SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 11/3/05 - 11/10/05 **REMEMBER TO VOTE NOVEMBER 8th!!** (see News for SFGP Slate Card) This Week: ********************************************************** News: 11/2: Mirkarimi and Newsom Have It In The Bag 11/8: SFGP Slate Card ********************************************************** Events: Ongoing: Vacancies on the San Francisco Police Commission Ongoing: Sunshine Task Force Opening 11/3: Yes on Prop. D Fundraiser 11/4: Yes on Prop. I with Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi 11/5: Green Festival 11/5: Greens to New Orleans Volunteer Meeting 11/6: Yes on Prop. I with Commissioner Mark Sanchez 11/7: Campaigns and Issues Working Group Meeting ********************************************************** Announcements: Joke of the Week New Orleans Reconstruction Project Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** News ********************* ********************************************************** 11/2: Mirkarimi and Newsom Have It In The Bag Wednesday, November 2, 2005 Contact: Mayor's Office of Communications 415-554-6131 *** PRESS RELEASE *** SAN FRANCISCO TO REDUCE 10 MILLION GROCERY STORE BAGS TO REDUCE LITTER AND IMPROVE LOCAL AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT San Francisco, CA - Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi joined together to announce a unique public-private waste reduction agreement, the first of its kind in the nation, which calls for significant reduction of grocery checkout bag use. Working in conjunction with city government, supermarkets operated by Albertsons, Andronicos, Bell Markets, CalMart, Cala Foods, Foods Co, Mollie Stone's, and Safeway have set a reduction target of 10,000,000 by the end of 2006. "San Francisco is a global recycling leader. We now recycle more than two-thirds of all our waste," said Mayor Newsom. "Today, our city is taking a historic step to reduce the use of disposable items such as grocery store bags," Newsom continued, "This is just the beginning if we are to become a truly sustainable city." In 2003, City government adopted goals of 75 percent landfill diversion by 2010 and zero waste by 2020. These diversion goals intend to achieve a cleaner, healthier local environment and minimize the negative impacts of solid waste. This partnership is made possible by local stores' willingness to pursue innovative measures to reduce consumption and disposal of checkout bags, as well as the City's willingness to work with local stores in a cooperative measure. "This is a first step whose merit shall be judged in due time, in making certain that this is not an industry driven remedy," said Supervisor Mirkarimi. The target reduction of 10 million bags may represent up to twenty percent of the total bags distributed in San Francisco on an annual basis-the exact figure of bags used annually will be captured through monitoring by the city. A reduction of 10 million bags will keep 95 tons of material plastic out of San Francisco's waste stream, and will reduce San Francisco's contribution of greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1 million pounds of CO2. This is equivalent to 44,000 gallons of oil or taking more than 14,000 automobiles off the road for a day. The Commission on the Environment first looked at the issue of grocery checkout bag reduction in San Francisco in late 2004. Subsequently, Mayor Newsom and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi co-sponsored a resolution focusing on reduction measures, and have worked together with industry to craft the voluntary reduction agreement. The Department of the Environment is charged with ensuring that the goals of the Agreement are implemented. "We will immediately work with the grocery stores to determine an accurate baseline for the number of bags distributed. We will then monitor the supermarkets' progress towards reaching the reduction targets," said Jared Blumenfeld, Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. The agreement includes enhanced bag recycling efforts, as well as a public education campaign funded by the supermarkets through their checkout bag suppliers. ********************************************************** 11/8: SFGP Slate Card (*note: the SFGP Weekly Staff will also send out the Slate card on the evening of Nov. 7th -ed.) SF Green Party Endorsements: No Endorsement: City Attorney, Assessor, Treasurer SF Local Ballot Initiatives: NO: Prop A - Community College Dist. Gen. Obligation Bond No Position: Prop B - Street & Sidewalk Improvement Bond YES: Prop C - Ethics Commission Budget and Outside Counsel YES: Prop D - Appoint Municipal Transpo Agency Brd of Directors YES: Prop E - Election Date Assessor - Recorder & Pub Defender NO: Prop F - Neighborhood Firehouses YES: Prop G - Access to Underground Parking at Golden Gate Park No Position: Prop H - Firearm Ban YES: Prop I - No Military Recruiters in Public Schools, Scholarships for Education and Job Training Statewide Ballot: NO - Prop. 73 - Termination of Minor's Pregnancy NO - Prop. 74 - Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status NO - Prop. 75 - Public Employee Union Dues. Required Employee Consent for Political Contributions NO - Prop. 76 - School Funding NO - Prop. 77 - Reapportionment NO - Prop. 78 - Prescription Drug Discounts YES - Prop 79 - Prescription Drugs NO - Prop. 