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The ideas and opinions expressed in these pages are strictly those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff or publisher of this news service. The Westside Observer is a free monthly news service focusing on the entire Westside of San Francisco operated by Westside San Francisco Media, a California non-profit. We are currently transitioning from a widely distributed newspaper to online content.
Mr. Denny has single-handedly held the 2019 Bond hostage with his futile lawsuit to overturn passage despite the will of 143,055 San Franciscans ...
Check it outCould the Controller’s Office be tainted by a conflict of interests?
Although the Board of Supervisors had requested this audit back in July 2019, bureaucratic shuffling and delays almost turned it into a spectral fantasy.
Check it outExactly one week and 20 minutes later as Aidan slept, a single hot prowl burglar ... made off with $3,500 worth of his electrician’s tools.
Check it out... access to records enables the public and press to uncover “corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, prejudice and favoritism.” The “pay to play” scandal unfolding in San Francisco makes clear the extent of corruption in government...
Check it outWhy did the SFPUC sign a contract with its peninsula agency (BAWSCA) ... so that BAWSCA customers would always have their taps filled while San Francisco would not — about 46% of the time?
Check it outWhat happened at Lowell ... is happening because of our increased awareness of inequitable opportunities for many black and brown children. But ...
Check it outStreet Crisis Response Team
There was a time when unsettling public disturbances were addressed by calling the cops. Peace Officers kept communal peace. That formula no longer works."
Check it out...it appears that approximately 2,100,000 signers ... such a recall election permits consolidation of a recall to remove District Attorney Chesa Boudin ..."
Check it outNow that many of San Francisco’s employers are allowing work from home, San Franciscans are leaving in large numbers to live in homes with more space in places — and for half the price.”
Check it out"Mr. Hall: Not only was Governor Newsom handling twice the population of NY dealing with a pandemic, — there were 9,639 wildfires burning over 4 million acres of our state...”
Read More ..."" Dr. Kerr, San Francisco has already tried that. The lack of enforcement of laws against drug dealing and drug use has led to a de facto legalization for several years.”
Read More ..."The Wheel is of little or no benefit to the de Young and I am disappointed that staff are calling in support of a private, for-profit vendor based in St. Louis, MO, with no transparency, and SF Parks Alliance, a private non-profit.”
Read More ...The proper course of action for ratepayers is a simple repeal of the 1932 monopoly ordinance and substitution of an ordinance requiring garbage contracts to be competitively bid.
Check it outThe Wheel is also a massive 150’ strobe light—strobe lights are sold to protect your pets in the backyard at night. The shadows strobe lights produce are intolerable to birds.
Check it outSan Francisco's Drug Crisis
... in 2018, there were 693,000 marijuana arrests – 90% for possession only — exceeding the arrests for all violent crimes combined. Most drug-related arrests are for simple possession.
Check it outIn my years of working with him before, during and after our stint together on the Board of Supervisors, he never once demonstrated that he had even the slightest knowledge or understanding of the basic tenets of good government ...
Check it out... something even more odd about Michaela’s account: One of her followers was Chesa Boudin ... his official San Francisco District Attorney Twitter account.
Check it out"Single use plastic bags, plastic straws are banned. Why is it a good idea to put plastic grass in Golden Gate Park? It lasts 8-10 years then becomes toxic waste that can't be recycled."
Check it outI have been assigned to chair the Land Use and Transportation Committee at the Board of Supervisors, as well as representing the Board on the First Five Commission ... We will begin holding regular office hours in the community this month ...
Check it outThe Naperville, Illinois school board announced last month it would refund $10,000,000 to taxpayers this year, meaning a typical family will receive $200 to $500 ... Meanwhile, private and Catholic schools are open for learning without demanding extra tuition.
Check it out... the isolated resident, as they withdraw into depression and weakness, is quiet. Others are needy, there is always too much to do ... When they cry out or kick, family should approve sedatives. Comfort is best, isn’t it?
Check it out...the “nuisance neighbor” installed a Ring Motion Sensing floodlight camera ... The high beam floodlight activated within six feet of my patio door ...”
There is a desperate need to have a banking solution for the cannabis industry, and a public bank might be just the correct fit for the cannabis industry and could be source of capital for a fledging public bank.
