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Steven T. Jones

Billy and the golden toads

Reverend Billy Talen and his Church of Stop Shopping come to town

04.16.13 - 6:16 pm | Steven T. Jones |
(1)

Reverend Billy Talen and his Church of Stop Shopping — which evolved from anti-consumerism street theater in San Francisco in the 1990s into a venerable New York City protest/performance institution — is bringing its creative environmentalist prayers and ploys back to the Bay Area next week.Read more »

Indicator city

If cutting edge San Francisco can't meet the challenge of climate change and related environmental issues, are we all doomed?

04.16.13 - 6:04 pm | Steven T. Jones |
(72)

steve@sfbg.com

When biologists talk about the health of a fragile ecosystem, they often speak of an "indicator species." That's a critter — a fish, say, or a frog — whose health, or lack thereof, is a signal of the overall health of the system. These days, when environmentalists who think about politics as well as science look at San Francisco, they see an indicator city.Read more »

Warriors Arena proposal rouses supporters and opponents

04.16.13 - 3:05 pm | Steven T. Jones |
(71)

UPDATED Rival teams have formed in the last week to support and oppose the proposed Warriors Arena at Piers 30-32 as the California Legislature considers a new bill to approve the project, a new design is about to be released, and a trio of San Francisco agencies prepares to hold informational hearings.Read more »

ABC shows more concern about expanding police video surveillance than Mayor Lee

04.10.13 - 4:14 pm | Steven T. Jones |
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The SFPD has quietly expanded its reach and authority to obtain video surveillance from in and around bars, clubs, and markets through a condition it has begun recommending on new liquor licenses, as I reported in today's issue, effectively bypassing controls on city-operated surveillance cameras established through extensive public hearings in 2005.Read more »

Sneaky surveillance

SFPD has been quietly seeking video footage of new bars since losing a public fight over the issue

04.09.13 - 6:42 pm | Steven T. Jones |
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steve@sfbg.com

After public outrage stopped the San Francisco Police Department from instituting controversial — and unconstitutional, say civil libertarians — new video surveillance requirements in bars and clubs more than two years ago, the department quietly began inserting that same requirement into new liquor licenses, a move met with concern at City Hall last week.Read more »

Blue Angels grounding is a victory for sanity, safety, and peace

04.09.13 - 2:04 pm | Steven T. Jones |
(82)

Finally, peace in our time. The Blue Angels' annual Fleet Week assault on San Francisco has finally, blessedly, mercifully been canceled for 2013, the result of $85 billion in federal budget sequestration cuts divided equally between military expenditures and social service spending.Read more »

CycleSF event canceled, but RecPark gets paid anyway

04.05.13 - 4:20 pm | Steven T. Jones |
(115)

Bicycling around San Francisco has become increasingly popular with both residents and tourists, but apparently that doesn't mean people want to pay $40-75 for an organized ride around the city's perimeter, even when the money goes to the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the cause of putting more bike racks into the parks.Read more »

Mayor Lee's trip to China raises questions of ethics and influence

04.04.13 - 4:21 pm | Steven T. Jones |
(86)

[UPDATED(x3)] Mayor Ed Lee barely had time to unpack from his recent political junket to Paris before he was off on his current trip to China – both of which were paid for and accompanied by some of his top political supporters and among the city's most influential power brokers. Read more »

No progress in condo conversion standoff, despite the Chron's spin

04.03.13 - 4:30 pm | Steven T. Jones |
(93)

Perhaps it was just an unfunny April Fool's Day joke or some wishful political spin, but the San Francisco Chronicle's April 1 article about how tenancy-in-common owners and their political supporters are pushing legislation that would allow them to bypass the condo conversion lottery seriously misrepresented the city's biggest current political standoff.Read more »