Many of you might wake up on Christmas morning to find a copy of San Francisco District Attorney (and State Attorney General-hopeful) Kamala Harris’ book “Smart on Crime, A Career Prosecutors Plan to Make Us Safer” under the tree. If you enjoy that read, just wait until January 2010 when Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s new book “The Power of Many; Values for Success in Business and in Life,” comes out. Both books were co-authored by Joan O'C. Hamilton, who obviously has found a niche.
Speaking of sharing ideas…
Mistermayor is backing a proposal by the Commission on the Environment's policy committee that would require cell phone radiation absorption levels be posted next to the price tag of any cell phone sold in San Francisco. Maine Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford has out-crazied even our fair city by stating that she’ll propose a law in January requiring cell phones to sport a label that says “Warning” in large, red letters and (I’m not making this up) a graphic, in color, of a child’s brain next to the warning. You win, Andrea.
Speaking of copying San Francisco…
The San Francisco scuffle about the cost of having the police guard Mistermayor while he was campaigning for governor appears to have inspired city council members in Washington, D.C. Last week D.C. councilmember Phil Mendelson asked the D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier for detailed financial information about Mayor Adrian Fenty's security detail. It seems Mayor Fenty is on a cycling team and has been using motorcycle escorts so his team could ride in unauthorized places and run red lights.
Stay away from Critical Mass, Mistermayor.
Speaking of Police…
Back in June the Board passed a resolution, sponsored by Bevan Dufty, demanding that the San Francisco Police Department properly staff its Fraud Section. With only eight officers to deal with over 1,000 cases per year, it was reportedly taking about one year to even begin investigating a given case.
I called police department spokeswoman Lieutenant Tomioka last week to see if there had been any progress in getting more staff in the section.
Tomioka told me a string of facts that basically amounts to a Christmas miracle: the Fraud Section (now called the Economic Crimes Unit) has just added 7 whole brand new inspectors to its ranks, bringing the total number to 15 inspectors and one civilian support staff member. According to Tomioka, the change was made in early December as part of some larger departmental changes.
See, it’s not all bad news.
Happy Holidays, San Francisco!
Comments