Subject:

Government and Politics

  • Blogs

    May 17, 2011

    Parkmerced Agreement Won't Protect Tenants, Civil Grand Jury Says

    Stay tuned for the future ... ​The Civil Grand Jury has released an interesting and curiously-timed report on the proposed Parkmerced development which validates the city's worst fears -- that tenants would no longer be protected by rent control laws.According to the report -- which was released a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 16, 2011

    Carlos Santana Criticizes Georgia's New Immigration Law

    "Really, Georgia?"​Beware, people of states with drastic immigration laws: Santana is angry with you.  Days after Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed off on a new Arizona-style regulation, Carlos Santana brought the immigrant-friendly spirit of Bay Area liberalism to baseball's yearly Civil Righ ... More >>

  • News

    May 4, 2011

    List: What Isn't Working in San Francisco

    "Really, Georgia?"​Beware, people of states with drastic immigration laws: Santana is angry with you.  Days after Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed off on a new Arizona-style regulation, Carlos Santana brought the immigrant-friendly spirit of Bay Area liberalism to baseball's yearly Civil Righ ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 29, 2011

    Marijuana Prohibition Turns 100 Today. What Is There to Celebrate?

    Celebrate the birth of prohibition -- get high!​Alcohol prohibition did little to stop Americans from guzzling booze, though it helped make gangsters rich, cops and courts busy, and encouraged foreign imports of "medicinal whiskey" (sound familiar?)That experiment was short-lived -- ratified in ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 29, 2011

    Economist Writer Talks about Why California Won't Split Up

    ​For those who missed our blog post on it last week, we'll say it again: The Economist correspondent Andreas Kluth's special report on dysfunction in California's government is worth a read. Earlier this week, we attended Kluth's talk at the World Affairs Council on Sutter Street, where he offered ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 25, 2011

    California Leads The Nation in Imprisoning Criminal Immigrants

    10 percent of California's inmates are non-citizens.​It's not a winning spot to brag about, but the Golden State is No.1 when it comes to incarcerating criminal immigrants. In fact, California is the only state to break the 100,000 mark. What's worse -- the state is shouldering the majority of the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 22, 2011

    Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary, Catches a Wave Near San Francisco -- on 4/20

    Would love to surf the Mavericks, we assume​Keeping the nation from falling into another Depression is not easy feat, and so U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner deserves a little R&R. And while you might expect Geithner's version of taking it easy to be nothing more than reading the finan ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 5, 2011

    Scott Wiener Wants to Give Supes Power to Repeal Ballot Initiatives

    Supervisor Scott Wiener​Supervisor Scott Wiener says he plans to propose a charter amendment at today's Board of Supervisors meeting that would grant the supes power to amend or appeal ballot initiatives approved by voters --  a step he insists will help reduce the number of such measures San ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 18, 2011

    America's Cup: Ball Is Now in City Attorney's Court

    The material everyone wants to have...​What are "material changes?" The answer is not immaterial.In tweaking the America's Cup agreement signed off by the Board of Supervisors, the mayor's office was entitled to make changes -- but not material changes.After analyzing the revamped deal, the board' ... More >>

  • News

    March 16, 2011

    U-Visa: Illegal Immigrants Become Legal Residents Via Crime Victimization

    The material everyone wants to have...​What are "material changes?" The answer is not immaterial.In tweaking the America's Cup agreement signed off by the Board of Supervisors, the mayor's office was entitled to make changes -- but not material changes.After analyzing the revamped deal, the board' ... More >>

  • News

    February 23, 2011

    What Questions Do People Really Want Ed Lee to Answer?

    The material everyone wants to have...​What are "material changes?" The answer is not immaterial.In tweaking the America's Cup agreement signed off by the Board of Supervisors, the mayor's office was entitled to make changes -- but not material changes.After analyzing the revamped deal, the board' ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 9, 2011

    A Moderate Move: S.F. Supervisors Try to Lure Twitter with Tax Breaks

    Moderately progressive​Yesterday was the first real showing of how the political pendulum on the Board of Supervisors has swung the other way -- toward the moderates. Supervisor Jane Kim rolled out business-friendly legislation, which sparked criticism from progressives; even former Supervisor Chr ... More >>

