March 5, 2019
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Mayor London Breed proposed building a new 200-bed Homeless Navigation Center on Seawall Lot 330, a parking lot located near the Bay Bridge and Pier 30.
“The proposed waterfront site would be the Mayor’s first SAFE Navigation Center, [...] allowing guests to bring their partners, pets, and belongings with them and providing support to connect residents with services and permanent housing in a setting,” Mayor Breed said in a news release.
The site is critical to meeting the mayor’s goal to establish 1,000 new shelter beds.
The proposal will go before the Port Commission later this month.
On Monday, the life of Public Defender Jeff Adachi was remembered and celebrated by hundreds of mourners in the City Hall rotunda. Adachi died on Feb. 22 of a heart attack.
“In my 40 years working in the community, I never saw a Japanese-American so beloved by so many people across the city," said Paul Osaki, executive director of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. "He was Japantown's hero — he never said no, he was at every event or cause we needed him at. He was our sansei Superman. ... Fighting for truth, justice and the American way.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, went viral in an edited video last week for how she engaged with children in an environmental activist group advocating for the Green New Deal. This weekend, "Saturday Night Live" delivered a parody.
Last December, City College of San Francisco administrators projected an $11 million budget deficit. Now it’s $31 million. Administrators have suggested cutting 500 historically under-enrolled courses from the college’s 1,200 for-credit courses; cutting the full-time equivalent faculty from 600 to 500; and having faculty teach larger classes.
If CCSF ends 2019 with less than 5 percent of the budget in its reserve fund, college accreditors would involuntarily issue a warning that could start a “domino effect,” affecting the college’s bond rating, Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Dianna Gonzales said.
Responding to complaints that her deputies were violating the rights of inmates, Sheriff Vicki Hennessy directed Internal Affairs to investigate the allegations. On Monday, Hennessy turned over the investigation to the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability, stating she did so to appease the public and “[ensure] trust and transparency” in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed.
San Francisco Giants President and CEO Larry Baer took a leave of absence after a TMZ-published video showed him dragging his wife Pam by her arm from a chair to the ground while tussling for his cellphone as she screams for help.
In separate statements, Larry and Pam maintained that the latter fell off her chair during the scuffle due to a foot injury.
District Three Supervisor Aaron Peskin called for the director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, Jeff Kositsky, to step down. Peskin and other supervisors criticized the department for not improving The City’s homelessness situation despite the millions of dollars spent. But recent city data show some improvements such as more shelter beds and fewer tent structures.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association is seeking a court order that would direct The City to “refrain from enforcing or taking any steps to enforce SB 1421,” a new police accountability law that requires departments to turn over previously confidential police misconduct records.
San Francisco Public Works officals are combatting overflowing sidewalk trash cans. One thousand bins will be outfitted with small sensors that will alert Recology when they are 80 percent full. At $294 a piece, the Danish devices won out over the more expensive Bigbelly trash cans, which cost $3,000 per unit to rent annually.
Mission
An impromptu market on Mission Street returned on Saturday after being shut down last year amid complaints from the public. Known as “La Pulguita,” the market is operating on Julian Street with a one-month permit. Funding has been secured for another eight months in the event that it is successful.
Mission Bay
The nonprofit 826 Valencia recently opened its third youth writing center in The City. Called Woodland Creatures Outfitters Ltd., the new Fourth Street branch surprisingly has many children to serve for a neighborhood that is relatively new with more than 800 residents under the age of 18.
Bayview
Last month, locally owned supermarket Duc Loi's Pantry closed after two years. To open up the market in the neighborhood, which has been classified a food desert, The City awarded the company a $250,000 grant for interior and exterior improvements, and helped it secure a $4.1 million loan from the federal Small Business Administration.
Marina
District Two Supervisor Catherine Stefani called for a hearing to assess the impact of private shuttle company Chariot’s January closure on its customers and on other modes of transportation. The City “needs to learn why riders opted for Chariot of their other options in the first place, and what lessons we can learn from Chariot service to improve our own system,” Stefani said.
Mission
The Stay Over Program, a first-of-its-kind overnight shelter for homeless families in Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School, has been the subject of criticism by the San Francisco Chronicle, which called the project a failure despite being in its early days. Its founders are pushing back on that narrative.
Western Addition
Sutter Health’s new $2.1 billion California Pacific Medical Center Van Ness campus opened on Saturday. The facility features 274 patient beds, a new pediatric floor, 64 patient beds for expecting mothers and a 24-hour emergency department with 38 exam rooms.
South of Market
Two cracked windows have been discovered on the 14th floor of Salesforce Tower. The causes of the cracks are unknown. Unlike the Millenium Tower, which suffered cracked windows too, these cracks are on the inside.
Inner Sunset
The de Young Museum announced it will highlight one of San Francisco's own: Ed Hardy. Called “Deeper Than Skin,” the exhibit opens on July 13, 2019.
Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, On Guard: San Francisco Official Calls for Investigation into DoorDash for Taking Tips from Delivery Workers
Heather Knight, On San Francisco: San Francisco Mayor London Breed Gives Herself an ‘A’ on Job So Far. Let’s Break it Down
Joe Eskenazi: Is Crumbling City College Preparing to Ask San Francisco Voters to Pay for a Glistening New $250 Million Theater?
Willie Brown, Willie’s World: Michael Cohen Made for Great TV. But Did he Make a Difference?
San Francisco Public Works is looking for the community's help in tackling illegal dumping. The department thinks a catchy slogan contest will do the trick.
Slogans can be submitted at contest@sfdpw.org until March 8. The winner will receive $500.
Let us know what you submit!
This edition was curated and written by Alex Mullaney and edited by David Mamaril Horowitz.The newsletter is designed by Marquee and published on Proof.
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