U.S. State Politics

SF Weekly Letters

Space -- The Final Frontier

Musketeers. Little Pigs. The number of polyester-era sitcom stars before you officiallyhave "Company." Many things seem to come in threes -- just hopefully not gubernatorialvetoes of legislation intended to keep bicyclists safe.Acting on the proposition that the third time really is a charm, Los Ang ... More >>

Meg Whitman, Republicans Sign Supreme Court Brief Supporting Gay Marriage -- Finally

At a time when stark partisanship has defined political debate, here's another sign that support for gay marriage is creeping into mainstream paradigm: A bunch of Republicans, including former California Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, have signed a brief declaring to the U.S. Supreme Court tha ... More >>

Texas Governor Rick Perry to Land in S.F. Next Week

Earlier this week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry went on the airwaves, warning California that he was coming to poach our businesses. Now the governor/failed presidential candidate might not know a lot of things, like what the voting age is, but he sure as hell knows that it's going to take a lot more tha ... More >>

Harborside Health Center: Landlord Can't Evict Medical Marijuana Dispensary

California Court Upholds State Law; Federal Court Next on Dec. 20Oakland's Harborside Health Center is in the business of selling medical marijuana. This is obvious to anyone -- and in particular the dispensary's landlord, who last week had her effort to evict the dispensary tossed by a judge.The la ... More >>

Hurricane Sandy: S.F. to Host A Very Jersey Christmas to Benefit Storm Survivors

Black Friday is over, the Christmas tree is up in Union Square, and San Franciscans are busy making holiday plans -- sans the snow. So while you are out shopping for your loved ones, don't forget about the less fortunate, specifically those sad victims of Hurricane Sandy. On Dec. 5, a "Very Jersey ... More >>

Haborside Health Center: Oakland Files Lawsuit Against Feds to Prevent Closure of Pot Club

Oakland filed a complaint in United States District Court today in an attempt to stop the feds from shutting down the state's largest medical marijuana dispensary. The feds are trying to seize the building along the Embarcadero where the Harborside Health Center is located. The pot club was operat ... More >>

Drug Users Who Overdose to Be Protected Under New Legislation

California legislators this week passed a bill that would allow drug users to seek medical attention without having to worry about getting arrested for being high or possessing a personal amount of an illegal substance. People helping the user get treatment would be granted the same immunity. Known ... More >>

Matt Cain's Perfect Game: Gavin Newsom's Tweet Might Have Lost Him the L.A. Vote

Like with every big happening in the world these days, Matt Cain's perfect game -- the first in Giants history -- sent Twitter into an immediate and homogenous flutter. The magnitude of which we haven't seen since ... Manny Pacquiao dominated got screwed by corrupt/blind judges against Tim Bradley o ... More >>

Hemp Farming Still Illegal, Obama Provides Convenient Scapegoat

If and when Tea Party hero Sen. Rand Paul visits San Francisco and goes shopping, he'll find friendly faces in the aisles of Rainbow Grocery more quickly than he will any Safeway (especially the Castro location). In addition to the destruction of all government, the Kentucky Republican has legislate ... More >>

Bordering on Revolution: America's War on Mexicans Has Gone Too Far

It's the Economy, Stupid

Local Democrats Ask Obama to Leave S.F. Marijuana Clubs Alone

San Francisco Democrats turned on one of their own as they issued a scathing rebuttal to President Barack Obama's explanation of his unpopular crackdown of medical marijuana clubs.The local Democratic Party passed a resolution yesterday, demanding that President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, ... More >>

Bill Banning Food Trucks from Parking Near Schools Is Withdrawn

Pot Grows on File: Bill to Force Medical Marijuana Users to Register with the State

​Whatever scent you may detect on street corners on a sunny day in the Mission, know this: Marijuana users aren't exactly out of the closet. The city's medical marijuana activist groups continue to struggle to organize and turn out supporters, who have proven less than eager to go public.Folks who ... More >>

California Cottage Food Bill Could Make It Easier to Start a Small Food Business

​As SFoodie's "Going Legit" series last summer chronicled, starting a food business in this city is almost ludicrously difficult. Even if you go on the cheap, navigating city and state regulations and finding a commercial kitchen can be expensive, time-consuming, and bewildering. And with dying do ... More >>

More on Food Trucks and Schools: Shrinking SF Guidelines, Amending AB 1678

​Last week, SFoodie reported that a new bill introduced into the state assembly threatens San Francisco's growing street food scene. AB 1678, introduced by Assemblymember Bill Monning of Carmel, would prohibit food trucks from parking within 1,500 feet of any elementary or secondary school during ... More >>

