I know, why don’t you take out all these spaces and replace them with a separated bike lane or something, SFMTA?
After all, Transit First, right?
Oh, what’s that? These are the spaces that the Board of Supervisors and their aides park in for free every day so that’s where you just happened to end your campaign of completion?
But don’t you care about safety, SFMTA?
Mmmmm….
“This project seeks to implement aesthetic and safety improvements for all users of Polk Street between McAllister and Union Streets. In accordance with the City’s Transit First policy, improvements will primarily be focused on people who walk, use transit and ride a bicycle along Polk Street. The project is funded by Proposition B General Obligation Bonds and is part of an overall citywide effort to curb pedestrian and bicycle collisions and to provide a safe north-south connection for people on bicycles. Pedestrian and bicyclist collision and injury data on Polk Street point to a corridor in need of safety improvements for all those who share the road. In fact, the southern portion from Sacramento to McAllister Streets is part of the 5% of San Francisco streets that have more than half of the City’s most severe pedestrian collisions.”
But it is anti other things, I’ll grant you that.)
In closing, diamonds are horrible. Get anything else but a diamond. People will figure this out soon enough and the worthless piece of rock on your finger will be even more worthless a couple decades from now.
And more importantly, it will be seen by others as worthless.
Could be (but I’ll never know ’cause I only have a rabbit ear antenna and, oddly, there’s no NBC affiliate in my tiny town, nor in the county, nor in any of the neighboring counties and I’ll be damned if the Comcast monopoly is going to get $100 per month out of me for basic cable.)
Anyway, leave us review, let’s travel all the way back to ought-ten:
So now in 2013, George Gascon sees a chance to make amends with all sorts of different groups by being the point man on SFGov’s anti-MUNI bus ad campaign?
Sure looks that way. See the press release below.
Hey, is George Gascon running for Mayor of San Francisco, you know, down the road?
Maybe. (All he needs to do is clear up his case of foot-in-mouth disease by 2017 or whatever.)
Contact: Stephanie Ong Stillman, DA Gascón’s Office
ADA Alex Bastian, DA Gascón’s Office
SAN FRANCISO – Today, District Attorney George Gascón, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, and Supervisors John Avalos, London Breed, Malia Cohen, Jane Kim, Scott Wiener, Norman Yee held a press conference to denounce Islamophobic and racist advertisements by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) scheduled to run on MUNI buses today.
“These offensive ads serve no other purpose than to denigrate our city’s Arab and Muslim communities,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “When any community in San Francisco is attacked, it affects all of us. I and the city leaders standing with me today are exercising our free speech rights in condemning these ads and standing with the Arab and Muslim communities of San Francisco.”
“Hate has no place in our City,” said Mayor Ed Lee. “San Francisco is a city that celebrates its diversity, and hateful speech and discrimination against our Arab and Muslim communities will never be tolerated.”
“Our respect for free speech does not mean we allow hateful speech to go unchallenged,” said Board President David Chiu. “As a former civil rights attorney, I’m proud to stand with our Arab and Muslim American families to send a united message that San Francisco embraces diversity and tolerance, not hate and bigotry.”
AFDI’s founder Pamela Geller has been deemed an anti-Muslim hate extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In August of 2012, San Franciscans were outraged over AFDI advertisements on MUNI that referred to Arabs and Muslims as “savages.” Arab and Muslim community leaders say the new advertisements are even more offensive as they wrongly suggest that all Muslims are defined by extremism and violence, and baselessly target Arab and Muslim San Franciscans who make invaluable contributions to the city’s life and culture.
Supervisor David Chiu is introducing a resolution to condemn the Islamophobic and racist MUNI Ads at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. In response, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority will dedicate the proceeds from the offensive advertisements to fund a city-wide study on the impact of discrimination on Arab and Muslim communities. City leaders have met with Council on American-Islamic Relations – San Francisco Bay Area, Asian Law Caucus, the Ramallah Club, the Arab Cultural Center, churches and mosques to discuss targeting of vulnerable communities and the city’s commitment to protecting and standing with those communities.”
Oh, no no no no no. The original estimate of the “economic benefits” (whatever the Hell that amorphous amorphism means) of the 34th America’s Cup was $9.9 B-as-in-boy billion.
“America’s Cup organizers are falling short in their efforts to raise private donations to help pay for the cost of bringing the America’s Cup sailing competition to San Francisco — and that could leave the city on the hook for about $20 million. The Board of Supervisors holds hearings Wednesday to discuss the shortfall. Supporters say even without all of the promised private funds, the city still benefits financially from hosting the America’s Cup.
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
Jane Sullivan, city spokesperson for the America’s Cup
John Avalos, San Francisco supervisor representing District 11″
I understand that Mayor Ed Lee has a cheerleading function as a part of his job. Fine.
