The N-Judah Chronicles

Right now, everyone from Governor Schwarznegger to members of the State Legislature are running around patting each other on the back about how much they just "did" for transit agencies like Muni, with this little bill the Gov. signed. Heck, everyone's acting like somehow Muni just received a "windfall" of cash to make its troubles go away.

Really? Well, no. It's more like suggesting Homer Simpson is a "noble hero" worth a handshake when says "Remember when I returned you that money I loaned you? Well now it's time for you to do me a favor!"

As pointed out last week, yes, this is a nice bit of money, after many years of the state's illegal looting of state gas tax fund was found, um, illegal by the courts. But by no means is this as big a break as some politicians would make it seem. Nor has one single legislator conceded that their votes in the past to steal the money voters approved was wrong (do theives ever say "sorry?").

And, the gas tax formula guarantee(80% roads/20% transit), the driver's way of paying their fair share of transportation costs, is no more. The only assurance we have this money won't get stolen again, is to have a pack of Sacramento legislators say "Trust us." So while this is a nice bit of news, better than the usual kick in the face anyone riding Muni gets via the news, it's not all hams and plaques either.

Muni now has a challenge though - they can't just bark out "farehikeservicecuteconomybadstatecuts" any longer - and it will be up to them to show that this money won't just wind up in a work-order mess, or get diverted to things that won't be helpful to make the day-to-day operations work as best as they can in tough times. Those that are interested would be wise to keep their eyes open and not be fooled in the coming weeks as Muni and the MTA make decisions about financial matters.

If you're curious about the San Francisco Transit Rider's Union some folks are talking about, they're having a meeting tomorrow at 6pm at SPUR's "Urban Center" located at 654 Mission Street. Find out what they're all about and share your ideas with them.

UPDATE: It's really amazing to see how many news outlets are just flat-out wrong about what this is and is not, and what the effects will be. It's especially amazing as these are "journalistic" outlets of some sort, and allegedly superior to anyone that doesn't have a Big Jay next to their name. Whatever.

UPDATE 2: And yet another example of the mainstream press calling this a "windfall" when it is not, this time in regards to SamTrans and CalTrain. Amazing.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

While I finish up my work (I really do enjoy working late at night as it's so distraction free) I also wanted to get the word out about two events that you might be curious about.

The first is that Barbara and Paul at the House Formerly Known as Yes We Can are hosing a "Book Blast" on April 10th from noon to 5pm. They are in need of donations for this free event, so if you have some books you're no longer reading and would like to share, contact them at 246-4748 and you can either drop them off at their place at 6th and Irving, or arrange for a pickup. This, like the other events they've hosted, look like it should be fun and a great way to meet your neighbors if you live out here, or if you don't, make some new friends with folks around here.

Also, the SFMTA will be having a hearing on Thursday, March 25th, at 9am regarding permits for the first annual Inner Sunset Street fair. If approved, the street fair would happen May 15th, and would close off Irving Street between 9th and 10th, and 10th Avenue between Irving and Lincoln.

This event has support from many in the neighborhood from what I've gathered, and other neighborhoods out here have hosted street festivals and everything works out fine. There's so much potential for things like this. Heck maybe I'll get a booth and sell some T Shirts or something!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm still working on this Big Project, but I should be done soon and be able to get back to regular style posts. In the meantime, I thought I'd share this picture of "Mason Powell's" first bottling of his first batch of homebrewed beer, named "Big Sub" after the old Interurban that ran from SF to San Mateo for many years. It was unusually appropriate that he dropped this by Monday, as the San Mateo Daily Journal ran a short piece about the line in their newspaper the same day. If you ride BART to Millbrae and look west, you can actually see some remnants of the old line, and some old houses in Millbrae that are much older than all of the post war-era houses that dominate the landscape.

Other news: It seems the Governor did not veto that "fix that kind of sucks" bill for transit funding - so Muni just got a nice surprise. That said, as a reader pointed out earlier, said law is no replacement , nor should it legitimize, the illegal stealing of gas tax funds that courts ruled illegal. Still, let's hope the MTA and Muni don't frak up this one and use the new infusion of cash to cut service and raise fares some more.

Finally, I found this story via my Google News Alerts about an incident on the J Church line last Friday. Art in the Fog blogger Marissa describes the kind of situation that can unite all of us in a shared-pain sort of way, and a Muni driver who acted professionally and helped lighten the mood when needed. These kinds of stories are always fun to read, so thanks to Marissa for posting this one.

I'm enjoying the work I'm doing right now, but it will be nice to get back to regular posting. Thanks for your patience.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What a surprise. That bill in the Legislature to get the Governor and, um, the Legislature to follow the laws they broke when they stole money from the gas tax that pays for roads (80%) and transit statewide (20%) was vetoed by the Governor.

As always, the reporting on this can range from good (as in the Examiner) to spotty (as in elsewhere) as it was represented this was a plan to just "give" state transit agencies a goodie, and now the goodie isn't coming to them as planned.

