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Bringing Life Back to Mountain Lake

As drivers speed along Highway 1, past the Richmond District and into the Presidio, they might only catch a quick glimpse of Mountain Lake off to the east. But anyone who takes a stroll down to this small body of water, tucked away behind a playground and tennis court, will see one of the city’s only remaining natural lakes – and one of its oldest. » Read more

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State Voters Back Legalizing Pot, Poll Finds

By KQED News Staff and Wires, KQED News Fix
A poll released Wednesday has promising news for marijuana users who hope California will join the two other states that have voted to legalize recreational use of the drug. A Field Poll found that a solid majority of those surveyed this month—54 percent—support allowing weed to be sold and taxed like alcohol. That is four percentage points higher than the last time Field pollsters posed the question to registered voters in July 2010. A few months later, a ballot initiative that would have made California the first state to back marijuana legalization received only 46 percent of the ballots cast and lost by fewer than 700,000 votes. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.

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S.F. Agency Starts New Program to End Childhood Lead Poisoning

By Erica Hellerstein, Mission Local
Have you had your home inspected for lead recently? If you’re anything like most San Franciscans, the answer is probably no. But consider this: 94 percent of the city’s houses were built before 1978, when the federal government banned lead-based paint. This puts urban dwellers — especially kids — at high risk for contracting lead poisoning. To reduce lead poisoning while creating jobs for community members, the Mission Economic Development Agency has launched a program called Lead Free, LLC.

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Car-Share Parking Attracts Unlikely Foe in S.F.

By Isabel Angell, KALW Crosscurrents
Parking a car-share vehicle in San Francisco is about to get easier. At least, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors hopes so. Last week, the board passed an ordinance to allow residential developers to add more parking spots to their new apartment buildings — if those spots are dedicated for car-share programs.
The ordinance, which was proposed by Supervisor Scott Wiener, passed through the Board of Supervisors unanimously. But not everyone thinks it’s a good idea — and the main opponent is a little surprising. In a letter, Sierra Club secretary Sue Vaughan had this to say about the new parking spaces: “Doing so will add to overall congestion and negatively impact the flow of transit and air quality.”
Read the complete story at KALW Crosscurrents.

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Mistake in First California Carbon Auction Raises Questions About Secrecy

By Craig Miller, KQED News Fix
California’s cap-and-trade program to cut greenhouse gases resumed this week with its second auction of carbon allowances to industrial polluters. The market is being closely watched around the world, and billions of dollars are at stake. But some nagging questions are lingering from the first auction. The state’s first-ever carbon auction last November was a very exclusive online event, open only to bidders and regulators at the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Four days later, Mary Nichols, who heads the board, declared it a resounding success, saying the auction came off “without a hitch.”

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Immigration Reform: Who Could Be Left Out?

By Elena Shore, New America Media
Mee Moua’s family came to the United States in 1978 after fleeing Laos four years earlier and relocating to a refugee camp in Thailand. Her father planned to bring his brother and father over as soon as he was economically secure, but he had trouble finding a steady job as a new immigrant. When he finally did get work, it was too late – his brother and father had already passed away. Now the president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center, Moua sees her family experience as similar to that of many Asian families today who are separated for years, sometimes decades, as a result of backlogs in family-based visa applications. Moua’s interest in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform, she says, is personal:
“It is for my family and my father and the people in my community because they are the ones who are directly affected,” said Moua, one of three speakers during an ethnic media telebriefing on immigration reform, organized by New America Media.

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Searching for Love Letters in the Mission District

By Alicia Avila, Mission Local
A chill winter breeze didn’t stop the search in the Mission last Saturday. Couples, friends, families and a few single adventurers passed through the doors of Viracocha, a vintage store at 21st and Valencia streets. Maps and clues at hand, they marched excitedly past the red balloon tethered just outside the door. They were following a trail of clues left by local artist Olga Nunes, 34, creator of the Mission’s first-ever Valentine’s Day Love Letter Scavenger Hunt. The hunt was the first of a three-act performance piece designed by Nunes and executed with a little help from her friends.

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S.F. Supervisor Avalos Wants Hearing on America’s Cup Financing as Fundraising Stalls

By KQED News Staff and Wires, KQED News Fix
San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos  asked for a hearing on concerns that the city could be on the hook for upwards of $20 million in expenses for the America’s Cup sailing races later this year. San Francisco has pledged to spend around $30 million on the races, which start in July. That money was supposed to be recouped by private donors, but fundraising has stalled, Avalos said. The America’s Cup Organizing Committee, the group tasked with raising money for the races, “has not lived up to its pledge,” he said. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.

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Mission District Activists Unite to Stop Gun Violence

By Rigoberto Hernandez, Mission Local
Hundreds of community organizers gathered at Everett Middle School to put together a plan to end gun violence in the Mission. Roberto Hernandez stood before facing an auditorium packed with city authorities and hundreds of his community organizer colleagues one recent Thursday. “I am tired of raising money for coffins,” he proclaimed. “The norm is to hit the floor when we hear gunshots. The Head Start program on 24th and Harrison has gunshot drills for children from ages 3 to 5.

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Up-to-Date Earthquake Kit Will Increase Your Survival Chances (Infographic)

See below for a graphic guide to your basic San Francisco earthquake kit. See the full-page poster version that appeared in the Winter 2012-2013 print edition of the newspaper.
It’s never too late to prepare for the next big earthquake. The California Emergency Management Agency advises that the first 72 hours after a disaster are critical. » Read more