Sam Spade's San Francisco

San Francisco Business Times reports today that SKS Investments is proposing a 900-foot, 66-story tower to be built at 181 Fremont Street in the new Transbay Center District that is being developed on and around the existing Transbay Terminal. SKS wants to build a mixed-use tower with 140 residential condominiums on top of a half-million square-feet of office space.

In the photo: San Francisco's developing Transbay Center District. Click to enlarge in separate window.

Other SKS projects in San Francisco include:
301 Brannan (70,000 sf),
501 Second Street (240,000 sf),
475 Brannan (250,000 sf),
139 Townsend (60,000 sf),
350 Rhode Island (260,000 sf),
Bryant Square (121 residential units),
Green Glen (35,000 sf),
2300 Harrison (70,000 sf),
409-499 Illinois (450,000 sf).

Managing Partners of SKS include:
Paul Stein, a co-founder of SKS, was previously vice president and director of marketing for Shorenstein Co.
Daniel Kingsley, was vice president of Maguire Thomas Partners before co-founding SKS.
Julie Stein was vice-president of Salomon Brothers Inc.

More information, resources and articles about San Francisco's Big Building Boom:
Bay Rail Alliance
SF Planning Dept - Transbay Center (.pdf)
Wikipedia's Transbay Terminal article
San Francisco Planning - Urban Research Assn (SPUR)
San Francisco's Changing Skyline
Millions in Tax Breaks for SF Businesses
Jewish Museum's Blue Cube
Building San Francisco
Cool, Blue Glass Rising

The U.S. Navy is on the way to San Francisco!

Witness one of the most spine-tingling experiences of the year as the Blue Angels twist and twirl overhead, regal ships parade the waterfront and crowds go wild cheering for the men and women in our armed services. That's just what you'll experience during Fleet Week San Francisco, Oct. 4–9, as the City of San Francisco welcomes more than 9,000 visiting crew members for several days' worth of not-to-miss events.

Click on the photo to enlarge in a separate window.

Experience complete awe as you tour the topside of U. S. Navy warships and pure entertainment with tons of air show demonstrations, fireworks, music, parades and more. Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to join in this once-a-year event!

For more information visit this link: Fleet Week San Francisco

On behalf of Navy Region Southwest, let me express my distinct appreciation to the San Francisco Fleet Week Committee and the citizens of the San Francisco Bay Area for their tremendous support of our Sailors, Marines, Coastguardsmen and their families. It is an honor to have our Fleet back in the 'City by the Bay' again this year.

Fleet Week provides an excellent opportunity to meet first hand the quality of our nation's best and brightest sea service professionals as well as view our cutting-edge technology. As we celebrate this Fleet Week, let us also keep in mind those service men and women who are serving in many capacities, away from their homes and families, protecting and preserving our freedom.

I want to thank the citizens of San Francisco Bay Area again for their support and encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity to experience the people and technology of today's Fleet.

Rear Admiral Len Hering
U.S. Navy
Commander, Navy Region Southwest

Admiral William Fallon, the commander of the War in Iraq, will be in San Francisco next week.

Four-star Admiral William Fallon, U.S. Navy, is the Commander of the U. S. Central Command. USCENTCOM is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command unit of the U.S. armed forces. It is the successor to the U.S. Army Rapid Deployment Force, which was originally made up primarily of the 82nd ABN Division.

Its area of responsibility is in the Middle East, East Africa and Central Asia. CENTCOM has been the main American presence in many military operations, including both our current wars - Iraq and Afghanistan. Admiral Fallon commands both.

Admiral Fallon will be in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 4th to speak to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco. The event is open to the public.

Before being given command of USCENTCOM, Admiral Fallon was the commander at U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), headquartered at Pearl Harbor.

When: Tuesday, September 4th at 5:30 PM
Where: Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street, 2nd Floor
Cost: $12 for Commonwealth Club and Marines Memorial members - $18 for non-members
Reservations: Space is limited. Click here to make your reservation.

Admiral Fallon commanded Attack Squadron Sixty Five embarked in USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Medium Attack Wing One at NAS Oceana, Va., and Carrier Air Wing Eight in USS Theodore Roosevelt during a combat deployment to the Arabian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Assigned as Commander, Carrier Group Eight in 1995, he deployed to the Mediterranean as Commander, Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group and commanded Battle Force Sixth Fleet (CTF 60) during NATO’s combat Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia. Adm. Fallon served as Commander, Second Fleet and Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic from November 1997 to September 2000.

Shore duties included assignment as Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Commander, Fleet Air Jacksonville, and to the staffs of Commander, Reconnaissance Attack Wing One; Commander, Operational Test Force, and Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. He has served as Deputy Director for Operations, Joint Task Force, Southwest Asia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and as Deputy Director, Aviation Plans and Requirements on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C. His first flag officer assignment was with NATO as Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Policy for Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. He was then assigned as Deputy and Chief of Staff, U.S. Atlantic Fleet followed by assignment as Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff, U.S. Atlantic Command. Admiral Fallon served as the 31st Vice Chief of Naval Operations from October 2000 to August 2003. He was the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and U.S. Atlantic Fleet from October 2003 to February 2005. He served as Commander, U.S. Pacific Command from February 2005 until March 2007.

Security will be tight at this event. Bring a photo I.D. and be prepared for enhanced security conditions.

IRS Warns of New e-Mail Scam Offering Cash for Participation in “Member Satisfaction Survey”

The Internal Revenue Service today issued a consumer alert regarding a new, two-step e-mail scam that falsely promises recipients they will receive $80 for participating in an online customer satisfaction survey.

In the scam, an unsuspecting taxpayer receives an unsolicited e-mail that appears to come from the IRS. The e-mail contains a URL linking to an online “Member Satisfaction Survey.”

“We have seen many e-mail scams using the IRS name,” IRS Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support Linda Stiff said. “The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers through e-mail. Taxpayers should always use caution when they receive unsolicited e-mails.”

In this case, the e-mail notifies the recipient that he or she has been randomly selected to participate in a survey. In return, the IRS will credit $80 to the taxpayer’s account. There are references to the IRS in the “from” line and the “subject” line of the e-mail. The link to the survey and a copyright statement at the bottom of the e-mail also reference the IRS. The survey form features the IRS logo.

In addition to standard customer satisfaction survey questions, the survey requests the name and phone number of the participant and also asks for credit card information. Once the fraudsters have a name and phone number, they will presumably call the participant and attempt to retrieve other financial information.

The apparent objectives of this scam are to use the participant’s name and financial data to withdraw funds from the taxpayer’s bank account, run up charges on a credit card or take out loans in the taxpayer’s name.

Tricking victims into revealing private personal and financial information over the Internet, telephone or other means is a practice known as “phishing.”

IRS Never Sends Unsolicited e-Mail

Taxpayers should be aware that the IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail. Additionally, the IRS never asks taxpayers for PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

Recipients of questionable e-mail that appears to come from the IRS should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the e-mail. Instead, the e-mail should be forwarded to .

The IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration work with the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and various Internet service providers and international CERT teams to have the phishing sites taken offline as soon as they are reported.

Since the establishment of the mail box last year, the IRS has received more than 30,000 e-mails from taxpayers reporting almost 400 separate phishing incidents. To date, investigations by TIGTA have identified host sites in at least 55 different countries, as well as in the United States.

Other fraudulent e-mail scams try to entice taxpayers to click their way to a fake IRS Web site and ask for bank account numbers. Another widespread e-mail scam tells taxpayers the IRS is holding a refund for them –– frequently $63.80 –– and seeking financial account information. Still another email claims the IRS’s “anti-fraud commission” is investigating their tax returns.

More information on phishing scams using the IRS name, logo or other identifier can be found on the only genuine IRS Web site, IRS.gov, either at IRS Warns Taxpayers of New E-mail Scams or Suspicious e-Mails and Identity Theft.

The Port of San Francisco wants to raise the rent on Red's Java House from around $800 a month to more than $4,400.

It seems that some slow-moving, long-lunch-taking, do-nothing official at the Port of San Francisco was supposed to submit a Port Commission deal with Red's Java House for a $2,000-plus-profit-share-deal to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. That was months ago. Many months ago. The sleepy-eyed Port employee never got around to doing anything, so now Red's is being slammed with a rent increase that might finally put the historic eatery out of business.

Red's has been in business since 1912. The Bay Bridge was built alongside it. The bridge construction crew ate at Red's. For many decades countless longshoreman, sailors and dock workers ate as many meals at Red's as they ate at home.

Once there were a lot of little eateries like Red's. They dotted the waterfront from Fisherman's Wharf, along the Embarcadero and all the way up to the dry dock. They are an important part of San Francisco's history.

Ann Lazarus is President of the San Francisco Port Commission. She is among the most capable and intelligent San Franciscans serving on our countless commissions and boards. I absolutely cannot believe that Ann Lazarus was personally aware of this affair. Her level of morality would demand that justice and historical respect be honored. Ann's record of fairness and honesty extends throughout the community and has been particularly noteworthy at Temple Emanu-el.

Rodney Fong, another Port Commissioner, also knows better. Rodney is a native San Franciscan. He owns the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf. He's made a career of being a San Francisco Businessman in the best sense of the meaning. He's been either a board member or an officer of just about every business-minded organization in the City, including the Convention & Visitors Bureau, the California Chamber of Commerce, the Fisherman's Wharf Merchants Assn - and on and on. Rodney Fong is a take-charge Alpha kind of guy. I can't believe that he had any knowledge of this either. He wouldn't sit still for a second knowing this kind of negligence was going on under his watch.

I imagine now that Phil Matier blew open the story on Channel 5 news it won't take long for the Port Authority to read the riot act to Monique Moyer, their executive director - but its not really her fault. She's the chief of the staff, so she's the one who will face the music. However ...

The staff person who is really responsible for this mess is Tina Olson, Deputy Director of Finance and Administration. Before landing her present job, Olson worked for the DPW - the San Francisco Department of Public Works. That explains everything.

From August 31 to September 3, the first in a series of international gourmet food festivals taking place around the world will be held at the Ferry Building. Coordinated by CCN World (Chef Culinary Network), Gastronomy by the Bay will bring together chefs, restaurateurs and others in the food world to discuss new culinary trends.

