Posts Tagged ‘bay citizen’
Monday, October 17th, 2011
[UPDATE: Luke Thomas of Fog City Journal offers a listing of reactions from many mayoral campaigns.]
[UPDATE II: Feisty TBC Editor-in-Chief Steve Fainaru promises there's more to come:
"We are analyzing and pumping out this information as fast as we can. The package you see today — including San Francisco’s most sophisticated ranked-choice voting simulator, masterminded by news applications developer Shane Shifflett and lead software engineer Aurelio Tinio — was completed around 2 a.m. Monday; it was up on our website at 4 a.m. Next we will bring you information about the controversial pension reform initiatives and the races for district attorney and sheriff. Finally, we will put up the full data set, so people can take their own look and draw their own conclusions."]
Well, here they are, the results of the big The Bay Citizen / University of San Francisco poll on who will be Mayor of San Francisco for the next four years.
See?
Click to expand
The Bay Citizen political writer Gerry Shih* has the deets.
Writing history as it happens:
“When the Board of Supervisors named Lee interim mayor in January, after former Mayor Gavin Newsom was elected lieutenant governor, Lee promised not to run for a full term. But after two of his biggest political supporters — Rose Pak, the powerful Chinatown lobbyist, and former Mayor Willie Brown — led an effort to draft him into the race, Lee changed his mind.”
[I should note that infamous Rose Pak, for some reason, operates as an unregistered lobbyist, apparently, AFAIK.]
Are you surprised by any of these results? I’m not.
But what’s nice about this independent exercise is that it shows you how RCV “works.”
Oh, and don’t miss the breakdown for gay and Chinese-American voters.
Anyway:
“Exclusive Bay Citizen/USF Poll: Ed Lee Dominating San Francisco Mayor’s Race
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 17, 2011 – An exclusive poll conducted by The Bay Citizen and the University of San Francisco (USF) Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good shows interim mayor Ed Lee poised to win the November 8 mayor’s race handily. The poll shows Lee with broad support across the city, particularly among Chinese voters.
Lee won 31.2 percent of first-place votes, surpassing his closest challenger, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who won 8.1 percent. Supervisor John Avalos finished third, with 7.4 percent of first-place votes.
At baycitizen.org, the poll results power a computer simulation that shows how the election may unfold under “ranked-choice voting.” This is the first competitive San Francisco mayor’s race to use the system that asks voters to select their top three candidates in order of preference.
The Bay Citizen simulation allows readers to view how votes are redistributed after candidates are eliminated. It projects Lee the winner if the election were held today.
On Tuesday, October 18 The Bay Citizen and the University of San Francisco will release poll results on the San Francisco District Attorney’s race, the Sheriff’s race, and Propositions C and D, the two pension reform measures on the ballot.
For more information and deeper analysis of the Bay Citizen/USF poll please visit: www.baycitizen.org/data/polls/sf-2011-elections/
The poll results are based on telephone interviews of a random sample of 551 likely San Francisco voters between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13, 2011. The survey was conducted by MAXimum Research, an independent research firm, in English and Cantonese; Spanish was not used because only 1 percent of San Francisco voters request ballot materials in Spanish. Of the respondents, 115 were contacted by cell phone and 436 by landline. After the interviews, the data were weighted to match the demographics of the known likely voting population. The sampling error for findings based on the overall pool of likely voters is +/- 4.2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. The margin of error for population subgroups is larger.
About The Bay Citizen
The Bay Citizen is a nonprofit, nonpartisan member-supported news organization that provides in-depth original reporting on Bay Area issues including public policy, education, the arts and cultural affairs, health and science, the environment, and more. The Bay Citizen’s news can be found online at www.baycitizen.org as well as in print in The New York Times Bay Area report on Fridays and Sundays. For more information, please visit www.baycitizen.org.
