Ed Harrington

CleanPowerSF: Coercion Allegations Taint PUC Vote

Public Power: CleanPowerSF Approved By Board of Supervisors

After decades of wrangling, a controversial $19.5 million contract with Shell was moments ago approved by the Board of Supervisors to inaugurate the city's "CleanPowerSF" program. The final vote was 8-3, with only Supervisors Carmen Chu, Sean Eslbernd, and Mark Farrell dissenting. That, incidentally ... More >>

Coercion Allegations in Battle Over Shell Public Power Contract

Multiple accusers claiming to be representatives of Public Utilities Commission-funded nonprofits have contacted the mayor's office, alleging they were threatened by PUC officials to not publicly question the proposed "clean power" deal with Shell -- at risk of losing their funding. Mayoral spokeswo ... More >>

Greg Suhr, San Francisco Police Chief, to Be Nation's Richest

San Francisco politicians like to boast that ours is a "world-class city." It certainly pays like one. Police Chief Greg Suhr will soon become the city's highest-paid employee -- and best-compensated police chief in the nation -- with a pending bump to $307,000. It's been a lucrative year for San Fr ... More >>

Cole Hardware Guilty of Defrauding S.F. Taxpayers

​Cole Hardware -- which prides itself on being "San Francisco's favorite"  has been found guilty of bilking San Francisco taxpayers in a procurement scam, according to the District Attorney's Office. Cole Hardware is one of 10 co-defendants who conspired to defraud the San Francisco Public Ut ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

​Cole Hardware -- which prides itself on being "San Francisco's favorite"  has been found guilty of bilking San Francisco taxpayers in a procurement scam, according to the District Attorney's Office. Cole Hardware is one of 10 co-defendants who conspired to defraud the San Francisco Public Ut ... More >>

Double Drain: Program Pays Cops Pensions While Still on the Force

​Cole Hardware -- which prides itself on being "San Francisco's favorite"  has been found guilty of bilking San Francisco taxpayers in a procurement scam, according to the District Attorney's Office. Cole Hardware is one of 10 co-defendants who conspired to defraud the San Francisco Public Ut ... More >>

'Mayor Mustache' In San Francisco?

Is Ed Lee a whisker away from making history? ​First Mayor With Facial Hair Since 1944? When Mayor Gavin Newsom suggested his successor during the San Francisco Giants World Series parade, he borrowed one of the team's catchphrases: "Fear the beard." Tightly wound progressives at the time thought ... More >>

'It's On Like Donkey Kong': San Francisco Politics Illustrated

​When Supervisor Chris Daly last night punctuated his promise to Board President David Chiu that he'd "haunt him politically" by uttering "It's on like Donkey Kong," he transcended the bizarre and entered the sublime. He caused a legion of hardened City Hall-watchers to say something they never th ... More >>

Drink up: SF Tap Water "Safer" Than Bottled Water

sfwater.orgWorth every penny​Take a long, cool drink of the Hetch Hetchy the next time someone hands you a bottle of Fiji: city officials have long said that the imported mountain water which provides San Franciscans' tap water is better than bottled H20, and now they have a study to prove it.The ... More >>

Power Surge: Program could raise your electric bills

sfwater.orgWorth every penny​Take a long, cool drink of the Hetch Hetchy the next time someone hands you a bottle of Fiji: city officials have long said that the imported mountain water which provides San Franciscans' tap water is better than bottled H20, and now they have a study to prove it.The ... More >>

What Does Latest Proposed Muni Hike Mean? It Means Muni Never Meant What It was Telling Us Before.

Speeding out of your price range...​Since paying more and getting less seems to be the order of the day worldwide, it's good to know that we in San Francisco have been in the vanguard once again. Delegations of government officials will, no doubt, be arriving here shortly to take notes on just how ... More >>

Smoked Out: City Announces Plans to Close Mirant Power Plant -- This Time, Definitely!

Going, going, gone​The final word is in: after more than a decade of activism and negotiations, the Mirant Power Plant will be closing for good by the end of 2010. "There was really no need to have these dirty power plants continue to exist in San Francisco," City Attorney Dennis Herrera tol ... More >>

Signs of Progress

San Francisco politics were dysfunctional in the 2000s,but recent changes suggest there's reason for hope.

The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.

Spend more. Get less. We're the city that knows how.

State Not Ready to Shut Down Mirant Power Plant Just Yet

​City clean power activists and politicos were split in their reactions to the outcome of a state power regulatory body meeting today in Folsom, as San Francisco's plans to shutter the Mirant power plant "irrevocably" by 2010 took something of a hit. While Cal-ISO -- the state body that determines ... More >>

Fixing Hetch Hetchy Dam costs $1 billion more than it should

​City clean power activists and politicos were split in their reactions to the outcome of a state power regulatory body meeting today in Folsom, as San Francisco's plans to shutter the Mirant power plant "irrevocably" by 2010 took something of a hit. While Cal-ISO -- the state body that determines ... More >>

No Smoking: City Attorney Announces Settlement to Shut Mirant Potrero Power Plant 'Irrevocably' By 2010

Joe EskenaziCity Attorney Dennis Herrera delivers the big news, backed by (from left) PUC head Ed Harrington, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, and former Board of Supes President Aaron Peskin​The answer has been revealed to the "mystery settlement" announced yesterday by City Attorney Dennis Herrera ... More >>

S.F.'s tasty tap water about to get a little murkier

Joe EskenaziCity Attorney Dennis Herrera delivers the big news, backed by (from left) PUC head Ed Harrington, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, and former Board of Supes President Aaron Peskin​The answer has been revealed to the "mystery settlement" announced yesterday by City Attorney Dennis Herrera ... More >>

San Francisco Politicos Continue War Dance

Joe EskenaziCity Attorney Dennis Herrera delivers the big news, backed by (from left) PUC head Ed Harrington, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, and former Board of Supes President Aaron Peskin​The answer has been revealed to the "mystery settlement" announced yesterday by City Attorney Dennis Herrera ... More >>

Doublespeak With Forked Tongue

When dealing with Chris Daly and his political objectives, it's best to leave reality behind

Dollars for Dentists

When dealing with Chris Daly and his political objectives, it's best to leave reality behind

The Deal With Treasure Island

Tony Hall's firing casts the spotlight on a real estate mega-deal that slogs along under a veil of secrecy

Noir You See It, Noir You Don't

Naming one of the masterminds of the SFO Enterprises scandal as a "watchdog" over billions in public investment: city government or pulp fiction?

A Glimmer of Hope

In the city of sleaze, someone's finally doing something about SFO's shady little side business

Policing the Vice Squad

Investigations launched into money collected from massage parlor workers

Dome and Dumber

Q: How's it possible to spend $244 million to renovate one city building? A: Do the words "toilet partition metal head assembly" mean anything to you?