Students get free school supplies

By: Andrea Koskey
09/05/10 3:30 PM

Roughly 30,000 San Francisco Public School children will get new school supplies to help start the school year off right. Starting Thursday, San Francisco Unified School District with the help of San Francisco’s Human Services Agency and the K to College organization, will distribute back to school “kits” with $65 worth of grade-appropriate school supplies to thousands of students. Kits – which are filled with pencils, erasers, notebooks, colored pencils and a two-sided white board – will be given to Bret Harte Elementary School students Thursday. Harte has approximately 85 percent of its student population that qualifies for free or reduced lunch. Extra kits for children who don’t enroll in the free or reduced lunch program are made possible by...

Tony Blair

By: Michael Barone
09/05/10 2:05 PM

Dipping into  Tony Blair’s just published A Journey leads me toward the conclusion that Matthew D’Ancona articulates with great clarity in the Sunday Telegraph. Blair is really more New than Labour, more determined to use force to moral ends than most center-left politicians, animated more by religious conviction than most of his countrymen ever realized....

Barney Frank’s response to my column

By: Michael Barone
09/05/10 12:30 PM

In my August 23 Examiner column I wrote, “The 2009 stimulus package is so unpopular that Democrats have banned the word from their campaign vocabulary. ‘I’m not supposed to call it stimulus,’ Rep. Barney Frank told the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart. ‘The message experts in Washington have told us that we’re supposed to call it the...

Regulating and intimidating free speech out of existence

By: Rob Port
09/05/10 11:50 AM

Bill Clinton once told an audience in Philadelphia, "You know one of the things that's wrong with this country? Everybody gets a chance to have their fair say." It was intended as a humorous response to a crowd of hecklers who was giving him fits as he tried to deliver a speech, but it's not hard to imagine that Democrats have taken that sentiment to heart of late. Seton Motley notes a letter sent to book publishers Simon & Schuster by the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee accusing the company of making an in-kind donation to Republicans with the publishing of Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders which is about Republican House candidates. In a letter to the publisher, Democrats allege that the book is an "in-kind" donation and make...

Volunteers to provide input on recreation centers

By: Kamala Kelkar
09/05/10 11:27 AM

An army of volunteers could be appointed to watch over and give feedback for the 25 recreation centers and nine public swimming pools in The City. The Recreation and Park Department will ask park supervisors to choose residents who live within one mile of each recreation center and pool for oversight and brainstorm on ways to utilize them. Then those groups would report to an advisory council selected by General Manager Phil Ginsburg, acting as a liaison to the Recreation and Park Commission. “There’s never really been an avenue where people had direct input on the types of programming that they see at their rec centers,” Rec and Park spokesman Elton Pon said. And while the plan could help activate the public places by providing more fluid communication between the...

Interior Designer-in-Chief

09/04/10 6:33 PM

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Pedestrian safety the focus of September

By: Brent Begin
09/04/10 4:24 PM

Police are cracking down on motorists after one woman was killed and another nearly died after being hit by vehicles in the crosswalk. During the month of September, San Francisco Police Department's Traffic Company will be conducting Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operations at various locations throughout The City including Geary Street, San Bruno Avenue, Bayshore Boulevard, Sixth Street and Cole Valley. The stings will take place during peak traffic times and officers will focus on violations that are the “leading causes of pedestrian collisions,” such as pedestrian right-of-way violations in marked and unmarked cross walks, red light violations, stop sign violations and speeding. The crackdown is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, according...

With unemployment at 9.6 percent, why is the White House obsessed with sex?

By: Mark Hemingway
09/04/10 4:10 PM

Christina Romer has left as Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), and the White House is looking to fill the position. Can somebody please wake me when adults are making H.R. decisions at the White House?: The White House said Aug. 9 that a successor to Christina Romer, chair of the...

Muni records best ever on-time performance rate ever this fiscal year

By: Will Reisman
09/04/10 1:00 PM

Although the agency took a dip in the last quarter, Muni’s on-time performance rate for the 2010 fiscal year still ranked as its best ever. For the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, which runs from April through June, Muni vehicles recorded an on-time rate of 72.5 percent, a drop from the prior quarter’s mark of 75 percent, which was the agency’s highest performance for a single quarter. Despite the recent dip, Muni recorded an on-time performance rate of 73.5 percent over the entire year, an improvement from last year’s record-mark of 73.3 percent. This year’s performance marks a 4.3 percent from the 2006 fiscal year. Even with the improvements, Muni is still a far cry from the 85 percent mark that was mandated by voters when they opted to expand the...

New effort to turn around film industry

By: Joshua Sabatini
09/04/10 12:00 PM

Several members of the city’s Film Commission are looking to draw up a long-term vision for the future of the film industry in San Francisco, which was once bright, then all but died with the occasional bit of good news. But with a new executive director of film starting Sept. 8, Film Commissioners are sounding hopeful they can make a difference. To that end, a long-term strategic plan committee was created Thursday chaired by Film Commissioner Debbie Brubaker, described as a “a seasoned producer in the world of “indie” feature films who works primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area independent movie arena,” and vice chaired by Film Commissioner Peter Bratt, a director whose most recent film is La Mission. Bratt, who came up with the idea for a committee,...

