Loose lips sink ships. That was the lesson city leaders said should be learned from the sudden breakdown of a massive real estate deal tied to the America’s Cup yacht race.The America’s Cup Event Authority was set to put up long-sought money to fix problematic piers in exchange for lucrative long-term waterfront development rights, but Mayor Ed Lee and race officials announced Monday that the agreement would be greatly “consolidated” to as little as one-tenth of the original scope.
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As environmentalists said they will file paperwork today for a ballot initiative requiring city officials to plan for the possible removal of the O’Shaughnessy Dam and the draining of the Hetchy Hetch Reservoir, Mayor Ed Lee denounced their proposal.Restore Hetch Hetchy, a group devoted to returning the valley in Yosemite National Park to its original state, will need to gather 9,702 signatures by July 9 to put the initiative on November’s ballot.
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PG&E is urging state regulators to fund pipeline safety improvements by increasing customer fees.Company officials made their case Tuesday to the California Public Utilities Commission, responding to testimony by ratepayer advocates and watchdogs who argued customers should not be on the hook for required safety upgrades.
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The America’s Cup yacht race is still coming to San Francisco, but a related $111 million deal to fix some of San Francisco’s rotting piers was cast adrift Monday.The regatta’s event authority, led by billionaire and cup defender Larry Ellison, was set to rebuild the piers for a mix of lucrative development rights, long-term leases and outright ownership of waterfront property. But the heart of that agreement — the subject of exhaustive negotiations in recent weeks — was abruptly gutted after talks stalled over the weekend.
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San Jose police on Friday said actor Ashton Kutcher was present at child pornography raids in Marin County Thursday but did not enter any residences and was not involved in enforcement actions.
Five people were arrested by the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children task force, or SVICAC, on suspicion of possessing child pornography.
More than 70 detectives from 23 law enforcement agencies participated in the raids in Fairfax, Bolinas, Larkspur, San Rafael and in Novato where a 16-year-old boy was cited and released.
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A second look at the complex development deal that would bring the America’s Cup yacht race to San Francisco yielded a few key changes to the agreement Wednesday.Board of Supervisors President David Chiu announced that Pier 29 – a contentious part of the deal involving development of prime property near Telegraph Hill – has been taken out of the agreement. What will take its place is undetermined, but could include an alternative pier or a cash payment of $12.3 million, plus inflation, by the Port of San Francisco.
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America’s Cup officials expect The City to present a new waterfront development agreement today, but negotiators were reportedly far apart as of late Tuesday afternoon.“If we don’t agree, there are serious questions about the cup being held in San Francisco,” said Stephen Barclay, chief operating officer for the regatta.The division remains despite a great sense of urgency expressed by race officials, who say preparations need to get under way soon if the event is to be held in San Francisco over the next two years.
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The sponsors of Proposition 8 made good Tuesday on their promise to appeal a federal court decision earlier this month declaring California’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.Attorneys for the group ProtectMarriage.com appealed the ruling by a three-member panel of the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit to a larger, 11-member panel of the same court, rather than directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.That will keep the case, for now, within the confines of what is considered the most liberal federal appeals court in the country.
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The business formula of the America’s Cup seems simple: If you race them, they will come.But as city officials consider a waterfront investment deal finalizing the terms of the yacht regatta, they are left guessing just how many will come.Along with the complex long-term agreement for race officials to fix crumbling piers in exchange for lucrative development rights on public property, the event’s popular appeal also is raising questions.
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Big festivities on the San Francisco waterfront will no longer include the sale of plastic products or the release of balloons, as part of an effort to create “zero waste events.”On Tuesday, the Port of San Francisco approved the new policy for events with attendance of 5,000 or more people. The new regulations are aimed at protecting San Francisco Bay by curbing the mass of plastic waste such events typically produce, including single-use water bottles, plastic food ware, merchandise and souvenirs.
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