But what’s this? What the Hell?
“We expect to have some 500,000 people on a daily basis…”
Just take a look on the YouTube, at around 9:30 and, mind you, this is AFTER everything blew up and people started realizing that the 2013 America’s Cup won’t be anywhere near as popular as advertised:
So, does Ed Lee actually believe that there’s a chance that the America’s Cup will attract anything close to a half million people “on a daily basis?”
No he does not.
So why does he say it?
Mmmm…
Now, speaking of cheerleading, @olivaglobal is the dude who was hired by the San Francisco Chronicle to promote the America’s Cup over the next 1.5 years. Here he goes:
“The America’s Cup is the world’s third-largest sporting competition, after the Olympics and soccer’s World Cup.”
Here it is in the flesh:
So, let’s think about this here. I guess the bullshit Bay Area Council Economic Institute (BACEI) organization is allowing that the Summer Olympics and the World Cup just might possibly be bigger than an America’s Cup. But what about the Winter Olympics? Oh, and what about the Super Bowl?
Who actually believes that the America’s Cup, that thing where half the staff just got laid off and NBC needs to be paid in order to broadcast, is actually going to be bigger than a Super Bowl?
Nobody.
Not even the cheerleaders.
So why do they say these kinds of things?
All right here’s one more from the messed-up study what’s going to cost the taxpayers of San Francisco tens of millions of dollars. It discusses, and I’m srlsy, the “fleet of super yachts” what are going to be attracted to the bay area due to the America’s Cup, and then it talks about how much money we’re going to make by gassing them up and Windexing the shiny parts and stuff like that.
I’m srsly.
These cheerleaders are members of a modern day Cargo Cult and we’re all along for the ride.
And oh, we’re going to get the Golden State Warriors without funding the stadium at Piers 30-32? All right, so why then are we funding Larry Ellison’s ego trip of a boat race? Why are we allowing Him to get away with this?
I know not.
Screw the America’s Cup.
“The world’s most popular sport may be soccer, but in cold, hard dollars, nobody throws a party like the National Football League.
“Skateboard Group Condemns Supervisor for Criticism of Free Civic Center Event
The San Francisco Skateboarding Association had strong words for a San Francisco Supervisor critical of the skateboard and BMX contest held in the Civic Center Plaza this weekend. The event is free and open to the public.
“By publicly condemning the Mountain Dew Tour in their inaugural year in SF, Supervisor John Avalos continued a practice perfected by our parents’ generation of elected leaders: bash skateboarders and deny us access to public spaces in San Francisco,” said Bryan Hornbeck, President of the SF Skateboard Association.
In the mid-80’s San Francisco became the birthplace of a worldwide phenomenon known as “streetstyle” skateboarding, where skaters utilize man made structures to express themselves* in ways no architect ever imagined. The Dew Tour brings professional athletes from around the world to compete in a world-class skatepark. Local riders also get to participate. On Sunday, the skatepark will be open to the public for a community skate session.
San Francisco is also home to Thrasher Magazine, an internationally recognized skateboard publication and several high profile skateboard companies and retail establishments. The Dew Tour at Civic Center is seen as an economic boon to the San Francisco skateboard industry that employs hundreds of people, mostly under the age of 30.
“To us, this is the Super Bowl of skateboarding. Our store has seen a huge amount of traffic for the past two weeks because of the Dew Tour. This helps our business, which in turn helps our employees. Maybe Supervisor Avalos is upset that they took away his parking space in front of City Hall, but it’s a small price to pay for promoting our industry to the world,” said Kent Uyehara, owner of FTC Skateboard Shop on Haight St.
Organizers of the event say that thousands of hotel rooms have been booked for the participants and their families and that the event is being streamed and broadcast on network television to millions worldwide.
The S.F.S.A. seeks to advocate for skateboarders of San Francisco through organized representation and community action. The S.F.S.A. wants to improve the public’s perception of skateboarders through education, information distribution and community outreach with a focus on the creation of public skateboard parks for the youth of our great city. http://sfskateboarding.wordpress.com/”
OK fine.
Oh, what’t this, Central Freeway skate park? Rly? Hey, what about a Central Subway skate park – I’d like to see that.
*Now I’ll tell you, I don’t know if the BOMA people would approve of this…
“Supervisor Avalos Moves to Regulate Private Shuttle Stops
San Francisco, CA – Today San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos requested that the City Attorney draft legislation to create a permit process to regulate shuttle stops for private employer shuttles in San Francisco.
The number of private shuttles on San Francisco streets has increased dramatically in recent years. The San Francisco Transportation Authority reports that there are approximately 36,000 one-way trips per day taken on private shuttles. These shuttles stop at over 200 different locations in the City. There are currently no regulations governing the locations of these shuttle stops. The majority of these stops are using Muni curb zones, which is currently illegal and impacts Muni service.
“I appreciate how private shuttles help reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions,” Supervisor Avalos said, “but their rapid growth makes it clear that we need sensible City policy to prevent this from growing into an unregulated Wild West era of shuttles competing with Muni for curb space.”
As a member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Mobile Source Committee, Supervisor Avalos recognizes that private shuttles are becoming an important part of the City’s transportation and environmental policies.
Despite their benefits, private shuttles present challenges that the City must manage. In addition to delaying Muni service, these shuttles increase the wear and tear on City streets and impact neighborhood’s quality of life. As chair of the Public Safety Committee Supervisor Avalos says, “I recognize the need to address the safety hazards posed by large, double-decker shuttle buses navigating narrow and hilly City streets.” Less direct impacts, such as the dramatic increase in housing costs near shuttle stops, also warrant study.
Supervisor Avalos is encouraged by the work of the Transportation Authority’s San Francisco Integrated Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Partnership Project in coordination with the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA), the Planning Department, the Department of the Environment, and the shuttle operators. He looks forward to working with all of these groups to develop a comprehensive City policy to foster additional growth in private shuttles while minimizing their adverse impacts.”
Now here’s how we handled things a half decade back, or at least here’s how Supervisor Bevan Dufty handled the NIMBYs of Noe Valley back in 2007. (I think he was holding a photo of a Google Bus but I never saw the photo any closer.)
Tell me, who on Gaia’s Earth would think that dull-witted Christina Olague would be a good person to represent District Five? I mean, why would you pick a Run Ed Run chair to represent the district that so strongly favored John Avalos for Mayor just a short while ago?
Ooh, now let’s check in with weak-willed “Progressive” Christina Olague. Here’s her campaign.
I’ll tell you, if you like Ed Lee’s neo stop-and-frisk policy for the SFPD, then you should vote for Christina Olague, cause, you know, she worked hard to ensure that voters would choose Ed Lee over Supervisor John Avalos in the last mayoral election.
“EMPRESS HAS NO CLOTHES: Some overconfidence in District 5 Supervisor Christina Olague’s campaign before last week’s August 15 SF Democratic Party county committee endorsement vote. Only days before, Bill Barnes, veteran campaign manager, government staffer and former District 5 candidate himself, came in to corral votes for the supervisor representing Japantown, Haight-Ashbury and Western Addition. One strategic error made – assuming an inflated head count that Olague would snag the important SF Democratic Party endorsement. In reality, no consensus had developed for Olague and her rivals - London Breed of the African American Arts and Culture Complex, Julian Davis of the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center or College Board member John Rizzo. The outcome – a public embarrassment for Olague, the Mayor Ed Lee appointee…”
Wow. A supposed “leader” of the Run Ed Run Draft Ed Lee for Mayor movement, a person who was rewarded with a Supervisor position for selling out her progressive values, just got a big fat vote of NO CONFIDENCE last night, courtesy of the Democratic Party of San Francisco.
Kind of like this:
Ah, let’s meet some of the candidates for D5 Supe. So we have, from left to right, Thoughtful, Thoughtful, OMG I’M SO PISSED OFF WHAT GIVES THESE, THESE PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO QUESTION ME, Thoughtful, and Thoughtful:
Let’s check in with the reaction from another candidate, one who is accumulating endorsements the past few weeks instead of, you know, losing them:
“I just spoke w/ Julian Davis and he is THRILLED! Level playing field! RT @SFCitizen: @mattdorsey No endorsement for District 5? HARSH!”
And here’s the rest of the official Dem Party endorsements from last night’s meeting
“SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 15, 2012) — The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee tonight voted on the party’s endorsements for local candidates and propositions that will appear on the Nov. 6, 2012 Consolidated General Election ballot. The governing board of San Francisco’s Democratic Party voted to endorse the following:
Board of Supervisors, District 1: Eric Mar
Board of Supervisors, District 3: David Chiu
Board of Supervisors, District 5: No Endorsement
Board of Supervisors, District 7: F.X. Crowley (#1), and Norman Yee (#2)
Board of Supervisors, District 9: David Campos
Board of Supervisors, District 11: John Avalos
Board of Education (four seats): Sandra Fewer, Matt Haney, Rachel Norton and Jill Wynns
Community College Board (four seats): Natalie Berg, Chris Jackson, Rafael Mandelman, Steve Ngo
BART Director, District 7: Lynette Sweet
BART Director, District 9: Tom Radulovich
Yes on Proposition A (City College Parcel Tax, District Measure)
Yes on Proposition B (Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond, Bond Measure)
Yes on Proposition C (Housing Trust Fund, Charter Amendment)
Yes on Proposition D (Consolidating Odd-Year Municipal Elections, Charter Amendment)
Yes on Proposition E (Gross Receipts Tax, Ordinance)
No on Proposition F (Water and Environment Plan, Ordinance)
Yes on Proposition G (Policy Opposing Corporate Personhood, Declaration of Policy)
Though comprehensive official minutes of the DCCC’s special meeting at California State Office Building’s Milton Marks Auditorium will be forthcoming, member and committee reports included several updates on: the upcoming fall campaign; the hiring of a new executive director; current party finances and fundraising plans, including an event centered on President Obama’s nomination acceptance speech; voter registration; the redesigned party website and expanded communications efforts; and amending practices to meet many standards codified in the Brown Act and S.F. Sunshine Ordinance. The DCCC also voted on a vendor for its fall slate card program.
