This week, the Guardian celebrates 41 years at the forefront of the battle against dirty backroom deals, sleazy sellouts, illegal buy-offs, and underhanded intrusions into the public domain — and the fight continues. Click below for summaries, current updates, and histories of San Francisco privatization issues.
>> Editor’s Notes
A point-by-point list of Newsom’s privatization fumbles
By Tim Redmond
>> The privatization of San Francisco: an introduction
The city should be a loud, visible, proud, and shining example of a different kind of America
By Tim Redmond
>> The perils of privatization: a cautionary history
Ronald Reagan started dismantling government 25 years ago, but his privatization legacy is alive and growing — even in San Francisco
By Amanda Witherell
>> Blast from the past
A few choice selections from our archives
>> Wrecked parks
Chronic underfunding has made the Recreation and Park Department a prime privatization target
By Sarah Phelan and Steven T. Jones
>> Psych out
Newsom administration pushes plan to privatize mental health treatment
By G.W. Schulz
>> Private practice
The Department of Public Health has taken privatization to a bizarre new level
By G.W. Schulz
>> Connect the Connects
Newsom uses a shadowy private organization to shield his administration’s actions from public scrutiny
By Steven T. Jones
>> Bilking the links
Public-golf revenue is up millions of dollars. But a costly public-private contract has swallowed most of the money
By J.B. Powell
>> Bus Stop
Muni remains a lucrative target for the private section
By G.W. Schulz
>> Privatize the airport?
Will SFO go on the block in 2011?
By G.W. Schulz