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Politics Blog

Criticism of BART oversight plans grows

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By Tim Redmond

I’m not the only one criticizing the BART Board’s weak and ineffective proposal for police oversight. The conservative Contra Costa Times weighed in today with a strong editorial saying that the BART proposal doesn’t go far enough and suggesting that BART adopt a San Francisco-style model:

BART should consider putting together a review board similar to what San Francisco has with its police review commission. It has a say over discipline of officers for serious offenses.

At the very least, a BART auditor and review panel should have a strong voice in developing hiring and training policies for BART officers. They also should be trusted to do more than simply offer their opinions regarding discipline of transit officers.

So when the Guardian and the CoCo Times agree on something, it’s pretty clear that a wide range of people with divergent viewpoints want more action than the BART Board has offered. I hope the board members are paying attention.

Prison report: American idle

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By Just a Guy

Editors note: Just a Guy is an inmate in a California state prison. His columns run Mondays and Thursdays. You can read his last post and links to some of his past columns here. He will try to respond to all comments and questions, but it’s tricky to communicate from prison, so be patient.

Were all of you as surprised as I was at the results of American Idol? Hey! Don’t make fun, so I watch Idol with all that extra IDLE time Lance Corcoran, spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, says I will have more of because of the layoff of 3,665 CDCR employees.

The reason I bring up American Idol is I see the results of the voting as similar to the mindset of Californians and the rest of the U.S. when it comes to prisons, inmates, and crime. One of the contestants was clearly a better singer and performer than the other, but the voting seemed not to be based on singing ability, rather by cultural ideologies and societal mores derived from Christian “values.”

What I mean is: one of the finalists was, obviously, “different” than the rest of “us,” so rather than voting for the guy with eye liner and a boyfriend America voted for Ken, Barbie, and their daughter because that’s what we’ve always done.

So it is with prisons and crime, because now Johnny Appleseed has become Johnny the Bad Apple and rather than embrace change it’s easier to fall back on what we’ve been told is correct (pounded in to us since elementary school), and that is: drugs are bad, “criminals” are bad, inmates are bad, ALL police are good, and prisons are good because they protect the public.

Something I noticed since Propositions 1A-1E didn’t pass on Tuesday is that the media and politicians have stopped talking about reductions in prison population and the early release of inmates. Now, they talk about the even deeper slashing of budgets for education, medical and mental-health care, and law enforcement. I am not sure I really understand this language, since “law enforcement” is such an all-encompassing term. It seems as if the word “release” is synonymous with Dalit (the Indian word for untouchable).

Maybe if we don’t mention the problem of prison overcrowding, it will just go away. Maybe if don’t mention releases, the CCPOA won’t say anything either, and we can let inmates go (or not) and nobody will notice.

It’s so Chevwrong

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Reports are sketchy, but it looks as if San Francisco got hit by a new crop of subvertisements last night, this time parodying Chevron’s latest ad campaign, which critics have panned as a bunch of greenwashing.

Viewed up close and personal, the above ad that some hot glue artists slapped onto Sandra Bullocks’ buttocks reads, “I will try not to get cancer,”as it targets Chevron’s refinery in Richmond and encourages the curious to visit truecostofchevron.com.

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Also targeted are Chevron’s activities in Burma, Ecuador, Kazakhastan, Iraq and Nigeria. The action appears aimed at Chevron’s upcoming May 27 shareholder meeting and you can read an “alternative” report at the truecostofchevron.com.

Campaign for a constitutional convention picks up speed

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By Rebecca Bowe

“One way or the other, on May 20th Californians will have to begin discussing how to fix their broken state.” This line — referring of course to the aftermath of the special election — appeared in an article published by the Economist last Thursday titled “California: The Ungovernable State.” The piece spotlights Sacramento’s perpetual gridlock and explores the idea of calling a statewide constitutional convention as a means of addressing the legislature’s systemic problems.

