[SFGP] SF Green Party Weekly

[announce at sfgreens.org]

SFGP WEEKLY
For The Week of 8/4/05 - 8/11/05
This Week:
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News:
8/2: Supervisors Should Reject Comcast Deal
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Events:
- 8/4: Public Input Sought in Selection of New Voting System
- 8/8: Housing and Land Use Seminar
- 8/11: Mujeres de Conciencia/Women of Conscience Fundraiser
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Announcements:
- Joke of the Week
- Voter-Owned Elections
- Become A Sustainer!
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News
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8/2: Supervisors Should Reject Comcast Deal
By Casey Mills
Tomorrow the Rules Committee will be asked to rubberstamp a deal made by 
Mayor Gavin Newsom to extend San Francisco’s contract with cable provider 
Comcast. The Board of Supervisors should renegotiate the contract rather 
than flushing down the drain the first opportunity in 25 years to fix an 
awful agreement with a company American consumers rate lower than the IRS. 
The renegotiations represent an historic opening for strengthening cable 
workers’ and subscribers’ rights, obtaining Internet access for low-income 
people and non-profits, and involving the public throughout the process. The 
Board should not trade paltry giveaways from a corporate giant for a chance 
to prove it truly represents a progressive city.
Read more at: http://www.beyondchron.org/
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Events
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Public Input Sought in Selection of New Voting System
Thursday, August 4th- Friday, Sugust 12th
9am- 4pm
San Francisco City Hall, Outside Rm. 48

The San Francisco Department of Elections is inviting members of the public 
to participate in a "mock election," featuring the two voting systems that 
the City is considering to replace its current voting equipment. The mock 
election will be held from August 1st through 12th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, in City Hall outside of Room 48.   (Please note that 
on Friday, August 12th, the last day of the mock election, voting will end 
at noon.   Immediately after the voting is concluded, the vendors will 
demonstrate how to tabulate election results using the new voting 
equipment.)

The Department of Elections is in the process of selecting a new voting 
system to meet new State and federal voter accessibility requirements for 
voters with, but not limited to, sight and mobility impairments, and 
verifiability of election results. Starting January 1, 2006, San Francisco 
will be required to place at least one fully accessible voting device at 
each polling place, and the voting system must provide a permanent paper 
record to verify election results. Approximately $8 million in State and 
federal funds is available to San Francisco to purchase a voting system that 
complies with these legal requirements. The City will use the new voting 
system starting at the June 2006 Statewide primary election.
John Arntz, Director of Elections, explained: "To ensure that the new voting 
system not only complies with the new legal requirements, but also has a 
high level of acceptance among San Francisco voters, it is critical that we 
involve as many members of the public as possible in the selection process." 
To maximize public participation in this process, the Department of 
Elections is hosting the two-week mock election featuring the two voting 
system vendors who submitted proposals to the Department.
Members of the public are invited to test the proposed voting systems and to 
complete a survey form about each one. Members of the public are also 
invited to observe the tabulation of election results following the mock 
election. The two vendors participating in the mock election are Election 
Systems & Software and Sequoia Voting Systems.
For more information about the mock election, please contact Beth Lipski at 
(415) 554- 7780.
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Housing and Land Use Seminar
Monday, Sugust 8th
7pm-9pm
First Baptist Church
7 Octavia Street, at Market St., San Francisco (on the historic F streetcar 
line)

This month's topic:
Smart Growth: What Does It Mean For San Francisco?
Speakers:
Tom Radulovich, Executive Director of Transportation for a Livable City, a 
grassroots activist organization working to balance a sustainable 
transportation system with complementary land uses; and Ninth District 
representative to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors.

Chris Durazo, Community Planning Director, South of Market Community Action 
Network, a community organization committed to supporting the neighborhood 
improvement of the South of Market neighborhood.

Gilda Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer of the Unity Council, the non-profit 
community development organization responsible for Fruitvale Village, a 
transit oriented, mixed-use development located in the heart of Oakland's 
Fruitvale neighborhood.
This seminar will look at the growing movement defined as “smart growth”, a 
series of development policies aimed at minimizing dependence on auto 
transportation, reducing air pollution, protecting open space, and making 
more efficient use of land resources and existing infrastructure, to 
determine how its concepts and practices can best be implemented in San 
Francisco.
For more information, contact HLU Co-chairs Jennifer Donlon at 
junipers.hill at gmail.com or David Wilbur at drwsf at yahoo.com
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Mujeres de Conciencia/Women of Conscience Fundraiser
Thursday, August 11th
6pm-9pm
Offices of John Lira, Bay Direct Realty
3405 Cesar Chavez (corner of Mission Street) San Francisco
Donations: $35.00, Students and Seniors $15.00.  Tickets available at the 
door.  (Your donation is tax deductible.)

Community members are invited to an inspirational fundraiser to support the 
publication of Mujeres de Conciencia/Women of Conscience on Thursday, August 
11, 2005 in San Francisco. Mujeres de Conciencia/Women of Conscience  is the 
first book of its kind! This yet to be published book contains large  black 
and white photographs with biographies of 75 California Latinas.  Their 
hearts and commitment have a strong impact on the well-being of our  Latino 
communities. These women are only a small segment of thousands of  women and 
men who are committed to truth and social justice. We urge you to  support 
the publication of this book through your participation in this fundraiser.
Master of Ceremonies radio personality Marcos Gutierrez, Ed.D will host the 
event.
Please join us for food, live entertainment, and prizes. We welcome you to 
come and meet with book participants.
For more information on this event, please contact Nicky Trasviña at (510) 
547–2766
For more information on the book project, please go to:
<http://www.latinasforjustice.org/>www.latinasforjustice.org
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Announcements:
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Joke of the Week
A Guide to U.S. Newspapers

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The New York Times is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The Washington Post is read by people who think they should run the 
country.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but 
don't really understand the Washington Post. They do, however like the smog 
statistics shown in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the 
country, if they could spare the time, and if they didn't have to leave L.A. 
to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's 
running the country, and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on 
the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the 
country either, as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably 
while intoxicated.

9. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a 
country, or that anyone is running it; but whoever it is, they oppose all 
that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are from 
ANY country or galaxy as long as they are Newsom Democrats.

10. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country, but 
need the baseball scores.
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Join the campaign for Voter Owned Elections!

Voter Owned Elections is a revolutionary election reform measure that has 
been endorsed by the SF Green Party and every current and former elected 
Green official in San Francisco including Matt Gonzalez!
What is Voter Owned Elections?
The concept of Voter Owned Elections is simple: the public funds the 
campaigns of candidates who can demonstrate a wide base of community support 
by collecting a large number of small donations. In exchange, candidates 
agree to limit their private fundraising. Voter Owned Elections (also known 
as 'public financing of campaigns') is a progressive reform that helps 
ensure that candidates are accountable to the public, rather than big 
corporations, and creates a situation where grassroots candidates have 
enough resources to get their message into the hands of voters.
San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections is now working to bring Voter 
Owned Elections to the San Francisco mayor's race and we need your help! 
This is a people-driven campaign!
Please visit our web site: www.voterownedelections.org to learn more and to 
get involved.
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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

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Submissions for Joke of the Week, or comments and questions on the
content of the newsletter are welcomed by the editor at
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