By John Geluardi
The
San Francisco Police Commission will begin the New Year by kicking off
a national search for new police chief who, unfortunately, will be
denied a critical tool to make improvements on one of the most
dysfunctional departments in the country. Chief Heather Fong, who will step down in April, leaves
behind a technologically backwards and rudderless police department in
which the only thing lower than morale are the arrest statistics.
The most poigant
statistic is the de
Peter JamisonPolice Commission President Theresa Sparks (right) talks it outAhhhh, democracy. Try as we might, it never quite runs according to
script, save in those enlightened, post-democratic nations -- such as
Russia, Haiti or Uzbekistan -- that have figured out how to tame the
snarling beast of representative government. San Francisco's Tenderloin
neighborhood, while it bears more than passing similarity to these
locales in some respects, is no such place. This much could be seen at a
commu
Joe EskenaziFormer SPOT director Pat Tobin lectures a mover during a hearing. Contractors claim such hearings denied them their right to due process -- and members of the Police Commission worry this could be true.Wednesday night's hearing regarding a controversial police ticketing program was not nearly so crowded as the last time this matter came before the Police Commission; perhaps last night folks were gawking instead at the half-naked male and female dancers gyrating at a loud Carnival sho
Police Commission President Theresa Sparks announced Wednesday she had forwarded to the mayor the names of three finalists in the race to replace retiring police chief Heather Fong."My perception, and this is just a guess, that the process will now move very quickly," said Sparks, following a closed hearing in which the Commission voted to refer to the mayor three names, which are being kept secret. "The Commission spent 49 hours interviewing, meeting with community members. It's been a clean pr
Last night, the Board of Supervisors proposed cuts of about $82 million to the budgets of San Francisco police, fire and sheriff's departments. Today, those departments got together and called a press conference.
Police Chief Heather Fong, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, Police Commissioner Theresa Sparks, Police Commissioner Tim Mazzucco, Assistant Police Chief Jim Lynch, and Deputy Police Chief David Shinn all took turns explaining to jotting journalists and TV&nbs
David Villa-Lobos -- now you see him, now you don't?If you send a mixed message -- but send it consistently -- are you really sending a mixed message? That's the koan followers of local politics can ponder when it comes to longshot District 6 Supervisorial candidate David Villa-Lobos. The Tenderloin activist -- who was once hospitalized by thugs who objected to his Gavin Newsom shirt and later underwent a six-day hunger strike after Newsom blew off a community forum he organized -- yesterday
Theresa SparksAfter weeks of speculation about whether Human Rights Commission director Theresa Sparks is about to move to District 6 and run for supervisor, Sparks tells us she signed a lease on an apartment at Turk and Van Ness last week. She says she is moving from her current Nob Hill flat this weekend.
Does this mean she'll definitely be competing to replace Chris Daly next year? "I'm leaning heavily towards doing it," Sparks says. "I've been having a lot of meetings wi
Code Pink on the left! Teabaggers on the right! Apparently, however, the transgender community still has President Obama's back.While Michelle Obama marked an earlier San Francisco visit by getting her hands dirty volunteering at a Bayview playground, the O will be skipping any public event that could sully his appearance in town this afternoon.
The collective wisdom is that the president is unwilling to personally face the tumult of protests and the dreaded "
Police Chief George Gascon (left) dropped by District 6 Supe candidate David Villa-Lobos' campaign kickoff last nightDistrict 6 Supervisorial candidate David Villa-Lobos thought we were giving him a hard time when we described him as "mercurial" last week. That wasn't our intention. But, really, how much more mercurial can you get than when you announce a fete at which you may be officially kicking off your campaign or may be withdrawing altogether? On this matter, it seems, Villa-Lobos is me
Chris DalyI want to thank Supervisor Chris Daly. I want to thank the man for forcing me to read through his turgid, 2,500-word polemic about supervisorial candidate Theresa Sparks and how "big money" has supposedly been showered upon this newspaper in return for a cover story. Now we know what it's like to be trapped in an office cubicle with Leon Trotsky on speakerphone. And if it takes this sort of inspiration to lead us to live more virtuous lives to avoid such a fate in the great beyond -
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