The idea is gaining momentum. The Bay Area Council, the San Francisco-based business group that initially raised the idea, hit the ground running today with the launch of a Web site, RepairCalifornia.org, to promote a constitutional convention. It also announced plans to hold town-hall style meetings throughout the state to solicit voter input. The BAC submitted a request to the state legislature to place two measures on the November 2010 ballot calling for a constitutional convention, but it’s doubtful that they’ll receive the two-thirds majority vote needed for approval. Instead, they’ll probably have to go out and collect enough signatures to put it on the ballot independently.

The BAC isn’t the alone in promoting the idea — nor is it the only group to roll out a May 20 plan for fixing the state. As the Guardian has reported, a coalition of organizations is actively campaigning for a constitutional convention. Signing onto the effort for a constitutional convention are the Courage Campaign, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the William C. Velasquez Institute and others.

While Sen. Mark Leno told us in February he thought the idea should be approached with caution so as not to “open up an entire potential Pandora’s box,” the idea seems to be picking up steam in the wake of the governor’s failed budget measures, and with state finances in such disarray.

And it all went down

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By Tim Redmond

It’s no surprise that all of the governor’s measures failedl. The Chronicle is already doing what the mainstream spin is going to be:

The defeat of the measures would put the state that’s already in financial abyss into a deeper hole, but the voter rejection would further confirm Californians’ disapproval of the way Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature are handling the state’s fiscal crisis

And:

The opposition, made up mostly of anti-tax groups and some labor unions, raised about $5 million .

Part one is absolutely true — the governor and the Legislature together have a dismal approval rating, and that just confirms the fact that something major, structureal is going to have to change in California. What the voters don’t like is gridlock. So the question for next year is: Can the Democrats convince the electorate (and the voters in some swing districts) that things would be better off if one party was running the show and could actually get results? Because the only way this paralysis is going to change is if (a) GOP moderates have a resurgence — fat chace — or (b) the Democrats take over the governor’s office and a strong majority in the Legislature and the voters get rid of the two-thirds rule for passing a budget and raising taxes.

That’s a hell of a sales job and will need an Obama-size movement behind it. So far, none of the Democrats running for governor give me much hope.

The second part of the Chron’s analysis is just wrong.

Yes, the money came from anti-tax zealots and some unions, but this defeat is the result of both the left and the right finding the compromise unacceptable. There was as much opposition from people who thought the notion of a spending cap was disastrous for the state’s future as there was from people who don’t want higher taxes.

And while the Democratic leadership tried their best to sell a bad deal to their constituents, the defeat here belongs to the governor, who has become California’s version of George W. Bush.

Avalos seeks greater transit justice

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Round three of the battle between Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board over the Municipal Transportation Agency’s budget saw Sup. John Avalos, throw a powerful one-two punch at the Mayor’s Office, with the backing of Board President David Chiu and Sups. David Campos, Chris Daly, Eric Mar, Sophie Maxwell and Ross Mirkarimi.

Last week, as Avalos observed, the Board did not have the votes needed to reject the MTA budget, but today
they had enough to delay decisions on the MTA budget until at least next week: a special meeting was set for noon, May 27, to discuss the details in an alternative, transit-first budget that Avalos is calling the “Transit Justice Package.”

Under Avalos’ proposal, the MTA 2009-10 budget would roll-back proposed fare increases for seniors, youth and lifeline uers, restore bus lines to public housing, while increasing parking fees in the city’s downtown core on Sundays and evenings, and eliminating public subsidies in city parking garages.

“Given our grave economic crisis , we owe it to seniors, youth and other low-income MUNI riders to come up with a better budget that ensures MUNI accessibility and accountability, “ Avalos said, while his progressive colleagues noted that transit advocates are concerned that the under the budget that Newsom has been pushing, MUNI riders would pay four times more than drivers of private vehicles.

And then Avalos ntroduced a charter amendment to reform the MTA Board composition. Currently, the mayor appoints all seven members of the MTA Board and all the supervisors can do is confirm or reject these nominations.

Avalos’s charter amendment, which will be on the November ballot, proposes to split these appointments, so that the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors each get to nominate three commissioners, and the seventh is elected by the voters of San Francisco.

“The new MTA Board composition will create greater checks and balances and also ensure that the MTA director is not solely accountable to one person, but a Board that is more representative of the City and County of San Francisco,” Avalos said.

