March 12th, 2010
Senator Leland Yee is today proposing a law that would require health insurance policies to include coverage for tobacco cessation services. He made the announcement today at San Francisco General Hospital along with all these people:
Supervisor Eric Mar
Dr. Mitch Katz, San Francisco Department of Public Health
Serena Chen, American Lung Association
John Hanley, San Francisco Firefighters
Dr. Dexter Louie, California Medical Association
Gail Maderis, BayBio
Dr. Steve Fugaro, San Francisco Medical Society
Karen Licavoli-Farnkopf, Breathe California
District 2 Supervisor Eric Mar talked about his parents, who both “smoked like crazy.”
Click to expand
All the deets:
Bill Introduced to Require Insurance Companies Cover Tobacco Cessation. Senator Yee and Supervisor Mar team-up to sponsor legislation to fight cancer
SAN FRANCISCO – According the US Surgeon General, tobacco use is the single greatest cause of disease and premature death in America today and is responsible for more than 435,000 deaths annually, including nearly 40,000 in California alone.
In an effort to fight this epidemic, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) today teamed-up with San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar, the American Lung Association, doctors, and firefighters to introduce legislation that would mandate health insurance policies include coverage for tobacco cessation services such as patches, nasal sprays, inhalers, gum, prescription medications, and counseling.
“The societal costs of tobacco-related death and disease approach $96 billion annually in medical expenses and $97 billion in lost productivity nationwide,” said Yee. “More then 70 percent of all current smokers, however, have expressed a desire to stop smoking. By ensuring that health plans cover the cost of quitting, more Californians will be able to kick this bad habit, medical costs will be reduced, and most importantly, lives will be saved.”
In 2006, as part of its universal healthcare program, Massachusetts began covering most expenses for smoking cessation counseling and prescription drugs for Medicaid recipients. The result has been an astonishing drop in the population of poor people who smoke — from 38% to 28%. There is also evidence of a parallel reduction in hospitalization for heart attacks and treatments for asthma.
“Smoking disproportionately impacts those in economically disadvantaged communities,” said Mar, who is sponsoring a resolution in support of Yee’s bill. “Requiring health care providers to include coverage for smokers who would like to quit smoking creates a healthier California and protects the public’s health.”
About 20 percent of adult Americans currently smoke, and 4,000 children and adolescents smoke their first cigarette each day. According to the California Department of Public Health, the adult smoking rate in California is 14 percent and there are approximately 3.8 million current adult smokers in California.
“It’s time to make it easier for the nearly four million Californians who smoke, to quit,” said Jane Warner, President and CEO of the American Lung Association in California. “Because, right now, we’re failing these people as highlighted by the ‘D’ grade earned in Cessation Coverage by the state in the American Lung Association’s recent State of Tobacco Control Report.”
“SB 220 takes another important step in the long journey of providing Californians the support and incentives they need to quit using tobacco products,” said Brennan Cassidy, M.D., president of the California Medical Association, which represents 35,000 physicians across the state. “Requiring health plans to cover smoking cessation treatment is a no-brainer. We know that when a person quits smoking it saves the health care system immensely by significantly reducing the chances of heart disease, lung cancer and other life-threatening diseases that require intensive, expensive treatment.”
“Smoking cessation is more cost-effective than other common and insurance-covered disease prevention interventions, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol treatment and routine cancer screenings,” said Yee. “Consumers need and deserve this treatment option.”
With SB 220, California would become the 8th state to mandate coverage for tobacco cessation services. In addition to the American Lung Association, Yee’s bill is supported by the California Medical Association, California Psychological Association, San Francisco Firefighters Local 798, San Francisco Medical Society, National Council of Asian & Pacific Islander Physicians, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.
