By Sarah Phelan

TGIF: Tim Griffin Is Former

I like to check news outlets on Fridays, because that's when further installments in the Bush Scandals tend to hit.
This Friday's installment is the resignation of Tim Griffin, the ex-aide to Rove who was shoehorned into the US Attorney's Office, following the firing of Bud Cummins. Today, Griffin says he's leaving his position as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas "to pursue opportunities in the private sector".
Maybe the Bushies believe they can appease folks by removing "a few bad apples," Abu Ghraib style. But by now the American public must have cottoned on to the fact that the Bush rot runs all the way through the barrel. Right?

By Sarah Phelan

Just in case any one thinks Paul "We Are the World Bank" Wolfowitz replacement Robert Zoellick ain't that bad, check out his campaign contributions record: aside from backing Sen. John McCain in 2007, and GW Bush in 2004 and 2000, Zoellick's had his money on James Demint, James Kolbe, Mel Martinez, Katherine Harris, Rick Lazio, Robert Portman, Bill Frist. Oh, and let us not forget Heather Wilson and Pete Domenici, both of whom appear to have had a hand in the, TGIF, US attorneys firing scandal.

By Tim Redmond

I had high hopes that Chris Daly's progressive convention would force one of the reluctant candidates (Matt Gonzalez, Ross Mirkarimi, Aaron Peskin) to come forward an announce a campaign for mayor, but that doesn't seem to be happening. And now, according to BeyondChron, Daly is saying the convention may close with nobody formally seeking or getting the nod.

Which is fine -- and right now, is probably the best outcome. Yeah, Daly more or less promised a candidate, and yeah, he could still deliver by announcing that's he's going to run himself, but I'm not sure that's the best strategy for anyone involved at this point.

There's still a chance that Gonzalez will run (although he's not ready to announce yet). We may have to wait longer than we wanted for a contender. But right now, I'd rather wait than than try to make a statement for the purpose of making a statement.

The convention will be a great opportunity to talk about the race. It's still a good idea. If it doesn't turn out the way Daly or anyone else planned, such is life on the San Francisco left, where nothing ever turns out the way you expect.

by Amanda Witherell

That's the only explanation I can come up with. They love me. They're fascinated by everything I write about them and they're dying to get to know me better. That must be it.

Or at least that's what it seemed like the other night at this little shindig I went to at the Monte Cristo Cafe down at the Embarcadero. It was the Spring Banquet for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which would be an otherwise snooze for someone like me who knows and cares little about the intricacies of engineering. But the entertainment for the evening was a discussion on the "renaissance of nuclear power," about which I just wrote a story. The pro-nukes speaker was Jasmina Vujic, a prof in UC Berkeley's Nuclear Engineering program, which totally gets money from PG&E. The anti-nuke voice was Dan Hirsch from Committee to Bridge the Gap, which wins the award for Best Non-Profit Name, "Intrigue" category.

Now, when I RSVPed for the event, I noticed the contact had a PG&E email address, but I was undaunted even though they just turned down my request for a tour of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant because I didn't have a "clear business need." (What business needs do qualify? I asked in several emails and phone calls. Response still pending.)

By Tim Redmond

Late this afternoon, I'm hearing rumblings that Ross Mirkarimi is, indeed, reconsidering his options and might possibly be considering a mayor run, after all. Maybe he'll show up at the convention tomorrow and announce. I'm only talking rumors here; I can't reach Mirkarimi himself, and he has come pretty close to ruling himself out in the past few weeks. It would be a big change of mind.

I think I've made it pretty clear that Ross would be one of my top choices for mayor. But if he doesn't run, and Chris Daly does, well ... my previous blog item notwithstanding (as the lawyers say), I want to go out on a limb here and point out some of the positive things that could come out of that campaign.

Just off the top of my head:

1. It sure would be lively. Daly's a fighter; he has a temper and sometimes says things (and does things) that are a bit impolitic, but he wouldn't back down and wouldn't give Newsom even a little break.

2. He's good on all the issues. Daly's a real left-progressive, and (unlike Newsom) he actually cares about, and talks about, and works on, issues of poverty, inequality and injustice.

3. He's a Democrat, which means Democratic party loyalists like Carole Migden wouldn't be able to duck the race or side with Newsom on the basis of party affiliation. Migden might even endorse him.