About the University of San Francisco (USF)
The University of San Francisco is in the heart of one of the most innovative and diverse cities and features a vibrant community of students and faculty who achieve excellence in their fields while building a more humane and just world. University of San Francisco students, faculty, and alumni are involved in the entrepreneurial city of San Francisco and work in all industries, from technology to nonprofits. With dedicated professors and exceptional academic programs to choose from, the university offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional students the knowledge and skills needed to develop into ethical leaders who are sought after in their professions. USF’s diverse student body benefits from direct access to faculty, small class sizes, and a broad array of programs and co-curricular opportunities. Informed by the university’s 156-year-old Jesuit Catholic mission, the USF community ignites students’ passion for social justice and the pursuit of the common good. For more information about the University of San Francisco, please visit www.usfca.edu.
About USF Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good
The Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good is dedicated to inspiring and equipping students at USF to pursue lives and careers of ethical public service and service to others. The Center provides a non-partisan forum for education, service and research in public programs and policy-making. The McCarthy Center values civic engagement and seeks to promote public interest research that encourages civil discourse and constructive interaction among the great diversity of residents and officials in the Bay Area. The Center strives to accomplish its goals by being transparent, nonpartisan and rigorous in designing its work and products. For more information please visit www.usfca.edu/centers/mccarthy
Contacts: The Bay Citizen, Keith Meyer, VP Marketing, media@baycitizen.org
SOURCE The Bay Citizen
CONTACT: Keith Meyer, VP Marketing of The Bay Citizen, +1-415-852-5100, media@baycitizen.org
Web Site: http://www.baycitizen.org”
*The uncredited instigator of this recent bit here in the San Francisco Chronicle…
Tags: American, bay citizen, bevan, c, cantonese, cell phone, Center for Public Service, chinatown, chinese, city attorney, Common Good, computer, D., David Chiu, dennis herrera, District Attorney, ed lee, edwin lee, Gay, Gerry Shih, Independent, jeff adachi, Joanna Rees, john avalos, Keith Meyer, leland yee, Leo McCarthy, Leo T. McCarthy, Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service, Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, LGBT, lobbyist, marketing, MAXimum Research, Mayor, Mayor's, mayora, michela, michela alioto, Michela Alioto Pier, new york times, november 8, pension, Phil Ting, pier, poll, polling, polls, preference, propositions, queer, Ranked Choice Voting, rcv, Reform, Rose Pak, sheriff, sheriff's, simulation, sufty, Supervisor, Supervisor John Avalos, the bay citizen, tony hall, university of san francisco, unregistered, vice president, VP, VP Marketing, willie brown
Posted in politics | No Comments »
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Read the news and turn the pages:
“…@thebaycitizen, sunrise-limned, breath-taking savior of local news (etc etc) is bringing on Matt Smith for the election”
Hurray!
Matt Smith, pilot of this custom-made quadricycle, OTJ in GGP back in aught-nine:
Click to expand
Tags: 2011, bay area, bay citizen, bicycle, bike, california, election, matt smith, newspaper, politics, Quadricycle, San Francisco, sf weekly, sfweekly, the bay citizen, Writer
Posted in media | No Comments »
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Enjoy today’s “civic pop quiz” from The Bay Citizen‘s Editor in Chief Steve Fainaru:
“Dear Sarah,
With elections right around the corner, it’s time for a civic pop quiz (answers at the bottom of the email):
Q: Which corporations are getting millions in city tax breaks…and returning the favor with $100-a-plate fundraisers for the same politicians who pushed through those tax breaks?
Q: Which SF mayor unexpectedly rose to power thanks to behind-the-scenes machinations by Rose Pak, Willie Brown, and Gavin Newsom?
If you’re a loyal Bay Citizen reader, you’ll know the answers. That’s because The Bay Citizen was the only news source to reveal the real story behind these stories. We made the calls and pounded the pavement so that you could know the truth.
But our non-profit, no-holds-barred, member-supported journalism is only possible with your help. Salaries, cameras, and laptops—it costs money to shine a spotlight on corrupt corporations and unscrupulous politicians.
