Today’s Full Board Shaft Job

boys and girls,

It’s important to have an honest historical perspective
of the work that the Class of 2000 actually accomplished and
their failures too. Sadly, as Peskin exits, he’s leaving
a trail of shit and money.

Full Board agenda

(11-18-08)

Len Harrison home from SFGH

Hey campers. I want to alert you to the few items I found interesting on today’s
Full Board agenda but first a few personal notes.

Len Harrison (Josh Wolf’s dad and an Anarchist activist and web site developer on his
own) is home from SFGH and Luke Thomas and I went over yesterday afternoon (454 Waller
– bottom floor – allow time if he’s alone cause it takes him long time to manuever his
walker from his place over garden at end of house to front door) … we hung out with
him for a couple of hours and we talked hippie medicine and other stuff. He’s
mobile and about 90X better than he was in the hospital which is normal. One of my
grandmothers used to say that she wouldn’t go to the hospital cause she knew she’d
never come out alive. Well, she was near 90 when she died and she made moonshine
and grew her own tobacco right up til the end. Len’s not raising tobacco or making
moonshine and he got out of the hospital alive and ain’t near as old so, he’s open for
visitors and it ain’t a downer if you know what I mean (lots of people avoid sick
friends cause they don’t want to feel guilty or get depressed). Call first, of
course. Josh heads out to work at 1:20pm so afternoons are best. The phone
should be connected today and it’s going to be 503-1386.

And, EVOC (East Village Opera Company – my favorite rock n’ roll band) is in town
tonight at Cafe Du Nord. They sold out the Great American a couple of years ago and
then seemed to get blackballed from big SF venues. They add rock elements to great
opera hits (scripts are mostly in Italian/Spanish/German/French but you won’t notice).
Best new band in 30 years and they pretty much only play campuses (lift the ban,
Warren!). Luke and Elaine have credentials so we’ll have good pictures and
cultural/fashion critique plus my sarcasm for you from Fog City and my Bulldog blast
(Luke’s been posting my columns for me on SFBulldog.com for last few). EVOC’s in
town and they rule.

Today’s Full Board agenda

Peskin’s iron rule continues and will til the end. He’s a real conniver.
Double-books committee hearings to avoid scrutiny. Has Board Clerk delete addresses
of people corresponding to Board. He changes the names on legislation often and
that’s just to confuse you. In short, Peskin is the enemy of open government now
and has been (more openly now) since he descended to the top chair. Whatever,
here’s what you want to single out (my opinion only) for legislation that matters.

Item # 18 Municipal ID’s … from Tom Ammiano

The Mayor used to back this but he doesn’t anymore. Or, he does. Or, does ne not?
Clint Reilly did a great piece in Doug Comstock’s ‘West of Twin Peaks Observer’ a
couple of months back in which he noted that a person really has no idea where a
candidate stands on any issue now cause if they’re a serious candidate they have
consultants and the consultants react only to polls and pick the most and least popular
stances and guide their candidates to speak accordingly.

So, what with illegal immigrant young gang bangers killing people and claiming juvenile
status, maybe we need some kind of legitimate ID just to weed them out. Whatever,
Eric Jaye decided that the polls said that he should steer Newsom away from this and
Ammiano agreed til after the election and it’s after the elections so …

Item #21 Mirkarimi’s 50% pass-through to tenants for water bills

I had a heated phone conversation with the Mirk when he passed up the chance to kill
this piece of shit legislation the last time it showed up at the Board (“We can kill it
later.” he said). I argued that he should have killed it when he had the chance (he
was the swing vote on continuing it – it’s from Elsbernd and Alioto-Pier to give you an
idea) … so, we’ll see if it dies today or if the time Ross gave the realtors was
suffcient to buy McGoldrick and whomever. This one sucks and it’s Ross’ fault that
it’s here and he couldn’t defend why he allowed it to happen. Ted Gullickson is
going to have a tough time supporting Mirk if this thing happens and 70% of the City’s
population gets hit with a big increase to their rent and it’s because of Ross’
decision to … what the fuck was this guy thinking anyway?

Item #25 Making Larry Badiner pay for his own friggin’ meals

Registering lobbyists who feed people like Zoning Administrator (the biggest developer
tool in SF) lobster and caviar and whatever. If the legislation passes, they’ll
have to concentrate more on red envelopes. My guess? It will pass but never be
enforced. Supes like lobster and caviar too.

