San Francisco Mayor’s Race is Off and Running

From Beyond Chron,

It’s eight months before San Francisco’s mayoral election, with the eventual winner already in the field. While a candidate identified with the city’s political Left still may emerge, the current frontrunners are Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and State Senator Leland Yee. Former Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Michela Alioto-Pier and Assessor Phil Ting will shape the outcome due to ranked choice voting, but none have reached the top tier. This is the first time since 1975 where there is no clear favorite in the Mayor’s race, but keep in mind that Jack Molinari in 1987 and Art Agnos in 1991 were heavy favorites in March and both lost. Here’s my assessment of the major upsides and challenges affecting the three current leading contenders.

Read more at BeyondChron

SF Cracks Down on Illegal Dumping - KTVU

I used to call or tweet 311 sometimes five times a day about dumping just in my local area, but recently, I've actually noticed a decline in the trash.  I hope that DPW's recent push to alert residents to the problem and how to get their large trash items picked up has helped.  Still, there are the people from outside our district who still think we're a dumping ground.  Let's hope that continued reporting and pressure from the city, like the recent lawsuits filed by City Attorney Herrera, help the situation further.

From KTVU.com,

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is cracking down on illegal dumping and has announced plans to sue two companies, but catching the people responsible in the act is a challenge.

Herrera provided KTVU with surveillance video with four different views of illegal dumping at Newcomb Avenue and Barneveld in the city's Bay View Hunters Point neighborhood on Jan. 18, at about 1:30 a.m.The video is dark and the action is hard to see, but it shows is how difficult it is to stop illegal dumping.“It's extremely difficult and it’s even more so in the Bay View Hunters Point District because it's a vast area with a bunch of industrial properties,” said Herrera. “Many of which that are located on streets with dead ends and it also has easy access to freeway ramps.”In the video, a truck pulls up and the driver turns off its lights.

Read more at KTVU.com

Two companies sued by SF for illegal dumping

From KGO

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco's industrial areas have long been dumping grounds. City Attorney Dennis Herrera hopes a lawsuit he filed in Superior Court Tuesday will send a message to companies and individuals. The lawsuit charges two companies and their owners with illegally dumping more than 100 tons of roofing material and construction debris on public property in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood.