News
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Muni employees lose free parking privileges

08.31.2010
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On Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Muni employees losing their free parking privileges that came in the form of free lots, reserved spaces and placards that prevented parking tickets. This comes after drivers rejected $19 million in concessions that the city negotiated with their union. Starting in December, workers will have to pay $80 a month for parking, which equates to $960 a year. The cost for parking will use up about a third of the Muni drivers 5.75 percent raise. Parking fees from Muni workers are expected to bring back $3.5 million into the agency.

Environment
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Berkeley scientists’ next green energy alternative: stomach bug to biofuel

08.31.2010
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A team of local biotech researchers may have found a way to avoid using essential food crops for fuel by genetically modifying harmless strains of a bacteria most people associate with human food poisoning.
The result is an extremely expensive fuel — hardly competitive with fossil fuels at $25 per gallon — but marks the beginning of a new look at green energy. » Read more

News

Plane makes emergency landing at SFO after engine explodes

08.31.2010
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An Australia-bound Boeing 747 returned to San Francisco International Airport to make an emergency landing after one of its engines exploded. Qantas Airways Flight No. 74 took off from SFO bound for Sydney around 11:10 p.m. Monday. Forty-five minutes into the flight, an explosion ripped through engine No. 4 on the plane’s right side, punching a hole through the engine’s external casing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

News
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Copper thieves wreaking havoc across city

08.30.2010
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Thieves are diving into San Francisco sewers to steal copper wiring, in a new crime trend that is leaving residents and businesses in the dark. According to CBS 5, police are investigating 12 separate incidents of copper wiring theft from sewers in the past three weeks. The thefts have caused power outages all over the city. Police said the crimes lack any geographic pattern. The removed copper was part of an underground power network, serving as a neutral leg in high-voltage systems that help connect transformers and bring power across the city. The crimes have been occurring between the hours of 2 and 6 a.m., according to police.

News

City attorney announces run for SF mayor

08.27.2010
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City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Friday officially announced his candidacy for San Francisco mayor in 2011 on his Facebook page and website. The San Francisco Examiner reported that Herrera filed his intent to run next year on Thursday with the Department of Elections. Supervisor Bevan Dufty, among other officials, has expressed interest in running. This week, Herrera won an appeal against Supervisor Michela Alito-Pier, who is trying to run for re-election next year. Herrera said that Alito-Pier, who was appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, is termed out this year and cannot run because she has already served one elected term and most of another.

News

Hazmat concern at Pier 96 leads to evacuation

08.27.2010
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Workers at a recycling facility at Pier 96 were evacuated early Friday morning over a possible hazardous material release. San Francisco fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge told SF Appeal the incident was reported at 6:37 a.m. at West Coast Recycling, which is located near the Hunters Point neighborhood at the pier. The incident occurred after a box going down a conveyor belt broke open, releasing a white powder into the air. SF Weekly reported the powder was ammonium phosphate, a fertilizer. Twenty people reported having irritated eyes after the release, with 12 people receiving treatment at the scene.

News
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BART spent $6 million after Grant shooting

08.26.2010
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Bay Area Rapid Transit has spent more than $6 million on expenses related to the shooting death of Oscar Grant by former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle, according to public records released Wednesday. BART released the documents to the San Francisco Chronicle in response to a public records request. The records detail some of the costs incurred in the aftermath of the shooting. BART paid $1.5 million to Grant’s 6-year-old daughter, Tatiana, in a settlement. The agency has spent more than $500,000 in attorney fees related to the handling of that case and other lawsuits still pending.

News
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Lawsuit filed to investigate FBI over Muslim surveillance practices

08.25.2010
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A lawsuit was filed in a San Francisco federal court Tuesday against the Federal Bureau of Investigation by local civil rights groups and a weekly newspaper. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Asian Law Caucus joined with the San Francisco Bay Guardian in the suit, which aims to speed up the release of documents related to Muslim surveillance and investigations. The groups want to see records of matters such as investigations of Bay Area mosques and Islamic community centers, how agents are being trained in Muslim culture and how the agency might use race, religion and country of origin to decide whom to investigate. Local Muslim news magazine Illume reported that the suit was filed after the FBI failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request filed in March for the documents. By law, when such a request is filed, the documents requested must be turned over within 20 days unless there is a permitted reason to withhold them. 
CBS 5 reported that FBI spokesman Bill Carter said the agency receives thousands of public-information requests each year and processes the files as quickly as possible. The Bay Guardian accused the FBI of engaging in dubious investigative practices against Muslims.
The Asian Law Caucus issued a public statement on the case.

News

California no longer able to ‘Race to the Top’

08.24.2010
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On Tuesday California schools lost their chance to win $700 million from the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program, $4.35 billion in grants aimed at improving the nation’s schools. California reached the competition’s second round, making it one of the 19 finalists before being eliminated on Tuesday. The state scored 423.6 points out of a 500 from peer reviewers finishing in 16th place. Nine states and the District of Columbia won the second round. The winning states that collected awards ranging from $75 million to $700 million were: Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Rhode Island, Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio.