It’s been said that: “There is nothing quite as permanent as a temporary government program.” And, as we enter income tax month, I’m reminded of someone who observed: “Patrick Henry ought to come back and see what taxation with representation is like.”
In the November election, westside residents may be asked to decide the fate of the Upper Great Highway (UGH). This time our community’s safety may hang in the balance.
“Some citizens are so good that nothing a leader can do will make them better. Others are so incorrigible that nothing can be done to improve them. But the great bulk of the people go with the moral tide of the moment. The leader must help create that tide.”
Then President-elect Abraham Lincoln in his farewell address in Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 11, 1861, proclaimed, “My friends … I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail.”
Last month brought cheer to many readers as AAA and Gas-Buddy data reported gasoline prices declined to a $2.90 per gallon nationwide average, although not in California where the best locations charge $3.95 per gallon. The aforementioned $2.90 is 17 cents lower than November and 7.3 cents lower than 2024. You naughty non-electric motor vehicle drivers can consider this your holiday present.
What a busy year’s end it was for the Richmond, Sunset and Parkside neighborhoods!
It was Thomas Jefferson who declared in an Aug. 4, 1801, letter: “Politics, like religion, hold up the torches of martyrdom to the reformers of error.” Oh, how we need in Washington, D.C. those “reformers of error.” Instead, we have a government of men and women (I mean you, Attorney General Pam Bondi) which creates fear among most of the governed.
In 2022, before “draft dodger” President Donald Trump, there were about 3.1 million federal employees and about 30,000 City and County of San Francisco employees in a then-municipality of approximately 874,000 residents. San Francisco’s population has now declined to about 827,000 and the number of its local government employees is approximately 30,000. Yet, some City Hall denizens spew propaganda that we need more housing. The mighty mayor, fresh from our recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio, demands “upzoning” of the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods plus the Marina and North Beach, meaning high-rise apartment and condominium buildings will be vacant in large part like Park Merced and its more than 500 empty units. Stonestown Galleria still hasn’t even broke ground on the 350 units for which it secured building permits three years ago.
Wiener is the architect of numerous state laws that would remove the powers of local planning commissions from cities across California that don’t bow to his demands to build more housing, regardless of the consequences. He is the single most destructive politician in generations – and one who was elected three times to the State Senate, largely with support from westside residents.
There seems to be an almost numbing to the seemingly new ways with which our constitutional liberties are being breached. The tools by which these are enacted at the federal level are happening across all three branches, not just the executive, like many wish to believe.
Can we attribute the recall of SF Supervisor Joel Engardio as an example of gargling, then being excreted by District 4 voters? He must now live without the $175,370 per year salary, membership in the retirement system of the City and County, one-month paid vacation and four aides to keep taxpayers away. That’s what it costs us for the 11 beauties on City Hall’s second floor.
There is a lot at stake for the west side during October – The SF Board of Supervisors will review a plan to rezone almost every lot on the west side and SF Mayor Daniel Lurie will choose a replacement for recalled District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio.
Cities grow, evolve, and change. While we should do our best to document, honor and preserve timeless physical elements, we should use that tool sparingly and carefully.
Bay Area teens are stuck in a cycle of academic comparison, sleepless
nights, and deteriorating mental health. Short-form content’s curated lifestyles and ideals
of success feed an unhealthy, addictive loop that intensifies existing academic pressures.
We look forward to working with Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board to assure that new zoning will be equitable and effective. We urge a careful reconsideration of the “Family Zoning Plan.”
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 