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Politics Blog

Boston, a day later

04.16.13 - 1:02 pm | Tim Redmond |
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It's hard to know what to say about the Boston Marathon bombings. Except that I don't believe the guy on the roof did it, and I don't believe the government did it to get its hand down our pants, and nobody has any idea if some organized domestic or foreign terrorist group was responsible or if it was a lone nut. Read more »

Faux cabs: A tourism industry perspective

04.15.13 - 5:34 pm | Tim Redmond |
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I got a fascinating letter from a person who's worked in the tourism business in San Francisco for many years, and he's very worried about the impact of the faux cabs on the city's biggest industry. Here's his note:Read more »

Proposal would halt condo conversions for ten years

04.15.13 - 3:06 pm | Rebecca Bowe |
(77)

San Francisco Supervisors Norman Yee, Jane Kim and Board President David Chiu gathered with a cluster of tenant advocates at City Hall April 15 to unveil a proposal billed as a more equitable alternative to a highly controversial condominium conversion legislation that’s fueled a months-long battle over affordable housing. Read more »

Treasure Island: Is this the end?

04.15.13 - 1:42 pm | Tim Redmond |
(29)

So Mayor Lee goes to China with plans to celebrate the signing of a deal that would bring $1.7 billion in Chinese investment into the lagging Treasure Island redevelopment project, and instead the whole thing falls apart. Not good for the cross-Bay rivalry: Gov. Brown, a former mayor of Oakland, landed $1.8 billion in Chinese money for his city's big project, while Lee lost out.Read more »

When conservatives love Leno

04.15.13 - 12:47 pm | Tim Redmond |
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State Sen. Mark Leno is used to facing opposition. His efforts to regulate chemicals, end gender discrimination in insurance, and force cell-phone makers to come clean about radiation levels put him up against some of the most powerful interest groups in the state. Read more »

Ron Lanza, queer impressario, dies at 78

04.12.13 - 1:50 pm | Tim Redmond |
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Ron Lanza, a pioneer in San Francisco’s gay rights movement and an impressario who promoted queer arts through the worst of the AIDS crisis, has died after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 78.Read more »

Dealing with the faux cabs

04.11.13 - 12:33 pm | Tim Redmond |
(91)

Lots of comments on my article outlining the problems with the fake cabs that are riding around town without medallions or proper screening. The main complaint the trolls have appears to be their dislike of cab drivers and the difficulty of getting a cab in some places and at certain times. I've never had a bad experience with an SF cab driver in 30 years of living here and taking cabs, but I'm sure there are others who have; no industry is perfect.Read more »

Checks from mayor's mysterious breakfast companions mysteriously absent

04.11.13 - 11:19 am | Rebecca Bowe |
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In less than three months, custom made super yachts will zip around the San Francisco Bay in the ultimate competition for the prized America’s Cup. But San Francisco could wind up spending millions more than originally expected to host this prestigious sailing regatta.Read more »

ABC shows more concern about expanding police video surveillance than Mayor Lee

04.10.13 - 4:14 pm | Steven T. Jones |
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The SFPD has quietly expanded its reach and authority to obtain video surveillance from in and around bars, clubs, and markets through a condition it has begun recommending on new liquor licenses, as I reported in today's issue, effectively bypassing controls on city-operated surveillance cameras established through extensive public hearings in 2005.Read more »

San Francisco has a lot of money tied up in fossil fuels

04.10.13 - 3:35 pm | Rebecca Bowe |
(31)

The San Francisco Employees Retirement System has more than $113 million in holdings in Exxon Mobil. It’s a lucrative investment in a dirty business. On March 29, Exxon’s Pegasus Pipeline ruptured, spilling as much as 7,000 barrels of oil in a toxic slick that coated a residential Arkansas neighborhood and prompted the evacuation of 21 homes.Read more »