When I was in high school, both of my older brothers played soccer. To kill time after school while they practiced, I became the “soccer manager.” This was a strange title, because I didn’t “manage” anything or anyone. All I did was fill Gatorade bottles and make sure the equipment was on the bus. This experience reminds me of the presidency of the Board of Supervisors. Because being the president of the board comes with about as much authority as being the soccer manager. Read More

Starting in July, each member of the board was allocated $100,000 in city funds to spend as they chose. Halfway through the fiscal year, some supervisors have spent all or a portion of their allocations, others none at all. The spending varies from community events to rebuilding playgrounds, and provides a glimpse of the respective supervisors’ priorities. Read More

After Friday’s tragic shootings in Connecticut, all eyes are on President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s efforts to introduce federal gun control legislation. But real action is happening on the local and state level, too. As a number of states have Democratic legislatures and governors — including Illinois, Colorado, Massachusetts, Connecticut and, of course, California — look for them to dust off previously shelved gun control laws. Read More

While David Chiu is considered the odds-on favorite to become the first person to lead the Board of Supervisors for three straight terms, no fewer than four colleagues are jockeying to replace him as president. Moderate Supervisors Malia Cohen and Scott Wiener and progressives David Campos and Jane Kim are all seeking the post, City Hall sources say. Progressive supervisors first elected Chiu as their president in 2009, but two years later he cut a deal with moderates to secure a subsequent term. Read More