10 Brightest Ideas of the Week: Oct. 5, 2008

Examiner Editorial 10/5/08

SAN FRANCISCO – The price of oil dropping is one good part of a staggering economy, the governor signs a bill that will prompt transit-friendly development, and Somalia allows foreign nations to close in on a pirated ship.

Bright Light of the Week

San Francisco Police Department
What: Good police work citywide resulted in arrests in a wide variety of cases.
Why: The arrests this week read like something from a crime novel: A suspect in two shootings — one in The City and another in South San Francisco — is quickly brought into custody; officers track down a man who was allegedly flashing women in Golden Gate Park, arresting him after he is spotted boarding a Muni bus; a special patrol is formed after a rash of newspaper fires in Pacific Heights driveways and the alleged serial arsonist is caught. Add onto that the fact that the police made a quick arrest in a fatal stabbing in the Tenderloin that appears to be drug-related, and you have quite a week for the SFPD.
Importance: The Police Department may catch some flak about its arrest rates in homicides and the number of killings The City has seen this year, but that shouldn’t overshadow the hard work the officers put in to catch these criminals.

Oil prices drop
1|Commodity’s price a bright light amid dim economic news.
The details: In the midst of the turmoil caused by the collapsing financial industry and credit markets, a small piece of good news has been the decline in oil prices from their July peak. Saudi Arabia has reportedly indicated that it would like to see oil prices fall below $100 per barrel to stabilize the world economy, but other oil producers such as Mexico and Russia have already indicated the drop could hurt their budgets.

Thunder struck
2| Warriors likely to change mascot they’ve used since 1997.
The details: Thanks to the new NBA franchise in Oklahoma City picking Thunder as its nickname, the Warriors look like they are in the market for a new mascot. Thunder — which seemingly has no relation to the Warriors nickname — has been the team’s mascot since 1997. The Warriors do need to be careful, though, when choosing a new mascot and logo because politically correct folks out there will pounce on anything Indian-related.

Transit funding
3| Governor signs greenhouse-gas legislation.
The details: One of the few bills to survive Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s pen this week was legislation by state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, that would give priority to transportation projects that limit commutes and curb urban sprawl. The bill requires the state Air Resources Board to set regional targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and directs regional planning agencies to develop strategies to meet those targets. The bill is supported by the Bay Area Council.

Peninsula Wi-Fi test
4| San Carlos hosts pilot program for free Wi-Fi plan.
The details: Covad has installed
20 of the 28 wireless access points in a square-mile of downtown San Carlos to begin the first field tests of the ambitious Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network project. The long-awaited effort hopes to deliver low-cost broadband wireless access to small businesses in all 33 cities across Silicon Valley and the Peninsula.

Calories on menu
5| State restaurant chains must now display calorie counts.
The details: California became the first state requiring restaurant chains to reveal how many calories are in their standard menu items. Schwarzenegger signed legislation ordering chains with at least 20 California restaurants to phase in calorie displays on their menu boards, printed menus and brochures disclosing calories, fat, salt and carbohydrates. The California Restaurant Association has backed the health measure and, as a bonus, is dropping its lawsuit against The City’s attempted local version.

Civic participation
6| People will soon be able to register to vote online in state.
The details: California voters will soon be able to register to vote online under a bill signed into law by Schwarzenegger this week. While registration forms can be filled out online at the moment, they must then be printed, signed and delivered to elections officials. The creation of a new voter database, VoteCal, expected by 2010, will allow voters to register online by entering their driver’s license numbers and other identifying information.

Pirates surrounded
7| Somalia to let foreign navies capture pirate ship.
The details: With several U.S. Navy warships and helicopters surrounding the hijacked Ukrainian weapons freighter MV Faina off Somalia’s coast, the African nation’s government said it would allow foreign navies to force the pirates to surrender and release the 20 sailors held hostage.

All aboard
8| Caltrain to show how it can handle more bicycles.
The details: During times of high gas prices and a staggering economy, Caltrain has seen record-high ridership numbers. Bicyclists, however, have complained that overcrowded trains have forced some cyclists to wait for less crowded rail cars — even if that means being late to wherever they are going. Now, Caltrain says it will immediately start a study to find ways to fit more bikes on its trains. This is good news for cyclists and for Caltrain, which doesn’t want to see its ridership fall for lack of two-wheel accommodations.

Murder loopholes closing
9| City is better on domestic-violence protection since 2000 rallying point.
The details: When Claire Tempongko was stabbed to death by ex-boyfriend Tari Ramirez in 2000, it became a rallying point for domestic-violence victim advocates who lambasted inept bureaucratic miscommunication — the killer was never served with an emergency protective order. Since then, The City has trained 400 interdepartmental law enforcement officials to coordinate proper domestic-violence responses. Ramirez was sentenced to prison this week for second-degree murder.

Speeding up economy
10| Studies say high-speed rail could boost economy.
The details: Two studies argue that the proposed state high-speed rail system could do more than whisk riders from The City to Los Angeles in less than three hours. The train could also boost the economies of the Bay Area and the Central Valley, according to the studies.

0 Comments