Check it outUC proposes a project that would add over 2 million square feet to the currently over-built campus — the equivalent of a Sales Force Tower and the TransAmerica Pyramid combined.
Check it out... basically the ‘burbs get the first water, the city the leftovers ... The system runs short, the burbs get first dibs, the City gets the dribbles.
Read More ...Only in San Francisco do you get a judge who looked at the entire trajectory ... Two strong-arm robberies, followed by a burglary, then an auto burglary, a loaded firearm charge, a third armed robbery, and finally graduating to attempted murder.
Check it outWith charges of elitism and racism, the school board made a major blunder in voting to change Lowell High School’s merit based admission policies to a lottery ... not looking at all the facts.
Check it outNow Rec and Park has backpedaled on the one-year commitment and asked ... for four more years. If one year is not enough, will four years be enough ... or is this the beginning of a permanent midway in the midst of our premiere landscape park?
Check it outIn late January MUNI restored the T-Third light rail line, as well as the 27-Bryant, 33 Ashbury and the 15-Bayview. But no services have been restored on the west side of the City.
Check it outNotorious Crooks of San Francisco
When not engaged in larceny, Long worked as a salesman. His persuasive skills made him a top salesperson ... but the lure of the dishonest dollar proved too strong for him.
Check it outHerrera's Curious Union-Busting Law Firm
Recent lawsuits alleging discrimination against Black employees are startling in egalitarian San Francisco. Doubling the consternation is the City Attorney’s paying a Union-busting law firm to fight these claims.
Check it outAll of these reductions in value for her personal benefit were arranged while appeals for reductions before the Assessment Appeals Board from regular mom and pop homeowners were vehemently opposed by the Assessor’s Office.
Check it outOthers stand by, keep these links and don't get discouraged yet!. There are A LOT of vaccine appointments... If you get a text notification, try to get an appointment right away as they may be exhausted later in the day.
Check it outBroken Promises Pique Tempers
"Now a pedestrian or a car cannot cross Taraval for three blocks ... Chow said. "How are residents and merchants going to conduct business or even get in and out of their driveways?”
Check it outBoard Decisions Only
Muddy the Water
"The city has a high school for the arts, and another for students interested in the trades. There is a bi-lingual Chinese-American high school. Why shouldn't there be a school for those interested in academics?
Check it out"The Wheel has been totally shut down, partially opened, and then totally shut down again ... the glaring, flashing lights are still turned on every day and into the night, and the noisy diesel generator that powers the Wheel runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Check it outNote from Doc Palmer: appointments: Keep checking for updates and ability to self-schedule an appointment online if you are in an eligible group.
Check it out"... Berkeley-UCSF Agreement that included UC paying money every year to Berkeley for fire and emergency services ... a precedent for the City to require UCSF to offset our currently unreimbursed City costs...
Check it out... when he came into the room, his coworkers turned and left — only the other black workers remained. Baraka was called names such as “faggot” and “sissy” as well as “Sambo.”
Check it outInternet computer records show that Ali Hudson was booked at 1:46am that night into Sacramento County Jail for both murder charges and for a still outstanding warrant...
Check it outNotorious Crooks of SF Returns to WSO!
the Examiner took a strong prosecutorial view in the trials. The San Francisco Chronicle took the defense’s part...
Check it outHooray for SF Supes — It's a Good Start ... a Delaware-sized iceberg ... is threatening the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Check it outThe Revenue Bond Oversight Committee issued another MOU with the Controller ...this illegal union is an important aspect of the swamp that City Hall has become.
Check it outEven though school is closed, students continue to produce and perform high quality work.
Check it outWhether or not another impeachment of the lying, cheating, draft-dodging Donald Trump is inarguably warranted ... It’s no surprise that Trump aspired to pardoning himself; that would constitute his ultimate historical achievement.
Check it out(Analysts) obtained 10 years-worth of records related to the PUC’s Community Benefits Program, grants and contracts. Then…nothing. The PUC audit evaporated as City Hall, DPW and the PUC were rocked by corruption investigations
Check it out"There's not even been one meeting on the underlying project. The plan itself has never been reviewed by any public body or by any group of advisors ..."
