Executive Park site, once set aside for offices, could be site of 3,000 homesSeventy-one acres near the Monster Park stadium may soon become home to one of San Francisco’s newest neighborhoods — giving rise to 3,000 new housing units for an estimated 8,000 residents.Executive Park, once envisioned as an office park, is now being targeted for housing developments. It is considered a sub-area of the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, but is also closely associated with nearby Visitacion Valley.
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Officials pleased there are more units in S.F. but worry that prices threaten diversityWhile the number of new housing units built last year exceeded expectations, San Francisco still needs to boost the numbers to have any impact on rental prices and housing costs.The cost of housing in San Francisco is notoriously high, having skyrocketed during the dot-com era of 1998-2000 when the average price of a three-bedroom house rose by more than $180,000 and the rent of two-bedroom apartment rose by $750, according to the Planning Department.
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Supes reject residents’ beefs that tower affects health, safety, wireless connectionsTwin Peaks residents will not see the kind of extensive review they were hoping for when it comes to the addition of more antennas on Sutro Tower.The four television stations that own the 977-foot tower have requested permission to replace four existing antennas, add another one and place four new ones on a nearby control building’s rooftop. There are 200 antennas on the tower, which was constructed 35 years ago.
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Siding with budget analyst, supes vote to reserve money that mayor had requestedMayor Gavin Newsom’s request for $2.3 million in anti-violence funding was put on hold Tuesday by a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors.The bulk of the funding was earmarked to pay for ramped-up police enforcement in high-crime areas, which began in mid-August.
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Citing shortage of officers, Newsom seeks more pay for those who delay retirementMayor Gavin Newsom has proposed a salary boost for police officers willing to postpone their retirement — something that could cost The City as much as $800,000 next year alone.The proposal comes as the Police Department, which already considers itself understaffed, struggles to attract new recruits and is facing as many as 700 retirees in the next six years.
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San Francisco’s hotel industry is by all accounts on the rebound, a fact highlighted by next week’s four-day Oracle OpenWorld Convention, which is expected to draw its largest attendance yet.Tourism is San Francisco’s No. 1 industry and every year The City collects 14 percent on all room charges. Last year, The City brought in $174 million in hotel taxes, with most going into the operating budget.
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Planning Department says it is unable to meet task of enforcing Proposition GFour years ago, voters said no to anymore billboards in San Francisco, but these illegal advertisements are still popping up throughout The City, according to city officials.The lucrative business of general advertising has posed challenges for the Planning Department, which says it has been understaffed in recent years, unable to keep up with the number of billboards and other general advertising complaints.
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Supervisor says awareness of need for measure came in wake of Officer Birco’s deathSan Francisco may begin paying for the funerals of police officers who die in the line of duty.
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Budget and Finance decides $2.5M mayor asked for to combat violence not a priorityMayor Gavin Newsom’s request for $2.5 million in anti-violence funding will likely be put on hold after a Board of Supervisors committee said Wednesday that there is no urgency for the additional money.The board’s Budget and Finance Committee approved the request Wednesday with the stipulation that the money be put on reserve. The proposal comes before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
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Supervisors’ vote to raise price takes effect Nov. 1Tourists and residents will have to fork over an additional 25 cents next month for just getting into a San Francisco cab — with fares already among the highest in the nation.Cindy Halfer, who was waiting for a Muni bus Tuesday, was not happy when she heard the news. Halfer, who uses a cab once in a while when "Muni is not the answer," said she will now have to think twice the next time she really needs a cab.
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Sponsor of bill calls project ‘unorthodox’ but needed in face of rising violent crimeIn one of the most heated political fights of the year, the Board of Supervisors succeeded in getting more police officers to walk patrol beats in high-crime areas. In an 8-3 vote Tuesday, supervisors favored requiring regular foot patrols in the vicinity of eight of the 10 San Francisco police stations.Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Michela Alioto-Pier and Sean Elsbernd voted against the legislation.
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SFPD head: Jan. 1 start ‘reduces the concern of robbing Peter to pay Paul’The police chief’s opposition to a controversial proposal to require regular foot patrols was diminished Monday after the implementation date was delayed until January 2007.
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Spokesman: Request that mayor explain anti-violence funding is ‘publicity stunt’A San Francisco supervisor wants Mayor Gavin Newsom to attend a Wednesday budget committee meeting to explain his proposal for $2.5 million in anti-violence funding.Peter Ragone, Newsom’s spokesman, called the request for the mayor to appear before supervisors a "publicity stunt."Supervisor Chris Daly, who chairs the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee, has twice refused to hold a hearing on Newsom’s request for funding, saying he was not provided with enough details.
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The City’s Planning Department believes it’s on the right track in coming up with development plans for the eastern neighborhoods, but some city supervisors and now a public policy think tank are trying to raise the bar.Supervisor Sophie Maxwell drafted a resolution asking the Planning Department to meet some very high goals for development and zoning plans for San Francisco’s eastern neighborhoods — the Mission District, South of Market, Potrero Hill and the Central Waterfront.
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Agency stresses revenue but critics don’t like message; Ammiano drafts resolutionA recent decision by BART to allow alcohol advertising in its stations and cars has come under fire from the Board of Supervisors.Last month, the BART board of directors approved a new policy that lifted a long-time prohibition on alcohol advertising. The decision makes BART the only local transit agency that allows alcohol advertising.
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