New Food Truck Bill Could Kill S.F.'s Street Food Scene

​Last Tuesday, Assemblymember Bill Monning (D-Carmel) introduced AB 1678, a bill intended to prevent students from eating their lunch at food trucks instead of the school cafeteria. As it's currently written, AB 1678 would ban food trucks from parking within 1,500 feet of any school. The stat ... More >>

Gavin Newsom's "Access to Education" Event Held at Bar Inaccessible to Students

YYoung man! Let's see some ID!​ou know what gets in the way of an event highlighting the dire plight of young people? Young people.San Francisco's erstwhile mayor Gavin Newsom was last week honored at a slammin' San Diego party. But this wasn't just a fiesta for a fiesta's sake. The purpose of thi ... More >>

A Nation Mobilized

Leland Yee, Champion of Shark Fin Soup, to Tout More Politically Correct Broth

Leland Yee likes all types of soup​State Sen. Leland Yee, the enigmatic San Francisco politician known for his past brushes with the law and diverse array of stances on major policy issues, positioned himself last year as an opponent of a ban on shark fin soup, the Asian delicacy that depends on ... More >>

S.F. Bartenders to Gov. Jerry Brown: Let Us Infuse Our Booze

Bon Vivants: Will Guv Brown have what they're having?​Josh Harris and Scott Baird -- two San Francisco bartenders, dandies, and "cocktail consultants" known as the Bon Vivants -- are trying to save one of the 600 bills sitting on the governor's desk from being vetoed. The two are shilling for ... More >>

Shark Fin FAQ: So What's This Ban All About?

​Yesterday, SFoodie broke the news that the California state senate had passed AB 376, a statewide ban on the sale and import of shark fins. Since the bill had already passed through the Assembly last spring, it now goes to the governor's office. So what's this bill all about? Dried shark fin i ... More >>

Marijuana Advocates Unsure if New State Law Is Good or Bad

Who's he helping?brokencountry.com​Earlier this summer, medical marijuana advocates sounded the legislative alarm over a bill penned by a Southern California assemblyman that gives local governments the right to ban medical cannabis dispensaries, as many a Bay Area burgh from Danville to Daly City ... More >>

Pot Legalization Measure Has Support of Mendocino Growers

Drug Policy AllianceThat's the idea​Can Protections for Medical Patients Help Succeed Where Proposition 19 Failed?Cannabis advocates promised they'd be back at the California ballot following marijuana legalization measure Proposition 19's historic failure in November 2010 (the measure received mo ... More >>

Illegal Immigrant Student Interned At California State Capitol

The new "coming out." ​Coming out of the closet as gay is so circa 1999. Now it's all about coming out as an illegal immigrant. Everyone is doing it: Fresno State University student body president Pedro Ramirez came out as illegal last year. Last month, former Washington Post reporter Jose Antonio ... More >>

Governor Jerry Brown Signs California Dream Act

One step closer to being able to graduate. ​A decade after California allowed undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition to attend public universities, the state is now allowing the students to get scholarships to afford them. At a time when the price tag on higher education is threatening ma ... More >>

Gavin Newsom's House Sells

It's official: Newsom's out​Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom can no longer play coy about whether he is or is not a resident of San Francisco. According to news reports, the former San Francisco mayor's house has officially sold, which means he is officially no longer a denizen of our fair city. S ... More >>

Veteran Con Man Back to Swindling Elderly Veterans

Arnold Schwarzenegger Is as Unpopular as George W. Bush

Arnie is no longer a chick magnet​Apparently, voters find former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's out-of-wedlock love child even more unappealing than his inability to get the state budget passed on time. According to a new poll, Arnie's ratings have dipped to an all-time low. Roughly 75 percent of st ... More >>

California DA's Association Is Fighting Bill to Make Pot Growing a Misdemeanor

Mesage received​You don't need to tell David Eyster about marijuana crime. As Mendocino County district attorney, he deals with pot crimes more than anyone else in the state. Yet the prosecutors in California's "Emerald Triangle" pot-producing region all sponsor AB 1017 --  the bill in the st ... More >>

Gavin Newsom "Blindingly Handsome" to New Yorkers

We cannot see!​Gavin Newsom never got along with the local press, especially when asked about uncomfortable topics. Actually, he seemed to prefer to get into huffy fights with them, or attempt to bite their microphones. But the New York City press loves our ex-mayor. The New Yorker wrote a feature ... More >>

Blowing Smoke: Obama Promises One Thing, Does Another on Medical Marijuana

Imperial County Clerk Wants to Defend Prop 8 Appeal

Hold the cake.​Imperial County Clerk Chuck Storey is attempting to sign onto the legal challenge to Judge Vaughn Walker's decision last year that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Storey submitted a brief today to the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco asking for the ability to defend Pr ... More >>