80 - Electric Service Providers. Regulation ********************************************************** Events ********************** *********************************************************** Ongoing: Vacancies on the San Francisco Police Commission Action Item Our friends at Bay Area Police Watch are putting together a list of recommended people to fill 2 slots on the police commission. Anyone interested should contact Malaika Parker at malaika@ellabakercenter.org. See her message below. As you may already know there is a vacancy on the San Francisco Police Commission as a result of Peter Keane’s departure for San Francisco. There will be an additional vacancy in December  with the departure of Gayle Oor-Smith. Because of this I am looking to build a list of possible candidates to fill the vacancies. Both vacancies will be filled by the Board of Supervisors, so there is a real opportunity to get folks on the commission that are really solid on police accountability. Please take the time to send me a list of 1or 2 people that you think would be good for the commission, please be sure to include their contact information and a few words on who they are. I would like to send a list off to Tom Amiano, Chris Daly, and Ross Mikarimi on Wednesday November 2, 2005 . I look forward to your thoughts on this. Malaika Parker Director, Bay Area PoliceWatch Ella Baker Center for Human Rights 344 40th Street Oakland, CA     94609 510.428.3939 x242 (office) 510.428.3940 (fax) http://ellabakercenter.org *********************************************************** Ongoing: Sunshine Task Force Opening Action Item If you're interested in keeping San Francisco public officials and agencies accountable to the citizens, here's an opportunity to help in a very direct way. Seat No. 9 on the city's Sunshine Ordinance Task Force will be vacated on Dec. 1. The task force is the 11-member body responsible for monitoring city officials' and agencies' compliance, or lack thereof, with local and state open-meetings and public-records laws, including the ordinance itself (City Administrative Code Section 67, accessible via www.sfgov.org/sunshine). The Green Party was instrumental in persuading voters to pass a 1999 initiative (Prop. G) that strengthened the Sunshine Ordinance. Ross Mirkarimi did a stellar job of directing that campaign. Now, he sits (with Michela Alioto-Pier and Aaron Peskin) on the Board of Supervisors Rules Committee, which does the initial screening on applicants for seats on the task force and other city panels. Applications to serve on the task force are available from the clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Feel free to contact me if you want additional information. Rick Knee Task force member and fellow Green rak0408@earthlink.net *********************************************************** 11/3: Yes on Prop. D Fundraiser Thursday, November 3rd 8:00pm El Rio [Mission Street (just past Cesar Chavez)] Join Greens and transportation activists at El Rio on Mission Street (just past Cesar Chavez) on Thursday, November 3 from 5 to 8 p.m. Green County Council member Susan Vaughan will be speaking on behalf of the Green Party in support of local ballot measure Proposition D. This measure will give the Board of Supervisors shared power in appointing members of the Municipal Transportation Agency Commission *********************************************************** 11/4: Yes on Prop. I with Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi Friday, November 4th 3:00pm Intersection of Gough and Hayes Sts., SF, CA Join Supervisor Mirkarimi and College Not Combat for a merchant walk in Hayes Valley to support Proposition I. Last year alone, San Francisco sent 197 new recruits to the military and has spent nearly $600 million of our dollars for an illegal war that should have been used for education, job training, and scholarships for our students, as well as wages, healthcare and housing for all. Recruiters are not welcome on our school campuses! 2000+ deaths are 2000+ too many. How many deaths does it take? NO TO WAR, and YES to funding education: the real opportunity for all of our youth. Please contact Vicki Leidner at 415-648-5050 for more information *********************************************************** 11/5: Green Festival Saturday, November 5th 10:00am- 4:00pm San Francisco Concourse 8th & Brannan Street Join us Saturday at the SF Green Party booth for this important West Coast green event and enjoy the festival too. Let's get all these folks registered Green! VOLUNTEERS needed for the booth between 10am and 4pm. The booth will be located outside of the Concourse. Contact Mark Barnes mwbsf@riseup.net to volunteer. San Francisco Green Festival November 5 & 6, 2005 Saturday 10AM - 9PM Sunday 11AM - 7PM www.greenfestivals.com *********************************************************** 11/5: Greens to New Orleans Volunteer Meeting Saturday, November 5th 11:00am-12:30pm 1028A Howard St. (SFGP Office) Join Greens and other activists to support the people of New Orleans and Green Party activist Malik Rahim's group, Common Ground. We are having an important meeting for all volunteers interested in participating in any way in the Bay Area caravan to New Orleans. All volunteers should do their best to make it to this meeting. The agenda for the meeting: 1. Background on Common Ground and the 9th Ward 