San Francisco homeless camp swept from Cesar Chavez Street
The large homeless camp in San Francisco was dismantled Tuesday morning on Cesar Chavez Street around Highway 101, scattering about 100 street people into shelters and nearby neighborhoods — leaving, still unanswered, the question of how to truly get rid of tent settlements that keep popping up in the city. Street cleaners, police and outreach counselors descended upon the camp about 6 a.m. and spent the morning methodically bagging up trash and flopping tents onto flatbed trucks. The counselors’ goal was to get the campers into homeless shelters or other poverty services, but the cleaners’ goal was purely to clear out what has become a smelly, messy eyesore to passersby and neighbors in recent weeks. Separate settlements of tents and makeshift shelters popped up everywhere there was a bare spot, some sorted by drug use — one marijuana camp refused to let heroin users in — and others grouping by other interests, such as dogs or artwork. When it was cleared out after weeks of heated debate over whether the campers had been forced there by commotion over the Super Bowl, scores of displaced street people scattered into nearby blocks — as well as outlying areas, like Cesar Chavez. After police shot and killed a homeless man at an encampment on Shotwell Street in the Mission District in April, Mayor Ed Lee vowed he would crack down on street camps. “Thirty years ago you saw older people and vets with bad luck,” David Johnwell, foreman of the hotspot cleanup crew for the Department of Public Works, said as he directed the dismantlement operation under Highway 101. Fencing successfully reduced camps at a similarly longtime homeless haunt near the Caltrain station at Interstate 280 after tents were swept away from there in 2013.
Abalone diver from Oakland missing off Mendocino County coast
The search for a 57-year-old Oakland man resumed Tuesday after he went missing while diving for abalone off the coast of Mendocino County a day earlier, authorities said. The man, who had been searching for the edible sea snails with friends and family, never resurfaced from waters near Moat Creek Beach in Point Arena, officials said. Redwood Coast Volunteer Fire Department, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue volunteers, searched for the man from around 9 a.m. Monday until the evening, according to Lt. Greg Stefani, of Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
Glimpse the Bay Area’s future, 100 years from now, in EPA interactive
Dying to see what California housing density will look like 100 years from now? Thanks to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, you are now able to view projections for housing density and other population factors through the year 2100.
Celebrities you might not have known lived in the Bay Area
Everyone knows Tom Hanks grew up in the Bay Area, but did you know that Ben Affleck, Robert Frost and Teri Hatcher were all born here too?
Vast new limits urged for proposed Oakland shipping terminal
A planned shipping terminal in Oakland could face a new set of restrictions, even after officials decide, in June, whether to ban its developer from exporting millions of tons of coal from Oakland’s docks. At a public hearing Monday, environmentalists urged the City Council to prohibit not only coal but a whole array of fossil fuels from being shipped. Moore and Gong were among dozens of speakers who pressed the council to stick by a resolution it passed in 2014, a year after it signed a deal with Tagami to build a terminal near the east end of the Bay Bridge. The resolution bans transport of coal and other hazardous fossil fuels through the city, for fear of explosions or oil spills that could cause toxic chemicals to leak into the surrounding neighborhoods. Though the resolution initially had nothing to do with Tagami’s project, it’s become a political tool for city officials who are now trying to tweak their 3-year-old development contract. Kalb and other officials are hanging their hopes on a clause in the contract that says the city can’t sign away its right to protect the health and safety of Oakland residents. If they can prove that coal will damage lungs and send noxious chemicals into an area that already has high asthma rates, then that clause could allow officials to modify the deal. What’s more, the city will open the door for lawsuits if it decides to change its contract, said Larry Kamer, a spokesman for Tagami’s real estate firm, California Capital & Investment Group, which will finance the $250 million Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal.
Muni driver put on leave after apparently using racial slur
A Muni bus driver was placed on paid leave Monday after a woman videotaped him using a racial slur on her during an argument over a parking space near Fisherman’s Wharf, officials said. The woman released video of the incident on Facebook, saying the run-in happened Monday near a Muni yard on Powell Street. “Racist, ignorant, MUNI bus driver gets mad at me for taking an open parking spot!!” she posted to Facebook. Muni spokesman Paul Rose said the agency learned of the incident after the friend tweeted the video to the agency. The driver was quickly placed on leave as the transit agency investigated the case. The agency is investigating whether the operator, who was not identified, was on shift during the argument.
