The beginning of summer is a time for vacations and relaxation for many. But for law-enforcement officials, it’s a time of anxiety. Better weather, more free time for youths and longer days are an annual recipe for an increase in violent crime in San Francisco. This year, it didn’t take long for the examples to begin to pile up. Last week, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the back at a bus stop at 16th and Church streets minutes after he got out of summer school at Mission High, and recent days have brought news of more shootings and slayings.
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The $131.4 billion state budget signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was cause for satisfaction across the state, as state revenue windfalls virtually eliminated the traditionally painful process of trimming needed programs and services. But Bay Area transit officials were especially pleased, as a huge boon in gasoline tax revenues promised millions more in funding than expected for local transportation agencies.
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The odds worsened considerably last week for California to become the first state in which the Legislature voluntarily relinquished its power to redraw district boundaries after every 10-year U.S. census. A proposed constitutional amendment to transfer this authority to a nonpartisan 11-member commission stalled in the Senate as its five-week summer recess began.
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A broad bipartisan coalition of 75 eminent education and government leaders representing the entire political spectrum, including the former U.S. secretaries of education from both Republican and Democratic administrations, have signed on as supporters of a new report calling for a dramatic overhaul of how public school funding is distributed.
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After operating in relative secrecy, the Taxi Commission this week made a big noise when it fired its executive director in the middle of the night. The reverbations of that ouster should persuade city officials to keep a much closer eye on the way The City regulates a key industry that affects tourists and locals alike.
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The new spending plan for California, approved late Tuesday night by both chambers of the state Legislature, accomplishes many things, but its main achievement may be that it gives state residents a reason to believe their government is firmly on the right track.Throughout the second half of the 1990s and into the new century, Sacramento was riven by bitter disputes among its top office-holders. Seemingly endless partisan fighting made it almost impossible for elected officials to address the real and growing problems facing California.
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The latest regional highway congestion statistics confirm a common judgment of longtime commuters: Traffic volume is again rising steadily towards the truly irritating and productivity-draining levels experienced during the dot-com peak of 2000.As last Tuesday's announcement of the annual report by Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission put it: "If your drive to work seems to be taking longer than it did a couple of years ago, it's no illusion."
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The telephone companies are spending millions of dollars on advertising and lobbying to convince everyone — consumers, businesses, reporters, editorial boards and legislators — that competition is the answer to all of our video and broadband needs. Competition will bring consumers greater choices in programming, lower prices and more responsive customer service. Why does this sound familiar?
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San Francisco might well be among the world's most popular visitor attractions, and one of the greatest centers of technological entrepreneurship and cultural innovation. But itis certainly no Elk Grove — at least in terms of attracting new population.The Sacramento suburb grew by 11.6 percent last year, making it America's fastest-growing city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In contrast, San Francisco was tied for No. 40 on the Census Bureau's list of fastest-shrinking cities, reportedly losing half of one percent of its populace last year.
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Tough luck, California taxpayers — another $55 million has just been added to your 2006-07 state budget obligation, an expense that benefits only state and local government employees. This additional tax obligation was not arrived at via open legislative debate. Instead it was imposed Wednesday by vote of the California Public Employees Retirement System board.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/19/19?page=462&L=registration.register
