Tuesday, February 03, 2009
That's a lot of zeroes
Mayor Gavin Newsom has charged the Department of Public Health with coming up with another $100 million in potential cuts by the end of this month to help the city bridge its massive budget deficit.
So far, the department has come up with $21 million in cuts and presented those to the Health Commission today. That means there's nearly $80 million more to go - and that doesn't include the $11 million in midyear cuts already made.
The new trims include cuts to nursing for homebound patients and in jails, laying off administrative staff, reducing mental health services, increasing fees for HIV/AIDS patients, reducing services for AIDS patients and outsourcing security. (If some of this sounds familiar, it's because they've been proposed before but not accepted at City Hall.)
Meanwhile, the Health Commission is trying to come up with a list of "budget priorities" to guide them as they continue making cuts. They've already agreed to two pages worth of priorities and have two more pages of suggestions. Single spaced. They're trying to consolidate the list and vote on the final version in two weeks.
"We can't come out with a principle that says, 'Save everything,'" Commissioner Edward Chow told his colleagues. If only they could.
| Feb 03 at 05:35 PM
Even horses aren't immune to a bear market
A roughly $14 million project to build a new equestrian center in Golden Gate Park is on hold, the latest casualty in the country's economic turmoil.
The nonprofit San Francisco Parks Trust and the city Recreation and Park Department say they plan to go ahead with the first phase of the project -- demolishing the unsafe grandstands at the old stables in the park, removing derelict buildings there and stabilizing the site.
But they don't have the funds to complete the entire project, which includes building new stables and a covered riding area.
"It's just a really difficult time for this project," said Karen Kidwell, San Francisco Parks Trust executive director. "We're putting it on hold, but it will go forward at some point."
Kidwell says it's still unclear when the initial phase of the project will start.
The trust has raised about $2 million for the project, designed to replace the dilapidated stable grounds that closed in September 2001 and left the city without a public riding facility for the first time in 130 years.
But that $2 million was raised over the last two years, Kidwell said, and fell short of the $2.25 million needed to be raised in one year to qualify for three-to-one matching funds under Proposition G that city voters passed in 2007.
The initial phase is also dependent on state funds for park improvements and coastal protection, money that is now tied up in the state budget impasse in Sacramento.
All of that leaves us well shy of $14 million.
"We have had to adjust our restoration schedule," Kidwell said.
| Feb 03 at 05:21 PM
Welcome to college, kids
Every public school sixth-grader in the city is guaranteed a spot at San Francisco State University under a program launched today by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
"Guaranteed" might be a bit of a strong word here, since the students still have to meet basic eligibility requirements in order to get into the university. But the idea is to provide enough resources at every public school that all 3,500 current sixth-graders will meet those requirements by the time they graduate in 2015. Which would mean, by the way, that the school district aims to get every single sixth grader's GPA up to 3.0.
Resources will include academic counseling, financial support to pay for things like the PSAT, and courses to prepare for college entrance exams. Students will be talked to regularly about the importance of taking more advanced academic courses.
Those who meet the requirements and can't afford college will get financial aid. The program, called SF Promise, is designed specifically to help students who would be the first in their family to graduate from college, who come from low-income families, or who are struggling in school.
The program is funded by the city, school district and San Francisco State, with private donations going toward scholarships. SF State administrators are expected to announce on Wednesday how much money the university will be able to provide.
Of course, once all these kids are college-eligible, whether or not they want to go to SF State is a whole other matter.
| Feb 03 at 04:55 PM
Advertisement : Skip 
I'm telling Mom!
It's a great day: The city released its biannual Whistleblower Program report (or as I like to call it, the Tattle-Tale Report). That's our favorite report!
Between July 1 and Dec. 31 last year, the Whistleblower Program got 210 complaints, which is about a third more than the the same period in 2007. Twenty-eight of those cases couldn't be investigated because there wasn't enough information and the person who made the complaint couldn't be contacted. Of the remaining cases, all but four or five have been investigated and resolved.
Here are some of the sample allegations (and what investigators found):
-Complaint: A museum security guard was using city resources to work another job. Investigators said: True! The guard was making phone calls from his or her city job for non-city work. Not cool. The guard was fired.
-Complaint: Two employees got into a verbal and physical fight and were never disciplined. Investigators said: Partially true! They hadn't yet been disciplined because the department was looking into the matter. Eventually one employee was fired and the other was suspended.
-Complaint: Road rage, apparently. "An employee left their city vehicle to verbally abuse and intimidate another driver." Investigators said: True! The employee admitted to the incident and was transferred to a "non-road duty position with little public interaction."