SF made $2 million on Super Bowl activities, controller says
The city of San Francisco made nearly $2 million from Super Bowl 50 activities, the city controller said Monday in a long-awaited report about whether the sporting event was a money winner or loser for the city. The controller reported that city departments spent $9.6 million on Super Bowl-related expenses — more than twice as much as projected in January — that were offset by $11.6 million in revenue from the airport, and hotel and sales taxes generated by the football extravaganza. […] the report hardly quieted the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl, as critics questioned the controller’s findings — the report doesn’t account for time city employees spent preparing for the event, among other costs. Champions of Super Bowl 50, including Mayor Ed Lee, countered that the report vindicated their assertions that money generated by the festivities would more than cover the city’s expenses. […] the controller’s report now confirms that hosting Super Bowl 50 has had an overall positive impact on our city’s bottom line, Lee said in a statement. The game was played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 7, while San Francisco hosted an eight-day party that included a theme park with interactive exhibits, football-related games, and musical performances. The expense of hosting Super Bowl 50, however, exacerbated existing tensions in the city around gentrification, the cost of housing and homelessness. City agencies spent $9.6 million on Super Bowl-related activities, more than twice the $4.6 million projected by the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s office in January. While big city departments lost money or broke even, Super Bowl 50 was a boon for San Francisco’s airport, which made $1.5 million, the controller concluded. […] Supervisor Aaron Peskin, also a critic of the event, criticized the controller for not taking into account all of the costs associated with hosting Super Bowl 50. Because the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, which oversees the project, is not a city agency it wasn’t included in the analysis.
SFPD unaccountable, uses ‘stop and frisk,’ D.A.’s panel says
The San Francisco Police Department has outdated policies, engages in “stop and frisk” tactics on the street that have drawn outrage around the country, and does a poor job tracking officers’ conduct so it can root out problems, according to a blue-ribbon panel of judges created by District Attorney George Gascón to investigate bias in the police force. The panel, which is headed by three retired judges and relies on seven law firms for research, said officers do not consistently collect information on people they stop, a practice meant to combat racial profiling and subconscious bias. The Police Department’s sharing of crime data — including where crimes occur, when and whom is arrested — is “inconsistent and insufficient to track potential bias,” said attorney Anand Subramanian, the executive director of the panel. While panel officials repeatedly accused the Police Officers Association of stonewalling its efforts and discouraging officers from participating, the union went to the panel to accuse Gascón of making racially insensitive remarks at a dinner in 2010 — though union officials never provided examples of the purportedly offensive remarks. “Gascón handpicked his own panel, and refused to hear from any witnesses who disagree with him, and so Gascón’s report should be filed in the fiction section of the library,” Halloran said. Since George Gascón is afraid to hear from anyone who disagrees with him, he blocked the testimony of anybody who isn’t in lockstep with him. Gascón defended his efforts to improve the Police Department, saying, There are separate independent investigations under way, protests nearly every day and people starving themselves (in hunger strikes) in response to the disparity in how this department treats minority communities. Police Chief Greg Suhr, who has resisted recent calls from activists for his resignation, said that while he had not seen the preliminary report, he is committed to sharing it with the U.S. Department of Justice’s community policing division, which is conducting a collaborative review of the San Francisco force. Subramanian said the panel found overall that the police force “is not transparent and lacks accountability because there is no auditing of its functions in any meaningful way, including with regard to hiring; background investigations; training, use-of-force and officer-involved shooting investigations; and internal affairs.” The blue-ribbon panel released its findings on the same day the Department of Justice’s community-policing division weighed in on efforts by the Police Department and Police Commission to revamp use-of-force policies for officers. Police should consider a policy in which officers seek “alternatives to arrest” in some situations as a way of de-escalating dangerous encounters, the federal agency said, and policies that “mandate external and independent criminal investigations” of all incidents in which officers shoot people.