Tags: American Lung Association, BayBio, Breathe California, california, California Medical Association, cessation, Cigarettes, counseling, Department of Public Health., Dexter Louie, district 2, dr., eric mar, firefighters, Gail Maderis, general hospital, gum, health, inhalers, insurance, John Hanley, Karen Licavoli-Farnkopf, leland yee, medical, mitch katz, nasal sprays, patches, phd, prescription medications, required, sacramento, San Francisco, San Francisco Medical Society, sb 220, sb220, Senator, Serena Chen, smoke, smoking, state, Steve Fugaro, Supervisor, treatment
Posted in health | 1 Comment »
March 11th, 2010
Your San Francisco Ballet’s varied* Program 4 just wrapped (and after all those takes, get Becca Hirschman’s here), so that means Program 5, the U.S. premiere of the Little Mermaid, is coming up soon.
They’re putting it on for just one week - many sections are selling out already. This promises to be a mega show, so get your tickets now if you want a chance to see LM this go around.
Famous Yuan Yuan Tan as den Lille Havfrue:
See you there!
*Very varied. It was a balletic Rorschach Test, read the reviews.
Tags: 20, 2010, 5, ballerina, Ballet, civic center, debut, Little Mermaid, march, program, San Francisco, tickets, u.s. united states, Yuan Yuan Tan
Posted in Ballet, Dance | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
Our California Attorney General Jerry Brown can’t abide the idea of San Francisco having a dysfunctional crime lab so he’s going to send over a team of specialists to assist in a thorough independent audit.
All the deets, below.
Brown Joins SF Police Department Investigation into Evidence Tampering at City Crime Lab
“San Francisco- On the heels of troubling allegations of evidence tampering against a former San Francisco Police Department Crime Lab technician, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that his office will provide a team of specialists to assist in a thorough independent audit of the laboratory.
“My office will assist San Francisco police to get to the bottom of these serious evidence-tampering allegations,”Brown said. “It’s critical that we act immediately to get the San Francisco crime lab back in service and restore the public’s trust in our criminal justice system.”
At the request of San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon, crime specialists from Brown’s office will assist San Francisco authorities in re-testing of evidence, improving internal controls and taking whatever steps are necessary to return the lab to full operation.
Today’s announcement follows allegations that Deborah Madden, 60, a former San Francisco Police Department Lab technician, jeopardized numerous criminal cases by tampering with police evidence.
The San Francisco Police Department will continue to lead the criminal investigation into Ms. Madden’s conduct.
Tags: 2010, attorney general, california, City, cocaine, county, crime, Deborah Madden, department, dept., Edmund G. Brown, Edmund G. Brown Jr., Evidence, George Gascón, jerry brown, Jr, lab, laboratory, police, SFPD, state, tampering, technician
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March 11th, 2010
These days, you can’t just sit back and let the cops to all the work protecting your bidness from the criminal element. So why not spend a day installing cheap cameras all over the place so you can record 16 video streams 24-7? You’ll be the Hero of Haight Street, or wherever, and then you can start making your own videos about “The Gauntlet” or whatever.
Wide angle, telephoto, infrared LED lighting, hook it up to the Internet for free, watch it live from you smart phone, hook up more hard drives for extra storage – this thing has it all.
Or maybe, you could point some of your extra cams at a nearby intersection, such as problematic Fell crossing Masonic or horrible Octavia Boulevard crossing everything – Market, Haight, Page, Oak, Fell, the works. You’d be the hero of the hood by being able to demonstrate just how somebody got injured.
Or just do it to impress your neighbors in the Richmond or Sunset districts. You wouldn’t even need to hook up the cams - just mount them all over the place and then everybody will go, “Oh, that must be the new brothel and/or growhouse in the neighborhood.” Don’t think they’ll mess with you after that. Respect!
Get cracking.
Tags: 16, 799.99, ashbury, brothel, camera, CCTV, costco, costco.com, department, dept., grow house, growhouse, haight, hdr, internet, marijuana, network, phone, police, pot, protect, q-see, record, richmond, sale, San Francisco, sfopd, sit lie, street, sunset, television, tivo, vcr, Video
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March 11th, 2010
Oh, it’s on. It’s going to be Coco a Gogo when Conan O’Brien’s “half-assed“ 32-city “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour 2010“ comes to the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium April 22-23. It’ll be just like 2007 all over again.
