Mayor Gavin Newsom offered a thumbs-up today regarding a plan to build a 200-kilowatt hydroelectric plant at a Portola District reservoir.
The project is the first in San Francisco to generate clean energy from excess, previously untapped water pressure in The City’s water distribution system, the Mayor’s Office said in a release.
The plant will be built at the University Mound Reservoir, which provides drinking water to eastern districts of The City including the Marina, South of Market and Treasure and Yerba Buena islands, it said.
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Spending $250 million on anything raises eyebrows.
But since it means San Franciscans will be able to drink water after a massive earthquake, it is money well spent, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
The agency recently approved construction of a 3.5-mile-long water delivery tunnel that is seismically superior to an existing 78-year-old tunnel. Like the aging tunnel, the new tunnel will deliver water from the Hetch Hetchy Water System to 2.5 million Bay Area customers.
The existing tunnel is called The Irvington Tunnel.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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