Most measures failing

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With almost 20 percent of the vote counted, all but one California ballot measure is failing by margins of at least 20 points. The only winner looks like Prop. 1F, the largest symbolic measure to dock legislators’ pay when they can’t pass a timely budget. This will hope send a clear message to Sacramento that voters want them to get back to work and find a better solution to this fiscal mess.

BART police: It just gets worse

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By Tim Redmond

Well, maybe that’s a bit misleading: The BART board’s committee on police oversight first proposed a very weak model, but that got shot down at a community meeting last week, and now member Tom Radulovich is proposing a somewhat stronger approach. He wants a BART police commission with professional staff and the ability to investigate misconduct cases. There are still a bunch of issues — the civilian review agency should get all police abuse cases and should have a clear role in recommending discipline. I prefer a San Francisco-style model, which is what Assembly member Tom Ammiano is pushing, and I still think the Legislature needs to move forward on this.

But as Radulovich has looked into how the BART police really operate, he’s learned a lot — and some of it is truly amazing.

For example, he told me, the BART police union contract spells out the terms of allowable discipline for BART cops (which is crazy to begin with), but the result is mind-boggling in its insanity. Right now, by contract, the chief can only impose three types of discipline on an errant cop:
— A letter of reprimand
— A one-day suspension WITH PAY (that is, a paid holiday)
— Termination.

And since it’s very hard to fire a cop, that means there is basically no effective discipline.

In every American police jurisidiction I’ve ever heard of, a cop can be suspended without pay — and in San Francisco, serious offenses lead to 30, 60, or 90 day suspensions.

But if you’re a BART cop, you can screw up pretty badly and nothing at all will every happen to you.

That contract comes up in June, and the BART Board must change it. “This clearly needs to be an issue in the negotiations,” Radulovich told me.

Another looney provision: All of the officers other than the chief have union protection — and the chief can’t fire, demote or in any way control his own commanders. Nobody works at the chief’s pleasure.

So there’s a weak chief reporting to a bad general manager and no effective discipline at all. No wonder the force is such a godawful mess.

It’s election day…really

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By Steven T. Jones

Maybe you didn’t notice, but there’s an election today. Whether you support or oppose the half-dozen state measures on this ballot (the Guardian opposes all six), I think it’s fair to say everyone just wants this ugly episode to be over. So don’t expect the Guardian’s usual full-court coverage of what the League of Pissed Off Voters calls “this train wreck of a ballot.”

But we will be blogging a bit about the results tonight, and I plan to swing by the League’s election night party at the El Rio, 3158 Mission, to commiserate, report, and have a couple of their $3 margarita drink specials. Because whether these measures pass or fail, I think we’re all going to need a drink.

And then tomorrow, it’s time for state officials to get back to work and try to find some honest solutions to this fiscal mess we’re in.

P.S. If you have any other election night parties you’d like to promote – or observations you want to offer – please feel free to add them in the comments section.

Examiner denies climate change

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By Steven T. Jones

I’ve learned to have low expectations of editorials in the San Francisco Examiner, which endorsed John McCain for president and seems to always reflect the right-wing extremism of the paper’s Denver-based owner Phil Anschutz. But today’s editorial, which questions whether climate change is happening, is a new low.

In “Cap-and-trade scheme will wreck economy,” the paper refers to how some people believe burning fossil fuels is “allegedly” causing global warming and writes, “The problem for such advocates, however, is that Earth average temperatures have been declining for the last decade, and a fast-growing number of climate and other scientists now question the root idea of a global warming crisis.”

That statement is a lie. It is the opposite of truth, and not simply a matter of opinion or perspective, but a ridiculous and calculated effort to fool readers (I’m waiting for a response from Executive Editor Jim Pimentel and Managing Editor Deirdre Hussey and will add it to comments if I hear back from them).

Global temperatures in the last decade are some of the hottest on record, which is why the polar ice caps are melting. And the scientific community – real scientists, not those who work for industry or right-wing think tanks – is united (as much as scientists ever are about anything) in its belief in climate change and its connection to excessive carbon output.