“Full Price Tickets” from TicketMonster are going right now for $74, all up. And for just $695 you can get in on the Meet and Greet Package- wouldn’t you like a photo of you and Coco to put on the FaceBook for all your “friends” to see? Sure you would.
I don’t know, maybe you can score some cheaper ticks by using your AmEx card or going to the box office or something.
See you there!
All the tour locations, after the jump
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 2010, 22, 23, ab, andy richter, andy ricjter, april, Atlanta, Atlantic City, austin, Austin Music Hall, az, BC, Borgata Spa, boston, boulder, Brady Theater, ca, calfiornia, canada, casino, chicago, Co., conan o'brien, conan obrian, Constitution Hall, CT, D.C., Dallas, denver, Dodge Theatre, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Enoch, Eugene, Event Center, Fox Theatre, ga, Gibson Amphitheater, Grand Sierra Resort, greet, half-assed, hall, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, IL Chicago Theatre, INB Performing Arts Center, jay leno, Kansas City, las vegas, legally prohibited, legally prohibited from being funny on television, legally prohibited from being funny on tv, leno, Ma, Mackey Auditorium, manchester, Marion Oliver McCaw, masonic, masonic auditorium, masonic center, Massey Hall, McFarlin Memorial Auditorium, meet, Memorial Auditorium, Midland Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, MO, Mohegan Sun Arena, nbc, new york, NJ, nob hill, NV, ny, OK, on, OR, Orpheum Theatre, pa, Pearl Concert Theatre, phoenix, Radio City Music Hall, Reno, Resort, River Cree Resort, sacramento, san diego, San Diego Civic Theatre, San Francisco, san jose, San Jose State, seattle, show, SMU Campus, Spokane, street, television, The Palms, ticketmaster, ticketmonster, TN Bonnaroo Music Festival, Toronto, tour, Tower Theatre, Tulsa, TV, tx, Uncasville, universal, Universal City, University Events Center, Upper Darby, Vancouver, WA, WA Seattle Center, Wang Theater, Washington
Posted in TV, events | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
From District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi comes this newsletter update concerning floats at the upcoming 2010 ING Bay to Breakers footrace. Certainly appears as if last month’s plan to start floats only at Divisidero and then stop them 1.2 miles later in Golden Gate Park is dead.
The new idea is having two staging areas for floats to enter the race – at the beginning in eastern SoMA and at Civic Center. Deets below.
These mariners will need a place to sail their float again in 2010:
Oh, whoops, they abandoned their stripper pole-equipped vessel in the Golden Gate Park Panhandle last year. Oh well.
Bay to Breakers Update
The 99th Bay to Breakers will be run on Sunday, May 16th. Last year’s race saw a significant reduction in problems and impacts on the neighborhood, although there is still more work to do be done. Plans are still being developed for how floats will participate this year. Race organizers initially proposed having all floats start on Divisadero; however, this raised concerns with both neighbors and with float advocates. Supervisor Mirkarimi organized a meeting with the race organizers, the Mayor’s office, float advocates, and neighborhood representatives. We are still waiting to hear the organizers’ revised plan, but they have indicated that they now plan to have two staging areas for floats: at the beginning of the race and at Civic Center.
We are encouraged to hear that the organizers plan to adopt Supervisor Mirkarimi’s suggestion to implement a registration system for floats. This will generate additional revenue to pay for the impacts of the floats, and also create a new level of accountability for floats that are abandoned on the streets. Despite the improvements last year, the impact on the Panhandle area was still unacceptable. Supervisor Mirkarimi remains committed to changing the practice of floats celebrating in the Panhandle for hours after the race has passed. Ross continues to encourage the race organizers to provide an end-point for floats in Golden Gate Park. He believes creating an event in the Park that encourages floats not to stop in the Panhandle will significantly reduce the impact on the neighborhood.
