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Superior Court disputes Adachi’s budget claims

Remember how Public Defender Jeff Adachi complained that the mayor was not allowing him to replace staff members that have resigned while other public safety departments keep hiring? Well, San Francisco Superior Court Presiding Judge James McBride has taken umbrage with those claims, writing Mayor Gavin Newsom Tuesday that the court has not taken on new personnel, and even if it did, The City wouldn’t be paying for it. The San Francisco Superior Court has not hired a new employee since January 2009, and has instituted a hiring freeze, McBride wrote. The City has no authority to hire court employees, who are paid by the state with exception of the Community Justice Center...

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Murder mystery hits airwaves

It’s an international whodunit, with one of the suspects being the deceased — and now the case will be featured on national television. In June 2007, a 36-year-old with dual French and American citizenship was found dead with three stab wounds inside his locked apartment. Despite there being no bloody knife or suicide note found, San Francisco police determined the death was a suicide. The medical examiner later ruled it an “undetermined death” and closed the case six months later. The case, however, did not end there. The family of Hugues de la Plaza asked French authorities to investigate the death. As two French detectives and a judge from Paris walked...

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Meet new district station police captains

The police captain shuffle becomes official this weekend for almost every district station. Here’s the breakdown: Captain Anna Brown will take over at Central Station, which was headed by Capt. James Dudley. Dudley, a vocal opponent of nightclub rowdiness along the Broadway corridor, was promoted to commander. Capt. Dominic Celaya heads over to the Tenderloin to command that district station. Former Tenderloin Capt. Gary Jimenez heads to night duty along with former Taraval Station Capt. Paul Chignell. Captain Denise Schmitt will command Taraval Station. Capt. Anne Mannix moves from Southern Station to command Northern Station, a spot vacated by Capt. Al Casciato – who...

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Anti-Semitic graffiti found at playground

Parents and their children discovered several anti-Semitic writings scrawled around the Glen Park Playground on Wednesday. The graffiti was cleaned in a matter of hours, and it’s being investigated as a possible hate crime. Several large swastikas, epithets and phallic images on a mural depicting playful children outside the recreation center came as a shock to Tristan Seifer, who arrived at the playground with her kids about 11 a.m. “It was unbelievably extensive and incredibly graphic,” she said. “There were swastikas everywhere. I was surprised that there were people staying there with their children.” Seifer, who is Jewish and lives in the...

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New skin for an old fire station

Beneath the Bay Bridge in a historic row of buildings on The Embarcadero sits a crumbling fire station and a pier that looks like it may jump into the chilly water at any moment. Pier 22½ used to neighbor a row of waterfront cafes, restaurants and offices that served dock workers and Bay-side businesses. Now, the station is surrounded by two swanky restaurants, the distinctive “Cupid’s Span” sculpture and a neatly paved walkway frequented by joggers and tourists. A second phase of the project would return the fire station to its historic luster. Fire Station 35 is part of the Embarcadero Historic District and will be preserved and rehabilitated, but the repairs...

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Police, Muni join forces in fare-evasion operation

Police officers handed out more than 525 citations and arrested nine people in a crackdown Wednesday on Muni vehicles that also netted several passengers who had outstanding felony warrants. About 100 officers and Muni inspectors were involved in Citywide Operation Safe Muni between 1 and 8:30 p.m., police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said. About 525 people were cited for various offenses, including fare evasion, failure to provide proof of payment, and eating and drinking. The stepped-up police enforcement is expected to continue on high-crime lines like the 14-Mission, 22-Fillmore and 38-Geary. Six people were arrested on felony warrants and three others were arrested before being cited and...

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SFPD tickets Muni fare evaders

Police have a new tool for their belts — a Muni fare-evasion ticket book. After an hour-long briefing, about 100 San Francisco Police Department officers went to different Muni stops throughout The City on Wednesday for a daylong crackdown. Officers are already supposed to ride the bus during their shifts, but when police ride public transportation, the focus has been on looking out for crimes such as vandalism and theft. On Wednesday, however, officers went further by checking for proof of payment, a task usually performed by the Municipal Transportation Agency. The crackdown also focused on high-crime lines in each police district, which are outlined on handouts to be given to...

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Some city workers abusing parking perks

As a plan moves forward to extend meter hours late into the night to generate revenue for Muni, city workers are able to park their cars for free in many places, and other employees are exploiting parking rules. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which is in charge of parking as well as running Muni, is studying extending the operating hours at The City’s nearly 24,000 meters — in some cases as late as midnight. But while drivers will likely be paying more to park in the future, local transportation regulations that date back to 1998 allow for several departments to provide placards to city employees, allowing them to park at meters and other paid spots for...

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Mid-Market billboards quashed

Voters rejected the most contentious issue on the November ballot, a plan to dot mid-Market Street with billboards and advertisements in an effort to create a theater and arts district. The failure of Proposition D means there will not be a formation of a special area that allows moving signs, electronic ads and illuminated billboards smaller than 500 square feet on the busy thoroughfare between Fifth and Seventh streets, an area known for its grimy streets, strip clubs and shuttered storefronts. In 2002, more than 77 percent of voters approved a measure that prohibited new outdoor billboards citywide, but it allowed for exceptions with voter approval. The main opponent of the...

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More homicide cases cracked

Homicides have plummeted this year in The City, and more people are also being arrested and charged in those murders than in the last three years. The issue of rising homicide totals has long been a hot-button political issue in City Hall, especially since killings increased between the time Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed former Chief Heather Fong in 2004 and this year, with calls for reorganizing the Police Department and forcing the Board of Supervisors to mandate foot patrols. Along with the push to lower the number of homicides in The City, there has been pressure to solve a greater percentage of those slayings. A new report from the City Controller’s Office shows that between...

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Measure would ease SF’s sign restrictions

Property owners want to erect billboards to clean up a stretch of mid-Market Street, but the plan needs to be approved by voters Tuesday. In 1997, the Board of Supervisors killed a plan to allow electronic signs and other advertisements in Union Square. Five years later, more than 77 percent of voters approved a measure that prohibited new outdoor billboards citywide. Proposition D would create an exception to the law, allowing moving signs, electronic ads and illuminated billboards smaller than 500 square feet on the busy thoroughfare between Fifth and Seventh streets. Owners of the billboards would receive a bulk of the proceeds, but 20 to 40 percent would go toward a ticket booth in...

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Firefighting water in PUC hands

The deteriorating network of pipes, cisterns, intake valves and reservoirs that push water through hydrants and hoses to put out fires around The City has found a new caretaker. While the 96-year-old Auxiliary Water Supply System still belongs to the Fire Department, the Public Utilities Commission has all but taken over the maintenance of the system at a cost of about $2.4 million a year, though voters may be asked to approve a bond for more repairs. The agreement is largely a cost-saving measure, and will end up diverting money to The City’s general fund. The PUC’s water enterprise is funded through the water rates that come in from about 2.4 million water customers. A...

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Crescent City man indicted for Obama threat

While crowds cheered for President Barack Obama as he raced to a Democratic fundraiser at the Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco on Thursday evening, a Crescent City man sat behind bars for e-mailing threats to kill the president and his family. John Gimbel, 59, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in The City after making dozens of threats against Obama and other public officials in e-mails that spanned more than two years, according to court papers. Gimbel sent his latest e-mail on Sept. 28 to Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, a newspaper and about 70 other individuals. The threats are littered with racial epithets and claims to kill not only Obama, but his wife and...

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Police release description of suspect in fatal stabbing

The San Francisco medical examiner identified the victim of a fatal stabbing Monday night as 49-year-old San Francisco resident Eric Buschman. Buschman was unloading his pickup truck in front of his home, near Excelsior Avenue and Athens Street, when a man came up to him and stabbed him, according to police. The suspect is described as a “chubby” Hispanic man between 20 and 25 years old, standing 5 feet 4 inches and weighing 150 pounds. He was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. The man was last seen running from the area northbound on Athens Street and then west on Excelsior Avenue, police said. Officers responded about 7:40 p.m. and located Buschman....

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Chief wants to beef up homeland security prep

San Francisco is “terribly underprepared” to deal with an act of terrorism and the new police chief said steps must be taken to protect The City, which he considers to be a top choice for terrorists. Chief George Gascón told The Examiner that homeland security is the one topic that keeps him awake at night. “I think we are terribly underprepared to deal with an act of terrorism, and this city is a major target,” he said. One of the many changes Gascón is looking at is a beefed up homeland security unit. The federal Department of Homeland Security has already given The City $1 million for an operations center that will be independent of the...

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Chief wants compromise on sanctuary policy

As controversial legislation about San Francisco’s sanctuary policy moves toward a vote, the new police chief told The Examiner he’s seeking a balance between opposing sides. Supervisor David Campos has proposed legislation that would make it so illegal immigrant youths charged with felonies are reported to federal authorities only if they are convicted. The current sanctuary policy requires that youths be reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being arrested on suspicion of a felony. That policy was put in place by Mayor Gavin Newsom after it was reported last year that The City was shielding undocumented youths convicted of felonies from deportation....

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Tenderloin police sweep picking up drug felonies

The latest police crackdown on open-market drug dealing in the Tenderloin set out to quash low-level crimes, but suspected criminals are being taken off the streets and charged with felonies. Just after starting his job as the new police chief, George Gascón focused on the Tenderloin and the drug dealing that was going on within eyesight. Though some were critical of his efforts, the push has resulted in an increase in felony narcotics arrests there — many of which come through enhancements for dealing drugs near schools and while on parole. Gascón’s crackdown on drug dealing in the Tenderloin is keeping prosecutors busy, with 207 felony narcotics cases going...

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City attorney seeks to shut down Tenderloin strip club

A rowdy Tenderloin adult entertainment spot that has angered police and neighborhood residents for the violence and noise that has spilled out its front door could be shut down now that The City has asked for its closure. The Pink Diamonds nightclub at 220 Jones St. has long been targeted for closure by the City Attorney’s Office, but a homicide that police said happened in a line for the club may have been the final push to shutter the club. Harris Fullbright, 30, of San Francisco, was slain at 3 a.m. on June 27 outside the club. Police said Fullbright was fighting with another man while outside. The homicide remains unsolved and police accused club security of being...

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Illegal immigrant fights S.F. drug charge

A San Francisco jury found a 23-year-old illegal immigrant guilty Friday of selling crack cocaine in the Tenderloin despite his claims that human traffickers forced him to do it. The case pitted the issues of human trafficking versus illegal immigrants who commit crime in the sanctuary city of San Francisco. While it is common for illegal immigrants to claim they are blackmailed into a life of crime, the cases rarely go to trial. After what jurors described as about seven hours of intense and at times heated deliberations, an applause came from the jury room as the decision was made. Jury foreman Daniel Ludwinski said he was one of the last to hold out against finding Rigoberto Valle...

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Civil actions for civil streets

Almost a year of silence was broken last weekend when retaliatory gang violence erupted in the Mission district, killing three and injuring two. To the dismay of some law enforcement officials, the gang shootings occurred within a “safety zone” created to limit gang activity, which officials say has been a successful tool in suppressing killings and shootings in neighborhoods held hostage by various gang factions. Three years ago, The City initiated the first civil gang injunction, which attempts to stop crime and violence associated with gangs by hitting presumed gang members with a civil lawsuit for being a collective public nuisance. Pursued by City Attorney Dennis...

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Mission district shootings ignite gang-free zone

Homicides in an area of the Mission district designated by authorities as a gang-free zone went from zero during a span of almost 10 months to three in just three days this weekend. Francisco Pena, 41, of San Francisco, and Francisco Cornejo, 26, of unknown residence, died in a gang-related shooting inside a 24th Street pizzeria late Sunday afternoon. A third man suffered life-threatening injuries, San Francisco police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said. “We had officers there within a minute,” said Capt. Stephen Tacchini, who commands Mission Police Station. “We couldn’t resuscitate the victims, but we were able to make a quick arrest.” San Francisco residents Andres...

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Neighbor complaints halt USF benefit concert

Outside Lands may have officially been called a success, but it’s no secret that folks in the neighborhood were a little grouchy about noise and trash. Well, several letters to the Entertainment Commission about “Jammin’ for Justice,” the first attempt at an annual concert on the Benedetti Baseball Diamond at Golden Gate Avenue and Masonic, caused the University of San Francisco on Tuesday to withdraw its permit for amplified sound. The concert is to raise money for the Women's Community Clinic on Hayes Street, and it will take place a week from Saturday. Some neighbors, however, bristled at the prospect of student and local bands polluting the air between noon...

