Archive for October, 2011

The Planning Commission relaxes its rules about how public art gets commissioned, and built. Only time will tell if this will result in more bows, arrows and spaceships popping up on our waterfront…

Not sure if you heard, but apparently President Obama was in San Francisco yesterday for a fundraiser at the W Hotel. And oh how the times are a-changin’. Instead of cheering supporters rolling out the red carpet, Mr. President was greeted by local protesters who claim to no longer know for what he stands.

Losing something expensive sucks. Losing something expensive with sentimental value sucks even more. So when a few idiots decide it would be fun to steal a $75,000 bell that survived the 1906 earthquake, things are just down right sucky. Learn about what the owners of the bell are doing in hopes to track down the historic item.

The Examiner takes a look at a recent report detailing the dollars spent on change orders to City contracts. (It’s a lot of dollars, by the way.) In their view, we need a whole other kind of change to this process to make sure the money is going where we want it.

Sometimes when writing Suspects, and trying to take a new angle on things, I wonder how Shakespeare would have written a headline. Usually, in my head, it is funny. (But that’s because it’s amusing when I’m barely awake, and not yet caffeinated.) So, my apologies - but yes, this is what Petruchio would have said during the Great Dolores Park Taco Truck Debate of 2011, if he wasn’t all dead and fictional and stuff.

Much to no one’s surprise, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera has pulled papers to run for re-election to a fourth term.

The City goes after an unlikely (and startled!) source for some funds - and some elected officials vow to change the laws that make it possible.

Many people in local politics have an opinion or three about former Senator and Judge, the honorable Quentin Kopp. And I’d venture to say that even those with unfavorable opinions of the gentleman will readily admit that he ain’t shy about sharing his own opinions - and that he’s also a hell of a writer. And today, in the pages of the Examiner, Senator Kopp puts pen to paper in his own inimitable style and sends many scurrying to the dictionary to find out the definitions of boondoggle, garish, vaunted, and promulgated. (Q got 806 out of a possible 800 on his verbal SATs, so the rumors go…)

‘Member that whole Chinatown voter assistance booth brouhaha that captured our attention last October? Well, just because the campaign strategy was a bad idea doesn’t mean it was criminal… according to the office of District Attorney George Gascón.

First, there was DogPAC. Now, the city’s kiddos (or their parents, I should say) are aiming to impact the mayor’s race with their calls for a family-focused discourse.

…so goes the rest of your life, apparently. At least insofar as education is concerned; hopefully we’re not also talking about awkward social situations, braces and cliques. In an attempt to increase our high school graduation rate here in the City by the Bay, officials are launching a truancy program designed to keep those pesky freshmen right where they should be: in class.

Prop H was thisclose but alas, the measure that would have encouraged the San Francisco Unified School District to move to a neighborhood-based school assignment system lost by just 115 votes.

Not here - not if you’re talking about additional express lines, anyway. While the NX-Judah Express got the thumbs up as a permanent line this past Tuesday, it looks like other proposed express lines are just going to have to wait their turn.

The Guardian’s Tim Redmond talks about corruption, City Hall, and why paying attention matters.

The Chronicle fills us in on an anti-bullying law named for a 13-year-old named Seth Walsh and what legislators are doing to push back against bullying and anti-LGBT harassment.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s legislation to offer employers a tax break for hiring ex-felons failed at the Board of Supervisors yesterday by a vote of 6 to 5.

An approach to making sure that San Francisco youth are graduating from school? Make sure they’re actually making it to class. On Monday, District Attorney George Gascón and SFUSD Superintendent Carlos Garcia announced a pilot program to keep freshmen in school after noting a connection between truancy and criminal activity.

Ahhhhhh - Monday mornings and Monty Python references always go well together. And some prominent political folks are perhaps wondering whether the unintended, absurd consequences found in most Monty Python sketches might also be in evidence in City politics today, as a bunch of contributions are being found to be illegal, and made by witches. OK, just illegal. But how can we TELL, the people shout? Where are the RULES? Where is the DATABASE? And the City looks at them and says, “If your contributions float, then you are not a witch.” Have I lost everyone under the age of thirty yet? Yep. (Sorry about that.) Read the story in the Chron, please.

State Senator Leland Yee sets his sights on a statewide office, and will announce his intentions publicly today.

The folks at USF and the Bay Citizen continue filling us in on the results of their November race polls. Today, they bring us the DA’s race and the sheriff’s race, and give us some insight on which pension reform measure is leading the pack. And, find out who’s challenging poll results that show Mayor Ed Lee in the lead.

The fate of the “purple building” is still being decided. As a Lakers fan, I must say that I support more buildings in the city being painted purple in reverence for the greatest basketball franchise of all time.

The Chronicle saves us the trouble of reading Mayor Ed Lee’s unauthorized biography with their summary of its various tales (and typos).

The Chronicle’s Debra Saunders takes note of Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom’s “evolution” on the issue of legalized marijuana, which he now supports.

The Chronicle’s John King thinks that the revitalization of Sue Bierman Park leaves something to be desired.

Proposition A got good grades from local voters at the polls yesterday. We guess that voters do believe in schools.