The mayor and city attorney earlier today disseminated their case against suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi -- in writing. It was a curious read; the city attorney has attempted to decouple the notion that "official misconduct" must be committed while "on the job." Lee's assertion is that any elected official who "falls below the standard of decency, good faith, and right action impliedly required of all public officers," is ripe for the mayor's boot.
Unless, of course, it is the mayor.
Our other favorite passage was the allegation that Mirkarimi is guilty of misconduct because he allegedly told his wife "he could win custody of their child because he was very powerful." Apparently it's now a firing offense to be a dick during an argument with your wife. Under that precedent, if Mirkarimi had told his wife he could do her some kind of favor because he is very powerful, he'd be up for termination as well.
But we digress. This is all fodder for Mirkarimi's new attorney, David Waggoner -- not to be confused with his old attorney, Robert Waggener (who called him a "tyrant" and was soon off the case). And you could do worse than hiring this new Waggoner for a trial before the Ethics Commission -- because he's made a cottage industry out of beating them like a piñata.
Lee took a kitchen sink approach with the charges, rattling off several ways in which Mirkarimi's actions around a December 31 domestic dispute with his wife, Eliana Lopez, are related to the duties of his job.
The charges come two days after Mirkarimi pleaded guilty to false imprisonment stemming from the dispute in which he allegedly bruised his wife's arm. In return for the plea, District Attorney George Gascón dropped three other charges, including battery, child endangerment, and dissuading a witness.Shortly after Mirkarimi was sentenced to three years probation, Lee sat down with the sheriff, giving him the option of resigning or being fired. Yesterday Mirkarimi announced that he would not resign, claiming he was still an elected official capable of doing his job. In return, Lee announced that he would suspend Mirkarimi and file the misconduct charges -- the first steps toward permanently ousting the sheriff.
At this point we've come to expect that Wells Fargo will screw over middle-class Americans. But it seems in the spirit of being inclusive, the big bank is now screwing over immigrants, too!
At least that's what a group of H-1B visa workers are claiming in a suit filed this week in San Francisco. Lead plaintiff Vinay Karamsetty, a web developer, says that Wells Fargo owes him $42,415 plus interest after Wells Fargo embarked on an "unfair scheme" to help dig the financial institution out an economic hole.
Karamsetty, who was hired by Wells Fargo in 2007, is accusing the bank of violating the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act by denying "employee benefits
under an employee benefit plan regulated and governed by ERISA." He also says that the bank promised to give their visa workers a severance payment if they were "displaced" for "business reasons."
According to the complaint:
More than a few sportswriters couldn't resist marital analogies during the 49ers' recent pursuit of Peyton Manning. And, hey -- it works. The team's for-better-or-for-worse union with Alex Smith finally experiences some of the "for better," vows are renewed -- and cue an aging but hormonally active bombshell (Manning).
It warrants mentioning that Smith just completed his seventh season with San Francisco -- meaning the team experienced the Seven-Year Itch. Wow, perfect! This is the only feasible way to compare Peyton Manning to Marilyn Monroe. (On a lesser note, you can liken the 49ers to Tom Ewell and Smith to Evelyn Keyes).
When you chase two women, the frequent result is ending up with no women. The Niners have patched things with Smith, the living embodiment of adequacy. There are worse things -- and worse things than ending up with nothing. You could land Tim Tebow.
Tebow's friend Jesus has done the 49ers a favor, however, ensuring the marginally talented quarterback and future conservative politician will suit up far, far from here in New York.
Authorities say they have found the body of 68-year-old George Kohler, who went missing last week during a bike tour in Death Valley.
Police confirmed that Kohler, an avid cyclist and personal trainer in San Francisco, was found in a shallow gully about less than two miles east of the Mesquite
Spring campground where he was staying at Death Valley National Park. Police have not confirmed how he died, but said it did not appear as though there was foul play. An autopsy is currently being done to determine the cause of death, police said.
"He just wandered off," his wife, Prudy, told us.
A man who recently lost his job decided it would be easier to shake down his former boss for money than stand in the state's unemployment line.
According to police, the disgruntled employee walked into his former place of work on the 3000 block of Mission Street, smelling of alcohol and marijuana, and "verbally abused" his old co-workers and threatened employees. Why? For money, of course.
The building manager told police that the man demanded a large amount of money from the office, claiming it was owed to him. However, the manager explained that because he was only there for two months, the amount of money he was demanding was more than he was owed (and worth?).
But denying a drunk man money never ends well.
Drivers in Sonoma just might have broken the Guinness World Record for -- of all strange things -- spinning the most donuts yesterday afternoon.
News reports detailed the excitement at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma where 75 drivers spun simultaneous donuts for more than 15
seconds. (How many of them puked afterward?) The drivers are almost certain they broke the previous record of 57 cars, which was set in
Queensland, Australia, in 2010.
Just watching this video made us car sick.
"He is not a person of interest in Sierra's disappearance and has been fully cooperative since the beginning of the investigation," authorities said in a statement.
