Pensions

American Parasite: Romney's Bain Represents Capitalism's Worst

Pension Bomb Explodes -- City Deficit to Soar

​Last night, SF Weekly broke the news that the city's pension obligation could balloon based on the outcome of a retirement board meeting this morning. Well, it has. The city's contribution to its pension plan might jump by $60 million in the next year alone, adding to San Francisco's already gapi ... More >>

Election Roundup: Ed Lee in the Lead, Proposition C Wins

Will Ed Lee get it done?​It will take a few days before San Francisco knows for certain who their next mayor will be, and like we saw in Oakland a year ago, rank-choice voting means anything could happen. But as of Tuesday morning, Ed Lee was in the lead, despite a flurry of allegations of unethic ... More >>

Pensions: This Ain't Over, San Francisco

Our pension mess ain't over till it's over. Or the city goes well and truly broke. ​It's easy to suffer election fatigue in San Francisco. The majority of us, it would seem, were so tired and shagged out by it all that we didn't even bother to cast a vote. Whether you did or didn't, a number of yo ... More >>

The Billion-Dollar Bet: Which Pension Reform Measure Will Pass and Survive Legal Challenge

Our pension mess ain't over till it's over. Or the city goes well and truly broke. ​It's easy to suffer election fatigue in San Francisco. The majority of us, it would seem, were so tired and shagged out by it all that we didn't even bother to cast a vote. Whether you did or didn't, a number of yo ... More >>

Police and Fire Pension Deal Could Cost City $61 Million

​This morning, the Examiner reported an eye-opening facet of the police and fire unions' latest deal. Should the city-backed pension plan be voted into law, cops and firefighters will begin paying augmented pension rates in 2013, like everyone else. But if voters choose Jeff Adachi's plan, public ... More >>

Tony Hall, Mayoral Candidate, Barred from Debate Because of His Stance on Pensions

Tony Hall​Unions representing San Francisco's police officers and firefighters have barred former city Supervisor Tony Hall from participating in a debate among mayoral candidates slated for tomorrow, citing in part Hall's aggressive stance on reforming municipal workers' pension and healthcare pa ... More >>

Jeff Adachi Turns in Excess Signatures for Pension Reform Measure

No more money sucking ​Just last week Public Defender Jeff Adachi told reporters there wasn't a chance he'd back down from his competing pension reform measure. And he meant it. Today, he turned in more than 72,600 signatures needed to put the measure on the November ballot -- far more than the 46 ... More >>

Pension Reform: Jeff Adachi Says Mayor's Proposal Doesn't Add Up

The new face of pension reform?​Mayor Ed Lee announced his long-awaited pension reform proposal today, partnering with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd to introduce an amendment to the city charter that aims to defray San Francisco's mounting liabilities for employees' retirement benefits. Lee's goal all ... More >>

Dennis Herrera Called Out Over Pension Reform Ethics

Deciphering what's legally dumb​Public Defender Jeff Adachi's crusade continues ... but now he's turning his sights on City Attorney Dennis Herrera, claiming he is using his role as the city's chief lawyer to influence pension reform. Adachi's SF Pension Reform group, fired off a letter to Herrera ... More >>

List: What Threats Should San Franciscans Be Frightened Of?

Deciphering what's legally dumb​Public Defender Jeff Adachi's crusade continues ... but now he's turning his sights on City Attorney Dennis Herrera, claiming he is using his role as the city's chief lawyer to influence pension reform. Adachi's SF Pension Reform group, fired off a letter to Herrera ... More >>

List: San Francisco Reacts to Bin Laden's Death

Deciphering what's legally dumb​Public Defender Jeff Adachi's crusade continues ... but now he's turning his sights on City Attorney Dennis Herrera, claiming he is using his role as the city's chief lawyer to influence pension reform. Adachi's SF Pension Reform group, fired off a letter to Herrera ... More >>

Labor-Backed Plan for "Smoothing" Pension Plans Deemed Illegal

Deciphering what's legally dumb​Public Defender Jeff Adachi's crusade continues ... but now he's turning his sights on City Attorney Dennis Herrera, claiming he is using his role as the city's chief lawyer to influence pension reform. Adachi's SF Pension Reform group, fired off a letter to Herrera ... More >>

List: What Isn't Working in San Francisco

Deciphering what's legally dumb​Public Defender Jeff Adachi's crusade continues ... but now he's turning his sights on City Attorney Dennis Herrera, claiming he is using his role as the city's chief lawyer to influence pension reform. Adachi's SF Pension Reform group, fired off a letter to Herrera ... More >>

Pension Crisis Is Real, as Fates of Other Cities Show

Now featuring smaller pensions for cops​With the interminable debate we've witnessed over questions of pension reform during the last year, it's sometimes easy to forget that this isn't just another political shooting match over a characteristically trivial San Franciscan topic. (Dog parks, anyone ... More >>

