With no shortage of drum circles, frequent poetry readings and a wide array of artists’ jobs, San Francisco is one of the most cultural cities in the country, more cultural than even New York City, according to a new report.San Francisco bested New York City in all of the seven measures the Urban Institute used to rank 50 metro cities in a report titled "Cultural Vitality in Communities."
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The Board of Supervisors has abandoned the idea of holding a special off-site meeting at Mayor Gavin Newsom’s January town hall meeting, but the controversy over the board’s — and the voters’ — desire to have the mayor engage with supervisors in a question-and-answer forum is by no means over.
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Plans to ramp up enforcement of sidewalk maintenance, championed by Mayor Gavin Newsom during his State of The City address in October, continue to move forward despite lingering concerns.Property owners are responsible for the sidewalks adjacent to their property, according to state and city laws, and of the 5,298 city blocks of sidewalk, only 106 are The City’s responsibility, with the rest falling to property owners to pay out of pocket to maintain.
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An influential lobbying firm that also contributes money to candidates running for the Board of Supervisors was granted a three-year city contract for up to $175,000, drawing criticism from some supervisors who said they opposed it on principle. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority, made up of members of the Board of Supervisors, voted 6-3 Tuesday to approve a contract with Barbary Coast Consulting to perform public outreach when it comes to a slew of transit projects, including the Van Ness and Geary Boulevard bus rapid transit projects.
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If Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to meet regularly with supervisors in the community instead of at City Hall, his office may end up paying for it.Newsom announced last week that on Jan. 13 he would hold the first-ever "policy town hall meeting" in the Richmond district in response to the passage of Proposition I, a nonbinding policy statement that says the mayor should appear once a month at a Board of Supervisors meeting. The measure, which proponents say is modeled on the British House of Commons "question time" with the prime minister, received 56 percent voter approval on Nov. 7.
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A $1.2 billion development plan to transform Treasure Island into a vibrant, transit-friendly community for 13,500 residents is on its way to becoming a reality after the Board of Supervisors endorsed it on Tuesday.The plan includes 6,000 housing units with 30 percent below market rate, 300 acres of parkland and 235,000 square feet of retail space.With the board’s support, the private development team leading the project will begin negotiations to acquire the island from the U.S. Navy, which used it during World War II as a base.
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Self-defense, or a deliberate choice to gun down police officers to avoid an arrest — those are the two very different scenarios a jury is faced with as it begins deliberations today in the trial of a self-acknowledged gang member who shot and killed a San Francisco police officer more than two years ago.
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As Mayor Gavin Newsom gets ready to present his budget for next year by June 1, he will have to close a $64 million projected shortfall in The City’s operating budget, significantly less than was anticipated earlier this year, according to a report released Friday by the Mayor’s Budget Office.The projection marks the second consecutive year that San Francisco has faced a sizably lower shortfall than originally forecast, a fact city officials attribute to an economic turnaround.
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As city supervisors deliberated Thursday on a voter-backed policy to have the mayor attend monthly board meetings, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that his counterproposal would be implemented Jan. 13, further straining relations between him and the board.The latest political spat between the Board of Supervisors and Newsom is centered around the implementation of Proposition I, a nonbinding policy statement — which was backed by 56 percent of the voters Nov. 7 — that said the mayor should appear once a month at a Board of Supervisors meeting.
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A major proposal to transform Treasure Island into a unique, vibrant neighborhood using "green" materials, incorporating alternative energy and centered around public transit was praised in concept Wednesday by city officials as they attempted to hash out better protections for The City. Years in the making, the proposal by a private development team would level nearly all the existing structures on the 450-acre Treasure Island and make way for the neighborhood, which would include 6,000 homes, 235,000 square feet of retail and 13,500 new residents.
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Mayor Gavin Newsom’s attempt to beef up enforcement of sidewalk maintenance at the expense of property owners has come under fire by one city official.In the coming months, the Department of Public Works may force hundreds of property owners to pay for repairs to damaged sidewalks adjacent to their properties, as required by state and local laws. Repair costs range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
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The former head of The City’s emergency planning, who has consistently come under attack by the Board of Supervisors, was once again in its cross hairs Monday as they recommended to eliminate her latest position at the Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security.
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By the end of next year, a piazza covering a section of Vallejo Street in North Beach could replace a city block and help transform the area into an international landmark, say project advocates.The piazza, which was dreamt up by famed poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who also owns City Lights Bookstore, is intended to create a public gathering space replete with benches, trees and a "starving poets podium."
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Facing a community that shunned him for having AIDs, Ryan White became a prominent advocate of those suffering from the deadly disease, educating the world and inspiring compassion."Because of the misunderstood disease called AIDS my life changed overnight," said Jeanne White-Ginder, White’s mother. She was in San Francisco to participate in World AIDS Day, a day to remember those who lost their lives to the disease and to re-energize efforts to halt its spread.
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Construction to accommodate 780 beds at the city-operated Laguna Honda hospital is under way and on budget, while the fate of a building for another 420 beds remains uncertain.Laguna Honda Hospital serves about 1,050 long-term patients, but the existing city-operated facility is in violation of state hospital codes, which prompted the need for the rebuild. The project originally called for the construction of four buildings totaling 1,200 beds, but escalation of construction costs resulted in the project being scaled back.
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