Public comments included numerous speakers advocating individually and on their organizations’ behalf for local candidates and measures; a monthly update on Organizing for America; concerns that the California Democratic Party endorsed Proposition 35 without consideration to official opponents and concerns from the sex worker community. Two speakers called on DCCC members to address themselves to community concerns that policies governing the Castro’s Rainbow Flag do not comport with Presidential proclamations and other exigencies that merit lowering the flag to half-mast when appropriate.
The lone new business item was a resolution passed by a majority of DCCC members that condemned inflammatory and offensive anti-Muslim advertising on Muni vehicles, and called on city officials and MTA authorities to change policies to prohibit such hate speech in the future.
Members John Rizzo and Hene Kelly closed the meeting by memorializing the late Milton Marks III, a highly regarded Community College Board member and former DCCC colleague, who passed away Aug. 9 at the age of 52. The meeting was adjourned in Marks’s honor.
About the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee San Francisco’s Democratic County Central Committee, or DCCC, is the governing body of the local Democratic Party as defined in California’s Government Code and Elections Code. The DCCC is comprised of local Democrats elected by voters in each Assembly District, as well as partisan-level Democratic elected officials and nominees who serve as Ex-Officio Officers. Current members elected from the 17th Assembly District are: John Avalos, David Campos, David Chiu, Malia Cohen, Petra DeJesus, Matt Dorsey, Bevan Dufty, Zoe Dunning, Leslie Katz, Rafael Mandelman, Carole Migden, Leah Pimentel, Alix Rosenthal, and Scott Wiener. Members elected from the 19th Assembly District are: Kat Anderson, Kelly Dwyer, Bill Fazio, Tom Hsieh, Mary Jung, Hene Kelly, Meagan Levitan, Eric Mar, Trevor McNeil and Arlo Hale Smith. Ex Officio members are: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, Attorney General Kamala Harris, State Senators Mark Leno and Leland Yee, and Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano and Fiona Ma.
Do you see the signs for John AVALOS for Mayor? They’re all over the place:
Click to expand
Hey, didn’t D5 go for Avalos over Ed Lie** two to one? I think so.
Hey, didn’t Christina Olague actively support Ed Lie OVER John Avalos, the second-place finisher?
So how can she say she’s a “progressive?” She’s a Progressive Sellout, sure, but not a progressive, not anymore, not if you start off as a Green Party member and then go Democrat and then cross the aisle and work for the San Francisco Repulican Party’s choice for Mayor for the sole reason of getting appointed as District Five Supervisor after Ross Mirkarimi won the Sheriff’s race?
Hey Christina, is Ed Lee a progressive too? Oh really? Then what do you call John Avalos?
Hey Christina, if you’re a progressive, then why don’t any progressives endorse you? You ever think about that? Have you seen this one:
“District 5 supervisorial candidate Julian Davis is emerging as the progressive standard-bearer in that competitive race after today receiving the endorsements of a trio of top progressive politicians: Sups. John Avalos and David Campos and attorney Matt Gonzalez, the former board president, mayoral candidate, and D5 supervisor.”
So, yes Christina, you’re more progressive than London Breed, the other person Mayor Ed Lie considered appointing. But he appointed you for a reason. He appointed you to vote as you please on whatever small, picayune issues that you want, but to vote with him on the votes that he really cares about.
That’s what makes you a sellout. You’re using your sort of hippy-dippy background to try to fool the voters of D5.
Oh well.
*I thought that this address might be his HQ and I wanted to see if the building was residential or commercial. Turns out that his HQ isn’t around yet but it will open up at 10AM this Saturday in the Lower Haight area, possibly at the location of the former Vapor Room, anyway, somewhere around there.
**Everything that man says is a lie. He doesn’t know how not to lie anymore. Check it. “Quite candidly…?” “Quite frankly…?” That’s what he says right before he tells another whopper.
