The Weekly Digest (November 3, 2024)

Written By Bill Jackson

Happy Sunday, Brionies! 


Welcome to the final Digest before Election Day! If you haven’t done so already, fire up your Briones Endorsement Guide and VOTE. Do it for Peanut.

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

San Francisco City Hall

  • Monday, November 4 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Rules Committee (agenda here):

    • Item 2 – Ordinance to provide up to five years of rapid re-housing assistance to households at risk of returning to homelessness. As background, “rapid re-housing is a time-limited subsidy that gradually decreases as the tenant stabilizes and finds housing outside of the homelessness response system.” There are 1,629 rapid re-housing units in San Francisco’s homeless housing inventory, and current subsidy programs last between three months and three years. The proposed ordinance would extend the maximum subsidy period to five years. According to board materials, “data shows a higher rate of positive outcomes for family households that were able to extend their subsidy beyond 3 years.” Presumably, no one would be homeless if the City subsidized housing for everyone, forever. The Coalition on Homelessness took a break from suing San Francisco to advocate in favor of extended subsidies. Would a new subsidy program be run responsibly? We’re skeptical. The Homelessness Oversight Commission (Vice Chair, Christin Evans: here’s a sample of her mindset) will supervise.

  • Tuesday, November 5 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda here):

    • Item 1 – Ordinance allocating $11.6 million to buy a property at 2280 Market Street and turn it into an LGBTQ+ history museum. Not a particularly scintillating agenda item, but we note that once again, the City is exempting itself from contractor requirements, an open bidding process, “clean construction,” and a host of other restrictions that apply to other, non-City-sponsored construction projects. 

    • Items 2-8 – This week’s legal settlements, to the tune of $4.8 million. The “sue San Francisco” cottage industry continues apace. 

    • Item 10 – Ordinance establishing a voluntary three-year sobriety and recovery incentive treatment program, known as “Cash Not Drugs,” which will provide $100 a week to beneficiaries who test negative for illicit drugs. 

Happenings around town

What we’re watching

  • A great hullabaloo was made of Kamala Harris’s appearance on Saturday Night Live last night (which may have run afoul of election law), but we had much more fun watching this sketch eviscerating self-righteous lefties.

What we’re reading

  • It seems somewhat baffling that people in San Francisco feel the need to put forth ballot initiatives to “protect” the right to abortion from a “potential Republican president.” Donald Trump has stated that he’s not in favor of a national ban, the issue is decidedly in the hands of the states, and there seems to be little danger of California ever doing anything to change the current state of affairs. At first glance, Proposition O seems like substance-free virtue signaling, but it has one important clause with a rather anti-choice implication: the proposed law would force pro-life pregnancy clinics to post information about where to access abortion. The law would further require the Department of Public Health to “prioritize signage in geographic areas of the city where there is a greater need for abortion or emergency contraception services.” The law will likely fail a First Amendment challenge, so the public may never learn which neighborhoods are most in need of abortion services.

Quick hits

Palate cleanser



Bill Jackson
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