It’s so clear that even George W. Bush and most Republicans believe it. Even the oil companies, the biggest single cause of global warming and the industry that will be hit hardest as we combat it, run ads acknowledging that it’s happening. But the Examiner appears to be the last holdout. Wow.

Prison report: 3,600 layoffs — and WHAT programs?

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By Just A Guy

Editors note: Just A Guy is an inmate in a California state prison. You can read some of his past columns here, here, and here. He will try to respond to all comments and questions, but since it’s often hard to communicate from prison, it may take a while, so be patient.

I was gratified to see that Arnold is, supposedly, laying off 3,665 correctional officers and correctional employees. While I don’t wish anything bad on the employees or their families, I do feel it’s about time something like this was done and it sets the stage for releases. Not only that, but people out there seem to forget that government shouldn’t be immune to the harsh realities of rough economic times. Any business worth its salt would have laid off lots of people long ago and eradicated redundancies, unproductive workers, and unproductive positions. A normal business that is run well also takes inventories, which, I really don’t think California does in any measure. California really needs a six sigma methodology, BAD. Ask Meg Whitman, she was the CEO of eBay and is planning to run for governor, Meg said she would lay off at least 30,000 workers. Hmmm.

This is from the San Francisco Chronicle:

Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the prison guards’ union, said the union doesn’t know how many guards will be laid off. He blasted the inmate–release proposal.

“This short-term savings is going to have long-term costs, and the costs will be measured, unfortunately, in lives,” Corcoran said. “I anticipate some incredibly sensational crime committed by an individual that should have been incarcerated.”

I understand that it’s Corcoran’s job to ridicule anything the California Correctional Peace Officers Association sees as a threat to its ability to protect union members and their jobs, but I think it’s really funny that he’s saying that some sort of sensational crime will be the result of releases. Corcoran seems to think that the general public is so naïve (or are they?) as to not realize that any person being released is going to get out anyway!

The fact that a person was released early has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not he or she commits another crime, sensational or not. Obviously another scare tactic perpetuated by the CCPOA with no counter point to Corcoran’s assertion offered by the Chronicle — imagine that. (And why is it that the mainstream news media always seems to quote the CCPOA on prison issues — but rarely talks to, say, prisoners rights groups, or anyone else, for the other side of the story?)

Big afternoon at City Hall

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By Steven T. Jones

A series of progressive groups will take to the steps of City Hall this afternoon for rallies supporting Sup. Chris Daly’s renters’ economic relief legislation, laying out the budget priorities of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, and opposing the damage to Muni that would be inflicted by the Municipal Transportation Agency’s budget.

San Francisco Tenants Union sponsors a noon rally that precedes the 1 p.m. Land Use Committee hearing on Daly’s legislation, which would expand renters’ rights to add roommates, suspend rent increases that would exceed 33 percent of a tenant’s income, and limit rent increases that have been banked over several years.

At 2 p.m., Coleman Advocates launches a preemptive strike on the June 1 release of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget, calling for City Hall to be mindful of the needs of low-income families that are being forced from the city.

And then at 3 p.m., the Transit Justice coalition will make a last ditch effort to save Muni from service cuts and fare hikes. Although the Board of Supervisors last week approved a negotiated deal to approve the MTA budget, progressive supervisors on the Budget and Finance Committee revived it the next day and it returns to the full board tomorrow.

While Sups. David Campos, John Avalos, Eric Mar, Ross Mirkarimi, and Daly – who oppose the MTA budget deal – need two more votes to be successful, they’ll highlight how Muni fares will have doubled to $2 under Newsom and they’ll push for drivers to share more of the Muni riders’ pain and a decrease in the $63 million in payouts to our departments.

Rally this Sunday against torture and killings of gays in Iraq

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By Rebecca Bowe

Gays Without Borders S.F., the Rainbow World Fund, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and others will host a rally and fundraiser Sunday to speak out against torture and slayings of gays in Iraq.

Reports in the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and elsewhere have described atrocities against gay men that occurred in Iraq’s Sadr City, where victims were fatally shot and found with the word “pervert” on notes attached to their bodies.

“This news has been under the radar for the past few years due to the overall confusion and killing in Iraq,” a press statement released by the rally organizers points out. “But the heinous torture and murder of gays in Iraq has escalated.”

