Questions about possible perjury stemming from sworn testimony by Mayor Ed Lee are intensifying, as former Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin contradicts the story the mayor presented on Friday during official misconduct proceedings against suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi.
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Whether suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi is fit to remain one of San Francisco’s top law enforcement officials consumed City Hall on Thursday and Friday with lengthy hearings that appear to have established only one clear fact so far — he forcefully grabbed and bruised his wife’s arm during a Dec. 31 argument.
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An apparent bomb threat for City Hall and another unnamed building abruptly stopped the tense official misconduct proceedings against suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi on Friday as Mayor Ed Lee — acting as a witness — answered questions from a defense attorney.The mayor was led out of the hearing room on the fourth floor of City Hall as staffers and security officials scrambled about the mayor’s second floor executive offices. However, the building was not locked down or cleared.
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Suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi testified under oath Thursday night for the first time since abusing his wife, Eliana Lopez, during a Dec. 31 argument that has thrust his political and personal life into turmoil.
The sheriff-in-limbo faced a tense but mostly foundational line of questioning before The City’s Ethics Commission in his ongoing official misconduct hearings. They were prompted when Mayor Ed Lee suspended the newly elected sheriff without pay in March after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor false imprisonment to duck three domestic violence charges.
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The 49ers sued Santa Clara County this week after hitting a bump on the road to the team’s new $1.2 billion South Bay stadium, which the team vows will still open for the 2014 football season.
The 49ers were promised $40 million in state redevelopment funding, but had received only $10 million before California eliminated redevelopment agencies. But when Santa Clara County’s redevelopment agency was dissolved and a new board named, it redirected the remaining $30 million to schools and local services. The team then sued for breach of contract.
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Stagnant interest from American investors in funding the construction of 20,000 new San Francisco homes has driven developer Lennar to a Chinese investment bank in search of $1.7 billion in startup capital.
The Miami-based housing giant is in negotiations with the China Development Bank to start construction on two city-approved redevelopment projects on former Navy bases — Hunters Point and Treasure Island — a company spokesman confirmed Monday.
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The wife of suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said she was goaded and then duped by a neighbor into talking about how she was abused by her husband, according to a sworn statement released Wednesday by The City’s Ethics Commission.
Sparks continue to fly in Mirkarimi’s ongoing official misconduct proceedings, which came about when Mayor Ed Lee suspended him without pay in March shortly after his guilty plea in a domestic violence case involving his wife, Eliana Lopez.
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Political tensions from across the Pacific have moved to San Francisco, with members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement complaining of eight assaults in as many months during demonstrations against the Chinese government.Video of one such assault at the corner of Grant and Washington streets was shown last week to the Board of Supervisors at City Hall, where demonstrators have been waving signs that say “San Francisco is not Beijing.” San Francisco police confirmed two attacks on demonstrators in June.
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A free ride on bills for 133 San Francisco utility customers has come to an abrupt end — and a year’s worth of charges for every last drop is all that remains.
Staff members at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission failed to promptly follow up on an “exceptions list” of meter readings — designed to temporarily halt large inaccurate charges that resulted from glitches — resulting in customers going a year or more without receiving monthly water or sewer bills.
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From the moment suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi learned that he could be charged with domestic violence against his wife, he started making calculations with his campaign manager on how to avoid personal and political fallout.
Mirkarimi strategized that both he and wife Eliana Lopez should initially stay silent on the matter, but that, “A loud drum beat needs to vibe that this is a political witch hunt,” according to one of the dozens of text messages released Thursday in the ongoing official misconduct proceedings before The City’s Ethics Commission.
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Like beauty, city policy is in the eye of the beholder. And just weeks after voters approved a new policy to prioritize the beautification of Coit Tower, backers of the ballot measure don’t like what they see.
Proposition B — passed by 53 percent of voters in the June 5 election — imposed a vague new policy to retain revenue earned at Coit Tower for its upkeep, and to “strictly limit” private events sporadically held there to raise funds. The policy aimed to earmark more money to fix decaying historic murals and structural problems at the 210-foot landmark.
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As environmental officials prepare to make Chinatown’s ubiquitous pink bags a thing of the past, they have begun educating merchants about The City’s expansion of its plastic bag ban. And that is how one merchant Tuesday came to stick his foot inside a light green, corn-based compostable bag, which will remain legal under the new regulations.
“Very strong,” he said of its durability.
But when the businessman, who didn’t wish to be named, asked if he would begin using them, he wasn’t so sure.
“Depends on the price,” he said.
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Suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has portrayed violence against his wife, Eliana Lopez, as a one-time mistake that made him immediately remorseful over its impact upon his family. But as The City’s Ethics Commission continues considering tonight whether Mirkarimi should be permanently removed from office, his next-door neighbors present a much different view of the family’s relationship.
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America’s Cup yacht regatta organizers are attempting to redefine sailing by offering a free show to anyone who can find a clear view of the race course on San Francisco Bay. But that’s not to say race officials will neglect sailing’s historical fan base among the rich.
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As the official misconduct proceedings against suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi lurch forward next week, The City’s legal bills are beginning to pile up.
The bulk of the public cost comes from the City Attorney’s Office case to uphold Mayor Ed Lee’s March suspension of the sheriff, but a final price tag for the process won’t be released until the saga is over.
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