The Festival headquarters in the Ferry Building is located near the Bay Bridge at the foot of Market Street, the center of local gastronomy. Found here are some of the city’s finest bakers, confectioners, delicatessens, butchers, cheese mongers, chocolatiers, restaurants and cafes. Tuesdays and Saturdays the suppliers of artisan specialties gather at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Marketplace.

See some of the world's finest and most celebrated chefs prepare their signature specialties:

Saturday, September 1

• 11:00 am Mark Dommen – One Market Restaurant
• 12:00 pm Roland Passot – La Folie

Sunday, September 2

• 12:00 pm Roland Mesnier – Former Pastry chef at the White House
• 1:00 pm Condra Easley – Patisserie Angelica
• 2:00 pm Vikram Vij – Vij’s

Monday, September 3

• 12:00 pm Traci Griffith – Sushi
• 1:00 pm Staffan Terje – Perbacco
• 2:00 pm Seiji Wakabayashi- Bushi-Tei
• 3:00 pm Chris Borges and Yigit Pura – Taste Catering

Visit to GREENLEAF
Join a tour of the fresh produce distribution center of Greenleaf Produce in San Francisco

Visit to MONTEREY FISH
For early risers: Join a tour of Monterey Fish Market at Pier 33, Embarcadero, San Francisco

TV, Radio & International Wine & Food Press Interviews
Attend live interviews of chefs presenting their new books. Here's the book-signing schedule:

Saturday

• 12:00 pm Vikram Vij - Vij’s Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
• 1:00 pm Paula Wolfert - The Cooking of Southwest France and The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen
• 1:30 pm Evan Goldstein – Perfect Pairings

Sunday

• 12:30 pm Joyce Goldstein - Antipasti, Enoteca, Italian Slow and Savory, The Mediterranean Kitchen
• 1:00 pm Roland Mesnier - Dessert University, All The President’s Pastries
• 1:30 pm John Ash – From Earth to Table
• 2:00 pm Paul Johnson – Fish Forever by John Wiley
• 3:00 pm Vikram Vij – Vij’s Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine

Monday

• 1:00 pm Tracy Griffith – Sushi American Style
• 2:00 pm Gilles Pudlowski - Great Women Chefs of Europe and Pudlo Paris

Note: The following story was written for the 2007 Folsom Street fair. For updated and current information on the 2008 Folsom Street Fair, please click here.

Folsom Street Events, the organization that annually produces the Folsom Street Fair, has announced details for the 24th annual leather fair that attracts a half-million visitors to San Francisco.

This year the fair will happen on Sunday, September 30th from 11 AM to 6 PM.

In the photo: The mesmerizing Heklina, founder of Trannyshack, a San Francisco institution

The agency hopes to attract record-setting charity donations by presenting its strongest-yet entertainment lineup. For a complete list of the entertainers booked to perform on three different stages click here.

Promoters plan to showcase world-renowned alternative rock and new wave acts alongside up-and-coming talent from around the globe. Included in the line-up is Trannyshack Presents Kimo's 20 Years of Madonna, which promises to be a strong crowd favorite.

According to Jeff Johnson, Entertainment Chair of Folsom Street Events, “Folsom Street Fair is such a unique event for the worldwide leather and fetish community. We are incredibly excited about our lineups this year. With famous indie artists like Imperial Teen and theStart, the Fair is going to bring the crowd to its knees in more ways than one.”

Demetri Moshoyannis, Executive Director, said “We are working very hard to attract the perfect balance of well-known artists with rising talents. We are all really looking forward to new wave icon Julie Brown and a hot set from the Ladytron DJ Tour.” Ladytron performs live on Saturday, September 29th at Mezzanine.

Major beneficiaries of this year's event are AIDS Emergency Fund, Dolores Street Community Services, Frameline, Healing Waters, Lyon-Martin Health Services, Pets Are Wonderful Support, Positive Resource Center, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, STOP AIDS Project, and Tenderloin Health.

Supporting beneficiaries are Berkeley Free Clinic, Black Rock Arts Foundation, GLBT Historical Society, Transgender Law Center, and Triangle Martial Arts Association.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will, of course, return to host the gates. What would an LGBT event in San Francisco be without the Sisters!

"The money is still owed," Housing Authority chief Gregg Fortner said, "and the school district will probably ask for it after you run the article."

WHAT?

A sobering story in today's Matier & Ross column in this morning's Sunday Chronicle lit a fuse under me. It appears the City has been giving a completely unethical and totally illegal under-the-table subsidy to the Nation of Islam out at the old Navy Yard at Hunter's Point.

In the photo: Minister Christopher Muhammad of the Nation of Islam

Just when we have had a dry period without too many City scandals (except, of course, the continuing soap operas produced by Chris Daly and Ed Jew) this pops up!

It looks like former mayor Willie Brown gave a back-room sweetheart deal to Minister Christopher Muhammad of the Nation of Islam. Through tricks, ommissions and blind eyes it turned out that the San Francisco City Housing Authority has illegally been allowing Muhammad to occupy city property free of charge for five years. Muhammad was supposed to pay $2,000 a month rent. So far, he has paid zippo, nada, nothing.

Muhammad has the nerve to claim that he is running a religious, charitable non-profit organization that operates a school. What is he teaching his students - how to work the system and learn to cheat and defraud the government?