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Pickup plummets into Bay, kills driver

A man at the wheel of a white Toyota pickup truck barreled down a Treasure Island street, flew over the berm of a seawall and plunged into the frigid Bay water on Monday afternoon. The middle-aged man, who was the sole occupant of the white Toyota Tacoma, later died at the hospital. Witnesses saw the truck speeding down 13th Street near Avenue N at more than 50 mph. The truck plunged into the water at about 1:45 p.m. after hitting a dirt ramp and flying at least 30 feet. Martin Swank was in his office, a trailer at 901 13th St., when the truck zipped past. As a safety officer for Rubicon Landscape Services, Swank left his office to tell the driver to slow down, but when he went...

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Feds fund SF police academy class

They’ve been on again and off again like police uniforms but thanks to money from the federal government there will be a full police academy class this year. There’s been a lot of worry over whether The City will be able to train new police officers because of major budget constraints. But funding from the aptly named Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program will change all that. Though the class has yet to be scheduled, about 50 new recruits could expect to face the rigors of police academy this year, which is good because despite there being the charter mandated 1,371 officers now, several members are expected to retire in the upcoming years. The COPS funding...

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Blogger tests new SFPD press pass policy

Last week we reported that the SFPD public affairs office is going to start paying a little more attention to new media such as blogs and Web sites under Chief George Gascón. Well, at least one San Francisco blogger took the SFPD public affairs office up on the idea. Michael Petrelis, a longtime activist journalist who covers the AIDS epidemic and gay rights issues, called Gascón’s office to see if what the Police Department had said was true. Petrelis and others have never been issued press credentials, and now they’re testing the new chief. Even Supervisor Bevan Dufty is championing Petrelis’ cause. Well, he got a prompt response from none other than...

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Some city autos can’t hack hills

They are the little cars that couldn’t. Natural gas-powered traffic carts used for issuing tickets to parking violators purchased by The City in its attempts to “go green” are plagued with mechanical problems and have difficulty maneuvering San Francisco’s famous hills. Twenty-six of the problem carts are in the fleet after The City limited purchase of the vehicles to only natural gas ones between 2001 and 2003, according to a city report. The green carts have had mechanical problems through the years, causing the Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees parking, to purchase replacement vehicles because the natural gas versions are not very functional,...

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Outsiders help boost SFPD’s public face

The San Francisco Police Department — where the message had been tightly controlled under former Chief Heather Fong — is beefing up its sworn public affairs staff and opening up to the public, and it only took a couple of outsiders to make it happen. Last week, new police Chief George Gascón brought in his former spokesman, Sgt. Ed Wessing, from Mesa, Ariz., to foggy San Francisco for three days and two nights to help expand the office that deals with the media. San Francisco paid for Wessing’s flight and hotel, while Mesa paid his normal salary for the visit, according to San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. Two more Mesa officers are...

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Water-project costs balloon

A critical seismic safety improvement along the Hetch Hetchy water delivery system is beset by delays and cost overruns, adding millions to the $4.4 billion voter-approved bond project. There are currently three existing siphons that transport water to the Bay Area from both the Hetch Hetchy supply and the Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant. Because the devices are at risk of sustaining damage in a major earthquake, the Public Utilities Commission is building a fourth seismically designed siphon and upgrading the existing facilities. But those improvements are now eight months behind schedule, at an estimated cost of $12.2 million. Some of the delays are due to a change in management....

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New task force will keep eye on stimulus funds

San Francisco has identified more than $2 billion in federal stimulus needs, and when funding is released, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said a newly created task force will work to prevent misuse. Herrera has created a Stimulus Spending Task Force comprised of six members of his department to coordinate legal compliance by city departments to federal requirements that come with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. Projects that San Francisco has identified for federal funds include airport infrastructure and upgrades, Muni service improvements,high-speed rail and expanding broadband Internet access to low-income areas. Herrera said the task force eliminates the need to...

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City targets energy-eating lights

A lot of light has been cast upon energy efficiency recently in The City. The latest news is about lights — fluorescent tube lighting, to be exact. City building owners who have yet to replace the energy-sucking fat light tubes, technically known as T-12 bulbs, with more energy-efficient ones may soon be required to by law. Privately owned commercial buildings, including schools and tourist hotels, would have to make the changes by Dec. 31, 2010. Residential buildings are excluded from the ordinance. Buildings that fail to install slimmer-type tubes, called T-8 bulbs, that are more energy efficient would be considered a “public nuisance” and would be unable to obtain...

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Feds pave road to street repairs

Federal stimulus funds will fill a financial pothole for street-repair work in The City. California’s budget woes led to the state freezing about $11 million in funds guaranteed by voters. That money would have gone to road repairs. Luckily for San Francisco drivers, The City will receive about $11 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has been allocated to smooth out stretches of crumbling corridors. The six projects chosen for the stimulus dollars — Jones, Turk, Bush and Divisadero streets, and Seventh Avenue and Geary Boulevard — were chosen not only for their state of disrepair, but also for the readiness of each. “It’s a...

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Let there be more efficient light on a Tenderloin block

A grid of energy-efficient streetlights will be unveiled in the Tenderloin today as part of a pilot program testing the next generation of city lighting. The City installed the light emitting diode (LED) streetlights on Turk Street, between Taylor and Jones streets. The new lights replace the less energy-efficient sodium lamps. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which operate 43,000 streetlights in San Francisco have been working with Mayor Gavin Newsom to spread the LED technology throughout The City. Today’s announcement follows a PG&E study completed in December that tested the viability of competing LED manufacturers. Twenty...

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Group tries again to halt worker benefits

A restaurant group filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt mandated payments by businesses to The City’s universal health care program. The Health Care Security Ordinance requires that businesses invest between $1.23 to $1.85 per employee hour worked, depending on the size of the company, for health care benefits, or contribute funding to The City. In September, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court rejected the Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s argument that San Francisco’s ordinance unlawfully imposed on a 1974 law that bars state and local governments from forcing employers to pay benefits. On March 9, the 9th U.S. Circuit...

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Stakeouts aim to curb graffiti

Police are turning to stakeouts in order to nab graffiti vandals. The City has seen an uptick in complaints about graffiti, specifically to the 311 call center. A series of stake-out operations are planned between the California Highway Patrol and the Police Department. The law enforcement agencies are targeting overpasses and freeway signs after a series of bold vandalism incidents on Highway 101. “It’s costing The City millions,” said Mohammed Nuru, the Department of Public Works deputy director, who oversees graffiti cleanup for The City. “They’re using climbing gear. They’re sophisticated and climbing up sheer surfaces.” After averaging...

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Mayor Gavin Newsom takes shine to L’Oréal

Speculation has swirled for the past five years around how Mayor Gavin Newsom, 41, maintains his perfectly coiffed hairdo. Other than a solitary spotting in 2006, when the mayor showed up to a meeting in Bayview with floppy hair, he has never been seen sans goop. But at long last, the secret behind his unmovable hairstyle is out. On Tuesday, Newsom sat down for an interview with Southern California radio host Ryan Seacrest and dished on his ’do. “What is that product you put on your slick, shiny hair?” said Seacrest, who is also the host of “American Idol.” The answer: L'Oréal Total Control Clean Gel, which costs $4.99 a bottle. The mayor...

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Secret is out: Newsom’s hair product revealed

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City takes top-spender honors

Published: Mar 17, 2009

San Francisco outspends other California cities per capita when it comes to providing police, fire and health and human services, according to a report issued Monday. The report comes as The City finds itself more than $460 million in debt for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Mayor Gavin Newsom must submit a balanced city budget to the Board of Supervisors for review by June 1. The City’s operating budget has increased during the past 10 years from $2.4 billion to $4 billion, with 60 percent of the spending growth attributed to the Public Health, Human Services, Police and Fire departments, the report said. Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard embraced the report as providing...

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Issue growing about trees and billboards

Published: Mar 15, 2009

Trees blocking billboards have had their tops lopped off, and that is prompting an investigation into how the purportedly illegal trimmings are occurring. San Francisco has a public-works ordinance protecting street trees from being trimmed excessively or taken down entirely. The California Supreme Court even weighed in on the issue in 2006, ruling that owners of billboards do not have a right to cut down trees. As Mayor Gavin Newsom completed his ambitious Arbor Day goal to plant more than 25,000 trees this last week, many are complaining that an illegal practice to make it easier for drivers to see advertisements is undercutting that effort. Friends of the Urban Forest, an...

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City may build new skate park under freeway

Published: Mar 15, 2009

Skateboarders are trying to grind out an agreement with The City to put a massive skate park under what remains of the Central Freeway. San Francisco has three facilities specifically for skateboarders: Hilltop Park Bowl in the Bayview-Hunters Point area, the Crocker Amazon/McLaren Skateboarding Park and a park that opened at the Potrero del Sol/La Raza Park in the Mission district in 2008. The City is expected to make up to $50 million on the sale of a vacated parcel of land bordered by Gough, Grove and Ivy. City officials have promised some of that money will pay for the skate park and a basketball court. Also in the works is a site in Golden Gate Park. A skateboard park that was...

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City’s tax office mails out thousands of delinquencies

Published: Mar 13, 2009

Delinquent tax notices sent out in February — many of them erroneous — outnumbered notices sent out in previous months. More than 28,721 letters were sent out in February, which was thousands more than in the last several months of 2008, according to public records. The number is also more than one-third of the total businesses operating in The City at any time. As reported by The Examiner, many of the letters were sent in error and called for fines ranging from $50 to $1,000 for businesses that owners said had been closed for years, even decades. The delinquency letters threatened to notify collection agencies and asked for a check or money order for payment. Treasurer...

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Understaffed department struggles with tree upkeep

Published: Mar 12, 2009

The City has exceeded a goal of planting 25,000 trees in five years, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. He conceded, however, that maintaining the added greenery is an ongoing challenge. Arborist and gardener crews are understaffed, according to city officials and park activists, and older street trees continue to die because of the costs of keeping them alive. As budget cuts hang over city departments, Newsom said he is also concerned about trees in San Francisco parks. In 2005, for example, a bleak stretch of sidewalk in the Portola neighborhood was spruced up with trees. “I went down to Portola one day, and I couldn’t believe [the trees] were all dead, so we’re...

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Shuffling of Rec and Park jobs leads to vented anger

Published: Mar 12, 2009

Dozens of recreation directors facing layoffs because of The City’s impending $460 million budget deficit packed the Board of Supervisors chambers on Wednesday to speak out against the shuffling of Recreation and Park Department jobs. Many were concerned that union jobs at The City’s clubhouses will be shifted to a nonprofit entity called Rec Connect. Interim department Director Jared Blumenfeld said only the five clubhouses already under Rec Connect would be managed by the public-private partnership and three clubhouses would be leased out. Supervisor John Avalos, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, said the marriage between the Recreation and Park Department and...

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Improvement project leads to utility-rate hike

Published: Mar 11, 2009

Utility rates are about to increase for San Francisco residents — but some will feel it more than others. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission plans to raise water rates by 15 percent as early as June, and again in subsequent years, to help pay off debt incurred by its $4 billion, voter-approved Water System Improvement Project. A plan unveiled Tuesday would hike residential sewer and water bills by up to 16.8 percent. Most commercial water users, such as hotels and offices, would see a 3.8 percent increase in utility bills. Multifamily residences — apartment building landlords and tenants — would see utility bills increase by 12 percent in the next five years....

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San Francisco to benefit from end of stem cell ban

Published: Mar 10, 2009

The overturning of the eight-year federal ban on embryonic stem cell research will have an immediate effect in San Francisco, allowing labs more freedom to conduct research under the same roof. Opponents of stem cell research argue that stem cell research is immoral, because human embryos — or cells cloned from donated eggs and sperm — must be destroyed in order to harvest the cells. Those ethical concerns prompted President George W. Bush to ban federal support for new embryonic stem cell research. President Barack Obama on Monday, however, repealed that ban and called for vigorous support of scientists who pursue the research. While the federal ban was in place, there was...

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SF restaurant group loses health plan appeal

Published: Mar 10, 2009

A San Francisco law requiring businesses to provide health care benefits to employees or pay into a fund to provide for their care survived another legal challenge but opponents to the landmark ordinance said they are ready to take their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal from San Francisco’s restaurant association, which contends the employer spending mandate conflicts with federal law. Mayor Gavin Newsom called the decision a “significant” victory for San Francisco’s affordable health care program for the uninsured, called Healthy San Francisco. The Health Care Security Ordinance requires that...

