The Weekly Digest (February 12, 2023)
Happy Super Bowl Sunday, Brionies! The Philadelphia Eagles are 1.5-point favorites to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, which is good news because post-Super Bowl victory riots in Philadelphia are slightly less costly and violent than post-Super Bowl defeat riots in Philadelphia. There is currently no sportsbook taking bets that there won’t be riots, unfortunately. Take heart, though, Philly fans, you may be unruly, but at least you’re not literally a synonym for having no class.
Also, happy Valentine’s Day to all the couples out there and, more importantly, happy Galentine’s Day to all the “beautiful spinsters.”
Without further ado, here’s what you need to know about San Francisco politics this week and beyond:
City Hall
Tuesday, February 14 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here)
Item 1 – Mayor Breed’s monthly appearance before the board; she will be discussing “neighborhood blight.”
Item 4 – Ordinance proposed by the mayor and Supervisors Dorsey and Engardio to extend the 120-day grace period during which post-pandemic Shared Spaces (re: parklets) permit applicants can operate under pandemic-era permits.
Item 5 – Ordinance giving effect to last year’s Proposition C, creating a Homeless Oversight Commission and empowering it to appoint all members of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board; because surely what San Francisco needs is more commissions, committees, and task forces who blame one another for the sorry state of local government.
Thursday, February 16 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)
Item 1 – Hearing sponsored by Supervisor Stefani on the Citywide Nonprofit Audit Report.
Happenings around town
California Republicans on the Rise, featuring CAGOP Chair Jessica Patterson
Wednesday, February 15, 6:30pm, online
Wednesday, February 15, 6:30pm, TogetherSF HQ
What we’re reading
Mayor Breed’s State of the City address in three minutes and her plan to build 82,000 housing units this decade. Meaningful reform or vaporware to delay the inevitable lawsuits and builder’s remedy?
Your periodic reminder that, at literally any time she wants to, the mayor can order the SFPD to shut down open air drug markets. Prior mayors did it and, well, it turns out that enforcing the law and restoring public safety actually revitalizes neighborhoods. Big surprise.
SFUSD officials published kinda-sorta-looks-like fraudulent numbers to claim that removing 8th grade algebra was a success. This is why the Briones Society supports expanded subpoena powers for the Board of Supervisors and heightened criminal penalties (including jail time) for perjury and/or obstructing Sunshine Ordinance requests.
Remember when Supervisor Ronen completely failed in her most basic duties as an elected representative? Oh, sorry – I guess we should be more specific. Well, she’s done it again, folks.
“I thought I was saving trans kids. Now I’m blowing the whistle.”
Over the last five years, half-million dollar down payments and eight thousand dollar monthly mortgage and tax payments have become the new normal in San Francisco. The result? A generational crisis is unfolding, the effects of which will dramatically alter the social, economic, and political landscape of our city – and not for the better.
One solution to this crisis? Upzoning transit corridors to allow for 4, 5, and 6 story dom-i-cities. While NIMBYs might complain about the impact on neighborhood character and aesthetics, it’s worth noting that these types of buildings are common in Paris – a city famously known for its lack of beauty and appeal to tourists and residents.
Political watchdogs activists who baselessly slandered volunteer task force members, then encouraged them to violate the Voting Rights Act, have penned a report decrying last year’s “controversial” redistricting process – a very strong early entry for the Briones Society’s 2023 Hot Dog Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Shamelessness and Hypocrisy™.
Laid off by Twitter, Facebook, Salesforce, etc.? Take note, tech isn’t the only industry where you can fail, fail, fail your way up the ladder.
Supervisor Walton is not our favorite, but this is a trashy, misleading headline and… oh, c’mon, Shamann, seriously?!?
Do this one thing to help San Francisco this week
Sign this petition opposing Supervisor Mandelman’s push to end remote public comment at meetings of the Board of Supervisors, because public comment shouldn’t be a privilege afforded solely to people who have nowhere else to be other than City Hall on a Tuesday afternoon.