City Hall
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Illegal dumping costing city millions of dollars

01.05.2011
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The Department of Public Works wants residents to stop dumping unwanted items such as furniture and mattresses on city streets through a campaign launched last month and by the threat of fines of up to $1,000.

The department says illegal dumping is costing the city millions of dollars to clean up the mess left behind by residents and contractors. The city is encouraging residents to take advantage of free services offered by Recology Sunset Scavenger and Golden Gate.

The San Francisco Police Department and the City Attorney’s Office are also working to find those responsible for dumping construction materials in the Bayview-Hunter Point area.

Environment
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Solar waste recycling: can the industry stay green?

08.09.2010
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Solar modules contain some of the same potentially dangerous materials as electronics, including silicon tetrachloride, cadmium, selenium and sulfur hexafluoride, a potent greenhouse gas. So as solar moves from the fringe to the mainstream, insiders and watchdog groups are beginning to talk about producer responsibility and recycling in an attempt to sidestep the pitfalls of electronic waste and retain the industry’s green credibility.

Environment
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San Francisco’s clean-power program meets economic reality

07.26.2010
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CleanPowerSF, which aims to provide a cleaner energy alternative to PG&E, is struggling to find a way to keep rates low and supply San Francisco residents with green power. Contract negotiations with the company chosen to implement the city’s clean-energy system have collapsed, and the city is changing the requirements for any new bidders. The goal of 51 percent renewable energy by 2017 seems unlikely, unless the city buys some form of energy credits.

Economy & Business
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Fact check: ‘Yes on Prop 16’ ads don’t convey PG&E’s huge fingerprints

06.06.2010
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Tuesday’s statewide election features a controversial industry-backed proposition that would amend the California Constitution to require a two-thirds vote before a community could change its energy provider. The largest tonnage of paper political ads flooding mailboxes in San Francisco sport a variety of images — some ominous, some silly and sarcastic — but the same message: Proposition 16, the “Taxpayers Right to Vote Act,” protects voters from spendthrift politicians. But the ads, paid for mostly by incumbent power provider Pacific Gas & Electric Co., are misleading in a few important ways.

Environment

Homeless counseling group first on Health Dept. chopping block

06.02.2009
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Caduceus Outreach Services could close its doors as early as July 1 due to the crippling budget deficit facing the San Francisco of Department of Public Health.

Caduceus, a 13-year-old SOMA-based nonprofit organization, could lose two-thirds of its budget as a result of the Health Department’s efforts to cope with an unprecedented $163 million deficit. Caduceus, which provides psychiatric counseling to about 100 homeless people, is just one of 104 city-based community program agencies facing the budget ax this summer, as the city tries to deal with a total deficit of $438.1 million.

Environment

News Notes: July 1 budget cuts to trim homeless and AIDS support

06.01.2009
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Mayor Gavin Newsom’s July 1 budget cuts would raise Muni fares and elminate, through layoffs and attrition, about 1,600 city jobs.

One homeless drop-in center will be closed as part of the new budget proposal and services for HIV and AIDS patients, drug addicts and the mentally ill will be reduced.

Environment

Ideologies continue to divide same-sex marriage issue

05.28.2009
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As hundreds gathered in front of the Earl Warren Building on Tuesday waiting to hear the California Supreme Court’s ruling that upheld Proposition 8, a war of words erupted and some even turned into screaming battles that reinforced the deeply divided ideologies about same-sex marriage.

The scene of people arguing amidst the flurry of pro and anti-gay marriage banners illustrates the chasm among Californians that has played out since same-sex marriage took center stage in 2000, when voters passed Proposition 22.

Environment
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News Notes: Budget cuts lead to UCSC hunger strike

05.27.2009
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In anticipation of Wednesday’s Earth Day celebration, Berkeley Farmers’ Market has stepped up to the “green” plate – by becoming the first market in the nation to eliminate all plastic bags and packaging.

“We’ve been anti-plastic for a long time, but we’re also committed to our farmers and didn’t want to negatively impact them through diminished sales or costs,” said Ben Feldman, program manager of The Ecology Center – an environmental non-profit that has run the markets since 1987.

The market launched its “Zero Waste” campaign March 7, demanding all farmers’ market refuse be recyclable or compostable. The new rule includes materials for bagging produce as well as containers and utensils for prepared foods.