by Juliana Birnbaum Fox
After determining a raw count of 13,503 petitions, the Department of Education certifi ed that the Save JROTC effort has collected enough signatures to qualify for the November Ballot. The Junior Reserve Offi cers’ Training Corps program is a 90-year old program that has served an average of over 1,600 high school students annually. The school board voted in 2006 to ax the program on the grounds that it is operated by the U.S. military, which bars gays and lesbians, and that the board has no say over who is hired as an instructor. The board then voted to let the program continue through spring 2009. Last month, however, it said it would no longer grant physical-education credit for the program, a move that will make it impossible for most students to fi t JROTC into their schedules next school year.
Supervisor race for Districts 9 and 11 Heats Up
San Francisco Supervisor races have kicked into high gear, with local analysts calling districts 9 and 11 the most interesting contests, including multiple progressive candidates. In District 9, Police Commisioner David Campos, School Board member Mark Sánchez, long-time Dolores Huerta’s allied Eva Royale, and Mission Anti-Displacement activist Eric Quezada, are squaring off to replace Tom Ammiano. In District 11, Community College Board member Julio Ramos, Supervisor Daly aide and longtime labor activist John Avalos, and Cecilia Chung, a Milk Club activist and head of the Transgender Law Center, are competing to replace Gerardo Sandoval.
Water Supply Reliability Bill praised by Mayor’s Office
Mayor Gavin Newsom praised SBXX 1, the Water Supply Reliability appropriations bill announced today by California State Senate President pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, citing its prudent and timely investments to address water challenges throughout California, all with existing bond dollars. More than 70 percent of San Francisco’s 900 miles of sewers are more than 70 years old, and many are at risk for failure and badly in need of replacement.
San Francisco has requested Proposition 1E funds to design and construct projects that will reduce flooding, improve stormwater collection and treatment and reduce untreated discharges into San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean.
Supervisors to vote on $273 million worth of city power plants
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors debated last week whether to build $273 million worth of new fossil fuel-burning power plants in and around the Southeast communities of Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero. It was once thought that building the new power plants was required as the only means of shutting the aging Mirant Potrero Power Plant. However, a coalition of residents, activists, and Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, Michela Alioto Pier, Chris Daly, and Tom Ammiano issued a call that culminated in last month’s announcement by Mayor Gavin Newsom that he had secured a commitment from state regulators to shut 94 percent of the Potrero Plant in 2010, without the new power plants.
The Board must now choose a preference between retrofitting the remaining Potrero units, estimated to be shut down within 3 to 5 years, or building the new power plants, which will run from 18 to 30 years depending on their hours of operation.