Bullsh*t. Voters have repeatedly indicated that they've voted for gas taxes to pay for things related to transportation, be they roads that everyone uses, or to a lesser extent mass transit (to ensure that we're not stuck in a perpetual gridlock). The courts have repeatedly ruled that the Governor/Legislature's actions are illegal, and that said looting can't happen anymore, so it was a bit of Sacramento style nonsense that suggested a bill has to be passed again to make the Governor stop breaking the law. But that's what was decided, and as anyone with a clue predicted, Governor Doofinator vetoed the law. to try and fix the damage done - even if this new bill wasn't reinforcing existing law, but just trying to get some modicum cash back to transit agencies, without the guarantees of the voters' original ballot measure.

In other words, it was a bad solution to a situation (the Governor's illegal raid) that never should have happened in the first place. Typical Sacramento nonsense.

The MTA has to divorce itself from Sacramento as a source of funding altogether. Too bad that's made more complex by the fact that Sacramento (and you, the voters) make it so difficult to exercise local funding control, we've become dependent on Sacramento to re-distribute property and income taxes. If the Democrats in the Legislature want to be enemies of local government, fine, but why can't we fight back and let them keep on screwing things up, and at least be able to go it alone and find a saner way to pay for things, instead of just borrowing via bonds? Or is that just crazy talk?

In my haste to post something, I made a mistake in this post, which was corrected. I'd like to thank Reader John for pointing this out, and I apologize for the error. This is what happens when I post so quickly and don't have the time (due to "real" paying work) that I normally take to write a post for you, the reader. And unlike some in the print or other media, I'm not afraid to fix my mistake and say so. I realize that in the Internet that means I'm showing some sort of "weakness," but whatever.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

As I mentioned a while back, the Inner Sunset Clean Up Day is fast approaching, as it's this Saturday, the 20th, from 9am - 12 noon. If you would like to participate, and haven't RSVP'd (so they know how many cleaning supplies to order), please do so via email, like, now. If you put in the volunteer time, not only will you get a light breakfast provided by Arizmendi Bakery and the Beanery, but participants will have a free barbecue aftewards at the Blackthorn Tavern on Irving. Now come on, surely you can't resist a chance to volunteer, hang out with your neighbors, and have free barbecue on a sunny Saturday, right?

In addition to picking up trash and so on, there are now opportunities to help clean up graffiti on public property. Even if you can't make the event, you can still help by emailing in locations of graffiti on public places, and they'll be added to the list to be cleaned up. (Note that graffiti on private property has to go through 311 and the process established for them).

The Inner Sunset is going through a bit of a renaissance right now, with many new businesses opening up, current ones expanding, and it's a great time to get involved and help out!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today's announcement that you can email the Mayor and ask to be an MTA commissioner is one of those things that I'm sure someone in the campaign war room came up with to sound cool on the eve of a potential run for Lt. Governor. But let's cut the guy some slack and take him at his word and let's all apply.

Seriously. Now, I give Newsom a hard time, but that's primarily because he kinda sold himself as the idea guy and the good manager guy. So when he has done things that are cuckoo bananas, it's more a disappointment that's frustrating when I'm stuck waiting for the N than anything else.

And, while I do enjoy penning a good rant now and then, I've always tried to round up the latest news and try and put things into a more long term view, and offer solutions. Even if they're soundly hated by progressives and others, like my idea to pre-sell in bulk FastPasses to anyone enrolled at any place of higher education*.

So I have no doubt any email I send to Hizzoner will be sent to the Windows Recycle Bin, I figure, why not? All I can promise my fellow Muni owners is that I'd make sure the MTA puts the owners first, and the shenanigans last. That probably ensures I won't get picked, but hey, being on the MTA board would cut into my LOST watching time....

Seriously - go apply! If nothing else, have fun with it. Just email Mr. Mayor at gavin.newsom@sfgov.org!

*This idea was proposed before Translink was widely available, so yeah, I know. But guaranteed bulk sales at just CCSF, UCSF, USF, and SFSU alone would be a large, guaranteed monthly income, and when you do bulk sales, you can do a discount (that's how Wal-Mart does it) and still make some cash.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been especially busy this week with a project, more so than I have in a while (hooray getting gigs as a freelancer) and sadly it means that the blog is a bit neglected, which I don't like. So A) if you want to sign up and be a Guest Blogger, please email me, and B)things should be back to normal soon.

In the meantime, our friends at the Blackthorn Tavern on Irving Street alerted us to their new Twitter account, and to a new special on Thursday Nights: "Industry Night" which features free pool, $1 off all drinks starting at 8pm, and $1 pint margaritas from 9-930pm.

Not a bad deal if you can swing by!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week much of my time is taken up by a rather big project so I can't write endless posts about Muni and the like. However, it's worth it because once this thing is done, I think people will really like it.

In the meantime, here's a picture of a Muni complaint letter I found at The Other Shop on Divisadero, framed.

The piece begs so many questions. Why would someone frame a letter from Muni circa 1982? How did it end up in an antique store?

A while back, we had this gem from the MSR days in the 30s as well. It still cracks me up with the opening "Get This!"

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you want a rather eye-opening experience about the history of transit and traffic in San Francisco, then you should get yourself over to Eric Fisher's Flickr account, and take a look at the wealth of historical documents he's scanned in about proposals going back almost 100 years concerning proposals regarding Muni, BART, etc.

