The No on Prop 16 campaign is fighting back against Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s advertising blitzkrieg for Proposition 16, the anti-democratic ballot initiative it has bankrolled to secure its monopoly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read more »

At the May 4 Board of Supervisors meeting, Board President David Chiu introduced a motion to reject the Municipal Transportation Agency budget, approved by the MTA Board on April 20.

Noting the deep service cuts that are scheduled to inflict the city’s public transportation system on Saturday, May 8, Chiu said riders could expect “longer wait times, more crowding, and people being passed up by full trains.” Read more »

That's right, folks, this "Stand Against Sit/ Lie" sticker was slapped onto a fire extinguisher locked inside a glass case in the City Hall corridor just outside the Board of Supervisors' Chambers. Obviously, the message this totally badass sit/lie critic is trying to get across is that it's possible to oppose sit/lie and still care about public safety. The proposed law to ban sitting or lying down on the sidewalk, which has triggered a smoldering citywide debate, is slated to go before the Public Safety Committee on Monday, May 10.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors was scheduled to vote yesterday, May 4, on a resolution introduced by Sup. David Campos for a municipal boycott of Arizona-based businesses as a response to Arizona’s anti-immigration measure, which we report on in this week’s issue. Read more »

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The California Public Utilities Commission, the state agency tasked with regulating investor-owned utilities, seldom holds Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s feet to the fire -- even when advocacy groups are in an uproar over company practices. However, this may be changing. Read more »

One unintended, positive side-effect of San Francisco's plastic bag ban: Fewer opportunities for free-floating bags to lodge themselves into cylcists' derailleurs, as happened to me this morning on my way to work. It's still two weeks before the official Bike to Work Day, but I thought I'd share today's bike-commute anecdote, which belongs in the Restoring Faith in Humanity department. Read more »

It’s easy to find opponents of the city’s proposed sit /lie ordinance in San Francisco. This past Saturday, April 24, dozens of them organized over Facebook, inviting people to join in on events like drag shows, barbecues, and board game matches, all out on the sidewalk. The law’s proponents, meanwhile, haven’t been quite as visible since the great sit/lie debate began. But yesterday, April 28, the Guardian attended a press conference at the Tenderloin Police Station hosted by citizens who back the controversial law against sitting or lying down on the sidewalk.  Read more »