In the early evening of Oct. 3, 2005, Francesca Simone barely escaped joining the 13 pedestrians killed by vehicles in San Francisco in the last year.The 32-year-old was walking home from her job as a baker and, as she was crossing Taraval Street at 33rd Avenue, a red Honda Prelude, racing at about 15 miles per hour over the speed limit, hit her and sped off.Simone nearly died and spent months undergoing a series of life-saving operations. She now has permanent brain damage, which prevents her from working and has robbed her of her independence.
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Constructed more than five years ago as a warehouse to provide temporary winter housing for the county's homeless, Safe Harbor Shelter is scheduled to get a facelift within weeks.The shelter, which now serves almost 500 people a year, will spend $1.4 million in state and federal earmarks from the county to add partitions for sleeping privacy, counseling offices, a community lounge and loft sleeping dormitory.
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The historic F-line streetcars that run along Market Street and the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf may find their tracks extended out to Fort Mason under a proposal floated by the U.S. Park Service.The extension could run trains past the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park and through a currently abandoned rail tunnel, directly to the heavily usedFort Mason Center.
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The Board of Supervisors voted to shut down the county's day labor center in North Fair Oaks on Tuesday after less than 10 months in operation, citing a lack of response by employers."We want to try a new way to see if it's better," said Madelyn Martin, of the county Human Services Agency. Despite outreach to contractors and other employers by El Concilio, the nonprofit that stepped up to run the center, too few showed up at the center, leaving laborers to look for work on the streets, Martin said.
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The decision by an Alameda County judge on Monday to tentatively halt the exit exam for California high school students was a surprise twist in what has been a contentious, emotional debate.It also reminded us of just how low our standards and expectations have fallen when it comes to our public schools.
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San Francisco employers will gather at City Hall today to learn how to green their employees' commutes without laying out too much green of their own.The San Francisco Department of the Environment and 511 are hosting an employer transportation fair today to present employers with alternate commute options to driving. Faiz Khan, transportation demand management coordinator with the Department of Environment, said the purpose of the event was to reduce pollution and congestion by reducing the number of cars on the road.
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The County Counsel’s Office could take up an investigation into alleged election violations by a Superior Court judgeship candidate, after the District Attorney’s Office determined it had a conflict of interest.Preliminary discussions between the District Attorney’s Office and the County Counsel’s Office indicate no violation occurred, according to the letter sent to the attorney general.
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Nurses at the county-run hospital will walk off the job for two days beginning next Wednesday, if a last-minute agreement on salary and benefits isn't reached, nurses union representatives announced Monday.
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It was 3:30 a.m. Friday by the time both houses of the state Legislature finally passed a $37.3 billion package of four infrastructure bonds for the November ballot. Legislative leaders, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and media commentators called this agreement one of the most significant bipartisan achievements in recent memory. Such praise is well deserved.
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Beleaguered fitness professionals and school nurses are leading efforts to reduce student obesity by adding private gym-style fitness classes, revamping campus lunch menus and phasing out sodas and high-fat vending snacks despite budget and staffing cuts.
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Beleaguered fitness professionals and school nurses are leading efforts to reduce student obesity by adding private gym-style fitness classes, revamping campus lunch menus and phasing out sodas and high-fat vending snacks despite budget and staffing cuts.
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Even as it faces a record deficit of its own, the county Harbor District is deferring rent for five of its tenants to help them beat hard times.The district board voted Wednesday to defer rent for three months for three restaurants and two sports fishing businesses that rent space at Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, Harbor District General Manager Peter Grenell said.
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Houseboat owners, fishermen and recreational boaters might have to pay higher fees beginning in July as the county Harbor District moves to narrow its largest budget shortfall in recent history.The district — which oversees operations for Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay and Oyster Point Marina in South San Francisco — is facing a deficit of about $573,000. Pillar Point in particular has been hit hard by a loss of revenue due to restrictions on salmon fishing, the closure of Devil’s Slide and cool, overcast weather, Harbor District General Manager Peter Grenell said.
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After her husband died four years ago, leaving $2 million in medical bills, Connie Mack decided that she didn’t want to leave a similar burden for her two grown sons. "I realized the cost of what I had to face, and that no one is around with the kind of money to take care of me if anything happens," said Mack, 71, a native of San Francisco.
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Web tagging has nothing to do with spray paint and isn’t illegal. But it does have something in common with the gang tagging seen on freeway overpasses: It is a way to show the masses what you think is cool.
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