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Judges mull rival Prop. 8 debates

Published: Mar 05, 2009

Now the wait begins. All the buildup, all the legal filings come down to this: Seven California Supreme Court justices have 90 days to rule whether the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage will stand. The court heard arguments Thursday for and against Proposition 8, an amendment to the state constitution, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Gay-rights advocates are urging the court to overturn Prop. 8 which was approved Nov. 4 by 52 percent of voters. They say the ballot measure was put before voters improperly, or at least prematurely. The sponsors of Prop 8, represented by Pepperdine law school dean and former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr, argue against...

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State Supreme Court to hear Proposition 8 arguments

Published: Mar 05, 2009

The landmark case that could decide the future of same-sex marriage in California for years, perhaps forever, begins today in San Francisco. Interested parties and legal experts will be looking for hints from the seven justices of the California Supreme Court, who will hear three hours of arguments today, as to whether or not they’ll rule against Proposition 8. The court will have 90 days to make its decision. The measure, which passed Nov. 4 with 52 percent of the vote, amends the state constitution to say that marriage in California is between a man and a woman. After the election, the city of San Francisco along with other municipalities and gay-advocacy groups filed a lawsuit...

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Who will benefit from stimulus?

Published: Mar 04, 2009

The federal stimulus package could deliver millions of dollars for new construction in The City, but many of the workers taking advantage of those jobs will likely come from outside San Francisco. Only about 35 percent of workers in the San Francisco construction trade actually live in The City, according to numbers cited by Ted Egan, San Francisco’s chief economist. That number is in stark contrast to restaurant workers, for example, of whom 75 percent live in The City. Still, construction jobs in the Bay Area are a regional affair, said Michael Theriault, secretary and treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents several construction...

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Campaigning mayor holds S.F. fundraiser

Published: Mar 04, 2009

Mayor Gavin Newsom has recently taken his bid for governor statewide in a series of town-hall meetings, but a San Francisco fundraiser Tuesday was a homecoming. “In some respects, it was a family affair,” said Newsom’s campaign strategist, Eric Jaye. Held at Japantown’s Kabuki Hotel and off-limits to media, the event was billed “I Knew Him When,” and offered an opportunity to hear stories of Newsom’s past. Robyn Raymer said she came, in part, because Newsom helped her mother marry her partner of 19 years. The fundraiser pulled in more than $35,000, according to Jaye. Tickets for the event ranged in price from $100 to $5,000, with a reduced...

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Newsom, York mum on 49ers meeting

Published: Mar 04, 2009

Two weeks after San Francisco 49ers President Jed York said “there hasn’t been a great deal of cooperation” from city officials regarding the football franchise’s stadium needs, a sit-down Tuesday between York and Mayor Gavin Newsom was said to be less a gridiron negotiating session and more a “very pleasant” talk about the team and The City. After meeting for less than an hour inside the Mayor’s Office, the two parted ways without speaking to reporters gathered outside. Newsom’s spokesman, Nathan Ballard, would only say that the business meeting between the 49ers and The City was congenial. The 49ers are currently negotiating with the...

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Violent crime down but residents still don't feel safe

Published: Mar 03, 2009

Violent crime is down in the first couple months of 2009 compared to last year, but that doesn’t mean supervisors are hearing fewer complaints. Between Jan. 1 and Wednesday, violent crime decreased by 18 percent, according to statistics compiled by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. Robberies, the topic of a supervisors’ hearing Monday, decreased by 17 percent. Arson and rape were the only crimes to increase during that time period. As public-safety officials touted the declines, however, Supervisor David Campos, who chairs the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee, brought up his own attempted-robbery experience. More than a year ago, Campos was talking...

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Rallies and campouts planned for same-sex marriage arguments

Published: Mar 02, 2009

Not all the action surrounding Thursday’s oral arguments for and against same-sex marriage will occur inside the courtroom. Several groups have organized rallies in San Francisco and through the state. The largest same-sex marriage advocacy groups — including Equality California, which is the only advocacy group arguing against Prop. 8 on Thursday, and the Human Rights Campaign — have banded together for a vigil across the state on the evening before the case is heard. Called the “Eve of Justice,” the vigil is planned for 18 cities across California, from Fresno to West Hollywood. In San Francisco, supporters of same-sex marriage are gathering at Market...

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3-Minute Interview: Axel Alonso

Published: Feb 27, 2009

Marvel’s executive editor in charge of the X-Men line will be at WonderCon in San Francisco on Sunday. A graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Alonso stumbled into the comics business. You’re the person who pushed to move the X-Men to the West Coast. Have the superheroes been a good fit for San Francisco? Yeah. The superhero world has always been an East Coast thing, but West Coast cities need saving, too. San Francisco is a progressive and tolerant city, and the X-Men have always been analogous to populations that are under fire. X-Men are mutants and are the ultimate minority. They’ve found safe haven in San Francisco and found a place they can...

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Former city grant writer may have helped nonprofit gain funds

Published: Feb 27, 2009

A former grant writer in the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice moonlighted at a nonprofit agency that received money from The City — a potential conflict of interest that could lead to fines and perjury charges against the ex-employee. The full-time city employee also consulted for Vanguard Public Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that disperses funds to other nonprofits focused on fighting racism, sexism and social injustice, according to a report from the City Services Auditor. The employee was not named in the report. In fiscal year 2008, while the employee was a paid consultant, Vanguard received $70,169 through an agreement with the Juvenile Probation...

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Tax collector sends out erroneous collection notices

Published: Feb 25, 2009

Dozens of former business owners stood confused Tuesday at the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector after an unknown number of erroneous collection notices went out last week asking for immediate repayment of back taxes. Treasurer Jose Cisneros apologized for any inconvenience and said the influx of notices could be a product of a looming business-tax deadline. The letters asked for repayment of back taxes ranging from $50 to $1,000. Cisneros’ office could not estimate how many letters were mailed out erroneously. The office handled more than 1.5 million transactions last year, and The City’s 80,000 businesses are required to pay a variety of fees. “On occasion,...

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Schools to get $11.5M from City's rainy day fund

Published: Feb 24, 2009

San Francisco schools will get $11.5 million from The City’s rainy day fund to help stave off 133 to 160 teacher layoffs. That figure could go up or down depending on how much is eventually cleared for release by City Controller Ben Rosenfield. The special rainy day fund was created in 2003, when voters passed Proposition G. It requires The City to save some excess revenue during good economic times. The account's balance now stands at about $92 million. The San Francisco Unified School District is eligible for up to 25 percent of the total if the district is getting less money per pupil from the state when adjusted for inflation, and must be facing significant teacher...

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S.F. faces tough battle for stimulus funds

Published: Feb 24, 2009

In the fight for federal stimulus dollars, San Francisco will receive more per capita than any U.S. city, Mayor Gavin Newsom pledged Monday. Mayors from around the country are vying for a piece of the $787 billion federal stimulus package, and competition for the funds is likely to be steep. The money can be used for everything from infrastructure needs to block grants for community development. Newsom said The City is uniquely positioned to qualify for funds because many of the projects officials are seeking money for are poised and ready for construction. “My job as an advocate, as a mayor of this county and city, is to do as well or better than any mayor in any city in the...

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Rookie assemblyman plans trailblazing bill

Published: Feb 23, 2009

A San Francisco assemblyman is leading the charge to legalize marijuana in California and fill state coffers with a duty on dope. As a former city supervisor, state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano made marijuana offenses the lowest priority for San Francisco police to pursue. Now, more than two years after that legislation, he wants to decriminalize the drug statewide and tax it to address the California’s budget deficit. Ammiano is expected to announce legislation today that would legalize marijuana and tax the proceeds, Ammiano spokesman Quentin Mecke confirmed Sunday. Some estimates say such a tax could bring in as much as $1 billion. Mecke wouldn’t comment specifically on the...

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Funding for The City dealt heavy blow in state budget

Published: Feb 20, 2009

The state’s budget may cost San Francisco as much as $111 million, which comes even as officials could announce hundreds of new layoffs next week to help close The City’s looming deficit for the fiscal year starting July 1. The dust will have to settle before the true impact of the state budget is known, but the latest projections of statewide cuts appear to have fulfilled officials’ direst projections. “We have between now and June 1 to put together a thoughtful, balanced budget,” Mayor Gavin Newsom said Thursday. “It’s going to be extraordinarily challenging now that the state has cut more money from our local budget, and we’ll have to...

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Newsoms’ baby due in September

Published: Feb 20, 2009

Mayor Gavin Newsom released more details Thursday about his impending first born — and apologized to some members of his family that they heard the news via the media rather than from the happy couple. News spread quickly Wednesday among media that Newsom, 41, and wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, 34, were expecting, yet many in the immediate family didn’t know, including Newsom’s father, Bill Newsom. “Unfortunately, some gossip column in New York City leaked this, and so we didn’t announce it in the way we intended to, but such is the life of public service,” Newsom said Thursday outside City Hall. “I had to deal with my aunt. To my aunt Annie, I...

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Here comes Gavin with a baby carriage

Published: Feb 19, 2009

San Francisco’s first couple is expecting to hear the pitter-patter of little feet around their Russian Hill apartment. Mayor Gavin Newsom’s wife is pregnant with their first child, due at the end of the year. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, 34, the actress and producer who married Newsom, 41, in July, kept the pregnancy secret for weeks, but Newsom’s press office confirmed Wednesday that she’s expecting. The couple declined to speak with the media, but a statement from mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard said they are “thrilled.” “We are pleased to confirm that Mayor Gavin Newsom and first lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom are starting a family,” the...

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City taps its workers for budget boost

Published: Feb 18, 2009

City employees are being asked to donate some of their pay to help save jobs and services — but so far, the donation hat is coming back empty. With San Francisco facing a projected $460 million budget shortfall for next fiscal year, a memo from the Controller’s Office circulating City Hall is reminding workers that they can pitch in a chunk of their paycheck to a fund to help forestall layoffs and service cuts. The City Services Preservation Fund was set up in 2005 by Mayor Gavin Newsom as a way for employees to give back during a budget crunch. Money donated in a lump sum from a paycheck goes into the fund and then gets redistributed to The City’s general fund. The...

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Jazz district loan comes at cost

Published: Feb 17, 2009

The cornerstone nightclub of the revitalized Fillmore jazz district is about to get a $1.5 million Redevelopment Agency bailout loan — but it comes at the cost of fixing a long-abandoned building in the neighborhood. Officials are close to taking $3.3 million intended for revamping the abandoned Muni substation at Fillmore and Turk streets and instead offering the money as loans to struggling businesses, helping pay for restaurant consultants and funding an operating shortfall at a parking garage. But questions remain about how The City plans to revamp the dilapidated substation once it’s turned over in a deal with the Redevelopment Agency. The agency purchased the building...

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Wet weather expected to continue into Monday

Published: Feb 15, 2009

Stormy weather will persist throughout the Bay Area into President’s Day, although flooding and other storm-related emergencies on Sunday were few and far apart. Flight delays, minor power outages, a broken water main and rock slides were among the annoyances caused by blustery winds and more than an inch of rain throughout the region. A water main broke about 12:30 a.m. near the intersection of California and Powell streets, flooding Caffe Cento, on the bottom floor of Nob Hill’s Fairmont Hotel at 950 Mason St. Firefighters and crews from the Department of Public Works responded. John Senior, assistant front office manager at the hotel, said late Sunday the coffee shop...

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Proposal puts onus of retrofits on property owners

Published: Feb 13, 2009

The next big earthquake could send thousands of city buildings crumbling to the ground. And to prevent such an occurrence, Mayor Gavin Newsom said property owners should foot the bill to shore up the structures most likely to collapse. Newsom has called for a law requiring owners of seismically unsafe soft-story buildings to reinforce their structures — at an average of more than $100,000. Soft-story buildings typically have a large opening on the ground floor, such as a garage or large storefront window, with other units on top. The wood-frame buildings lack interior walls. They are the most vulnerable in an earthquake because the ground floor may not be able to support the...

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Newsom takes shot from top state attorney

Published: Feb 12, 2009

In a thinly veiled shot at Mayor Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Jerry Brown — who has said he is considering a run for governor in 2010 — said in a radio interview that there are “characters” traveling around the state campaigning for governor while their city is a mess. Speaking on KGO’s morning talk show Thursday, Brown’s comments appeared to refer to criticism that Newsom has been spending too much time traveling to town hall-style meetings across the state while missing budget talks at home. The mayor responded later in the day by saying he would not comment, except to say that Brown is “unaware of the facts.” Newsom pointed...