Liberal boycott of target having zero impact

By: Rob Port
09/04/10 1:00 PM

Months ago retail giant Target made a contribution to a group called Minnesota Forward which, in turn, is supporter the campaign of Tom Emmer who is running to be the next governor of Minnesota. Liberal interests have gone crazy over these contributions, claiming that Target is supporting Emmer because Emmer opposes gay marriage. Which is ridiculous. Target is perhaps one of the most gay-friendly companies in America. The real motivation, of course, is that the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC made the sort of contribution Target made to Minnesota Forward perfectly legal. Liberal interests have blasted that ruling, saying that it will hurt free speech in America, and they've turned Target's contributions in a state-level race into a national issue. No...

Gascón puts on the running shoes for safety

By: Brent Begin
09/04/10 9:00 AM

Police Chief George Gascón has been hustling to make San Francisco a safer place, but never so literally as now. Gascón is set to run a 5k fundraiser for the SAFE network, which is trying to raise $20,000 to help spread the word about keeping your family safe from crime in The City. The race is Sept. 26 and includes running, walking and a “stroller brigade.” We assume the fitness-fanatic chief will opt for the first option, unless he’s on the injured reserve...

Weekend Examiner: Six ways to lose your election

By: David Freddoso
09/04/10 8:45 AM

Looking for a way to lose your election? Try lying to the voters. Or hire this guy as your spokesman. Or lie about your law enforcement background. Or get arrested for stalking your ex-girlfriend. Or try to earmark funds for a shady 501(c)3. Or run against everything your party has done since taking...

What about the employment rate?

09/04/10 4:25 AM

In a recession, experts eye unemployment charts every month looking for signs of a recovery, but as AEI's Henry Olsen writes, we shouldn't ignore the employment rate. What percentage of working-age Americans actually have jobs? America's adult population has risen by 2 million people since then, but the number of adults with jobs has dropped by 180,000. The unemployment rate declined slightly despite these numbers, from 9.7 percent to 9.6 percent, because over 2.3 million people have left the labor force entirely, so discouraged they are no longer even looking for work. The employment rate more accurately reflects that despair, sliding down from 59.1 percent to 58.5 percent....

Notes on the race to replace Charlie Melancon in the La. 3rd congressional district

By: Laura Curtis
09/03/10 5:50 PM

It’s unclear whether Jeff Landry’s win in the Republican primary for Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District which Charlie Melancon (D-La) is now resigning from in order to run for Senate was more about anti-incumbency or pro-tea party sentiment. Either way, Hunt Downer took a beating, winning a majority only in his home parish. Even in Jefferson Parish where Downer, a former Democrat, enjoyed the endorsement of the local Republican Party, Jeff Landry received more than double the votes Downer did. Landry was 163 votes short of winning the GOP nomination outright, so they will proceed to a runoff on October 2nd. While Jeff Landry has been involved with local politics for some time and is not a total political outsider, he’s never held office....

I’m retiring and becoming a lobbyist

By: Timothy P. Carney
09/03/10 1:35 PM

It is with great sadness and great gratefulness that I announce that this will be my last term in the world’s greatest 100-member deliberative body that is located in D.C. Or at least, Yahoo News reports that I’m leaving the Senate: Specter’s loss was one of many electoral blows against moderate incumbents. A National Journal blogger lamented...

Muni’s light-rail vehicles could get improvement investment

By: Will Reisman
09/03/10 1:26 PM

Muni’s fleet of light-rail vehicles could be in store for some upgrades. On Tuesday, the agency’s Board of Directors will vote on a $32.8 million contract that will go toward repairing Muni’s light-rail vehicles. The contract, which cannot exceed the $32.8 million amount, will be with AnsaldoBreda, the company that manufactures the light-rail vehicles. The terms of the contract are not to exceed six years. Muni’s light-rail vehicles serve the agency’s six Metro lines, which collectively carry over 150,000 passengers each...

Could Democrats lose it all in November?

09/03/10 12:48 PM

Indications from many sources continue to suggest that November could be a sledge-hammer-to-the-forehead election for Democrats. Political pundits have watched as poll numbers have worsened even during this "summer of recovery," as it was billed by Democratic President Barack Obama ... but there appears to be no recovery in sight. Democrat cheer leaders began the summer by publicly dismissing the doom-and-gloom predictions as they tried to rally the troops and Democratic candidates even as the President's approval rating dipped to 46% and three-quarters of those polled disapproved of Congress. That "summer of recovery" has turned into the Summer of Economic Discontent, according to Michael Boskin, an economics professor at Stanford University, who wrote in the Wall...