S.F. State hunger strikers keep up fight for ethnic studies
The San Francisco State protest, which had been overshadowed by the hunger strike by activists who wanted San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr fired, was the subject of a noisy noon rally in the middle of campus that drew about 300 students, faculty and alumni — including actor Danny Glover. Hunger striker Ahkeel Mestayer, 20, said the planned cuts to the College of Ethnic Studies threatened to gut the classes that mean the most to him. “These classes teach us about the fight against racism, sexism, capitalism — all the ism’s,” said Mestayer, who has taken six ethnic studies classes. Kenneth Monteiro, dean of the ethnic studies college, said cuts to his teaching budget mean San Francisco State must consider dropping about 70 classes from the 170 or so he planned to offer in the upcoming school year. According to the label, each 10-calorie serving provides none of the recommended daily amount of carbohydrates and fats. In a previous statement, San Francisco State President Les Wong said the university needed to “change how we respond to colleges that run annual deficits, as has been the case for ethic studies in recent years.” University spokesman Jonathan Morales said Wong met with the strikers last week, was concerned for their health and “would like to try to find a solution.” The College of Ethnic Studies, founded in 1969, offers classes to about 6,000 students a year on such subjects as “Islam-ophobia,” “Anthropology of Blackness,” “Music of the Latino Diaspora” and “American Indian Image in the Mass Media.”
Relative charged with murder in death of SF lawyer Marla Zamora
A 20-year-old man was charged Monday in the stabbing death of his relative, retired San Francisco public defender Marla Zamora, officials said. Zamora was stabbed at her home on the 400 block of Arkansas Street, where a makeshift memorial formed outside with flowers and notes from friends and colleagues. Zamora defended Edwin Ramos, a gang member convicted in 2012 of killing Tony Bologna and his sons, Michael and Matthew, as they drove home from a family gathering on a Sunday afternoon in 2008. “She tried some of the toughest cases a public defender could try, including the Edwin Ramos case,” Adachi said. Zamora had been the principal trial attorney for the San Francisco public defender’s office and had been a public defender for three decades before leaving the office.
Alamo Square to close for irrigation, landscaping projects
Alamo Square to close for irrigation, landscaping projects The project includes improvements to the park’s irrigation system, installation of an additional wheelchair-accessible restroom and drought-tolerant vegetation. The lawn overlooking San Francisco’s beloved Painted Ladies and the city skyline beyond will be replanted and remain a lawn. A two-part renovation to Dolores Park was completed this spring, and Joe DiMaggio Playground reopened last winter after a rebuild.
Gov. Brown orders permanent water restrictions for California
Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday ordered a set of water restrictions that have helped California weather its four-year drought to be made permanent, including bans on car-cleaning and hosing down driveways as well as mandatory water reductions for cities and towns. The governor’s executive order directs the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Water Resources to develop long-term water reduction plans for each of the state’s 400 largest water suppliers. State officials did not say Monday what the new conservation targets will look like, only that they will be working with communities to come up with plans to take effect next year. Bans on washing cars without a shut-off nozzle, spraying down hard surfaces like sidewalks and driveways and watering lawns to the point of causing runoff will remain in effect. The adjustments, which are scheduled to be voted on next week, would eliminate the state’s tiered water-reduction mandates and allow water agencies to develop their own targets based on individual supply and demand. […] nearly 90 percent of the state continues to suffer drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
SFO-bound plane makes emergency landing in San Jose
SFO-bound plane makes emergency landing in San Jose A plane bound for San Francisco International Airport made an emergency landing Monday morning in San Jose after the crew saw smoke in the cockpit. Southwest Airlines flight 346 from Phoenix, which was carrying 170 passengers and six crew members, touched down for the unscheduled landing about 11:15 a.m. Fire trucks tailed the aircraft down the runway as a precaution, but no one on board was injured, according to airline and airport officials.
UCSF buying up property in Dogpatch as neighbors object to growth
The university took residents of the San Francisco neighborhoods of Dogpatch and Potrero Hill by surprise late last month when it closed escrow on the Cal-Steam plumbing supply warehouse at 777 Mariposa. Another building that UCSF has owned for several years, 654 Minnesota St., houses the university’s server farm and police department. […] UCSF recently announced plans to build a 150,000-square-foot facility at 2130 Third St. in Dogpatch to house the department of psychiatry and a new child, teen and family health center. With news of the Third Street development and the Cal-Steam purchase still fresh, Dogpatch Neighborhood Association members grilled UCSF administrators at a meeting Thursday night described as heated and contentious. Longtime resident Jared Doumani, who lives on Tennessee Street and has his painting business in a nearby warehouse, said he is committed to using political or legal means to stop, or at least slow, UCSF’s incursion into Dogpatch. UCSF Vice Chancellor Barbara French said the owner of 777 Mariposa St., a single-story concrete warehouse, approached school officials about selling the property. The Third Street parcel is being given to the school by an anonymous donor who is also funding a portion of the construction. The onslaught of new building is spurring complaints that the added population hasn’t been accompanied by improved transit service or new open space. […] while local zoning rules require developers to pay fees to help fund improvements to infrastructure, UCSF is exempt from those fees. Lou Vasquez is a partner with developer Build Inc, which has been working in Dogpatch for a decade and is putting up 116 rental units at 650 Indiana St., directly across from UCSF’s newly acquired Minnesota Street properties. […] he supports UCSF’s efforts to create housing for its students, who will bring vitality to the streets and support local restaurants and shops. The university faced legal challenges to expanding its campuses both in Laurel Village and on Parnassus Avenue. John Loomis, an architect and professor of architecture at San Jose State University, said he is disappointed in UCSF’s Dogpatch plans, in part because he is a fan of its Mission Bay campus, which he called “holistic and wonderful.”
