By Steven T. Jones
Now, the Guardian hasn't always seen eye-to-eye with our congressional rep, incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. In fact, it's fair to say the relationship has been downright chilly as she's made compromises to attain her leadership post and we've wanted someone to take stronger stands against the unchecked rise of Bush-brand imperialism, corporatism, and theocracy.
But I'm happy to see her take a strong stand against letting the hawkish Jane Harman take over the House Intelligence Committee, making the solid choice of Rep. Silvestrie Reyes instead. And I've recently been convinced by Assemblyman Mark Leno that even her apparent gaffe of unsuccessfully backing John Murtha for the number two slot wasn't the disastrous error in judgment that the mainstream media made it out to be.
Instead, Leno argues that it was a shrewd move that sent a strong message to her troops: if you support me, as Murtha has done on the war and other key issues, then I'll support you (even in uphill fight where the media is waiting to mock me). Even if there's only some truth to that view, it at least neutralizes the incident and offers some hope that the Democrats might to up to the challenges they face.
The next big test will be whether she allows John Conyers and other strong Bush critics to push for the release of records related to the Iraq War, which could turn up some truly damning data that would then test Pelosi's pledge not to pursue impeachment. There's still lots to do and pitfalls at every turn, but for now, I'm willing to hold my fire and offer my support. Go Nancy!

By G.W. Schulz

I can't decide what's creepier. The fact that an advertising firm has made a bus stop smell like cookies to promote milk, or the fact that said advertising campaign has itself become an ongoing news story. Yesterday, the Examiner made the geniuses behind the campaign into a news item. Ever wonder what all those douchebags who fill the Mission on the weekends do for a day job? This is it. Maybe tomorrow, Matier & Ross can analyze how the contrived smell of cookies mingles with the smell of a piss-soaked downtown alley. Nothing is sacred and nothing is off limits when you work in marketing and advertising.

By Tim Redmond

The more I think about this cookie-odor thing, the worse it sounds. There's some real agitiation out there from people who are allergic to or offended by chemical odors, and who rely on public transit. All the way out in Milwaukee, they have heard about this and think it's a dumb idea.

What I really want to know, and can't find out, is exactly what chemicals are in the odiferous strips that will be attached to the bus shelters.

I called Maggie Lynch, the spokesperson for Muni, and asked her; she said she was trying to find out. But as of today, all she could tell me was that the ingredients that will assault our nostrils are "an FDA-appreoved food product" and "a widely used flavoring in hundreds of food items." That sound pretty innocent, but frankly, a lot of what the FDA says is okay for food is kind of nasty stuff.

The difference is that people can choose to buy organic food without FDA-approved chemicals. They can't choose to ignore the cookie odor at the bus shelters. This is an infringement on public space in the worst kind of way: People rely on Muni. It's not an optional experience.

As the very least, the supervisors need to demand a full list of the chemical compounds that this ad campaign will release into the shelter air. Better yet, let's just ban the whole idea.

By Tim Redmond

Well, SF Gate reports tonight that the cookie ads on bus shelters have been scrapped. Amazing it even got this far.

By Steven T. Jones
Just as my latest story on Mayor Gavin Newsom's prospects for reelection was going to press, he issued a letter that reinforced the very traits that have caused people to sour on him. Namely, that he's disengaged, unnecessarily divisive and political, out-of-touch, risk-averse, and just not up to the job of being a big city mayor. The letter concerns Prop. I, which 56.36 percent of San Franciscans approved, saying they want the mayor to "appear in person at one regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors each month to engage in formal policy discussions with members of the Board." Note that language, because it's important in understanding the cowardly bait-and-switch that Newsom's letter tries to perpetrate on the public.

By Tim Redmond

The way The Examiner's Ken Garcia is putting it, the San Francisco supervisors did a terrible thing to cut funding for the new job that Mayor Newsom created for Annemarie Conroy.

Poor, poor Annemarie, who won't get her $185,000-a-year job going to meetings that she used to go to anyway in her previous job, which she did so badly she had to be demoted from it.

