The $83,000 voluntary spending-limit in three city supervisor races was lifted for the Nov. 7 election.The City’s Ethics Commission, the agency that oversees campaign finance rules, lifted the spending limit for the races in districts 2, 4 and 10. The spending limit remains in place for the two other city supervisor races in districts 6 and 8.District 4 is considered the "dog-fight," as incumbent Fiona Ma bowed out to run for the state Assembly’s 12th District, leaving the field open for a newcomer. Read More

A hundred armed National Guard troops at San Francisco International Airport are protecting a rental car facility and patrolling the airport perimeter, a service that Oakland International Airport can apparently do without, having refused the 50 troops they were offered.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered 300 National Guardsmen to three of the state’s major airports: SFO, Los Angeles International and Oakland International. The nation’s threat level, set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, remains the highest since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Read More

A loophole in a 2002 piece of legislation may soon be closed and renters may be splitting the cost of future bond measures with their landlords. Currently, if the cost of a bond is going to be split between tenants and a landlord, specific language stating that fact must appear on the ballot measure. A proposal submitted Tuesday by Supervisor Tom Ammiano would make the cost split of all bonds automatic. Read More

At least 10 Iranian graduates of a prestigious engineering school were detained by immigration officials at the San Francisco International Airport on Thursday and refused entry into the United States, according to the school’s alumni association.The graduates, all carrying valid U.S. visas, were in route to Santa Clara for a three-day gathering of alumni of the Tehran-based Sharif University of Technology, according to Fredun Hojabri, founding president of the university’s alumni association and a retired University of California, San Diego, professor. Read More

Bill would supersede local, state law, make $2.13 hourly the base for tipped workersWaiters, bellhops and other San Francisco workers who receive tips may soon see their wages drop by nearly $7 an hour. As early as this Friday, the U.S. Senate could vote on Republican-sponsored legislation that city officials say would pre-empt The City’s minimum wage law for tipped workers and set their salaries at a minimum wage of $2.13 an hour, a $6.69 reduction in pay. The House of Representatives approved the measure last Saturday. Read More

Small Business Commission study finds crucial process is complicated and costlySan Francisco’s small businesses face an uphill battle, and often a costly one, when trying to obtain city permits.A new report, commissioned by The City’s Small Business Commission, says there are "serious deficiencies" in the permitting process for small businesses."As many small-size-business owners can tell you, the city permitting process is a labyrinth, to say the least," said Jordanna Thigpen, the commission president. Read More