It has been another exciting week and Chris Roberts continues to report on storis that would otherwise get little to no play in the mainstream newspapers.
This will be the last report from Chris as we are closing up the Independent City Hall Reporting campaign. You'll be able to view all of Chris' reporting on the finished report soon.
What Recession? Jury Awards Pre-recession Sale Price In Hugo Hotel Eminent Domain Suit.
As real estate aficionados may know, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency has for years been trying to get its hands on the Hugo Hotel, a large, empty but somewhat-artsy former tenement building at Sixth and Howard Streets, whose owners have for decades poo-poo'd every potential buyer who ventured their way.
The owners -- the Patel family of Hillsborough, CA, who somehow managed to form an Oregon-based corporation that, legally, owns the property -- had turned down offers of $4.6 million from a private owner in 2005 and an offer of $3.25 million from Redevelopment in 2007. With every offer spurned, and nobody getting younger, Redevelopment finally filed an eminent domain lawsuit in order to demolish the Hugo and build affordable housing.
On San Bruno Ave, Massage Parlor Tolerated, Pot Club Not So Much
Recently, some medicinal cannabis folks calling themselves the "Green Goddess Collaborative" tried to open up a pot dispensary in a vacant storefront at 3015 San Bruno Avenue. They abandoned that plan after Tuesday, when about 150 people attended a neighborhood meeting and the "vast majority" vocally, vehemently opposed the addition of a pot club to their neighborhood, according to Portola Neighborhood Steering Committee chair Ling Liang.
Muni Sets Bar High For TransLink Use -- 120,000 Daily Riders By Next Year
This summer's been a summer of milestones for TransLink, the universal smart-card technology that, once fully implemented, will allow Bay Area transit riders to carry just one fare card -- just one! -- for trips involving cable cars, ferry boats, BART trains and whatever else regional transit authorities can muster.
TransLink's been available on Muni as part of its trial phase for about a year. In June, TransLink users accounted for about 4500 of Muni's 600,000-plus daily boardings; by August, that number had jumped to 7300, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's Carter Rohan.
That's a jump of nearly 57 percent, Rohan pointed out, but the MTA is nothing if not ambitious.
Final Muni Route Changes To Begin In November, Wehther Cow Hollowers Like It Or Not
There's been much ink spilled over the past year over bus route changes proposed by the Municipal Transit Agency (the beloved Transit Effectiveness Project), likewise there has been reports of organized opposition against proposed changes to the 41-Union.
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Union Streeters' concerns fell on deaf ears, as the SFMTA board approved the changes. The route changes will happen in November. (The Appeal's requested a complete list of the changes from Muni spokesperson Judson True, but has yet to receive it.)
Drugs, Family Life Conspire to Ruin Mayor's Once-Formidable Jogging Route
San Francisco's Tenderloin -- a loud, dirty disgusting rathole; a lovable, delectable urban historic district. It's all things to all people, but we have never heard it praised by jogging aficionados (though we have seen folk take off and run through the neighborhood for various reasons).
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But according to a quote from SF Chronicle scoopmeisters Matier & Ross, the TL was a favored place to jog for none other than Mayor Gavin Newsom in the heady early days of his term. Gavin stopped his runs down the likes of Larkin and Leavenworth, though, when he was advised by the Police Officers Union head to "jog somewhere else" if he didn't like the open-air drug dealing.
Legal Expert: Newsom Merely A Jerk, Not Criminal, In Leak Case
Any torch-and-pitchfork-toting progressives eager to string Mayor Gavin Newsom up from the nearest Maypole for leaking a confidential memo to the SF Chronicle last week might be sorely disappointed: Newsom abused the attorney-client relationship he has with City Attorney Dennis Herrera and puts Herrera in a difficult spot going forward, but the Mayor did not break the law by handing the memo to the media, as Peter Keane, dean emeritus of Golden Gate University's School of Law related to The Appeal on Wednesday.
Motion To Lift Bike Plan Stalling Injunction Filed
...earlier today, City Attorney (and cyclist!) Dennis Herrera's office wheeled over thousands of pages worth of bike plan-saving legalese to San Francisco Superior Court.
There, a motion to dismiss the injunction that has for three years halted the Bicycle Plan in its tracks is now in Judge Peter J. Busch's hands, upper desk drawer or wherever he keeps motions.
Posted by Spot. Us on 09/09/09I'm fairly certain why it was me who was laid off at The City Star, and not the editor or page designer (who spent, I think, another month or two editing and designing regional and national wire content before the "neighborhood" newspaper at which I worked was swallowed up by its corporate parent company).
I was a pain in the ass. Strike that. I am a pain in the ass.