4. In fact, a lot of people who try to walk a middle line and still be called progresisves would have to make a bright-line choice here. Daly v. Newsom; it don't get much more basic than that.

5. Daly complains all the time that he hates being a politician, but the truth is, he has a future in this town. He's young and bright and will be a serious candidate for higher office in the future. A good run in the mayor's race this year could set him up for future campaigns.

6. Just imagine if he won.

Run, Ross, Run

By Tim Redmond

No, we didn't walk away with a candidate for mayor, and yes, that was disappointing to a lot of us. I actually thought for a brief moment that the chants of "Run Ross Run" as Sup. Mirkarimi took the stage late in the day would make a difference, that he would realize he has a constituency and that running for mayor would be a good move for him politically, but that didn't happen. After a strong speech proclaiming that "somebody" has to take on Gavin Newsom, Mirkarimi made clear that it wasn't going to be him.

And Chris Daly, who had at one point said that he would run if noboby else did, bowed to the reality of the fact that he has a young child and another on the way, and took a pass.

But overall, the convention was uplifting, inspiring and productive. Whatever the daily papers may say, Daly made the right point at the end: The state of the progressive moment in San Francisco is strong. Progressives control the Board of Supervisors, the School Board, and a number of other top positions; half of the elected officials in San Francisco now put themselves under the progressive banner, Daly noted.

And the green and blue baloons and beads represented what could be a very hopeful future trand -- the left wing of the Democratic party and the Green party, working together on what is for most a shared aganda.

We ought to do this sort of thing more often.

A few great moments:

By Sarah Phelan

Everyone knows Ed Jew has a flower shop in Chinatown--the FBI raided it in May--but did you know that he stopped tree plantings in the Sunset District, which may or may not be where the District 4 supervisor lives?
Guardian photo of Ed Jew by Charles Russo

Ed Jew got back from China on Sunday, and while he is recovering from jet lag, word is spreading of a June column he wrote in the Sunset Beacon, in which he claims his family "now" live on 28th Avenue in a house owned by his father, and the Burlingame home is just a place his wife's family gather on weekends and holidays.
While the CIty Attorney figures out whether Jew's definition of "now" passes muster with City residency code, it's worth pursuing back issues of the Sunset Beacon for insights into Jew's views on, well, trees.

By Steven T. Jones
Mayor Gavin Newsom may be content with a "back to basics budget" that focuses on clearing the streets of trash, potholes, and poor people, but progressives are preparing to push for a more forward-thinking plan that addresses low-income housing and other long-term needs. Supervisors Chris Daly and Tom Ammiano (both of whom sit on the Budget Committee) today introduced a measure to restore some of Newsom's proposed cuts to health services and the $33 million in board-approved affordable housing spending that Newsom blocked last month. Daly put out a statement today saying, “When Gavin Newsom claimed he couldn’t build affordable housing, because the City didn’t have the money, he was lying to the people of San Francisco. The money is available. It is only a matter of priorities.”

Image from www.onerinconhill.com
San Francisco has built lots of million-dollar condos on Newsom's watch, but almost no affordable housing, a situation that threatens the city's socioeconomic makeup.

by Amanda Witherell

The best part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech today in front of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce came after the closing remarks when everyone was leaving and the guy sitting next to me said, "Did he even say anything about energy?" Good question, given that we were seated in the inner sanctum of PG&E's 77 Beale Street corporate headquarters. Why are we here?

"They've been a great partner to our administration," said Schwarzenegger, when he thanked the utility company for the digs, which were pretty bland considering some of the other Chamber of Commerce members probably could have proffered something flashier.

Ah, yes. The partnerships -- that's what they like to call it in PRC terms (not "politically correct," but "public relations correct,") which is something the guv thinks he excels at. "I've been very well-trained because I sleep with a Democrat," he joked after his introduction from Willie Brown, which lauded his ability to chum around with the Dems.