  • News

    February 2, 2011

    How Chris Daly saved San Francisco from a bad America's Cup deal

    Moderately progressive​Yesterday was the first real showing of how the political pendulum on the Board of Supervisors has swung the other way -- toward the moderates. Supervisor Jane Kim rolled out business-friendly legislation, which sparked criticism from progressives; even former Supervisor Chr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2011

    Tony Winnicker Says 'Farewell' to Everyone but SF Weekly

    You don't write, you don't call​Mayoral spokesman Tony Winnicker has quit his job after working for the last year as former mayor Gavin Newsom's mouthpiece and then Mayor Ed Lee. Will we miss him? Not really, and here is why: He never calls us back!The fact that Winnicker has frozen out SF Weekly ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2011

    Ross Mirkarimi Asks Budget Analyst to Make Sure America's Cup Deal isn't Costing Extra

    Making sure the deal is even keeled, to use a nautical term ​Following the approval of the America's Cup deal, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi pledged to follow up with budget reports that would analyze whether the mayor's office has made any tweaks to the deal that would cost taxpayers extra money.&nbs ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 14, 2011

    Brady Campaign's New Push to Ban Open Carry in California Restaurants

    formatted_dad/FlickrThe CA Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is planning a protest Jan. 20 in Manhattan Beach.​The Jan. 8 shooting massacre at a Tucson mall is giving new impetus to a drive to make California eateries gun-free zones. State chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Vio ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 23, 2010

    Doyle Drive's Goofy Privatization Deal Stalled By Judge

    Will Jerry Brown stop the fiscal insanity? ​A judge Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order halting Caltrans from signing a finance deal that would let a foreign consortium take over construction and maintenance of part of the Doyle Drive project in the Presidio.This marks the second time i ... More >>

  • Articles

    December 22, 2010

    Return to Sender

    Will Jerry Brown stop the fiscal insanity? ​A judge Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order halting Caltrans from signing a finance deal that would let a foreign consortium take over construction and maintenance of part of the Doyle Drive project in the Presidio.This marks the second time i ... More >>

  • News

    December 22, 2010

    How Would Immigration Reform Look if the Feds Got Off Their Duffs?

    Will Jerry Brown stop the fiscal insanity? ​A judge Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order halting Caltrans from signing a finance deal that would let a foreign consortium take over construction and maintenance of part of the Doyle Drive project in the Presidio.This marks the second time i ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 20, 2010

    DADT Is Dead! Long Live DADT!

    ​On Saturday, following months of gyrations, the U.S. Senate repealed the military ban on open service by gays and lesbians known as Don't Ask Don't Tell.Sort of.This policy has been under heavy scrutiny since the end of President George W. Bush's second term, and promises to repeal DADT were made ... More >>

  • News

    December 1, 2010

    Mexican Macroeconomics

    ​On Saturday, following months of gyrations, the U.S. Senate repealed the military ban on open service by gays and lesbians known as Don't Ask Don't Tell.Sort of.This policy has been under heavy scrutiny since the end of President George W. Bush's second term, and promises to repeal DADT were made ... More >>

  • News

    December 1, 2010

    Don't worry, America. San Francisco knows what's best for you

    ​On Saturday, following months of gyrations, the U.S. Senate repealed the military ban on open service by gays and lesbians known as Don't Ask Don't Tell.Sort of.This policy has been under heavy scrutiny since the end of President George W. Bush's second term, and promises to repeal DADT were made ... More >>

  • News

    December 1, 2010

    FAIR-y Tales

    ​On Saturday, following months of gyrations, the U.S. Senate repealed the military ban on open service by gays and lesbians known as Don't Ask Don't Tell.Sort of.This policy has been under heavy scrutiny since the end of President George W. Bush's second term, and promises to repeal DADT were made ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 4, 2010

    Election Results Show Tea Party Fails to Gain Traction in Western States

    Is that Harry Reid in the middle?​Some of you might have found it particularly hard to greet the Red Dawn of Nov. 3. We admit that it's difficult to face the idea of Tea Party-propelled candidates marching off to Washington with plans to combat imagined New World Order conspiracies within the vaul ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 1, 2010

    Nancy Pelosi's Opponent, John Dennis, Doesn't Want to Privatize Your Sidewalk

    Had Pelosi-as-witch been standing on her private property when John Dennis melted her, he'd be in big trouble​John Dennis, Nancy Pelosi's Republican congressional opponent, informs us that his campaign platform does not include the privatization of America's sidewalks. We don't usually need to poi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 27, 2010

