Archive for November, 2010

Taking a page from the City’s ChinaSF program, the Chronicle reports that Mayor Gavin Newsom will announce the opening of another biotech company in Mission Bay today, which will spur the need for a newly created position that will solely focus on getting SF’s biotech groove on.

The San Francisco Police Department is considering a new rule that would restrict police officers’ ability to shoot at moving cars.

The Bayview is poised to get more organic fruits and veggies thanks to an investment by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.  The local Super Save grocery store will be expanded to include healthier options… and nope, Happy Meals will not be available with your grass fed beef and locally sourced tomatoes.  Don’t even ask.

…or not, thanks to the City’s persistence!  San Francisco officials are credited with pressuring PG&E to make sure that all of San Francisco’s gas lines (and manhole covers, transponders, and other gas-related-thing-a-ma-jiggies) are up to par and as safe as possible.  Kudos to the folks over at City Hall for being ahead of the curve on this one!

At yesterday’s Board of Supes meeting, the effort to place an initiative on the June ballot to do away with ranked-choice voting fell short on a 6-5 vote. But hold the phone!! The sponsors may bring it directly to the people to qualify the measure for a November ballot.

Under a new measure, SFMTA employees are now required to pay for parking on department property - just like everyone else.

And by VIP, I mean Muni and bikes.  In hopes to promote the use of public transportation in San Francisco, the SFMTA is proposing to create 250 miles of transit-only lanes and 100 bike-only lanes in San Francisco.  I can already hear the angry drivers coming…

Buy a paper, borrow one at a coffeeshop, or wait ’till Tuesday to read M&R and Willie Brown.  I’ve got it on my Kindle - so here’s your Sunday Summary: Mayor Willie Brown talks up the winners and losers from the election.  One winner, actually: Jean Quan.  His list of losers: Don Perata, the California Republican Party, Aaron Peskin and the DCCC, Meg Whitman - and himself.  Read up for details.  Also: how Ranked Choice Voting is working, real estate, and movie reviews.  Matier and Ross talk about the Mayor’s race - with Hennessey, Harrington and Kawa getting mentions and where Board President David Chiu stands.  They also touch upon Ranked Choice Voting, bridge politics, and why California didn’t go Republican.

Supervisor Eric Mar introduces legislation to de-grease our sewers a bit - targeting those very restaurants that load our City’s underground arteries with the sticky stuff.

As State Senator Leland Yee officially throws his hat into the ring for the 2011 San Francisco mayoral race, others start lining up to take his seat in Sacramento.

San Francisco (and some influential political types) welcomes the Clinic by the Bay, a health care clinic with an unusual staffing model that gives failed retirees another chance to help out.  And with various partners throughout the medical community, this is a great example of what happens when we all chip in to contribute.  Welcome, welcome!

If you thought life was a breeze for street food vendors, think again. Today, we learn about the opposition street food vendors are facing throughout several San Francisco neighborhoods and why they might have to pony up $1,000 to claim their desired business locations.

Former San Francisco Police Chief Alex Fagan Sr. has passed away - a cop’s cop no longer walks the beat.  A man of intensity, great good humor, an entrepreneurial spirit, and an eye for the spotlight, has passed away.  San Francisco is a bit less vibrant and exciting today, and we’re all a tiny bit smaller for it.

Due to staff shortages at the Department of Public health, a large number of San Francisco restaurants are still waiting for their turns to get inspected (which frankly, has me a bit worried).  While we continue to eat food that we hope is safe and clean, Health Commission President James Illig is making sure the inspection process is underway ASAP.

With the election over (in most cases, anyway), the business community is keeping a close eye on what the changes in political leadership will mean for their businesses and job development.  Plus, in an op-ed, Marc Intermaggio of BOMA tells us how we can create local jobs in the wake of the election.

Soggy paper? Yes. Titillating words from our pals Matier & Ross and former Mayor Willie Brown? Hell yes. Throw on your poncho and hit the nearest newsstand for the scoop on how the political careers of many of our recently elected representatives are tied together. Plus, more opinions on who will become mayor, the still yet-to-be-decided race for attorney general, and more.

Our local New York Times affiliate takes a look at what Lieutenant Gov-elect Gavin Newsom’s world will look like when he takes on his new role.

The suspense is over!  Well, at least preliminarily.  And… wait for it… it looks like Mark Farrell in D2, Jane Kim in D6, Scott Wiener in D8, and Malia Cohen in D10.  

Oh, and Carmen Chu in D4.

BAR covers the San Francisco School Board race, noting that no openly gay candidates won a seat on Tuesday’s election.

The SPUR Election Wrapup, which traditionally takes place the day after the election, and features Stats and Campaign Whiz David Latterman and some other guy breaking down what happened, was postponed one day in deference to the Giants parade and is taking place TODAY: 12:30pm, THURSDAY - free to SPUR members and five bucks for everyone else.  See you there…

Steven Hill writes about ranked-choice voting and how it impacted the mayoral race in Oaktown (and in other places).

The Right Honorable Nancy Pelosi, longtime congresswoman from one of San Francisco’s two congressional districts, and Speaker of the House for these past four years, will no longer be Speaker come January.  Many people are speculating about What It All Means - might she step down as minority leader?  Might she resign her seat in Congress?  Might she decide to throw her hat in the ring as mayor?  She knows what she’s doing, and she’s not telling anyone who’s gossipy, so nothing that’s making the rounds right now is conclusive, folks.  But here’s one perspective: after having Obama and Reid and Boehner and the Clintons on speed-dial, is she really gonna want to walk over to the Board of Supervisors Chambers once a month to go through Question Time?  Like I said - I’m just sayin’.

 Here they are, all in one place - all the stories we’ve found about the San Francisco ballot measures and candidate races. Enjoy!

Board of Education: Hydra Mendoza, Kim-Shree Maufas, Emily Murase

Community College Board: John Rizzo, Lawrence Wong, Anita Greer

BART Director, District 8: James Fang

Assessor-Recorder: Phil Ting

Public Defender: Jeff Adachi

Superior Court Judge: Richard Ulmer

It’s official: another election is on the books.  Well, sort of.  As the books keep coming in, the results keep changing - and given the high number of candidates in some of our districts (ahem, D10), we’ve seen some flip-flopping tonight insofar as the elusive results go.  What’s on this site now is current as of 11:44pm with 100% of precincts reporting.