List: How the Unions Will Fix the Pension Crisis

Now featuring smaller pensions for cops​With the interminable debate we've witnessed over questions of pension reform during the last year, it's sometimes easy to forget that this isn't just another political shooting match over a characteristically trivial San Franciscan topic. (Dog parks, anyone ... More >>

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

Now featuring smaller pensions for cops​With the interminable debate we've witnessed over questions of pension reform during the last year, it's sometimes easy to forget that this isn't just another political shooting match over a characteristically trivial San Franciscan topic. (Dog parks, anyone ... More >>

Pension Costs to Skyrocket for Key S.F. City Unions

Now featuring smaller pensions for cops​With the interminable debate we've witnessed over questions of pension reform during the last year, it's sometimes easy to forget that this isn't just another political shooting match over a characteristically trivial San Franciscan topic. (Dog parks, anyone ... More >>

Latest Jeff Adachi Pension Measure Won't Be Called 'Pension Measure'

Will The Holy One have a say in pension reform?​Public Defender Jeff Adachi is on his way to a modern record. He has now submitted six potential ballot measures regarding pension reform that the city attorney refuses to categorize with the helpful description "pension reform." Adachi's latest prop ... More >>

List: Why We're Still Talking About Barry Bonds

Will The Holy One have a say in pension reform?​Public Defender Jeff Adachi is on his way to a modern record. He has now submitted six potential ballot measures regarding pension reform that the city attorney refuses to categorize with the helpful description "pension reform." Adachi's latest prop ... More >>

Guardian, SEIU's Ridiculous Take on Pension Reform

I know! Let's tax the rich! ​If you hopelessly lash yourself to one of the city's political camps you're likely either a hack or on the payroll. Or, in the case of this week's Guardian editorial likening city pension reform to Wisconsin-style union-busting, both. The piece is penned by the preside ... More >>

Jeff Adachi Says Proposition B Would Have Passed in Wisconsin

Wisconsin: Fertile ground for pension reform?​Public Defender Jeff Adachi is firing back against local labor leaders and legislators trying to draw a link between his pension-reform efforts in San Francisco and the battle over the future of organized labor that is playing out in Wisconsin.Adachi, ... More >>

Guardian Accuses Public Defender Jeff Adachi of 'Tea Party' Ties

Jeff Adachi​We've got to hand it to the Guardian. Just when you think Bruce Brugmann's boys and girls have lost it -- that they don't have a single conspiracy theory worthy of a good belly laugh left in them; that all you can look forward to in the paper's pages are turgid, overlong articles on la ... More >>

San Francisco Pensions: Wait, it Gets Worse!

​There's a very dark old joke about a woman being informed that the baby she just delivered is not exactly healthy. He doesn't have any arms. He doesn't have any legs. He has no body. He has no face. In fact, he is just an ear. But it gets worse. The ear is deaf. And that brings us to San Francisc ... More >>

San Francisco's Pension Contribution Will Be Far Worse Than Reported

​Last week, SF Weekly reported that the city's forthcoming pension contribution would be an astronomical $433 million in fiscal 2011-12. The Examiner, and then the Chronicle, subsequently reported that number would be $375 million. Who's right? None of us, it turns out. SF Weekly is almost right, ... More >>

Gavin Newsom Pushing ... Pension Reform?

Gavin's doing his pension dance again...​Moments ago in a live interview on Channel 2, Mayor Gavin Newsom said he's hoping for a "third" pension reform deal to be struck before he leaves office. He reminded TV viewers he was working on pension reform before it was politically expedient to do so. Y ... More >>

Get Propositioned: Pensions Fail, Bus Drivers Dinged, and Sit-Lie Runs

'Oh, what a beautiful morning...'​It must be a bittersweet morning to be driving the Muni bus. With the vast majority of the city's votes counted, Proposition G -- which removes drivers from their exalted status as the only city workers not having to enter collective bargaining for their wages -- ... More >>

Let It Bleed

The city is awash in red ink, thanks to billion-dollar benefit giveaways and our politicians' lack of will.

Pension Reform Prop. B Helmed By Rookie Strategist Darcy Brown

Darcy Brown's first job as a San Francisco campaign consultant won't be an easy one​On Monday, the Chronicle revealed that consultant Jim Stearns is being tapped to lead labor's charge against Jeff Adachi's Prop. B pension reform measure -- a move that was all but inevitable. Stearns is labor and ... More >>

Key Portion of 'SF Smart Reform' Prop. B Struck Down by Judge

With today's cut, Prop. B just become shorter and easier to read. Will it become easier to evade, too?​A judge today struck down a portion of Proposition B -- "SF Smart Reform" -- that the measure's author, public defender Jeff Adachi, had claimed was critical for actually ensuring the legislation ... More >>

Workers' comp covers retired cops who get cancer

With today's cut, Prop. B just become shorter and easier to read. Will it become easier to evade, too?​A judge today struck down a portion of Proposition B -- "SF Smart Reform" -- that the measure's author, public defender Jeff Adachi, had claimed was critical for actually ensuring the legislation ... More >>

List: S.F. bans water, pets, and ... LOLcats?