More information:
- www.baytobreakers.com
- Float registration information (to be posted soon)
Tags: 12k, 2, 2008, 2009, 2010, 5 fulton, 7, 97th, 98th, alcohol, alix rosenthal, annual, anschutz, b2b, bad, Bay, bay to breakers, bay2breakers, beer, body, breakers, cars, carts, channel, Chepkurui, chris fox, citizens, Conor Johnston, cops, corrals, CPBB, crawlsf, cups, david scott, David William Scott, department, dept., destroyed, direct, district, divisidero, dj, dpw, dumpsters, edelman, Edward Sharpless, Elite, eventbrite, facebook, fell, floats, footrace, footstock, foto, fundraiser, gabe, garbage, gavilanes, Gavin, glass, golden gate park, good, Greater Body Expo, haight Ashbury, howard, ing, John, John Gray, Jon Dishotsky, kegs, Kelsey Nagie, kgo, KGO-TV, Kipsang, Korir, Lineth, liquor, Liz Brusca, map, Matt Seliga, Men's, Mike Moscuzza, Muni, naked, nat ford, Newsom, nimby, nimbys, nude, paint, panhandle, photographs, photos, plastic, police, police department, pr, preservation, public relations, purple, recycling, red, richmond, roe, ross mirkarimi, sam singer, Sammy Kitwara, San Francisco, SFPD, smoove, store, street, sunset, tickets, towed, trash, TV, ugly, vehicles, Wilson Ling, women's, zaq, zero tolerance
Posted in events, sports | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
From San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Jose Herrera comes news of the Bayview Merchants Association’s Third Street Corridor Project – how would you like to earn $6000 just for creating 6-10 iconic images illustrating the Lower Third?
Get all the deets below. And after you get paid, be sure to forward ten percent to me, your new agent. (Affirm our agreement by reading this sentence - welcome aboard.) But get cracking, as your first deadline is March 22nd, 2010.
You can’t win if you don’t play!
Introduction to the Project
The 3rd Street Corridor project is searching for local artists to create a series of 6-10 iconic images to represent the Bayview Hunters Point District of San Francisco. These images will be stylized illustrations of local landmarks that capture the spirit of this part of the city and will be used on a series of street banners and other collateral such as T-shirts. An example of a similar campaign is artist Michael Schwab’s series of prints for the Golden Gate National Parks.
Final selections for scenery will be communicated to the artist at the time of the commission. These scenes may include:
- Bayview Opera House
- T-Line
- Quesada Gardens
- View of Downtown from 3rd
- Shipyards
- Candlestick Park
- Local Art and Murals
- MLK Municipal Pool
- Bayview Library
- Industrial Buildings
Candidate Selection
The ideal candidate for this commission will be a local artist who lives and/or works in the Bayview Hunters Point District of San Francisco and can bring his or her personal style into the project and offer an authentic view of these neighborhoods. The artist must also be able to work within the established color palette of the 3rd Street logo (red, yellow, green and black- see samples for reference). To be considered for this project please submit three (3) JPEG images of your past work that best communicates your style. If you are selected as a finalist you may be commissioned to create one sample illustration before the final contract for the rest of the series.
Compensation
The selected artist will receive a $6,000 stipend for the final series of images. Artwork and reproduction rights will become property of the Third Street Corridor Project. In the event that finalists are asked to create a sample illustration as part of the selection process then they will be compensated $500 for their time.
Application Deadline
To be considered for this project, please email three JPEG samples of your work, a brief description of your background and a written statement of why you think you would be an ideal candidate for this project to bayviewmerchantsassociation@gmail.com no later than
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 12:00pm.
Project Schedule
March 22: Artists application deadline.
March 24: Artist finalists selected.
Mid April: Final selection of artist. Work on final illustrations begins.
May 24: Final illustrations complete.
June 11: Public unveiling of art on 3rd Street.
Questions/Details?
Call Ben Kaufman, Outreach Coordinator of the Bayview Merchants’ Association, at 415-647-3728 x407 if you have any further questions.
