Skip to Navigation Skip to Content

Mike Aldax

Union, hotels talking again

Talks are set to resume Thursday between hotel management and workers, though union officials say they have “very low expectations” of an agreement being reached. Unite Here! Local 2, the union representing 9,000 employees at 61 San Francisco hotels, will be entering Day 3 of a strike at the downtown Palace Hotel. The walkout, involving about 350 workers, is expected to end Friday morning. Read More

Vaccine shortage persists

Getty Images
With peak flu season swiftly approaching, demand for H1N1 vaccines in San Francisco continues to outweigh supply. The nationwide shortage caused by delays in the production and distribution of the swine flu vaccine for states has California health officials fearing that those most at risk of contracting the fast-spreading virus will not be vaccinated before the end of December. The height of flu season occurs anytime between late November and March, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More

Will Newsom talk about Rev. Williams?

It will be interesting to see if Mayor Gavin Newsom can continue ignoring the media at a celeb-packed event Thursday to honor Rev. Cecil Williams. Newsom is one of a number of big-timers listed to attend a lavish ceremony at the San Francisco Opera House honoring Williams’ 45th anniversary with Glide, the Tenderloin-based foundation and church that has long served The City’s poor and disenfranchised. Event organizers list poet Maya Angelou, actor Danny Glover, San Francisco Giants President Larry Baer and other big-shot attendees. Read More

Newsom speaks — via Twitter

Mayor Gavin Newsom actually said something publicly today — on Twitter. The mayor, who has been giving the media the silent treatment for 12 days now, broke an equally unusual silence on Twitter Tuesday. Newsom is known to love his Twitter account, having announced his candidacy for governor on the site and at one point using it almost daily to make announcements about his campaign or city initiatives. Read More

Newsom Tracker: 12th day of silence

San Francisco City Hall is closed to the public on Veterans Day, and it seems that will also be the case for Mayor Gavin Newsom. The mayor has no public events or appearances on today’s schedule. It has been 12 days now since the mayor has spoken to the press about issues. He last addressed the media in City Hall on Oct. 30 regarding a Bay oil spill that occurred early that morning. Read More

Xmas trees on Powell pruned for holidays

City crews recently pruned 20 New Zealand Christmas trees on Powell Street between Market and Ellis streets, an annual holiday tradition conducted before the glut of shoppers swarm the area to buy gifts. The Department of Public Works announced the completion of the project on Twitter.   Read More

SFGH neighbors continue helipad fight

A Potrero Hill group continues to fight the possibility that San Francisco General Hospital will build a helipad. The so-called Neighbors of San Francisco General Hospital – which operates the Web site, www.stophelipad.com – is hosting a fundraiser for the effort Saturday at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House. The cost to attend in $100. “There’s a state bill that will require SFGH to build a helipad and we need to fight that bill,” according to an advertisement for the fundraiser. Read More

Anti-graffiti coursework starts in schools

There’s a big difference between art and vandalism – and the former is certainly more productive than the latter. That’s the key lesson in new anti-graffiti courses being implemented at six San Francisco Unified School District schools. Read More

Newsom Tracker: 11th day of silence

Today will presumably be another day in San Francisco without Mayor Gavin Newsom – as far as we know. The mayor’s schedule indicates no public events or meetings at City Hall. Newsom has not talked issues with the local press since Oct. 30, when he quit the 2010 governor’s race. That time period is long enough to launch a daily counter – it’s now been 11 days of relative silence. Are we having fun yet? Read More

Mural artist stabbed while working on piece

Cindy Chew/The Examiner
A San Francisco artist who was chosen by city officials to paint a mural on Market Street was stabbed last weekend, and his paint was stolen while working on the piece. Glen Park resident Jason Hailey, known among artists as “Chor Boogie,” has been painting a 100-foot-long mural in the 1000 block of Market Street as part of a series of city projects intended to beautify the seedy strip and attract more pedestrians and bicyclists. But on Saturday, the aerosol artist became a victim of that effort. Read More

Newsom sits in on hotel talks

No resolution was in sight Monday for The City’s growing hotel labor dispute — despite involvement of Mayor Gavin Newsom, who rushed home from a Hawaiian vacation last week to address the clash. The City’s major hotel chains are trying to hammer out deals with their workers to avoid a strike, which could cripple The City’s tourism industry. The union contract expired Aug. 14. Read More

Artist may have applauded DPW upgrades

The late North Beach artist Peter Macchiarini might have applauded the crafty sculpting job accomplished by the Department of Public Works. On Friday, city crews finished work on refurbishing a steep set of steps on Kearny Street between Broadway and Vallejo streets that are named after Macchiarini, an award-winning jeweler, sculptor and photographer. You can view the DPW’s finished product here. Read More

Newsom Tracker: Silent treatment persists

Mayor Gavin Newsom has been giving the media the silent treatment for 10 days now, and doesn’t appear ready to end that streak today. The mayor has yet to speak to the press or appear at a city event since he dropped out of the 2010 governor’s race on Oct. 30. Today will not see a break in that trend, spokesman Nathan Ballard said. Read More

Rev. Canon Sally Bingham on the religious case for environmentalism

courtesy photo
The author of “Love God Heal Earth: 21 Leading Religious Voices Speak Out on Our Sacred Duty to Protect the Environment” is a homemaker-turned- priest trying to reverse global warming from the pulpit. She is an environmental minister at Grace Cathedral, site of the annual Energy Oscars on Tuesday. Read More

The race for government transparency

The scorecard has been published on the race to see which San Francisco agency is most eager to increase its transparency. Mayor Gavin Newsom in recent months announced the launch of DataSf.org, a Web site where The City publishes all kinds of government information in hopes that tech professionals will harness it and make user-friendly applications. Newsom has called on city agencies to release as much data as possible as soon as possible. Read More
URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/user/178/178?page=171&%3Bamp%3Bfield_author_value=&quicktabs_6=0