Become a Bay Citizen with your donation of $50 or more and show us that you care about sustaining hard-hitting, in-depth reporting that you just can’t find elsewhere. As a Bay Citizen member you’ll receive great benefits:
- Invitations to members-only events like our big annual party and happy hours with our reporters;
- Free admission to Bay Citizen speaker series; and
- Access to Citizen Deals: exclusive discounts at local museums, retailers, and more
Plus, we’ll sweeten the deal. Make your membership gift today and we’ll include a free ticket to our Science of Voting event on Thursday, October 20 at California Academy of Sciences NightLife. With beverages in hand, we’ll delve into the history and science behind elections and have a lively discussion about the pros and cons of ranked choice voting.
Thank you for helping bring civil discourse back to the Bay Area.
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With sincere appreciation,
 Steve Fainaru
Editor in Chief, The Bay Citizen
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Answers to the pop quiz: Twitter and Zynga; Mayor Ed Lee”
Wow, feisty, huh?
Tags: 2011, bay area, bay citizen, board, breaks, california, California Academy of Sciences, civic, civic pop quiz, David Chiu, ed lee, editor in chief, gavin newsom, Jane Kim, Mayor, nightlife, politicians, pop, president, quiz, Rose Pak, San Francisco, Steve Fainaru, Supervisor, supervisors, tax, the bay citizen, twitter, willie brown, Zynga
Posted in media, politics | No Comments »
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Get up to speed on this issue right here, courtesy of The Bay Citizen writer Gerry Shih, who’s been nosing around our somewhat-corrupt SFO airport lately.
And here’s the version of the same story what’s in the National Section of today’s New York Times:
“Contributions to Mayor Raise Issue of Legality“
Ouch.
Your City Attorney Dennis Jose Herrera:
Via Luke Thomas of Fog City Journal
And here they are – Interim Mayor Ed Lee and Mayoral Spokesmodel Tony Winnicker along with the Fourth Estate (including feisty Gerry Shih and feisty Luke Thomas) at San Francisco City Hall:
And here’s “City Family” member GO Lorrie’s Airport Shuttle:
All the deets:
“Herrera calls for criminal investigation of laundered campaign donations to Ed Lee
Letter to U.S. Attorney, State A.G. and San Francisco D.A. says only investigators with authority to subpoena records, question witnesses under oath can resolve questions
SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 7, 2011) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera today called for a formal criminal investigation into allegations first reported late yesterday afternoon that donors to interim Mayor Ed Lee’s campaign conspired to exceed contribution limits by laundering money through business associates. Herrera’s three-page letter to U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón noted that the published admissions by employees of Go Lorries Airport Shuttle may indicate felony and misdemeanor violations of state and local laws. The California Fair Political Practices Commission has already announced a civil investigation into allegations that donors were reimbursed cash to make campaign contributions to Lee.
Further heightening concerns about the apparently illegal contributions, Herrera wrote, is that the donations closely followed official actions by mayoral appointees that significantly benefited the purported donors’ employer. Those actions include altering shared-ride the loading zone configurations at San Francisco International Airport to favor Go Lorries Airport Shuttles “due to feedback” from unspecified parties. Lee’s campaign has reportedly returned some $8,500 in donations that were questioned yesterday.
“Investigations are warranted when credible allegations risk undermining public trust in our local government — and we’ve certainly reached that point here,” Herrera said. “Only independent investigators with authority to subpoena records and question witnesses under oath can adequately resolve questions to which San Franciscans deserve answers. A formal investigation will best assure justice while protecting innocent parties. I hope interim Mayor Lee’s campaign joins in calling for such an inquiry, and cooperates with it fully.”
Herrera’s letter noted that multiple political endeavors on interim Mayor Lee’s behalf for much of the year have been plagued by ethical and legal questions, including political activities by city contractors, and the advent of a controversial “general purpose committee” that advanced Lee’s candidacy throughout the summer while sidestepping legal restraints that normally apply to candidate committees.
Urging “a full, fair and speedy investigation,” Herrera’s letter to federal and state criminal prosecutors concluded: “Allowing these questions to remain wholly unanswered can only serve to betray San Franciscans’ confidence in the integrity of their public institutions, and potentially diminish the legitimacy of their elected leadership.”
