Voice of reason silenced in Bayview shooting protests

Yes, I'm a white, middle-aged, middle class guy who hasn't lived the poor, American Black experience.  But talking today to my 80-year old neighbor who has lived that experience, I find my views pretty much mirror his on this matter.  Harding was killed because he was a convicted pimp with little education, a suspected murderer running from the law, carrying a gun, and looking for trouble.  That he got onto a Muni vehicle and didn't pay his $2 fare wasn't the reason he was killed, but it WAS his undoing.  Had he paid his fare, he would have been let go immediately after the fare check to do whatever mayhem he was here to do.  All the yahoos calling the police murderers and oppressors can kiss my ass.  They're doing their job to keep us safe by doing foot patrols and increasing their presence in our community.  It's only if you're doing something illegal that you ought to be worried that they're out to get you - because if you ARE doing something illegal, then they ARE out to get YOU. 

This from SFGate's CW Nevius,

It is time to turn down the volume.

In the wake of the Saturday shooting death of Kenneth Wade Harding in the Bayview, accusations against the police flew. A perfect example came from a handout at Tuesday night's protest that said, "SFPD shoot a 19-year-old in Bayview for not paying his Muni fare."

Throw in claims that Harding was unarmed and it sounds horrific - Police chasing down and killing an innocent, unarmed man in a dispute over a $2 Muni fare.

Unfortunately, it now appears that almost none of that was true.

Harding, who served 22 months in prison for attempting to force a 14-year-old girl into prostitution, may not have been running to avoid a Muni fare beef. He was probably trying to flee police because he is wanted as a person of interest in a July 13 Seattle shooting that killed a 19-year-old community college student and wounded three other people.

Read more: SFGate

Daly City officer shoots driver in San Francisco

From SFGate,

A Daly City police officer shot and critically injured a woman who, while attempting to flee Saturday night, rammed her car into a home, then backed into officers just across the San Francisco border, police said.

The incident started around 7 p.m. when two Daly City officers in a squad car attempted to stop a white, four-door sedan for an apparent traffic violation near the Cow Palace.

Fresh and Easy - SFGate

Andy Ross at SFGate writes,

Promises, promises: To those eagerly anticipating the premiere of Fresh & Easy "neighborhood markets" in the Bay Area, your wait is almost over.
At least nine stores are opening locally, beginning March 2 in San Jose and Danville. They'll be followed, through April, by stores in Pacifica, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Hayward, Napa and a second one in San Jose.
Another two are set in March for Vacaville and Modesto.

As I read through the list provided by Fresh & Easy, which has 150 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, I couldn't help but notice the absence of the promised San Francisco stores, at 32nd Avenue and Clement Street in the Richmond, and Third Street and Carroll Avenue in the Bayview.

Those opening dates will be announced "in the coming weeks," I was assured by a Fresh & Easy spokesman.

Incidentally, job openings have been posted for the Bay Area stores. Entry-level positions start at $10 an hour in California, with bonuses, health insurance and a 401(k) with a company match.

"We're thrilled by the response we've already seen on our website for these new job positions, and we are proud to bring more good jobs to the area," said Tim Mason, CEO of Fresh & Easy, which is an offshoot of the British supermarket chain Tesco.
Interested? Check out www.freshandeasy.com/joinus.

h/t Russ Morine

Teachers' dim future: budget cuts, cramped classes - SFGate

Jill Tucker at the Chronicle writes,

When Jay LaViolette tells people he's a public school teacher, the reactions range from disinterest to sympathy.

In his fourth year teaching in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley Middle School, he is far from the highest paid among his friends and, on top of that, he lacks job security.

It is a tough job that's getting harder, he said.

Read more at SFGate

On the perils of 'Instant Runoff' voting - SFGate

Ah, the Chronicle, going to press with inaccuracies.  For the record, Lynette Sweet had the most first place votes (2137, 12.07%), not Kelly. He came in second (2095, 11.83%), Cohen third (2083, 11.77%), a mere 12 votes behind Kelly.  What John Diaz of the Chronicle seems to be saying is that Cohen's victory with "less than a quarter of all votes cast" (24.4%) is somehow better than a Sweet victory with 12.07% of first-choice votes cast (with no runoff).  Either that, or, during a runoff between Sweet and either Cohen or Kelly (there surely would have been a recount for the #2 spot), we somehow would have gotten the 17705 people back to the polls to vote again.  In fact, as Richard DeLeon of BeyondChron points out, 

In December 2001, San Francisco paid approximately $3 million to hold a runoff election in which 70,000 voters, only 17 percent of those registered, turned out to elect the city attorney. Turnout plunged all over the city, especially in minority precincts.

In this 2010 election, 60% of registered voters voted.  17% of registered voters in a December runoff this year would have been 5000, and the winner would have taken the seat with presumably about 50% of that, more or less, which is 2500.  2500 is only 14% of the total number of people who voted in the November general election, and not much better than having no runoff at all.  As it is, Cohen took the seat with 4321 votes in the end, which is almost double that which the winner would have received during a December runoff.  