Garcia quotes Newsom saying “Politics is one thing, but when you go out of your way to take away someone’s livelihood, then it’s purely spiteful."

Come on.

Conroy is a lawyer who worked for a high-powered downtown firm before she became a supervisor. She's eminently employable. She's not going to miss any meals just because the supervisors decided, properly, that this is a patronage post that does nothing for the taxpayers who are footing the bill.

Newsom insisted when he was first running that all this Willie-Brown-style nonsense was over. And yet, it continues -- and now he whines when he gets caught.

By G.W. Schulz

We confirmed earlier this week through court records that Hearst and MediaNews are continuing their business relationship with plans to purchase the Daily Breeze in Southern California for $25 million. The Breeze itself confirmed the news with its own story a few days ago.

Word of the deal surfaced in court records filed last week in Clint Reilly's civil suit against Hearst, MediaNews and others alleging anti-competition. We'll have more on this story coming up in a couple of days in the Guardian. There's a whole lot going on here and it's happening fast.

Meanwhile, cheers to Chronicle reporter Mike Weiss for the first in a four-part series about the day-to-day operations of San Francisco General Hospital published in the paper today. The lead installment contained a gripping look at the hospital's trauma center and puts a microscope on the tragedy of gun violence in the city.

The paper has unfortunately buried some of its very good recent coverage of homicides in the East Bay, and a closer look at just how brutal gunshot wounds are and how they effect San Francisco was much desired. Knowing so many people at General are fiercely committed to treating poor patients, too, makes you pretty damn proud to be a San Franciscan. But the hospital could still face closure in a few years if we don't meet some tough state standards for earthquake preparedness.

By Tim Redmond
I'm so happy that the New York Post is finally printing in San Francisco. There's just nothing like it in this country. The front page of the Dec. 7th issue, containing a report on the Iraq Study Group, has pictures of the faces of Baker and Hamiliton pasted onto monkeys' faces with the headline:

"Surrender Monkeys: Iraq panel urges U.S. to give up"

There really nothing in the story inside to justify that headline (although I wish there was; giving up at this point doesn't seem like such a terrible option, compared to all the others) but the Post doesn't care. It's a great cover, making a political point.

Now why can't the supposedly "liberal" dailies act like this?

By Steven T. Jones
Just in case you thought Mayor Gavin Newsom wasn't trying to fool the public by announcing his intention to do town hall meetings as a substitute for meeting with the Board of Supervisors, as voters called for in Prop. I, here's a link to photos from the eight previous town hall meetings that he's held. Political theater indeed.

By Tim Redmond

This is still at the early whisper stages, but there are a number of people urging Mark Leno to run for state Senate against fellow Democrat Carole Migden in 2008 -- and the word is that Leno is actively considering it.

Talk about wild campaigns.

Both are formidable fundraisers and good campaigners, both have had strong bases of support in the city -- but Leno seems to be more on the political upswing these days. He's was just re-elected easily, has few visible enemies in town, and is chairing the powerful Appropriations Committee. Migden angered some local progressives with her strong support of Steve Westly for governor over Phil Angelides (although she can certainly argue that the outcome of the election lends credence to her claim that Westly had a better chance of beating Schwarzenegger).

Leno and Migden have never been best pals; Migden supported former Sup. Harry Britt against Leno in the often bitter 2002 Assembly primary.

Migden's a fighter; a primary challenge wouldn't be easy. But the fact that it's even under discussion suggests that Leno thinks there is some dissatisfaction with the incumbent.

Keep an eye on this one.

By Sarah Phelan

In the mood for some political fireworks? Head to Dec. 12 meeting of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. A renewable public power project at Hunters Point that has the blessing of the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, SFPUC General Manager Susan Leal and District 10 Sup. Sophie Maxwell is said to be experiencing opposition from none other than PUC Board President Richard Sklar.
You’d have to be brave to risk being the Man who would stand between Public Power and the Bayview, but Sklar who came to the city from Cleveland in the 1970s, has a history of clashing with the mayors who appoint him, starting with then Mayor Dianne Feinstein when she made him SFPUC General Manager.
According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, by the end of that tenure, Feinstein and Sklar were feuding over everything from the Muni to high-rise development, with Feinstein calling Sklar "arrogant,’ and Sklar calling her a "lightweight".