Check it outWhether or not another impeachment of the lying, cheating, draft-dodging Donald Trump is inarguably warranted ... It’s no surprise that Trump aspired to pardoning himself; that would constitute his ultimate historical achievement.
Check it outSince Proposition 19 passed, estate-planning attorneys are scarcer than toilet paper during the pandemic. Thanks to Governor Newsom’s misleading Proposition 19, we are seeing panicked strategizing ...
Check it out...the Atomic Energy Commission allowed NRDL researchers ... radioactive waste into laboratory drains at the shipyard, radiation contaminated materials into the industrial landfill on the shoreline and radioactive fuel ships hauled back following atomic explosions ...
Check it outDPH decided to present data only on the number of COVID cases among residents of the 19 Skilled Nursing Facilities in the City, eliminating reporting cumulative case reporting for healthcare workers (staff) at the 19 facilities.”
Check it outWhen the war ended they were free to leave. But they had to find their own way back. To escape the harsh weather they made their way to Kazakhstan via river raft. To return to Poland was dangerous because as Michalski noted, “nobody wanted the Jews.
Check it outD7 Neighborhood News Sources Westside Observer, Ingleside Light, and West Portal Monthly pose tough questions
Check it outOpenness applies to wrongdoing as well. When taxes pay for investigations ... taxpayers deserve to know which City agencies break rules ..."
Check it outBreed and her allies asserted that placing housing on public parcels would save massive amounts of time two years later—still no publicly revealed plans...
Check it outGeneral Manager, who has been charged with corruption. That’s the bad news. A new report about expected capital costs is out, and costs are up 42%. That’s even worse.
Read More ...For almost two decades, “pay-to-play” has pervaded our “City Family” with bribes to obtain millions of dollars in public contracts. Presently, criminal charges have been filed only against powerful non-elected officials.
Check it outIt has taken a pandemic to help all of us process just how critical schools are to our children and our communities.
Check it outPreston accused the Marina Times of being “an entity that has proven time and again that they are a mouthpiece for disinformation ... on par with the likes of Breitbart News and Tucker Carlson ..."
Check it out...even if he and his wife did donate $75 million ... his net worth is $101.2 billion as of November 2020 ... that’s no reason for Zuckerberg’s name to despoil the good name of SF General Hospital."
Check it out"Seven acres of artificial turf that is so toxic nothing can live in it... Toxins from tire crumb can enter the body through inhalation of particulates, fibers, and volatile organic compounds."
Check it outWhile I was repeating over and over “wear a mask...wash my hands... he was creating spaced learning for the alternative universe. Don’t wear a mask... And I am not even going to touch whether he washed his tiny hands
Check it outSince people tend to like money, to varying degrees, I was surprised by the lack of websites about “How much your neighbors or countrymen give to charity.“
Check it outThe Dept. of Public Health Lacks Transparency. Deaths surged 76% and the media went quiet. Why the lack of stories?.
Check it outWater, Fish, and You.
...In super dry years, no way there’s enough water. You will be forced to ration fifty percent, that is, you get half rations of water.
Read More ...In District 7, despite Joel Engardio accruing the most first place votes for supervisor, the third place candidate, Myrna Melgar, employed ranked choice voting to win.
Check it out"SFPUC Watchdog or Lickspittle? From the first meeting of the RBOC, SFPUC operatives and aligned city-family loyalists injected themselves into the business and governance of the RBOC."
Check it outOnce a “benefit” district is formed and the assessments pour in, private firms are hired ... The disgraced former head of DPW, Mohammed Nuru, was personally involved ...
Check it out... to allow restaurants to increase indoor dining capacity from 25% to 50% ... cases stood at 11,275 confirmed cases ... Another 3,048 COVID cases occurred ..."
Check it out... public officials would not steer the ship of modern electricity. Public officials were corrupt, or corruptible. ... here the state Public Utilities Commission, would review, and ensure fair treatment.
Read More ...His approach bears the fingerprints of first-lady-elect Dr. Jill Biden ... President-elect Biden: “You’re going to have one of your own in the White House.”