Worse, now it appears the School district will probably get around to asking for the money now that the Chronicle ran the story. You mean it takes an expose by the newspaper before the San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Public Housing Authority obey the law and do their legal duty?

Are they crooked to the core at the School District AND the Housing Authority? How deep does this scandal go?

We need to start cleaning house over at the Housing Authority. This would be grounds for the immediate termination of the CEO in any publicly owned and shareholder-controlled corporation caught in a similar scandal. If the department heads are allowed to keep their jobs, I will sure be interested in reading the reasoning behind such decisions.

As for the school district, well, this is a big bucket of mud that is going to be dumped all over the school board members when they try to run for re-election. If there has ever been time to clean house, this is it!

This is much more than an accidental oversight. This could not have happened, and continued happening, without the conspiratorial cooperation of a significant number of ranking staff on both the School District and the Housing Authority. We need District Attorney Kamala Harris to launch a full and formal investigation and she may need the assistance of the State Attorney General's Office. We must discover whether this is a criminal act or merely gross ineptitude.

Read the full eye-opening story in today's Matier & Ross.

Awaiting me in my inbox this morning was some some very interesting news.

The Department of Defense has just awarded an astounding $1.6 billion contract to a San Mateo company to manage freight movements for the U. S. Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps. This is a very major contract with national importance.

The contract will not include the U.S. Coast Guard Guard as they are a branch of the Dept. of Homeland Security, and not part of the DOD.

Here is the official news release issued by the U.S. Transportation Command:

U.S. Transportation Command News Release
RELEASE NUMBER: 070817-1
by Lt. Col. Cliff Mirabella, USTRANSCOM Public Affairs

The U. S. Transportation Command announced a contract award potentially worth $1.6 billion today to Menlo Worldwide Government Services, LLC of San Mateo, Calfornia, to manage Department of Defense freight movements in the continental United States with the goal of maximizing efficiencies and reducing cost.

"DTCI ( Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative ) is a team effort, in partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency and the military services, to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of DOD freight movements in the continental United States," said Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, commander, USTRANSCOM. "Menlo Worldwide Government Services will utilize best commercial practices to enable load consolidation and optimization, use of more efficient intermodal means of transportation and tailored scheduling to meet the customer requirements. These improvements will increase the precision and reliability of freight movements, leading to increased customer confidence, cost savings, and increased efficiency in our CONUS shipping operations."

DTCI is a USTRANSCOM Distribution Process Owner initiative. DTCI is a freight management program designed to improve the reliability, predictability and efficiency of DOD materiel moving within CONUS by reducing cycle times and improving predictability through the use of more dedicated truck schedules, cross docking operations, better mode selection and load optimization.

"In addition to the efficiencies and expected cost savings we'll gain," said Air Force Col. James Lovell, director, DTCI Program Management Office, "this long-term partnership with Menlo Worldwide Government Services allows us to implement several commercial best practices into our transportation operations."

DTCI will be rolled out in three phases with the first installation coming on line within 5 1/2 months.

Phase I includes Defense Logistics Agency CONUS Defense Distribution Centers and will be completed within 22 months.

Phase II will start before the completion of Phase I and will incorporate activities within close proximity of the DDCs, selected aerial ports and DOD shippers. The government may require the coordinator to implement an additional 50 sites per year after successful Phase II implementation. In no event will the number of sites under this contract exceed 260.

Phase III, which will start before the completion of Phase II, will be to all other scheduled DOD activities and will be completed within 25 months.

"DLA and USTRANSCOM have worked closely on the Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative for several years. This award represents a significant accomplishment in our collective efforts to streamline distribution processes and provide better and more cost-effective support to our nation's warfighters. DLA looks forward to executing the first phase of the initiative," said Army Lt. Gen. Robert Dail, DLA director.

Benefits of the new program are expected to include increases in efficiencies and cost savings, as well as better visibility of freight movements. The enhanced visibility will allow for enhanced planning of other modes of transportation so DOD can better meet end customer (warfighter) expectations of delivery.

"Our partnership with Menlo Worldwide Government Services will also help us gather the metrics that we need to drive continual process improvements in our distribution system," said Schwartz.

Certain categories of freight will be excluded from DTCI, such as cash/collect on delivery shipments, sensitive and/or classified shipments, arms, ammunition and explosives, bulk and missile fuels, household goods and privately owned vehicles.

The contract, which has a potential seven-year life cycle, has a three-year base period estimated as worth more than $525 million. There are also two one-year options periods valued at approximately $543 million and two one-year award term option periods worth approximately $567 million.

For more information about this story, try these resources:

USTRANSCOM DTCI (U.S. Transportation Command, Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative)

Q and A document (prepared by USTRANSCOM in .pdf format)

Link to Menlo Worldwide in San Mateo

Contact Menlo Worlwide

Contact the DTCI Public Affairs Officer, Lt. Col. Cliff Mirabella by phone at

From today's San Francisco Business Times:

For the second time this year, is taking a major chunk of office space off of Gap Inc.'s hands as the retailer struggles with weak sales and cuts workers.

