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Herrera has last word on smart meters
Published: Jul 30, 2010
City Attorney Dennis Herrera had the last word on Thursday in the ongoing battle with PG&E over the accuracy of smart meters.
Herrera filed his last response in his attempt to temporarily suspend the installation of the smart meters -- now. The City's petition asked the California Public Utilities Commission to, at the very least, halt installing these meters while an independent investigation looking into whether the meters are accurate is completed, according to the city attorney's office.
"Mounting evidence points to disturbingly high error rates with the devices," Herrera's office said. "Continuing to install Smart Meters despite concerns of customers does nothing to increase...
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Newsom Tracker: Checking out progress on Transbay Terminal
Published: Jul 30, 2010
It's been a long week of Muni reform deals and budget signings. Mayor Gavin Newsom is turning his attention to one of The City's biggest projects: the Transbay Terminal. The mayor plans to drop by Friday morning to check out the work that's going on. Afterward, he will hold staff meetings inside City Hall....
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Political infighting clouds election
Published: Jul 30, 2010
The latest spat in a deep-rooted political rivalry between Mayor Gavin Newsom and his political nemesis Aaron Peskin is having a ripple effect on endorsements in key races for the November election.
Peskin, who now chairs the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, last week attempted to keep Newsom off the committee, a powerful local body in deciding which candidates get support during elections.
Newsom is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in the November election, and traditionally he would have been given a seat.
But Peskin dug up a legal loophole in the bylaws that, technically, didn’t guarantee Newsom his seat on the party committee.
This frustrated...
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Mayor signs off on budget, thanks unions for concessions
Published: Jul 28, 2010
It’s a rare moment to see Mayor Gavin Newsom and city supervisors smiling in agreement. And while it took some time to reach this moment, the mayor signed off on San Francisco’s $6.5 billion budget, with city supervisors and budget staff at his side.
He thanked the usual suspects — his Chief of Staff Steve Kawa,...
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Republican lieutenant governor candidate called out on environment
Published: Jul 28, 2010
It seems Abel Maldonado, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, is getting a taste of his own medicine. After slamming his opponent Mayor Gavin Newsom over his wife’s investments in oil companies, including TransOcean, the company that’s responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf, the California League of Conservation Voters have some questions for...
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Newsom tracker: Officially signing off on budget
Published: Jul 28, 2010
The long battle of labor concessions, service cuts and furlough days will officially come to an end when Mayor Gavin Newsom on Thursday signs San Francisco’s balanced budget for fiscal year 2010-2011.
The signing will take place at City Hall at 11 a.m. And then, it’s on to next year’s budget deficit, which is expected to...
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Bike-share to cross city lines
Published: Jul 29, 2010
Borrowing a bicycle in downtown San Francisco, riding over to the Caltrain station to take a train to San Jose and then dropping off the bike there could be a reality under a new proposal.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is planning more broadly after neighboring cities said they want to join The City’s bike-sharing effort. The idea is modeled after operations in cities such as Barcelona, Spain and Paris, where residents register and pay to use city-owned bikes available on streets.
Transportation officials here are working with various cities, including Millbrae, Palo Alto and San Jose, to create a regional bike-sharing plan that would allow residents to use one bike to get from...
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City flirts with team across the Bay
Published: Jul 29, 2010
City officials are starting to court the Golden State Warriors, hoping the Oakland-based team will move across the Bay to make San Francisco its home again.
On Wednesday, one of the Warriors’ newest players, David Lee, was invited to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office. Lee, who recently signed a six-year, $80 million contract with the Warriors after being acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks, was there to talk about refurbishing a basketball court at El Dorado Elementary School in Visitacion Valley.
“He got a David Lee Day from the mayor because he donated, through his contract, money to revitalize the basketball court, and I wanted to thank him for that,”...
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City flirts with team across the Bay
Published: Jul 29, 2010
City officials are starting to court the Golden State Warriors, hoping the Oakland-based team will move across the Bay to make San Francisco its home again.
On Wednesday, one of the Warriors’ newest players, David Lee, was invited to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office. Lee, who recently signed a six-year, $80 million contract with the Warriors after being acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks, was there to talk about refurbishing a basketball court at El Dorado Elementary School in Visitacion Valley.
“He got a David Lee Day from the mayor because he donated, through his contract, money to revitalize the basketball court, and I wanted to thank him for that,”...