    Absentee Ballots Swamp City Hall

    Steve GarfieldPlenty more where that came from...​The concept of last-minute get-out-the-vote efforts loses its meaning when a hefty chunk of voters cast their ballots well prior to election day. That's a national trend -- and the hard numbers show San Francisco is no different. As of its last tal ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 22, 2010

    A Kinder, Gentler - and Still Unconstitutional - DADT

    ​The developments in the ongoing saga that is Don't Ask Don't Tell - the ban on gays in the military - occurred faster than the depletion of Meg Whitman's bank balance this week.On Monday, Judge Virginia Philips heard from both sides on her decision from a week ago that DADT was unconstitutional ... More >>

  • News

    October 20, 2010

    List: What will President Obama's new political group accomplish in S.F.?

    ​The developments in the ongoing saga that is Don't Ask Don't Tell - the ban on gays in the military - occurred faster than the depletion of Meg Whitman's bank balance this week.On Monday, Judge Virginia Philips heard from both sides on her decision from a week ago that DADT was unconstitutional ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 24, 2010

    Transgender Republican Gun Advocate To Speak At San Francisco Gun Conference

    All smiles until messed with...​San Franciscans probably have their ideas about the sort of folks who will descend on the Hyatt Regency airport hotel this weekend for the Second Amendment Foundation's gun rights conference: white, Tea Partyish, Red State-y, straight. Then here comes panelist Nicki ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 17, 2010

    Lady Gaga Destroys DADT -- While Wearing Meat

    Can Lady Gaga do away with DADT before this dress goes bad? ​In the last episode of the Week in Gay, a federal judge ruled that the military ban on gays serving in the military (Don't Ask Don't Tell) was unconstitutional. Since then, Lady Gaga won 101 Video Music Awards on MTV and then kicked some ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 2, 2010

    Muni Admits Ban on Ads 'Promoting Use of Firearms' May Be Illegal

    Has a Supreme Court ruling forced Muni to accept ads like this? ​Earlier this week, we reported on Muni pulling an about-face regarding ads advocating gun use -- faster than a speeding bullet. While the transit agency edited the guns out of ads for the cop comedy The Other Guys due to policies for ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 4, 2010

    Prop. 8 Ruling: Judge Vaughn Walker's Most Scathing Language

    MlinksvaJudge Vaughn Walker's greatest hits...​READ PROP. 8 ANALYSIS HEREA collection of Judge Vaughn Walker's most pointed statements from today's ruling: During closing arguments, proponents again focused on the contention that "responsible procreation is really at the heart of society's interes ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 9, 2010

    Marijuana Legalization Opposed by Californians, New Field Poll Shows

    Most Californians will pass, thanks​Poll Also Reveals Strong Support for Reform of State Budget ProcessA Field Poll released today shows that efforts to legalize marijuana in California have lost ground since last year, and that state residents currently oppose Proposition 19 -- a November ballot ... More >>

  • News

    June 23, 2010

    SF Weekly Letters

    Most Californians will pass, thanks​Poll Also Reveals Strong Support for Reform of State Budget ProcessA Field Poll released today shows that efforts to legalize marijuana in California have lost ground since last year, and that state residents currently oppose Proposition 19 -- a November ballot ... More >>

  • News

    June 16, 2010

    List: The best democracy money can buy

    Most Californians will pass, thanks​Poll Also Reveals Strong Support for Reform of State Budget ProcessA Field Poll released today shows that efforts to legalize marijuana in California have lost ground since last year, and that state residents currently oppose Proposition 19 -- a November ballot ... More >>

  • Film

    June 16, 2010

    "The Oath": Ghosts of 9/11 with two of bin Laden's own

    Most Californians will pass, thanks​Poll Also Reveals Strong Support for Reform of State Budget ProcessA Field Poll released today shows that efforts to legalize marijuana in California have lost ground since last year, and that state residents currently oppose Proposition 19 -- a November ballot ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 8, 2010

    Election 2010 Results: Demon Sheep, Gavin Newsom, Open Primaries Triumph

    Meg Whitman never liked voting, but plenty of Californians voted for her​Results are starting to roll in from today's voting on ballot initiatives and primaries for statewide office. Wanna know the latest, greatest bad decisions California's electorate has chosen to impose upon itself? SF Weekly h ... More >>

