Free Republic

Sen. Dianne Feinstein was in town this week to help celebrate Muni's 100th birthday. She looked good. Nice, tan suit and fit as a fiddle. After talking with her and taking a look at the state's political landscape, I'm of the opinion that her re-election will be as smooth as a Sunday trolley ride to Fisherman's Wharf. She said so far she has about 26 opponents lined up to run against her. To me, that's no opposition, because none of them has the money, name identification or an issue big enough to seriously take on an incumbent as rooted and...

Faced with concerns about how public campaign financing works, the Board of Supervisors recently made changes that were thoughtful, evenhanded and logical. Almost. While most of the revisions address specific problems - like "zombie" candidates who can't afford to drop out of the race - one doesn't pass the smell test. The supes voted to increase the amount of matching public funds from $89,000 to $155,000 for nonincumbents and $153,000 for those running for re-election. Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, always a bit of a fiscal gadfly, sees a potential conflict of interest. Five of the eight supervisors who voted in favor...

Police on Monday evicted and arrested nearly 80 Occupy activists who had taken over an empty San Francisco building the night before and had stockpiled bricks and supplies with the apparent intention of staying long-term. Officers in riot gear stormed the two-story building at about 1:15 p.m. after tearing down a barricade protesters built to block the main entrance, said police spokesman Sgt. Michael Andraychak. The building, which is owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, has been used as a music education facility by the archdiocese-associated nearby Sacred Heart Cathedral High School. Occupy protester Beth Seligman said Monday...

Occupy SF activists put the mostly moribund movement back in the spotlight Sunday, taking over an unoccupied building owned by the Archdiocese of San Francisco with plans to establish a "permanent occupation" that would serve as shelter and a center for services for homeless people. The activists entered the building at 888 Turk St. about 5:45 p.m. Sunday, after a rally and march from Union Square earlier in the day. About 100 activists and supporters took up residence in the two-story commercial structure, believed to be a former music building of nearby Sacred Heart Cathedral High School and located within...

San Francisco, CA (AP) -- California public universities may ask students about their sexual orientation, Students at University of California and California State University campuses would be asked to voluntarily state if they are gay, bisexual or transgender. The questions would be posed because of a little-known state law aimed at learning whether those students are getting enough services, . . .

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Obama administration asked a federal appeals court Monday to speed up its review of a San Francisco gay-rights case and consider tough scrutiny for laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation - a standard that could legalize same-sex marriage. The Justice Department made the unusual request to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which is considering the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that denies federal benefits to same-sex spouses. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White declared the law unconstitutional Feb. 22, calling it an irrational act of discrimination....

It’s hard to remember a time when so many public officials in the Bay Area were caught in embarrassing situations or accused of misdeeds at the same time. Indeed, demands for resignations, whether coming from the press or the public, seem to have reached an unprecedented level. But not every transgression is equal, of course (although many of them are depressing). So in an effort to sort out which public official has behaved the worst, the Express staff decided it was time to do some head-to-head comparisons. And to make it a bit more interesting, we decided to do it...

Ruhollah Habibi dresses sharply in a suit and tie each morning for his job at JP Morgan. But the banker also carries a thobe to work on Fridays, slipping on the Arabian-style tunic for afternoon prayers. "I just take off my suitcoat and throw that on over my button-up," said the 28-year-old San Ramon resident. "It's our etiquette to wear Islamic clothing when you're going to learn the sacred knowledge." From kufi caps to veils and ankle-length abayas, multicultural Muslim clothing is in demand among the Bay Area's young and devout. American-born Muslims who once shunned their immigrant parents' Old...

Mayor Ed Lee has suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi without pay while he awaits an ethics hearing on whether he should be permanently removed from office. The suspension came a day after Mirkarimi was sentenced to probation and counseling as a result of pleading guilty to false imprisonment in a high-profile domestic violence case involving his wife. Just hours after Monday’s sentencing, the mayor met with Mirkarimi and gave him a day to contemplate resigning, but the sheriff said Tuesday his conviction is not grounds for removal. “He has chosen not to resign, and now I must act,” Lee solemnly told...

Mayor Ed Lee is suspending Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi from his post, the first step toward removing him from office permanently for official misconduct. "He has chosen not to resign and now I must act," Lee said in a 5 p.m. news conference today. He said the sheriff's actions "fell below the standard of decency and good faith" needed for public officials. Mirkarimi pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment for an incident involving his wife on New Year's Eve. Lee named Vicki Hennessy to serve as interim sheriff. Hennessy last ran the Department of Emergency Management...