Check it out... we are down 37% in vehicle burglaries, 27% in assaults, and 36% in robberies. We are currently up 24% in vehicle thefts and 8% in home and commercial burglaries.
Check it out...a patronage network ... including former Willie Brown special assistants” - In return, these former City employees provide access to City department managers.”
Check it outAfter being hired in 1998 as a deputy district attorney , she rewarded her benefactor by running against him ... she raised $563,000 for her campaign ... signed under penalty of perjury a Department of Election form agreeing to a $211,000 campaign expenditure limit.
Check it out...the largest job, almost a billion dollars, has not gone well. The so-called biosolids digesters are tanks half in the ground, half above, that digest solids in sewage — the heart of the operation. Since the contractor has begun, his pre-construction services have increased in cost by a factor of 18 times.
Read More ...Since March 2000 voters passed three parks bonds totaling $800.5 million in principal and interest. If this new bond passes, the $239 million parks portion will cost approximately $470 million in principal and interest, pushing park bonds to approximately $1.3 billion
Check it out... the new regime under Interim Chancellor Gonzalez abruptly ... returned to the previous agenda structure, with very limited public comment — and only near the beginning of the meeting — reservation is now required in advance as well.
Check it outDéjà vu: Controlling Pay-to-Play Donations
In October 2009, former Supervisor Chris Daly proposed an Ordinance that prohibited department heads and employees from steering donations to “Friends of…” non-profits that raised funds for their departments ...
Check it out"Our beloved Golden Gate Park ... natural environment is being replaced by concrete and artificial turf. Two and half million dollars are being spent so dogs can run around?"
Check it out"There is an obvious power grab designed to attack Lowell’s long-term academic status, that provides a unique service to a unique student population, just as School of the Arts does.”
Check it outI agree that we should not celebrate those who represent the worst in our society. But there is true historical value to recognizing leaders who have made our world better—and recognizing them warts and all.”
Check it outInside City Hall’s Web of Corruption
DPW’s subaccounts at the Parks Alliance amassed $990,000... donated by 8 contractors who received $572 million from DPW plus 7 companies that obtained 218 building permits from the Department of Building Inspection (DBI)
Check it outIf LHH was too small for 160 units, how is it now suddenly big enough for up to 375 units?”
Check it out" ... the cleanup reports need to be available to the public. Skipping these steps will result in future lawsuits and the city will be ultimately held accountable, making the taxpayers liable”
Check it outProp. A's — $960 Million Oversite?
Problem is, the Bond Oversight Committee has held only one meeting in 2020 ... Then COVID detonated. Unfortunately, CGOBOC never figured out holding remote meetings accessible to the public.”
Check it outThe developer is proposing a six-unit condo development on the site of a former auto repair shop contaminated with benzene and other pollutants at levels 900 times above residential standards ...
Check it outAudit's Unanswered Questions:
The audit fails to mention that no retaliation claims have ever been sustained by the Ethics Commission. That startling fact has been hidden by reporting only that cases are “dismissed” or “closed.”
Check it outTaraval Crime Report
Police officers from the Tactical Unit, Specialist Team, and Taraval Neighborhood Team (TNT) served a search warrant on the 1500 block of 48th Ave.”
Check it outAny time someone mentions a good book, I literally just go to my phone and reserve it on the App. That says a lot...”
Check it outThe federal subpoena demanded the resumes, job descriptions, and performance evaluations for “any PUC employee who earned at least $100,000” since 2010 ... Evidently, the feds are probing cronyism as well as self-dealing
Check it outSix contenders respond to the questions that will guide the next 4 years in the district.
Check it outThe arts touch our emotional core, whether it is song or dance or drama or drawing. The arts can connect the mind and the spirit and help guide children from crisis to confidence.
Check it out"The giveaway, linked to corrupt leadership, sacrifices precious public land for private profit ... leaves City College more vulnerable and is a significant reversal in our goal of income equality"
Check it outThat’s not a balanced budget; it’s a gaping hole she plans to solve by kicking pay-raises bargained for in good faith down the road.”
Check it out"Assuming teachers agree to these and additional detailed conditions, school begins August 17th."
