overreach at the Supreme Court

by Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

Power plant emissions formed black soot on windows and doorways in their homes and triggered asthma attacks, headaches and nosebleeds in their children. Residents led the successful fight that ultimately closed the PG&E Hunters Point power plant in 2006

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How parents changed school start time in California

Carol Kocivar

It began in 2016 with an op-ed by a parent and writer, Lisa Lewis. School started at 7:30 — her son strugged each morning. He came home exhausted.

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Karma or Persecution: Laguna Honda’s Ordeal

by Dr. Derek Kerr

LHH was given 6 months to correct its deficiencies. A follow-up inspection found persistent - and seemingly worse - drug and contraband use, despite LHH’s Plan of Correction.

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Will Laguna Honda Solve Its Problems By Abandoning 120 More Patient Beds?

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Both consultants provided “preliminary assessment reports” of their initial recommendations. Only HMA’s “preliminary assessment report” has been made public.

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It's Climate Change — Stupid

by Glenn Rogers

in the near-term, methane is 80 times more potent than CO2 as a contributing factor to global warming.

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Culture of Silence" and Cover-up Plagues LHH Management

Gray Panthers Pounce on Laguna Honda Crisis

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Crises like COVID-19 and the one at LHH have “unmasked a society that does not value the aged and disabled.” Dr. Palmer noted

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Celebrate Independence, but There's More To Do

by Quentin Kopp

MTA management ignored two reports in 2011 that would’ve saved hundreds of millions on an essentially useless transportation project.

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DPH's “Flow Project” Comes Home to Roost

The Agony of Laguna Honda Hospital

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Everybody involved knew that adding “unstable” adults brought disarray and danger to Laguna Honda's seniors. Most folks just went along. Now they’re surprised?

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Sea Level Rise and Toxic Groundwater

Civil Grand Jury Blasts Hunters Point “Clean-Up”

by Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

The report concludes groundwater “may” become contaminated as sea level rises. In fact, Shipyard groundwater was documented as“contaminated” where thousands of homes are being constructed.

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Public Pans Ocean View Library Plans

by Jonathan Farrell

“It seems preposterous to put a library on a congested thoroughfare when there are better places that are safer for pedestrians to use,” one community member said.

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SFUSD is not segregated.

Carol Kocivar

People are frustrated and spurt out the word “segregated” That's because SFUSD has failed to prepare all ethnicities for a rigorous academic high school.

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New Library at 100 Orizaba? No.

by Glenn Rogers

41% of companies allow employees to relocate permanently to any state freely, while companies that do not allow the employees to relocate elsewhere represent only 5%.

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Picking Up the Pieces

by Doug Comstock

The moderates only need to flip one district from the progressive side of the aisle to preclude the veto power of the Board of Supervisors, since the mayor appointed moderate Supervisor Matt Dorsey ... the Redistricting Task Force handed moderates a perfect set up to do just that.

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Californians Asked to cut water by 5%

Statewide Emergency Drought

by Steve Lawrence

If a mandatory reduction is ordered, there will be a “floor” or minimum allocation per person so that those who have conserved, and now conserve, will not be penalized.

Read More ...

Graft, deception, double-dealing, fraud

Living with Municipal Corruption

by Dr. Derek Kerr

...competence erodes as conscientious employees get marginalized and lackeys are promoted. This consolidation promotes impunity. Betraying the public trust is normalized.

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Violent Thug Attacks, Robs Asian Visitor—Goes Free

Boudin's famed "puppy killer" strikes again

by Lou Barberini

Boudin and the judge circumvented diversion rules because violent criminals are “not eligible” for diversion programs. Why did Boudin send someone to drug diversion if they weren’t arrested for drugs?”

Read More ...

Laguna Honda Losing Funding

Despite the fact that discharge is not legally required (yet) at Laguna Honda, all patients and their families are being interviewed for discharge and this is causing a lot of stress.

Too bad no one saw this coming......oh, a group of doctors from Laguna Honda did.

Read More ...