Tags: 2011, airport, appointees, bay area, bay citizen, california, campaign, civil, dennis herrera, District Attorney, donations, ed lee, ethical, fair political practices commission, fppc, George Gascón, Gerry Shih, go, Go Lorries Airport Shuttle, Independent, investigation, investigators, Kamala D. Harris, Kamala Harris, laundered, laundering, legal, Lorries, Mayor Lee, Melinda Haag, new york times, newspaper, records, San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport, SFO, sfo gate, sfogate, shuttle, subpoena, U.S. Attorney, under oath, van, witnesses
Posted in politics | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Well here’s the news of the day – it’s the launch of YesOnCNoOnD.com
And look who’s the headliner of this Fellowship, it’s “Civic Leader” Warren Hellman, who used to play for the other team, so to speak.
Anyway, all the deets, below.
That Warren sure loves his banjo:
Click to expand
“PAULSON, FALK TO CO-CHAIR YES ON PROPOSITION C PENSION REFORM CAMPAIGN - Top Labor Leader, Top Business Leader Tapped To Lead Consensus Coalition
SAN FRANCISCO, August 31, 2011 – San Franciscans United For Pension And Health Reform today selected Tim Paulson and Steve Falk to serve as co-chairs of the campaign supporting Proposition C and opposing Proposition D on the November ballot.
Paulson is executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, comprised of 150 local unions and representing 100,000 workers, and Falk is president and CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, a 1,500-member organization representing the business community.
“We are pleased that San Francisco’s top labor leader and top business leader are working together to lead this coalition’s campaign for pension and health reform,” said Thomas P. O’Connor, president of Fire Fighters Local 798. “Unions and the business community don’t agree on everything, but on Proposition C, San Francisco is united.”
Falk praised Proposition C, which was developed with input from the community, introduced by Mayor Ed Lee, and passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors.
“Proposition C saves taxpayers at least $1.3 billion over the next decade,” said Falk. “This measure is fiscally responsible and it will help keep us solvent.”
Paulson emphasized the measure’s fairness.
“Proposition C provides a safety net for hardworking city employees who earn lower wages,” said Paulson. “It keeps pension contributions stable for those making less than $50,000 a year. Those who make more pay more.”
O’Connor drew a contrast between Proposition C and Proposition D, a rival pension measure.
“Proposition C has widespread support because it was conceived in the light of day, with a public process that encouraged input and ideas from everyone,” said O’Connor. “On the other hand, the backers of Proposition D bought their way onto the ballot with signature gatherers who were paid five dollars a signature and repeatedly got caught on tape lying about what the measure would do.”
Today, San Franciscans United For Pension And Health Reform also announced the other members of its campaign committee. In addition to Paulson, Falk, and O’Connor, the committee includes other business and labor leaders, along with the measure’s sponsor at the Board of Supervisors:
Warren Hellman, Civic Leader
Gary Delagnes, President of the San Francisco Police Officers Association
Sean Elsbernd, Member of the Board of Supervisors
Steve Fields, Co-Chair of the Human Services Network
Larry Mazzola, Business Manager and Financial Secretary Treasurer of UA Local 38
Rebecca Rhine, Executive Director of the Municipal Executives Association
Bob Muscat, Executive Director of IFTPE Local 21
Sean Connolly, President of the Municipal Attorneys Association
Please visit www.yesoncnoond.com for more information.”
Tags: 2010, anti, assemblywoman, B., bad medicine, badmedicine, ballot, baord, bay area, bay citizen, bevan dufty, board, Bob Muscat, c, california, care, carmen chu, chamber of commerce, city family, Civic Leader, copy, D., David Chiu, ed lee, election, eric mar, f warren hellman, fiona ma, Gary Delagnes, health, horse, Human Services Network, IFTPE, irving, jeff adachi, Labor Council, laguna Honda, Larry Mazzola, leland yee, Local 21, Local 38, mark leno, Mayor, Municipal Attorneys Association, Municipal Executives Association, nate ballard, nathan ballard, no, pension, premiums, president, pro, prop, prop b, Proposition, Proposition c, Proposition D, public defender, rally, Rebecca Rhine, Reform, San Francisco, San Francisco Police Officers Association, Sean Connolly, Sean Elsbernd, Senator, sheep's clothing, State Senator, Steve Falk, Steve Fields, Supervisor, tim paulson, trojan, union, unions, warren hellman, wolf, workers, yes
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, July 29th, 2011
Remember back last decade when Beyond Chron won BEST LOCAL WEBSITE from the San Francisco Bay Guardian newspaper? Good times.
