Today, the Board of Supervisors will hear public comment in the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee about Supervisor Carmen Chu’s proposed legislation titled “Urging SFUSD to reconsider current school assignment system.” The resolution would simply urge the monolithic San Francisco Unified School District to consider using “geographic considerations” in its K-12 school assignment process.

In other words, the SFUSD is being urged to consider letting more kids attend schools in their neighborhoods instead of getting carted across town through congested streets in pollution-spewing school buses, sardine-can Muni buses or automobiles driven by stressed-out parents. Children’s assigned schools are currently established by the SFUSD’s byzantine and educationally bankrupt system.

The question is, will the school district adopt such a textbook example of a rational fix for education in The City?

Matt Mitguard

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San Francisco

Car-free Market Street

Thank you for the continuing coverage of the proposed car-free Market Street.

One real concern for the huge number of bicyclists who use Market every day is dodging the many surface hazards in the outer lanes. Volunteers working with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition recently circled the hazards with spray chalk from The Embarcadero to Castro Street in both directions.

More than 85 gaping holes, degraded asphalt ruptures and tire-grabbing trenches have now been reported to the Department of Public Works for repair.

Bill Rivers

San Francisco

Nanny city

Our city government wants to fine us for having garbage in the wrong containers. Our city government has made it its business to decide what legal products — such as cigarettes — pharmacies can and cannot sell.

As a lifelong nonsmoker, I have to say it’s time for these politicians to get off our backs and attend to city business such as, for example, fixing Muni.

Eric Carlson

San Francisco

Obama poll slide

The Associated Press on Aug. 4 reported “[Sen. John] McCain’s attacks begin to bear fruit.” Mr. Evil, McCain.

So the journalists who threw pansies at the feet of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Hillary Clinton and the one-time New York Times favorite “maverick” ever are now calling McCain bad, evil and ruthless — out to destroy the West’s last, best hope by reviving the Karl Rove playbook.

Sen. Barack Obama’s recent slide in the polls could not be a product of disgust, could it? Are the McGovernites, reincarnated yet again, too weak to poll correctly? No, our media would “report” if it that were true.

Paul Burton

San Francisco

Arrogance of power

While the rest of us are facing $4 gas prices climbing toward $5 per gallon, Queen Nancy Pelosi and King Harry Reid go on summer vacation.

Does “let them eat cake” come to mind?

Those of us who are not multimillionaires are trying to get to work and pay our bills. We don’t have private jets carrying us around at taxpayers’ expense. We don’t have all of the perks that power buys. We have to pay our way to work by buying gas for our cars. Most of us don’t have the option of taking public transportation to work, either.

The message from Congress is clear that we are not smart enough to decide if offshore drilling is required. But isn’t democracy about letting the people decide?

Keith C. DeFilippis

San Jose

No-smoke billions

Billionaires Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates are teaming up to help the world quit smoking.

What will they save us from next time? Should they help the world quit watching television?

What a waste — with their money, they could easily resuscitate the electric car and save so many more people, plus the planet.

Suzy Sandor

New York City

Torture ‘in good faith’

A newly disclosed August 2002 memo by White House lawyers responded to CIA concerns that they could face torture charges for using techniques approved by the Bush administration. The lawyers assured the CIA that no such charges could be made provided they conducted their inhumane treatment of prisoners “in good faith.”

The memo concludes, “The absence of specific intent negates the charge of torture.” The Justice Department twisted the law, and in some cases ignored it altogether, in order to permit interrogators to use barbaric methods that the U.S. once prosecuted as war crimes.

Tej Uberoi

Los Altos

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