League of Women Voters of San Francisco

The rockets' red glare & red ink.

2009-07-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

A quick note following the SF fireworks. No fog. Extraordinary display. The people behind us started talking about how the City is laying off teachers, while going ahead with the fireworks. "That's two janitors," one said, after an amazing burst. How do you balance exquisite escapism with the trauma affecting all of us caught in the recession? Does the commercial benefit of all those people in town create a tipping point in favor of the fireworks? LLII.

Happy birthday, FOIA!

2009-07-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) became effective 43 years ago today, July 4th. FOIA established the public's right to access government records. California's equivalent law is the California Public Records Act (Government Code sec. 6250 - 6276.48). These laws aren't perfect. It's been said that any law that requires the requestor to turn up at the agency holding the records to see them, which is California's preferred method for requests, hardly embodies reasonable access. Nonetheless, they establish the presumption that a citizen has the right to know what the government has done. We only need ask, without explaining why. Under FOIA, the burden is on the government to prove why records shouldn't be released. If a FOIA request is denied, judicial review is guaranteed. The courts don't always come down on the side of the citizen, but the government faces a high hurdle to justify its denial. Thank you, FOIA.

FOIA doesn't bring all government records into the cold, clear light of day. Unquestionably, some records must be protected. Attorney-client privilege. Secrets that might genuinely compromise national security. Judicial review is helpful here when there is a difference of opinion between citizen and governmental agency. Or the Executive. Of course, the presidential administration sets the tone for FOIA access. The last Administration successfully defended itself against ACLU FOIA requests for documents related to US-administered torture, and the courts cooperated. The Obama administration is somewhat more open, having released torture documents - but not all of them. More than 2,000 photographs in the ACLU's FOIA request were first promised by the Obama team, then refused because they could endanger the country's troops. Makes one wonder what those photos show, that they could be worse than we've seen. It's tempting to not wonder, since our torturous acts are beyond tragic. But since we imperfect humans obviously are capable of tremendous depravity, without transparency the likelihood of our imperfection manifesting itself increases. That's why the ACLU is continuing to press the government for a full response to its FOIA request,and the burden remains on the government to explain its position. Thank you, FOIA.

Closer to home, League-wise, state FOIA-equivalents can be engines driving audits of statewide elections where governmental officials are uncooperative. The League believes transparency helps imperfect humans be mindful of their responsibilities and accountabilities, and perform accordingly. Transparency increases confidence that every vote cast is counted as it was recorded by the voter. Ideally, citizen audits demonstrating proper governmental election procedures are conducted with the willing cooperation of all involved. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. We citizens then have a responsibility to pursue prescribed administrative remedies, providing the government the opportunity to perform nobly. If that fails, we have FOIA. Happy birthday, FOIA. Here's to another productive, constructive year of inquiry, under your protection. LLII

The Holiday Weekend

2009-07-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

I just ran through today's Chron for inspiration for this posting. Not much cheery to be found, and I had a rough day so cheery is in order. Consequently, we'll go free-form.

Would you agree that this July holiday is becoming more of a family holiday? SFO last night was full of siblings and cousins holding welcoming signs, kids reaching to hug parents (my case), and vice versa. The resemblance made it impossible to mistake the connections as anything but familial. Today at work, people were preparing for daughters and dads to arrive. Elevators carried snippets of family picnic plans. Maybe we're all visiting the relatives because it can be less expensive. Or easier to justify that trip to glorious SF, leaving Dubuque behind for a few days. As in: it's a bit of splurge but you have to check in with the [relative category here] every once in a while or be ostracized. Whatever the reason, it presents opportunity.

While we're all together, let's talk. Ask about the mood back home. What's the energy level downtown and in the malls? Are their mayors and city council members making good on their election promises? Has anyone ever been asked to participate in those surveys always being reported in the papers? Who turns up for local commission meetings, or the PTA these days? Really ask. If there are stories to be told, really listen. Ask for details. If there are no stories, ask the table what keeps everyone from getting involved. We know it isn't because everything is cheery. Really ask, and really listen. Edge the conversation toward what might be done. Nothing major. Make mental notes of what people say they would like to do, and even might do, whatever it is, to be more involved in the community. Afterward, but before you forget, make notes on the November calendar page of what you heard. It will make for great table topics at Thanksgiving when we're all together again. You know. Follow up. Show you really listened, and want to really ask and really listen again. I'll bet the thread of conversation becomes contagious. And I'll bet it leads incrementally to more personal contribution to what is important to you and yours. That's progress. That's cheery! LLII

