Facing stiff opposition from within the airline industry and scrutiny from Congress, last month, the Transportation Security Administration tabled its proposed policy to allow knives back onto aircraft. But the delay was only temporary, and agency Administrator John Pistole has remained vague about any plans to revive the proposal. Industry observers say it could be quietly re-implemented as soon as Memorial Day weekend.
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Judicial appointments in California are theoretically the duty of the governor or an electoral body. But they’re really often determined by selection groups that tend to put the same kinds of people on the bench.
That might explain why San Mateo County’s bench has long looked one-dimensional. For years, the county only employed a single Asian judge — Elizabeth Lee. And almost all of the county’s judges had come up as prosecutors or civil litigators. None were former public defenders.
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Super Bowl L is going to be played in Santa Clara, but The City will host the party that comes along with it.
The NFL selected the 49ers to host the golden anniversary Super Bowl in 2016 at an owners’ meeting in Boston on Tuesday.
The team’s $1.2 billion Levi’s Stadium, which is under construction in Santa Clara, will host the game, but most of the week’s festivities will be held in San Francisco.
“As an innovation capital of the world, we want to have this kind of event so we can show and tell the great things that are coming out of our city,” Mayor Ed Lee said.
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Despite concerns about potential cost overruns and a lack of local firms hired to work on the Central Subway project, Muni officials Tuesday approved an $840 million contract for the $1.6 billion transit-extension plan.
The contract — awarded to Tutor Perini, a large contractor based in Southern California — covers the construction and installation of three stations, 1.5 miles of tracks and a new train-control system.
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One San Francisco official hopes to use the ballot box to tighten controls on how the fund that pays for retiree health care for city employees can be used.
Historically, The City has paid retiree health care costs on an annual basis, not setting aside dollars and not worrying about future costs. But as medical expenditures escalate, The City faces $4.4 billion in retiree health care costs during the next 30 years.
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California community college students could have more summer and winter course options, albeit at more than triple the current cost, under a bill being discussed by the state Legislature.
Assembly Bill 955, which the state Senate has taken up, aims to address the budget cuts-induced course shortfall statewide. It would allow schools such as City College of San Francisco to offer extension courses during the summer and winter to students who could not get classes they need to finish their degrees or complete transfers to four-year universities.
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University of California medical center workers in San Francisco and several other cities statewide began a two-day strike Tuesday.
The strike, organized by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, started at medical facilities at UC San Francisco, UC Davis, UCLA, UC Irvine and UC San Diego, union officials said.
Employees represented by AFSCME include respiratory therapists, nursing aides, radiologists, MRI technologists and various technicians, according to the union.
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Who’s in town
Comedian Barry Rothbart, seen on “Punk’d” and the “Tonight” show with Jay Leno, performs. [8 p.m., Punch Line Comedy Club, 444 Battery St., S.F.]
Lectures
Paul Farmer: The physician, medical anthropologist and humanitarian, whose latest book is “Haiti: After the Earthquake,” appears in conversation with Adam Hochschild.
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Following the recent violence in East Palo Alto, culminating in Sunday’s killing of a teenager, police Chief Ronald Davis is calling a “crime emergency” for the department, which took effect Tuesday.
Declaring a “crime emergency” allows the department to cancel days off and make assignment changes as needed. It will more than double the number of patrol officers in the field during critical time periods, Capt. Carl Estelle said Monday.
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Eminem’s song publisher is suing Facebook and an ad agency in Detroit federal court, saying they appropriated one of the rapper’s songs.
In the complaint Monday, Ferndale, Mich.-based Eight Mile Style says a Facebook ad broadcast online last month copied music from Eminem’s 2000 song “Under the Influence.”
The Detroit Free Press reports the 30-second ad was featured in a webcast by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to announce Facebook Home, an interface for Android phones.
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