Mayor Lee's Super Bowl Plans
Mayor Ed Lee isn't one to let human rights get in the way of a dollar. In an interview with CBS 5 on the city's plans to manage the homeless during the Super Bowl this February, the nice guy mayor was blunt: "They are going to have to leave," he said.
Super Bowl 50 will kick off at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, but in San Francisco, a stretch of Market Street and Justin Herman Plaza will transform into a "fan village" — one that won't include the city's homeless.
"We'll give you an alternative. We are always going to be supportive. But you are going to have to leave the streets," Lee said. Those alternatives include beefed-up homeless programs and 500 new apartments the Mayor expects to open by February.
But with an estimated 6,686 homeless people in the city, 500 apartments will barely make a dent.
Thanks to a relentless campaign in the Chronicle to gin up outrage and disgust around homelessness, it's likely that many denizens will applaud Mayor Lee's tough guy stance.
But after the TV crews and tourist dollars leave town, the homeless will remain, as will the bitter aftertaste of a Mayor more concerned with dollars than dignity.
Bummer Man
There's a new Sheriff in Black Rock City, and he's not a fan of Burning Man. As the Reno Gazette-Journal reports, former deputy Jerry Allen replaced Richard Machado as Sheriff of Pershing County in January. Unlike his predecessor, Allen talks tough when it comes to enforcing desert law.
"Burning Man brings nothing to Pershing County except for heartache," Allen told the Gazette-Journal. He added, "We don't change the laws when Burning Man comes to town." Burners, take note: This year's ban on decadent behavior includes flying drones (exemptions for certain media and art events), EDM parties lasting more than three hours, and playing with handheld lasers. If the bugs and billionaires don't get you down, Sheriff Allen and his law and order posse might.
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