Posts Tagged ‘buildings’

The Joys of Buzzing Market Street in Your Aging Cessna 310 Twin – What’s the “Minimum Safe Altitude” Over SF?

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

This is a Cessna 310, or something similar, just after it buzzed the Financial at well under Minimum Safe Altitude, which in this case is 1000-something feet above ground level.

Escaping to the northeast:

Click to expand

Now, do I have your tail number? No I don’t. So you win this round, Flyboy.

Regardless, I cry foul.

Until next time…

(And try to not kill yourself or your  passengers or any ground-dwellers before then.)

 

 

BOMA Members Advertise on Craigslist for Strikebreaking Janitors – $18 Per Hour – Huge SEIU Protests in the Financh

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

These days, in the Financial District of San Francisco, it’s the BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco) vs. the SEIU (Service Employees International Union Local 87).

Seems that it’s contract negotiation season for area janitors, don’t you know.

So you’ll find hundreds of workers loudly circling target buildings, marching around, for example, the 101 California, yesterday.

You know, like this: 

Click to expand – the cops seemed to be cool with marching on the sidewalk, but union members wouldn’t have been allowed to just stand around, apparently

But you know, some building owners have a Back Up Plan, you know, the plan to hire replacement workers at $18.65 per.

Here’s yesterday’s ad from the Craiglist:

We are accepting applications for temporary janitorial positions in San Francisco. The work involves replacing our current work force at commercial office building throughout downtown San Francisco due to a possible labor dispute with the SEIU- Service Employees International Union. 

The rate of pay is $18.65 per hour. Typical shifts are from 6:00pm to 2:00am. The length of temporary employment is unknown at this time.

JOB DUTIES INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
Vacuuming
Remove trash and recycling.
Cleaning and stocking restrooms
Dusting surfaces
Spot cleaning carpets
Follow all job site safety regulations

REQUIREMENTS
Ability to work 7.5 hours on your feet
Ability to push and pull up to 25 lbs.
Ability to work independently or in a team environment
Must be 18 years or older to apply
If required, must be able to pass a criminal background check”

On It Goes…

Know Your Inchoate Labor Protests: Tomorrow’s Planned Commercial Office Waste Protest at City Hall Canceled

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

For some reason.

I’ll tell you, those canceled protests are oftentimes more interesting than the ones that go forward…

Check it:

“Commercial Office Buildings Missing the Mark in San Francisco’s Efforts to Achieve Zero Waste

Labor, Environmental Leaders to Release Report Outlining How Commercial Office Buildings Can Achieve True Zero Waste by 2020

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – POSTPONED members the BlueGreen Alliance and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 87 will join with local labor, environmental and civic leaders to release and show support for the report

Making Zero Mean Zero: Waste Diversion in San Francisco’s Commercial Office Buildings.

Findings in the report reveal actions at some of the city’s commercial buildings are hampering the city’s efforts to achieve zero waste and the report outlines recommendations to achieving true zero waste by 2020 — a goal of the city.

The report was prepared by the BlueGreen Alliance — a national partnership of unions and environmental organizations representing 14 million members and supporters.

WHAT: Labor, environmental, and civic leaders call for commercial office buildings owners in San Francisco to reduce waste and increase recycling. The event will feature Spanish speakers.
WHO: BlueGreen Alliance California Director Lisa Hoyos, SEIU Local 87 President Olga Miranda, SEIU Local 87 Members, Supervisor John Avalos (District 11), Interim Supervisor Christina Olague (District 5)
WHEN: POSTPONED
WHERE: In front of San Francisco City Hall”

So, do I think we’re going to have a million electric cars on the road by 2015, as was pledged? Nope!

And do I think that 10% of all trips in San Francisco will be made by bicycle by 2010? Oh, wait, we missed that one already – that got pushed back to 2020, when 20% of all trips made in San Francisco will be made by bicycle, for sure, like totally man, like guaranteed. (And then when that doesn’t happen, the new goal will be 30% of all trips made in San Francisco being made by bicycle by the year 2030.) Anyway, nope!

And now, do I think that all the commercial office buildings of San Francisco will produce “true zero waste” by 2020? Nope!

Anyway, don’t go to City Hall at 11:30 AM tomorrow cause nothing’ll be going on…

OMG, It’s the Great San Francisco Structures Map 2012! 134 Buildings Under Construction, Approved, Etc…

Monday, June 25th, 2012

But don’t tell the San Francisco Bay Guardian, oh no. They won’t want to see certain buildings, like 8 Washington,* on this list.

Anyway, here it is, via Claudia Siegel, the San Francisco Business Times San Francisco Structures map 2012.

What an odd pattern of development, non?

Click to expand

Those West-side NIMBYs sure are strong, huh?

All the places, as of June 2012, after the jump.