The groups hope to attract international media attention to the abuses, and they plan to urge the U.S. State Department to investigate, denounce the killings, and support asylum. The goal of the fundraiser is to send $10,000 to organizations aiding Iraqi gays who are fleeing the most dangerous areas.

The rally and fundraiser — featuring speeches from S.F. Police Commission President Theresa Sparks, State Senator Mark Leno, Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Ross Mirkarimi, and others — will be held Sunday, May 17 from noon to 4 p.m. at Harvey Milk Plaza, near the intersection of Castro and Market streets. Speakers are scheduled for 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Donations may be made through the Rainbow World Fund. Those interested in volunteering at the rally should email MrSFL96@aol.com.

Is cable access worth $28?

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By Tim Redmond

That’s a key question that will come before the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

The board is voting on a resolution by Sup. Ross Mirkarimi that would seek to save the city’s PEG — that is, public, educational and government — cable TV access program. If the resolution doesn’t pass, the current PEG system, run through the nonprofit San Francisco Community Television Corporation — will shut down June 30.

The Comcast lobbyists are all over City Hall, working every supervisor, trying to stave off a move that would make the company pay a few million dollars a year to keep CTC running. Comcast’s biggest argument: We will simply pass the costs along to the consumers. Cable subscribers who now pay $6.24 a year for PEG fees will wind up paying $28.20 a year.

Comcast is calling that a 352 percent hike, but the reality is that $28 a year is, in my mind, very little to pay for the kind of cable access we now have. As CTC chief Zane Blaney noted in a message he sent around this week:

The question is whether PEG access is worth $2.35 per subscriber per month? That’s less than the price of a latte or a pizza or a bag of chips. It’s less than the price of a movie or three iTune downloads. For a year, it’s about the price of a movie for two with popcorn. Most subscribers get hundreds of channels that they don’t watch or care about and get nothing but mindless programming in return. With PEG they get access to television training and production facilities; 2,500 hours of relevant local, community-based, grassroots programming; gavel-to-gavel coverage of government meeting and distance learning courses.

The vote on Tuesday will determine if the cable industry will continue to rule at City Hall; diminish the return to San Franciscans for their use of our public-rights-of-way and continue to collect nearly $2,000,000 per year from San Francisco cable subscribers without returning anything substantial in the public interest. We can make a difference, but not without your help. Here’s what you can do.

Call and email the following Supervisors:

Bevan Dufty
415-554-6968
bevan.dufty@sfgov.org

David Chiu
514-554-7450
david.chiu@sfgov.org

Sophie Maxwell
415-554-7670
sophie.maxwell@sfgov.org

Tell them PEG access is worth $2.35 per month and, if you’re a cable subscriber, tell them you’re willing to pay this fee and to support the State Video Franchise Holder Ordinance at 3%.

Also, if you’re available, come to the meeting of the Supervisors on Tuesday, May 19th with an object worth at least $2.35 and hold it up with a sign supporting PEG. No food or drink is allowed in the Chamber.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Arnold wants to scare us: No on 1A-1F

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By Tim Redmond

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The gov’s speech yesterday was designed to frighten the voters — and his message — that the budget deficit will grow to $21 billion and schools will lose teachers, MediCal receipients would lose benefits etc. — is pretty scary.

But remember: Most of that will happen no matter what the voters do May 19th. Only about $6 billion of the projected $21 billion would in any way be due to the failure of his budget deal.

And that’s money that would come from increased lottery sales (regressive) and cuts in childrens’ programs and mental health.

If Prop. 1A passes, on the other hand, California will have a fiscal straighjacket for the indefinate future. It will be our generation’s version of Prop. 13. And you know how that one turned out.

You can read our endorsements here.

Bikes rule SF streets

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By Steven T. Jones
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Market Street was packed with cyclists this morning. Photo by Dustin Jensen, courtesy of SFBC.

There were more than twice as many bicycles as cars this morning on Market Street, a tribute to the popularity of Bike to Work Day and the growing bicycle movement that I discussed in this week’s cover story (an article that has provoked lots of passionate responses, both positive and negative).

