Backers of a November local ballot initiative to build more downtown parking garages have reached a compromise with transit advocates, who believed the new garages would generate more automobile traffic, and that the additional cars would clog bus lanes.
Under the compromise, Don Fisher, founder of The Gap stores, will not finance a campaign to pass his brainchild Neighborhood Parking Initiative on this November's ballot, according to a person involved in the negotiations.
Instead, Fisher, along with transit advocates, will back a different measure, submitted Thursday to appear on the Feb. 5, 2008 San Francisco ballot, which would lead to the creation of more parking garages in San Francisco, but not as many as Fisher had initially wished.
The compromise initiative, which has the unofficial title "Sensible Parking Initiative" on the Department of Elections form submitted Thursday, is sponsored by Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Sean Elsbernd, Angela Alioto-Pier, and Bevan Dufty.
-- Matt Smith
Supervisor Chris Daly picked up his mayoral nomination papers late yesterday afternoon, according to the San Francisco Department of Elections. (And frankly, thank God! We're so bored with covering this mayor's race that we're actually hounding the poor elections staff to see who kinda maybe sorta might want to be our Mayor.)
Now all Supervisor Daly has to do to take on The Gav is file his paperwork in time. That means getting a minimum of 20 signatures from registered San Francisco voters, forking over the filing fee of $3,776, and filling out the required paperwork, including a declaration of candidacy.
Giannina Miranda, the executive assistant for the Department of Elections, says that as of Thursday at about noon, only four of the 31 candidates have actually filed all of their required paperwork.
Tick tock, tick tock, people.--Mary Spicuzza
Snitch Ben Westhoff is having a hard time letting go of Stuff. No, not his material possessions, the once-redundant lad mag now reduced to aMaxim section. It’s creative destruction, Ben. The web will more than make up for the loss of Stuff. Ben, some final words … -d2
Stuffed
By BEN WESTHOFF
“She thinks clothes should be banned. We won't argue.”
Stuff magazine regularly dispensed such pearls of wisdom. Yet sadly the Rodney Dangerfield of lad mags is about to be made redundant, according to a report from Mediaweek. Soon it will be nothing but a section called “Stuff for Men” inside Maxim, ahead of parent company Dennis Publishing’s sale to the not-at-all-titillating sounding Quadrangle Group.
Did the world really need Maxim and Stuff? Absolutely! Perhaps the latter’s “Neighborhood Knockout” section seemed a bit derivative of Maxim’s “Hometown Hotties,” but calling Stuff inessential is like claiming the world doesn’t need Aerosmith because we already have the Rolling Stones.
These are good times for ticket scalpers. A few states including Minnesota and New York decided on measures to legalize scalping, or at least make it easier. And even though it’s still illegal here, SF scalpers earned a Home Run King’s ransom in front of AT&T Park up until Barry finally sealed the deal a few nights ago. And on top of it all, we’ve just learned that local online ticketing baron Eric Baker, of StubHub fame, just struck a deal with venture capitalists that could turn his latest project into Europe’s favorite place to buy second-hand tickets. Too bad Baker won’t be selling any tickets for NFL Europa or David Beckham.
Hills, Rip-Off Gas Prices, Brakes, and Grants Make Green Fleet Feasible
A FACTCHECK By JOE ESKENAZI
The sleek hybrid buses humming — literally — through the City are getting their fair share of press, but they're hardly San Francisco's first foray into hybrid vehicles. The City leaped onto the hybrid bandwagon with its first official-use Toyota Prius in 2000.
As it stands, the City's official fleet of 1,200 "light duty vehicles" (mostly police cars) includes 178 hybrid vehicles — one of the highest percentages in the nation. You may have seen a Prius or hybrid Toyota Camry, Honda Civic or Ford Escape zipping about town emblazoned with the City's gold seal on its doors. Perhaps that made you feel good — but is feeling good good enough?