Addicts Housed among Frail Elderly—What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Turmoil and Crackdown at Laguna Honda

by Dr. Derek Kerr

State Health inspectors diagnosed “Substandard Quality of Care.” Records showed the disarray was more dire than LHH publicly disclosed.

Check it out

Breed's Policing Numbers Don't Add Up

SFPD Discloses Staffing Shortfall

by M. Sullivan

You can flood the Tenderloin with officers, but if you do not have the officers to sustain the effort, you will not see sustained results.

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Biomonitoring Finds Toxins in Hunters Point Residents

Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

HP Biomonitoring was awarded a $50,000 grant from CalEPA to create a live and virtual “Community Window on Environmental Exposures””

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GUEST OP-ED

Why I Oppose Boudin Recall

D. M. Scott

They would have us believe he’s responsible for the statistical rise in crime that’s occurred since the pandemic. Research, however, suggests otherwise...

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Rethinking the Recall Process

by Doug Comstock

Over time, those special interests have proven adept at using the same “peoples protections” to further their own interests. Recalls are expensive, and a few of San Francisco’s bitterest billionaires buy low-turnout elections when they disagree with the voters...

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People are Leaving San Francisco

by Glenn Rogers

41% of companies allow employees to relocate permanently to any state freely, while companies that do not allow the employees to relocate elsewhere represent only 5%.

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UCSF Expansion Plans Under Submission as Judge Considers Arguments

by Doug Comstock

Knowing that either way he rules, an appeal is likely, Alameda Court Judge Frank Roesch weighs the evidence.

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Restoring Confidence in SF Schools

Carol Kocivar

...there are issues that can unite us.. We all want to support our educators who have been doing the hard work every day despite a pandemic and political feud.

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International Dark Skies Week

San Francisco Needs to Address Light Polution

David Romano

In Pittsburgh a new ordinance makes it the first major American city to adopt lighting standards addressing light pollution.

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A great beginning that ran into WWI

St. Francis Wood and the Planned Garden Residences

Jonathan Farrell

36 Garden Residence neighborhoods were planned only St. Francis Wood was actually built.

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Chaos at the Redistricting Task Force

by Doug Comstock

Could the motivation behind all of this be to create such a god-awful divisive plan and create so much anger that the voters would just throw up their hands and get rid of it altogether?

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Medicaid & Medicare threaten payments...

Laguna Honda: Overdoses

Dr. Derek Kerr

Medicaid or MediCal covers 96.5% of LHH patients, the City’s General Fund – aka tax-payers – would then foot the bill. The deadline is April 14th.

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San Franisco's Cancer Necklace

Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai

Taylor minced no words … the results of her 1995 investigation displeased health officials and influenced her decision not to publish significant findings, “I was convinced there was something there

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Mysterious Subversion of Oversight at SFPUC

by Brian Browne

A catastrophic rate disaster shows SFPUC's ingenious ability to evade culpability. They take full responsibility for lowering the water usage...

Check it out

Redistricting Goes Off the Rails

by Doug Comstock

Chair Townsend's Solution to African-American Population Decline Will Likely Result in a Lawsuit Redistricting's latest map has everyone on edge, scrambling to find out who their new Supervisor will be.

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Garbage, Redistricting & Gas Taxation

Quentin Kopp

Three new Board of Education commissioners were appointed last month by Mayor London Breed who promises implicitly that SFUSD will somehow conquer a budget deficit of over $125,000,000.

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Westside Public Safety Forum

Too Much Crime — Not Enough Cops?

by Dr. Derek Kerr

What had Taraval Station done about the unprecedented rise in burglaries in 2021? There were 620 — a 29% increase over the previous year.

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Redistricting — Final Battlelines

by Doug Comstock

District 7 reclaims Forest Knolls, Twin Peaks, Midtown Terrace, the Woods and Miraloma Park from District 8 as well as all of Lakeshore and Merced Manor from District 4, but loses ground entirely in the Inner Sunset.

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A New Admission Process for Lowell High School

Jill Wynns & Carol Kocivar

Lowell high school's merit-based admission policy is perfectly legal. We’ve looked at the language of the law, the history of the law and the intent of the law. We've done our homework.

