We are not going to kid ourselves: these are challenging times. The news out of Sacramento and Washington, D.C., every day reinforces the reality that local governments and cities will have to continue to do more with less. Today, more than ever, San Francisco is uniquely poised to innovate and take a different approach to solving our challenges. Read More

San Francisco is closer than ever to reforming its business tax code to better encourage job growth. Today’s system, which levies a 1.5 percent payroll tax on all businesses with a total payroll in excess of $250,000, has been scrutinized, studied and challenged for a decade, yet no alternative has come close to becoming a reality — until now. Read More

As California’s Legislature churns toward Friday’s deadline for a new state budget, the macro-issues are well known, such as whether health, welfare and child care services should be slashed by billions of dollars to close the deficit. However, other aspects of the budget wrangle go largely unnoticed, such as the march into secrecy — or, more accurately, sneakiness. Read More

Last week, Supervisor Eric Mar took the curious step of publicly standing with union members who are locked in protracted contract negotiations with what he acknowledged in an opinion piece are two of The City’s “crowning jewels” — the de Young and Legion of Honor museums. Read More