Category: Action

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Keep Crocker Real

 

By Keep Crocker Real released files this week. A lot is at stake. We need to hear your voices. Thursday, February 19, at 10:00am, City Hall, room 416. It’s item 9 on the agenda:

 

 

SYNTHETIC TURF PROGRAM – POLICY AND PROTOCOLS
You can documents on our website: keepcrockerreal.com/files

While you still can consider visiting Hummingbird Farm on February 22, from 11:00am to 2:00pm. where we will hang artwork from our If Nature Could Talk event on the 100+ trees Rec & Park intends to cut down. (We won’t damage the trees.) This is a great way to pay tribute to the historic trees and wildlife that will no longer be around if the “renovation” plan goes through unchanged.

If you want to learn more about the harms of plastic, author Judith Enck’s is giving a talk at the Commonwealth Club titled, The Problem with Plastic on Thursday, February 19 at 5:30pm.

This fight for a better neighborhood park isn’t over yet. We look forward to meeting and working with you soon. keepcrockerreal.com

Calmatters has a number of articles on various attempts made by state legislators to stop the installation of Astroturf. If any of these legislators are still in office, one might contact them to find out how you may help them bring the matter forward again.

Key  Legislative Actions and Trends

  • California SB 676 (2023): Signed into law, this allows cities and counties to restrict or ban the installation of artificial turf on residential properties. It effectively reverses a 2015 law that had prohibited local governments from doing so to encourage water-wise landscaping. This is why Rec and Park is holding hearings on the matter now.
  • California AB 1423 (2023): Proposed legislation that aims to ban the manufacturing and sale of artificial turf containing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).
  • Colorado SB24-081 (2024): Prohibits the installation of artificial turf containing intentionally added PFAS on state property starting January 1, 2026.
  • Local Bans: Certain municipalities, such as Boston, have implemented prohibitions on installing new artificial turf in city parks.

Environmental and Health Concerns Driving Legislation

  • Chemical Exposure: Studies have found PFAS, lead, and BPA in artificial turf materials, which can leach into the environment and be ingested or absorbed by users.
  • Microplastics: Turf breaks down into microplastics that wash into water sources.
  • Environmental Impact: Artificial turf creates “heat islands,” reduces biodiversity, and prevents soil aeration
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California’s blockbuster legislation faces rocky rollout

By Sam Dillon : msn – excerpt

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/californias-blockbuster-housing-legislation-faces-rocky-rollout/ar-AA1W4Md0?ocid=socialshare

There is a bit of a disconnect between theory and results with the Wiener bills. Art by sfbluecomics.

Commentary:  How long can you hold a citizenry hostage to a crisis? 

Mass confusion over the meaning and implementation of SB79, which amounts to unlimited growth near mass transit, is sweeping California’s largest cities that are targeted by the one of the most draconian bills ever devised. After turning over the Pacific coastline to developers, and blaming cities for the housing shortage, Senator Wiener, has managed to make almost everyone mad at him. Now it turns out his penchant for writing long, detailed, prescriptive bills is not playing well with the public or city officials who are charged with enforcing what has been described as developer wet dreams.

Give the anger and confusion over SB79 in his district is giving Scott Wiener’s competitors a boost. He is rumored to be considering a delay in implementation of the bill as he seeks support for his new power move to Washington to replace Pelosi. 

In his haste to divide and conquer Wiener has succeeded in dividing both his friends and foes, often referred to as YIMBYS and NIMBYS. Wiener is not enjoying a lot of support from the press either. He relies heavily on the Abundant crowd in Silicon Valley, that his constituents are being hammered by. If you were not recently laid off by a high tech firm, you may have lost your income to Waymo or been evicted from a gentrified neighborhood.

Wiener is fighting a Dead horse that is obvious to everyone but him and people are ready to fight back.