-Complaint: A customer service employee was "exceptionally rude and disprectful" (we're assuming to a customer, but the report doesn't specify). Investigators said: True! The employee denied the incident, but apparently there were previous complaints in his or her personnel record. The department is "pursuing discipline."
-Complaint: Employees were "sending and receiving personal email from their work account." Investigators said: Shocking but true! Guilty employees were "counseled" on city email policy and the department sent out a memo.
You can read the full report online at the controller's office Web site.
| Feb 03 at 04:40 PM
The trouble with being the city's first lady
Anybody wanting to see San Francisco's first lady in a scantily clad role in a critically lauded film only has to turn on their TV and pay up.
"The Trouble With Romance," a movie featuring Jennifer Siebel Newsom that has won praise on the film festival circuit, began nationwide distribution this week via On-Demand/Pay-Per-View.
Gene Rhee
Coming to a TV near you.
The film, four loosely linked vignettes about relationships (shocking) that unfold in different rooms in the same hotel, is slated for its theatrical debut in New York on Feb. 27. There's no current deal in place for a theatrical release in San Francisco, which seems a little crazy considering you've got Mayor Gavin Newsom's wife running around in her skivvies in a hotel room. Surely citizens are going to pay for that.
Heck, the press release for the New York debut touts Siebel Newsom's "Eye-Popping Stand-Out Performance!!" You can watch the trailer here:
You may recall this was the film that premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival 2007 in San Jose and then shortly after played at the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, all while Siebel Newsom became embroiled in a blogging dustup stemming from Newsom's fling with his married appointments secretary.
Siebel Newsom became involved in the film, which she also helped produce, before she started dating the mayor, director Gene Rhee said.
Rhee pictured Siebel Newsom playing one of two roles, but figured she'd opt for the more conservative one as a call girl. Yes, the call girl was the safer role. (He should know. He's the director.)
Instead, Siebel Newsom picked the character who is having hallucinations and conversations with her ex-lover while hooking up with another guy.
"She volunteered to take the riskier role," Rhee said.
And we're glad she did.
| Feb 03 at 11:12 AM
There are some things money can't buy
For everything else - including health care - there's MasterCard?
It's been just over a year since San Francisco employers were required to provide health insurance to their staffers or pay the equivalent amount into the city's coffers to help fund its universal healthcare program.
The Associated Press
Now being used for health care
Since then, some businesses have come up with creative ways to meet the mandate including at least one company that's offering pre-paid MasterCards to be used only on health expenses.
Created by a Silicon Valley company, the cards are basically small, plastic Health Reimbursement Accounts. HRAs allow employers to reimburse staffers' medical expenses; the expenses are tax deductible for the employers and tax-free for the employees. Employers can reload money onto the cards at any time, and staffers can use them on any health, dental or vision care they need.
That's how The People Connection, a temp agency on California Street, is satisfying the city's requirement. John Dorning, the company's operations manager, said he likes being able to see the money, calculated based on the number of hours worked each quarter, going straight to employees rather than handing it over to the city.
"Doing business in San Francisco is expensive as everybody knows, especially for independently owned companies which we are," he said. "But we've made it work, and we feel proud to offer it as a benefit."
Leigh Evans, a temp at the agency, used her card to pay for an annual exam and prescription she said she wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. "And I even had some change left," she said.
The mandate has been challenged in court, and a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit found in favor of the city. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association has asked for a rehearing, but no word has come yet on whether that will be granted.
| Feb 03 at 08:05 AM
Monday, February 02, 2009
And the winners are ...
We know, we know -- the November election was so last year. But final campaign finance reports weren't due until today, so we'll revisit the election one last time. Here's which Board of Supervisors candidates raised the most cold, hard cash:
Not surprisingly, the crowded field in District 3 (that's the North Beach, Chinatown and Russian Hill areas) garnered the most cash, with Joseph Alioto, Jr. bringing in a whopping $306,000. Next in line was Claudine Cheng, who reported $231,500 -- including $15,000 in loans to herself. The winner and new board president David Chiu was not hurting for money either: he brought in a little under $207,000.
In the Sunset, District 4 incumbent Carmen Chu also did well for herself -- she brought in $241,400. And Sean Elsbernd, who represents the west of Twin Peaks neighborhoods, just south of Chu's district, reported nearly $107,000 in fund raising.
