Public Finance

New School Tax To Hit Ballot by June 2008

Chicken John Pissed At Ethics Commission

Dog Bites

Paper Trails

Candidate Promises Citizen Mayor Delivers?

Care Not Cash Volunteer Recommends Work, Ass-Kicking to Homeless in SF Weekly Letters

Porkmistress Pelosi

Madam Speaker says she wants to tame pork-barrel spenders. Takes one to know one.

Rent to Evict

For years, many low-income renters called the building their home. That's until a developer, who told the government it would be affordable, raised the rents.

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?

The Tax Man Cometh

The federal government looks to eliminate abusive tax shelters, and it may cost San Francisco tens of millions of dollars

Gimme Shelters

After mortgaging our future in an orgy of budget-related borrowing, the Legislature hatches new orgiastic plans: sleazy tax shelters

Vicious Cycle

Federal investigators clear AIDS prevention programs of wrongdoing -- and then reinvestigate them

Common Cents

The Chronicle should stop the dubious "news stories" and openly rail against a sales tax hike that hurts its major advertisers -- and slaughters the poor

A Taxing Problem

Why are two candidates for assessor trying to take credit for a computer system that has been an abysmal failure?

How to Kill a Nonprofit

A federal audit reveals the waste and mismanagement that ruined a once-promising minority aid program

Mecklin

On the Money

Indecent Disclosure

Willie Brown plays hide-and-seek with his tax returns

By George!

A forgotten San Francisco economist survives, barely, in his adopted city

Downtown's Fairy Godmother

Doris Ward, San Francisco's assessor, is tossing around commercial tax breaks as if they were fairy dust. It's costing the city at least $100 million a year.

The Grid

Doris Ward, San Francisco's assessor, is tossing around commercial tax breaks as if they were fairy dust. It's costing the city at least $100 million a year.

The Redevelopment Sinkhole

Years of reckless borrowing have sent the city's Redevelopment Agency spiraling into debt. Mayor Brown's pet projects may flush it down the drain entirely.

The Great Bank Thievery

The city and state say the Bank of America stole hundreds of millions -- even billions -- of dollars from the government. But didn't San Francisco finance officials know what was going on? And shouldn't B of A executives be under criminal investigation?

The Grid

The city and state say the Bank of America stole hundreds of millions -- even billions -- of dollars from the government. But didn't San Francisco finance officials know what was going on? And shouldn't B of A executives be under criminal investigation?

State Ballot Measures

The city and state say the Bank of America stole hundreds of millions -- even billions -- of dollars from the government. But didn't San Francisco finance officials know what was going on? And shouldn't B of A executives be under criminal investigation?

The Burton Money Machine

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

The Last Tycoon

Walter Shorenstein's skyscrapers shaped San Francisco. His cash configured City Hall. Publicly, he's pristine. But there's more than meets the eye to the man behind the megaliths.

S.F. Cracks List of Nation's Three Fastest-Plummeting Housing Markets (We Took Bronze)

New statistics show you absolutely can't afford these houses, but they now likely cost 28 percent less than last year's ridiculous pricesWhat do Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco have in common? Yep: sketchy nightclubs and plummeting housing prices. According to S&P data released today, San ... More >>

Did City's Goof Cause Tax Collectors to Overcharge San Francisco's Small Businesses?

A ballot proposition that raised the amount of money San Francisco businesses need to pay their employees before being subjected to city payroll taxes seems to have gone unnoticed by the very people charged with enforcing it -- San Francisco's tax collectors. Last year, voters overwhelmingly approve ... More >>

Stimulus Wreckage

Despite having been accused of deceptive business practices by the attorney general, former students, and ex-employees, Corinthian Colleges are getting millions in federal stimulus dollars.

The Guardian Way: Fudge the Numbers Till They Add Up How You Want

​When we got wind that the Guardian was planning a response to the "Worst-Run Big City in the U.S." article I wrote with Benjamin Wachs, we guessed they'd do two things: Focus almost entirely on one chart that went along with our lengthy article (nearly completely ignoring the article) and propose ... More >>

City Economist: Mayor's Payroll Tax Plan Would Create Thousands of Jobs -- Cost City $72M

But it's going to take money -- a whole lot of money -- to do it right, child​A report moments ago sent out by the city's chief economist, Ted Egan, claims that Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposed payroll tax revision will spur the creation of perhaps 4,300 jobs over the next two years -- but at a cost ... More >>

Feds Imperil Central Subway Funding, Demand Proof it's No Boondoggle

Jim HerdWoosh -- gone?​Mayor Gavin Newsom and his public transit chief Nat Ford had the chance to hold an elaborate groundbreaking earlier this month for the $1.6 billion Central Subway light rail project. But a letter from a  top federal transportation bureaucrat suggests the festivities may ... More >>

Muni Fail

Federal scrutiny could threaten funding for the Central Subway boondoggle.