There are some gems in this article that covers a lot of the history of how we got here and where the Wiener of the world want us to go. Here are a couple of pull-quotes from the article:

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Teachers, others shocked to get SFUSD ‘assignments’ for strike day

By Joe Eskenazi : missionlocal – excerpt

On late Friday, workers were given ‘redeployment assignments’ to ‘Staff Centers’ opened because of Monday’s school closures. They’re confused.

On the cusp of Monday’s planned San Francisco teacher work stoppage, teachers were jolted to receive emails from the district telling them they had work to do.

On Friday evening, the San Francisco Unified School District emailed its 6,000-plus teachers, providing them information that they already knew — schools are closed Mondaydue to the overwhelming possibility of the first San Francisco teacher walkout in 47 years. The email informed teachers — who voted at a 97.6 percent clip to authorize Monday’s walkout — that they were receiving “redeployment assignments” to “Staff Centers” on Monday.

“In order to maintain District operations, we are opening Staff Centers where SFUSD employees should report to work,” the email states. “Staff are expected to work and report to their assigned Staff Center.” … (more)

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S.F. firefighters demand answers after Blue Shield denies cancer coverage

By Abigail Van Neely : missionlocal – excerpt

Time is of the essence, say friends and family of retired firefighter with Stage 4 cancer

Retired San Francisco firefighter Ken Jones was diagnosed with cancer last March. On Jan. 7, his insurance provider, Blue Shield of California, refused to pay for his treatment, his family said.

“Blue Shield has decided that my father’s life is not worth paying for,” Jones’ daughter Rachel said at a meeting of the San Francisco Health Service Board Thursday afternoon.

In the 17 years Jones worked at the fire department, his daughter said Jones never asked if saving lives was too expensive.

The city is responsible for negotiating its public servants’ health-insurance contracts, and the Health Service Board oversees that relationship. Jones’ family and other retired firefighters were there to ask the board to override Blue Shield’s denial…

Jones was at a clinic preparing to begin a round of chemotherapy on Wednesday when the family learned that Blue Shield was refusing to pay. Her husband’s doctor was “shocked,” Horvath added… (more)

RELATED:

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.

Missionlocal still accepts comments.

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You may want to Oppose SB 6777

SB 6777 (Wiener rider on SB 79) passed with no opposition. We could use a little help with sending some opposition letters. It might be short and sweet and posted as a NO to have some effect.
One of the few projects Wiener supports against the will of SF City Mayor Lurie that may bring him down when he runs to replace Pelosi this year. Media is not ignoring the opposition on this one of four Safeways targeted for demolition in SF. How many other cities or states are losing grocery stores? 
One of the few projects Wiener supports against the will of SF City Mayor Lurie that may bring him down when he runs to replace Pelosi this year. Media is not ignoring the opposition on this one of four Safeways targeted for demolition in SF. How many other cities or states are losing grocery stores?

Anyone concerned about expanding on the allowances in SB 79, through a Wiener Rider bill, may want to follow the debate tonight and see if this is covered. They may also want to consider writing a letter in opposition to SB 677, the rider bill. You may just look at the attached explanation (16 pages) to figure out what he is doing now or go through the rest of the message if you have more time.
 Dr. Wahab’s summary of the bill is attached.
https://csfn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SB6777.pdf

 

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What you should know about the Upzoning

If you live in SF, or in the state of California you have probably heard something about Upzoing plans. If you are confused about the maps and the plans, you are not alone. See the September meetings listed on the calendar for where you may go to learn more: https://csfn.net/csfn-events/

People who try to follow it are constantly finding themselves running down another rabbit hole that leads back to Sacramento and our most controversial State Senator Wiener. After Wiener and Newsom removed the authority of the California Coastal Coastal Commission to control development on the California coast, Wiener is pushing SB 79 to remove single family zoning from the entire state. See the map below that attempts to illustrate the effects of SB 79 on the SF Zoning map

This iMap is supposed to indicate he targeted areas for SB 79

Wieners enemies may outweigh his friends, but his friends hold a huge,  powerful purse and they are shifting him toward Washington. Some would like to see him go just to get him out of Sacramento, but others want him permanently out of politics. Given his close ties to the most unpopular SF Supervisor in SF, and the disdain hundreds of cities and communities around the state have for him, Scott may need more than money to win the Washington post he covets.  But we are here to look a the maps.

