Brightest ideas of the week: Dec. 14, 2008

Mayor makes nice

1. Newsom appears before the Board of Supervisors — and speaks, too

The details: The bickering between Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors seems to have lessened as The City’s budget deficit has grown. In a sign of how bad things are with fiscal matters, Newsom went before the board, pleading for the supervisors to help solve the crisis. Newsom said he was there “to ask you for your support and help and counsel, for your advice, for your hand in helping solve this crisis.” Newsom and the board working together sounds wonderful — if only the topic weren’t so depressing.

Writing history

2. Writer who covered the Giants for 47 years receives coveted honor

The details: One San Francisco native is writing his place in history — for writing. Nick Peters, who covered the Giants for 47 years, received the Baseball Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor Award for meritorious contribution to baseball writing. He started covering the team in 1961, and he did so up until 2007 — the year when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s home run record. Peters, who will be honored July 26 during the induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., has written five books about the Giants.

Mortgage debt down

3. People across the nation cutting debt for first time in decades

The details: As they see their net worth decline, households across the United States are paying off their mortgage debts more than they have since at least 1952. Nationwide, more debts are being paid off as fewer new mortgages are being taken on. The numbers still may be a silver lining in a very dark storm cloud: Other consumer debt such as credit cards and auto loans increased. Perhaps the mortgage payments are the beginning of a trend toward fiscal responsibility on the part of consumers, but we will have to wait and see.

Store pays up for death

4. Dollar Tree agrees to settle in death of worker

The details: It was a tragic case: A 26-year-old mother working at retail discount chain Dollar Tree was killed while at work in 2006, reportedly just because she was black. Tommy Joe Thompson, 45, of West Sacramento, allegedly went into the Fairfield store and killed Taneka Talley, but then the insurer of the store reportedly said the death was not work-related, and it refused to pay out workers’ compensation death benefits. Now, after facing public outcry, the store has agreed to pay the full amount allowed by state law. Although the amount is not all that the family of Talley’s orphaned son is looking for, it appears as though this sad story may have a happy ending approaching.

Computer upgrade

5. Muni to replace aging system for historic cable cars

The details: The iconic cable cars in The City may run on technology from the 1800s, and the newer computer that helps control them is from ... the 1980s. There is a computer mainframe called a propulsion controller that monitors the amount of energy flowing in and out of the cable car’s central machinery unit. The computer, however, is 25 years old, and it needs to be replaced. Luckily, more than $1 million has been allocated to fixing the computer, and that will help keep the moving landmarks on track for years to come.

Lawmaker headed for jail

6. House member sentenced to five days in jail for DUI

The details: Sometimes it is nice to see justice served. In this case, it is Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., being sentenced to five days in jail for a DUI. Fossella represents New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes Staten Island and a piece of Brooklyn, and is also a former New York City Council member. It would have been easy to picture him trying to throw his political weight around to try to avoid heading to the slammer (remember Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s DUI?).

Indictments for killings

7. Blackwater workers will face charges for fatal attack

The details: Five Blackwater Worldwide guards were charged in a shooting and grenade attack that killed 14 innocent Iraqis and wounded dozens of others in 2007. The workers for the private security company said they were protecting themselves during the bloody event. Prosecutors and Iraqis say the attack was unprovoked. The five face charges that carry mandatory 30-year prison terms.

More ads, more money

8. Mayor vetoes law banning ads on city property

The details: While San Francisco is facing a fiscal emergency, it seems like the last thing any city lawmaker would want to do is limit ways in which money could be made. But that’s exactly what the Board of Supervisors did when it passed legislation that would have prohibited additional advertising on street furniture and city-owned buildings. Mayor Gavin Newsom was wise enough to veto the legislation, saying the law wrongly “binds” future elected officials from considering additional advertising to “generate much needed funding for city services.”

Cheap gas!

9. Price at the pump drops to lowest in nearly five years

The details: Commuters, rejoice — the average price for gas in San Francisco dropped below $2 this week. It seems like just yesterday drivers in the Bay Area were mulling whether $5 per gallon was possible; now they are wondering how much lower prices can go. Although most of us probably know the cost of gas will eventually creep (or shoot) back up, we are crossing our fingers and hoping these prices will last for a while — at least through the holiday travel season.

Cutting pork

10. Raise for judges tucked into failed auto bailout

The details: The automotive industry bailout package that died in the Senate had a little passenger riding along with it — a pay increase for federal judges. What the pay of federal judges has to do with the bailout is ... nothing. It seems Democratic leaders thought giving pay raises during a recession to people who already make more than the average worker would be difficult to do. So instead, they tacked the legislation onto the auto bailout package, which was the only piece of legislation the lame-duck Congress was voting on.

Bright light of the week

Rocky Delgadillo

Who: The city attorney for Los Angeles

What: Los Angeles prosecutors filed a lawsuit seeking to seize homes, businesses and other assets from known members of the city’s largest gang to cripple their criminal enterprises. The lawsuit, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States, aims to reduce the wealth accumulated by gang leaders through illegal activities.

Why: A state law passed earlier this year allows cities to sue for the financial damage gangs cause communities. Only gangs already targeted with restraining orders declaring their behavior a nuisance can be sued. Family members of gang members also can have items taken away if it’s proven they are proceeds earned through criminal activity.