Mayor: ‘The fact that recidivism rates are as high as they are suggests that we are not doing justice to the system’The lack of proper assistance for parolees is directly tied to San Francisco’s high homicide rate, Mayor Gavin Newsom said during an all-day summit Wednesday aimed at keeping people who are released from custody on the right side of the law."We’re never going to succeed in dealing with the crime and violence issue unless we succeed in giving people hope and rehabilitating them and giving them alternatives," Newsom said.
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S.F. Taxi Commission must devise health care plan for drivers first, supervisors sayTaxicab fares may not increase for at least another six months, after a Board of Supervisors committee refused to endorse on Wednesday a recommendation from The City’s Taxicab Commission to raise fares by 75 cents on Nov. 1.The commission had voted on Tuesday to raise the "flag drop," so instead of a cabdriver starting the meter at $2.85, the meter would start at $3.60.
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Meeting of city officials seeks ways to keep parolees from committing new crimesIn a concerted effort to reduce the unprecedented violent crime rate in San Francisco, city officials gather today for an all-day summit to figure out ways to keep those released from jails from committing more crimes.
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Supervisors pass proposal outlining chain of command for S.F. homeland securityFollowing six months of sharp criticism of The City’s emergency planning department, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that clarifies the department’s chain of command and establishes qualifications for the top three emergency heads.
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As The City continues closed-door negotiations with Google and Earthlink to blanket San Francisco with a wireless Internet network, an alternative notion of a city-owned Wi-Fi captured the imaginations of some supervisors.The City is expected to wrap up negotiations with the two Internet companies by the end of the year, and the contract will then come before the Board of Supervisors for approval.When voting on the agreement, supervisors will also have to decide if a city-owned wireless network is a better way to go.
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S.F.’s high cost of living cited as rationale for adjustmentBeginning Jan. 1, San Francisco’s lowest-paid workers will receive a 3.6 percent raise, bringing their hourly rate to $9.14.Since 2004, The City has required employers to pay workers a higher minimum wage than the rest of California, after city voters approved a minimum wage law at the polls in November 2003.
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The City should protect school-age children of families who are evicted because the traumatic upheaval often causes their grades to drop and mars their future, according to one city supervisor.Supervisor Jake McGoldrick has drafted legislation that would require The City’s Rent Board to collect data about how many school-age children are evicted and present the numbers in a report issued annually March 1. He also has authored a resolution urging the San Francisco Unified School District to track students who are forced to change schools due to an eviction.
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Full board to vote on plan allowing landlords to share cost of tax hike with tenantsIn a move that could quell opposition to the $450 million school facilities bond on the November ballot, a Board of Supervisors committee supported legislation Tuesday that would ensure all future bonds include a provision permitting building owners to pass on 50 percent of the costs to tenants.
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Board tentatively votes to add Tenderloin, Mission and Ingleside to pilot beatsDespite the police chief’s warning of increased costs and slower response times, city supervisors still want to require foot patrols — and now they want them in even more neighborhoods.Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has drafted legislation that would require the Police Department to have at least one officer out on the streets in his district, which includes the Western Addition, Inner Sunset and the Haight, an area policed by the Northern and Park police district stations.
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Postponement sought after supervisor pushes need for sex worker industry reviewProposed restrictions on massage parlors, which authorities say are often a front for prostitution, were delayed as one supervisor argued that a more comprehensive review of the sex worker industry in San Francisco was needed.
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San Francisco’s more than 6,000 public housing units are in jeopardy as the federal government has, for the fifth consecutive year, slashed their operating budget.City supervisors, Mayor Gavin Newsom and public housing advocates are lobbying the federal government to fully fund San Francisco’s Housing Authority.
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Residential property owners may soon have to install screens in windows of their housing units, block up any cracks where rats could sneak through and prohibit smoking in common areas — or face hundreds of dollars in fines.The City’s Department of Public Health and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi have drafted legislation aimed at improving housing conditions for tenants in San Francisco."We are trying to make housing healthy and higher quality for everybody," said Rajiv Bhatia, director of Occupational and Environmental Health.
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With San Francisco’s busiest convention season on the horizon, 13 major hotels struck a deal with a labor union Tuesday that gives 4,200 workers an increase in benefits and wages and the right to organize at new hotels.For two years, Unite Here Local 2 has battled with the hotels — collectively known as the Multi-Employer Group — over terms of a labor agreement. The union has called for a boycott of the hotels, and in August workers authorized a strike.
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With San Francisco’s busiest convention season on the horizon, 13 major hotels struck a deal with a labor union Tuesday that gives 4,200 workers an increase in benefits and wages and the right to organize at new hotels.For two years, Unite Here Local 2 has battled with the hotels — collectively known as the Multi-Employer Group — over terms of a labor agreement. The union has called for a boycott of the hotels, and in August workers authorized a strike.
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Market Street property owners bordering the Tenderloin district hope to form a community benefit district in an effort to clean the area up and decrease crime, but critics say it will result in an unjust attack on the homeless.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/people/joshua-sabatini?page=152