Consultant Johnny K. Wang

By Steven T. Jones
The political consultant handling the recall campaign against Sup. Jake McGoldrick, Johnny K. Wang's JKW Consulting, has a client list that is raising questions about the real motives behind bumping off McGoldrick. For starters, there's the reelection campaign of Mayor Gavin Newsom, who would get to appoint the replacement. Then there's Google and Earthlink, which Newsom wants to contract with to provide free wireless Internet service to city residents, a deal that McGoldrick has taken the lead in scrutinizing. Finally, there's a pair of malevolent downtown players, Citizens for Reform Leadership (an attack group created by Newsom moneyman Jim Sutton) and the San Francisco Multi-Employer Group (which represented the big downtown hotels that locked out their workers instead of bargaining with them in good faith). And this is the campaign about which co-chair Keith Wilson said, "This is not being funded by downtown money, this is a grassroots indigenous effort." Sure, an effort that just happens to dovetail perfectly with downtown interests.

by Sarah Kai Acker
A contentious battle—and an endless hearing—came to a possible close last night as the lawyer for Club Six and the lawyer for the disgruntled residents of the Lawrence Hotel atop the club compromised on a 120-day probation.

For the low-income Lawrence Hotel tenants, this means that if Club Six violates the decibel cap set by the city (it’s 88.1 decibels, for any audio geeks wondering) and if the vibrations from the bass thump their rooms, Club Six will be considered in violation of their probation. Then another hearing (promised to be short) will be held that will likely lead to the threatened 30-day suspension.

A suspension that long could put the club out of business and would create a financial hardship for the 50+ people employed there, many who are struggling financially themselves. For Club Six’s owner Angel Cruz, this means he has a grace period to perfect the soundproofing.

“We’re close, we’re so close,” Cruz told the Guardian. “A lot of [soundproofing the building] is trial and error. There’s no clear cut science.”

By Ross Moody
Protesters converged outside the Burton Federal Building in downtown San Francisco yesterday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Arab-Israeli 6-Day War, targeting their message to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, whose district office is inside. The pro-Palestinian group was confronted by another group that supports Israel, and the ensuing ruckus led to both groups getting kicked off the property.

Photo courtesy of 60/40 Campaign

by Sarah Phelan

Photo by Sarah Phelan

My son is among the 800 National Guard members deploying to Iraq this summer, which is why I was at Camp Roberts, near Paso Robles, yesterday afternoon, attending the Family Farewell Celebration.
The scene was as representative of California as any I've seen: Brown, black, yellow, and white families, mostly of modest means, judging from the absence of flash cars and flash clothing, and the abundance of baby strollers.
I can't speak for the other families, but I was biting my lip, trying to hold back the tears and praying to a god I don't even believe in, as 800 young, and not so young, men marched in formation as part of the farewell ceremony.
There were generals and brigadiers making speeches--encouraging the troops to respect everyone "including the enemy," acknowledging that they are heading for a tough situation, and advising them how best to come back safe and sound from Iraq.
But there weren't any elected representatives, except for the Mayor of Santa Maria and an aide from the office of congress member Dennis Cardoza. I found this absence of elected officialdom a tad surprising, given that this is the biggest deployment of the Guard since the Korean War. But then again, perhaps they were all in their home districts, trying to explain to their constituents why the heck the US is still in Iraq.

By Sarah Phelan
What kind of flower store owner doesn't have a water account? Ed Jew, that's who.

When Ed Jew's water consumption first became an issue at the end of May, I asked the SFPUC for records for both his house in the Sunset District and his flower shop in Chinatown. I did so, because I interviewed Jew at his flower shop shortly after he won the November 2006 District and had ended up wondering by the end of the interview, if he was more deeply connected to Chinatown, which is the district of Board Chair Aaron Peskin, than the Sunset.
But when the PUC sent the records, they showed that there is no water account for Jew's flower shop at 118 Waverly Place. This revelation came as a bit of a surprise. Don't flowers need water, unless, of course, Jew is specializing in drought-tolerant plants? But wait, Jew said his favorite flower was the albatross chrysanthemum which looks to be one heckuva greedy water-guzzler .

And didn't Jew's wife Lisa make me a cup of tea at the store, when I visited? In which case, was she using bottled water, or what? The answer to those question began to crystallize when I read Jew's claims, in today's papers, that he "often showers at his flower shop before dressing for work." How could that be possible, unless he too is using bottled water, or the neighbor's hose, perhaps.
Turns out Jew owns the building next to the flower shop, a building that contains 9 residential units, and so it's not entirely impossible that he could be drawing water from that building. But should he be paying commercial rates?Apparently not, if the majority of the building he owns next to the flower shop is being put to residential use.
Either way, the question of whether Jew actually lives in the Sunset remains unresolved. Jew claims he leaves his house on 28th Avenue very early and does not return home until very late-- a statement that does not address the question of whether he was living at the house 30 days before filing paperwork to become a D4 supervisorial candidate. With the City Attorney undecided, and the feds still mum about the legality of the $40,000 bubble store payment, Jew's fate on two legal fronts remains undecided--and interest in all his properties and activities grows.