More buzz about Prop 13

2009-06-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

As Californians waited and watched during the excruciating budget battle this year, more and more people are beginning to agree we have to look at Prop 13 again. The long-ago decision to cap property taxes and to demand a 2/3 vote to approve budget decisions has made California a failed state. Many citizens do not understand how the budget is arrived at and they continue to demand services without approving any move to raise money for them. We can't keep on getting a free lunch forever. No other state in the country has passed legislation that puts the government in such a bind as California's. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass speaks for many legislators when she says its time to put everything on the table. Next month's Tax Commission Report should give some indication of what the possibilities are. Let's calm down, take a look at the possibilities and make some sensible, grown-up decision about how the state will continue to function.

Good idea for nonprofits

2009-06-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

With both city and state facing budget deficits, you'd think San Francisco could get its act together and make more responsible decisions about funding the city's nonprofit social agencies. But as columnist C.W. Nevius points out in the S.F. Chronicle, funding really depends on how effectively the nonprofits reps can beg from the supervisors and how much political clout they have. Is this any way to run a city? The political atmosphere of the funding leads to a duplication of efforts in some areas and a lack of them in others. It punishes responsible nonprofits which meet their goals and favors other that consistently fail in the tasks they take on. We can do better than that. As Nevius points out, improved accounting methods would make it possible to compare the records of nonprofits and target funding toward the ones which actually do what they promise. With so many new college graduates searching for jobs today, surely the city could set up an intern program to help nonprofits with their accounting. That would help build the students' resumes and help save the taxpayers money--not to mention providing better services for the needy.

Last chance for budget?

2009-06-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

State legislators will vote this week on competing plans to "fix" California's budget problems. The S.F.Chronicle offers readers a handy chart comparing the two packages. The problem is that neither plan grapples with the measures needed to fix the budget permanently. Both of them push some expenses off into the future and make overly-optimistic predictions of how much money will be saved. The L.A. Times notes that Democrat's plan goes so far as to suggest paying state employees their June salaries just after midnight on July 1 so the expense is pushed into the next budget year. That's the old let's-pay-the-holiday-bills-in-January ploy that many households have tried only to find the bills are just as painful in the new year. To vote either one of these packages into law in time to save us from running out of money on July 1 will require a two-thirds majority. When are our representatives going to settle down and act like grown-ups?

Civilized, dignified healthcare may still be ours! (Action still required.)

2009-06-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a dispiriting period for everyone who will ever need health care without the benefit of employer-provided insurance (that would be most of us), but the trajectory may reversing. We start from a low point: California's universal healthcare bill, SB810, was shelved due to fiscal worries. Of all things. Containing medical expense with preventive care and early treatment is part of a solution to individual, corporate, and government fiscal worries. Then, Congress said no, flat out, to single payer healthcare. Insurance companies protested they couldn't compete with a government program, and it would be socialism, too. Hmmmmmm. People agitated heartily, and Senator Baucus opened the door to at least considering single payer. The rhetoric intensified. I woke up earlier this week to NPR's Steve Inskeep badgering HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to assure us there would be no single payer system . The Secretary obliged; he crowed. (Tell us what you really think, Mr. Inskeep. Now we understand why NPR describes you as a "personality" rather than a journalist.) It was depressing and distressing. But wait! Late in the week Senator Dodd, speaking for Senator Kennedy, called his colleagues to task for plans that would still leave millions without any health insurance, and would leave preventive or early treatment our out-of-pocket costs. There was a pause in the rush to publish something, anything, rather than a responsive, responsible proposal. Now, today. The NYT published a survey showing 72% of respondents back a public health care option. 64% of persons earning less than $50,000 (these are people with very little discretionary money, really) would be willing to pay higher taxes for universal health insurance. And, today, the Times ran a thoughtful editorial in full support of a public health insurance option, compared to the alternatives. I'm encouraged. But this is a fragile recovery. Let's keep speaking out for better, meaningful access to healthcare. Our voices make a difference. And our lives depend on it. (League Lady II)

On the street in San Francisco

2009-06-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

On this pleasant Sunday when many of us are at home celebrating Father's Day with the family, it's particularly painful to think about people who not only have no family but don't even have a home. The S.F. Chronicle book review today calls attention to Righteous Dopefiend an important book of words and pictures by Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg. The authors tell the stories of addicts who are chronically homeless, who struggle to overcome addiction and find satisfying lives, but most of whom continue to fall back into homelessness and despair. More information about the book is given in a longer, academic review that quotes several sources commenting on the searing portrait of men and women and how their lives are affected by our failing drug laws. Despite Mayor Newsom's laudable efforts to find housing for the homeless, much more is needed. During economic hard times let's not forget others who are suffering much more than we are.