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Newsom draws NBC to The City to film TV pilot

Published: Feb 12, 2009

A new medical drama may be a shot in the arm for the San Francisco film industry. A pilot for the NBC medical drama “Trauma” will be filmed in San Francisco after heavy wooing by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who promised to remove some of the administrative barriers of legislation to offer tax breaks to the film industry. The City almost lost the pilot to Chicago, where monetary incentives are greater, Newsom said Wednesday. Scenes for several shows have been filmed in The City, but much of the studio production is done elsewhere because of expense. San Francisco has lost film industry business to areas with greater incentives. The pilot will follow emergency medical personnel...

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Tax break key to Newsom's local stimulus plan

Published: Feb 12, 2009

A significant local business tax would be suspended for two years for firms that create new jobs as part of an economic stimulus plan Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiled Wednesday. Businesses hiring new workers would be exempt from the payroll tax — a 1.5 percent tariff on the total wages paid to workers. The proposal would suspend that requirement for the next two years for new jobs, either from existing businesses that increase their work force or new businesses that come to San Francisco. The tax is one of the largest revenue streams supporting city services such as police, street improvements, parks and health care. The exemption is expected to cost The City $5 million in lost taxes...

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City's budget looking bleak

Published: Feb 11, 2009

The bleeding may have slowed for the current deficit in San Francisco, but blows to The City’s tourism industry and expected funding cuts on the state level make the future look bleak. The city controller’s latest budget report, released Tuesday, said San Francisco is facing a projected deficit this fiscal year of $126.9 million — about $2 million more than an earlier “worst case scenario” deficit of $125 million forecast in October. Mayor Gavin Newsom already announced a series of revenue measures, program cuts and layoffs that would make up $118 million this fiscal year. The latest projections mean The City is potentially looking at another $10 million...

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Plea deal accepted for pair accused of neglect

Published: Feb 10, 2009

Two siblings who allegedly forced their 58-year-old developmentally disabled sister to live in a shed behind their Redwood City home pleaded no contest Monday in a San Mateo County courtroom. Bertha Cano Lozano, 46, and Jesus Cano Ramirez, 53, face up to five years in prison for felony neglect of a dependent adult and felony embezzlement. On Monday, however, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge James Ellis approved a plea deal that would give them a maximum of six months. Lozano and Ramirez were arrested after sheriff’s deputies found their sister, Amelia Ramirez, in an 8-by-12 metal shed behind their three-bedroom house in Redwood City. Amelia Ramirez, who has the emotional...

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Whitman makes it unofficially official

Published: Feb 10, 2009

Meg Whitman, the former head of Silicon Valley online-auctions giant eBay, can start tapping into her tried and true fundraising powers for a potential 2010 run for California governor. The Republican announced Monday she is opening an exploratory committee, the first step toward announcing an official run. Whitman’s announcement comes as Mayor Gavin Newsom is stepping up efforts in his own exploratory bid for governor. The mayor, a Democrat, has planned eight town-hall gatherings throughout the state in the next 40 days. Newsom is making a two-hour appearance today in San Jose, where he could expand his network of supporters and possible donors throughout Silicon...

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Auto report: Muni left in lurch

Published: Feb 09, 2009

Transit officials are driving aging clunkers to the scenes of Muni emergencies as newer cars at other San Francisco departments either sit idle or are taken for personal use, according the first review of The City’s vehicle fleet. The age of Muni vehicles means the Municipal Transportation Agency is at risk of not responding to emergencies in a timely manner. “Downtime resulting from the condition of this old fleet can have a major impact on public transportation and safety if employees are unable, or late, to respond to an emergency due to a vehicle breakdown,” according to the report, which conducted by an independent agency, Mercury Associates Inc., at Mayor Gavin...

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Pass the rice — and stimulus bill

Published: Feb 09, 2009

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used the backdrop of a Tenderloin soup kitchen Sunday to rally support for more funding for states in the federal economic stimulus package. The San Francisco Democrat visited St. Anthony’s Dining Room on Jones Street, calling it a good place to discuss economic plans. She called the privately funded program a “safety net” for victims of the faltering economy. After sharing the 35-millionth meal served at St. Anthony’s with a 12-year-old volunteer, Pelosi pledged to pass the stimulus bill as soon as possible. “States are going to have to fire police, fire, teachers, health care providers,” she said. “This has an...

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Grant provides funds to study health initiative

Published: Feb 09, 2009

The City’s universal health care program could be under the scrutiny of a third party for the next 18 months. The Blue Shield of California Foundation awarded $300,000 to the Department of Public Health to obtain an outside agency to study Healthy San Francisco. The program provides health care for uninsured adults in The City who don’t qualify for other health benefits. A resolution introduced by Mayor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday must be approved, however, by the Board of Supervisors. The grant requires $250,000 in matching funds from the Department of Public Health. Those funds have already been allocated in the department’s budget. Another grant of $250,000 is expected...

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S.F. plans to scrutinize workers' vehicle privileges

Published: Feb 05, 2009

City workers are being forced to justify taking city-issued cars home after work. Hundreds of city employees have been driving issued vehicles home after work every night, many in the East Bay and some as far as Santa Rosa, according to city officials. San Francisco pays for the gas and tolls for workers driving across the Bay. The City expects to save more than $400,000 by cutting back on the amount of workers driving cars throughout the Bay Area on taxpayers’ dime. Mayor Gavin Newsom has taken the issue to heart as a symbol of government waste. In an executive order in January, Newsom called for the immediate elimination of 103 cars, nearly 10 percent of The City’s...

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Same-sex marriage in the hands of seven justices

Published: Feb 05, 2009

It started with the excited faces of same-sex couples lined up around City Hall, waiting to get married. Five years later, the focus is now on the faces of the seven men and women sitting behind the bench of the state’s highest court to decide the fate of same-sex marriage. On Feb. 12, 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom gave history a push when he defied the law and authorized the County Clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses. “Looking back to that moment in time ... there is the indelible image of the faces of couples and families who came together that day,” Newsom said. “This is very personal to me, because I saw in those faces the importance of recognizing gay...

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Man suspected of hijacking city's network seeks $3M

Published: Feb 04, 2009

The computer expert accused of holding The City’s central network hostage for more than a week last summer has filed a $3 million claim against San Francisco, arguing that his suspension and arrest violated his civil rights, The Examiner has learned. Terry Childs, 44, remains in custody on four felony counts of computer-network tampering and one count of causing losses of more than $200,000, after city officials called in a battalion of outside computer consultants and city employees to search the network for booby traps. The total estimated cost to The City is about $1 million. In July, Childs was placed on administrative leave without pay from his job as a Department of...

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Newsom against June special election

Published: Feb 03, 2009

Mayor Gavin Newsom said he opposes a special June election because it’s not the right time and there’s not enough support to put new taxes before voters. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote today on whether to hold a June 2 election with several tax measures to generate new revenue to help The City balance its budget. San Francisco faces one of its largest deficits in history, projected at $460 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Last week, eight supervisors voted to waive some deadlines to be able to put measures on a June ballot. Today, the board will vote on whether to actually have the election, although specific tax proposals have yet to be...

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Public defender to pass cases

Published: Jan 29, 2009

Public Defender Jeff Adachi said Wednesday his office no longer has the resources to defend several homicide cases already assigned to his office, and he would no longer accept new homicide and certain felony trials. After criticizing Mayor Gavin Newsom last week for hiring hundreds of employees while not allowing him to beef up his legal team, Adachi carried out his threat to pass cases off to private counsel. The public defender is obligated to defend those accused of crimes. If the office can’t handle the case load, private counsel will take over — with The City paying $85 to $120 an hour, according to Adachi. “I estimate that The City will pay at least $500,000 in...

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City economy hit skids over the holidays

Published: Jan 27, 2009

The holiday season in San Francisco was not merry when it came to the economy, with The City’s largest industry showing grim declines, according to a report released Monday by the city controller. “The last two months of 2008 starkly illustrate how quickly San Francisco’s economy has changed for the worse,” the report said. Many in the tourism industry are concerned by numbers showing that The City’s most lucrative revenue source has taken a tumble. The latest report showed that international air travel dropped almost 12 percent since November 2007. The average hotel daily and occupancy rates are both down about 8 percent from the previous year....

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City health care to be extended to higher incomes

Published: Jan 27, 2009

San Francisco’s universal health care program is about to become a lot more universal. In the coming weeks, the Department of Public Health is expected to extend Healthy San Francisco — which provides medication, urgent care, mental health care and substance abuse services — to residents who earn up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level, according to program director Tangerine Brigham. When the Healthy San Francisco program began July 2, 2007, public health officials may have been a little too ambitious. They announced that all of the 73,000 uninsured residents in The City would qualify for the program. But the prospect of launching the first-of-its-kind program...

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Bay Area local, Ginger Kroll appears in 'Notorious'

Published: Jan 23, 2009

Ginger Kroll, a Bay Area native, appears in several films set for release in 2009, including “Notorious,” a film about rapper Notorious B.I.G. that opened this month. Where did you grow up in the Bay Area? In Clayton. I was born and raised in the East Bay and I went to San Francisco every chance I got. I’ve always been a city girl at heart. Why did you move to New York? I know, it’s always so beautiful in California. When I went to New York, I looked like the typical California girl, blond hair and all. But it worked in my favor, because I really think it helped me stand out. I would have been a dime a dozen in Los Angeles. Is there much acting work in San...

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Market bike-lane revamp loses court challenge

Published: Jan 23, 2009

The plan to remove a bike lane at one of The City’s most dangerous intersections — despite bicycle advocates saying it would have made the situation worse — was rejected Thursday by a Superior Court judge, who cited a current injunction against making bike-related street changes. At least 15 bicyclists have been struck by cars at the intersection of Market and Octavia streets since an entrance to U.S. Highway 101 opened in September 2005, according to the City Attorney’s Office. The collisions are mostly due to vehicles making unpermitted right turns onto the highway. A Municipal Transportation Agency plan to turn a bike lane at the intersection into a lane that...

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Public defender: City keeps hiring despite layoffs

Published: Jan 22, 2009

The City’s public defender says he will outsource a high-profile murder case to private attorneys because elected officials are refusing to fund additional legal staff amid an alarming budget crisis. Public Defender Jeff Adachi criticized Mayor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday for hiring hundreds of employees since November while not allowing him to beef up his legal team. Now, Adachi says he will pass a number of homicide cases — including the defense of Edwin Ramos, who is accused of murdering Tony Bologna and his two sons last year — to private attorneys. The California Constitution mandates that anyone accused of a crime be represented by an attorney regardless of whether...

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Diverse crowd unites in city to watch inauguration

Published: Jan 21, 2009

They came from across the Bay Area, young and old, black, white, Hispanic and Asian — a diverse crowd brought together through an event taking place more than 2,000 miles away. Thousands gathered Tuesday morning in San Francisco to watch the inauguration of the nation’s first black president, with many expressing optimism about a coming change. Crowds hugged, cheered and cried at the San Francisco Civic Center as the inauguration of Barack Obama played out on the big screen with City Hall as the backdrop. Many in the crowd felt the new president would make a big splash for San Francisco. Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting said that Democratic influence in Washington, D.C., will...

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San Francisco residents line up for city ID

Published: Jan 16, 2009

For all the furor regarding a city program that offers ID cards to residents regardless of immigration status, it was launched Thursday with little controversy — but lots of interest. After surviving a lawsuit by a conservative Washington, D.C.-based immigration firm and delays by a not-so-conservative mayor, San Francisco began offering S.F. City ID Cards on Thursday, becoming the largest municipality in the nation to offer its own identification cards. The program is meant to ensure access to city services and financial institutions for all city residents, regardless of immigration status. It will also act as a library card, a notice for medical conditions and allergies, and...

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Police trained in security features of new ID cards

Published: Jan 15, 2009

San Francisco today will launch its controversial ID card program — which provides illegal immigrants with a key to city services — and police officials have been thoroughly briefed on security features of the new cards. All week, officers have been attending seminars by Datacard Group, the company hired by The City to design the cards. Officials didn’t dole out millions for the most iron-clad security features, such as biometric microchips, but the cards are difficult to counterfeit or forge. A small picture of the bearer appears at the bottom-right corner, but the picture is laser-engraved so the image disappears when the ID is tilted. Also, text appears in three...