  • Culture

    May 19, 2010

    War games: Soldiers reenact life and death in Iraq and Afghanistan

    Meg Whitman never liked voting, but plenty of Californians voted for her​Results are starting to roll in from today's voting on ballot initiatives and primaries for statewide office. Wanna know the latest, greatest bad decisions California's electorate has chosen to impose upon itself? SF Weekly h ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 14, 2010

    Rapper Mo Wiley Wants to be San Leandro's Next Mayor

    ​This could give a whole new meaning to Mo Wiley's finger-shaking warning, "You Can't Touch It Unless I Say So." Wiley, an East Bay gangsta rapper and mother of three whose given name is Sara Mestas, hopes to clean up San Leandro from the Mayor's Office on down. Because really, what's more g ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 7, 2010

    Guardian Editors Would Benefit from Prop. 13 Legislation They Endorsed

    It's always nice to get in the game early and pull up the ladder after you...​On Nov. 3, 2003 the Wall Street Journal published a letter from Warren Buffett in which the Nebraska billionaire explained his negative view of California's Proposition 13, the 1978 law that limits property tax assessmen ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 20, 2010

    Will Tea Partiers Kill Pro-Marijuana Measure?

    Fibonacci BlueSo paranoid. So uptight. So stiff. What could cure this? Hmmm...​On today of all days, marijuana is on everyone's mind. But that goes doubly for politicians: Just last week, state Democratic Party chairman John Burton told media that he and fellow Dems (like that Jerry Brown guy) ... More >>

  • News

    April 14, 2010

    The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights

    Fibonacci BlueSo paranoid. So uptight. So stiff. What could cure this? Hmmm...​On today of all days, marijuana is on everyone's mind. But that goes doubly for politicians: Just last week, state Democratic Party chairman John Burton told media that he and fellow Dems (like that Jerry Brown guy) ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 12, 2010

    What Do You Get For Being Mayor of S.F. Library on Foursquare?

    The once and future mayor...​Maybe you know someone -- maybe you are someone -- who must compulsively whip out a phone whenever entering a cafe, restaurant, or bar in order to ensure he or she will remain mayor of said establishment on foursquare. It's a fitting metaphor for San Francisco, where m ... More >>

  • News

    April 7, 2010

    If BART reopens its public restrooms, then the terrorists win

    The once and future mayor...​Maybe you know someone -- maybe you are someone -- who must compulsively whip out a phone whenever entering a cafe, restaurant, or bar in order to ensure he or she will remain mayor of said establishment on foursquare. It's a fitting metaphor for San Francisco, where m ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 7, 2010

    On Cue, Lt. Gov Candidate Hahn Plays Race, Gender, S.F. Cards vs. Newsom

    Too white and San Franciscan to win? ​Less than 24 hours after lieutenant governor candidate Gavin Newsom trumpeted an endorsement from Sen. Dianne Feinstein -- giving him statewide cred and appealing to female voters -- his opponent released polling data she commissioned claiming Newsom is a liab ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 5, 2010

    Healthy San Francisco's Long Lines Slim Down

    Yours, sooner...​No sooner did SF Weekly report that the city's universal health care program Healthy San Francisco had contributed to long lines at public clinics, than a new city report came out this week showing that waits had been reduced during recent months.According to the the San Francisco ... More >>

  • News

    March 10, 2010

    Distressed Properties

    The state's quick budget fix of selling off public buildings is a horrible idea.

  • Blogs

    February 23, 2010

    Letter to the Media: Stop Coddling Tea-Party Crazies

    But not to stop tea-partiers' batshit lunacy​Those who pick up their news exclusively from such esteemed outlets as The Economist magazine, the Web site Politico, or ABC television could be forgiven these days for having a charitable view of the new American political force known as the Tea Party ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 23, 2010

    Explained: The Clusterfuck That Lost the Proposition 8 Campaign

    ​During testimony, filings, and deliberations in the Proposition 8 trial, an unasked question reverberated through the federal courthouse in San Francisco: Why, exactly, are we here?A step outside into the reality of still separate and unequal California provided an answer: An inept anti-Prop. 8 c ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 22, 2010

    Frantic E-Mail Bemoans Scant Submissions For Mayor's Teacher, Principal Awards

    When it comes to submissions, the mayor's office has got it bad, got it bad, got it bad...​An urgent e-mail fired off to every member of the Board of Supervisors and other government officials pleads with them to drum up entrants for the Mayor's Teacher of the Month and Principal of the Year Award ... More >>

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