Having laid off 2,050 employees in fiscal year 2007, San Francisco-based Gap has agreed to sublet a 180,000-square-foot office at 901 Cherry Ave. in San Bruno to Google, according to real estate brokers familiar with the deal. The sublease, which is still being negotiated, comes six months after Gap also agreed to lease another big chunk of space to Google, 210,000 square feet at Hills Plaza on the San Francisco's waterfront. In total, between the two campuses, the Mountain View-based Google will be able to accommodate nearly 1,600 workers in the castoff Gap space.

From the San Francisco Police Department:

The SFPD is continuously hiring qualified applicants. Applicants must be 21 years old, have a valid driver's license, must be US citizens, must have a high School diploma or equivalent, and must not have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor which would prohibit possession of a firearm. For more information or to apply, Contact the Department of Human Resources at 44 Gough St, San Francisco. Additionally, applications are available on-line at www.sfgov.org/police or at governmentjobs.com.



Sunday, August 19: 40th Anniversary of Summer of Love-Global Cultures Music Festival

Time: 10:00am to 6:00pm
Location: Golden Gate Park
A free concert featuring world music & 60's rock & 21st century sound. Rumored to appear: Narada Michael Walden & Friends, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Melvin Seals & JGB and many more. For more details visit contact http://www.hopeandbeyond.org/



From SPUR: Parking measure moves city in the wrong direction

SPUR took an early position to oppose the so-called Parking for Neighborhoods initiative in order to educate voters about its effects as soon as possible. Contrary to its misleading title, the measure emphasizes increasing parking in San Francisco's congested, transit-friendly downtown district. It could increase the amount of parking in a typical office building from 150 spaces to nearly 700. It has a loophole to allow unlimited parking for "low-emission vehicles," but defines them to include Hummers, Cadillac Escalades, and Ford Expeditions! It allows property owners to destroy transit stops and mature street trees without the possibility of appeal. For more detailed information on this measure, click here


Can the waterfront be saved?

San Francisco is blessed with a waterfront that holds the potential to be an unparalleled asset for the city and its visitors. But today, a tangle of red tape and debt holds back that potential, and instead the waterfront slips deeper and deeper into disrepair. We can create a waterfront that is well-loved and well-used, but it will require substantial changes to the way we think about the waterfront, the way it is regulated and the way the Port of San Francisco is funded. Read the full report and other news online in the Urbanist, SPUR's monthly publication about San Francisco and urban life.



S.F. Unified School District plans for the future

San Francisco Unified School District is the highest-performing urban school district in the state, according to the California Department of Education. Some of its schools rank among the best in the country. However, this overall progress masks a failure of the district to serve some groups, whose children are not showing improvements in academic performance.

While the district needs more resources to better serve all of its students, it must also make the most efficient use of existing assets, including facilities for 90,000 schoolchildren while only 57,000 are enrolled. Should the district close more schools? If so, how? Should the district emphasize recruitment and retention to increase enrollment? These issues are the centerpiece of the district's Student Enrollment, Recruitment and Retention Plan, which is the highlight of a SPUR presentation at a noontime forum on Aug. 22.



Record Ten EQCA-Sponsored Measures Set for Final Legislative Hurdles

As lawmakers return from summer break next Monday to finalize the state budget and complete legislative work for the year, a record number of Equality California-sponsored measures are poised to pass their final legislative hurdles on their way to Governor Schwarzenegger for consideration.

EQCA is the sponsor of a record 10 pieces of legislation in 2007 – more than the organization has ever carried in a single calendar year. This comprehensive agenda will help build a better future for all Californians by protecting youth, strengthening families and empowering communities.

Each of the 10 measures has passed the first chamber and is now working its way through the second house. The full Legislature must send approved bills to the governor by September 14.

This year’s measures have received unprecedented bipartisan support, earning significant votes from Democrats and Republicans in both the Assembly and the Senate. Just last month a record 70 assemblymembers, including 24 Republicans, cast an “aye” vote for EQCA’s hate crimes resolution, authored by Assemblymember Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park. Three other measures, including a bill to give domestic partners the ability to adopt a family name of their choice, legislation to protect LGBT youth in public schools and a bill that simplifies income tax filing for domestic partners, also received bipartisan support.

Marriage Equality Update:

Legislation that would give same-sex couples the freedom to marry in California is working its way through the California State Senate.

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is in the Senate Appropriations Committee. If it passes Appropriations, it would be eligible for a full vote on the Senate floor, the last stop before going to the governor's desk.

Briefs are being finalized this month in the marriage litigation by NCLR, Lambda Legal, ACLU, Heller Ehrman and David C. Codell, who represent EQCA and numerous couples seeking an end to the ban on marriage for same-sex couples.

In the meantime, opponents of equality are working hard to prevent the Legislature or the California Supreme Court from ever granting same-sex couples the ability to marry. A total of five ballot measures have been filed with the Attorney General's office by two different organizations seeking to amend the California Constitution to permanently exclude same-sex couples from marriage. Read more about these ballot measures.

Sign Up Today for The Neighborhood Empowerment Summit!

Join the Neighborhood Parks Council on September 8th for a free one-day conference to learn about ways to clean, green and make our neighborhoods safer! http://www.empowersf.org/

Over the last few months, a group of representatives from city agencies, non profits, and neighborhoods have been working together to create a new initiative called the Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN).