By Steven T. Jones
Mayor Gavin Newsom -- or at least his reelection campaign -- appears to have finally woken up from two years of relative disengagement with city business to come out swinging at his favorite target, Sup. Chris Daly, who chairs the Budget Committee. The awakening began last week when Newsom responded to Daly's proposal to tinker with his budget by tartly labeling the move the "worst kind of election-year politics and terrible public policy." That opening salvo was ramped up today by calls to arms by the Newsom campaign and his favorite press minion. At issue is a legitimate, significant difference in policy priorities: should the city be putting more resources into the Police Department and street cleaning and repair, as Newsom proposed, or programs to create more affordable housing and stave off health care cuts, as Daly wants.

Budget hearings are designed to sort through these very choices, but the atmosphere has now been poisoned by election year politics and the nasty deceptions that can bring out.

by Amanda Witherell

It's taken awhile, but Congress is finally moving toward federal legislation that would combat global warming in concert with the 2007 Energy Bill. The first of possible options was introduced today by New Mexico's Senator Jeff Bingaman, and calls for all states to generate or purchase 15 percent of their power from renewable sources. That's almost as good as what California already does, but definitely an improvement for the 26 states that don't have such a mandate.

However, Binagaman's Republican statesman, Pete Domenici is already trying to kick the knees out of the bill with an amendment to allow more nuclear power plants and so far unproven carbon capture sequestration technology to be permitted to meet that goal.

The Union of Concerned Scientists already has a "write your rep" campaign going...if you don't think it'll matter, remember all those border fanatics that stalled the immigration bill last week.

You can make a diff, too.

By Steven T. Jones
District Attorney Kamala Harris has filed nine felony charges against Sup. Ed Jew. A release from that office indicates that Jew is being charged with perjury, falsifying government documents, and voter fraud, all related to his allegedly false claims to be a San Francisco resident (voting and running for office here) when he listed Burlingame as his primary residence of federal tax forms.
A warrant has been issued for Jew's arrest and bail has been set at $135,000. This will likely remove Jew from office even before we get word from the FBI about whether they will recommend criminal charges for the raid on his office last month in which they reportedly recovered $40,000 cash that Jew had requested from a constituent with regulatory issues.
Harris press release follows:

by Amanda Witherell

Yesterday the Board of Supes overwhelmingly endorsed the Community Choice Aggregation public power plan with a 10-1 vote. Ed Jew dissented...maybe one of his last nays. Michaela Alioto-Pier cast a "no" on the second vote for the governance structure, but that 9-2 tally is still veto-proof. Alioto-Pier wanted to tweak some language as well, which is being done and there will be another wee vote next week on it, but nothing suggests support will flag over the coming days.

Photo by Charles Russo

By Steven T. Jones
Why can’t all of Ed Jew’s persecutors just get along? And who is going to finally force the hopelessly tarnished supervisor from office: City Attorney Dennis Herrera, District Attorney Kamala Harris, Attorney General Jerry Brown, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Ethics Commission, or the Board of Supervisors? Those are just a couple of the many questions that I’ve been seeking answers to over the last few days as I interviewed people close to the case and read the relevant documents, including the voluminous criminal complaint.

What I’ve discovered is that while Harris may have leapfrogged past Herrera (whose deadline for Jew to comply with his requests for information and an interview is tomorrow) and the feds into the lead role, it’s an open question whether her criminal case will convince a jury to convict on most counts, and if there is a conviction, whether Jew will still be a sitting supervisor by then.

