City officials not only want to limit where smokers can light up in San Francisco, they’re also trying new ways to discourage them from chucking their cigarette butts on sidewalks and streets.
The Department of Public Works announced at a press conference today that it has partnered with a neighborhood group to test three types of public ashtray canisters, hoping to find a solution to the illegal dumping of butts.
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Nearly 9,000 doses of pediatric swine flu vaccines sent to The City were part of a nationwide recall that hinges on the potency of the shots.
Across the U.S., approximately 800,000 doses of the prefilled syringes made by Sanofi Pasteur — the world’s leading vaccine specialist — were distributed in November. The vaccine, which was tested before being shipped, was found to have diminished in strength in subsequent testing, leading to the voluntary recall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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San Franciscans would see a bevy of more “no smoking” signs in The City if legislation introduced Tuesday is approved.
As The Examiner reported in November, Supervisor Eric Mar reignited the stalled legislation that would forbid smoking in a slew of new settings, adding to existing bans in bars, restaurants, parks, transit stops and taxis.
The bill would expand no-smoking zones to include farmers’ markets, outdoor seating areas of restaurants, cafes and coffee shops, and common areas of multiunit housing complexes.
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A return to negotiations last week did not prove fruitful for the ongoing hotel labor dispute, as workers plan to stage a two-day “siege” at the downtown W Hotel starting Wednesday.
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Mayor Gavin Newsom has set off on a trip today that will fly him to Las Vegas and Washington D.C., the latter trip to lobby for The City, his spokesman said.
The mayor is scheduled to pitch a speech to labor groups on access to health care in Las Vegas, said Joe Arellano, Newsom’s spokesman.
Then he flies off to Washington D.C. and “has a full day packed” Wednesday, Arellano said.
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One would think the official start of the Terry Childs trial would harbor enough drama to keep a high-tech city on the edge of its seat.
But the relentless barrage of computer jargon that saturated the trial’s opening statements in a San Francisco courtroom Monday had the judge wondering if jurors and court officials could be kept from falling asleep.
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The new voice of the Mayor’s Office has been revealed.
Tony Winnicker, who has been the public information officer for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, is the new communications director for Newsom, according to the Mayor’s Office.
Winnicker replaces Nathan Ballard, who left the administration in early November. Ballard had served in that role since February 2007.
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A plaque will be presented Friday to building representatives with the Transamerica Pyramid to acknowledge a newly secured gold rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system, according to publicists Singer Associates.
Gold is the penultimate ranking in the LEED system, which was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Mayor Gavin Newsom plans to attend the 10 a.m. ceremony, according to spokesman Joe Arellano.
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Legal wrangling that is heating up continues to keep the new sanctuary city policy, which went into place Thursday, in legal limbo.
The supervisor who drafted the legislation — which changes how The City reports illegal immigrant youths to federal authorities if they are arrested for a felony — called on the city attorney to investigate whether Mayor Gavin Newsom can ignore the law passed by the Board of Supervisors.
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Supervisor Chris Daly wasn’t about to accept the compliment that Mayor Gavin Newsom paid him Thursday morning.
At a press conference, Newsom called Daly, his main nemesis on the Board of Supervisor, “a smart guy” that should know better than to mislead the public when insulting the mayor’s budget policies.
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Mayor Gavin Newsom will lobby to extend a federal program that temporarily pays employers 100 percent of a newly hired worker’s salary.
The JobsNow program is funded by federal stimulus dollars and offers to pay all of a worker’s salary through September, except for benefits.
Employers are also required to pay payroll taxes for the employees.
The new hire must have a dependent, including spouse or child, but that dependent does not have to live with the worker for the employee to receive program benefits, Newsom said.
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Mayor Gavin Newsom will make an announcement about a new jobs milestone this morning at the Laundry Locker at 1530 Cluster St.
He will also unveil a strategy to “leverage additional resources for job growth,” according to the Mayor’s Office.
Stay tuned.
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BART officials expect the investigation into Wednesday’s train derailment to take “several days, if not weeks,” an agency spokesman said.A northbound BART train carrying 75 people derailed about 10:25 a.m. Wednesday near the Oakland City Center/12th Street station. No one was injured, as the train had been moving relatively slowly, authorities said.
Two passengers complained of chest pain following the accident and were taken, in stable condition, to an Oakland hospital, Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Jenny Ray said.
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More staffing changes in Mayor Gavin Newsom’s administration have been announced since the mayor’s departure from the governor’s race.
The mayor recently hired Yashar Hedayat, who worked on his gubernatorial campaign, as deputy chief of staff in charge of operations, said spokesman Joe Arellano.
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The reluctance of The City’s homeless to seek shelter could result in unnecessary deaths this winter, according to Mayor Gavin Newsom.
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