The goal of NEN is to make it easier for communities to partner with city agencies and non profits to improve the neighborhoods they call home. By featuring examples of how real people took on real challenges and won, the Network will be an invaluable resource to communities that want to make their neighborhoods safer, greener, cleaner, stronger and better prepared for natural disasters.

The first major NEN event will be the Neighborhood Empowerment Summit on Saturday, September 8th at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium from 9am to 4pm. This all day resource fair will feature dozens of agencies and non profits committed to working with anyone who wants to improve their neighborhood. Additionally, the summit will include break out sessions through out the day featuring real people and partner agencies explaining how they worked together to improve their neighborhood.

This is just the beginning for NEN and we hope you'll visit the link below to sign up for the Summit today. On September 8th, we'll provide more details on the NEN and how it will help empower neighborhoods to accomplish their goals. http://www.empowersf.org/



Thom Lynch Resigns from LGBT Community Center

Thom Lynch, who was hired in 2003 amid the financial chaos of the early operation of San Francisco's LGBT Community Center and turned it around, announced his resignation Tuesday, August 14. His last day was Wednesday. Read the full story in the Bay Area Reporter

The American Red Cross is monitoring the situation in Peru following the magnitude 8 earthquake and the series of strong aftershocks through the Red Cross Disaster Management Delegation. They are boots down in Peru working with the Pan American Disaster Response Unit that is headquartered in Panama. To date, the Peruvian Red Cross has not requested assistance. If assistance is requested, the American Red Cross is prepared to mobilize massive amounts of relief supplies, relief workers and money.

In the photo: A map provided by the U.N. showing all the moderate and large earthquakes that have occurred around the world within the past 30 days. The Earth's Ring of Fire, which encircles the entire Pacific Ocean area, is clearly identifiable. Both Lima, Peru and San Francisco, California sit on top of the Ring of Fire. Today it is our turn to provide help to Peru. Some day, maybe very soon, we will be the ones in need.

Peruvian government Emergency Services Chief Roberto Ocno reported this morning that "The toll has jumped to between 500 and 510 dead and 1,600 injured." With that kind of report coming out of Peru, it is reasonable to expect a request for help will be filed soon.

The USGS reclassified the quake as an 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The rescue and relief effort is just now starting to move into high gear. Two Peruvian Air Force transport planes departed Lima this morning en route to the town of Ica. The town, about 200 miles from the Peruvian capitol of Lima, has been nearly leveled. The two plans will ferry more than 50 tons of relief supplies, medical equipment, medicine and food. The Peruvian national Police are using their helicopters to bring relief supplies to the seacoast towns of Chincha and Pisco, both of which were hammered by the quake.

To put the Peruvian quake into perspective, yesterday's magnitude-8.0 earthquake in Peru is the third earthquake this year of that size. On average, the Earth produces about one magnitude-8 or larger earthquake per year, and about 15 to 20 magnitude-7 earthquakes per year. A 1.0 increase in magnitude means ground motions are expected to be 30 times more intense and the shaking lasts substantially longer. Coastal Peru has a history of very large earthquakes. The August 15th shock originated near the source of two earthquakes, both in the magnitude-8 range, that occurred in 1974 and 1908.

For inquiries regarding U.S. citizens in Peru, call the U.S. State Department's Office of Overseas Citizens Services at from within the U.S. People calling from outside the U.S. should call .

The current issue of Transportation Innovator has some interesting observations about the new national drive to reduce traffic congestion in major U.S. cities (including San Francisco) by initiating a cordon congestion charge.

Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal for a traffic congestion charge in New York City (PlaNYC) will likely be watched closely by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, as it could become a test case for congestion charging on Doyle Drive. Done well, it has the potential to be a model for improving congestion and reducing emissions while promoting greater public transportation use. However, to ensure the plan’s success in New York, the mayor will likely need to address concerns over equity and the timing of public transit improvements.

London’s pioneering congestion cordon charge is widely viewed as a success. Within the cordon zone, congestion has been cut by an average of 30%, vehicle speeds have increased on average by 25%, and emissions of PM, NOx, and carbon dioxide have declined. Stockholm, Singapore, and Oslo also have successful congestion pricing programs.

Now, Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants New York to be the first US city with a cordon charge. Under his plan, cars and trucks would be charged $8 and $21 respectively to enter or exit Manhattan below 86th Street during work hours. Cars within the zone would pay half price. The charge would apply to all vehicles, except emergency services, taxis, for-hire cars, and vehicles with handicapped plates.

Mayor Bloomberg’s cordon charge proposal is generating plenty of debate. Proponents argue that studies show congestion costs New York $13 billion annually and results in increased pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as significant health impacts. The PlaNYC report predicts that a cordon charge would result in 94,000 commuters shifting from driving to mass transit, decreasing traffic within the zone by 6.3% and increasing vehicle speeds by 7.2%.

Opponents have expressed concern that the cordon charge could be implemented without the promised transit improvements. They also argue that the fee will disproportionately impact the poor and increase traffic and emissions outside of the zone.

In August, Mayor Bloomberg scored a major victory by securing a $354 million U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) award to support his congestion reduction program. The majority of the grant – about $325 million – will fund bus and bus facility improvements and the planned five-corridor BRT network. The grant also provides $10.4 million to implement congestion pricing.