New City Program Helps Homeowners Slash PG&E Bill

Look! Green! Green!​But Some Consumers May Be Better Off Looking Elsewhere To Fund Green Home Improvements, Program's Architect AcknowledgesMayor Gavin Newsom this evening will hold an "Internet town hall" to tout a new program helping property owners pay for energy-saving improvements. Dubbed Gre ... More >>

Warning, Procrastinator: Almost No Post Offices Open Until Midnight on Tax Day

He can't save you now, tax procrastinator...​IRS statistics reveal 80 percent of returns have been e-filed this year. In the good old days, folks who'd left their taxes until on or about April 15 could count on hordes of postal workers swarming the streets to grab the tax forms out of their hands ... More >>

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 >>

Guardian Editor: How Dare You Call Me Anti-Tax?

The San Francisco Bay Guardian's Tim Redmond today called us with some spirited criticism of an item we ran last week stating the paper's editors would personally benefit from Prop. 13 legislation they endorsed.In the item, we noted that the paper had endorsed Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's AB 2492, whic ... More >>

RAND Corp.: California Pot Initiative a Stoner's Dream

Intently studying the RAND report...​The RAND Corporation, the partially government-funded think tank known for stoner-friendly reading material such as "A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates," today released a report suggesting California's marijuana legalization initiative will be ... More >>

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 >>

Obama Budget Proposes $200 Million for S.F. Central Subway

Nat "Pro Shop" Ford​Muni boss Nat Ford on Monday praised Barack Obama for including $200 million in spending for the controversial Central Subway rail project as part of the president's federal budget proposal."The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency applauds President Barack Obama's pro ... More >>

Pelosi's Waning Power Felt with Republican $15 Million Cut for The Presidio

Thanks, Republicans.​House Republicans delivered a gut-punch to their nemesis Nancy Pelosi Thursday with a proposed $15 million cut in funding for the Presidio, a national park that's long been Pelosi's pet project.In order to wean itself off federal funding, the former U.S. Army base has become a ... More >>

Newsom Behind Deal to Keep Twitter in San Francisco

Newsom is behind the curtain​Two weeks ago, SF Weekly reported that the Twitter tax break deal reeked of former Mayor Gavin Newsom -- and now we know why. City supervisors had proposed legislation with sweet tax breaks for microblogging giant Twitter that would entice the company to remain in San ... More >>

Twitter Promises to Stay in San Francisco -- if City Gives Tax Break

Just a wink and a nod​It appears a sop to corporate blackmail does work. The Examiner is reporting that Twitter fired off a letter to city supervisors earlier today, saying it will stay in San Francisco if the city signs off on a deal giving the microblogging giant a mega tax break. "Twitter is co ... More >>

Never Mind the City's Budget Crisis: Supervisors, Mayor to Get Pay Raise

Pay raises won't help close the budget gap​Closing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit is no easy task -- and handing out raises to elected officials will only make it that much harder. The Examiner reports today that in the face of a $300 million budget crisis, the Civil Service Commission has r ... More >>

Twitter Confirms It Will Stay in San Francisco

Done deal ​Much to nobody's surprise, Twitter officials signed a lease to keep the multibillion-dollar company in San Francisco -- tax break and all. And although progressives balked at the idea of cutting the microblogging giant a six-year tax break to keep its headquarters in San Francisco, they ... More >>

San Francisco's $2.8 million Corporate Welfare Tab

Matt Smith illustrationUp with corporate welfare!​Gov. Jerry Brown has moved to cut public money thrown at enterprise tax zones, which provide breaks to companies in certain disadvantaged areas, including San Francisco's financial district and SOMA.But San Francisco companies are veritable corpora ... More >>

AB 152 Proposes Tax Credits for Farmers Donating to Food Banks

Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes.​Just as the California state legislature fights for its paychecks, another food-related bill fights to make it through committee in the Senate after passing unanimously through the Assembly.AB 152, introduced by Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, is intended to give reli ... More >>

Prop 13: The Building-Sized Loopholes Corporations Exploit

Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes.​Just as the California state legislature fights for its paychecks, another food-related bill fights to make it through committee in the Senate after passing unanimously through the Assembly.AB 152, introduced by Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, is intended to give reli ... More >>

Could a Soda Tax Save Lives?

At 12 cents a can, revenue from a soda tax would add up quickly. ​In April last year, the California state Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation shot down AB 669, Assemblymember Bill Monning's attempt to pass a penny-per-ounce tax on all sweetened beverages, such as sodas, energy drinks, and ... More >>

Tea Party Warrior: Report Medical Marijuana Clubs to the IRS and Get Rich

facebook.com/pages/Paul-Chabot-for-Assembly/Paul Chabot Wants YOU to Call the IRS on Pot Clubs​For Paul Chabot, the War on Drugs is personal indeed: Before he became a Navy man, a campus cop, and a former National Drug Control Policy staffer, he was in drug rehab for alcohol and marijuana addictio ... More >>