By Tim Redmond

Ellen Tascher, the conservative East Bay Democrat, is under fire all over the web and there are signs that she will face a primary challenge next year.

Robert Haaland has a good line on why she's already in trouble with progressive Dems. A district to watch.

By G.W. Schulz

The Chronicle on Sunday launched its lengthy four-part series on the San Francisco General Hospital with the threaded narrative of a 14-year-old boy who was shot in his mid-section by an assault rifle last spring and appeared at the trauma center with seemingly little hope of remaining alive.

In 2001, the boy’s father had been killed by gunfire just a short distance away in the Hunters Point housing project where they lived. After a brief stint in juvenile hall for general teen trouble following his dad’s killing, the Chron’s Mike Weiss reported, the boy’s behavior had begun to improve before he, too, was gunned down for reportedly tossing a water balloon at a friend that accidentally splashed the wrong person.

Weiss then recounts in stunning detail what it took for SF General to put the boy’s guts back together – he barely managed to survive after several surgeries.

The Chron quotes a surgeon:

"'Problem with AK-47s is they explode in the abdomen. Basically, a bomb went off in his tummy.'"

The photo leading the Chron's story that day depicted the boy splayed out on a gurney, naked, with an oxygen mask attached to his face. The intent of the Chron’s pieces was to focus on life inside the nationally recognized hospital and the resources it takes to sustain the city’s only trauma center. The names of both the boy and his father are not revealed by the paper.

By Tim Redmond

Look for Matier and Ross to report on the Chronicle tomorrow (Thursday) that Mark Leno's team has taken a poll on how he would fare in a challenge against Carole Migden for state Senate in 2008.

The poll, I'm told, was encouraging to the Leno camp. The Assemblyman will make up his mind in January, but I'm getting the strong sense that this is going to be a go.

And what a political free-for-all it will be.

By Tim Redmond

Well, the info I picked up last night was a bit off; Matier and Ross haven't run anything yet on the poll Mark Leno has done to evaluate his chances in a possible race against Carole Migden for state Senate in 2008.

But word about the race is all over town. The BAR checked in today with a story by Matthew S. Bajko discussing the race and quoting Leno confirming that he'll make a decision early in 2007. Bajko suggests that the race

"would almost certainly reopen old wounds not only between the formerly close allies but also between the city's two LGBT Democratic clubs. The clubs came down on different sides in the bitterly contested Leno-Britt race, and it took several years for the clubs to improve their relationship. The race also soured Migden and Leno's relationship; Migden had backed Britt as her choice to replace her in the Assembly."

I'm not so sure it breaks down that simply. Leno is now much more popular with the left-leaning Harvey Milk LGBT Club than he was five years ago, and Migden is, frankly, a bit hard to define politically these days. I think there would be progressives on both sides of this one, and the LGBT community would be split along unusual lines.

Only about half the district is in San Francisco, and the rest in in Marin and Sonoma counties, where Leno is almost unknown (and where politics, while heavily Democratic, tend to be a bit less liberal than SF). So both candidate will have to establish some moderate credentials.

But in the end, the left in San Francisco will play a key, perhaps decisive role in the race. And it's anybody's guess how that plays out in the end.

For example, let's take a wild (and unlikely) scenario: Leno is clearly supporting Mayor Gavin Newsom. Suppose a left-identified candidate like Matt Gonzalez takes on Newsom -- and Migden decides to join up against the mayor. How many of Leno's left allies does that peel off?

