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Politics Blog

Margaret Cho on sex, Good Vibrations--and San Francisco's answer to the 49ers leaving town

11.17.06 - 10:12 am | Sarah Phelan |
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By Sarah Phelan

There’s something deliciously violent about stand-up comedian Margaret Cho’s voice. Even when she picks up the phone in her hotel room in Philadelphia and says, “Hell-low? This is Margaret,” in that familiar Cho twang, you feel the tigress at the end of the line.
OK, maybe I’m just projecting. Because let’s face it: to call Margaret is to risk ending up as fodder in her next comedy act, especially if you have a British accent and work for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Read more »

Josh Wolf, petition denied, to remain in jail until July

11.16.06 - 2:14 pm | Sarah Phelan |
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By Sarah Phelan
It looks like Josh Wolf, the jailed freelance videographer and blogger, will be stuck inside Dublin Federal Correctional Institute until July 2007.
That at least is the word from Wolf’s lead attorney Martin Garbus today, following news that the 9th Circuit has denied Wolf’s petition for a rehearing in USA v Josh Wolf.
Wolf’s legal team asked for a rehearing on the basis that the 9th Circuit court, which previously ruled that Wolf does not the right to withhold video outtakes of a July 8, 2005 anarchist protest turned violent, had however granted that privilege in the Jaffee cas Read more »

Secrecy wins, 4-3

11.16.06 - 8:00 am | Tim Redmond |
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By Tim Redmond

Late last night, after all the debate about surveillance cameras was over, the San Francisco Police Commission narrowly voted down a plan that would have made a strong statement against secrecy in police discipline.

The vote was 4-3,. with the usual pro-cop suspects, Louse Renne, Joe Marshall and Yvonne Lee joined by the swing vote, Joe Alioto Veronese. Read more »

The PUC gives a shit about your shit

11.15.06 - 3:52 pm | Sarah Phelan |
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By Sarah Phelan
The SF PUC opened its Nov. 14 Sewer System Master Plan update with a cautionary tale: a sewage spill at Ocean Beach occurred when a manhole cover blew out, affecting about 150 ft of the beach from beneath the Cliff House going west--and further proving the need, according to PUC officials, for major upgrades to the city's sewer system.
The good news: PUC officials claim the thousands of gallons of shit that spewed across the Great Highway onto the beach during heavy downpours of rain never reached the ocean. Read more »

The Business of Dirty Nukes

11.15.06 - 3:35 pm | Sarah Phelan |
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By Sarah Phelan
In the war on terror, even cats are suspect. Or at least their kitty litter is.
That’s because of trace amounts of uranium and other suspect stuff that apparently triggers alarms at ports worldwide
But now comes news of better technology--and bigger profits—in the war on terror. Read more »

Money has stopped talking

11.15.06 - 7:19 am | Amanda Witherell |
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by Amanda Witherell

Here's another, less lauded "San Francisco value." Page A18 of the November 14 New York Times (sorry, folks...they don't seem to have it online...) had a tally of the most expensive House races in millions spent. It shows that those who spent the most, lost the most. Just like here in San Francisco!

Republicans outspent Democrats in nearly all the seats the chart lists, and the races they won, they only spent marginally more than their foes. Read more »

Now the police are all on foot patrols, pass the pot, huh?

11.14.06 - 9:43 pm | Sarah Phelan |
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By Sarah Phelan

Moments after the Board of Supes overode the mayor's veto of their foot patrol legislation, Sup. Tom Ammiano got an 8-3 vote to make marijuana offenses the lowest law enforcement priority. Phwew! Because there we were worrying about all those police walking beats and busting hippies for rolling up big fat ones in the park. Close one.

Board overrides Mayor's foot patrol veto

11.14.06 - 9:32 pm | Sarah Phelan |
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By Sarah Phelan
It hasn’t exactly been a good couple of weeks for Mayor Gavin Newsom.
His picks for Board of Supervisors got thumped.
The 49ers said they’re running away with Santa Clara but keeping San Francisco’s name.
Newsom nix sayed the city’s Olympic bid
And then the Board of Supervisors overrode Newsom’s veto of police foot patrol legislation in a 9-2 vote that means the city will go ahead with a one-year citywide pilot project.
Worse, the nine sups that defied his veto got to explain their reasons, which included slamming the mayor and the police chief for lack of leadership..
Sup. Read more »

Oh, the fists!

11.14.06 - 8:16 pm | Amanda Witherell |
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by Amanda Witherell

Mayor Newsom is getting pummeled left and right. (Actually, they're probably all lefts.) Only one of his three acolytes won the election last Tuesday. The 49ers are waving good-bye after they promised they weren't talking with any other cities. The Olympic bid went south with them. Supe. Aaron Peskin switched sides and Supe. Read more »

What's with the pot bill?

11.13.06 - 7:17 pm | Tim Redmond |
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By Tim Redmond

Sup. Tom Ammiano has a real simple measure coming to the board that ought to pass unanimously. It's worked fine in Berkeley for many, many years. It works fine in Seattle, Santa Cruz, and Santa Barbara. And yet, it faces what could be a tight board vote and a mayoral veto. Crazy.

What Ammiano wants to do is make enforcing the marijuana laws the city's lowest police priority. We're just talking about possession laws, not sales. The city's narcotics cops say it won't be a problem. Read more »