And really, how can you forget, what with the daily reminders from the masthead?
Like this:
But the problem with that is that BeyondChron hasn’t won that particular award recently.
BeyondChron didn’t win last year (FunCheapSF) and didn’t win the year before (Broke Ass Stuart) neither. And this year, well, I don’t think that the Guardian even has that particular category anymore.
Maybe I’m missing something here. Your winners for 2011:
“BEST OVERALL LOCAL BLOG - SFist
www.sfist.com
BEST OVERALL LOCAL WEBSITE - Funcheap SF
www.sf.funcheap.com
BEST NEWS BLOG OR SITE - Bay Citizen
www.baycitizen.org“
Does BeyondChron need even more money from the taxpayers of San Francisco, you know, to revise the masthead, to bring it current?
Looks that way…
Tags: 2011, award, bay area, bay citizen, bay guardian, best local website, BEST NEWS BLOG OR SITE, BEST OVERALL LOCAL BLOG, BEST OVERALL LOCAL WEBSITE, beyond, beyondchron, california, chron, Funcheap SF, newspaper, randy shaw, result, San Francisco, sfbg, sfist, tenderloin, tenderloin housing clinic, thc, winner
Posted in paranormal | 2 Comments »
Friday, July 15th, 2011
Tags: 2011, bay area, bay citizen, california, chronicle, city brights, harmancipants, justin berton, justinberton, Mt., Reyhan Harmanci, rt, San Francisco, twitter, wyatt buchanan
Posted in media | No Comments »
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
[Oh, here we go, it's the Citizen of Tomorrow Awards, just posted.]
Now, the problem I had last night was being too ambitious, thinking I could drop by the First Birthday Celebration of The Bay Citizen and then hustle it uphill to the Specfic Whites neighborhood by nine-ish, thinking that this year’s party would be like last year’s, you know, the one they had in the Twitterloin. That one was off the hook.
Anyway, here it is at the stated 8:00 PM starting time. (A dozen people to park your car, but only one to check you into the place.)
(Why, yes, Terra _is_ 200 feet away from a bridge and two miles away from a tunnel – why do you ask?)
And here are your food trucks. (Everything seems to taste better when it’s from a truck, non?)
Click to expand
I guess things got going later in the evening. But I’ll tell you, if you skipped the first hour of last year’s soiree, which was off the hook, you would have missed a lot.
The good thing is that The Bay Citizen produced, as designed, a lot of good stuff the past year.
Anyway, Bon Anniversaire, The Bay Citizen.
Tags: $25, 2010, 2030 Media, 26, 501c3, 511 harrison, Anne Stuhldreher, Annette Fuentes, Anthony Bernhardt, Anthony Moor, Arthur Rock, awards, bamp, Bay Area News Project, bay citizen, Bay Citizen editor-in-chief, Bay Citizen managing editor, beats, Berkeley, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, bloggers, Brock Keeling, business, Citizen of Tomorrow, civic, Community Editor, core, crime, culture, Dede, Diane Wilsey, didi, don, Douglas McGray, editor, editor in chief, Elizabeth Lesly Stevens, Elizabeth Stevens, environmental, eve batey, Family, Fellow, finance, fisher, gamh, Gerry Shih, government, Graduate School of Journalism, great american music hall, hardly strictly news, health, in chief, interns, Jeanne Carstensen, jeff, Jim Daly, Joe Payne, Jonathan Weber, Jr. Foundation, Kate McLean, Katharine Mieszkowski, kickoff, Knight, Knight Foundation, land use, launch, Laura Fraser, Laurie, Lisa Frazier, Lois Beckett, Lynn Feintech, managing, Marie McIntosh, Maureen Fan, may, Michael Stoll, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig, Neil Henry, New America Foundation, news, Newsroom, nonproft, o'farrell, Owen Thomas, paid, Partner Program, party, photographs, photos, pics, politics, Polk, post, project, Queena Kim, regional, Reyhan Harmanci, Richard Parks, S.D. Bechtel, salaries, San Francisco, san francisco appeal, San Francisco Foundation, science, SF Public Press, sfist, Shoshana Walter, soma, Staff, stanford, Steve Fainaru, street, students, Tasneem Raja, terra anniversary, the bay citizen, Ubben, uc berkeley, university of california, VentureBeat, warren hellman, washington post, Wilsey, Writer, yahoo, Zoe Corneli, Zusha Elinson
Posted in media | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
Golfer Michelle Wie goes to Stanford? Did not know that. Anyway, her stories are getting picked up in The Bay Citizen now.