For example, here we see a proposed plan for a subway for Muni that would have traveled downtown, under the existing Sunset Tunnel, and outward towards the Inner Sunset , and end around 19th. Similar plans in the set include a subway station for SFSU, and an underground system for Geary Street. Geary was also supposed to be part of the BART system too, believe it or not.

Imagine if instead of riding an N Judah streetcar that has to fight traffic, double parked cars, and whatnot, taking a subway downtown instead. Sounds nice, doesn't it?

But that's not all. Eric's Flickr account also has freeway and bridge plans too! Imagine a huge freeway gouging the Inner Sunset, and feeding a freeway in Golden Gate Park. Crazy? Not really - plans were drawn up, and if completed would have meant my home would literally be next to an onramp.

I've always said that the history of transit planning and development in San Francisco and the Bay Area is a more accurate reflection of the political, social and economic climate of the times than people realize.

After reading up in history books and archives about our past, it's clear we're very good at coming up with great ideas, but then decide to go with the cheapest, short term plan possible, and leave the fallout for future generations to deal with, usually at great expense.

Anyway, check it out. It's definitely very interesting!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Stay with me on this one, folks. Trust me, the John Stewart "I'm Literally Speechless After Reading This And Am Putting My Face In My Hands" moment of silence is worth it.

So, it seems that folks in Sacramento are patting each other on the back about how they got some bill passed that would restore gas tax money to transit agencies around the state, including Muni.

Now, recall that the state raid on said gas tax money (which voters said should go 80% to roads and 20% to transit) was ruled totally freakin' illegal by the courts. Stealing is usually against the law.

To put it another way - if someone robs you of your iPhone on Muni they're breaking the law and aren't supposed to do that.

No matter, this isn't the theft of an iPhone, this is theft committed by the state so they get away with it.

Anyway.

So sure, Muni got mugged (as did every road and transit agency in the state). But today's news is no real cause for celebration. You see, they're passing a new law to make the state obey the law it broke, and restore a little bit of the eleventy billion dollars they stole already.

Put another way, a new law was passed to make the thief follow that already existing "thou shall not steak f*cking iPhones on Muni" law, and sure, they're returning your iPhone - only after they broke the glass, f*cked up your iTunes music collection, and loaded it up with lame apps.

Feel free to exclaim WTF if you must, but hold on, it gets better.

The Governor isn't sure he'll sign it into law. Because, being the mugger, he's "not sure" it's a good idea.

Even though the State Supreme Court said to not do so is breaking the law he's sworn to uphold

[Insert Stewart-esque Speechless Face in Hands Moment Here]

###

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Talking Muni seems to be en vogue these days. I'm not sure why it is now vs. say, a year ago or more. I have to say, the devolution of the discussion into a mish mosh of misinformation, mistakes, and mayhem has been kind of depressing to watch, and it's why I've been staying away from the computer most of the week.

However, some good folks around the Internet have been getting these things called "actual facts", and said facts are useful if anyone wants to be effective in doing anything of substance. Simply stamping one's feet, and defiantly proclaiming ignorance never got anyone anywhere.

First, Eric of Transbay Blog has two excellent posts analyzing Muni finances. One concerns proposals by SPUR and MTA staff to balance future budgets, and another about the MTA board's inability to do their jobs vis a vis funding a functional transit system.

At a time when politicians are peddling all sorts of faux "Fix Muni Quick" schemes, it's important to know what the facts are.

SF Weekly also had some interesting posts. First, they thoroughly debunk the sheer BS the TWU folks were bellowing out this week when they marched on City Hall. The Weekly (and the Examiner) also report that news that the TWU hired legendary political strategist Eric Jaye were premature (and prove once again TWU leadership doesn't know what it's doing in a rough environment).

Finally, there's a "Save Muni Summit" this Saturday at 9am at the Women's Building located at 3543 18th Street (between Valencia and Guerrero). The event has quiet a few co-sponsors from around the city. And, if you're really depressed (or really energized) by all the Muni talk, you can go to the 500 Club a block away and have a cocktail.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While it may not seem like it to you, the Loyal Reader, I've been spending a lot of time working on some changes to the site. A lot of it is technical BS (like figuring out how to migrate to WordPress from MovableType without nuking my site, commenters and permalinks in the process), and some are content related (more features), and so on. Etc. etc. etc.

A while back I experimented with the idea of having guest bloggers on the site and it seemed rather popular, so I've decided to bring it back.

Not only does it help me keep the site going when I'm busy and can't run to the computer/iPhone to blog and twitter Every Last Thing That's Going On, it's also kind of fun.

Posts can be on a wide variety of topics related, or semi-related to Muni or neighborhood type news. They should appeal to a diverse audience, be well written, etc. I'd also take photos for a guest post as well.

In the past, I've had people sign up to fill a specific Wednesday post, and it seemed to work well. If you're interested, please email me, and let me know what you might be interested in contributing and we'll see if we can work something out. I can't afford to pay people (although I wish I could) but if nothing else, I'll buy you a cocktail/beer/coffee/soft drink at the next N Judah party we have.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)