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Law professor offers perspective on BART station killing

Published: Jan 15, 2009

Robert Talbot, professor of law at the University of San Francisco has taught criminal law, developed training programs for the San Francisco Police Department and San Mateo County Police Academy, and worked at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. He offers perspective on the killing of Oscar Grant III by a BART police officer on New Year’s Day. What degree of murder will the D.A. charge Johannes Mehserle with? It’s hard to say without all the evidence. It all depends on intent. I guess pulling the gun out is intentional, but I don’t know if he consciously decided to pull the trigger. There have been rumors that he thought it was his Taser gun, but Taser...

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Mayor makes San Carlos pit stop

Published: Jan 14, 2009

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is considering a run for governor, stopped in San Carlos on Tuesday night for a town hall-style meeting, hours after his campaign officials announced that he’d raised nearly $1.2 million in the past six months. Hundreds of Peninsula residents filled the Hiller Aviation Museum for the meeting, the third fundraiser for the mayor. Dozens more are planned. Newsom political consultant Eric Jaye said the mayor has upcoming dates in San Diego, San Joaquin, Orange, Placer and Sacramento counties. Despite concerns that all the travel wouldn’t leave Newsom enough time to run The City, the mayor said traveling across the state has given him myriad...

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Save some green by renting green at airport

Published: Jan 14, 2009

Renting a car at San Francisco International Airport just got less expensive — as long as you’re willing to go green. Customers who rent hybrid cars will receive a $15 discount from participating rental agencies under a pilot program launched Tuesday. In return, agencies that increase their hybrid and gas-efficient fleet to 15 percent will receive a 20 percent discount on their rent at the airport. Rental agencies expect to have 600 cars available per day that qualify for the program, Mayor Gavin Newsom said in announcing the program Tuesday at SFO. Newsom called the proliferation of environmentally friendly vehicles the “beginning of a revolution” that will...

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City puts brakes on car privileges

Published: Jan 13, 2009

Hundreds of city employees were ordered to hand over the keys to their government-issued sedans Monday, in an effort to save San Francisco taxpayers more than $1 million a year. In an executive order sent to department heads Monday morning, Mayor Gavin Newsom called for the immediate elimination of 103 cars — nearly 10 percent of The City’s light-duty passenger vehicles. A report expected to be released this week deemed the vehicles unnecessary. The report, from the city administrator, focuses on San Francisco’s 1,369 passenger cars and is the first part of a wide-reaching study on The City’s vehicle fleet. A second study will cover emergency vehicles, street...

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City cell phone bills balloon

Published: Jan 12, 2009

Taxpayers have doled out more than $13 million in cell phone costs for city employees since Mayor Gavin Newsom took office, prompting him to call for a citywide crackdown. But cost cutting has come slowly, an analysis by The Examiner shows. And the reluctance to cut costs on a relatively minor budget item such as mobile communications has the mayor wondering if city employees will tighten their belts as the economy worsens. “It’s symbolic,” Newsom said Friday. “For me, there is substance to it, because it’s real money. It just goes to the perception of waste and inefficiency.” Between 2007 and 2008, The City spent $3.3 million on cell phone bills for...

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City ID cards could roll out this week

Published: Jan 12, 2009

A controversial and long-awaited plan to offer identification cards to illegal immigrants in San Francisco is expected to launch this week, according to the county clerk’s Web site. The program to offer municipal ID cards is meant to ensure access to city services, financial institutions and increase crime reporting to local police for all city residents, regardless of their immigration status. It will also act as a library card, a notice for medical conditions and allergies, and proof of residency for recreation and parks programs. The ID cards also add a business-friendly twist. Shopkeepers who offer discounts to cardholders can get their businesses promoted by The City. The...

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PUC seeks funds set aside for low-income solar credits

Published: Jan 11, 2009

Millions of dollars from city utility fees intended to blanket San Francisco in environmentally friendly solar panels is benefitting only businesses and higher-income residents despite provisions that make the program available to those of less means. The City’s solar incentive program — which reserves $3 million in funds from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to encourage building solar panels on city rooftops — has been a big hit with businesses and more affluent residents. Between July and November 2008, the SFPUC processed 294 applications for residential installation of solar panels, but not one of the individual applicants qualified for a $5,000...

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Police seeking six young men in fatal stabbing

Published: Jan 05, 2009

Police are searching for six young men suspected of killing a 16-year-old Redwood City boy Saturday. The attack happened about 1:20 a.m., according to police Sgt. Sean Hart. Three boys were walking southbound in the 100 block of Franklin Street when a red or orange compact car pulled up and several males between 16- and 20-years-old got out. The suspects confronted the boys, who were walking home, and assaulted them, Hart said. One boy was stabbed, but the other two were not seriously injured. Matthew Johnson, 16, of Redwood City died about seven hours later at Stanford University Hospital. The motive for the assault appears to be gang-related. Police said the suspects are connected to...

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Connect’s charity arm severed

Published: Jan 05, 2009

A charity close to Mayor Gavin Newsom that was announced with much fanfare has dissolved with barely a whimper. Homeless Connect is now focusing on The City’s homeless, and the three related charities it helped spawn, launched years later under the broader name of SF Connect, have been disconnected. Homeless Connect was launched in 2004, and the bi-monthly gathering that offers blankets, health care and other comforts to the homeless has been going strong ever since. In August 2006, Newsom launched SF Connect to reach a wider group of San Francisco’s needy. It was lauded as way to link volunteers and donors with homeless residents. Newsom launched the charities with a press...

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Redwood City boy killed in apparent gang assault

Published: Jan 04, 2009

Redwood City police are searching for six young men suspected of killing a 16-year-old Redwood City boy Saturday. The attack happened about 1:20 a.m., according to Redwood City police Sgt. Sean Hart. Three boys were walking southbound on the 100 block of Franklin Street when a red or orange compact car pulled up and several men between 16 and 20 years old got out. The suspects confronted the boys, who were walking home, and assaulted them, Hart said. One boy was stabbed during the assault while the other two boys were not seriously injured. Matthew Johnson, 16, of Redwood City, died about seven hours later at Stanford University Hospital. The motive for the assault appears to be gang...

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Inauguration day expected to draw San Francisco politicos

Published: Dec 31, 2008

The Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama is just weeks away, and while many San Franciscans used their political clout to attend, others are buying their way. Mayor Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, will be attending the inauguration as guests of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Former Mayor Willie Brown is also expected to attend. District Attorney Kamala Harris, an early supporter of Obama, will be attending the event — though she wouldn’t say who provided the invitation. “I am proud to have been able to join so many of my fellow Americans in...

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Second man in fondling complaint sues SFPD

Published: Dec 31, 2008

A second young man who claims he was fondled by two San Francisco police officers has filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming The City is liable for $1 million in damages. On Dec. 27, 2006, plainclothes officers Gregory Buhagiar and Arshad Razzak were patrolling the area around Sixth and Minna streets. The officers approached Eric Jones and Christopher Gascon, who officials said had been hanging out on the corner. In a lawsuit filed in January, Jones said he “was shocked when the officer put one hand, without the protection of a glove, down the back of [his] pants” and touched his genitalia. Both men walked to 850 Bryant St. — Police Department headquarters...

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Return trips smoother for SF travelers

Published: Dec 29, 2008

Bay Area travelers may have endured three days of flight delays last week, but the return trip has gone a lot smoother for most flyers. The three major Bay Area airports were experiencing only minor delays on Sunday. The Pacific Northwest is once again being pummeled by winter weather this week, but the storm did not have much of an impact on air travel. “We’re looking pretty good today,” San Francisco International Airport duty manager Lily Wang said Sunday. The Bay Area is expected to be partly cloudy Monday with light winds. Because weather-related flight delays could happen at any time, however, travelers should still check the status of their flight before...

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Mayor and newlywed wife get gift cards for Christmas

Published: Dec 24, 2008

The newlywed mayor and his wife rang in the yuletide Monday night at a holiday cocktail party at their Russian Hill apartment — although gifts weren’t allowed. For the “small gathering of our nearest and dearest friends,” Jennifer Siebel Newsom asked everyone to bring $25 gift cards for homeless teens living in housing provided by the nonprofit Hamilton Family Center. Siebel Newsom, an actress, director and producer who married Mayor Gavin Newsom in July, said she was “deeply touched by the quality of the programs they are offering the disadvantaged youth of San Francisco” in the invitation. And with the tough economic times, the Newsoms also gave up...

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Newsom quietly bringing in cash for governor run

Published: Dec 22, 2008

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has received some sizeable cash presents this holiday season to help him with his potential 2010 run for California governor. The mayor’s exploratory committee for governor has quietly built a sizeable war chest — $590,000 has been reported, according to preliminary filings. Much of the money comes from developers and other traditional supporters, but a good chunk also comes from donors supportive of Newsom’s battle for same-sex marriage. William Resnick, a major supporter of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, chipped in $10,000 to the campaign this month, as did San Francisco gay rights activist James Hormel. Loyal friends...

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‘Care’ program goes to court

Published: Dec 22, 2008

A federal lawsuit alleging that Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Care Not Cash program discriminates against disabled homeless people will continue despite The City’s claims that it was frivolous. U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney ordered all but one claim to go forward Friday, allowing a Berkeley nonprofit group to carry on its legal challenge to the county welfare program. The City had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Disability Rights Advocates filed the lawsuit in August, claiming that since most disabled homeless people receive some form of federal aid, they are excluded from the city program. Care Not Cash aims to put homeless in assistive housing instead of doling...

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Daly wants audit of high earners

Published: Dec 17, 2008

The biggest earners in city government should be the target of future budget cuts, Supervisor Chris Daly said Tuesday. Daly said he would call for a hearing on the number of high-paid employees who have been hired in recent years and how much it has cost The City. Daly’s comments at a special Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee meeting come as city officials are working to close a $125 million budget deficit in the current fiscal year. Next year, The City is looking at a projected $576 million deficit that will necessitate further cuts. On Friday, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin called for legislation that would force labor organizations to...

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Efforts to get cops on streets cut in budget process

Published: Dec 16, 2008

An ambitious plan to move police from desk jobs to the streets, where they can fight crime, has fallen victim to the budget ax. As The City approaches its highest homicide count in more than a decade, city officials have faced tremendous political pressure to boost the number of officers on the streets. In recent years, The City was working to hire more civilian workers to perform office functions that are currently accomplished by sworn officers. Now, in response to The City’s mounting deficit, Mayor Gavin Newsom has cut 77 unfilled civilian positions as part of a package of midyear budget cuts. The latest round of cuts, meant to close a current year deficit of an estimated...

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Elderly man killed at busy intersection

Published: Dec 15, 2008

An elderly man crossing a busy Japantown intersection where pedestrians often ignore a no-crossing sign died Sunday after he was hit by a Honda Civic. Police arrived at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Webster Street about 2:30 p.m. to find a grisly scene. The man, whose name and age were not released, was thrown about 20 yards from where he was hit. His walker remained in the street at the point of impact. The man crossed against a red light and at an intersection without a crosswalk, according to police Capt. Richard Correia. The woman driving the Honda Civic had a green light, but police remained at the scene for hours to determine whether speed or rain played a role in the...

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Boat crashes near Coyote Point; 26 rescued

Published: Dec 14, 2008

A chartered party boat carrying 26 people ran aground in the chilly waters of the San Francisco Bay on Sunday, prompting an early morning rescue near Coyote Point. The captain of the 52-foot cabin cruiser “Giant Feet” called for help at 3:58 a.m. after the vessel hit some rocks near the San Mateo County shoreline. The Coast Guard, along with Foster City, San Mateo County, and Menlo Park Fire Departments, ferried the passengers to safety without any reports of serious injuries, according to the Coast Guard. Because the water was so shallow, rescue boats were unable to reach the grounded vessel. A Coast Guard helicopter arrived at about 4:30 a.m. as the boat was taking on...

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Mayor avoids witness stand in Childs case

Published: Dec 12, 2008

A rotating cast of City Hall characters are expected to be called to testify beginning Monday in the case of a city employee accused of tampering with San Francisco’s computer network — Mayor Gavin Newsom, however, may be a long way from gracing the witness stand. Terry Childs, a computer network administrator, allegedly held The City’s central network — home to payroll documents, sensitive law enforcement records, officials’ e-mail and other data — hostage for more than a week in July by using a password to lock other administrators out. City workers worked around the clock and outside consultants from Cisco Systems were brought in to regain access...

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Sunset Reservoir to be blanketed in solar panels

Published: Dec 12, 2008

The Sunset district could soon house one of the largest solar projects in the nation. The Sunset Reservoir, which covers nearly eight city blocks next to Lincoln High School, will be blanketed with 30,000 solar panels if a contract between The City and a private company is approved next week. The deal would mean San Francisco will buy power from San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy. The solar project will more than double the amount of renewable energy that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission provides to city departments, according to Barbara Hale with the SFPUC power enterprise. Members of the SFPUC, which approved the contract Tuesday, were concerned that The City could...