For example:
“Stanford Researchers Offer Tips on Curbing Obesity in Kids“
See?
(And the beauty part is that the illustrative photos are credited to somebody from Flickr and the “Creative Commons.”)
Oh, what a world!
Tags: 2011, bay area, bay citizen, california, college, golf, golfer, journalism, journalist, michelle wie, Obesity, penisula press, Researchers, San Francisco, stanford, student, university
Posted in media, sports | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 4th, 2011
The New York Times, The Bay Citizen – you pick ‘em:
Charging Fees to See Trees at Golden Gate Park’s Arboretum Doesn’t Even Pay the Bills
Arboretum Fees Don’t Even Pay the Bills
Yep and yep.
Is Phil Ginsburg the new village idiot now that the old Mayor has blown town? Does Phil Ginsburg have a “Life Coach” too, you know, someone to tell him how he’s always right and how he can See The Future better than anyone else? Tony Robbins, here we come.
Anyway, for some reason, our Strybing Arboretum needs to impress people on the East Coast, people in Boston, New York, and D.C. You know, an “Our arbo is better than your arbo” kind of deal. That’s what drives the Great Fencing Off of Strybing. And you taxpayers, you visitors, you foreigners, you auslanders, well you can just go to Hell.
Oh well.
The Moon-Viewing Garden as it looked before the Botanical Garden Boycott of 2010 to whenever:
Click to expand
So many koi, so little time….
Tags: 16, 2009, 2010, 21, admission, Ann Cameron, Antietam, april, arboretum, Arden Bucklin-Sporer, arpil 21, avalos, battle, bay area, bay citizen, bechtel, beverage, Bill Gaede, board, board of supervisors, botanical, botanical garden, brent dennis, california, cashier, Chair, Chuck Davis, City Hall, civil war, commission, commissioner, Corporation, County Fair Building, Cynthia Anderson, Cynthia Jamplis, Denis Mosgofian, department, director, directors, district, Don Baldocchi, dr., Dr. James Kohn, eric mar, Eva Monroe, EX OFFICIO, facebook, Family, fee, fees, food, Frank Almeda, Garden, gavin newsom, golden gate park, great, inner, Isa Mary Ziegler, jared blumenfeld, Jennifer Bowles, jim lazarus, john avalos, Joseph Barbaccia, KALW, Kevin Leong, lawn, Margie Ellis, master plan, may 28, Mayor, meeting, Member at large, Michael McKechnie, Monica A. Martin, museum, new york times, non-residents, park, parks, Phil Schlein, Philip Schlein, public, radio, recreation, recreation parks, residents, richmond, Robert Leitstein, Rose Aguilar, ross mirkarimi, San Francisco, San Francisco Botanical Garden, save, secretary, Society, sponsorship, strbing arboretum, strybing, Strybing Arboretum, suggested, sunset, Supervisor, Tony Farrell, Treasurer, TRUSTEES, vendor, Vice Chair, Victoria johnson, vote, Wally Wertsch, Wendy Tonkin, William Gaede, workshop, zombies, “Honey” Johnson
Posted in parks | 5 Comments »