Check it outWhile the FBI is investigating city bigwigs, SFPUC personnel included ... Everyone in power is complicit in forcing the rate payer to “donate”
Read More ...A photographer goes in search of life on the Avenue ... dining and browsing are available on sidewalks, parking spaces and in some stores inside within strict limitations.
Check it out"The authors of the San Francisco Plan Bay Area 2050 are asking for public feedback on their 9-county plan to provide solutions ... "
Check it outOur city is in big trouble. And it is not just because of Covid-19 It is because of a continued string of bad policies and decisions by City Hall over the past 10 years.
Check it outWhether it’s protests about police violence and racism or defiance of government orders to wear a mask, the most fundamental issues of our democracy are being played out every day in front of millions of people.
Check it outDennis Herrera's retaliatory sewer-gate debacle, alongside the FBI's recent arrest of DPW chief ... jab at the City's anti-graft capabilities.
Check it outCity College Stakeholders File CEQA Appeal"This is NOT the time for any Project to go forward that will all but destroy the access for 70,000 college students, most of them from working class, immigrant, black or brown communities."
Check it out"Teachers, who are already using their own money to buy school supplies are now also purchasing masks and materials in order to be prepared ..."
Check it out"SFPUC Failed to Protect Clean Water The Beach Chalet Soccer Fields (BCSF) in Golden Gate Park used to have a permeable surface; it's called grass."
Check it out"... your water, wastewater, and garbage rates are special taxes attached to property. ... Your great-grandchildren should not fear that they will be paying for a service provided in 2020."
Check it outMorale was sagging. Capt. Rainsford addressed the officers and apparently referenced how the police had handled previous protests.
Check it out...whether the discrepancy is due to President Trump wanting CMS to “slow down” the testing and positive test results...
Check it out...the attitude of professional sports team-owning billionaires that local taxpayers must provide stadiums for their professional sport businesses ...
Check it outa $1.7 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years which could reach over $2.5 billion per Controller Ben Rosenfield...
Check it outDevelopment is in trouble. If Parkmerced, which is the largest multifamily property in San Francisco is an example of the future of development in San Francisco, it is in very real trouble.
Check it outBoard of Supervisors seek solutions ... raising concerns among the public about the possibility of long-term use of parkland to address social and economic problems ...
Check it outThe SF PUC will sell over 17 acres, for approximately $11.2 million — about $640,000 per acre for prime SF real estate to a privateer for more than 90% below market rate ...
Check it outHopes were that recovering from COVID-19 would generate antibodies, thus conferring immunity and peace of mind. Plus, survivors could help treat newly-infected COVID-19 patients by donating their convalescent plasma. It's not that simple.
Check it outWhile water and sewer bills are not taxes, they are worse. They hit ordinary people harder ... and rates are determined by cost. When costs rise, so do rates.
Read More ...There are several problems with Boudin’s boasted success with reducing the jail population...
Check it outLife returns slowly to West Portal People are beginning to return to West Portal — and other Westside businesses are ready to make sales...
Check it outMy Mom is Not Disposable...universal testing in all group care facilities, where asymptomatic staff can begin a deadly outbreak, is now being publicly recognized. But it is slow to happen.
Check it outTommy refused to social distance...... Upon arrival, the two officers immediately observed Tommy was bleeding from his mouth ...
Check it outPlanning to 'streamline' CEQA? ... projects that formerly might have needed extensive review under CEQA would be approved unilaterally by Planning staff if the projects met specific requirements ...
Check it outWhere Are Our Priorities? Nursing homes are like cruise ships, and the outbreak at Central Gardens is illustrative...
Check it out8th Grader's Petition Sparks Controversy The school district needs to take student's mental health seriously. It should discourage teachers from assigning excessive work and scheduling extra meetings.
Check it outNuru was not the FBI’s main target of the investigation—he was the bait to lure someone bigger.
Check it out...suspending access to public records — even temporarily, is clearly dangerous to open government.
Check it outTaxpayer costs will exceed $5 million since the City has been paying the Keker & Van Nest law firm $850/hour to defend Herrera. They already billed the City $2,267,75, in September 2016...
Read More ...Don’t be fooled: you’re being sold insurance. Do you have a choice? Yes you do…
Read More ...