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Homelessness and the Mental Health Housing Crisis

by Roger Rogers

As additional funding for supportive housing services through programs like Project Home Key become available, radical reform of board and care programming and funding will be necessary to maintain and expand this crucial resource.

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Retreat from Sea Level Rise is Avoidable

Coastal Commission Takes a Wrong Turn

by Dennis Holl

The Port will spend billions to protect Bayside property but not a dime to protect Ocean Beach.

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Redistricting: Drawing the Battle Lines in District 7

by Doug Comstock

SF has had some surprising changes since the current lines were drawn in 2011 — they could change which Supervisor represents us.

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Banning Cars from JFK is Exclusionary

by Howard Chabner

Civil rights laws have been enacted to protect people who are being denied equal access and opportunity. The closure is a violation of the ADA and California disability rights laws.

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War, Worries & Waste

by Quentin Kopp

Donald Trump, disregards 42,000,000 Ukrainians by lauding Putin’s “genius” in invading Ukraine. I urge readers to divest themselves of any reverence or respect for Trump, a draft-dodger, who could demolish the Republican Party.

Check it out

Labor Union Sues City for Corruption and Retaliation

Union Lawsuit Reveals "City Family" Backroom Maneuvers

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Why does the FBI manage to unearth City Hall corruption, while our watchdog agencies; the Controller’s Whistleblower Program, Ethics Commission and City Attorney’s Office cry “What happened?

Check it out

Bob Planthold,
Father, Advocate, Humbug

by Rick Knee

When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground Old African Proverb.

Check it out

SFMTA's Continuing MUNI Problems

by Gerald Cauthen
& Angelo Figone

… instead of looking seriously into what could be done to solve the coupling problem … henceforth the trains operating in the subway would be only one and two cars long.

Check it out

The Growing Pacific Plastic Patch

by Glenn Rogers

Limit plastic used in wrapping done by on-line shopping? Since the pandemic, online shopping has created 29% more waste in landfills which can end up in our oceans

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Hey DPH—Where Did You Dump Our Seniors?

Hint: the software is not the problem

Patrick Monette-Shaw

The Health Dept. continues to flout the open records laws. Our seniors deserve better.

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Shipyard Development, Mired in Problems, Continues to Pay Off for Willie Brown

by Matt Smith

Newly unearthed public records show that the developers paid more than $1.3 million during 2020 to Brown and two partners

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Recology's About Face

by Quentin Kopp

In 2020 SF was paying $59.70 per garbage bin to Recology while San Mateo ratepayers (under competitive bidding) $24.93 per month...

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Can SF Keep Hetch Hetchy?

by Brian Browne

If they want to override the current cost criteria ... jack up the rates ... they must seek voter approval. The SFPUC has not done that ...

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SFPUC: Controllers Audit Reveals Compromised Bid Process

by Dr. Derek Kerr

Most contractors lagged in delivering community benefits and submitting required progress reports. And, once a contract ended, undelivered benefits were not recoverable. SFPUC had no policies to monitor compliance.

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Things that Go Screech in the Night

by Doug Comstock

Ideally, police can stop “sideshows” before they happen with intel from undercover officers and by monitoring social media accounts that announce where sideshows will be. That was not evident in West Portal & 30th/Lawton incidents

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Park Road Closures

Paul Kozakiewicz

Ginsburg, working with the SF Bicycle Coalition and Walk SF, have banned cars on JFK Drive and the Upper Great Highway during the pandemic. Plans are being made make the bans permanent ...

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Transform the Great Highway

by John Elliott

Drivers ... good news for you: the vast majority of streets are dominated by cars! You can drive on all the roads, which is why a radical change is necessary.

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SF Parks Alliance Records Subpeonaed

More Fallout from the SkyStar Wheel Deal

by David Romano

The vendor was selected on a sole source basis for a one-year term ... due to the limited time to accomodate a community event date in April 2020 ...

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“Housing Galore—if you're a millionaire...