Wisconsin Union Battle Resonates in S.F.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker​It was only a matter of time before San Francisco politicians and activists began weighing in on the pitched battle over union power in Wisconsin. Even more so here than in most states and cities, labor is an essential factor in all political equations. So is it that un ... More >>

Fiona Ma Refuses to Use State-Subsidized Cars Amid Looming Budget Crisis

Giving, not getting, free rides​Not every executive feels entitled to perks in the face of a financial fiasco. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma is one of a handful of lawmakers in Sacramento who refuses to use taxpayer dollars to get to and from work. Ma has decided not to use state leased vehicles, one of ... More >>

The Real Message of Jared Loughner

Jared Loughner​There's been a lot of ink devoted to analyzing Jared Loughner's motivations in the shooting rampage that left U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) seriously wounded and six others, including a 9-year-old girl, dead. Much of the press attention has focused on the question of whether ... More >>

Why Is It a Secret Who's Buying California's Government Buildings?

Uh, that'd be us. And we're paying for it, too. ​The Bay Citizen this past weekend followed up on our series of scoops begun in February about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's rotten deal to sell prize California government buildings for an upfront payment, and then lease them back at exorbitant cost. ... More >>

Gavin Newsom Could Delay Swearing-In. But Why?

Should he stay or should he go? ​The Chron this morning summarized a legal memo that backs up Mayor Gavin Newsom's oft-repeated threat of delaying his exit as San Francisco mayor if he's not satisfied with the Board of Supervisors' choice for his successor. The "Will he or won't he?" makes for gre ... More >>

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Overcrowded California Prisons Today

Hot, flat, and crowded: San Quentin State Prison​The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments today in Schwarzenegger v. Plata, the landmark prison-overcrowding lawsuit that could eventually result in tens of thousands of state inmates being released.California has faced a lot of pro ... More >>

Local Dungeness Crab Expected Monday or Tuesday

cygnoir/FlickrDungeness photographed through the window of Swan Oyster Depot.​With any luck, Central California Dungeness will make their first appearance of the season Monday, Nov. 15, the date traditionally pegged for commercial boats to lower their crab pots in California waters from Point ... More >>

A Wiener Grows in the Castro

The election was depressing. Watching Buster Posey on TV is not.​The Week In GayA heartfelt apology to Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. But who can resist cracking wise about the name of the presumptive winner in race to represent District 8? You've gotta recognize the magnitude of ... More >>

Dianne Feinstein Was Against Kamala Harris' 'Strong Track Record' Before She Was For It

An unlikely ally?​In an effort to combat the mudslide of Republican money pouring into California to fund attack ads on San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris in the California Attorney General's race, the Harris campaign today released a "statement" from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein."Kamala ... More >>

Tom Ammiano Mangles Profane Spanish at Unique Immigration Rally (PICS)

Tom, what are you saying?​As promised, San Franciscans came out against Arizona's controversial SB 1070 immigration law today, in a protest also aimed at the federal identification program known as Secure Communities ("S-COMM for short"). A picturesque group positioned in front of the Federal Buil ... More >>

Is Berkeley Marijuana Dispensary's Maine Investment 'Cannabusiness' as Usual?

​ "Cannabusiness" is a term thrown around plenty these days, what with medical marijuana dispensaries and delivery services a ho-hum regularity in California, and the prospect of full-blown legalization looming on the horizon via the ballot box. But "cannabusiness" is also a dirty word for some in ... More >>

Police Commissioner David Onek to Run for District Attorney if Kamala Harris Wins A.G. Post

David Onek​San Francisco Police Commissioner David Onek announced today that he plans to run for district attorney -- provided current D.A. Kamala Harris, his political ally, wins the November election for California attorney general and vacates the office early."DA Harris is a friend and I would ... More >>

Resolution To Support Gay Binational Couples Heads To California Senate

​A resolution supporting the federal bill that would allow gay U.S. citizens to sponsor their partners for a visa passed the California Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday and now heads to the Senate floor for a vote.Our cover story this week, "Worlds Apart," tells the story of three Bay Area coup ... More >>

Schwarzenegger Fires State Official Protesting $1.4 Billion Presidio Spending Scheme

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has dealt harshly with those opposing his cockamamie fiscal schemes...​For those wondering whether California is on its way to becoming Greece, witness an alarming pattern in which the governor comes up with ways to plunge the state even further into debt, then fires pub ... More >>

Dead Sea

An unpublished study shows the surprisingly lethal effects of the Cosco Busan oil spill. Why are government scientists helping the ship's owner keep it a secret?

Craig Newmark speaks at victim's memorial in wake of Craigslist killings