Item #26 Paying Daly’s legal expenses

This is 380k to pay the NRA’s lawyers for their successful defense of the MS-13 mass
murderers in front of your house and their right to possess stores of AK-47’s and
UZI’s. Hey, it was worth a try and Daly told me, as I recall, that he was shooting
for the moon but was able to settle for trigger locks. Well, I believe he got that
and it’s worth $380. It would be interesting to see which supes got cash from NRA
lobbyists like supe-elect, David Chiu’s Grassroots Enterprise (you knew that his
company’s spokesperson was formerly the chief spokesperson for the NRA?).

Then, we get to Peskin’s continued attacks on the poor and middle class:

Item #48 Deletes DBI hearings on “engineering and surveying matters” for “subdivision
applicants”.

Tell me that one doesn’t do a ‘KA CHING! and set off the alarm bells and red lights in
your skull. What the fuck’s a ’subdivision applicant’ and why shouldn’t they be
required to have public hearings on ‘engineering and subdivision matters’?

Items #54 and #55 Establishes in-lieu fees for developers who don’t want middle class
people in their new buildings. They could already do that but Aaron (through Maxwell
at several points – he didn’t want to take all the credit) … Aaron thought it OK to
establish this cop-out to including affordale units in high end condo projects.

Also, developers can buy their way out of retaining PDR space by paying more of these
in-lieu fees. It was never mentioned how much these fees are and why Mark Leno’s
classic ‘Off-site inclusionary’ clause wasn’t retained (at least they’d have had to cut
in a couple of Uncle Tom preachers).

Item #56 Allowing chain stores in Portrero Center to put condos overhead

Another giveaway to big business and developer money.

Item #57 Converting designation of undisclosed City properties to a ‘P’ designation
for no specified reason but we’ll find out later and I’m betting your ass will feel sore
when you get the bill.

Item #60 Peskin’s personal assassination of the Taxi Commission

Of all Peskin’s slimy deals, this one is the worst. He helped author the
legislation (Prop A) that allows the Mayor’s MTA to take away the voice of 5,000 or so
taxi drivers (get’s rid of Quentin Kopp’s Taxi Commission) … then, Aaron votes
against MTA’s budget cause they double-crossed him (as I told him they’d do) and then
he promised me (during the campaign) that the Taxi Commission (one of my favorite SFGTV
shows) would remain (he lied again).

Then, he made certain the vote to destroy the Taxi Commission (and the voice of
thousands of drivers who talk to tens of thousands of voters every day) … he made
certain the vote came after the election and now he’s making the turnover happen next
March when he’s out of office and he’ll be lying his ass off at cocktail parties years
from now denying that he’s the one who killed the Taxi Commission.

Item #69 Peskin gives 550k per hear tax break to rich condo owners

690 Market street is a shell preserved (it’s the old Chron building I think or the Call
or whatever – tall building w/copper roof) … they gutted it and put in condos for
the rich and now he wants to say that they are entitled to tax breaks if they agree to
take care of their building (will he do that for you, homeowners?). I smell money
down the road from people who live in this building and belong to this condo
association and and especially business from the person who knew Peskin was just as
good as George Bush for giving breaks to the rich (as the St. Francis Yacht Club about
how he not only gave them cheap rent but aslo a provision in their 60 year lease that
allows them to keep poor people out).

Item #70 Aaron’s FAKE protest against Fisher’s Presidio museum

I don’t recall there being a 95,000 square foot hotel included in this project but it
is. This is such a fuck job to the public that I don’t want to even get started on
it. A private museum in a national park? Peskin’s just trying to distract you
from items like #69 and #60 and #48 and on and on. This is a ‘resolution’ folks.
It’s worth less than toilet paper.

Item #71 Peskin supports Todd Rydstrom for Treasury Oversight

For once I agree with the departing Board prez. Rydstrom, like Ben Rosenfield is a
gem. What’s he doing palling around with Aaron?

Item #72 Peskin and Maxwell trying to maintain a fossil fuel plant

This is hypocritical for Maxwell because it will continue the poisoning of black
children in the Bay View and Sophie has only made it worse for years. When Marie
Harrison and Ahimsa Sumchai were fighting the utilities for decades, Sophie was dining
at their table. When it came time to finally shut a plant down, Sophie stood on the
PG&E logo draped stage and accepted praise for making it happen. It was and is a
disgusting lie. She and PG&E banned Harrison and Sumchai from the event. Now
Maxwell wants to keep the City’s last fossil fuel plant going? A disgrace.

That’s do it sports fans.