Hotel workers are returning to their jobs Friday morning at the Palace Hotel, but negotiations are still stalled between the union and hotel management across San Francisco. While the companies that own San Francisco’s luxury hotels call for the union to take into account the economic downturn, union members assert that hotel management is using […]
Author Archives: San Francisco Public Press
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CSU system to seek state funding, cuts enrollment
The California State University system is seeking $885 million in state general funds for the 23-campus system and the CSU Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the request at its Nov. 17 meeting and forward it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature. The request for more funding, announced Tuesday, comes just after an announcement that 12 campuses, including San Francisco […]
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Battle over immigrant youth sanctuary ignites debate
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is not letting Mayor Gavin Newsom have his way on the problem of how to deal with undocumented immigrant youths detained on felony charges, the San Francisco Appeal and other news sources report. The board, which approved the “Confidentiality of Juveniles’ Immigration Status” ordinance in October, planned to overturn the […]
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Lead in balsamic vinegar raises more questions than answers
Today’s Chronicle reports that balsamic and other red wine vinegars could elevate lead levels in children by an estimated 30 percent – but the model cited excluded children who are regularly exposed to old paint or lead-contaminated air or water. And because lead content varies widely depending on the brand of vinegar, there’s no […]
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Treasure Island residents caught in middle of Bay Bridge crisis return to ‘normal’ life
By Claudia Paredes Last Tuesday’s closure of the Bay Bridge due to the dramatic failure of a faulty structural patch left Bay Area commuters without an easy way to get to into San Francisco to work. But the incident had an especially burdensome effect on Treasure Island residents. Officials tried to accommodate the unique transportation […]
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Newsom’s gubernatorial race departure leaves race wide open
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s recent announcement that he would leave the California gubernatorial race early came weeks after a poll showed he was faring well only seven months prior to the primary election. According to the Field poll released in early October and published in the Los Angeles Times, Newsom had a 9 percent […]
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Bay Bridge now open; safety issues still loom
When the Bay Bridge reopened to traffic just after 9 a.m. Monday — ending its longest closure since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake — safety became Job One for an array of transportation agencies even as angry drivers clamored for access to the span. The California Department of Transportation and other agencies oversaw the complex […]
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Mid-Market billboard vote revisits 2002 citywide ban
On Tuesday’s ballot, Proposition D would create an exception to a 2002 voter-approved ordinance banning new general advertising. The measure would allow large, bright billboards that would have the option to include moving parts and video on two blocks of Market Street, between 5th and 7th streets. The signage on those two blocks would be […]
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Bay Bridge taking its toll on tolls
While anxious commuters wait for Caltrans to reopen the Bay Bridge, the state may be losing nearly $450,000 a day from the loss of tolls on the bridge, according to the most recent report from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The span, shut since three large pieces of a metal splint came crashing down on traffic Tuesday night, […]
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Illegal pot farms aren’t very green
Illegal marijuana farms in Mendocino County and other remote regions of the state have been diverting millions of gallons of water and causing major environmental havoc according to a recent Christian Science Monitor article. As much as 3.6 million gallons of water is being siphoned from creeks and riverbeds, reducing trout and salmon habitats and spawning […]