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Bankruptcies forecast end of recession
Published: Jul 29, 2010
Bankruptcies hit a record high in San Francisco and San Mateo counties in June, one sign that the region is at the tail end of the recession.
Bankruptcy filings jumped from 3,226 in fiscal year 2008-09 to 4,841 in 2009-10 — a 50 percent increase, records show. That includes all chapters of personal and business bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy filings for the two counties increased by 35 percent from June 2009 compared with June 2010, the highest it has been since 1999, according to the United States Bankruptcy Court.
There were 440 filings in June 2010 compared to 370 in June 2009, records show. In addition, hotel defaults — when the borrower stops paying the lender —...
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Newsom praises judge’s decision on Arizona law
Published: Jul 28, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom praised the decision of a federal judge who today decided to block Arizona from moving forward with its controversial immigration law, that was set to take effect tomorrow. Newsom, who has been caught in the middle of his own immigration debates with San Francisco’s sanctuary city laws, said the judge did the right...
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Peskin: Newsom is ineligible for seat on Democratic committee
Published: Jul 27, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom’s longtime nemesis, Aaron Peskin, seems to be going out of his way to keep the mayor out of the Democratic ring.
As the chair of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, Peskin has taken the position that Newsom is not entitled to a seat on the committee, despite the fact that he’s...
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City attorney will appeal term-limit court decision
Published: Jul 27, 2010
The city attorney plans to appeal a court decision allowing Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier to run a second term in November. Alioto-Pier is now calling “for a halt to the egregious and wasteful manner in which City Attorney Dennis Herrera is spending tax payer funds to appeal a superior court ordered decision.” “After the superior court handed down...
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Mayor puts up fight for clean energy programs
Published: Jul 28, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday introduced a resolution urging San Francisco's congressional representatives to work with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to allow for the continuation of clean energy programs, including San Francisco's Green Finance loan program.
Green Finance SF, a low-cost loan program that allows residents and business owners to "green" their properties, was suspended several weeks ago. The suspension came after Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the main buyers of residential loans, questioned these green financing programs nationwide in May. Freddie and Fannie said the energy loans were not assessments but in effect second loans that should be subordinate to the principal...
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Newsom Tracker: Improving transportation in The City
Published: Jul 28, 2010
Transportation improvements are happening everywhere. Last week it was the groundbreaking of Doyle Drive and Wednesday it's even better: the lifting of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s self-anchored suspension span. Don't think Mayor Gavin Newsom won't be there with another long-winded speech. The event starts at 12:30 p.m....
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Mayor Newsom ‘glad’ to be back on YouTube
Published: Jul 26, 2010
Budget drama, battles over tax measures and campaigning for statewide office has taken a chunk of time out of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s daily schedule. That’s partly why the mayor took a short hiatus from his infamous Web addresses via YouTube.
“We weren’t able to do them as regularly throughout the budget process the last several weeks,...
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SF leads way as state sees significant drop in cigarette sales
Published: Jul 26, 2010
It seems city supervisors were right on target when they passed legislation further restricting smoking in San Francisco earlier this year.
A new report released Tuesday by the California Board of Equalization shows that cigarette sales dropped significantly statewide this past year.
According to the report, Californians bought 8.1 percent fewer cigarettes this past year compared with...
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Area’s jobless rate rises from May to June
Published: Jul 26, 2010
It seems that the recent feeling of economic relief might just be a false perception.
The latest unemployment numbers show that the Bay Area’s jobless rate grew from May to June, with San Francisco now at 9.6 percent, according to the California Economic Development Department.
San Francisco has the seventh lowest unemployment rate in California, coming behind...
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Newsom tracker: Eye on tax measures
Published: Jul 26, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom is staying close to home Tuesday where he plans to hold staff meetings inside City Hall through the day. He’s likely to keep his ear close to the ground as supervisors meet to discuss ending tax measures, of which the mayor has remained a vociferous...
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Newsom keen on making final appointment to the SFMTA board
Published: Jul 25, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom said he’s been ready to make his final appointment to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Board of Directors. He could make an announcement as soon as “right away, today, tomorrow or later this week,” the mayor said.
The seat has been vacant for more than two months, and what’s been taking him...