Read more at SFGate and BeyondChron

'Crossing the Street' artwork of the Portola district - SFGate

'Crossing the Street' artwork of the Portola district - SFGate

Find out more at Made in the Portola

BioSF seeks to expand Mission Bay life-science hub - SFGate

"The effort includes a dedicated position with an office in both Mission Bay and City Hall and is similar to the city's program to court Chinese businesses under the ChinaSF program, where San Francisco has set up offices in Beijing and Shanghai to entice companies to the city."

Read more at BioSF seeks to expand Mission Bay life-science hub - SFGate 11/17/10

Ranked-choice voting sets stage for new tactics - SFGate

"In District 10, an eye-popping 21 candidates ran for the seat, with Lynette Sweet getting the most first-place votes. However, Malia Cohen, initially far behind, won the seat because she was the second or third choice of voters for many of her fellow candidates."

Read more...

Public Funds in D10 Race

Big infusion of public funds into supervisor races - SFGate (blog)

The entire list for D10:

Cohen, Malia $63,360
Duque, Teresa $52,340
Enea, Kristine $46,830
Jackson, Chris $53,745
Kelly, Tony $57,817
Lacy, DeWitt $40,542
Moss, Steven $60,593
Smith, Eric $46,556
Sweet, Lynette $54,389
Tran, Marlene $45,456
Total Funds Disbursed - District 10 $523,946

D10 Politics in the News This Week

Right on Target - SFGate

Local Hiring Protesters Shadow UCSF Groundbreaking - SF Weekly

Local Hiring Key Issue in SF District 10 Race - Bay Citizen

Progressives in Trouble in District 10 Supervisor Race - Beyond Chron

Cash not Care - SFBG

San Francisco's wide-open District 10 race - SFGate

Danny Glover Robo Calls for DeWitt Lacy - SFBG

Steve Moss - The Big Duck - SFBG

News you may have missed this week

News has become so fractured lately, with progressives the only people typically reading the progressive papers, etc. Hopefully there's something here that you missed that maybe piques your interest. As always, if I've missed something, please let me know!

As a side note, the SF Bay Guardian is based in District 10, and so it's not surprising that they have more D10-related articles than any other paper. Not that the SFBG is doing a bad job - quite the contrary - but I hope the Chronicle, Examiner, and others step up their reporting in our district prior to election day. They don't seem to know what they're missing!

10/19 District 10 Supervisor Candidates visit Asian American Students at SFSU - Hyphen Magazine (blog)

10/19 Bay Area New York Times Affiliate to Host Young Democrats' Campaign Volunteer Drive? - SFWeekly

10/18 District 10 endorsement madness - SFBG

10/15 District 10: Lynette Sweet, a sensible leader - SFGate

10/13 Maxwell disappoints by endorsing Sweet - SFBG

10/12 Downtown massively outspends progressives - SFBG

Chronicle Supervisor Candidate Questionnaires

Not sure how long this has been up, but SFGate has their questionnaires from some of the candidates up online (According to the Chronicle, they contacted all 21 District 10 supervisor candidates. The candidates not listed here have not responded to The Chronicle's questionnaire):

Maila Cohen
Candidate Malia Cohen asserts that District 10 has too often been the City's forgotten and last priority. Cohen wants District 10 to become a cornerstone of San Francisco, a home to a thriving job market, a healthy and growing community and a safe place for children and families.

Teresa Duqué
Particularly concerned with the issue of crime in San Francisco, Teresa Duque believes that the City needs to balance the Board of Supervisors in an effort to insure that real economic revival takes place.

Kristine Enea
Kristine Enea credits her knowledge of land use, waterfront development, redevelopment, public housing revitalization and fresh food resources to nearly six years of volunteering on the Bayview Project Area Committee, on the Shipyard Restoration Advisory Board, and as chair of the India Basin Neighborhood Association.

Chris Jackson
If elected District 10 supervisor, the biggest issue Chris Jackson wants to tackle is the flight of working and middle class families from San Francisco.

DeWitt Lacy
DeWitt Lacy has endured the same struggles as many of the working residents in D10, which he believes helps him better understand the needs and aspirations of the community. He also has a background in law, providing him the skills to work within bureaucratic systems.


Geoffrea Morris
Possessing a Master Degree in Social Work, Geoffrea Morris has spent her life in the social support field in advocating for people and families in San Francisco. If elected, Morris plan to make local hire her highest priority.

Eric Smith
Candidate Eric Smith hopes to make San Francisco run more efficiently, which includes creating sustainable policies in economic reform and establishing support for the green industry.

Lynette Sweet
With over 20 years experience as a fiscal manager and as BART director, Lynette Sweet promises job creation will be her number one priority as Supervisor.

Online report card shows S.F. health disparities - SFGate

San Franciscans who live in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood can expect to live 14 fewer years on average than people who live on Russian Hill.

Click to view the Community Vital Signs report card.

Read more at SFGate...