- “They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.”
Category Archives: social justice
Love wins!
Filed under social justice
One more group housing project that won’t skirt its affordability obligations
145 Leavenworth Street
by JIM MEKO
Supervisor John Avalos has amended the inclusionary housing legislation he recently introduced to apply affordability requirements to buildings that have not yet received their building permits as of May 2015.
The amendment would embrace two Tenderloin “group housing” projects, at 361 Turk Street and 145 Leavenworth Street, that are scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on June 4. Continue reading
Filed under housing, planning, politics, social justice
Update: Ringold fully funded !!!
The vote was 10-3 and it required 10 votes to pass (a quorum issue). The final motion was to provide $1.8 million and the representative from the Transportation Authority guaranteed us an additional $200,000 to make us whole.
Kudos to Glendon Hyde and Demetri Moshoyannis too. They brought out more than a dozen folks for public comment and each and every story they told almost brought me to tears. It was a solemn and hushed crowd and an important moment for the body.
Filed under open space, planning, quality of life, social justice, transportation
Celebrate!
After yesterday’s Supreme Court rulings striking down DOMA and bringing marriage equality back to California, my friend h. brown sends along a link to what he calls “the gayest song in the world!” Click on the pic:
Filed under social justice
Sign a petition asking City to maintain new SoMa park
from JAMIE WHITAKER
The poor City of San Francisco refused to accept a speck of green space for the 6,000+ and growing population of residents in high-rise towers in Rincon Hill because Phil Ginsburg claims they can’t come up with the $24,000 per year to cut the lawn and hose down the benches a few times. Continue reading
Filed under community services, open space, quality of life, social justice
Join with the Sierra Club to stop attacks on our Environmental Bill of Rights
OPPOSE: Supervisor Wiener’s CEQA Legislation, which curtails public participation and the ability of public officials to make well-informed decisions.
SUPPORT: bringing Supervisor Kim’s alternative CEQA Legislation to completion—before any legislative action is taken.
TESTIFY: Land-Use Committee, Monday, April 8, 1:30 PM, City Hall Room 263
Agenda: http://sfbos.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=44999
EMAIL: Scott.Wiener@sfgov.org, Jane.Kim@sfgov.org, David.Chiu@sfgov.org
ADD: Your Organization’s Name: Along with the Sierra Club and others, add your organization’s name in opposing the Wiener CEQA Legislation—by emailing brookse32@earthlink.net . Continue reading
Filed under planning, politics, quality of life, social justice
No on Proposition B – Reform is Needed at San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department
By JAMIE WHITAKER
www.rinconhillsf.org
“Recreation and Parks refuses to take the donation of a new park at 333 Harrison Street from Oz Erickson’s Emerald Fund because they refuse to maintain it at $30,000 or so per year. Did I mention that Rincon Hill’s existing buildings contribute about 20 times that amount just to the 2.5 cents per $100 of assessed value Open Space Special Revenue Fund set aside? Instead, SoMa neighborhoods like Rincon Hill are told that we have to form our own non-profits called Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) and tax ourselves a parcel tax in addition to our ad valorem property taxes to take care of any parks in our neighborhoods. When did San Francisco become a supporter of such blatant inequality between geographic regions of the City?” Read more →
Filed under community services, economics, politics, quality of life, social justice
Hope and a prayer: a letter to my family
Dear family and friends,
I see that Minnesotans will be voting, again … on my family, my rights, the value of my life. Imagine if your relationships were periodically subjected to these politically-motivated orgies of hate. Continue reading
Filed under social justice
How much tech can one city take?
By David Talbot
San Francisco Magazine
“… ever since his Twitter awakening, [Mayor Ed] Lee has been moving quickly to align his administration with the booming technology industry, shrugging off complaints from the city’s powerful progressives that he’s gotten too cozy with tech moguls, such as investor Ron Conway. The mayor’s proposal to shift business taxes from a payroll-based plan to one based on gross receipts will be on the November ballot, with wide backing from the Board of Supervisors, labor unions, and, of course, Conway. Progressive gadfly Aaron Peskin tapped a deep well of distrust on the left last month when he told the San Francisco Chronicle, ‘The Koch brothers are trying to buy the president of the United States, and Ron Conway has bought himself a mayor.’” Read more →
Filed under art, community services, economics, planning, politics, social justice
SOMCAN decries micro-unit legislation as an assault on “our right to live in this city with dignity and respect”
The term “SRO” freaks people out. They associate it with rundown hotels in the Tenderloin and the tawdry housing found along the Sixth Street corridor. A few years ago, when developers were trying to build projects that at the time were called “market-rate SRO housing,” they were fighting an uphill battle against public perceptions. They’ve found a new champion in Supervisor Scott Wiener and he has come up with new terminology that makes these tiny studio apartments seem less threatening. Continue reading
Filed under community services, open space, planning, politics, quality of life, social justice
soma leadership council 