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CRUCIAL: Tell Mirkarimi & Mar Vote NO On Clerk's Mayor Appointment Process
by Eric Brooks 23 Nov '10

23 Nov '10

All, It is crucial that the supervisors vote -no- today on the Mayoral appointment rules process just proposed by the Clerk of the Board and advising attorneys. (See attached.) I have never seen a more convoluted process designed for failure in my life. It is nearly impossible to understand its pretzel-like implications at all, yet after reading it a couple of times, what does become clear is that there is no way in hell that the proposed process could lead to 6 votes to appoint a mayor. Especially the provisions requiring Supervisors to leave the room for various reasons and not be allowed to vote, and the necessity that Supervisors permanently remove themselves from contention during various points in the process will make it impossible to reach a successful conclusion. There are many other similar extreme problems with the proposed rule, too numerous to list; those are just the most obvious examples. If we are going to succeed in seating a progressive mayor quickly enough to face the budget crisis, we must get the four votes necessary to vote down this ridiculous rule. ACTION: CALL supervisors Mirkarimi 415-554-7630, and Mar 415-554-7410, right away and -before- 3pm today to insist that they: "Vote NO on the rule proposed by the Board Clerk for the Mayoral appointment, and instead proceed with existing Board rules with ongoing advice from the Santa Clara County Council." Daly, Avalos, and Campos are very likely already with us. Their numbers are: David Campos: 415-554-5144 John Avalos: 415-554-6975 Chris Daly: 415-554-7970

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CRITICAL! Tomorrow 4pm City Hall Rm 250 SPEAK Demand New Mayor Choice Now
by Eric Brooks 16 Nov '10

16 Nov '10

Hi all, TURN OUT TOMORROW 4PM CITY HALL Turn out tomorrow Tuesday Nov 16, City Hall, Rm 250 (main chamber) 4pm to support John Avalos' legislation triggering the Board of Supervisors to choose a new mayor now, not in January. Because San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has won the Lieutenant Governor's race, and will take that office in early January, the Board of Supervisors must appoint his replacement. But there is a -big- problem. Downtown big business and real estate developer interests allied with Newsom, are maneuvering behind the scenes in private meetings with our City supervisors, to convince them to back down, not make this choice, and instead delay the decision so that it will be made by the far less experienced newly elected Board of Supervisors in January. This is extremely alarming. San Francisco is in the midst of one of the worst budget crises in its history, and it is vital that the current Board of Supervisors make a choice this month for Mayor Newsom's replacement, so that the Board and new Mayor can begin working together right now to assure the best possible budget deal for the upcoming year. We cannot afford a two month delay during which secret backroom politics, influenced by corporations and developers, will determine how our Mayor is chosen. The budget deeply impacts every issue that we are working on as organizers. To avoid this very bad outcome, Supervisor John Avalos and others have put forward a measure to be voted on by the Board of Supervisors tomorrow, Tue, Nov 16, in an open hearing at 4pm, during which we will be able to speak on that item. Supervisor Avalos' measure will make sure that the Board makes a choice for Mayor right away and in front of the people of San Francisco. So turn out tomorrow Tuesday Nov 16, City Hall, Rm 250 (main chamber) 4pm to support John Avalos' legislation triggering the Board of Supervisors to choose a new mayor now, not in January. If you absolutely can't make it, call Board President David Chiu TODAY! The President of the Board of Supervisors, David Chiu, will be the key swing vote on this measure and may hesitate to support it because he is experiencing high lobbying pressure from downtown elites. It is vital that we flood Board President Chiu's office with phone calls -today- insisting that he take a stand for the public good and vote in favor of the current Board choosing our new Mayor right away, in an open public process. CALL David Chiu at: 415-554-7450 WITH THE MESSAGE: "Please vote in favor of Supervisor Avalos' measure to convene the current Board of Supervisors, in a public hearing, to choose the new Mayor of San Francisco this month!" If you are calling after hours, or get a recording, leave your message as voice mail. If you get a busy signal, call David Chiu's staff at either: 415-554-7451 or 415-554-7453

