In the past several months, Muni riders have been frustrated by Muni light-rail vehicles turning around mid-route without informing them of the switch until the very last minute.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates Muni, addressed those concerns in a new report and plans to change some of its policies when turning trains around including operator announcements and displaying the correct final stop on the train display.
Some fear money won’t go to restoring ravaged coastline
As the federal government promotes initiatives to ensure long-term recovery for the oil-spill-beleaguered Gulf Coast region, officials are attempting to court marginalized community groups whose members say their suggestions have been disregarded or they have been left out of discussions entirely. But the reaction has been skeptical, with residents saying they have been deceived by low-ball official assessments of environmental and health threats.
Residents say they are increasingly anxious about the economic and environmental viability of life along the shoreline. As many as one-quarter of the region’s residents say they are thinking of moving away.
A proposal to put a one-hour limit on parking at broken parking meters failed at Tuesday’s San Francisco Municipal Transportation board meeting in a 3-3 vote. Currently drivers can park in a broken meter space for the posted time limit. The San Francisco Examiner reports that the board proposed the idea as a way to […]
UPDATE: Assemblyman Tom Ammiano issued a statement saying he will not accept any nomination to be interim San Francisco mayor, according to SF Weekly.
As the San Francisco Board of Supervisors prepares to hear nominations to pick a new mayor, one member of the board is turning to the Web to push his candidate.
Chris Daly posted a petition on the Change.org social network site to draft Assemblyman Tom Ammiano into seeking the mayor’s office that Gavin Newsom’s election to lieutenant governor will leave vacant.
The rainbow banners that line Market Street in the Castro district are in need of replacement, but actually replacing them will be easier said than done. The issue with replacing the banners, which have been hanging for over a decade, is that they are hanging from historical landmarks, according to the San Francisco Examiner. Preservationists […]
Same-sex marriage appeal puts spotlight on personal lives of those judging — and reporting on — the issue
Same-sex marriage opponents complained that U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker — who this summer overturned Proposition 8, a 2008 state constitutional amendment banning the practice — should have recused himself because he is gay (a suggestion Walker has declined to discuss). Walker’s sexual orientation will be front and center in arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
This puts journalists, too, in a funny position. Who will believe a gay reporter covering the question about whether a gay judge should be disqualified?
Officials at the Recreation and Park Department have come up with a solution to close their $12.4 million deficit, and residents aren’t very happy with the solution. The officials decided to raise revenues by putting various moneymaking ventures such as coffee vendors, open-air markets and skating rinks in parks and plazas, according to the San […]
Back in war zone as contractor, decorated sergeant yearns for return to military life
Anthony Loverde joined the military at 22 because he needed money for school, and because he felt a deep love for country. But the real reason, he said, was to gain discipline — to “fight being gay.”
Starting as an Air Force radio technician, he climbed quickly to the rank of staff sergeant, and then served as a cargo loader flying missions in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. His close crew of six did everything together — ate, slept, fought a war.
While the team built camaraderie, Loverde had to lie about his personal life constantly. One summer day in 2008, a battle buddy asked what was wrong. Loverde had to let his secret out: he was gay. Military procedure required his friend to tell their commander. After seven years of service, Loverde was discharged under the military’s long-standing “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
From the mundane to the taboo to the absurd, city leaders hike any fee they can think of to balance city budget
The cost of living and doing business in San Francisco increased this year in hundreds of little ways.
Though they didn’t garner as much attention as the city’s massive budget cuts, a series of new and increased fees emerged from the Board of Supervisors from late May to early July. The goal was to generate revenue beyond taxes, reducing city departments’ reliance on an anemic general fund.
The following list was compiled from records from the board. It includes all new and increased fees introduced with the 2010-11 fiscal year. The supervisors enacted more than 400 fee hikes, some for rare activities with small constituencies, such as hosting a masked ball or shooting off a cannon. (Seriously.)
San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting filed for papers Wednesday morning to start organizing his campaign to become the city’s next elected mayor. He will join other candidates state Sen. Leland Yee, City Attorney Herrera and Supervisor Bevan Dufty.
“Politics is too important to leave to politicians alone. We need to engage the whole population to identify problems, to help fix them and most of all to hold government officials accountable for results,” said Ting in a statement.
He also said the city needs a mayor who can solve the ongoing budget problems, which he believes has the credentials to do so. He said his office has generated $245 million in new revenue without raising taxes.
