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 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.
The scary situation was on the last day of the three-day concert held at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park in early August. Some 60,000 music fans were packed onto a field designed for polo ponies and mallet-wielding contestants to hear Dead & Company, an offshoot of the Grateful Dead.
The SF Department of Elections approved a petition on Jan. 21 to recall Engardio, submitted by a group called Our Neighborhood, Our Future. That started a 120-day period to get just less than 10,000 signatures to qualify for a special election later this year.
Soon, San Francisco residents will get their mail-in ballots and the voting will begin. Because last year’s election was rolled into this one, the SF Department of Elections voter pamphlet will be thicker than an old phone book. Nevertheless, it is important to read it in order to make informed decisions on the many candidates and propositions on the Nov. 5 election.
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.
The results of the California primary election on March 5 could shape the future of San Francisco.
With this October marking the 35th anniversary of the Richmond Review, Paul Kozakiewicz sure has a lot to look back on as the original owner. It is impossible to look back on the history of the newspaper without his insight. He was, and still is today, an integral part of the paper.
San Francisco used to be called “the city that knows how.” We put on international expositions and tamed the sand dunes. We had good, smart politicians who worked together for the greater good. We were a destination for fortune hunters, bohemians and entrepreneurs.
The November election is over and the final results have been certified. From now on, the eastern end of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park will be closed to vehicle traffic, except for deliveries to the de Young Museum, first responders and the park shuttle. The Upper Great Highway will also be closed on weekends starting at noon on Fridays, per a vote of the SF Board of Supervisors in December, until a study can be completed and final action taken.
A lot of issues on the ballot are being driven by political ideologues and organizations that have a narrow point of view. There is betrayal, the violation of ethical and moral standards, public giveaways and poison pills.
Progressives are on the far left ideological spectrum, bordering on socialism where city policy dictates what’s best for everyone and it’s their way or the highway. The progressives got organized in the late ’90s and took control of the DCCC, which gives the official endorsements for Democratic Party and supplies money to its candidates and propositions. That, coupled with district elections and the abomination that is ranked-choice voting, gave us what we have – a mayor and a majority of supervisors who couldn’t find their way out of a corn maze.
The race to represent the Sunset District at City Hall is in full sprint mode, with incumbent Gordon Mar hoping to fend off challenger Joel Engardio in the Nov. 8 election.
Lately, newsracks that used to carry numerous newspapers and magazines have been removed from city streets – putting a serious dent in the distribution of those publications, including the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers.
The process of closing park roads was done with the verbal order of Phil Ginsburg, the general manager of the SF Recreation and Park Department, who was granted that authority under the city charter in the late 1800s.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 