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City workers rake in raises

Published: Dec 10, 2008

The average salary of a city employee has ballooned 22 percent since 2005, according to budget documents, adding more pressure to The City’s economic woes. In fiscal year 2005-06, city employees made an average of $74,475, plus $23,590 in benefits, bringing the total average salary to $98,065 a year. In the current fiscal year, employees make an average of $91,404, plus $28,513 in benefits, for a total of $119,917 a year. The reasons for the increases in average city salary are threefold, according to City Controller Ben Rosenfeld. Negotiated raises with labor unions, an increase in city workers making more than $100,000 and a change in the way retirement benefits are paid have...

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Almost 400 city employees will be laid off

Published: Dec 10, 2008

Faced with a $575 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that 712 city positions will be eliminated, with as many as 399 workers receiving pink slips this Friday. The remaining 313 positions are currently unfilled, but will nonetheless be eliminated as part of a $118 million package of midyear budget cuts. Local taxes are expected to be down $90 million to $125 million this fiscal year, as a result of the economic downturn, according to city officials. Newsom said Tuesday that a combination of revenue increases and spending reductions will boost the budget by $118 million. San Francisco’s current budget is $6.5 billion. When...

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Mayor: City's budget situation 'legitimately a crisis'

Published: Dec 09, 2008

The City is facing a fiscal “crisis,” with one of the largest deficits in San Francisco history expected in the next year, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday, adding that hundreds of layoffs could be announced as soon as Tuesday. City officials forecast a $575.6 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Newsom said he will also announce department cuts today, which will only be a preview of fiscal belt-tightening in the months ahead. “It is one of the most significant budget shortfalls The City has ever faced — arguably the most significant,” Newsom told The Examiner. “It can only be referred to as, not as a problem, it is...

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Private bike share program touted by Newsom

Published: Dec 05, 2008

A North Beach-based bike shop is rolling out a program that may make it easier to pick up groceries without losing your parking spot. Bike and Roll is hoping people in the neighborhood want to put up $25 a month to borrow a three-wheeled bike with a large basket whenever they need it. The shop also offers full-day bike-share programs for $50 a month. The program works similar to car sharing, where participants pay a monthly fee for the use of a bike. Mayor Gavin Newsom promoted the plan Thursday as a way to circumvent a court-ordered injunction on bicycle-roadway improvements around The City. He encouraged other bike businesses to offer similar programs. Newsom has long been a...

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Gunman who slayed San Mateo mother was on probation

Published: Dec 04, 2008

The gun-wielding stalker of a San Mateo mother who was fatally shot while attempting to save her children was under the care of a San Francisco drug-treatment center when he snuck into the home last week and held the woman and her two children hostage, according to authorities. Raymond Gee, 22, was sentenced in San Francisco Superior Court in July on a charge of possessing more than 1 ounce of marijuana. In return for his guilty plea, the District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop a charge of drug-dealing and possession of a handgun. Instead of jail time, a judge sentenced Gee to 10 months in a treatment facility. On Nov. 25 — while Gee was still ordered to report to his...

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Auto body shop owner acquitted in murder case

Published: Dec 04, 2008

A Mission district auto body shop owner was acquitted of murder Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court, according to the District Attorney’s Office. On July 26, 2007, Jaime Gutierrez drove the body of Abraham “Spanky” Guerra, 37, to the police station. Guerra had been shot, and Gutierrez turned himself in for the killing. Police and prosecutors thought they had an open-and-shut case, but a jury disagreed. Although Gutierrez was charged with first-degree murder, he was acquitted of all charges except of being a felon in possession of a weapon, the District Attorney’s Office confirmed. During opening statements, defense attorney Eric Safire said the dead man...

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Congestion pricing worth considering, says Mayor

Published: Dec 03, 2008

Mayor Gavin Newsom said he was open to a controversial plan that would charge motorists for driving within The City, and pledged to boost Muni’s on-time performance and safety in the second installment of his State of The City speech, posted Tuesday on the YouTube Web site. The City is currently studying the idea of congestion pricing — charging drivers when they enter heavily trafficked areas of The City. Newsom said he supported the idea “in concept,” adding that if The City wanted to reduce its emissions it was worth considering the program because it would “make it harder to drive and make it costlier, and then you use the money to fund public...

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Futuristic concept, same content for State of the City

Published: Dec 02, 2008

Mayor Gavin Newsom’s State of The City speech took a foray into cyberspace Monday, hitting YouTube with the first of 10 segments in which the mayor chats at length about the plans and accomplishments of his administration. The segments — available on the popular video-sharing site — are long on ideas and accomplishments, but outline few new initiatives. Instead, they hit on high points from the last year. Newsom said he decided on the unprecented Internet route to take his message directly to the public. “This was an opportunity to engage in a different type of dialogue, to have an interactive State of The City,” he says in the introduction. All told,...

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Slain activist’s vision of peace lives on

Published: Dec 01, 2008

When Terrell Rogers was gunned down in January outside the gym where his daughter was playing in a basketball game, the shooting also left for dead the antiviolence organization the 39-year-old helped create. But Peacekeepers — a nonprofit that works to provide Hunters Point youth living in public housing with alternatives to violence — is still striving, although it hasn’t always been easy. In the wake of Rogers’ death — which remains unsolved — the 16-seat, dark-blue van used to take Peacekeepers kids on field trips was seized by the San Francisco Police Department as evidence, and remains in its possession. Rogers was next to the van, which he...

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Sewage-damage payouts drain $612,000 from city

Published: Dec 01, 2008

Almost five years after San Francisco was rocked by a devastating winter storm that overtaxed its antiquated sewer system, The City is beginning to pay out millions of dollars in settlements to businesses and homeowners. A home-furnishings store, popular French restaurant and dental office will receive $612,000 from The City, if approved in the coming weeks by the Board of Supervisors. The businesses, located in low-lying areas of the Mission district, Potrero Hill and the Excelsior, were inundated by raw sewage in 2004, when stormwater caused it to overflow. More than 1,000 miles of brick sewers, many built more than a century ago, carry flushed waste from bathrooms and sinks beneath...

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Bulletproof vetoes for mayor?

Published: Nov 28, 2008

The mayor will not commit to filling two early vacancies on the Board of Supervisors. With three legislative sessions left, that has some wondering what the tone will be between Mayor Gavin Newsom and the future 11-member board. Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who was elected to the state Assembly earlier this month, attended his last meeting representing District 9 on Tuesday. Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, who represents District 11, will leave the board Jan. 5, when he is sworn in as a superior court judge. Both supervisors were part of a longtime progressive bloc that often fought Newsom. The new supervisors, also progressives, will be sworn in at noon Jan. 8. Newsom does have the power...

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Health Department slashes another $7 million

Published: Nov 24, 2008

Another packed house is expected at the San Francisco Health Commission on Tuesday, when the department’s Chief Financial Officer announces another $7 million in service cuts and layoffs. The Department of Public Health tabbed the newest round of cuts Monday, adding to the $10 million in cuts identified last week from the department’s $410 million budget. A majority of the latest cuts come in an across-the-board reduction to outside behavioral health contracts, a savings of almost $5 million. Those services cater to San Francisco residents with mental health and drug addiction problems. Another $1.3 million will come out of a city agreement with UCSF Medical Center. The...

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Bay Area to get electric auto infrastructure

Published: Nov 21, 2008

Bay Area leaders, including San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and a Palo Alto startup have struck a deal to dot The City and the region with electric-car charging stations. The deal includes a $1 billion promise from Better Place to install charging stations throughout the Bay Area. Officials say they will be responsible for easing regulations, such as the permitting process, to help grease the deal. Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed made the announcement at San Francisco City Hall on Thursday. The plan would mean more charging stations in homes, businesses, parking lots and government buildings by 2012, when commercial availability of electric cars is...

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Court’s decision is difficult to predict

Published: Nov 20, 2008

Six months after the California Supreme Court’s historic 4-3 decison to allow same-sex marriages, the decision of the court to take on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 has opponents and advocates once again looking into the judicial crystal ball. The justices voted 6-1 Wednesday to review the legal challenges to Prop. 8, which amends the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Justice Joyce Kennard, who voted in May for the majority decision to allow same-sex marriages, did not sign the order, leading some to wonder if same-sex marriage advocates had lost a crucial vote. The court on Wednesday also refused in a 6-1 vote to allow same-sex...

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California Supreme Court to hear challenges to Prop. 8

Published: Nov 19, 2008

The fight for same-sex marriage is headed back to court, again. The California Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear three lawsuits challenging the legality of recently passed Proposition 8, the voter-approved measure that amends the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman. The court, however, refused to allow same-sex marriages to continue while the cases are being weighed. Same-sex couples will have to wait for a decision — possibly until March — before saying “I do.” The court’s decision throws same-sex marriage back under a legal spotlight. The state high court ruled in a 4-3 decision in May that a law prohibiting same-sex...

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Controversial guidelines snuffed out of medical pot law

Published: Nov 19, 2008

Controversial language that would force San Francisco medical marijuana dispensaries to keep the names and addresses of clients was snuffed out of legislation reintroduced Tuesday by Mayor Gavin Newsom. The legislation was originally submitted in September after state Attorney General Jerry Brown issued guidelines for medicinal use of marijuana. The guidelines include provisions such as selling to legitimate patients only and operating as nonprofits. Newsom’s interpretation of one part of the state guideline, however, drew criticism from medical marijuana users. The proposal required dispensaries to “maintain membership records on-site or have them reasonably...

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S.F. libraries' going green means money

Published: Nov 18, 2008

Library branch improvement projects, already beset by delays and cost overruns, are up against another costly mandate: a requirement by The City that new buildings must be environmentally friendly. Sixteen branches were originally scheduled for a makeover, thanks to a voter-mandated general-obligation bond measure in 2000. Since January, when the final allocation was dispersed, several projects have racked up about $3.7 million in costs related to complying with a city law signed in August that requires all major buildings be certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, according to a memo from city Librarian Luis Herrera. The Board of Supervisors is set to...

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Health Department faces nearly $10 million in cuts

Published: Nov 18, 2008

Nearly $10 million in cuts have been identified by the Department of Public Health, and more are likely to come. Mayor Gavin Newsom met with department heads Monday to discuss $75 million in midyear cuts required because The City’s tax revenues are expected to be less than previously thought. Only the Health Department was ready with specific ideas, according to mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard. Health Department Director Mitch Katz still has a heavy burden to deal with, because Newsom has asked the $410 million department to cut another $16.7 million on top of the $9,966,574 identified Monday. The cuts were similar to ones presented earlier this year that were restored by the...

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Attorney wants all charges dropped

Published: Nov 17, 2008

A grand jury wrongfully indicted a San Francisco police officer for theft based on insufficient evidence, her defense attorney will argue this week. Attorney Lidia Stiglich said she will argue Thursday to dismiss all charges against her client, Michelle Alvis, who was indicted by a grand jury in April on charges she stole money from an evidence locker. Stiglich said the evidence heard by the grand jury was one-sided, and the prosecutor in the case withheld evidence that could have helped clear Alvis. “The prosecutor has an obligation to give both sides of the story,” Stiglich said. Alvis, 30, is accused of stealing $2,390 from a police evidence locker in October 2006....

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Bay Area nonprofits tightening their belts in recession

Published: Nov 14, 2008

Two-thirds of Bay Area nonprofits are taking in less money than last year as a result of the economic downturn, according to a study released Wednesday by United Way. The Holy Family Day Home in San Francisco is one of the most extreme examples. The nonprofit child care organization has survived two major earthquakes, the Great Depression and both World Wars. Now, after spending close to two decades building a new, seismically safe facility, the center is $1.7 million in debt and facing an uncertain economic future as donors look to save money, according to Executive Director Donna Cahill. The new Dolores Street center, which had been a celebrated achievement, is now staffed by workers...

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Homeless vets treated on Veteran’s Day

Published: Nov 12, 2008

Michael Rogers was happy to get a Veterans Day gift of socks, energy bars, chocolate and tea. But the Vietnam War veteran knew he would not find what he needed most at the bottom of the bag: a job. Rogers, 58, fought in the Navy during the Vietnam War, dodging bullets for nearly one year before coming home uninjured. Now, all he wants is work. He hopes his snowy white beard and rosy cheeks will land him at least a temporary gig playing Santa Claus. “It’s embarrassing,” Rogers said as he waited in line outside St. Anthony’s Dining Room. “You get into a rut and forever you’re trying to get out.” The Tenderloin homeless outreach center handed out...