Why the Tea Party should never turn into a spider

By: Max Borders
09/03/10 1:30 PM

The Tea Party, to mix metaphors, is a starfish. This is a simple way of describing the form and function of the movement. The metaphor also goes a long way to explaining the Tea Party’s effectiveness. In other words, the Tea Party is not really a hierarchy. It’s a network. If it formalizes, it is more likely to fail at what it’s now doing well. Notwithstanding the left’s determination to characterize the Tea Party as a movement purchased with Charles and David Koch’s money, the Kochtopus cannot be the head of a starfish--at least according this interesting NPR piece, which references a book by Rod Beckstrom: The Starfish and the Spider "is really a guidebook for people, to help organize decentralized movements and organizations of any...

Rasmussen: Nevada Senate race deadlocked at 45-45

By: Mark Hemingway
09/03/10 12:35 PM

Well, this race isn’t getting any easier to predict: The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows the candidates tied with 45% of the vote each. Five percent (5%) prefer another candidate and six percent (6%) more are undecided. Reid and Angle were tied two weeks ago at 47% a piece. Earlier this...

Even business lobbyists support corporate welfare!

By: Timothy P. Carney
09/03/10 12:15 PM

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a likely presidential candidate in 2012, recently put some restrictions on state agencies receiving federal health funds, expressing concern about a federal takeover of health-care. I applaud this decision, while agreeing its a play for the GOP presidential nod. Democrats and the media are attacking Pawlenty for impoverishing Minnesotans for political reasons,...

Mixed reviews on app that helps SF parkers

By: Brent Begin
09/03/10 11:49 AM

Perplexed and forgetful parkers now have a tool to help themselves avoid a ticket by getting their vehicle out of the way for street cleaning. Yes, there is an app for that. The app is available for the iPhone and uses GPS to tell a driver when street cleaners will hit the block where you park with a handy countdown clock telling you when to move the car. Street cleaning schedules have gotten more complicated during lean budget times as some neighborhoods have switched from once a week to twice a month street cleaning, so we’ll see if the app can keep up with all the changes. So far, reviews on iTunes have been polarized with 16 users giving it five stars and 26 users giving it one star, the most common complaint being that the times and locations contained in the app are wrong....

Another day, another poll showing most New Yorkers oppose mosque at ground zero

By: Mark Hemingway
09/03/10 11:25 AM

There have been quite a few of these polls about the mosque near ground zero already, but The New York Times weighs in today with another unsurprising result: Two-thirds of New York City residents want a planned Muslim community center and mosque to be relocated to a less controversial site farther away from ground zero in...

Herding ninjas

By: Timothy P. Carney
09/03/10 11:15 AM

This is important: the Senate next year will be more Republican, but the Republican conference might be much more conservative. The Club For Growth makes this point: Consider: if Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey, Mike Lee, Joe Miller, and Rand Paul all win on November, they will account for all of one “pickup.”  But even...

SFMTA officials praise completion of St. Francis Circle

By: Will Reisman
09/03/10 9:17 AM

One of the most complicated intersections in San Francisco is now a little less confusing. On Thursday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced the completion of a $26 million project to improve traffic, transit and pedestrian conditions at St. Francis Circle, a widely used interchange near the West Portal neighborhood. The project included the replacement of 30-year-old light-rail tracks, repaving, pedestrian access improvement and traffic signaling changes to ease congestion at the intersection, which incorporates five thoroughfares and two light-rail lines. Since May, residents in the neighborhood have dealt with lane closures, transit interruptions and construction noise. Thursday marked the formal end of work at the...

“the ONLY guy who actually gets it”

By: Michael Barone
09/03/10 7:55 AM

That’s what Glenn Beck tweeted about this Chicago Boyz blogpost by my friend Lexington Green. It’s a terrific and insightful analysis of what Beck is trying to do and of where we stand in America today.  Here are a couple of key paragraphs:  “Beck is building solidarity and cultural confidence in America, its Constitution, its military heritage,...

Life's a Beach

09/03/10 4:30 AM

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White House said to be considering tax cuts ahead of midterms

By: Mark Hemingway
09/02/10 10:30 PM

There’s a pretty good chance this will be seen as cynical or an admission of defeat — possibly both. But hey, they’ve got to do something right?: With just two months until the November elections, the White House is seriously weighing a package of business tax breaks – potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars –...

Morning Examiner: You can punish BP, but then they won’t be able to pay victims

By: David Freddoso
09/02/10 7:50 PM

BP: If you bar us from new leases, we might not be able to fund that $20 billion trust fund. Sheriff Joe (Arpaio, not Biden) pushes back against a Justice Department lawsuit. Kirk, Giannoulias tied at….34 percent apiece? Can you say “leaners?” Why do we give D.C.’s pathetic punk-gangsters the satisfaction of being referred to as “crews?” Dog bites...

David Frum and conservative purges

By: Timothy P. Carney
09/02/10 4:15 PM

David Frum’s blog post connects his dismissal from AEI with Brink Lindsey’s and Will Wilkinson’s departures from Cato. In the post, Frum makes some important and well-articulated points about the GOP’s lack of direction and what a Republican majority could yield: We are likely soon to have a Republican majority in the House of Representatives,...
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