After conducting traffic surveys, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (which will soon be considering almost 60 new bicycle projects) announced that from 8 – 9 a.m. on Market, there were 776 bicycles and 374 cars, an even bigger ratio than last year, when bikes doubled cars for the first time.

NRDC honors sustainable food movement

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By Steven T. Jones
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Even though I tweaked them at the end of my bike story this week, the Natural Resources Defense Council should be commended for recognizing the importance of pushing for a sustainable food system, which it did on Saturday night at the Academy of Science with its first-ever Growing Green Awards.

Journalist and awards chair Michael Pollan has been the food movement’s idea guy and de facto leader, a role he’s not entirely comfortable with. “There’s no question I’m an advocate as a journalist,” the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and other important works told me. “But the difference is as a movement leader, you speak for the movement, and I need to continue to speak for myself….As a journalist, your first obligation is to your readers.”

BART board wants weak cop oversight

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By Tim Redmond

Well, the good news is that the BART Board is actually considering civilian oversight for the police department. The bad news is, the committee looking at the issue is only recommending one model, a San Jose-style system that is much weaker than what San Francisco has.

There’s a public meeting to discuss this tomorrow:

Second Public Forum on Civilian Police Oversight set for May 15

WHEN: Friday, May 15, 2009
TIME: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Joseph P. Bort Metro Center Auditorium
101 – 8th Street in Oakland
(across from Lake Merritt BART Station)

Herrera bikes it.

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I’m enjoying this photo of City Attorney Dennis Herrera, as part of his office’s participation in Bike to Work Day. His T-shirt is kinda scary, (it makes me think of all the lawyers who ARE driving today). But cotton shorts, as opposed to butt-clinging lycra, is definitely a good choice, me also thinks.

Prison report: Why are we here?

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By Just A Guy

Editors note: Just A Guy is an inmate in a California state prison. He writes on life behind bars and tries to explain to Californians what their taxes — huge amounts of their taxes — are paying for. He will attempt to answer all questions and comments, but it’s hard to communicate from a state prison, so it may take a while. His last post is here.

Hello everybody. I’m happy that many more people responded to my previous blog than I expected. I am glad that you were able to speak out a little on a more widely read forum. This seems to be working and maybe people will wake up to what’s really happening.

On to business.

So, Arnold is considering releasing many more inmates than the 8,000 initially proposed by his administration. I am not sure what the latest numbers are, I am hearing everything from 20,0000 to 38,000 potential releases. There’s even talk of selling San Quentin. Let’s all hope for the best, but let’s examine this a little deeper.

First, let me say this: I think it’s strange that Arnold is going to show the public two budget proposals, one if the propositions don’t pass and one for if they do. I strongly suspect the one for non-passage is going to be a scare tactic with which he threatens the mass release of prisoners into the public. Your neighborhoods will be overrun by all these horrible prisoners, so you’d better pass these propositions or the ex-cons will be next door to you come July!

Wow! I hope that’s not what it he says, but I think he will.

What about all these “hardened” criminals that shouldn’t be let out, or certainly not let out early? Let’s talk about them. What about all the lifers that get parole dates, but then the governor in his “Governor’s Review” denies the person his/her parole out of hand? What is the purpose of a parole board if the governor has the final say? Seems to be just more people (the parole board) supping at the trough of your tax money.

“Chinatown” revisited. Electronically.

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In March, when the Guardian reported that the Society of Professional Journalists had honored MAPlight.org with a James Madison Award for Electronic Access, folks at the Berkeley-based non-profit told me that they were about to launch MAPLight.org Los Angeles to reveal campaign contributions to L.A. politicians.

And, as you’ll see if you click the MAPLight.org Los Angeles link, this new public, web-accessible database, which provides citizens with key campaign finance data including industry, interest group, company and individual campaign contributions, is up and running, as of today. Check it out—and dream how much easier it will be to follow the money, if and when the group launches MAPLight.orgSanFrancisco—something, they tell me, is entirely doable.
And imagine how much easier it would have been for Chinatown‘s private investigator JJ “Jake” Gittes to unravel the web of money and deceit wrapped round Los Angeles’ water supply, if he’d had access to MAPlight’s online tools.