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Holiday sales still dependent on tourism

Published: Nov 09, 2008

Holiday bells may be ringing soon in Union Square, but retailers are worried the cash registers won’t be. The City’s shopping epicenter is heading into the holiday season in the midst of a housing crisis, stock market declines, a credit clampdown and high unemployment numbers, all of which are causing consumers to hold on to their money. A report released last week by the city controller found that both daily parking garage counts in Union Square and Saturday BART ridership to Powell Street were down sharply in September, an indirect indicator that sales were down. People are shopping closer to home, and paying closer attention to gasoline prices. They’re shopping at...

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Measure throws a wrench into Community Justice Center plans

Published: Nov 07, 2008

Plans to build a new court designed to prosecute low-level crimes in the Tenderloin is moving forward today, but one supervisor is saying San Francisco voters have spoken against it. Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign a contract with the Superior Court today regarding the Community Justice Center, a special court Newsom has said will direct offenders of crimes such as drug use, theft, prostitution and aggressive panhandling to appropriate social services rather than jail or fines. But an inquiry by Supervisor Jake McGoldrick throws into doubt whether an old battle about funding the center will see new light. Proposition L on Tuesday’s ballot would have guaranteed $1.77...

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The City halts same-sex marriages

Published: Nov 06, 2008

Like thousands of couples before them, Brianna Reyes and Angelina Barrintos showed up in their wedding finery Wednesday to be married at San Francisco City Hall. But instead of celebrating their nuptials, Reyes and Barrintos were turned away at the County Clerk’s Office. They were one of at least seven couples who showed up at City Hall on Wednesday expecting to be married, but who instead were met with apologies and the news The City was not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. With unofficial election results showing Proposition 8, the constitutional ban on same-sex unions, passing with a slim majority, The City on Wednesday ordered a grinding halt to all same-sex...

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Newsom positive, ‘proud’ despite narrow margin

Published: Nov 05, 2008

It was not a victory speech for Gavin Newsom. Despite saying the results of Proposition 8 were too close to call Tuesday night, the San Francisco mayor was visibly upset walking the halls of the St. Francis Hotel, checking his iPhone for the latest results. But when it came time to address a ballroom full of same-sex marriage supporters, Newsom remained positive. “I have never felt more proud and alive,” Newsom said. “I’m proud because we didn’t listen to the critics a number of years ago who said, ‘Too much, too soon.’” Some saw the vote on Prop. 8 as pivotal one for the mayor, who forced the issue after he ordered the San Francisco...

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Third public power measure in a decade rejected

Published: Nov 05, 2008

For the third time in a decade, voters rejected a charter amendment that could have resulted in The City taking over the business of providing power to its residents. Proposition H would have required the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to evaluate whether The City could feasibly provide "clean, secure, cost-effective" electric power in San Francisco. Based on the study, the Board of Supervisors could have directed the SFPUC to prepare a plan to "acquire, construct or complete" an electric system to serve The City and issue revenue bonds to pay for public utility facilities — without voter approval. The proposition would have mandated deadlines for...

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Voters approve new tax revenues

Published: Nov 05, 2008

Two propositions that will raise millions for The City — which is facing a $250 million projected budget deficit for next fiscal year — by increasing taxes on multi-million-dollar property transfers and partnerships, passed Tuesday. Proposition N will increase the transfer tax rate to 1.5 percent for the sale of real estate worth $5 million or more — double the current rate. The proposal would exempt up to one third of the transfer tax, however, on residential properties that make solar installations and seismic improvements after January 2009. Supporters of the measure, including Treasurer Jose Cisneros, say it will also close a loophole that allows multinational...

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Voters approve $887M to save SFGH

Published: Nov 05, 2008

San Francisco voters approved the largest bond measure in The City's history Tuesday — $887 million — which will allow construction on the new San Francisco General Hospital to begin as soon as next year. California law requires a number of seismically vulnerable hospitals to construct new buildings for acute-care patients that can better withstand earthquakes. San Francisco General needed to show that it could meet seismic safety standards by 2013, or close its acute-care facilities. Construction on the new hospital would begin in 2010 and be completed by 2015, according to the ballot pamphlet information given to voters. SFGH, San Francisco's only trauma center, treats...

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Complaints decrease, cleaning takes less time

Published: Nov 05, 2008

San Francisco residents may be seeing less writing on the wall after efforts to crack down on graffiti appear to be paying off. Complaints about graffiti have decreased in the last two years, and property owners are taking less time to paint over it, replace etched windows and sandblast spray paint, new numbers show. In fiscal year 2006-07, the city attorney had to intervene in 6 percent of graffiti calls, meaning legal action was required after 30 days. That number dropped to 1.5 percent the following fiscal year and the number is even lower since July, said Mohammed Nuru, director of the Department of Public Works, which handles graffiti complaints. Calls about graffiti are also down....

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S.F. faces debt, despite balanced budget

Published: Nov 03, 2008

Only three months after the mayor signed a balanced budget, the fiscal crisis in San Francisco continues to worsen as retail sales wane, tourism flags and the housing market struggles. The City will have to close up to $125 million in debt, $50 million more than previously reported, by the time the fiscal year ends in June, according to a memo released Sunday by City Controller Ben Rosenfield. City supervisors approved a budget this summer that already included more than $338 million in cuts to programs such as health services, and Rosenfield estimates next year’s budget shortfall at $250 million. Last week, Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered department heads to make cuts to offset the...

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Hetch Hetchy water-delivery projects to start flowing

Published: Oct 31, 2008

Billions of dollars in water projects stretching from Yosemite to San Francisco cleared an important hurdle Thursday as city officials approved a massive environmental report for the Hetch Hetchy water-delivery system. Approval of the report allows the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to begin individual projects to shore up the aging system, which delivers water to about 2.6 million residents in San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The projects include a plan to rebuild the Calaveras Dam and replace miles of steel pipelines and a number of seismic upgrades. However, opponents could appeal to the Board of Supervisors. Although San Franciscans endorsed a...

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Local art fails to make the cut at SFO

Published: Oct 30, 2008

Tourists won’t find their first taste of The City’s art scene in the newest terminal at San Francisco International Airport, despite millions of dollars in art projects that have been commissioned. No local artists were chosen to install their work in Terminal 2, even though 199 Bay Area artists were among the 531 who applied for major installation projects at the unfinished terminal. Instead, four out-of-state artists were chosen — two will install suspended artwork and two others were chosen as finalists for a glass facade. The budget for the terminal installations is more than $3 million, and the most coveted projects went to artists in Massachusetts, Virginia,...

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City's whistleblower program tackles corruption, skullduggery

Published: Oct 29, 2008

An inebriated city worker, an opening for peeping Toms and a doctored résumé are among the latest issues resolved under The City’s whistleblower program. There were 347 complaints of corruption, malfeasance and general skullduggery between July 2007 and June, according to a report released Tuesday by City Controller Benjamin Rosenfield, acting as the city services auditor. The City resolved 330 of those complaints, though the report does not break down how many were valid and how many were without merit. One complaint verified by an unnamed department involved a city employee who double-parked a city vehicle outside a bar and went inside to drink. The employee came...

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Hetch Hetchy pipeline upgrade near approval

Published: Oct 29, 2008

San Francisco is poised to move forward with one of its most expensive capital improvement projects to date: the $4.4 billion seismic upgrade of the Hetch Hetchy system, which provides water for2.6 million people in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties. The next step is to receive approval from the Planning Commission for the project’s environmental-impact report, which is expected to be discussed Thursday. The system includes a 167-mile stretch of pipes that begins at the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Sierra Nevada. The retrofit plan encompasses some 85 separate projects along the route. The Public Utilities Commmission, which oversees the regional water...

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Muni bus full of 49ers fans hits pole, injuring six

Published: Oct 27, 2008

Six people were hospitalized Sunday after a Muni bus carrying football fans to Candlestick Point slammed into a pole and mowed down a tree at a bustling intersection. Around 11:35 a.m., a 77X bus taking riders to the 49ers game at Candlestick Park collided with a blue Volkswagen Jetta and an Infinity. The bus then struck a tree and pole at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue, according to Muni spokesman Judson True. The operator and five passengers on the bus were taken to the hospital. The Fire Department did not consider the injuries life-threatening, True said. Geary was closed temporarily, and the bus, which sustained considerable damage, was towed away about two...

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Gang that terrorized Mission on ICE

Published: Oct 24, 2008

Suspects in two of The City’s homicides — including the death of a 14-year-old boy — were targeted Wednesday in a raid by federal officials seeking suspected members of the notorious MS-13 gang, law enforcement officials revealed Thursday. In addition to the alleged killers, the raid also picked up the top local leadership of the gang, which police officials have said is responsible for much of The City’s violence. Twenty-nine suspected members or associates of the gang were indicted on charges including drug and firearms trafficking, attempted murder, robbery, assault and other violent crimes, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday. Among those facing...

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'Thriller' in Golden Gate Park

Published: Oct 24, 2008

Fifth-grade teacher and avid skater Carla Dometrius will join 25 others dressed as zombies to represent San Francisco, with thousands of people from around the world, to simultaneously dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in Golden Gate Park on Saturday. How does “Thrill the World” work? There’s a woman in Toronto who puts this on every year. It’s her baby. She’s taken the dance and she’s changed it up a little so we [the San Francisco group] can do it on skates. On Saturday morning, we’re going to get on a conference call with people around the world and start the dance at the same time. We have Guinness regulations, so we...

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Police to flood streets on Halloween

Published: Oct 23, 2008

More than 1,000 law-enforcement officers will be deployed throughout The City on Halloween, including up to 500 in the Castro and surrounding neighborhoods, having “zero tolerance for bad behavior,” according to a top San Francisco police official. Bars and nightclubs in the Castro will remain open this Oct. 31, a Friday night, but there will be no organized entertainment or other activities out in the streets, as has been the case since nine people were shot in 2006. As many as 500 law enforcement officers will be stationed in the Mission police district, which includes the Castro, and the Police Department will deploy a rapid-response team of another 600 to 700 officers...

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Nightclub no-no’s go to commission

Published: Oct 22, 2008

The city commission charged with overseeing San Francisco’s clubs will be granted greater powers to revoke permits and issue citations under an ordinance approved Tuesday to send to the Board of the Supervisors. The laws were part of a package of legislation announced by Mayor Gavin Newsom in February, aimed at reforming San Francisco’s nightclub industry. “People are going to these nightclubs, carrying guns and committing violent crimes,” Newsom said in February. Violence has plagued The City’s popular party districts in recent years, including the South of Market Area and North Beach, with fights, shootings and killings outside entertainment...

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Mayor reveals efforts to stimulate local economy

Published: Oct 21, 2008

Layoffs and service cuts are on the horizon as city leaders struggle to make up for $75 million less in revenue due to the recent economic downturn, Mayor Gavin Newsom said during an economic stimulus package announcement Monday. In the last few weeks, retail sales have dropped “precipitously,” causing fears that San Francisco’s No. 1 industry, tourism, may be feeling the pinch of the national credit crunch. The rising dollar is also discouraging foreign tourists from visiting the country and capitalizing on the exchange rate, according to city economist Ted Egan. Fewer consumers means San Francisco will collect less revenue in sales tax than previously thought, a...

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Officials try to spark economy by keeping tourist dollars flowing

Published: Oct 17, 2008

Sensing that The City will be unable to avoid the economic woes affecting the rest of the country, Mayor Gavin Newsom has been holding meetings with nervous business leaders this week to create an economic stimulus package. The City’s top revenue source, tourism, has helped insulate its economy from the national crisis, but city leaders are worried that nationwide financial malaise will keep visitors and residents from spending money here. In an effort to keep the service and knowledge sectors — industries that are the base of employment — strong in San Francisco, the Mayor’s Office and business leaders have been brainstorming ways to shore up the economy. A...

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Tickets highlight Ferry Building parking issues

Published: Oct 16, 2008

Farmers and merchants at the Ferry Building may be waiting till the next harvest before officials find a solution to their parking woes. The Examiner reported in July that Pier ½, a 70-year-old structure with rotting wood pilings and a fracture-ridden foundation that sits near the building, was closed for parking. The issue about the lack of parking came to a head last week when dozens of shopkeepers and farmers market tenants held a boisterous two-hour meeting. They said in the last few weeks, the Department of Parking and Traffic has been issuing $85 tickets for farmers’ vehicles while they are unloading their goods Tuesdays and Saturdays at the Ferry Building. The...