To read about San Francisco's plans to charge for peak-hour use of Doyle Drive and take advantage of the DOT cash offer, please continue reading the story that follows immediately below.

San Francisco Business Times reports the federal government will allocate almost $159 million to help San Francisco combat congestion on city streets.

In the photo: aerial view of Doyle Drive skirting Crissy Field

San Francisco's plan to combine "congestion pricing" with other technical and infrastructure improvements will lead to "faster commutes and less stress," said Mary Peters, the head of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in announcing the grant Tuesday.

Congestion pricing charges a toll to deter motorists from using certain streets during the busiest times and to raise money for public transit improvements. San Francisco transportation officials want to implement a congestion pricing toll on Doyle Drive. The money raised will go toward rebuilding Doyle Drive, the elevated roadway leading to the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Francisco had applied for $376 million from federal transportation officials, who are promoting congestion pricing with grants to several cities. Despite getting a lesser amount, "We're thrilled to get what we got," said Tilly Chang, the deputy director of planning for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.

One out of every four homeless men who is sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in San Francisco has put on a uniform and served this country.

According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Urban Institute, 1999), veterans account for 23% of all homeless people in America.

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans no one keeps national records on homeless veterans. The Veterans Administration estimates that nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and nearly 400,000 experience homelessness over the course of a year.

The most effective programs for homeless and at-risk veterans are community-based, nonprofit, "veterans helping veterans" groups. Because government money for homeless veterans is currently limited and serves only one in 10 of those in need, it is critical that community groups reach out to help provide the support, resources and opportunities most Americans take for granted: housing, employment and health care. In San Francisco that community-based group is Swords to Plowshares.

Swords to Plowshares was started in 1974 by six veterans volunteering at the Veterans Administration in San Francisco and a few others who were concerned that the needs of returning Vietnam veterans were not being addressed. Today we are seeing the aftermath of the Vietnam War all over again. This time it is called the Iraq-Afghanistan War.

Ensuring that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans receive the support, services and protection they need to successfully transition home is a huge undertaking. Swords to Plowshares services are available to all veterans, former active duty, Guard and Reserve, with any type of discharge. The message is simply, Welcome Home.

The Iraq Veterans Project

• Swords to Plowshares Legal Department offers free professional legal services for VA disability and benefit claims. They offer one time case assessment and technical support to full representation through the appeals process, depending on the nature of each individual case.
• Swords to Plowshares’ Employment and Training Department works with newly separated veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area to develop career development support. They work one-on-one with veterans to craft the right job strategy, whether the veteran was enlisted infantry just embarking on a civilian career or a Reserve officer making a mid-career change.
  
• The Iraq Veteran Project staff provide resources and referrals, OIF/OEF veterans and their families, including assistance navigating educational benefits, accessing VA care, and help finding veterans services where they live.
• Swords to Plowshares also provides policy education regarding the issues facing new veterans and their families and advocate for increased access to mental health, employment, housing and family resources.

For more information email ,
or call
and ask for Shannon Kissinger, Outreach Coordinator
or
Amy Fairweather, Iraq Veterans Project Director

Important resources for returning veterans and those who are falling through the cracks and are in danger of becoming homeless are:

Swords to Plowshares (local - based in San Francisco)

Homeless Veterans, US Dept of Veterans Affairs

Stand Down (California Dept. of Veterans Affairs)

Alexander Hamilton Post 448 of the American Legion (San Francisco)

Ten dollars could get you and a friend 12 really fine dinners at some of San Francisco's trendy fusion restaurants as well as some other very edgy and very good Bay Area restaurants. Tickets for CUESA's Year of Dining Out raffle are now available online or at the information booth every Tuesday and Saturday at the Ferry Building Farmers Market.

Each ticket offers you four chances to win a collection of 12 dinners for two, plus a gift basket from Fra' Mani Handcrafted Salumi. The winners will be announced at CUESA's Sunday Supper, but you don't need to attend the supper to win. The total price of the ticket is considered a tax-deductible contribution to CUESA.

And, give some thought to CUESA's Sunday Supper. CUESA's fifth annual Sunday Supper fundraiser on September 30, 2007, showcases the abundance of delicious produce offered at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and the supreme culinary talent of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sunday Supper 2007 also celebrates the 15th anniversary of the very first Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in September of 1992.

Now, take a look at the restaurants participating in the raffle. This is a pretty hot list!

ACME Chophouse Ame Antica Trattoria Aqua Bistro Aix Blue Plate Bocadillos Boulevard Campton Place Chez Panisse Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen Delfina Downtown Bakery and Creamery Essencia Fleur De Lys Fork Frisson Gary Danko Gialina Pizzeria Go Fish Greens Restaurant Hayes Street Grill

Hog Island Oyster Co. Incanto Jardiniere La Toque Lalime's Liberty Cafe MarketBar Masa's Mustards Grill One Market Perbacco Pesce Seafood Bar Piperade Postrio Quince Rose Pistola Rubicon Terzo The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton The Last Supper Club TWO Yank Sing

Mayor Gavin Newsom's Campaign Kick-Off

Come meet and talk to Gavin Newsom tomorrow, Saturday, August 11th at 10:00 AM. Come to Gavin's campaign HDQ at 1320 Sutter Street at Van Ness. See you there!