Tags: 6000, advertising, agent, art, arts, banners, Bayview, bayview merchants association, Ben Kaufman, black, buildings, bus, bvhp, candidate, Candlestick, city attorney, commission, corridor, dennis herrera, district, dollars, downtown, eat, green, hunters point, Industrial, landmarks, library, live, local, lower third, mlk, Muni, municipal, murals, neighborhoods, Opera House, Outreach Coordinator, park, pool, project, Quesada Gardens, red, San Francisco Arts Commission, Shipyards, shop, stipend, street, streetcar, t, t shirts, T-Line, third, third street corridor project, view, willie brown way, Work, yellow
Posted in advertising, art | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
As seen on SFist and SFWeekly’s The Snitch, Google Map’s new bicycle trip planning service has alternatives to the famous Wiggle bike path.
Peter Jamison checked it out:
“We keyed in a request for directions from the downtown area to Golden Gate Park to the easternmost edge of Golden Gate Park, at Stanyan and Fell. Rather than sending us up Market Street, behind the Castro Safeway, and then north along the flat, zigzag route through the Haight that is known to any serious bicyclist in the city, Google advised us to bike straight up McAllister for a mile to the west — an uphill and decidedly less convenient trek.”
The problem with Google’s route is that it favors Fulton. The correct route from downtown is slightly different – Market, McAllister, Divisidero and then Fulton and Central or however you want to get to Fell Street and or the Panhandle Bike Path. Route 20 (or if you prefer a cute name for it, the Snickerdoodle) is faster and easier overall. You might have to wait for lights at McAlllister and Van Ness / Franklin / Gough but you completely avoid horrible horrible Octavia Boulevard.
This is the pass over Alamo Heights that the Wiggle Route avoids. If you can handle a couple not-all-that-steep blocks then you’ll prefer this route over the vaunted Wiggle.
Not that I care what you do. But this counterintuitive route is superior for anyone going to the Panhandle and points west from Union Square / Mid-Market / The Financh / The Tenderloin and most of the SoMA. Of course, if you’re already behind the Church Street Safeway and you want to get to Ocean Beach, then by all means, take your precious Wiggle route.
More deets here at the StreetsBlog SF.
Tags: 20, 30, bicycle, bike, cyclist, getthere, google, maps, market, mcallister, Planning, route, San Francisco, snick, snickerdoodle, street, wiggle
Posted in bikes | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
City Attorney Dennis J. Herrera can’t abide companies that don’t prove their claims. So today he’s going after Intelligender LLC because of its “in-home fetal gender prediction product“ that you can get at Walgreens. For the record:
“IntelliGender, the Plano, Texas, creator of the “Boy or Girl Gender Prediction Test,” says scientists isolated certain hormones that when combined with a “proprietary mix of chemicals” react differently if a woman is carrying a boy or a girl. It claims that within 10 minutes of taking the urine test, a woman will be able to tell her baby’s gender. The specimen will turn green if it’s a boy, and orange if it’s a girl.”
The question is about accuracy, primarily.
San Francisco’s Happy Warrior:
As always, follow the action on the Twitter.
Herrera demands proof of accuracy, safety claims by IntelliGender in-home test
City Attorney invokes authority under Unfair Competition Law in seeking evidence for marketing claims by gender prediction test sold in S.F.
SAN FRANCISCO (March 10, 2010) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera today invoked his legal authority under California’s Unfair Competition Law to demand substantiation for advertising claims by Intelligender LLC that its in-home fetal gender prediction product, which is sold and marketed in San Francisco, is “totally safe” and over 90 percent accurate.
“California law empowers public sector attorneys to seek proof for marketing claims for products sold to the consumers they’re responsible to protect,” said Herrera. “Intelligender is a product that came to our attention in which some of the advertised claims are dubious, and for which supporting evidence is notably unavailable to potential customers. Women and families interested in purchasing products like this are entitled to see the evidence that will enable them to be better informed consumers.”