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City scrambles to come up with fiscal plan

Published: Oct 15, 2008

As the nationwide economy slows, Mayor Gavin Newsom has called on departments to curb spending in anticipation that The City’s revenues in the current fiscal year may be weaker than previously thought. When Newsom signed the budget for fiscal year 2008-09, he was already thinking forward to a projected $250 million budget shortfall for 2009-10. But a number of economic factors have city leaders fearing that original tax-revenue estimates will fall short for the current fiscal year. The city controller is preparing an estimate based on revenues from sales tax, property transfers and employment taxes, sources sensitive to tourism, the housing market and unemployment. A monthly...

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'Price is Right' wannabe, come on down to jail

Published: Oct 14, 2008

A man upset because he wasn’t chosen to be on “The Price is Right” game show walked into a law office in the Financial District with a plastic device around his waist and told the firm’s receptionist that the device was a bomb, forcing the evacuation of dozens of employees Monday afternoon, according to police and office workers. The threat led to the closure of Battery Street and the top three floors of the building were evacuated, police said. Police separated the device from the man and took him into custody. Police later reported the device was fake. The man, whose name was not released, went on a tirade about being denied consideration for “The Price...

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Economic tide turning quickly

Published: Oct 13, 2008

Russell Pritchard knew the nation’s economic crisis had hit The City when he recently counted seven empty parking spots in front of his Hayes Street furniture shop. About this time last year, customers were circling the block on a late afternoon to shop at the dozens of boutique retail stores along one of the many “main streets” in San Francisco. But as the housing market tumbled and the credit crisis unfolded, Pritchard saw his business flagging. “Politicians keep talking about the economic crisis hitting Main Street. Well, it hit us about a year ago.” The nation’s crippled financial institutions and the declining stock market is making it much...

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Report: Violent crimes on Muni on the rise

Published: Oct 08, 2008

While riding a Muni bus late last month, a 24-year-old man said he was robbed at gunpoint by three individuals in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood. One was allegedly carrying a shotgun and reportedly made off with the victim’s belongings. Violent incidents such as these are increasing, according to a recent police report, although overall crime has dropped significantly on Muni vehicles since last year. The report states that violent crime — including robbery, rape and aggravated assault — has seen an uptick on Muni vehicles since last year. There were 204 reports of violent crimes from the 2007 fiscal year to the 2008 fiscal year, an increase of 36. Aggravated...

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PG&E saturates No on H chest

Published: Oct 07, 2008

A local measure in support of public power has generated the costliest ballot battle San Francisco voters will face this November, with more than $4 million already collected to fight Proposition H. A total of $4,000,100 has been contributed to the campaign against the measure, with all but $100 coming from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Supporters of Prop. H have raised $25,459, with significant support from San Francisco businessman/politico Clint Reilly. The Committee to Stop the Blank Check is fighting to defeat the measure, spending money for TV commercials, advertising in Asian-language newspapers and campaigning door to door, according to the campaign’s political consultant,...

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Keep bats out of your belfry

Published: Oct 03, 2008

October isn’t just the month for plastic bats of the haunted house variety, it’s the season for bats of the rabid variety. And though they may not feast on the blood of humans, they do pass on rabies through their bites — a disease that causes flu-like symptoms, confusion and agitation, and can lead to death without treatment. But while officials warned San Francisco residents to be on the lookout for rabid bats Thursday, they were also quick to point out that nobody in The City has died from rabies in the 60 years in which the disease has been monitored. To be safe, the Department of Public Health is advising residents to close unscreened windows at night to keep out...

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Water costs may trickle down to San Francisco’s tenants

Published: Oct 02, 2008

Renters in San Francisco are one step closer to forking out money for utility costs that have increased because of a $4.6 billion bond measure passed in 2002. The general obligation bond measure provided billions to rebuild infrastructure related to water delivery from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Passing on the costs of that bond to renters is necessary, according to Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, who is sponsoring the legislation with Mayor Gavin Newsom, and Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier and Carmen Chu. Landlords are now paying higher water rates in order to finance the bonds, and they will be paying more in sewer rates in the future. The legislation would allow landlords to charge their...

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S.F. health plan still breathing

Published: Oct 01, 2008

San Francisco's restaurants, which have been waging a courtroom battle against a city law that requires employers to pay for employee health care, were struck a legal blow Tuesday by a federal circuit court - but vowed to keep fighting. City leaders hailed the decision by a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals as a victory for San Francisco's landmark affordable health care program, which to date has enrolled approximately 30,000 people, according to Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Today's ruling is a huge victory for this city and the 46 million Americans who don't have health insurance," said Newsom in a statement. "San Francisco is proving it can be...

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Car chase barrels through Golden Gate Park

Published: Sep 29, 2008

Hundreds of people enjoying a sunny afternoon at Golden Gate Park and the opening of the Academy of Sciences scattered to safety this weekend as police chased a suspect who tore through a popular picnic area, jumped from his ruined car and escaped on foot. The chase was one of at least three high-speed pursuits in The City in the last week. A red Ford Probe barreled through Speedway Meadows about 4 p.m. Saturday with two Police Department dirt bikes in pursuit. The car was allegedly involved in an earlier hit-and-run, which occurred at the intersection of Funston Avenue and Cabrillo Street. The victim was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life threatening and the suspect...

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Spat may delay Dolores Park upgrades

Published: Sep 25, 2008

A spat over how to spend more than $1.5 million in private donations has supporters of a long-awaited Dolores Park playground renovation nervous about more delays. Scheduled for an overhaul for a decade, the arsenic-laced and oft-flooded play area in The City’s Mission Dolores neighborhood has long been a source of frustration. Some became so frustrated that they formed Friends of Dolores Park in 2007, which began collecting donations to rebuild the playground. Earlier this year, the organization announced a $1.5 million grant from the San Francisco-based Mercer Fund in honor of philanthropist Helen Diller. Now, the group is ready to move forward with replacing the playground,...

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Prosecutors press case against Bonds

Published: Sep 25, 2008

Barry Bonds was not confused when asked if he used human growth hormone or injected steroids into his body, prosecutors said Wednesday in a court filing in the former Giants slugger’s federal perjury case. Federal prosecutors urged Judge Susan Illston in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Wednesday to deny a defense motion to dismiss 10 of the 14 counts of perjury. A May indictment alleges the major-league career home run leader lied during his 2003 grand jury testimony when he denied ever knowingly taking steroids or performance-enhancing drugs. The defense argued that most of the perjury charges should be dropped because prosecutors asked ambiguous questions. For...

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Healthy SF lowers goal for recipients by 20,000

Published: Sep 24, 2008

The total number of San Francisco residents targeted by The City’s universal health care program has dropped by more than 20,000 since its inception 15 months ago. Only 60,000 residents are likely to seek the free health care option because many residents — about 17 percent — who are uninsured aren’t likely to seek any insurance, free or not, according to a recommendation from the Department of Public Health. The total number was recently changed and announced Tuesday by Mayor Gavin Newsom at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Newsom said more than 30,000 people have signed up for Healthy SF, half of the 60,000 residents “the program hopes to...

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Rise in reports may not be evidence of more rapes

Published: Sep 23, 2008

Sexual assaults in The City increased 38 percent from last year, but police and community groups are quick to point out the boost could be due to better reporting. Statistics released Monday at a Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting show an increase in certain violent crimes. The statistics come on the heels of a recent report by the Police Department in which police brass credit a decrease in shootings from last year to the department’s 7-month-old zone strategy. However, while robberies have been the main topic of discussion, sexual assaults have flown under the radar. Police said an increase in rapes reported doesn’t necessarily mean more rapes are...

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Taking Halloween to the streets

Published: Sep 19, 2008

Zombies may be wandering along The Embarcadero this Halloween. Days after a plan to hold a large Halloween bash near AT&T Park fizzled, the Mayor’s Office is looking into an Oct. 31 streets closure near The Embarcadero. The event would be very similar to the recent Sunday Streets events on the busy thoroughfare, during which a portion of The City’s streets were closed to cars and opened to bicyclists, roller bladers and walkers. Mayor Gavin Newsom told The Examiner that city officials are delving into the streets-closure idea for Halloween. As first reported in The Examiner, a multi-stage extravaganza planned for the parking lot near AT&T Park failed to garner enough...

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Police beats pushing crime elsewhere

Published: Sep 18, 2008

New San Francisco police statistics show a drop in homicides and shootings in certain high-crime areas targeted by a new “zone strategy,” but the numbers also suggest that as the homicide rate continues to climb, some of The City’s gun violence has been pushed into other neighborhoods. The Police Department’s zone strategy concentrates officers into five geographic areas of The City where the most violent crime has been committed in recent years: Bayview-Hunters Point, the Mission, the Western Addition, the Tenderloin and Visitacion Valley. The department made the shift — its first major strategy change in four years — at the beginning of 2008, one...

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Fear of failure halves SoMa party

Published: Sep 17, 2008

A planned big bash near AT&T Park for Halloween that was designed to divert tens of thousands of costumed revelers away from the Castro this year is being scaled back after failing to pull in enough event sponsors. Since 2006, when a series of violent Halloween parties in the Castro led to nine shootings, city leaders have worked to relocate and restructure the event in response to concerns by local residents and businesses that the annual neighborhood street party has become an unwieldy, rowdy event mostly attended by drunken outsiders and those looking to cause trouble. Last Halloween, a heavy police presence in the Castro for the most part shut down the event, but city officials...

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San Francisco reverses policy on illegal immigrants

Published: Sep 11, 2008

Tough new policies on how San Francisco will report juvenile illegal immigrants to federal authorities were publicly unveiled Wednesday, prompting outcries from immigration-rights advocates. The new four-page protocol formally puts into writing what Mayor Gavin Newsom promised in July — that San Francisco would cease its practice of sending illegal immigrants younger than 18 years of age who commit felonies to halfway homes or their country of origin instead of reporting them to federal officials for deportation. The policy was an extension of The City’s sanctuary ordinance, which bars city officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities unless required by...

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Network-repair costs balloon

Published: Sep 09, 2008

The price tag to repair San Francisco’s internal fiber-optic network has reached $1 million as a result of the alleged tampering by a former city network administrator whose work history includes close ties to the corporation tasked with repairing the system. Terry Childs, the 43-year-old network administrator arrested on suspicion of withholding the passwords to The City’s central network, is facing up to seven years in state prison on four felony counts of computer tampering. To repair the damage allegedly done by Childs, The City has already doled out $182,000 in contract work to Cisco Systems, said Ron Vinson of the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services....

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Mission district residents on edge

Published: Sep 08, 2008

A spike in alleged Mission district gang violence continues to add to The City’s homicide rate as a husband and wife shot in a car Thursday night with their 4-month-old daughter in the back seat are now being investigated as homicides. A man identified by friends only as Giovanni is expected to be taken off of life support after being shot in the head Thursday evening at 18th and Bryant streets. His wife was also critically injured in the shooting and police Sgt. Wilfred Williams said they are both being investigated as homicides; the 4-month-old was unharmed. The shooting victims mark The City’s 72nd and 73rd homicides of the year — though a Tenderloin district...

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Antique fair owner files claim against city

Published: Sep 04, 2008

A woman who spent almost a decade hosting an antique and trinket fair at U.N. Plaza but had her market stripped from her by the Board of Supervisors is fighting back with a $1 million claim against The City. Berkeley resident Mary Millman lost her permit Thursday and she is asking for $100,000 for “each of the ten years I developed and operated a public outdoor market in San Francisco” in the claim. Last month, the Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 to approve Mayor Gavin Newsom’s resolution to revoke her right to charge vendors to set up shop in a space that is blocks from City Hall. The City will now attempt to run its own market, a prospect that the Real Estate...

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Mayor’s dream of locally grown food may flower

Published: Sep 04, 2008

Fruit falling from the branch into the hands of the hungry, chefs informing each patron where the restaurant’s eggs were hatched and children eating greens from a schoolyard garden. It may sound utopian, but if Mayor Gavin Newsom has his way, San Francisco will have a wide-ranging food policy, unveiled within the month, that does just that. Ideas include planting fruit trees in the middle of the street, requiring restaurants to post where their ingredients come from and removing plastic packaging from school lunches. The policy has been discussed for more than a year, according to the Department of the Environment, and the Victory Garden outside City Hall — which was just...

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City’s 311 service faces online competition

Published: Sep 04, 2008

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