The SF Planning Department has created many maps and overlays and new ones are popping up all the time.  Everyone appears to be confused.

The below map that indicates where density decontrol may be applied  is perhaps the most disturbing as it covers the entire city, including those neighborhoods that were already up zoned in the Eastern Neighborhoods.
Density decontrol is a new term that applies to the minimum size of a unit. It appears there is no minimum requirement where destiny decontrol is applied.

We understand the height limits along the pink areas are also open to density decontrol.

Given all the various maps and re-zoning at the state and local levels, the one question no one can answer is, how do all the state and local density laws affect each other? Can developers apply state density bonuses on top of city height limit increases? No one seems to know the answer.

Find out more by attending one of the September meetings where discussion will be held and SF Planning explains the plans and the public gets to ask what is means to them.

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High Drama at Bayview Opera House

By John Crabtree : substack (excerpt)

Supervisor Joel Engardio loses again, but by the narrowest of margins at SF DCCC

It had all the makings of a grand political soap opera, when the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee gathered for their monthly meeting at the Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House on Wednesday night. The true excitement, the high at the old Opera House, was down the agenda a bit at #7 and innocuously labeled — 7. Endorsement of Local Measures for the September 16, District 4 Special Election.

That is, of course, the matter of the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio. After hours of public testimony and a lengthier that usual debate among the DCCC members, a vote on whether or not to endorse the special recall election, the body ended up deadlocked 11 to 11 and the San Francisco Democratic Party officially took no position.

Now that may not sound like high drama, but it was. Most political observers expected the county Democratic Party, which is dominated by political moderates and conservatives, to side with Engardio. Without a doubt Engardio and his campaign were counting on it. And the Recallers spared no effort to keep the party on the sidelines, as many of them who testified said, “let The Sunset decide” or some variation on that theme…

“Time and again, candidates in the city have come to the Chinese community when they need votes. They come when they need campaign volunteers. They come when they want to win. But when it comes to policy, when it comes to listening to our concerns and our voices, too often we are ignored.”

Wilson Chu, Chinese American Democratic Club, in support of Engardio Recall…

… I believe this recall is more justified than earlier ones. As so many have stated this evening and over the past year, Supervisor Engardio misled voters about one of the most contentious issues in our district, presenting one position in order to get elected and then reversing himself once in office. Not only that but he then led the effort to put a citywide measure on the ballot, without input from the constituents he had misled. And while much of his campaign for Supervisor was built on fueling the divisiveness and anger around the 2022 recalls, he now argues that he shouldn’t be subject to similar anger when it comes to neighborhood street issues. That contradiction has not gone unnoticed in our community.”

Gordon Mar, DCCC member and former District 4 Supervisor…

Below the screenshot of Engardio’s voter intimidation video I have shared excerpts from California DOJ Division of Law Enforcement Bulletin #2024-DLE-11. I share it because I think it is important to understand what violations of these laws can mean.

…(more)

Could this be a case of a desperate man who will stoop at nothing to save his career? Or is he just not very smart enough to follow campaign laws? Either way, he is winning a prize for the most egregious politician. He should lay off the nasty.

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Problems with SB 79 after Amendments

  • SB 79 still does not provide for enough affordable housing.
  • SB 79 will reduce affordable housing by allowing older, naturally affordable buildings to be replaced by largely market-rate buildings.
  • Local control of affordable inclusionary housing in SB 79 projects is a red herring  – HCD severely limits this “option”.  Local inclusionary built under
  • SB 79  should override any limitations by state administrative agencies.
  • SB 79 is a major state override of local control. – overrides the state approved housing element and mandates unneeded density in inappropriate places.
  • The bill is misleading by offering local control through allowing alternate plans by localities. – Any such plan still requires inappropriate density, overrides the state approved housing element, and requires approval of HCD.
  • Bus routes are an inappropriate basis for rezoning property. Routes can change or be manipulated in weeks. The housing built under SB 79 will be permanent.
  • SB 79 needs a 5 year sunset clause.