How can I possibly understand the crisis?

2009-06-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

As we try to follow news about the financial crisis that's hit us all, most of us wonder what's meant by all the jargon tossed about by reporters and commentators. Many people who are not trained in economics have had to try to learn a lot of terms very quickly and many of us have failed. At last we have a helpful source online. It's called the Financial Crisis for Beginners and it's part of a blog written for the general public by experts in the financial field. The blog itself, called The Baseline Scenario, provides frequent updates of what's going on in the world of finance. The authors also write articles for the New York Times and the Atlantic, which can be located through the blog. Not all of it is easy reading, but the writing is clear and the subject is important. It's worth spending some time trying to understand what's going on. It may not make you feel better, but at least you'll feel a little less confused and helpless in the face of all the changes we've seen.

New way to follow election

2009-06-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Every conflict in recent years has brought a new media format into its own. Just as the 1991 Iraq war made CNN famous, so the Iranian election and the turmoil that followed has brought www.twitter.com into its own. The tweets from Iran and from Iranian sympathizers around the world has provided a running commentary on what is going on inthe country at a time when mainstream media are having difficulty getting and sending information. Take a look at these images sent through a tweet to thousands of people around the world. While Iranian officials appear to be trying to close down access to cell phones and the Internet people are still managing to send out tweets, changing their location and access to avoid detection. Whatever happens next, people around the world have been alerted to the power of twitter and the media landscape has changed once again.

Figuring out the costs

2009-06-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

One of the most popular topics of conversation these days among Americans trying hard to understand the debate over healthcare is the issue of whether higher cost bring better care. A number of articles have discussed the Dartmouth studies on regional differences in the cost of healthcare to patients covered by Medicare. Today's N.Y. Times provides an overview of those studies by one of the researchers involved. Although there are some questions raised by critics, such as questions about whether people in some parts of the country are just sicker than others, the evidence seems overwhelming that much of the difference comes from the attitudes and practices of the doctors and hospitals involved. Let's hope the educators developing curriculum for medical schools are taking a serious look at the results of these studies and designing courses that train doctors to consider the implications of their decisions on the nation's healthcare. Our hopes for true and lasting reform in healthcare depend as much on our young doctors as on lawmaker's decisions. And while we're at it, let's reconsider covering more of the costs of medical education so young doctors don't face the burden of overwhelming debt that conflicts with their desire to give service where it is needed most.

Taking out the garbage

2009-06-10T11:15:00.001-07:00

San Francisco has its challenges, and now it seems that garbage is one of them. Many of us in the city have been separating garbage into blue, black or green bins for years now, but this has not been done all over the city. Now a strict new law will make it mandatory for everyone to participate in this recycling effort. If this system is successful it will cut down on San Francisco's production of greenhouses gases and make the environment better for all of us. Speaking as one who has sorted garbage for several years now, I must admit there are still questions that come up--where do milk cartons go? what about light bulbs? which kind of bulb? Citizens will get new lists of types of materials suitable for each bin, but be prepared for a few kitchen table arguments, especially with children, about exactly where each item belongs. Don't worry! San Franciscans can cope with earthquakes and mudslides, so we can surely overcome the garbage problem. And it feels so good to get it right!

League moving into a new year

2009-06-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

The League of Women Voters of San Francisco held its annual meeting yesterday to approve plans for the coming year and to elect new members to the Board. For more information about plans and directions, check the website www.lwvsf.org during the coming weeks to see our our plans for activities and new directions. After the business meeting, the featured speaker was Robert Cruickshank, the Public Policy Director for the Courage Campaign, which is gathering support for a new California Constitutional Convention to solve some of the many problems facing our state. Robert talked enthusiastically about the possibilityof the people of California getting together to change the dysfunctional system in Sacramento and improve life for all Californians. There are several websites you can follow to keep up with what is happening in the movement for a Constitutional Convention. One is Repair California and another is the webiste Calitics for which Robert is one of the editors. The future looks exciting, so be sure to keep up.

What's changed in healthcare?