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IMPORTANT: CEQA Continued: Alioto-Pier CEQA Measure Now Continued To December 6th
by Eric Brooks 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Hey gang, The Alioto-Pier CEQA item was just continued to the December 6 Land Use meeting. No need now to show up today to testify. Eric B

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(Correction 1pm) Reminder - Monday: Alioto-Pier Attack On CEQA In Land Use Committee
by Eric Brooks 13 Nov '10

13 Nov '10

Michela Alioto-Pier's legislation to limit local access to CEQA procedures is in the SF Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee this Monday, SF City Hall Room 263, 1pm. Full Agenda at: http://www.sfbos.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=37172 Eric B

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Important! Turn Out Nov 8 For Env. Benefits of Local Hiring Mandates!
by Eric Brooks 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

Hi all, John Avalos' Local Hiring mandate ordinance, which will support the local economy and also cut down on commuter polluting, has its first hearing in the Board of Supes Land Use Committee on Monday, November 8th at 1pm in SF City Hall Room 263. Avalos needs a -BIG- turnout from the environmental and local sustainability communities to pull this off. Please show up and speak at public comment on the 8th! Here is Joshua Arce's email with the details. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: FW: Environmental benefits of LOCAL SF Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:57:52 -0400 From: Joshua Arce <josh(a)brightlinedefense.org> Here is more information and Sup. Avalos is asking for support for as many environmental organizations as possible... Josh Joshua Arce Executive Director Brightline Defense Project -----Original Message----- From: AvalosStaff(a)sfgov.org<AvalosStaff(a)sfgov.org> Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 4:32 PM Subject: Environmental benefits of LOCAL SF Some great news! Supervisor John Avalos is working on passing legislation called LOCAL-SF that will have a beneficial affect on our environment. Also known as Local Hiring, this ordinance would require that 50% of the jobs for the City's public works program go to SF residents. The boon to the City's economy if this legislation passes is obvious, as 80% of those positions now go to workers living outside our city. However, the environmental gains may also be substantial. For instance: -Transportation is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions generated in the Bay Area. -35% of San Francisco residents take public transit to work, versus 15% in Alameda, 13% in Contra Costa, 11% in Marin, and 9% in San Mateo counties; and are up to half as likely to drive alone to work. (2003 data) -Work commuting generates 23,000 tons of CO2 daily from Bay Area residents. Therefore, making it easier for San Franciscans to obtain employment where they live is a huge environmental bonus. Many workers will be able to take transit, walk, or bike to work; and if they drive, will rack up fewer vehicle miles traveled (VMT) than someone commuting from out of the city--leading to better air quality and less global warming. In addition, with the looming crises of climate change and peak oil, this will help us relocalize, i.e. transition to a low-carbon economy less dependent on fossil fuels. We really need to get the environmental community involved to get the word out about this important pro-environment legislation. Board of Supervisors District 11 City Hall 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place Room 244 San Francisco, CA 94102-4689 (415) 554-6975 FAX: (415)554-6979 TDD/TTY (415) 554-5227

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Valero Oil & Rendering Giant Darling Launch Noxious Agrofuel Venture
by Eric Brooks 04 Oct '10

04 Oct '10

Hi all, Prop 23 is not Valero Oil's only evil move on energy policy... See: Valero plans JV biodiesel plant with Darling International http://cleantech.com/news/5020/valero-darling-jv-biodiesel-vlo-adr Not only will such a move start a worldwide further ramping up of the incredibly environmentally disastrous factory animal ag industry, but under such a scenario, the current users of Darling's tallow and other fats (cosmetics, soap, paint and feed producers) will switch to crop based fats; most likely palm oil - because it is the cheapest alternative to rendered fats. This, combined with an inevitable resulting increase in factory based animal agriculture, will simply perpetuate and expand the same problem of excess greenhouse gas releases via land use shifting and deforestation, that is already being caused by -direct- plant based biofuel production. Darling is making a move locally -now- which may reach a final vote in San Francisco on Tuesday October 12th. See: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2008/09/09/darling-international-enters… More Details & International Implications Also see attached, a new report commissioned by the UK Department Of Transport 'Tallow_Biodiesel_Report_AEA' which shows that greenhouse gas emissions will -increase- when tallow rendering plants like the Darling facility are converted to produce biodiesel. Note too that the UK report is very limited in scope and doesn't even consider the problems of land use shifting and deforestation. This is not just a local issue. Darling is planning to do this with its rendering plants all over the world, and the move must be stopped in San Francisco, in order to keep it from getting press hype and spreading. Eric Brooks 415-756-8844