Protesters outside SF City Hall demand Police Chief Suhr be fired
Protesters outside SF City Hall demand Police Chief Suhr be fired Bac Sierra — whose friend, Nieto, was fatally shot by four San Francisco police officers in Bernal Heights Park in 2014 — said Monday’s strike proves “his spirit is living on.” In March, a federal jury rejected the family’s civil rights lawsuit, finding officers who shot Nieto did not use excessive force after he allegedly pointed a stun gun at them. A group of UCSF medical students, calling deaths of black and Latino people by police a public health crisis, opted to skip their morning lecture to participate in the strike. Protesters picketed on the sidewalk outside the main entrance to City Hall, marching in a circle and chanting, “Fire Chief Suhr.” The front steps of City Hall were barricaded off by sheriff’s deputies to prevent protesters from storming inside.
Multivehicle collision slows morning commute in Livermore area
Traffic moving westbound on Interstate 580 in the East Bay was delayed Monday morning due to a collision in Livermore involving as many as seven vehicles that blocked three lanes. The crash was reported at 6:11 a.m., with lanes reopening about 25 minutes later in the Altamont Pass area near the North Flynn Road off-ramp. Some drivers complained of pain, but no one was seriously injured, according to the California Highway Patrol. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @kveklerov
So very San Francisco: Now you can have home-cooked meals for your dog delivered
If Spot has been gazing enviously at your Blue Apron packages, now there’s a delivery service just for pooch.
FedEx truck driver who hit CHP officer arrested for DUI
The FedEx driver who hit a California Highway Patrol officer early Saturday on Highway 50 in Sacramento was arrested for driving under the influence, officials said. Gregory Anthony Ramirez, 41, of San Lorenzo was arrested and charged with driving under the influence at the time of the collision, the CHP said. Ramirez was booked into the Sacramento County Jail for felony driving under the influence, causing injury and possession of a controlled substance. His bail is set at $50,000.
Hundreds plan to strike at City Hall against police killings
Five activists who refused to eat for 17 days, along with hundreds of their supporters, planned to hold a general strike Monday at City Hall in their push for the removal of San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr, raising the spectre of disrupted city business and renewed clashes between sheriff’s deputies and protesters. Following more than two weeks of subsisting on chicken broth, coconut water and juice, the demonstrators known as the Frisco Five ended their hunger strike Saturday after being hospitalized for deteriorating health. On Tuesday, in wheelchairs being pushed by UCSF medical students, they led a march from their encampment outside the Mission Police Station up to Mayor Ed Lee’s office before filling the chambers of a Board of Supervisors meeting, where city officials and protesters argued with one another until the latter group left the building. The following evening, protesters brought their demands to a Police Commission meeting, delaying discussion on changes to use-of-force policies as the crowd chanted calls to fire Suhr. “The whole San Francisco community took the step to demand the hunger strikers suspend their hunger strike so they can return to the front lines and help shape this movement and the pursuit of justice for the black and brown citizens of San Francisco,” the group’s spokeswoman wrote in a statement.
After a gray weekend, a return to sunny skies
After a gray weekend that saw short, scattered showers throughout the Bay Area, residents can expect a return to sunny afternoons beginning Sunday, stretching well into the week ahead. Temperatures in San Francisco will hover around the mid to upper 60s, while areas inland will see temperatures in the 70s, potentially nearing even 80 degrees. Despite the persistent gray skies over the weekend, the Bay Area didn’t net much in terms of rain totals. Santa Clara saw the most at about a half inch for the three-day period, while in Marin County, Navato measured about a quarter inch.
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