Another wild card: Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is pushing a measure that would modify Leigslative term limits, perhaps to allow 12 years of service in any one house. Now think about this: If (as expected) the Legislature moves the California presidential primary to early 2008, but leaves the remaining state primaries in June (and that's the likely scenario right now), Nunez's measure could be on a January, 2008 ballot -- and if it passes, Leno could then file to run again for his Assembly seat in June. (And I think he would; Leno doesn't have his heart set on the state Senate right now. He just loves politics, and doesn't want to be out of office.)

Which would mean Leno wouldn't run against Migden -- but would also mean that Sup. Tom Ammiano, who has announced he will seek Leno's seat, would be SOL.

Of course, if the Nunez plan fails, and Leno runs against Migden, since Leno will then support Ammiano for the Assembly seat, perhaps Migden recruits a candidate (Chris Daly?) to run against Ammiano. Which would really not be pretty.

But hey: Maybe Bush and Cheney will be impeached, making Nancy Pelosi the president, and Leno can run for her Congressional seat. Wheee.

By Tim Redmond

Well, within a few minutes after my blog on Mark Leno and Carole Migden was posted, Eric Potashner, Migden's aide and political advisor, called me to say that Migden has endorsed Tom Ammiano for state Assembly and to poo-poo all the talk of a heated Leno-Migden race, which he says he isn't worried about.

Okay, I believe him. But he should be worried, because it's real -- and unless the term-limits law is modified, I see Leno wanting to go for it.

Anyway, I just got back from the Haight Asbury Neighborhood Council post-election forum, where another fascinating wild-ass scenario was floated: Suppose Migden does the math and decides that she has a better chance running against Gavin Newsom than she does defending her Senate seat against Mark Leno?

After a member of the audience floated her name in the mayoral sweepstakes, Calvin Welch, who has been watching local politics for a very long time, pointed out that Migden is extremely smart -- and not afraid to make a bold political decision.

I don't exactly see it, but it's a very strange world out there right now.

By Tim Redmond

The news that I knew was coming is now apparently official: according toFog City Journal, Assemblymember Mark Leno announced at the Harvey Milk Club holiday party that he will, indeed, challenge state Senator Carole Migden in 2008.

It's going to be a wild ride.

Already, the shit is flying: Migden, Luke Thomas reports, said that Leno is "a little nuttly, and he's out of a job. What else is he going to do?"

But whatever you say about Mark Leno, he isn't "nutty." And he's not afraid to go on the attack. When Leno ran for Assembly against former Sup. Harry Britt, the campaign hired a researcher to run down every missed vote in Britt's career, and put up signs saying "where was Harry?"

Migden endorsed Britt. So did we.

But this time, the race won't come down to a typical left v. center contest, the way Britt-Leno was was back then. Leno has moved quite a bit to the left, and will fight Migden agressively for every endorsement.

But before it becomes a mud fest, I want to hear both of the candidates tell me: Where do they disagree on real issues?

I hope that's not too much to ask.

By Tim Redmond

UPDATE: Mark Leno has written a letter to Fog City Journal saying that his run against Carole Migden isn't really official yet.

So I just called Leno to check it, and he says he won't make a final final decision until mid-January. But "I'm looking at it very seriously," he said, and added: "I'm getting a lot of encouragement from local labor leaders."

I told him that, from everything I'm hearing, it's seems pretty clear to me that he's in the race. "It's certainly looking that way," he responded.

So there you have it. That's about as close to an unofficial official announcement as you get.

By Tim Redmond

So City Planning Director Dean Macris thinks the San Francisco skyline is not distinctive enough. Today's Chron quotes him supporting an 80-story tower next to the new transbay terminal:

"The current skyline is very flat, and needs some peaks to create a more distinctive look.''

Excuse me: Dean Macris is responsible for much of what the skyline looks like today. He defined the rules for highrises in 1984 with his Downtown Plan, and the uglification has proceeded apace ever since. The skyline is filled with walls of tombstones because city planning under Macris and then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein was driven entirely by developers who wanted to make vast amounts of money. Esthetics were never an issue; bulk and density was where the profit was, so that's what we got.

What a crock of shit.