2009-06-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

The League's Healthcare Forum on May 27 got a lot of members talking about how healthcare has changed over the past fifteen years or so. Looking back to the early 1990s when President Clinton introduced healthcare legislation only to have it turned down, most of us can recognize that costs have gone up and care doesn't seem to have improved much. But now we can turn to some documentation produced by the National LWV to get some hard facts on what the changes have been. Not only do far fewer people have healthcare insurance through an employer, but the many HMOs and other forms of insurance plans that have been developed in recent years do not seem to met the vision of the early 1990s. It's not easy to see how we can move ahead on healthcare in the midst of the severe economic slump we are in, but it's obvious that something has to be done. San Francisco has started an innovative program to provide healthcare for everyone, and the California legislature is considering a bill to provide single-payer health insurance. As citizen we have to keep our eyes on what is being done and persuade our representatives at all levels to make the changes needed to strengthen healthcare for all.

Who are the bad guys?

2009-06-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Listening to a news report this morning I heard a quote from a newly-trained Afghanistani policeman about "fighting the bad guys from the next village". That was the final straw. The term "bad guys" has crept into all our discussions about international affairs and nuclear weapons. Even our presidents have taken to calling our enemies, both the ones we are fighting in wars and those with whom we differ in ideology, "the bad guys". Anyone who has read history knows that enemies in one war often become friends in the next. A country whose political system we dislike is not a country filled with "bad guys". It's a country filled with normal human beings who have ideas that may be wrong or unjust or uninformed. They may be our enemies, but that doesn't make them demons. Calling a temporary enemy a "bad guy" is the habit of six-year-olds on school playgrounds. It's about time our government leaders and our media start speaking adult English and stop using schoolyard taunts. Come on everyone, let's grow up!

Smiling through the gloom

2009-06-01T10:45:00.001-07:00

The state of the state of California has become such a source of humor to the rest of the country that we find ourselves mentioned everywhere we look. The idea of the largest state in the country driving itself into bankruptcy strikes outsiders as funny, although it's not very funny to many who live here. Joel Stein, writing in Time magazine, is a resident of california, but he cannot resist pointing out the folly of our endless voting for initiatives most people can't understand. Asking voters to determine how much we should spend on a high-speed rail system or a hospital bond may have seemed like a good idea once, but it is not working out the way it was planned in 1911. Stein joins a long list of writers, politicians and businesspeople in suggesting that it's time to look at our initiative system with a view to revising it. We all want to strengthen democracy, but making decisions on the basis of ad campaigns is not the way to do it.

Healthcare struggle ahead

2009-05-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

President Obama has promised to bring forward a healthcare plan that will enable Americans to get the kind of healthcare they deserve, but it won't be easy. The struggle to unite insurance companies, the government, the medical profession and the general public promises to be a long one. Already supporters of single-payer healthcare are turning to demonstrations and civil disobedience to protest the lack of a public option in the bill currently proposed. Some Californians, despairing of action on the national level, prefer to support Sen. Mark Leno's proposal for single-payer insurance in California. The state legislature has supported this approach before, but Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed each bill passed. This is a crucial area for most Californians and the League of Women Voters, plans to provide informative forums and other programs to allow voters to learn more about the plans supported by various groups. The first forum was held on May 27, and another one is planned for early September. Keep tabs on what is happening by visiting www.sfvotes.org frequently for the latest updates.

Only temporary?

2009-05-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Castro Street and much of the city was alive with protest last night after the California Supreme Court decision to uphold Prop 8 was announced. The proposition, passed by a small majority of voters, rescinded the right of same-sex marriage in the state, while at the same time upholding the validity of thousands of same-sex marriages performed before November 2008. Today this decision is making headlines all over the country and has been the subject of an editorial in the N.Y. Times. Despite the high emotion shown by both supporters and opponents of Prop 8, the underlying question of making changes to the state constitution is perhaps the most important issue to emerge from the case. The California constitution has been amended more than 500 times, making changes both trivial and major to the document. What kind of a constitution needs constant tinkering over the years? Surely one of the most important lessons learned from this case is that it's time to hold a constitutional convention and take a long, rational look at howthe state wants to govern itself. The opponents of Prop 8 are surely right that the set-back yesterday is only temporary, but the weakness in our constitutional procedures will be enduring unless we do something about them, and do it soon.

Is California leading the nation to chaos?