“Where’s Gavin?”

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By Rebecca Bowe

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In an article last month about how Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has decided to trade in his car for a bus pass, the Chronicle reported an interesting transportation tidbit about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom:

“[Newsom] rides Muni incognito, disguised in a baseball cap, and walks when he can, said his spokesman Nathan Ballard.”

In the wake of recent drama over the Muni budget, a group of anonymous city transit riders has apparently banded together to kick off a contest dubbed “Where’s Gavin?”

In a letter posted today by the N-Judah Chronicles, the contest organizers explain: “We don’t think that Gavin actually gets it on transit or gets on transit, contrary to the comment in the Chronicle that said he goes incognito. We’d like him to ride more, perhaps to get a feeling for what riders go through even on days when the budget hasn’t been cut.”

To wit, they promise to buy a Fast Pass for the first person to get a picture of Newsom riding incognito on Muni. (Cable cars don’t count.) They also say they’ll buy beer for any others who present a photo, subject to a “verification of authenticity.” Here’s a snippet from the contest Web site: “Only you, the riders of our beloved San Francisco Municipal Railway, can find Gavin going incognito. And to get you excited, check out the sidebar to see what prizes you could win! The deep and resounding question of our time is not ‘Where’s Waldo?’ It’s ‘Where’s Gavin?’”

Solar project approved despite doubts

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By Steven T. Jones
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SF’s Sunset Reservoir will soon be covered in solar panels

A last ditch effort by progressive supervisors to reconsider an expensive solar power project fell one vote short yesterday when progressive Sup. Eric Mar maintained his unqualified support for the deal and refused to send it back to committee for more research and discussion.

At issue is a five-megawatt solar array atop Sunset Reservoir, which the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission recommended awarding to Recurrent Energy, despite the fact that the 25-year deal obligates the city to pay $235 per megawatt-hour throughout the life of the project (even though prices are expected to drop as new technologies come online) and setting the city’s buyout price at $33 million or more.

JROTC: Now, the lawyers

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By Tim Redmond

It’s no surprise, really, that the School Board voted to reinstate JROTC last night.. ONce Norman Yee announced he was going to support the program, the deal was done.

By the way: We endorsed Yee in part because he voted not to allow phys ed credit for JROTC, and without PE credit, the program’s going to die eventually anyway because not enough students will sign up. Now, since the state (sort of) claims that JROTC qualifies for credit, Yee says he’s willing to accept that and keep the miitary recruitment program going.

I’m not happy about that, and neither are a lot of other progressives who supported Yee. But for the record, I don’t think Yee would ever have brought this back on his own; it took Rachel Norton and Jill Wynns to do that. And love JROTC or hate it, credit (or blame) for this lies squarely with those two board members.

Not letting Yee off the hook, but facts is facts.

Now then: It’s still not as simple as it seems. Even if Norton is right, and the board’s resolution killing PE credit only covered last year, it’s still not clear that the San Francisco schools can legally award class credit for JROTC. IN most cases, only people who have a state teaching credential are allowed to teach classes for credit in California public schools. The California Department of Education says that JROTC instructors can teach PE wihtout that credential:

JROTC instructors, who have a state and federal credential to teach the military course, would not need a PE credential, said Phil Lafontaine, the department’s director of professional development and curriculum support.

“They’re appropriately credentialed,” he said, even if students are earning PE credit.

But John T. Affedlt, managing attorney for the San Francisco law firm Public Advocates, says that’s completely wrong. In a May 12, 2009 letter to the SFUSD (warning, PDF), he notes:

Mr. Lafontaine’s opinion is not only wrong, it is utterly of no consequence … in California, it is the Commission on Teacher Credntialing (CTC) — not the California Department of Education — which implements and interprets state law regarding what constitutes appropriate credentials.

He adds:

There is no statute authorizing individuals possessing only JROTC credentials to teach PE.

So the School Board and legal counsel have some figuring to do. I think the whole PE credit question ought to come back up before the board — and JROTC supporters should hold off on celebrating until that messy legal issue is settled.

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