According to Herrera’s letter to the Plano, Tex.-based manufacturer:
“The IntelliGender Test purports to accurately identify the gender of a fetus as early as 10 weeks after pregnancy, and well before ultrasound confirmation of fetal gender is available to expectant mothers. However, according to online reviews of your product, it appears that your advertising claim that the IntelliGender Test is ‘over 90% accurate’ is questionable. Additionally, as your product packaging does not identify the contents of the IntelliGender Test, there are concerns about the safety and proper means of disposal of the Test.
“The San Francisco City Attorney hereby requests that you provide evidence of the facts supporting the advertising claims of IntelliGender listed below, pursuant to California Business and Professions Code §17508, which empowers city attorneys to request substantiation of purportedly fact-based advertising claims. For all claims listed below indicating that scientific methods were utilized, please include full reports of experiments, methods, results, and outcomes, in addition to the CVs and biographies of the clinicians retained to perform these trials and tests.”
Herrera asked that Intelligender provide documentation responsive to his request by the end of the month, noting that we would consider seeking “an immediate termination or modification of the claim,” as state law provides, if the information were not forthcoming.
All the deets after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 17508, 3105 New Britton, accuracy, attorneys, boy, Business and Professions Code, california, city attorney, City Hall, dennis herrera, dennis j herrera, dr., drive, Evidence, gender, girl, home, in home, inelligender, Intelli Gender, kit, law, LLC, plano, prediction, pregnancy, product, proof, public sector, Rebecca Griffin, reports, San Francisco, sex, stick, test, testing, texas, twins, tx, ultrasound, Unfair Competition, walgreens
Posted in law | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Those kids crowding Moffitt Cafe at UCSF Medical Center / Children’s Hospital will now have Run of the House, more or less, ’cause the restrictions against child visitors just got eliminated. So, as of yesterday, the place is, once again, totally wide open, more or less, to visitors aged 15 and less.
Not sure what other local hospitals are thinking these days, but UCSF says that Influenza activity has decreased considerably lately. Read all about it, below.
Godzilla menaces this huge architect’s model of UCSF under a glass box, so he’s always safe from H1N1. But runaway tow trucks, well, that’s a different story:
Moffitt Cafe is now released from its ragamuffin daycare role so it can return to being a haven for law students, a place of escape where legal scholars are free to hit on medical and pharmacological students and/or professionals in a target-rich environment. (At least that’s how the cafeteria was used back in the 90’s.)
Forthwith, the News of the Day:
UCSF Lifts Hospital Visitor Policy Restricting Children
March 09, 2010
UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Children’s Hospital are lifting their visitor age restriction, which prohibited visitors younger than 16 years old. The visitor policy is being lifted effective March 9, 2010.
Dr. Joshua Adler, chief medical officer at UCSF, said he believes the policy, implemented in November, and other strategies, such as vaccination of UCSF personnel, helped reduce the risk of hospital-acquired influenza.
Influenza activity has decreased considerably so that risk is now quite low, Adler said. In the hospital units where age restrictions are not usually in place, children now may visit. Unit-specific age restrictions, such as those in the intensive care units, may remain in effect, according to unit-based policy.
A requirement, however, remains in effect until March 31 that health care workers, who have not been vaccinated against both H1N1 and seasonal influenza, must wear a surgical mask while in patient care areas.
Adler thanked employees for their diligent infection control measures during the flu season. Record numbers of UCSF employees, faculty, residents, and students received flu vaccines this year, he said.
Tags: 15, 16, 2010, age, cafe, cafeteria, chief medical officer, children, Children's Hospital, childrens, dr., faculty, flu, hospital, hospital-acquired, hospital-acquired influenza, ICU, influenza, inner sunset, intensive care unit, Joshua Adler, kids, lifted, March 9, mask, medical, medical center, moffitt, older, p9olicy, parnassus, patient, residents, Restricting, restriction, San Francisco, seasonal, street, students, sunset, surgical, UC, ucsf, UCSF Children's Hospital, UCSF Medical Center, university of california at san francisco, vaccination, visitors, way, younger
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