*Putting 8 Washington/Rose Pak on the ballot this Fall? Sure, why not? 

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Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Flies Rainbow Flag for Gay Pride Month, 2012

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012

Like this:

Click to expand

But there are no complaints, unlike the recent situation in Virginia at the Fed Bank there.

How Many SFPD Cops Does It Take to Babysit 100 Occupiers at the 888 Turk Street Occupation Overnight? About 100?

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

As seen last night – some of the cops on the left and the occupiers on the right:

Click to expand

Man, the cops were everywhere, as if they were getting ready for an early-morning raid…

The communique:

“On Sunday, April 1st, in solidarity with the Western Regional Advocacy Project’s “We Won’t Get Fooled Again” National Day of Action for the rights of the un-housed, Occupy SF working groups & affinity groups are liberating a vacant building and converting it into a social center, shelter and food bank for the people. We have already demonstrated, for 82 days, what is possible when a space is liberated and reclaimed. The encampments at 101 Market St and Justin Herman / B. Manning Plaza were successful experiments in non-hierarchical organizing where resources were shared in a gift economy and collective decisions made through consensus, while food, shelter and medical care were provided to the greater community.

This action on Sunday is not a temporary protest, but a permanent occupation intended to establish a social center. We will transform this vacant building into a productive and vibrant space, just as we did in the plaza occupation, and we wish others to take similar actions and more.

Wealth inequality is increasing, the environment is being destroyed, the police state and drug war are devastating our communities and social movements, while our foreign wars enrich the 1% at the expense of our troops and innocent civilians. In San Francisco alone, thousands sleep on the street while thousands of houses and apartments lay empty. From Chapel Hill to Seattle, from New York to Oakland, people are rising up to directly change the social and economic system by liberating vacant buildings and reclaiming them for the people.

We are taking this action to bring immediate relief and housing to homeless youth in our community, and to provide a space for assembling, sharing food and healing for all people.”

Happy Holidays from Photographer David Yu: The View from Twin Peaks, Late 2011

Thursday, November 24th, 2011

Can you see the new SFPUC Building in this shot?

Click to expand

OMG, It’s “Civic Response 2011″ This Morning in Civic Center – A Fire Drill With a Cast of Thousands

Friday, September 30th, 2011

[UPDATE: Famous photographer Steve Rhodes is on the scene right now:

Step 1: Kiss the bride under the largest classical dome in the western hemisphere;

Step 2: Evacuate

Via Steve Rhodes - click to expand]

All that hullabaloo in Civic Center this AM is just CIVIC RESPONSE 2011. 

Deets below.

The calm before the storm:

Click to expand.*

All the deets:

“Multi-Agency Joint Evacuation Exercise – Civic Center Area - ”Civic Response 2011″ – September 30th 2011, 10:30am

Exercise Overview
This will be a coordinated multi-organization joint evacuation drill involving the facilities management and security agencies, as well as the involved building tenants from within the San Francisco Civic Center area. This multi-agency drill will involve civilian and uniformed responders from the local and state government levels and is aimed at helping ensure public safety in the event of an actual emergency.

There will be approximately 1,500-1,800 building tenants evacuated and dozens of responders involved in this exercise. The participating agencies will activate their fire alarm plans and evacuate their tenants to pre-designated locations at Civic Center Plaza, UN Plaza, and the War Memorial area.

Participating Buildings – City Hall, Dept Public Health at 101 Grove Street, UC Hastings College of the Law, Veteran’s Building at 401 Van Ness.

The Command Post will be the SF PUC Mobile Command Vehicle (MCV) which will be parked on Grove Street between Polk and Larkin across from the Bill Graham Auditorium.

Mission: All participating buildings will execute their evacuation plans simultaneously and safely while keeping aware of the other facilities tenants.”

More deets, after the jump

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The View of Downtown San Francisco from Corona Heights: Union Square Hilton, 345 California, UC Hastings

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Those are the more interesting buildings I recognize.

Anyway, it’s your Corona Heights Park, so enjoy – get up there like these two and just take in the Financh as if it were the biggest HDTV in the world:

Click to expand

The Vanishing Construction Workers of San Francisco County Have Reappeared in Civic Center, Looks Like

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Remember back in the day, back when construction workers spent 2008 pouring suspended slabs of steel-reinforced concrete to build the UC Hastings Garage just to the east of State Building in Civic Center (the one Arnold tried to sell to insiders last year, or something)? Things were looking grim.

But now things seem better, workwise. Here’s the lot just to the west of our State Building – it’s the new San Francisco PUC Building at 525 Golden Gate.

Big Blue, the Old Federal Building, will be harder to spot from Civic Center soon, that’s for sure…

Click to expand

Busy as a beaver high above the Civic Center / Tenderloin / Little Saigon area…