I pitched tough stories, I fought for them, and I fought to give them space and attention in the paper. If I was given an empty or bogus assignment -- like "updating" an Associated Press story, which meant nothing more than spending an hour on a street corner getting Man On The Street quotes, not at all why I chose this field instead of law school -- I pitched something else, even if it sounded tougher, and I didn't back down easy.
I went against the grain -- I shouldn't have been expected to, but I tried to beat the big boys with every story -- I tried to beat our parent company, I tried to beat the Chronicle. Hell, I once had a scoop nobody else had -- that Gavin Newsom's office was challenging the census, for the first time -- but let myself be put off it by his press handlers, only to have the AP go with it. So I tried -- and failed -- to beat them, too.
I wasn't quiet, I wasn't easy to work with, but I also didn't quit and wasn't at all satisfied with something easy, something mediocre, something just to fill the paper. And I didn't hide my disgust with people who did. In the end, being tough made me easier to justify getting rid of. So there's a warning for you, kids -- all that bright beacon of truth bull can get you kicked out of a newsroom.
I'm fairly certain that's why I was the company's lone layoff this year (they have since hired other folks, and, in all honesty, good for them for keeping people employed).
I thought about trying a different city or a different career. But all my sources were in town. I was plugged into San Francisco, not Boston, Oakland, or anywhere else. Lucky for me, by that point -- late March -- the SF Appeal was just starting up. They didn't have anyone to cover City Hall, I didn't have anything much to do -- so it worked out.
So now I was free to cover whatever I wanted, no more arguments or suggestions I "cover" a parade or a weekend festival. I kept doing City Hall stuff -- usually Board of Supervisors committees and hearings but also occasional doings by the Mayor, Muni board meetings and sometimes a Planning hearing -- because I felt like that's what mattered. That's all I ever wanted to do -- something that mattered. I'm happy that people agree with me, that they think it matters enough to give me some of their hard-earned money.
And actually, it's worked out better than I expected, better than I could have imagined. Within a month of starting at the Appeal, I was freelancing for the SF Weekly. They have more than 100,000 copies a week. So the layoff's been the best possible career move imaginable.
I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this -- the only way I've been able to make rent every month as a freelancer and freebie e-reporter is with help from my unemployment. But I'll keep at it as long as I can.
We have raised over $200 now. Hooray!
If You Are Reading This, Learn Chinese and Volunteer For the Census
Don Your Tin Hat: New Muni Faregates Will Track Your Movements
Newsom Camp's Move To Leak Confidential Memo Continues To Raise Questions
Posted by Spot. Us on 08/26/09In week three of SF Appeal's independent City Hall Reporting Chris has covered a Muni crash from start to finish.
He also found a gem of a story that everyone else in the media space was outright ingoring on a whistleblower in SF who now fears for her life.
Chris is doing a great job and we hope you continue to support his work.
Whistleblower, Mayoral Confidante Fearful for Self, Family Safety.
The End Of An Era: Brightly Colored FastPass To Be Replaced by TransLink
Freshly Approved New PUC Building Costs More Than You Think
Can't stop, Won't Stop: Mirkarimi Takes Aim At Newsom's Security Deal (again)
Too Easy: SF Porno King in SUV, ahem, Hit From Behind in Last Week's Muni Crash
F Market Crash Witness: No One Was Talking To The Driver
Pot, Hugues, Marina: Chief George Gascon, The 15-Minute Interview
Posted by Spot. Us on 08/17/09If you missed the awesome coverage being provided by Chris Roberts at the SF Appeal, here's this week's break down. Chris is doing a stellar job of covering the city's issues in all their glorious variety.
Failure To Observe 250 Foot Gap Rule May Have Contributed To F Market Crash
No Elephants at the Zoo Again, Ever
Subverting Expecations, Pot Commission Confirmations Divisive, Ornery
Gas-Guzzlin' City -- $25M Annually Spent On Fuel
The Drew School Expansion To Move Forward, Despite Neigbors' Protests
SF's Bike Plan Hits The BoS, But Don't Expect A Quick Fix(ie)
Posted by Spot. Us on 08/07/09It has been one week since reporter Chris has taken on the challenge of being SF Appeal's independent city hall reporter for Spot.us.
If you've missed some of the action here's a breakdown.
For Wonks Only: Fairfield Homeowner Sweeps City Hall Bake-Off
More Shocking Daly Revelations!
Pay No Attention To The Vacant Lot in Hunters Point
Personal reasons" Over, Supervisor And Insurance Commissioner Candidate Returns To Committees
Video: "Smoldering" Underground Cable Causes Stir At City Hall
Posted by Spot. Us on 08/03/09
