Archive for July, 2011

Some bike lanes in San Francisco are proving to be slicker than initially predicted.

The Examiner takes a look at the economic challenges facing the Fillmore district.

Supervisor Scott Wiener is asking our Planning Commission to reconsider how we process proposed banks for various locations, and whether they should be treated as chain stores when going through the City’s approval process. Apparently, a street filled with banks closed at 5pm and on Sundays isn’t the most exciting aspect of life in San Francisco. Go figure.

The SF Business Times weighs in on how the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has managed its planned move to the Big City.

Barbary Coast Consulting has an office for rent. It’s affordable AND you get the lovely company of the team that brings you Usual Suspects every morning. I mean, what’s better than that?!?

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No, NKOTB will not be performing at your local fire station, but excitement over the headline got you here, didn’t it? Now that I have your attention, the Examiner tells us about new additions to the SFFD, replacing four high-ranking officials who recently retired.

The SF Weekly takes a critical look at San Francisco’s large number of city commissions and questions whether all of them are really necessary.

Quite the San Francisco contingency jet-set to Washington, D.C. yesterday to hobnob with the Giants and President Obama as he honored our World Series Champions: LT and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, current Mayor Ed Lee, Board President David Chiu, and former Supervisor Tom Ammiano (if you include their aides, they’d have their own baseball team). The Chronicle reports who paid their ways versus the taxpayers, while the Bay Citizen touts the President’s praises of our local boys.

Bayview-Hunters Point welcomes Fresh & Easy as the first new grocery store in the neighborhood in a looooong time. Sushi, tomatoes, potatoes, oh my!

For those of us in the spokesperson business, one of the greats has left the stage. Ron Wilson, long-time SFO spokesperson, has passed away. The gold standard for straight facts, Wilson was respected by his bosses, the media, a public eager to hear what was going on with our travel hub, and his colleagues. He’ll be missed, and his ability to get the news out right, quickly, and straightforwardly will be long remembered.

Rachel Gordon of the Chronicle takes an in-depth look at the state of African-American politics, and politicians, in San Francisco. Our town’s ever-diminishing black population precipitates this story - the 2010 census shows that it currently stands at about six percent.

…the Chron wants to influence public policy, as does nearly every newspaper and most media outlets. But they also want to sell lots of papers. How to balance the two? Well, today they run an editorial that is aimed at influencing the Supes as they vote tomorrow on Supervisor David Campos’ legislation surrounding San Francisco’s health care ordinance. However, they’re embargoing the story until tomorrow, so only folks who buy the paper or subscribe on their handy iDevice can see what they have to say today. Good policy? Good marketing? More papers sold? I dunno.

A new state decision puts the onus on localities to deal with more of their prisoners, causing hope and apprehension from our elected officials about how we’ll deal with this news.

Because it’s overcast, because it’s Sunday, and because we’re on the cusp of the last month of “summer,” I’m deviating from our usual mission over at Suspects and giving the people what they want: BEER. Check out the Chron’s encyclopedic look at the Bay Area’s beer gardens and then head out for some brewskis and brats to help ring in the month of August. Cheers!

The Bay Citizen explores the forces behind the continued exodus of families from the city.

A battle is a brewin’ in Union Square thanks to a gaggle of tour buses and their respective ticket hawkers.

Following the tragic crash last week, UCSF will add seat belts to its shuttle buses, winning kudos from our supervisors. Next up, Muni? It would at least give drivers an excuse to make that one extra jerk that would no longer send you flying down the aisle and into an unsuspecting grandma.

The Examiner tells us about a new study that suggests many illegal immigrants have left the City over the years due to the increasing cost of living. Something tells me they are in good company. Supervisor David Campos shares his two cents on the matter.

Today, we get another look on what might be fueling some of the public outrage over the Bayview shooting.

The SFBG takes a look at the shuttle wars at SFO (no, not the private shuttle wars in Noe Valley - that’s a whole different battle) and how the Big Guys are trying to muscle out the Little Guys. In other words, read up for a lesson in how capitalism works.

The SFBG covers District Attorney George Gascón’s stance on medical marijuana - including how it’s, ah, changed recently.

Okay, this is just cool. And not just because they compared it to a tanning salon, which makes me giggle. Through a partnership with Tesla, new UV technology is being used to make sure that your tap water is super clean, super bacteria free, and super tasty. Take that, Fiji.

The Examiner’s Editorial Board weighs in with their two cents on the city’s approach to business, sharing their hope that the next mayor (whoever that may be) puts his (or her) money where his (or her) mouth is and starts remedying the situation.

The SFBG takes a look at the Fair Shelter Initiative, a proposal headed to November’s ballot that could help reduce waiting times at the city’s homeless shelters. Supervisor Jane Kim has signed on, Mayor Ed Lee has raised concerns, and only time will tell if this one is headed to the polls.

If ex-convicts have an easier time finding a job and housing, will they be less likely to re-offend? That’s the phrasing of the question that the City’s Reentry Council, a panel tasked with helping former felons plant their feet back into society, is choosing to use. I have a feeling that Fox News, however, might go with screencrawls that are written thusly: “SAN FRAN POLS KICK GRANDMAS OUT OF HOUSING IN FAVOR OF RAPISTS” and “ALL FRISCO ARSONISTS PROMISED DAY JOBS.” I’m just sayin’.