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Earth At Risk Conference, October 16
by Dennis Brumm 01 Oct '10

01 Oct '10

Sorry, I forgot to attach the flyer to this. I'll just put it up here, if anyone is interested just download it: http://www.brumm.com/tempo/EAR-Color-wCynthia.pdf

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Earth At Risk Conference, October 16
by Dennis Brumm 01 Oct '10

01 Oct '10

This conference may be of interest to some of you folks: Saturday, October 16, 2010 Registration opens at 8:15 a.m. Conference from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. General Admission $40 Students $20 Seven Hills Conference Center San Francisco State University 800 Font Boulevard San Francisco CA 94132 Derrick Jensen interviewing: Jane Caputi William Catton Gail Dines Lierre Keith Thomas Linzey Riki Ott Waziyatawin Cynthia McKinney Lunch available for purchase.

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Fwd: Want your problem fixed on TV? KGO and YouTube can help
by Eric Brooks 30 Sep '10

30 Sep '10

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Want your problem fixed on TV? KGO and YouTube can help Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:58:59 -0700 From: You Fixit <abc7ufixit(a)gmail.com> To: Dear Community Group, Send us video of a problem that needs fixing in your neighborhood, or a government service that isnt working, and well help you get it fixed. KGO-TV is collaborating with YouTube to keep local governments accountable and improve everyday life in your community. We need to hear from you -- What needs fixing in your neighborhood? Upload your video on the uReport <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/feature?section=resources&id=7562842> section of our web site www.abc7news.com <http://www.abc7news.com/>. Dont forget to include your name and a phone number where we can call you. You can also email us a description of the problem, along with your phone number, at this email address: abc7ufixit(a)gmail.com <mailto:abc7ufixit@gmail.com> Here are some of our recent stories: Problematic Potholes Finally Get Attention <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7694942> September 29, 2010 Playground Condition Causes Concern <http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7668208> September 15, 2010 Feel free to pass this email on to anyone you think we might be able to help. We look forward to hearing from you. Regards, *uFIX IT*** KGO-TV / ABC7News

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Fwd: Alioto-Pier CEQA Amendments at Land Use, Mon, Sept. 27
by Eric Brooks 17 Sep '10

17 Sep '10

Hi all, Please pass around to others. Supervisor Alioto-Pier is proposing changes to local CEQA processes. As yet, we don't have the text, but here is a message from Sue Hestor that gives her brief assessment.. Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:15:36 -0700 From: hestor(a)earthlink.net To: fjosephbutler(a)hotmail.com Alioto-Pier CEQA amendments at BOS Land Use Committee Monday, Sept. 27 Please spread the word that the *Alioto-Pier amendments to SF CEQA procedures will be heard INITIALLY at Land Use on Monday Sep 27 at 1pm at Land Use*. They do NOT foresee sending it OUT from this hearing, but _it all depends on people actually showing up and raising issues_. PLEASE COME. Importantly it includes *TIMING AND BRIEFING SCHEDULES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS TO BOS*. Among the issues I know or is the current practice of handing/HIDING environmental exemptions (aka as Categorical Exemptions -- "Cat.Ex."). I personally have had the ENVIRONMENTAL FILES in TWO New Construction case - on difficult sites, sloping sites - not produced when neighbors ask for the project files. I have sent an email to staff demanding that the practice of not automatically producing environmental files be HALTED. (If you do not know who handles these files, Brett Bollinger is the custodian. But Environmental Review is where records of NEGOTIATIONS ON A PROJECT OCCUR.) Please spread the word to anyone who might should be paying attention to this. Sue Hestor

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