By Steven T. Jones
I've been sitting on this tip/rumor for a week and I'm increasingly led to believe it's true -- plus, I mentioned it last night on the City Desk NewsHour television show -- so I'm just going to throw it out there: we hear that the Mayor's Office is considering a plan to replace Sup. Ed Jew with Assessor Phil Ting, then move Sup. Gerardo Sandoval into the Assessor's post and appoint an ally into Sandoval's Dist. 11 seat. The move -- reminiscent of his triple play that put Sean Elsbernd on the board -- would break away a semi-regular progressive vote and give the mayor an additional vote on the board.
I've contacted all the principals and only heard back so far from a representative for Ting, who told me, "He has not been talking to the mayor about this." But his name continues to be dropped in the Chronicle and elsewhere as a possible Jew replacement. Sandoval hasn't returned my calls or e-mails, which seems fishy, and he ran for the job last time so it's clear that he wants it.
I'll add comments to this post as I hear back from the mayor's office or otherwise get more information. And if you have any additional info or speculation who Newsom would appoint to the D11 seat, please post as well.

By Sarah Phelan

Things do not look good for beleagured Sup. Ed Jew. Today. City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced that the evidence against the rookie supervisor is "overwhelming," as he waved a thick wad of documents at the running dogs of the media, during a filled-to-bursting press conference. These documents, said Herrera, establish that Jew did not lawfully seek or hold office, and therefore his office is actively seeking his removal.
Herrera made this announcements after four weeks of investigations that included interviews with three dozen neighbors who saw no signs that Jew was living at his Sunset District residence, either 30 days before Jew filed to run in the District 4 2006 election, or anytime thereafter up until the FBI raid in May, plus a compilation by the City Attorney's office of utility, phone and tax records that underscore Jew's almost complete absence from his D4 property.

By G.W. Schulz

UPDATE! I failed to include a date for the protest first time around. It will be this Tuesday, June 26.

Employees of the embattled San Jose Mercury News announced earlier today that they intended to picket the newspaper over expected job cuts at the peninsula daily.

The jobs of 30 ad-production workers will immediately be affected, and editorial and composing room employees were already facing planned cuts.

The paper also announced today that it would be getting rid of its Perspective section, which appears on Sundays, due to “relatively low readership.” We reported recently that the Chronicle has been considering a similar cut to its Insight section, from which longtime editor Jim Finefrock was recently let go.

Production-side employees from the Merc represented by the Northern California Media Workers Union planned a protest for today stating in a press release that the cuts would only help to expand the newspaper empire of William "Lean" Dean Singleton, head honcho for MediaNews Group, which leads a consortium of newspaper companies that owns the Merc along with just about every other major daily in the Bay Area save for the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Merc’s union complained that some MediaNews Group positions had already been outsourced to India from Contra Costa County and Pleasanton.

By G.W. Schulz

UPDATE! Here's an SB 1019 alert from the Northern California ACLU.

Have you caught up with this week’s lurid law-enforcement story involving an SFPD officer facing criminal charges in the East Bay for sleeping with a 14-year-old prostitute? Scaaaaaaandalous.

If formal criminal charges had never been brought against the 37-year department veteran and he merely faced internal disciplinary proceedings for having sex with an underage girl in his car, there’s a chance you never would have learned about it. The state Supreme Court in a now-infamous decision handed down last year blocked the public from being able to access police disciplinary records.

If police hadn’t discovered the two in Sgt. Donald Forte's civilian car at the dead end of an East Oakland street and the lewd act had simply been reported by a colleague internally, how else could the public have ever learned that a police officer had allegedly committed statutory rape?

Outside of a possible leak, the public may never have known a thing.

Two stories we published this week were also affected by that Supreme Court decision. Our story on three sheriff’s deputies in San Francisco accused in federal court by former county-jail inmates of assaulting them was limited in part because some personnel records generated in the case were designated confidential by a judge, so we couldn’t look at them.

Mack Woodfox alleges he was beat while in custody

By G.W. Schulz

Well, it's not the 60 or so jobs former San Mateo County Times editor John Bowman said were pending, but it's still a big hunk of the Merc's newsroom. And no one can argue this will mean more news. In fact, considering reporters are asked everyday to do more with the Web (like a quick online story plus their full-length for the deadwood edition) those surviving cuts at the dailies should be getting a little pissed off by now.

On the other hand, they're probably just grateful to still have jobs. Wonderful way to keep the rank-and-file in line. Merc reporter Pete Carey corrects our earlier numbers, too, explaining that 15 people were laid off from the paper in December while more than 50 people were bought out before the most recent round of cuts was announced. (Buyouts aren't a dreamy alternative to layoffs, by the way, no m