 

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‘Take your concert and go f*** yourselves’: Park neighbors lose it after weeks of chaos

By George Kelly and Tomoki Chien : sfstandard – excerpt

The Richmond has had it. 

After four consecutive weekends of major events that cumulatively will bring half a million people to Golden Gate Park, neighborhood residents are reeling from the impact of crowds, noise, trash, drunken foolery, and traffic disruptions that have transformed their neighborhood into a nonstop bacchanal.

The surge of large-scale events began in late July with the San Francisco Marathon and continued through three days of Dead & Company performances, three more for the Outside Lands Music Festival, and one last large-scale concert Friday, with legions making their way to and from Golden Gate Park through the Richmond.

Of course, when hundreds of thousands of revelers pour into a typically sleepy district, there are bound to be tensions — and complaints.

“Take your Outside fucking Lands and go fuck yourselves,” said one rant submitted to San Francisco’s 311 system. “Take your fucking Grateful Dead concert and go fuck yourselves. Take your Golden Gate Park concert and go fuck yourselves. This is a RESIDENTIAL neighborhood.”

In the nearly 100 submissions logged with 311, residents reported pee bottles on the street (including a photo), cars blocking their driveways, smoking concertgoers, and trash on the sidewalks. Mostly, though, callers complained about the “insufferably loud” thumps of bass.

Residents have long complained about noise at Outside Lands. In 2019, two peace-loving San Franciscans filed a California Environmental Quality Act appeal in an attempt to bar the city from renewing the festival’s permit.

This year, neighbors took to Nextdoor to air grievances, calling on residents to bring their gripes directly to Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents the Richmond…(more)

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SF PARKS ALLIANCE SINKS DEEPER INTO CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION

By : borkeassstuart – excerpt (June 19)

The more people who speak out, the more this case looks like massive corruption and misallocation of funds was conducted by certain people in the SF Parks Alliance (SFPA). The organization faces a criminal investigation by the district attorney, and the city attorney is conducting a probe to determine whether millions in public and private money were misused.

The SF Parks Alliance is a nonprofit that partners with public and private agencies to help with park-related projects across San Francisco. And to be fair, we’ve had a lot of amazing park-related programming here, like the art installations at Entwined or the Golden Mile in Golden Gate Park, to SF Live concerts in Crane Cove or Sundown Cinema in neighborhoods citywide, and those lovely murals painted on our slow streets…just to name a few!…

Rumors of financial mismanagement began to swirl in February, when the Head of SF Parks nonprofit Drew Becher resigned, and Parks COO Justin Probert was fired. Then, in May, the Chronicle reported on leaked emails between board chair Louise Mozingo and a donor over $3.8 million of misused funds…

Many neighborhood groups say the Parks Alliance was holding their funds when it folded in February. For example, The SF Standard reported that this week that Parks Alliance had $148,000 of the Friends of Franklin Square‘s money, which is now lost. At a conversation on Tuesday at Manny’s cafe featuring Recreation and Parks General Manager Phil Ginsburg, a Friends of Alta Plaza Park member, Anita Denz, said a $50,000 bequeathment was now missing. 

Meanwhile, the Parks Alliance continued laying off staffers in June. Ironically, the Park’s home page is still asking for donations, with the slogan, “SF Public Places Are in Danger: Budget cuts threaten our parks–DONATE TODAY!”…

Supervisor Shamann Walton has subpoenaed documents from the Parks Alliance and is calling for Ogilvie, Becher, and board treasurer Rich Hutchinson to testify. Supervisor Jackie Fielder has called for an audit of the nonprofit’s relationship with the Recreation and Parks Department.  

It will be a lengthy process to find out where all the money went, and if the organizations that were working with the SFPA, will ever be made whole…(more)