The Weekly Digest (July 28, 2024)

Happy Sunday, Brionies! Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, Team USA will have begun racking up gold at the Olympics. GO USA!

Here’s what you need to know about San Francisco politics this week and beyond:

City Hall

• Monday, July 29 at 1pm: Regular meeting of the Land Use and Transportation Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

• Item 3 – Ordinance banning the use of algorithmic devices to set rents or manage occupancy levels for residential dwelling units. 

• Tuesday, July 30, 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here)

• Item 8 – In a break from norms, the Board is voting to implement a policy that actually makes sense: If the City is constructing infrastructure in front of your business, preventing you from opening said business, you are exempt from the $1,230.94 “vacant storefront” fee. It’s a no-brainer, but still. We’re happy to give credit where it’s due.

• Item 10 – Ordinance approving Health Service System plans and contribution rates for 2025. A fairly mundane item on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper you’ll see that San Francisco (i.e., you) will pay over $916 million in health care benefits for City employees and retirees next year.

• Item 12 – A vote on whether to put a Charter Amendment on the November ballot reducing the retirement age for firefighters from 58 to 55 to receive the highest percentage of pension. This sounds like an expensive sop to a powerful union (and it probably is), but a) it’s actually reversing a policy from 2011 that raised the age from 55 to 58, b) we will have a chance to vote on whether to adopt the change, and c) firefighters run into burning buildings for a living, after all. 

• Items 17 & 18 – Resolutions approving roughly $40 million in expenditures over the next five years for the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families. Recipients include three Boys and Girls Clubs and the Centers for Equity and Success. 

• Item 29 – A motion to place an ordinance on the ballot establishing a fund to pay off student loans for first responders (cops, firefighters, nurses, etc.).

• Wednesday, July 31, 10am: Regular meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

• Item 5 – An increase of $4.7 million in a contract with Bay Area Community Resources for the provision of “management of the COVID-Response Resource Hub Coordinator grant” until June 2025. The last time we checked, we were no longer in a Covid emergency, so why are we still paying for Covid management services?  

Happenings around town

• SFPD Community Meetings 

• DGO 5.20 (Language Access Services) Community Policy Working Group Meeting, Tuesday, July 30, 2-4pm, 1245 3rd Street or online

• Mission District, Tuesday, July 30, 5-6pm

• Tenderloin District, Tuesday, July 30, 6-7pm

• Taraval District National Night Out, Tuesday, August 6, 5-7pm, Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreational Center, 650 Capital Avenue

• The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look

• Thursday, August 1, 11am, online

• Features one of the lawyers who represented the city of Grants Pass before the Supreme Court.

In Case You Missed It

• We are happy to announce our first endorsement of the election season! As a reflection of our stance that one of the surest ways to get the city back on track is through education and a solid school system, we are delighted to endorse Min Chang for the Board of Education. Min is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility, high standards of performance and behavior for both teachers and students, and a back-to-the-basics curriculum. We also appreciate Min’s support for merit-based admissions, accelerated coursework opportunities, and an education that prepares students for the future.

What we’re reading

• Nancy Pelosi took five from meddling in the campaign for president to deliver what some saw as a shocking endorsement of Dean Preston, a Democratic Socialist, for District 5 Supervisor. Pelosi passed over more moderate Democrats running for the seat, such as Scotty Jacobs and Autumn Looijen, and mod/prog Bilal Mahmood (Mahmood bills himself as more moderate than Preston, but so is all of humanity). So, what gives? We wouldn’t be surprised if she is shoring up support amongst labor-friendly polls for her daughter’s potential run to replace her in Congress. 

• Enough about Pelosi. Let’s check in on her Republican opponent, Bruce Lou, who is out doing the good work, “putting self-defense into the hands of those who need it most” in Chinatown. 

• California Governor and wannabe Secretary of Hair Product in the Kamala Harris administration Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state land following the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Grant’s Pass case. The order, to be clear, is aimed at state agencies and state land. Here at home, Mayor Breed has already announced her own plan for managing the issue in San Francisco, starting in August. Of course, SF’s Nonprofit Industrial Complex is still a hot mess, so pardon us if we don’t hold our breath.

Quick hits

• Brooke Jenkins Hired Friend as Chief of Staff, Despite Second Job and Lack of Law License

• Grants Pass Fought to the Supreme Court to Clear Public Camps. So Why Are City Parks Still Filled With Homeless? 

• SF pledged $120 Million to Help Black Residents. The Money’s Gone in Some Strange Directions (Note: the money was taken from the SFPD budget)

• Waymo Is Suing People Who Allegedly Smashed and Slashed Its Robotaxis

• He Was Homeless, Addicted and Unemployed. Then His Neighbors Stepped Up to Help

• Bay Area Condo Owners Can’t Find Affordable Insurance Policies: “We’re All Screwed”

• Victims Question Kamala Harris' Record on Clergy Abuse

Palate Cleanser

• Kids in S.F.’s Tenderloin Get “Lifesaving Gift of Swimming” with Free Lessons at Phoenix Hotel