2. What the Roadtrip and the on-the-ground work will look like 3. What volunteers need to know 4. Make goals and action plans for raising money and supplies 5. Match riders with drivers, get leads on vehicles 6. Communication plan for Bay Area volunteers 7. Determine location, date, and time of the send-off gathering *********************************************************** *********************************************************** 11/6: Yes on Prop. I with Commissioner Mark Sanchez Sunday, November 6th 11:30am Brunch stroll through the Valencia Corridor with School Board Commissioner Mark Sanchez and friends with YES ON PROP I Please contact Vicki Leidner at 415-648-5050 for more information *********************************************************** 11/7: Campaigns and Issues Working Group Meeting Monday, November 7th 7:30pm- 9:00pm 1028A Howard St. (SFGP Office) Monthly meeting of the CIWG. Potential agenda items include: proposing policy adoption on issues relating to candidates and endorsements for upcoming elections; part of meeting to make GOTV calls to Greens. *********************************************************** 11/9: SFGP County Council Meeting Wednesday, November 9th 7:30pm- 9:00pm 1028A Howard St. Monthly meeting of the SF Green Party's county council. We will set the agenda for the General Membership meeting at this meeting, so please attend or contact the cc (cc@sfgreens.org) if you have an item for the GM agenda. *********************************************************** Announcements ************************* *********************************************************** Joke of the Week Submitted by Stephan Willis (Due to the length of this submission, we are only including one joke. Next week, look for more of our favorite satrist, Mad Kane, and more political laughs! -Ed.) BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLICANS Mine Eyes have seen the bungling of that stumbling moron Bush; He has blathered all the drivel that the neo-cons can push; He has lost sight of all reason 'cause his head is up his tush; The Doofus marches on. I have heard him butcher syntax like a kindergarten fool; There is warranted suspicion that he never went to school; Should we fault him for the policies - or is he just their tool? The lies keep piling on. Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! His wreckage will live on. I have seen him cut the taxes of the billionaires' lone heir; As he spends another zillion on an aircraft carrier; Let the smokestacks keep polluting - do we really need clean air? The surplus is now gone. Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! Your safety net is gone! Now he's got a mighty hankerin' to bomb a prostrate state; Though the whole world knows its crazy - and the U.N. says to wait; When he doesn't have the evidence, "We must prevaricate." Diplomacy is done! Oh, a trumped-up war is excellent; we have no moral bounds; Should the reasons be disputed, we'll just make up other grounds; Enraging several billions - to his brainlessness redounds; The Doofus marches on! Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! Glory! Glory! How he'll Screw Ya'! THIS...DOO...FUS...MAR...CHES...ON! *********************************************************** JOIN THE ROADTRIP FOR RELIEF!! CLEAN-UP, REPAIR, REBUILD IN THE 9TH WARD WITH COMMON GROUND COLLECTIVE November 20-27 Common Ground Collective has called a National Caravan to arrive in New Orleans on November 20th and work over the week of Thanksgiving until November 27th. In the meantime, we are having regular planning meetings to build up to this event, and we need people to join our organizing efforts. Please contact Susan King at funking@mindspring.com to find out how you can be a part of this vital effort. Why: The concentrated efforts of this caravan will bring hope to the displaced people of New Orleans so they see that it is possible to clean-up their neighborhoods and rebuild their lives. The work of the caravan will be a demonstration of what is possible. Who: You. Your organization. Self-sustained groups that can organize themselves. We also need volunteers with specific skills: electricians, mechanics, plumbers, mold abaters, roofers, construction workers, carpenters, tree workers, lawyers, cooks and people who can train other volunteers and residents in these skills. When: We need organizers to help right now! We're asking folks in the caravan to arrive in New Orleans on November 20th and work through the Thanksgiving week until Novemeber 27th. Of course, volunteers are needed continuously and can arrive anytime. How you can help: Get on the bus. Donate a bus. Organize a bus. Donate $$$$. Donate supplies . Help raise funds, plan a fundraiser, ask your network to donate. Help spread the word. www.sfgreenparty.org *********************************************************** Become a Green Party Sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! Online: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/makeadonation/makeadonation.html Phone: 415-701-7090 ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions, comments, Letters to the Editor, or fan mail, at info@sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only), email news@sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through. Submissions for Joke of the Week are welcomed by the editor at ladypest@hotmail.com