2009-05-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

From the tranquil green campus of Princeton University, Paul Krugman today writes about the dire state of California. Even though Californians have been making bitter jokes about how the state has lost its way, it is chilling to know that on the other side of the continent a leading economist thinks that if California really still is "where the future happens first" then "God help America". Krugman is worried because the political system in our state simply is not functioning. He points to Prop 13 as the ballot measure that started the trend toward unworkable budgets and an unstable government. Our dependence on income tax to fund almost all government functions leaves us vulnerable to every swing in the economy. And what are we doing about it? So far not much. Everyone knows we need changes in Prop 13 to enable us to make property taxes more equitable. We need to stop allowing a minority of lawmakers to hold our budget process hostage to the need for a two/thirds majority. As citizens we need to take responsibility for supporting change. It's time for every one of us to support the call for a Constitutional Convention and to hold our lawmakers accountable for their decisions. The longer we wait the worse the world will be for our children and grandchildren.

Fixing a tax loophole

2009-05-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

The fiasco of the Special Election on May 19 has made it clear that California must make some changes to its budget process. Prop 13, the ballot measure passed in 1978, has been an impediment to sensible budget planning for thirty years, but no legislator has faced up to the challenge of changing it. Now Phil Ting, San Francisco's Assessor-Recorder presents a plan to close at least one large loophole. According to Ting, the people who get most from Prop 13 are large corporations which no longer bear the brunt of property taxes. Commercial property owners paid only 43 percent of property taxes in 2008, while residential property owners paid 57 percent. If the rules were changed so that corporations paid their fair share, California would benefit from increased revenue and a large burden would be removed from many middle-class citizens. The League of Women Voters supports this reform. Let's hope the legislators have the courage to stand firm against corporate lobbyists and make Prop 13 work the way it was intended to work, protecting homeowners, not businesses.

What are they doing with our money?

2009-05-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Year after year voters approve bond issues but often they lose track of how the money is being spent. Starting today San Franciscans will have a convenient way of keeping track of how the city's bond money is being spent or perhaps not spent. The website of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco www.sfvotes.org has a section called Bond Watch in which Kristin Chu, a member of the League and also of the city's Bond Oversight Committee. will provide quarterly reports of bond activity. The May report details the status of the 2000 Neighborhood Recreation and Parks Bond and the 1999 Laguna Honda Hospital Bond. Don't lose this opportunity to track how the city is spending money the voters approved for public projects.

Now's the time to vote!

2009-05-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

This is a very slow election day. Some of the polling places are almost empty. Now is the time to go out and vote so our officials know we really do care.

Running scared

2009-05-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Bay to Breakers run tomorrow will attract hordes of participants and viewers on what is predicted to be one of the hottest days on record for May. Runners are already being warned to be scared of dehydration and sunburn and to avoid them by drinking lots of water and slathering on sunblock. If only there were simple prescriptions for the rest of us to avoid the dangers of an unbalanced budget causing layoffs that will injure many people in the city. Mayor Newsom announced that 1000 city workers will be laid off, many of them in the Public Health Department. Why is the city in such a fix? The overall recession is hurting all of us, of course, but the pain could be moderated if it were shared by everyone. Instead, we are treated to the same old political squabbles and the same greedy refusal to help our neighbors that shows up year after year. Running this city is becoming more and more like monitoring a schoolyard full of six-year-olds. But kids grow up and learn to share, while it sometimes seems that our politicians never will.

Thinking about the Supreme Court

2009-05-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

The appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice is always a big news event, but this year's nomination is being more closely watched than ever before. At least it seems that way. According to a CBS/NYTimes poll, most Americans (55%) trust President Obama to nominate a good candidate, but there are lots of different ideas about what kind of candidate is a "good candidate". Many womens groups and some government officials, such as Senator Barbara Boxer, have pleaded with President Obama to nominate a woman. Other groups urge the naming of a Latino or a "strong liberal". A majority of Republicans (66%) are anxious about the choice, while the overwhelming majority of Democrats (80%) believe whoever Obama chooses will be someone they can support. Perhaps its time for all of us to take a deep breath and let the process move ahead without so much scrutiny and worry.

Scary election

2009-05-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Every day brings new news and opinions on what is going to happen after the May 19 election. In the S.F. Chronicle today, you'll find a round-up of cuts being planned if the six ballot measures are not passed--and all indications are they will not be passed. You have probably also seen the ads on TV of firefighters worrying about whether they will be able to keep up the annual fight against wildfires and of teachers worrying about whether they will keep their jobs. Despite all the news and media concern, the average citizen often takes one look at the long, dull ballot measures and decides the figures are too much to cope with. Turnout is expected to be very low, but no doubt complaints will be very loud no matter which way th vote goes. If you want to give any credibility to your complaints, you have to get out there and express your opinion in the vote. Check on the links on this website www.SFvotes.org get the information you need, and cast your vote on May 19.