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Mayor lashes out at supervisors’ tax proposals
Published: Jul 25, 2010
On the eve of a significant board vote on pending tax measures, Mayor Gavin Newsom took one last shot at the proposals, saying they are a solution in search of a problem.
“We balanced our budget without increasing taxes, we don’t need to,” Newsom said.
He slammed city supervisors over their proposed tax measures including a tax...
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Newsom pushes for wheelchair accessibility in board’s chamber
Published: Jul 25, 2010
On the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Mayor Gavin Newsom pledged that he would make sure the Board of Supervisors’ chamber will be wheelchair accessible by the time he leaves office, which could happen as soon as next year.
It was the final point the mayor made during his 15-minute speech at City...
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The City launches online gender-equality hub
Published: Jul 26, 2010
San Francisco launched a new Web site aimed at resolving an ongoing social issue: gender equality in the workplace. The site http://genderprinciples.org/ is part of The City’s overall Gender Equality Principles Initiative, which provides companies with tools and education to improve gender equality in the workforce.
The initiative targets a handful of issues, including pay and compensation, career development and civic and community engagement, according to the Web site. Companies can use the Web site to determine how well they address some of the fundamental issues of gender equality....
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Newsom Tracker: Mayor discusses disabilities act
Published: Jul 26, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom will share some of his own thoughts about the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the North Light Court at City Hall Monday at noon....
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City giving children a little seed money
Published: Jul 26, 2010
With the school year approaching, a program started by Mayor Gavin Newsom will begin dropping cash into accounts for kindergartners to start saving for college.
Since the Board of Supervisors agreed to restore the roughly $250,000 allocated in the mayor’s budget for his Kindergarten to College program, city and school officials are spending the next few weeks signing up kindergartners.
The Mayor’s Office will deposit $50 into accounts for about 1,300 kindergartners this school year. Newsom has agreed to double that deposit for low-income kids.
The program has already gained momentum in the community, which has donated more than $200,000 toward the accounts, city officials...
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Deal may nix Muni reform
Published: Jul 26, 2010
A Muni reform measure may come in the form of a compromise instead of being decided by voters.
Board of Supervisors President David Chiu had introduced a City Charter amendment that would, among other things, strip the mayor of sole power to appoint members of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors.
Chiu, however, said he would consider abandoning the amendment if he and Mayor Gavin Newsom could agree on a reform package before Tuesday’s vote on the legislation that would streamline the transit agency and ensure there’s enough funding in reserve to offset potential future service cuts.
The supervisor and the mayor held closed-door...
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Group joins fight against tax measures
Published: Jul 25, 2010
Yet another business group came out opposing the slew of tax measures being considered for the November ballot. The week before city supervisors are set to vote on whether to send new tax measures to the ballot, including a tax on commercial rent, the Union Square Business Improvement District made one last ditch effort to persuade supervisors.
The BID cut a $3,000 check to the Economic Recovery SF group which recently launched as a coalition to fight the pending tax measures. The money, which is non-assessment funds, is mean to help educate the public about how these tax measures would cripple businesses in San Francisco, according to the BID. Afterward, the group’s leader, Linda...
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Board of Equalization chair to speak on entertainment
Published: Jul 24, 2010
In light of the recent drama over nightclub shootings in San Francisco, State Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty Yee has her own perspectives on the economics of entertainment locally, especially when it comes to creating jobs, generating taxes and drawing in more tourists. She will share her thoughts at a luncheon hosted by the California...
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Newsom campaigns, travels and campaigns again
Published: Jul 24, 2010
Mayor Gavin Newsom spent the weekend with campaigning on his mind.
More than 200 people showed up to his campaign headquarters Friday evening where the mayor signed up more volunteers (he already has some 20,000 listed) and shook hands.
According to his campaign staff, Newsom stayed for a couple of hours after he was introduced by Dolores...
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America's Cup will cost San Francisco a pretty penny
Published: Jul 25, 2010
San Francisco will have to spend big — as much as $120 million — in order to land the 34th America’s Cup.
By hosting the sailing race, which is the third-largest sporting event after the Olympics and soccer’s World Cup, The City could reap more than $1 billion. San Francisco is the only U.S. city still in the running to host the race, which could be held in 2014.
The chance for the race to be held here came after billionaire Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle Racing, based out of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, won the world’s oldest sports trophy in February by defeating Switzerland’s Alinghi in Valencia, Spain.
Hosting the world-class...
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