Politics Blog

SF declares Pay Equity Day as it lowers salaries for women's jobs

04.09.13 - 4:08 pm | Avi Asher-Schapiro |

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The Board of Supervisors today declared April 9 Pay Equity Day in San Francisco, in recognition of the persistent national gap between male and female financial compensation. But with the city locked in a dispute with SEIU Local 1021 over pay cuts to jobs dominated by women and workers of color, the day took on special local significance. Read more »

TRUST Act clears committee as immigration reform heats up nationally

04.09.13 - 4:08 pm | Rebecca Bowe |

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It was late at night by the time New Latthivongskorn, then 22, finally started to make his way home from the University of California Berkeley campus after a long night of studying for midterm exams. A third year molecular and cell biology major who was trying to keep up his grades in preparation for med school applications, Latthivongskorn said he noticed a man in a black hooded sweatshirt walking toward him as he approached his home. At first he didn’t think much of it – but just as he was about to unlock the door to his apartment, the young Thai student heard a voice. Read more »

Paying for the mayor's China trip

04.09.13 - 2:29 pm | Tim Redmond |

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You'd think the mayor would know better by now. After all the allegations of cronyism and undue influence, you'd think that he'd make sure everyone involved in his trip to China was playing by the rules. You'd think the last thing he would want is this.

Now: So far this is just a complaint, and noting has been proven. But still: It sure looks bad. And it's entirely unnecessary.Read more »

Blue Angels grounding is a victory for sanity, safety, and peace

04.09.13 - 2:04 pm | Steven T. Jones |

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Finally, peace in our time. The Blue Angels' annual Fleet Week assault on San Francisco has finally, blessedly, mercifully been canceled for 2013, the result of $85 billion in federal budget sequestration cuts divided equally between military expenditures and social service spending.Read more »

Class divisions in SF (sorta)

04.09.13 - 1:55 pm | Tim Redmond |

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Richard Florida, who got famous creating the "creative class," has a new series of maps out charting class structure in American cities -- not on the basis of income or wealth but on the type of work people do. Sfist has a nice copy of the San Francisco version here. It shows, on the surface, that this city has virtually no "working class," some "service class" and lots of "creative class."Read more »

The Willits tree-sit fallout

04.05.13 - 4:54 pm | Tim Redmond |

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I just spoke with state Sen. Noreen Evans, who represents the Willits area, about the forcible eviction of five tree-sitters -- and by forcible, I mean firing projectiles (first reported as rubber bullets, later as bean bags) at a protester holding onto tree limbs 70 feet in the air. She's not happy.Read more »

CycleSF event canceled, but RecPark gets paid anyway

04.05.13 - 4:20 pm | Steven T. Jones |

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Bicycling around San Francisco has become increasingly popular with both residents and tourists, but apparently that doesn't mean people want to pay $40-75 for an organized ride around the city's perimeter, even when the money goes to the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the cause of putting more bike racks into the parks.Read more »

Mayor Lee's trip to China raises questions of ethics and influence

04.04.13 - 4:21 pm | Steven T. Jones |

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[UPDATED(x3)] Mayor Ed Lee barely had time to unpack from his recent political junket to Paris before he was off on his current trip to China – both of which were paid for and accompanied by some of his top political supporters and among the city's most influential power brokers. Read more »

Live Shots: Keystone XL pipeline protest

04.04.13 - 2:24 pm | Ariel Soto-Suver |

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Keystone XL pipeline protest. Photo by Bowerbird Photography

Photos by Bowerbird Photography

SFBG's Rebecca Bowe reported on the anti-pipeline protesters who greeted President Obama yesterday in the cold and fog. SFBG photographers from Bowerbird Photography were there as well. After the jump, Ariel of Bowerbird's take on the scene.

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