Hall Monitor

Sunshine task force affirms library ruling: The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force June 24 rejected a challenge by the Library Commission in its ongoing dispute with a library activist, affirming the task force's decision that a key library document should have been made public in a timely fashion.

The task force also found the Department of Elections in violation of the Sunshine Ordinance for refusing to release employee phone records.

The Library Commission sent secretary Michael Housh to urge the sunshine task force to rescind its April 22 ruling that the commission failed to promptly provide documents to activist Peter Warfield. Warfield was seeking a 600-page document detailing planned upgrades for the Richmond Branch library – a document the commission initially said didn't exist.

Library Commission president Charles Higueras, on behalf of the commission, had asserted in a letter last month that the task force ruling had exceeded its authority.

The Library Commission's request roiled the task force. Some members saw it as an affront, and others were initially eager to reverse the April decision.

Warfield was outraged by Housh's plea: he said it was groundless and, because it was never approved at a public meeting, it was also a violation of the Sunshine Ordinance.

"It would dignify [the Library Commission's action] if we considered it, and I don't think we should dignify it," task force member Sue Cauthen said before the task force dismissed the request without a vote.

The panel also settled a dispute from last August, when freelance journalist Michael Stoll requested the telephone records from poll operators working for the Department of Elections. The department offered Stoll access to the records, for a fee, but without specific telephone numbers included.

Stoll had won a pivotal decision six months ago when the task force found the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in violation of the Sunshine Ordinance for refusing to disclose unedited copies of city-issued phone bills. With this decision in hand, Stoll returned to the task force and gained a similar determination against the Department of Elections.

In another case, the task force found that the City Attorney's Office failed to meet an immediate disclosure request from Jason Grant Garza. The information Garza requested – communications regarding his involuntary detention by police March 7 – was not public record because it was protected by state law, the task force ruled. Still, the panel said, the City Attorney's Office should have promptly told Garza that his request had been denied and explained why. The next task force meeting will be held July 22, 4 p.m., City Hall, Room 408, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, S.F. (Matthew Hirsch)

Supes panel opposes Mirant plant: The Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee approved a resolution opposing the expansion of the Potrero power plant June 30, and supporters of the legislation now say they have enough votes for it to pass. The resolution will go for a final vote before the board next month.

The vote was a big victory for Bayview-Hunters Point residents and environmental activists, who sent a large contingent of supporters to the meeting. If the city can successfully prevent the Potrero expansion, activists say, it will lessen the city's dependence on highly polluting electrical generators and pave the way for public power.

Although the California Energy Commission has the final say on the Mirant proposal, David McKee, an organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, said he does not expect it would try to override a strong local effort.

The CEC could not be reached by press time.

Sups. Sophie Maxwell and Tom Ammiano, who sit on the Land Use Committee with Sup. Jake McGoldrick, introduced the resolution in May to block Mirant's proposal for a new 540-megawatt electric generator. Critics say if constructed, the facility would become the largest single source of pollution in San Francisco. Since the resolution was introduced, Sup. Chris Daly joined as cosponsor, and McGoldrick added his support at the committee meeting Monday.

"This is more than just lip service to environmental justice," Ammiano said. "This is environmental justice."

The legislation cites Mirant's poor credit rating, official allegations of price gouging and market manipulation, health and environmental hazards of fossil-fuel pollution, and the city's Electricity Resource Plan as reasons for the city to oppose the project.

McKee said only Sups. Tony Hall and Gavin Newsom have not indicated their support for the resolution.