For more information about Mayor Newsom or to browse the Mayor's web site, go to www.actlocallysf.org


Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy is on the Way Out!

A generational shift in attitudes toward gays among service members, as well as concerns over the loss of Arabic translators and other key gay personnel, are improving the chances of the military gay ban being lifted. Although a House bill to end the "Don't ask, don't tell" has considerable support, the measure reportedly still faces opposition in the Senate, where opponents are likely to stage a filibuster to block it. Thanks to American Legion Post 448 for championing this cause tirelessly for years.


Behind the Scenes at the Gay Presidential Debate

Blogger Pam Spaulding, who was blogging behind the scenes from Thursday's gay Democratic presidential forum in Los Angeles, reviews the event's winners and losers and includes direct reaction from Gov. Bill Richardson on his rhetorical "fumble" about homosexuality being a choice. Read more at Pam's House Blend


Amgen Reconsiders South City

Biotech giant Amgen has abruptly stopped plans to build a new research campus down in South San Francisco, and instead put the 365,000 square feet of new space on the sublease market. There are some interesting large spaces coming available in San Francisco and the City is (and has always been) the upscale Bay Area address. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Amgen pioneered the development of some novel products based on advances in recombinant DNA and molecular biology and they launched some of the biotechnology industry’s first blockbuster medicines. I imagine it would be nice for them to be close to UCSF Mission Bay research center.

Bloomberg on the Waterfront

The San Francisco Business Times (a great source for SF news) says that in the City's most expensive lease since the dot-com melt-down six years ago, financial news provider Bloomberg has inked a deal to take 30,000 square feet at the Piers, San Francisco Waterfront Partners' boutique historic rehab at Piers 1 ½, 3, and 5. You can the full text of the agreement made between the San Francisco Port Authority Commission and San Francisco Waterfront Partners LLP in .pdf format here.

Bloomberg will pay $70 triple net to lease the freshly built space. With the addition of about $30 a square foot in taxes and operating expenses, Bloomberg will shell out about $100 a square foot, a symbolic level that has not been cracked in San Francisco since 1999, when the city had 20 deals over $100.

San Francisco's skyline is changing dramatically. The new Transbay Transit Center will be nothing short of stunning and the new Intercontinental Hotel rising at Fifth and Howard has an impressively streamlined cool-blue glass-and-steel look.

Unfortunately we also have two new monstrosities that are just plain butt ugly. One is the new federal building on Seventh Street where the old Greyhound Bus Depot used to be.

In the photo: the new Transit Center and other planned buildings for SOMA

The new federal building looks like it is wrapped in a mindless nightmare of scaffolding that will never be taken away. It has the appearance of a huge disabled building that requires outside braces to hold it together. What makes it even more hideous is the fact that it is located across the street from the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The U.S. Court of Appeals Building at Seventh & Mission Streets is one of the most opulent public buildings in California. The imposing granite edifice was designed in the 1890s by James Knox Taylor, chief architect for the U.S. Treasury Department, to house the federal courts and the main San Francisco Post Office. When it opened in 1905, Sunset magazine called it the Versailles of the West. It was one of the few buildings to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Now that grand old building sits across the street from one of the most disappointing public buildings in American history. The new federal building will be an enduring blight on an otherwise beautiful landscape.

The other new building that is, shall we say, doomed to be an old spinster is the Palms, a condominium project recently completed on Fourth Street near Brannan. It's not a very good design. In a dozen years its going to look like a dreary and matronly sort of place where boring people live and do boring things until late hours into the night. In a City of magnificent and breathtaking architecture, pedestrian designs become all the more ugly.

California Academy of Sciences Researcher in DiCaprio Film
Wallace J. Nichols, a research associate at the Academy, joins Mikhail Gorbachev, Stephen Hawking, and other esteemed thought leaders in Leonardo DiCaprio's new documentary film, "The 11th Hour." The film examines the grave problems facing the planet - including global warming, deforestation, and mass extinction - and calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity. Nichols has dedicated his career to the study of sea turtle ecology and ocean conservation, and says, "The message of the film is made very clear: the hope is us, and the moment for change is now." "The 11th Hour" premieres in San Francisco on August 24.

Marin Flora
Dr. Frank Almeda, senior curator of botany, and Catherine Best, an Academy volunteer for 29 years, have joined two others in publishing Marin Flora. This extensive update of a 1949 classic includes an introduction to the complex Marin ecosystem, a dichotomous key of 1,679 plant groups, line drawings of over 400 species, and maps of the county. With this guide, scientists and plant enthusiasts can become familiar with all the native and naturalized vascular plants in Marin, from the shores of Stinson Beach to the slopes of Mount Tam. See a preview here.

New Academy Update
Solar energy will provide at least 5% of the new Academy's energy needs, preventing the release of over 405,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Construction workers are in the process of installing 60,000 photo voltaic cells along the perimeter of the roof. These multi-crystalline cells are the most energy-efficient on the market, converting at least 20% of the sun's energy into electricity. The cells rest upon a glass canopy that extends 30 feet past the edge of the roof - so visitors will be able to look up and see them working right over their heads. Click here to read about other green features of the new Academy.