{"id":1472,"date":"2009-10-14T15:11:14","date_gmt":"2009-10-14T23:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/14\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/"},"modified":"2017-05-28T15:30:13","modified_gmt":"2017-05-28T23:30:13","slug":"proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n

By Ian Fletcher, <\/strong>guest editorial<\/p>\n

October 14, 2009<\/p>\n

In this November’s election, commercial interests are doing their best to ruin downtown San Francisco. Their primary initiative—Proposition D—would create an exemption to current law and allow them to erect giant, flashing billboards along Market Street, between 5th and 7th Streets.<\/p>\n

The Proposition D proposal is a total scam.<\/p>\n

Despite assertions by the proponents of Proposition D, billboards are not a panacea for the woes that afflict the mid-Market area. It’s insulting to suggest that.<\/p>\n

Putting in electronic signs does not revitalize blighted areas. You can see this in Times Square, which had dozens of neon signs during the 1970s when it was an urban cesspool. All over San Francisco, there are areas that were once run-down and have since been revitalized. Not one of them was revitalized by allowing the installation of giant neon signs.<\/p>\n

This proposal did not emerge from the local community, which is merely being used as a fig leaf by property owners making a grab for billboard cash. Prop D states that “up to 5%” of billboard space will go to advertise the arts – which means 0% in reality. The 20-40% of revenues supposedly slated for local non-profits would be under the control of the same property owners who would get the profits from the billboards, and these monies could be spent on anything they choose.<\/p>\n

Prop D claims that all the billboards it would allow would be under strict community control. But they would be under the control of a “non-profit” group under the control of local property owners – the same people who stand to benefit from allowing the biggest and brightest billboards.<\/p>\n

These bright electronic monstrosities would be visible from huge swathes of the city. They would include digital video – which would be like a giant TV outside your window all night. They could even include sound!<\/p>\n

The people of this city have several times in the past few years voted to ban new public advertising and billboards. We get bombarded with buy-buy-buy messages almost 24-7 these days. What part of “no” does the billboard industry not understand?<\/p>\n

When a similar district was established in Los Angeles a few years ago, it was followed by a lawsuit attempting to force the city to allow the same in all similarly-zoned areas. We run the risk of the same happening here.<\/p>\n

Ian Fletcher is a Board Member of San Francisco Beautiful<\/a>. For more information about the ‘No on D’ campaign, please visit www.NoNewBillboards.org.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ian Fletcher, guest editorial October 14, 2009 In this November’s election, commercial interests are doing their best to ruin downtown San Francisco. Their primary initiative—Proposition D—would create an exemption to current law and allow…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6413,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nProposition D is a Billboard Scam - Fog City Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam - Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Ian Fletcher, guest editorial October 14, 2009 In this November’s election, commercial interests are doing their best to ruin downtown San Francisco. Their primary initiative—Proposition D—would create an exemption to current law and allow…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-14T23:11:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-28T23:30:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"FCJ Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@fogcityjournal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@fogcityjournal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"FCJ Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"FCJ Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91\"},\"headline\":\"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-14T23:11:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-28T23:30:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/\"},\"wordCount\":437,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/\",\"name\":\"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam - Fog City Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-14T23:11:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-28T23:30:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Fog City Journal\",\"description\":\"San Francisco Bay Area News, Arts, Culture and Politics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Fog City Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg\",\"width\":307,\"height\":102,\"caption\":\"Fog City Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/fogcityjournal\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/fogcityjournal\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91\",\"name\":\"FCJ Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"FCJ Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam - Fog City Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam - Fog City Journal","og_description":"By Ian Fletcher, guest editorial October 14, 2009 In this November’s election, commercial interests are doing their best to ruin downtown San Francisco. Their primary initiative—Proposition D—would create an exemption to current law and allow…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/","og_site_name":"Fog City Journal","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/","article_published_time":"2009-10-14T23:11:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-05-28T23:30:13+00:00","author":"FCJ Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@fogcityjournal","twitter_site":"@fogcityjournal","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"FCJ Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/"},"author":{"name":"FCJ Editor","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91"},"headline":"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam","datePublished":"2009-10-14T23:11:14+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-28T23:30:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/"},"wordCount":437,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Opinion","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/","url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/","name":"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam - Fog City Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-10-14T23:11:14+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-28T23:30:13+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1472\/proposition-d-is-a-billboard-scam\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Proposition D is a Billboard Scam"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/","name":"Fog City Journal","description":"San Francisco Bay Area News, Arts, Culture and Politics","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization","name":"Fog City Journal","url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg","width":307,"height":102,"caption":"Fog City Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/","https:\/\/x.com\/fogcityjournal","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/fogcityjournal"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91","name":"FCJ Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"FCJ Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6413"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}