May 21, 2019
Good Tuesday!
The Golden State Warriors have fought their way to the NBA Western Conference Finals for the fifth straight year.
Despite missing player Andre Iguodala, the team caught up from a 17 point deficit in the third quarter to sweep Portland Trail Blazers in overtime.
The winning streak is the longest since the 1960s when the Celtics won 11 championships in 13 years.
A team of University of San Francisco Urban and Public Affairs graduate students found that the only viable way for Muni to compete with Lyft and Uber is to become more reliable, more accessible and more affordable if not free. The recommendations were made as part of a study of the transportation gig economy and delivered to the Local Agency Formation Commission last week. At the same meeting, the commission approved a $300,000 contract for a comprehensive survey of on-demand workers in the United States. San Francisco Examiner
Transportation want the data to better regulate the congestion caused by the ridehail car services. An investigation found that they create 65% of violations for blocking transit and bicycle lanes, illegal U-turns and more. San Francisco Examiner | Bloomberg
Senate Bill 50, a high profile yet controversial housing bill authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has been sidelined for the rest of the year. The legislation, which passed two committees, caused concern in local government officials who claimed it would significantly override local zoning controls.
The race to replace District Attorney George Gascon is well on its way. Last week, San Francisco’s four district attorney candidates — Suzy Loftus, Chesa Boudin, Nancy Tung, and Leif Dautch — discussed their positions and new ideas at a forum hosted by the San Francisco Latino Democratic Club. A “Civil Rights Unit” for tackling racial disparities, a “Wrongful Conviction Unit” for determining if crimes ought to be reinvestigated and the elimination of cash bail were all on the table. Mission Local
Data analysis of the number of crimes recorded by the San Francisco Police Department show a month-over-month and year-over-year decline. Incident reports fell 1.3%, 10,501 to 10,364, from March to April. There was a 12% drop in incident reports, with theft and assault reports decreasing the most, when April 2019 is compared to April 2018. Hoodline
After international outcry, Mayor London Breed shifted her stance on the San Francisco Police Department’s no-knock raid on journalist Bryan Carmody’s home and office in connection to the leaked police report detailing the circumstance of former public defender Jeff Adachi’s death. Originally Breed said she supported the police department’s decision. In a series of Tweets on Sunday, she said she is “not OK with police raids on reporters. We need to do better."
Freedom of the press advocates have called for the Office of the District Attorney to investigate the police department. San Francisco Examiner | KQED
The California Department of Justice will be compelled to release a large number of police misconduct and shooting records in accordance with a new transparency law after a San Francisco Superior Court judge rejected Attorney General Xavier Becerra's arguments in favor of maintaining secrecy. KQED
Results from the biannual Homelessness Point-in-Time count show a 17% increase in the number of individuals without permanent housing living on The City’s streets. In 2017, 6,858 were counted. This January, there were 8,011. The number of homeless veterans and youth decreased 14% and 10%, respectively. The number of homeless families stayed the same. The number of sheltered homeless people rose 13% and the number of people living in vehicles rose 45%.
Because the tally uses the federal government’s standards, the number is likely to be much higher when City Hall’s standards are applied. That data will be released in June.
Tens of thousands of runners, both costumed and not, participated in the 108th annual Bay to Breakers 12K race on Sunday. Gabriel Geay was the overall winner with a time of 35:01 and Caroline Rotich won the female division with a time of 39:28.
In a recent regulatory filing, Pacific Gas & Electric outlined a scenario in which it may shut off high-voltage transmission lines that deliver power to San Francisco in order to prevent wildfires during dry and windy days. Last week, state investigators confirmed the private utility company’s equipment caused last year’s deadly Camp Fire. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s assistant General Manager Barbara Hale said its necessary for residents to be prepared for power outages just as they are ready for earthquakes.
Civic Center
During a briefing about the multi-million dollar plans to revamp Civic Center plaza, Planning Commission President Myrna Melgar questioned whether the needs of homeless were considered and addressed. Meglar proposed that Brooks Hall, a 94,000-square foot event space underneath the plaza used for storage, be converted into a Navigation Center. No plans for Brooks Hall have been be announced.
Park Merced
About 2,000 of copies of last week’s edition of San Francisco State University’s student-run newspaper Golden Gate Xpress were taken from new stands across campus. Managing Editor Monserrath Arreola suspects an article exposing a discrimination complaint against a faculty member led to the theft. The matter is under investigation by the campus police department.
Twin Peaks
On Thursday, after three hours of comments from the public, the Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee unanimously moved forward a measure to shut down juvenile hall. The legislation was spurred by a San Francisco Chronicle report documenting a staggering drop in youth crime and the high cost of running juvenile halls across California. The legislation will go before the full board in June.
Financial District
In Montgomery Street BART Station, the site of a newsstand has commuters bemused. The domed ceiling creates a perfect echo chamber, reflecting the words of those who stand beneath it. No word on whether the newsstand will be restored.
Glen Park
On Friday, Fairmount Elementary School was renamed Dolores Huerta Elementary School in honor of the labor organizer who led the Central California farmworkers grape strike with Cesar Chavez in 1965. "We know that education is the foundation of our democracy,” 89-year-old Huerta said. “If we do not have an educated citizenry, the powerful and the greedy will rule our country."
Hayes Valley
Residents near Brazilian steakhouse Espetus who have long complained about smoke entering their apartments may soon be relieved. The Department of Building Inspection and the restaurant have reached an agreement for replacing equipment to contain the smoke.
Haight Ashbury
Last week, San Francisco Heritage, an organization dedicated to The City’s historic architecture, announced that its landmark Doolan-Larson residence, was designated a national treasure by the National Trust For Historic Preservation for being "a center for the interpretation and preservation of Haight-Ashbury’s many contributions to America’s countercultural legacy."
Embarcadero
“It was like somebody pulled the plug on the drain, and the water just kept sucking out.” For the first time in at least 20 years, the San Francisco Port Commission gave a commendation to Captain David Crumpler for the outstanding judgement, boat handling and navigational skills he demonstrated during a Jan. 20 “tidal event” that caused the water level to drop so rapidly that a pier was damaged and the waterfront restaurant, Scoma’s, nearly sank.
Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, On Guard: The Raid on a Journalist’s Home is San Francisco’s Disgrace — And It Has Only Gotten Worse
Joe Eskenazi: Squalor Continues at ‘The Pit,’ the Residential Hotel Where Paul Pelosi, Jr.’s Involvement Baffles San Francisco Officials
Tim Redmond: The Real Lessons from the Surging Numbers of Homeless People on the Streets of San Francisco
Heather Knight, On San Francisco: Adachi Leak: San Francisco Ransacks Its Values with Police Raid on Reporter’s Home
Willie Brown, Willie’s World: Kamala Harris’ Campaign is Hit and Miss. And Her Staff is Way Too Touchy
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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