On June 18, the last day the SF Board of Supervisors was allowed to place an initiative on the Nov. 5 ballot, District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar and three other supervisors sent legislation to the SF Department of Elections calling for the closure of the Upper Great Highway (UGH). It took only five supervisors to put Proposition K on the ballot.
With the November general election fast approaching, we’ve seen our local elected officials put their focus toward the controversial topic of housing and the City’s zoning laws.
Over five years ago, I opined in these pages about then U.S. Senator Kamala Harris and her dishonesty in securing $97,000 from California taxpayers as a member of the California Unemployment Insurance Board to which she was appointed in 1993 by her boyfriend Willie Brown, then-Assembly Speaker, while simultaneously paid by Alameda County taxpayers as an Alameda County deputy district attorney, supposedly a full-time endeavor. The following year (1994), she was named to the California Medical Commission at an even higher tax-paid salary which was increased in 1998 to $99,000 per year. Somehow, she evaded a state law prohibiting payment for two jobs which might result in conflicting responsibilities.
Engardio’s initiative to close the UGH will go before a citywide electorate, where the bicycle coalition, Walk SF and other anti-vehicle regressive organizations will harp the benefits of a great oceanside park. It will be a tough for Sunset residents to get the word out with less than three months to go before votes start rolling in.
Under Coach Rush’s leadership, the Rams amassed an astonishing record: 326 wins, 92 losses, and 4 ties. From 1990 to 2014, the team boasted the highest winning percentage in the nation, securing seven national championships, seven state championships, 14 Northern California championships and 22 conference titles.
The UGH is not a park, and even if the measure passes, it will not be a park. A park, at this point, is nothing more than a pipe dream.
Residents of the Sunset and Richmond districts depend on City College of San Francisco for its wide range of courses, programs and the free enrollment provided by the Free City College initiative. However, this vital resource is at risk due to proposed cuts by the City, which could disrupt the educational plans of many.
With the November general election fast approaching, is this shift toward a battle with the state-imposed mandate to plan for 82,000 new units by 2032 a constructive effort with other priorities looming?
I don’t know at present whether we can apply that axiom to any of the five major candidates for mayor, but we’ve got irritating practitioners of guile and political pap at City Hall, and I don’t mean Assessor Joaquin Torres, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins – who is a breath of fresh prosecutorial air of the criminal courthouse, 850 Bryant St. – Director John Arntz of the Election Department, Board of Supervisor’s Clerk Angela Cavallo, Controller Greg Wagner and Budget Analyst Fred Broussard, a worthy successor to Harvey M. Rose who has retired but still attends every Board of Supervisors meeting.
I am a candidate for the SFUSD Board of Education
When I started my campaign three months ago, I was told that the school board race is down ballot and not many people will care or take the time to vote. I believe that this would be a mistake; the school board election this November is critical, and we cannot afford to get it wrong.
The proposal to transform The Great Highway into a permanent oceanfront park is not just an idea – it’s a vision for a brighter, more connected future for our City.
Honoré de Balzac aptly proclaimed in 1901 in “The Works of Honoré de Balzac”: “And thus bureaucracy, the giant power wielded by pygmies, came into the world.” And, with approximately 38,000 employees, do we have such preponderant dynasticism at City Hall and elsewhere in our 49 square miles, plus SFO and other lands and buildings which teem with such regimens.
Contrary to CCSF’s Trustee Alan Wong’s commentary, published on the RichmondSunsetNews.com website on May 17, CCSF is far from “stable.” His failure to reveal CCSF was denied full accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), is troubling and misleading.
There are no easy answers for the challenges we face – just hard decisions. But here’s the good news: City College is making the hard choices we need, and after years of turmoil at City College, we’re turning the page to a better and more stable future.
On May 9, we posted a commentary from a reader titled “The (Not so) Subtle Takeover of Private Property by the City.”
I heard from District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio who said some of the claims were not true. Here is Supervisor Engardio’s comment that can be found at the end of the original commentary.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 