The University of California, San Francisco, is slated to begin several large new projects at the Mission Bay medical center, including buildings dedicated to cardiovascular and neuroscience research. UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, who shared a new report on the impact the university has had on the city, said the university is the second biggest employer in the city.
Category: City Hall
Posted inCity Hall, Education, Elections, Government & Politics, Public Safety
San Francisco props A and B pass; millions more for school, safety retrofits
San Francisco voters approved measures to retrofit schools and emergency services facilities Tuesday in an election in which five of seven local propositions passed. Twenty-three percent of voters showed up at San Francisco’s 590 precincts, passing propositions A, B, D, E and F. Proposition A, which will extend through 2030 a special property tax that was enacted in 1990, was approved by 69.9 percent of voters. Proposition B, the Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond, was approved by 79.2 percent of voters.
Posted inCity Hall, Economy & Business, Land use
Supervisors support fee deferment to encourage building in the city
Although one supervisor questioned whether allowing developers to delay paying some fees would spur building in the city, officials say the accommodation will create more jobs and spur the economy.
Posted inCity Hall, Public Safety
Supervisors consider sidewalk policing as public debate heats up
The simmering debate on Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposed restrictions on sitting and lying on the streets, the so-called “sit-lie” legislation, lined up advocates on both sides in what one city supervisor termed a culture war on San Francisco’s streets. Regardless of what the Board of Supervisors does with the plan — and they are likely to pan it — it could find new life on the ballot if the mayor presses forward.
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Posted inCity Hall, Transportation
Muni cuts begin Saturday; drivers fear backlash
A reduced Muni schedule begins on Saturday, with longer wait times between buses and service that starts later in the day and ends earlier at night. The cuts are part of an effort to close a $12 million budget gap in the current fiscal year’s budget. Drivers are worried that frustrated passengers will vent their anger at them.
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Posted inCity Hall, Economy & Business, Land use
Two business tax plans aim to encourage new jobs in SF
In an effort to increase revenue and spur the local economy, San Francisco’s Office of the Controller is proposing two revised business tax plans that may end up on the November ballot.
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Posted inCity Hall, Community, Land use
Neighbors scuttle plan for condo tower near Transamerica pyramid
After nearly five hours of public debate, the Board of Supervisors halted plans for the development of a 38-story condominium tower Tuesday night. Many of the project’s opponents were concerned with the possibility that the building would harm surrounding parks — Maritime Plaza, Sue Bierman Park and the privately owned redwood grove at the foot of the Transamerica pyramid. Specifically, they emphasized the impacts of shadows, wind and interrupted bird migration routes.
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Posted inCity Hall, Labor
No ‘rock stars’ here
In March, the color pink is all the rage in San Francisco. No, it wasn’t the latest in summer swimwear or a flash mob singing Pink’s big hit “So What” in unison. We’re talking about the type of pink that comes in the form of a letter from your employer saying, in essence, “cutbacks are forcing us to eliminate your position.” That’s right, March 5 was Pink Slip Day in the City and County of San Francisco — and although the estimated 15,000 workers who received the notices are in a furor over the layoffs, there is a silver lining to the situation.
Posted inCity Hall, Labor, News
City workers decry layoffs, demand alternatives
City workers are demanding alternatives to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s hard-nosed fiscal approach as he attempts to close a $522 million projected budget gap through mass layoffs and de-facto furloughs.
As San Francisco grapples with a ballooning deficit for the coming fiscal year, Newsom laid off 17,474 workers two weeks ago, but promised to hire back “most” of them at 37½ hours per week. For the rehired, that represents a 6.25 percent pay cut — which city workers’ unions intend to challenge in court.
Toting 8½-by-11-inch “termination of employment” pink slips, angry city workers lined up at last Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee hearing to decry the layoffs and urge city leaders to explore other sources of money.
Posted inCity Hall, Education
Besides taxes, few solutions at town hall on education
The organizers of what was billed as a town hall-style meeting on education funding in the Marina Thursday said their intention was to have a conversation with the community about solutions to money woes for the coming school year. But the evening’s talk, moderated by Michael Krasny, host of KQED-FM’s “Forum,” fell short of those expectations for some parents, educators and others in attendance — as evidenced by booing and hissing that punctuated the meeting.