Politics

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

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 >>

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 >>

Diplomacy by the Bay

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 >>

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 >>

Gavin Newsom Goes Back On His Word To Avoid Back Room Deals

​After winning the seat for lieutenant governor in November, Mayor Gavin Newsom told reporters, point blank, that there would be no back room deals or political bargaining when selecting an interim mayor to fill the remainder of his term.He's also vowed to steer a clean-cut transition as he assume ... More >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Mexican Macroeconomics

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 >>

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

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 >>

FAIR-y Tales

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 >>

Fantasy Voter Fraud

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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

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 >>

Grinding Justice: Operation Streamline Costs Millions, Tramples the Constitution, Treats Migrants Like Cattle, and Doesnít Work

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Distressed Properties

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

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Stimulating Debate

S.F.'s employment rate is relatively good, but city leaders can still create more jobs. Here's how.

Leno: Even if Maldonado Becomes Lt. Gov, Republican Voters Won't Back a Latino

La respuesta del Senador Maldonado en español from CA Senate GOP on Vimeo. Sen. Mark Leno, the sole San Francisco legislator to vote in favor of installing Republican Abel Maldonado as the state's next Lieutenant Governor, said he has good reasons for casting his vote the way he did. But he said M ... More >>

Pissing Contest Between Newsom, Avalos May End Next Week

​When conjuring up Catch-22 analogies involving Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor John Avalos, one runs into a stumbling block right away. Which one is Yossarian? And who gets to be Major Major? (Personally, we see Newsom as Milo Minderbinder; they have similar feelings about privitazation). In an ... More >>

While our hypocritical mayor vows to reduce homeless population, city eyes cutting shelter beds

​When conjuring up Catch-22 analogies involving Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor John Avalos, one runs into a stumbling block right away. Which one is Yossarian? And who gets to be Major Major? (Personally, we see Newsom as Milo Minderbinder; they have similar feelings about privitazation). In an ... More >>

Weed Takes Root

Marijuana's steady creep toward legalization nationwide

A risky proposition: the Prop. 8 debate continues

Marijuana's steady creep toward legalization nationwide

Screwed

A lawsuit against the city highlights an affordable-housing program's decades of mismanagement — and the middle-class homeowners who lost out as a result.

"One Day: A Collective Narrative of Tehran"

A lawsuit against the city highlights an affordable-housing program's decades of mismanagement — and the middle-class homeowners who lost out as a result.

One Day reveals Iran's gridlock and anxiety

A lawsuit against the city highlights an affordable-housing program's decades of mismanagement — and the middle-class homeowners who lost out as a result.

Mirkarimi: Mayor's Departing Spokesman Shouldn't Be Replaced

There's an allegory here, somewhere...​Older politicians and older political reporters pine for the days when dueling politicos could check out at the end of the day like Ralph and Sam the coyote and sheep dog in old Looney Tunes shorts ("Morning Frank." "Morning Sam."). There was a glimmer of thi ... More >>

Newsom Resign-O-Rama Continues -- Is it Business as Usual or Beginning of End?

So long, Mr. Ryan...​With today's announcement of the departure of Kevin Ryan, the head of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, Gavin Newsom passed an important pinnacle. His right-hand men and women have now quit more times than Brett Favre. It took a while, but Newsom caught up. On a serious ... More >>

Newsom Spokesman Nathan Ballard Says His Piece, Quits

Nathan Ballard​The upside of having multiple spokesmen is that when one leaves, others can announce it. That's what happened today, when Mayor Gavin Newsom's chief spokesman, Nathan Ballard, announced he's leaving the mayor's employ. Ballard and Newsom praised one another in a release sent moments ... More >>

SEIU's Claim Mayor 'Broke Promise' to Union Is a Tough Sell

​Yesterday's contentious SEIU protest at City Hall was both similar to and different from the protests that proceeded it. It was different in that it featured a 14-foot-tall puppet and some sort of altercation with a Native American group. And it was the same in that it probably won't save the job ... More >>

Oh Yes, There's an Election Today. A Guide For the Last-Minute Voter.

Hey, lazy! It ain't too late to turn in that absentee ballot! ​Here at SF Weekly, we make a point of not telling you how to vote. Well, I'm going to break that taboo today. But not really. I'm not telling you who or what to vote for. I'm going to, literally, tell you how to vote. When we spoke wit ... More >>

National Rifle Association recruits San Franciscans to overturn gun-control laws

Hey, lazy! It ain't too late to turn in that absentee ballot! ​Here at SF Weekly, we make a point of not telling you how to vote. Well, I'm going to break that taboo today. But not really. I'm not telling you who or what to vote for. I'm going to, literally, tell you how to vote. When we spoke wit ... More >>

Oops, They Did It Again -- Public Campaign Finance Advocates Bemoan Latest 'Raid'

​Public campaign financing isn't just a political football here in San Francisco -- it's a football so frequently kicked, punted, or otherwise buffeted the laces have come undone. And is there any money to fix it? Don't ask! The latest instance of San Francisco politicos stating they like the idea ... More >>

Obama's stimulus money will increase traffic, but not bridge safety

​Public campaign financing isn't just a political football here in San Francisco -- it's a football so frequently kicked, punted, or otherwise buffeted the laces have come undone. And is there any money to fix it? Don't ask! The latest instance of San Francisco politicos stating they like the idea ... More >>