Articles Posted February 2012
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OccupySF Prepares for Direct Action Rally
to Restore Education, Social Services FundingLocal organizers declare that public education is a social good, and the cornerstone of a democratic society, a vibrant economy, and the social and intellectual development of every individual. Unwilling to rob Peter to pay Paul, the organizers believe that essential social services provide a crucial safety net for the most vulnerable members of society, and therefore serve as a measure of society’s moral standard. The broad-based coalition of members of the 99% demand that decision-makers in Sacramento tax the rich, pass the Millionaires Tax, pass the Oil Tax to Fund Education, and reject regressive taxes. Additionally, Occupy San Francisco is picking up the rising national call to forgive the student loan debt that threatens this country’s future.
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I Hate it When I’m Right
There are times you just hope you are wrong. Several years ago, I warned about parents needing to get more involved in their children’s lives, but it was not heard by enough people, whose voices just might have been able to prevent the recent murders of students at a school in Ohio.
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Corporation Pleads Guilty in Procurement Scam to Defraud City
According to court documents, Cole Hardware is one of two city vendors and one of ten co-defendants to have engaged in a conspiracy to bilk the city out of at least $100,000 between 2003 and 2007. It is alleged that Donnie Alan Thomas, a former SFPUC supervisor who pled guilty last year for his role in the scam, worked in conjunction with Cole Hardware employee Elizabeth Bradford – who has not pled in the case and awaits a preliminary hearing – knowingly submitted fraudulent invoices to the SFPUC with false descriptions of items purchased. The false descriptions allowed Thomas to conceal that he was purchasing items for personal benefit.
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Golden Gate Bridge Workers
Picket First in Series of Anniversary CelebrationsThat was the takeaway question asked last night when as many as one hundred Golden Gate Bridge union workers picketed the Orchid Gala Benefit at Fort Mason, one of several celebratory events scheduled to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the world famous Golden Gate Bridge.
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Occupy Oakland to Join Workers
in Fight at Castlewood Country ClubClub general manager Jerry Olson said the march is a sign the union is getting desperate. However, he admitted that many clients have canceled since the lockout, although he insisted the club has acquired new members and continues to turn a profit. He did not offer specifics.
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Sheriff Mirkarimi Files Motion
to Exclude Hearsay EvidenceThe opposition brief, filed by Mirkarimi defense attorney Lidia Stiglich, argues statements made to police by neighbors, Ivory Madison and Callie Williams, are inadmissible under rules of evidence because they are considered “hearsay” statements.
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SWIFT Pressured to Ban Iran Over Nuclear Ambitions
SWIFT is the financial equivalent of the United Nations. It facilitates the bulk of the world’s cross-border payments. The member-owned cooperative has been described as the ‘glue’ of the global banking system with the value of daily payments using SWIFT estimated at more than $6 trillion. SWIFT is vital to international money flows, exchanging an average 18 million payment messages per day between banks and other financial institutions in 210 countries.
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Activist Young Workers Refuel Labor Movement
“Young people are being told that they just have to suck it up and live in a world without jobs. We’re being told that America can’t afford teachers, but we can afford CEO tax cuts. We’re being asked to accept a society that rewards wealth and punishes work. A society that makes it harder for young people to go to college. A society where hate is growing … It’s shameful,” said Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, in her keynote address during the Next Up conference held last fall. “The economic and social problems, the hate and the fear we see around us this day can only be solved by a fresh generation of committed, smart, tireless and creative activists.”
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Occupy Groups Converge on San Quentin
in Support of Prisoners, Protest Prison ConditionsSpeakers, including some who have been incarcerated, talked about reform of the California’s three-strikes sentencing law, the mental punishment of solitary confinement and support for prisoners undertaking hunger strikes to protest conditions inside prisons. They included members of the San Quentin Six, prisoners who faced charges after the 1971 shootings that killed Black Panther George Jackson along with guards and other prisoners. Shane Bauer, one of the three Americans captured in Iran in 2009, talked about the hunger strikes and denial of family letters in his time there.
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Depleting the Seas of Fish
Researchers studied fish populations, catch records, and ocean ecosystems for four years. By 2003, 29% of all species collapsed. It means they’re at least “90% below their historic maximum catch levels.”
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Gascón Won’t Seek Death Penalty,
Nor Prosecute Eliana LopezGascón also stated that he will not seek the death penalty “in any case” when discussing a previously-cold 1983 murder case.
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Time to Protect Kid’s Privacy Online
COPPA, effective April 21, 2000, was passed before browser cookies and other tracking technologies were being used, and doesn’t cover teens, who frequently use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. COPPA applies to the online collection of personal information from children under 13. COPPA spells out what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children’s privacy and safety online. COPPA is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has promulgated regulations to enforce COPPA. (For more information on COPPA, see the FTC’s Frequently Asked Questions about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule).
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Lackluster Finish to Case that Made Serious Political Charges
But that paltry sum and the jury’s verdict of shared responsibility in failing to root out corruption in city government belied the more politically significant accusations made through depositions in the case that Mayor Ed Lee and former Mayor Willie Brown overrode city staff to give contracts to a “fraudulent” yet politically connected company, which proved to be a tangential issue that was left largely unexplored at trial.
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Carolyn Tyler Honored by Board of Supervisors
District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell stated that he was “honored to recognize a great district 2 resident who has been part of our lives for many years at ABC.” Farrell presented Tyler with a commendation signed by the Board.
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‘Round the Rotunda: Bennett’s “Heart” Song
Wins Key to San FranciscoThe rotunda was festooned with pink balloons and red roses. Citizen guests excitedly took seats under the dome and gathered at all the balcony rails. Dignitaries were ushered to their reserved seating at the foot of the grand staircase.
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Gascón Charges Lee Campaign Donors
Go Lorrie’s Travel & Tours, Inc., better known as GO Lorrie’s, is charged with making $11,500 in illegal contributions last September to the Ed Lee for Mayor 2011 campaign committee. Also charged are Jason Perez, age 40, of San Mateo, the company’s general manager, and Hanan Qutami, 56, of South San Francisco, the company’s chief financial officer.
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Mayor Lee Testifies in Corruption Lawsuit
That Could Cost the City $10 MillionCity and County of San Francisco vs. Cobra Solutions and Telecon was being deliberated by jurors in Superior Court at press time. It centers on a fraud and kickback scheme engineered by convicted felon Marcus Armstrong, a former Department of Building Inspection information technology manager who bilked the city out of at least $482,000 between 1999 and 2001.
The Hunger Site
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