By Sarah Phelan
San Francisco freelance journalist Josh Wolf has spent nearly four months in prison for refusing to surrender outtakes of videos he took at an anarchist protest turned violent. Recently, Wolf wrote a letter describing his typical day inside, which should be of interest to Oakland freelance journalist Sarah Olson and Honolulu Star-Bulletin journalist Gregg Kakesako, since they both just received subpoenas demanding testimony about quotes they attributed to 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, who faces a court-martial after denouncing the war in Iraq and refusing to deploy with his unit. Wolf’s letter should also be a source of useful tips for San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, who face up to 18 months inside for refusing to reveal the source of closed-door grand jury testimony by Barry Bonds and other athletes about drug use. For a transcript of the letter, keep reading...

By G.W. Schulz

Looks like the San Francisco Police Officers Association is attemtping to remake the Afghan police force in its own Charles-Bronson image.

This month's POA Journal features a photo of an Afghan police advisor wearing one of the shirts quoting POA president Gary Delagnes from the last election: "I don't drink Diet Coke. I drink screwdrivers." If it's not so clear just yet, Gary Delagnes is a man. A tough man. He drinks screwdrivers. And chews on bullets.

Anyway, the statement came after the San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 announced it would be endorsing Chris Daly in his reelection bid for the District 6 supervisor's seat over newcomer Rob Black. Matier & Ross at the Chronicle reported first that Delagnes was annoyed about the endorsement (Delagnes and Daly have never gotten along so well, to put it lightly.)

Wise-cracking Local 798 president John Hanley had suggested that perhaps Daly and Delagnes could sit down to discuss their differences over Diet Cokes. But Gary Delagnes doesn't drink Diet Coke. He's a man. A tough man. He drinks screwdrivers. And snacks on chainlink. And uses a buzzsaw for a knife when he's eating t-bone steaks. Some cops had the shirts made up after the now-notorius quote was uttered. Daly, for his part, was none too happy.

There's no real explanation by the Journal for how the shirt ended up in Afghanistan. But here's the caption to the photo:

"In this shot, an Afghan police advisor dons one of the infamous t-shirts that appeared after President Delagnes scoffed at the notion that he would enjoy a diet Pepsi [sic] with Supervisor Chris Daly. The shirts were not POA produced or approved, but rumor has it that translation into Farsi will appear shortly."

By G.W. Schulz

In a short decision released just hours ago, federal judge Susan Illston granted Clint Reilly's request to enjoin the Hearst Corp. and MediaNews Group from discussing any cooperative agreements until Reilly's antitrust complaint against the two companies and other business partners goes to trial next April.

Reilly and his attorney, Joe Alioto, had requested the preliminary injunction (after the first request was denied because a $300 million Hearst investment in MediaNews stock had not yet technically been consummated) arguing that the defendants had withheld from the court a letter outlining how the two companies might be able to share delivery trucks and advertising efforts, discussions that Reilly believed threatened antitrust rules.

By Tim Redmond

I grew up in the 1960s, the era of elementary school bomb drills and "duck and cover." I thought we'd gone beyond all of that, but apparently not: i just received from the federal Department of Health and Human Services a "Wallet guide for the media" called "Preparing for terrorism and other public health emergencies." It folds out into a nice handy tip sheet on what to do if we're attacked by mustard gas, nerve gas, antrax or a number of other awful things. In most cases, of course, there's absolutely nothing anyone can do except "immediately seek medical care."

My favorite item, though:

"Nuclear device -- powerful bomb involving splitting of atoms. Comes in various sizes and types, producing various levels of destruction.

"First actions: Do not look toward the explosion .... Lie on the ground and cover your head."

Then bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.

By Tim Redmond

Well, now I'm not the only one speculating about the possibility of Carole Migden deciding to run for mayor. Sasha at LeftinSF floated it out Tuesday, and SFist weighed in on it today.

All of this, of course, goes back to the story that Mark Leno may challenge Migden for her state Senate seat, a prospect that has political reporters and insider-politics junkies (including me) buzzing around madly.

But when you actually think about if for a second, there are a few good reasons for everyone (including Leno) to take a deep breath and consider what this could mean. For starters, Midgen and Leno don't really disagree on a lot of major issues. So the campaign would be all about things like "effectiveness" and personality -- and that kind of race has the prospect of turning very negative and very ugly very fast. The battle would split the progressive community, and, as one observer put it to me, "there would be blood everywere, and it could take years to heal the wounds."

I'm not syaing Leno shoudn't do it -- I like to see incumbents face a challenge, and this is a democracy and he has every right to run for any office he wants. But this is about more than Leno and Migden; there's a progressive movement in this town, and we've got a lot of battles to fight.

I know Leno and Migden aren't on the best of terms right now, but I think Sup. Tom Ammiano has the right idea. "Before this goes any further," he told me, "Mark and Carole really need to sit down and talk."

And I'd love to evesdrop on THAT conversation.

PS: Lest I sound too negative about a Leno challenge, let me quote a local activist who knows both politicians well: "Leno fights for his issues. He's a real hard worker. Carole pushes the right button on the issues, but a lot of us think she's missing in action. She shouldn't be talking to Leno -- she should be back here talking to us."

And if the prospect of a challenge gets Migden to pay more attention to her constituents, that's only a good thing.

By Tim Redmond

The line between campaign consultant and lobbyist has always been far too fuzzy -- but now the Center for Public Integrity has issued a report on how the revolving door can lead to terrible public policy. A central example in the report:how San Francisco consultant John Whitehurst and his firm, Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter, "traded on its campaign connections to lobby for changes in California law and city zoning, paving the way for high-rises that will dramatically alter the San Francisco skyline along the eastern waterfront."

It's a fascinating tale of how Whitehurst parlayed his ties with Gavin Newsom's mayoral campaign and Mark Leno's Assembly campaign to win approval for 40-story luxury condo buildings. It shows exactly how sleazy local politics has become.

By G.W. Schulz

The most recent newsletter from the Tenderloin police station shows yet again what has been one of California’s worst criminal-justice problems – recidivism.

California has one of the highest recidivism rates in the country, an ongoing crisis that has remained a vexing political issue for the governator. We love putting people behind bars over and over again, and nowhere in San Francisco is that more startlingly clear than in the Tenderloin, which alone boasted 4,200 arrests last year, the highest in the city. Of the over 20 arrests that took place in the district between Dec. 15 and Dec. 21, almost every single one of them involved both drugs and repeat offenders.

Josh Wolf may soon have company: Two more reporters have been ordered to testifyin a court hearing, and neither one of them seems about to give in

Sarah Olson, an Oakland freelancer who writes for Truthout, and Dahr Jamail, who has done some amazing reporting from Iraq, both received subpoenas from Army prosecutors, who want them to testify against 1st Lt. Ehren Watadam who is charged with refusing to accept orders that he deploy in Iraq. He has been quoted as saying that he thinks the war is illegal, and prosecutors want the reporters to confirm their interviews with him.

Not likely.

By G.W. Schulz

So let's get this straight. In 2001, Bay Area-based Apple Computer Inc. gave 7.5 million stock options to its CEO, Steve Jobs. The options were approved by the company's board of directors at a meeting that never actually happened. The company also now admits that documents related to this imaginary meeting were fudged to make it appear that the necessary board approval had taken place.

The special committee formed by Apple to investigate the matter (which includes Al Gore) says no current member of management was aware of the falsified records. Jobs, the committee insists, was innocent, and as the public is often told during such controversies, the top exec was ignorant of the manipulation.

Steve Jobs sure gets paid a lot of money for a man who's clueless.

From the Chronicle:

"Apple said Jobs was aware of some instances of backdating and even recommended favorable dates to grant options. But, the company said, Jobs did not financially benefit from these grants and did not understand the accounting implications."

That's sort of like arguing that a casino patron who got caught counting cards didn't make a dime off it and had no idea how badly the hired muscle would kick his ass once they got him outside. He was still counting cards.