The Weekly Digest (October 1, 2023)

Written By Bill Jackson

Happy Sunday, Brionies!

Welcome to October! A time of changing colors, crisp weather, and, if you’re a major retailer, the sign to start playing Christmas music too dang early. On a positive note, all things flavored “pumpkin spice” are now allowed.

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

City Hall

  • Tuesday, October 3 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here) 

    • Items 1-19 – approving settlements of various lawsuits against the City for just under $5 million. If these cases are any indication, one of the most dangerous activities in our city is navigating busted-up sidewalks.

    • Item 22 – ordinance temporarily reducing the number of affordable units required for housing projects. This should pass on final reading; Dean Preston was the only “no” vote last week. (By way of explanation, ordinances – which amend municipal codes and make laws – require consideration at two separate meetings with at least five days between them.)

    • Item 32 – “resolution expressing concern” regarding the Recreation and Parks Department turning UN Plaza into a skate park, thus relocating a farmer’s market from the area. (Resolutions that have not been passed to committee may only be adopted by unanimous vote of all supervisors present. Here endeth our civics lessons.)

    • Item 34 – resolution authorizing the City to extend the lease at Candlestick Point for use as the “Bayview Vehicle Triage Center” for another two years. (See “What we’re reading,” below, for more on this nonsense.)

    • Item 40 – resolution in the “yeah, that oughta do it” category: urging SFMTA to prohibit right turns on red lights.

Action items

Happenings around town

What we’re listening to:

  • In the latest episode of The Briones Society Podcast, Jay and Jennie take a crisp 30 minutes to wax rhapsodic on a variety of topics: Supervisor Preston’s hearing to address car break-ins (or “bipping”), the Constraints Reduction Ordinance (decent idea, horrible name), and Supervisor Dorsey’s charter amendment to fully staff the SFPD. 

  • Show notes: It turns out that the Board punting on the Constraints Reduction Ordinance was a very, very, very bad move. As American Hero™ Ellen Ripley once said, “Nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”

What we’re reading

  • Dianne Feinstein has passed away. She was a lion and a trailblazer, originally in San Francisco (the first woman to serve as president of the Board of Supervisors, the first woman to serve as Mayor, and the unfortunate soul whose job it was to announce the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone) and later in the U.S. Senate. While conservatives can certainly disagree with many of her policy positions, there is no denying her patriotism, grace, and honor. She is a San Francisco icon, and rightfully so. RIP.

  • Ronald Reagan once said that the nine most frightening words in the English language are “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” The latest fiasco over a very expensive safe parking location for unhoused people is no exception. In January 2022, the City opened a “safe parking site” at Candlestick to hold up to 155 RVs. However, due to a squabble with PG&E (Supervisor Ronen called the utility company “evil,” while PG&E claimed that the City failed to provide necessary equipment and failed to complete its paperwork until last month), the site never had electricity. With no electricity, the folks in the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing decided to use diesel generators to power the site. Unfortunately, the diesel generators a) could only provide power to 35 out of 155 intended vehicles; b) led to a lawsuit from nearby housed residents, who alleged that the fumes violated the Clean Air Act; and c) forced the city to – sit down, please – “provide fresh meals daily” to the site. For this, the citizens of San Francisco have paid $8.6 million to date. That works out to $140,000 per year for each parking spot. On Friday, supervisors in the Homelessness and Behavioral Health Select Committee voted to suspend operations until costs could be reduced. Just kidding! Supervisors Walton, Ronen, and Mandelman voted unanimously to recommend that the City extend the site’s lease for another two years.

  • Mayor London Breed is proposing that welfare recipients undergo substance abuse screening and treatment in order to receive benefits. Of course, the plan was met with skepticism and downright vitriol from the usual suspects; the acting director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition called the plan “disgusting.” To become law, the plan will need approval by the Board of Supervisors. Given how readily the progressive supes blasted it, we’re not optimistic.

  • With all due respect to Ahsha Safai, who has the Q Rating of yesterday’s oatmeal, Mayor London Breed got the first serious challenger for her job when Daniel Lurie announced his candidacy on Tuesday. An heir to the Levi’s dynasty and CEO of the non-profit Turning Point Community, Lurie is counting on San Franciscans who are fed up with the “City Family.” His campaign had a bit of a hiccup on Friday when he posted a confusing take on safe injection sites. When asked directly whether he supports them, Lurie said the City needs to deal with open-air drug markets before having that debate. Not exactly a resounding denial.

  • If you’re a fan of viral videos showing thieves walking out of stores with their arms full of merch, you’re in luck! On Thursday, the Board took a step toward banning security guards from drawing their guns to halt property crime, a brainchild of Supervisor Preston. Surprisingly, all three of the “moderate” supervisors on the committee – Stefani, Engardio, and Dorsey – expressed support for Preston’s plan.

  • San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins continues to bring the noise about overly lenient judges. We think she has a point: Their Honors are rejecting 85% of motions to detain alleged repeat fentanyl dealers.

  • We’ve long known that San Francisco is a tough place to start a new business, but this story about Naz Khorram’s arduous path to open a wine bar in the Mission District has us seeing red. District 9 Supervisor Ronen “helped out” by suggesting that Khorram work with neighborhood groups, who wanted input into such details as hours of operation and even wall color. The result? Opening a wine bar is as tough as opening a strip club.

Quick hits

Palate cleanser

Bill Jackson
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