News
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How Humans — and Dogs — Can Coexist With Coyotes in San Francisco

10.20.2015
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By Graelyn Brashear, Bay Nature
On a recent Wednesday evening at the edge of Pine Lake Park dog play area in San Francisco, Gina Farr stepped forward in front of several dozen people and their dogs, and rattled a Red Bull can full of loose change in the face of a volunteer. “And then I say, ‘Go away coyote! Go away!’ ” she shouted. Farr, a coyote educator and communications advisor at Project Coyote, was leading a lesson in “coyote hazing” as part of a class about co-existing with wildlife in the city. Project Coyote, which partners with San Francisco Animal Care and Control, will lead a larger public meeting about coyote interactions at the Lake Merced Boathouse on Thursday, Oct.

News
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San Francisco Gets Ready for Its First Raised Bikeway

10.19.2015
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By Bryan Goebel, KQED News Fix
A type of bikeway popular in bicycling meccas such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam is going to be tested on San Francisco’s main thoroughfare next month. It has a design that transportation officials say will become more common over the next few years, as the city rolls out a number of long-awaited safe streets projects. Construction crews from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency began working on the city’s first raised bike lane, along two blocks of eastbound Market Street between 12th and Gough streets, where a green protected bike lane currently exists. Construction is expected to take about four weeks. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix. 
 

City Hall

Candidates: District 3 Supervisor

10.19.2015
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Three candidates are vying for the District 3 supervisorial seat on Nov. 3: incumbent Julie Christensen, former supervisor Aaron Peskin and Chinatown organizer Wilma Pang.
Backgrounds
Mayor Ed Lee appointed Julie Christensenin January to replace David Chiu, who was elected to the California State Assembly. » Read more

City Hall

Candidates: Mayor

10.19.2015
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Mayor Ed Lee is running for a second four-year term without any prominent, powerful or well-financed opposition, making it likely he will be re-elected. But the 63-year-old Democrat, the first Chinese-American elected mayor, is facing five eclectic challengers (plus four write-ins) who hope the city’s ranked-choice ballot will deliver a surprise victory to one of them. » Read more

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At Mountain Lake, One Last Chance to See the Turtles Off

10.15.2015
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By Lauren McNulty, Bay Nature 
If you remember the Presidio’s Mountain Lake of 15 years ago, you remember the algae blooms in summer and the dead fish floating in the lake. To see the lake a few weeks ago, as over 50 people did at a triumphant restoration event at the outdoor classroom, is to see something else entirely: a restored place clean enough to host Western pond turtles. Which is what the spectators were there to see: the second and final release of turtles into the lake, a last chance to see the turtles off and perhaps a last chance to see a Western Pond turtle up close outside of a zoo. The only time the turtles can really be seen in the now healthy lake is when they’re basking, said Jessie Bushell, the director of conservation at the San Francisco Zoo, but there is one female turtle who likes to bask on the floaters near the beach on the south shore of the lake on sunny days. Read the complete story at Bay Nature. 

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Tenants Union to Get New Leader

10.14.2015
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By Laura Waxmann, Mission Local
For those involved in the struggle to keep San Franciscans in their homes, the year following tenant activist Ted Gullicksen’s sudden death was both challenging and transformative. “Ted was the key strategist for pretty much any piece of tenant legislation that went to the ballot over the last 20 years,” said Andrew Szeto, an organizer at the Tenants Union at 558 Capp St., where Gullicksen worked for half his life. Read the complete story at Mission Local. 

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First Lyft-Specific Insurance Policy Gets OK From State

10.13.2015
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By KQED News Staff and Wires, The California Report
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Monday approved the state’s first auto insurance policy specifically for Lyft drivers who have a passenger in the car. The policy, from MetLife Auto & Home insurance, is not the first approved in California for drivers working for Uber or Lyft — Farmers and Metromile have their own offerings — but it is the first to also cover drivers who have already accepted or picked up a passenger, a period that previously was covered only by the ride-hailing company. Read the complete story at The California Report.  

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Guide to S.F. Mayoral Candidates: Lee vs. 5 of His Challengers

10.12.2015
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By Rebecca Bowe, KQED News Fix
On Nov. 3, San Francisco voters will be asked to decide between Mayor Ed Lee and five other candidates for San Francisco’s top political job, which Lee has held since 2011. None of Lee’s challengers have a track record in politics, nor do they have strong name recognition. The mayor has received nearly $1.5 million in campaign contributions, compared with about $42,000 raised by all five of his opponents combined. Some news outlets have gone so far as to state that Lee is running unopposed.

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Governor Signs 23 Environmental Bills, Including Microbead Ban

10.08.2015
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By Lindsey Hoshaw, KQED News Fix/KQED Science
In a win for environmentalists, Gov. Jerry Brown signed 23 bills on Thursday, banning plastic microbeads, boosting composting and divesting public retirement funds from coal. The microbead ban, AB888, outlaws the sale of cosmetics and toothpaste that contain tiny plastic particles, which pollute waterways and are known to harm wildlife. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix/KQED Science.  

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S.F. Doubles Number of Pee-Repelling Walls, But Do They Work?

10.07.2015
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By Mission Local Staff
San Francisco has doubled its number of pee-proof walls, but do they repel urine as advertised? Mission Local investigates. The urine-repellent coating at our two testing sites did not repel streams of piss. It may be that our jets of urine were not sharply angled enough. Or the walls could have lost their reflective effectiveness because of age, though they were coated in July and the paint distributor said they should last about a year.