Where’s the Affordable Housing?

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Two years after the 2019 Affordable Housing Bond passed—No progress status reports, or annual or quarterly reports to MOHCD or the Supervisors?

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“Granny Dumping”

Dumping Patients Out-of-County

Patrick Monette-Shaw

Moving physically - or mentally-challenged patients is clearly detrimental to their health...leaving fragile patients stranded, miles away from their families and friends

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Rate Hikes & Murky Politics

by Steve Lawrence

Does the City care what your rates are? The Commission recently passed a resolution to guide Herrera. It lacks anything about keeping rates as low as possible.

Read More ...

What could possibly go wrong?

GUEST OP-ED

WHY I’M VOTING “NO” ON PROP. H

Park Road Closures

Here's why I support the SF School Board Recall

Let's Get Serious about Community Policing.

California Communities Are Bracing for Drought

A Crisis of Leadership

A Tragic Death on Woodside Avenue

2019 James Madison Freedom of Information Award

Televise Bond Oversight Meetings

California Supreme Court Clears the Cobwebs

New Laws for 2017 – How Aware are You?

Measure RR: Keep BART Safe and Reliable

PROP C: A Lot of Bang for the Bucks

Thank you Chief!

Harvesting the Cannabis Taxes

Bad Apple Alert

It’s Our Right and Our Duty to Petition

City College—What’s all the Fighting About?

Don't Kick Grandma Out of Pottery Class!

Affirmative Action in Admissions: One Perspective

Prop 16-PG&E’s Public Option Perplex

Human Error, Murder or Steroid Abuse?

Guest Editorial: Exclusive to the West of Twin Peaks Observer

JROTC in San Francisco Public Schools

Vote No on Proposition V

JROTC School Board Decision

Sunshine Government

Listen Up

Local News.

Is the City writing off 120 badly needed public nursing home beds?

Are the “Safety Projects” Safe?

Here Comes the Commission Streamlining Task Force

Neighbors Review Plans for Brotherhood Way

Philanthropy—Billionaire Style

Ratepayers Alert...

Neighborhood Opposition to High-rises Re-emerges

SF Must Take Steps NOW

Rec & Park Fudged the Numbers for Sunset Dunes

SF’s Wheelchair Accessibility on the Skids

Winners Update

Much to Celebrate—Much to Castigate

Moritorium Halts Cleanup Efforts

SF’s Superior Court Records Maze

“Congestion Pricing” Won’t Work for SF’s Downtown

Engardio must go — Jenkins must stay

Here’s Looking At You

Pelosi Challenger Chakrabarti’s Uphill Battle

Repeating Breed’s Failed Policies

Design Buildings to Withstand Earthquakes

Funny Money at Fine Arts Museums

How Managers of SF’s Public Pension Left $5 Billion on the Table

Trump Cuts Hit Neighborhood Schools

Some Trees Are Not Appropriate for City Sidewalks

Could things get worse?

Is It Time to Revisit Birthright Citizenship?

Neighborhoods Reject Lurie’s Upzoning Plan

Wienerville

Chaos and Loss at a City Clinic

A Sobering Silence

The Chronicle and Phony Neighborhood Groups

Housing at Balboa Reservoir Set to Begin Building

LHH Housing Slashed

Color Me Thrilled!

Appeals Court Rules in Favor of 6,500 Bayview-Hunters Point Residents

Fare Evaders Joepardize MUNI’s Fiscal Health

All Eyes on the Amazon

Four more years... Meanwhile...

Garbage Rates: A Whopper Increase

Laguna Honda: Almost out of the woods?

Scammed and Slammed!

Urban Decay Began with Reagan

Farallones — It’s for the Birds

Inner Sunset: The Once Great Neighborhood

Trans Athletes and School Sports

The Quandary at Fine Arts Museums SF

An Open Letter to the SF Giants

SF Author’s Remarkable Novel

A new Mayor and some new, some old problems

New Laws for 2017 –
How Aware are You?

SF’s Wheelchair Accessibility
on the Skids