District 9 -- which includes the Mission District, Bernal Heights and the Portola -- was a less expensive race, with winner David Campos reporting $49,000 in contributions, and rival Eric Quezada racking up about $44,000. And a little further south, in District 11 (the Excelsior, Outer Mission and OMI neighborhoods) winner John Avalos took in $77,000.
We're still waiting to see a number of reports, including from District 1 (the Richmond) Supervisor Eric Mar, District 5 (Western Addition) Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, and District 9 contender Mark Sanchez.
| Feb 02 at 05:10 PM
The high cost of Muni mishaps
If there was ever a question about whether accidents involving the Municipal Railway that result in death or injury are a financial drain on the city's transit system -- not to mention the anguish it brings the victims and their families -- Tuesday's agenda of the Municipal Transportation Agency governing board should provide the answer.
The board is scheduled to consider settling three lawsuits, worth a combined $1.65 million.
Here's a snapshot of the cases proposed for settlements: $500,000 for the children of Joyce Lam, who was struck by a cable car on Jan. 21, 2006, as she walked in the crosswalk at Mason and Filbert streets; $575,000 for Maureen Stazzone, who suffered injuries on Oct. 8, 2004, when the cable car on which she was riding, according to the legal claim, came to a ''sudden and violent stop'' at the intersection of Washington and Mason streets; and $575,000 to the survivors of Xiao Feng Deng, who was run over and killed by a bus on April 3, 2007 as she crossed Leavenworth Street in the Tenderloin.
File photo/The Chronicle
Investigators at the scene of an injury Muni accident on Market Street in 2006.
Later in the meeting, the board is set to go into closed session to discuss two other cases that could put the agency on the hook for another $5 million or more.
One involves a pedestrian who was run over by a bus at Fillmore and Geary streets on April 2, 2008; the other involves a pedestrian struck by a bus on May 31, 2007 near Brotherhood Way and St. Thomas More Way.
Since July 2002, Muni paid out about $66 million to people who allege injuries, wrongful death and property damage involving the city's public transit fleet and on related court fees and expenses.
The legal payments come out of Muni's budget. Now, the agency, at the direction of the board of directors, is looking into the possibility of buying insurance.
| Feb 02 at 04:24 PM
Solar power: the lean years
Here's a shocker: People aren't really investing in solar energy right now. Something to do with the economy tanking, perhaps?
The Chronicle
Gavin Newsom is a huge fan of solar panels
Not that Gavin Newsom's going to let something like a national financial crisis get in the way of one of his pet projects. Today the mayor's office announced a new program to offer residential and commercial loans for solar, and other renewable energy projects.
The Clean Energy Loan Program will be a privately-backed financing program, although there isn't actually a private backer on board yet. The loans will be attached to the home or office building -- not the individual taking out the loan -- and paid over 20 years as a special tax on the property.
The mayor's been on a major solar kick in the last year (which makes us wonder if he hasn't paid off some sort of rain god -- it's been an awfully sunny winter...), launching a bunch of initiatives to try to talk people into installing solar panels.
But it's a pretty expensive venture, even with federal and local rebates. According to the city's solar energy website, a typical residential installation costs about $25,000. With rebates, that price can be cut in half, and it can be as low as $7,000 for low-income residents. (Yes, because a priority for low-income residents is surely $7,000 solar panels.)
Hmmm, we're not really sure that a loan program is going to do the trick at the moment, but the economy can't be killing us for too much longer, right?
| Feb 02 at 03:58 PM
Prepare for a long night
In case you didn't hear enough this week, stay tuned for another long, long budget hearing at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting.
Dozens of health advocates, nurses and others packed the board chambers last Tuesday to speak out -- for four hours -- against midyear budget cuts and in support of a special June election that would ask voters whether to raise taxes.
The board didn't make a final decision during the 7.5-hour meeting on whether to call the election. Instead the supervisors waived some election deadlines so that they preserve the option of having a June ballot.
On Tuesday, the board will hold another public hearing, this time on three specific proposals that may or may not actually be placed on a June ballot -- if it happens. (Confused? We are too.)
Supervisor John Avalos wants to ask voters to approve a tax on high energy users and to instate a fee for people who drive in San Francisco. And Supervisor Sean Elsbernd would like voters to decide whether the city should only be able to spend one-time revenues, such as legal settlements, on one-time expenditures, such as street paving.
Don't get stressed yet, though -- even if the board approves the three proposals, it doesn't mean they will come before voters. That's because the board still has to approve the election, and then will have to individually approve the measures that would appear on that ballot.
In short: expect another late night on Tuesday.
| Feb 02 at 07:52 AM