I see Gov. Jerry Brown took some backhanded swipes at our lieutenant governor in a visit to The Chronicle the other day. No surprise there. Even in his "do-nothing" job, Gavin Newsom is still a challenging figure for politicians throughout the state. He's articulate. He has movie-star looks. He has a great eye for issues, and he's young enough to be Jerry's son. That's also why Newsom strikes fear in other politicians. He has the potential for being a favorite of the Google generation. Brown has a special grudge against Newsom, of course, because Gavin tried to run against him...

A change of venue for the naked men of the Castro is gently suggested by Mark Abramson: "Maybe they could hang out in Alamo Square and tourists there for the Painted Ladies can get the naked people in the same picture, to kill two birds, you know." I was driving past the Castro and Market intersection last Sunday, and as I waited for the traffic light to change, I witnessed a playlet. A clothed woman who appeared to be a tourist approached a naked man - actually, not quite naked, he was wearing a hat - and asked him something....

Last year, a family of three earning $111,000 a year could afford just 23 percent of homes for sale in San Francisco - mostly in southern neighborhoods, including Bayview-Hunters Point.The median price of a house in the city in 2010 was $668,000. Just 2 percent of new housing units built in the city since 2001 are single-family, detached homes.These were just a few of the scores of statistics presented at a special Board of Supervisors hearing Thursday to help explain why San Francisco is bleeding families with children - losing 5,278 people younger than 18 between 2000 and 2010, according...

San Francisco’s East Bay, CA, March 15th, 2011:The East Bay TEA Party and the TriValley Patriots will be joining other TEA Party groups along with local control and property rights advocates, to speak out in opposition to the OneBayArea plan at the Association of Bay Area Governments Executive Board Meeting on March 15th, beginning at 7pm at the Metro Center, located at 101 8th Street Oakland, CA Regional bodies, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) are racing to adopt a regional plan that will significantly transform the lives of over 9 million people in the...

Support for same-sex marriage in California has never been higher, with 59 percent of the state's voters backing the legalization of gay nuptials, according to a new Field Poll. What's notable is that some of the more significant gains in support came from Catholics, Latinos and older voters - part of the core of support for voter-approved Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.Republicans and those who identify themselves as conservatives are the only demographic blocs that oppose allowing gays to marry, according to the survey of 1,003 registered voters released...

I remember the uproar over the first "Girls Gone Wild" videotapes. People really were upset. Times certainly have changed. Witness the cover of the new Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit" issue on stands now at the grocery store. It's revealing enough to make a grown woman blush or angry. Or both. So are the very public spectacles that have unfolded in the last three weeks. First, one of the most conservative board members of the Susan G. Komen Foundation was wildly applauding the organization for cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood. That was until public opinion swamped Komen and the board member...

Ron Paul revels in the fact that he is the presidential candidate of America's small donors, receiving more contributions under $200 than any other Republican seeking the White House in 2012.But, like every other GOP presidential contender, he also has a mega-millionaire "sugar daddy" helping to fund a super PAC that is promoting Paul's candidacy.Yet while Newt Gingrich underwriter Sheldon Adelson and Rick Santorum super-supporter Foster Friess have shared the campaign stage - and the national political spotlight - with their candidates, Paul's benefactor, San Francisco entrepreneur Peter Thiel, has never met the Texas congressman he's aiding.Who is this mystery...

Surf. Sun. Disneyland. What’s not to love about California? Well, apparently, a lot of things. In a poll released Tuesday by the Public Policy Polling, California was the least popular state in the United States. Only 27 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of the Golden State compared to the 44 percent who view it unfavorably. “There’s this arrogance about Californians,” said Patrick Dorinson, a radio host in California who refers to himself as the Cowboy Libertarian. “Californians still think it’s this great star. It’s a tarnished star at this point.” The gap of 17 points puts California far...

an Francisco (AP) -- A federal judge in San Francisco ruled Wednesday that the U.S. government cannot deny health benefits to the wife of a lesbian court employee by relying on the 1996 law that bars government recognition of same-sex unions. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said that because the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally discriminates against same-sex married couples, the government's refusal to furnish health insurance to Karen Golinski's wife is unjustified. "The Court finds that DOMA, as applied to Ms. Golinski, violates her right to equal protection of the law ... by, without substantial justification or rational basis,...

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, explains why she boycotted today’s House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?” “I have decided to boycott the sham hearing orchestrated today by the Republican members of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to trample on the civil liberties of millions of American women who deserve coverage of their legitimate and most basic healthcare needs, including contraception. “The Republican majority refused to allow the testimony of witnesses who represent millions of Catholics, such as...