Brightest ideas of the week: Jan. 4, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Singletary gets the post he deserves, arrests are made in a horrible crime, your gas bills may be lower in the coming months, and an Iraqi boy arrives for an ear operation at UCSF.

1. The fire in his eyes

49ers decide to keep Singletary as head coach

The details: The 49ers’ 2008 season had barely ended when the announcement that interim head coach Mike Singletary would be kept was passed to the media. The Niners still waited too long, after putting up with Mike Nolan’s losing ways for far too long, firing him seven games into this season when it was obvious before the campaign began that he was not going to be successful. But the franchise must still be applauded for keeping the intense Singletary around. The team was 5-4 with him in charge and he brings the attitude and knowledge necessary to get this once-proud franchise back to the top.

2. Taxi turnaround

Supervisors consider reversing cab-fare hike

The details: When a Board of Supervisors committee voted to reverse a planned increase in cab fares on Tuesday, it was step one to outmaneuvering a horrible idea. The increase was planned when gas prices were cutting into drivers’ profits so much that it was making the job useless, but gas prices have since dropped considerably, to below $2. And with everyone else struggling in a bad economy right now, it only makes sense to step in and keep people from paying even more exorbitant prices for a ride across town. The full board now must vote on the reversal, and they should do so unanimously.

3. Happy New Year

Police keep the peace during celebrations

The details: San Francisco police made 36 arrests on New Year’s, keeping The City’s streets safe for law-abiding revelers ringing in 2009. The police presence may have also kept the holiday free from bloodshed. In 2008, The City’s first homicide occurred within five hours of the new year when a man was shot in the face in the South of Market neighborhood.

4. Admit your mistakes

Driver turns herself in after Richmond hit-and-run

The details: Hitting someone in your car and taking off is one of the most reprehensible things a driver can do. In Richmond this week, two drivers hit the same bicyclist, the second one killing her. One of the drivers made the right decision, however, coming forward after seeing the incident on the news. However, there is one more driver out there, and it is the second driver, who landed the deadly blow. This person must follow the example already set and turn themselves in. If they wait for the police to find them, then the justice system should treat them with utmost harshness.

5. Message received

New law says you can’t text message while driving

The details: It would seem like common sense should have kicked in before a law had to be put on the books, but we’ve all seen them — folks with one hand and two eyes on their cell phone sending a text message when they should be focused on the road. A new law by Sen. Joe Simitian of Palo Alto now prohibits such reckless behavior and carries a $20 fine for a first offense and $50 for each time after that.

6. Closer to justice

Arrests made in brutal attack on Richmond woman

The details: Four suspects are now behind bars in the case of the rape of a lesbian Richmond resident, which police are calling a hate crime. Two men, 31 and 21, and a 15-year-old Richmond boy and a 16-year-old Hercules boy are accused of beating, robbing and sexually assaulting the 28-year-old woman when she got out of her car. Police say the four then forced her into the car and took her to a remote area where she was again sexually assaulted. Even veteran police in Richmond are shocked by the brutality of the crime, and anyone who would commit such an act needs to be behind bars for a long, long time.

7. Lowering the gas bill

PG&E to decrease rates, offers incentives to reduce use

The details: Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will have its Winter Gas Savings Program in place for January and February, offering customers a credit of up to 20 percent on their natural-gas bill for reducing usage during those months by 10 percent or more. The utility company also reported this week that it will decrease its electricity rates due to a drop in the price of natural gas. Reducing usage while getting a cut in price is good for the wallet as well as the environment.

8. Show us the money

Madoff provides financial info

The details: Disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff gave the Securities and Exchange Commission a list of his personal assets, but investors may have to wait to learn whether the filing contained any clues as to the whereabouts of their missing billions. The assets disclosed in the filing or found by investigators could eventually be tapped to make restitution to victims of what authorities say was a massive Ponzi scheme.

9. Good will toward boy

Iraqi boy injured in missile blast to have surgery in S.F.

The details: Mustafa Ghazwan, a 3-year-old Iraqi, lost his hearing in a missile blast on June 17, 2007. Since then, a coalition of groups has mobilized to raise funds so the boy could be flown to San Francisco for surgery that will repair his hearing. Mustafa and his family arrived at San Francisco International Airport, and he will receive a donated cochlear implant during a Jan. 17 surgery at UCSF.

10. Furry lips for all!

People rang in the new year by making out with their dogs

The details: According to an end-of-the-year Zogby-Times Square New Year’s Eve National Poll, more people were planning on kissing their pooch when the New Year rolled in than another human being. Considering the smaller odds that one will contract herpes or another communicable disease from a canine than a human, the inability for a dog to back away and say, “Eeeeew,” and the cuddling opportunities afterward, this is a wonderful idea.

Bright light of the week: Dick Clark

Who: The former “American Bandstand” host and longtime New Year’s Eve icon suffered a stroke four years ago and still suffers from the effects.

What: Nevertheless, Clark hosted his 36th Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, joining us for the parties or for the quiet holidays at home once again. Clark has been the face of New Year’s Eve since he started doing the program in the 1960s, and despite his health issues and age (he is now 79), he continues to be a part of our lives. “Obviously, I’m not able to be as actively involved as I used to be,” he told The Associated Press. No, Dick, but what you do is enough for us all to feel nostalgic and happy you are still with us.