With today's cut, Prop. B just become shorter and easier to read. Will it become easier to evade, too?​A judge today struck down a portion of Proposition B -- "SF Smart Reform" -- that the measure's author, public defender Jeff Adachi, had claimed was critical for actually ensuring the legislation ... More >>

Jeff Adachi for mayor!

With today's cut, Prop. B just become shorter and easier to read. Will it become easier to evade, too?​A judge today struck down a portion of Proposition B -- "SF Smart Reform" -- that the measure's author, public defender Jeff Adachi, had claimed was critical for actually ensuring the legislation ... More >>

Can Jeff Adachi Save San Francisco $167 Million?

In which this gent represents San Francisco...​Public Defender says "Smart Reform" not a political ploy; claims he's not running for mayorJeff Adachi has a job. He's good at it, too. But now it's time for a little role reversal. Rather than defend, he's on the attack -- and his campaign will likel ... More >>

City, County Officials Whisper 'Bankruptcy' to Solve Pension Woes

Wheeee!McClatchy Newspapers Pension Investigation: More Local Government Accounts Looking As Red As Bankrupt Vallejo's; California's 80 Largest City and County Governments Face $28 Billion Shortfall.SF Weekly Follow: Failure is no obstacle to the pension good life: CalPers records show $197,421 ... More >>

Elsbernd Handicaps His Pension Plan's Chances

​The Board of Supervisors are meeting as I write (Supervisor Chris Daly is upbraiding Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and all is right in the world). Before he headed into chambers, Elsbernd gave us his best impersonation of Carnac the Magnificent, predicting how his pension reform measure would be recei ... More >>

D'oh! Labor-Backed Pension 'Reform' Would Cost City Millions More Than Earlier Estimate.

​On Wednesday, we reported how a pension reform bill intending to save the city money was affixed with a union-crafted amendment that would actually cost San Francisco more than $13 million annually.The notion of pension reform actually costing the city more in both the short- and long-term is bad ... More >>

Controller: Labor-Backed Pension 'Reform' Would Cost City $13.2M Per Year

Look! "Reform"! ​We've reported a bit on Supervisor Sean Elsbernd's attempts to save the city a modest bundle via pension reform, and the SEIU's attempts to amend the plan via Supervisor Eric Mar. While Mar claimed his amendments wouldn't cost the city any additional money, Elsbernd disagreed -- a ... More >>

Controller Confirms Amendment to Pension 'Reform' Plan Would *Cost* City Millions

San Francisco finds innovative new ways to lose money...​We've written a bit about Supervisor Sean Elsbernd's proposed Charter Amendment, which would save the city a modest bundle by altering San Francisco's pension system. We couldn't help but notice, however, that an amendment Supervisor Eric ... More >>

Will City Manage to *Lose* Money on Pension 'Reform'?

It's like gaining weight on a diet...​You'd think even San Francisco wouldn't manage to formulate a "solution" for pension reform that actually costs millions more in both the long-run and short-run. Right? Right? Well -- apparently not. We've written a bit about Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and his p ... More >>

Will Hard Times Bring Out the Progressives' Inner Elsbernd?

Does pension reform seem like a good idea now? ​It doesn't seem likely that many elected members of San Francisco's government want to stand up and bellow about how pension reform is bunk -- they're just fine with the way things are. At least that's what Supervisor Sean Elsbernd is counting on. Yo ... More >>

The Odd Couple: Former Combatants Adachi, Elsbernd Bond Over Pension Reform

Felix, Oscar; Sean, Jeff. Sean, Jeff; Felix, Oscar.​When we last covered the interaction of Public Defender Jeff Adachi and Westside Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, the latter was cutting the former off in mid-sentence -- and the former was giving the stare-of-death to the latter. In the epic battle ove ... More >>

Charter Amendments Ahoy! Supes' Last Chance to Really Tool Around With City Today.

Of course this is the city's charter! Don't you recognize Chris Daly's handwriting? ​San Francisco supervisors have long known that there ain' t no party like a charter amendment party because a charter amendment party don't stop. Unless you don't get five other votes from your colleagues. Then th ... More >>

Requiem for a Pension Fund?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger launches an attack on CalPERS. The giant pension fund's Democratic allies aren't taking it lying down

Looking Inside INdTV

Al Gore and ex-Stanford prof Joel Hyatt say their S.F.-based cable news channel for twentysomethings won't be ideological. But do the Democratic moneymen behind the venture know that?

Letters to the Editor

Week of November 19, 2003

Letters

Week of November 19, 2003

Baseball's Orphans

Why are 74 old-timers -- players who helped create the multibillion-dollar business called Major League Baseball -- still without pensions?

Has Yaki Got a Deal for You

City pension fund could back bonds

The Burton Money Machine

John Burton's 1040s reveal that politics doesn't pay