Fast Food Tax in San Francisco?

If you thought our city has gone insane with new fees and existing ones going up the roof (like a $15 hike on a Muni Fast Pass), try this one for size: Would you pay a tax when buying food from a fast food restaurant?

Well, get ready San Francisco, you could be paying taxes for the "pickup" of the fast food trash.

The Department of Public Works wants to tax citizens for the litter on our streets, other than cigarette butts which will have a tax imposed soon for "cleanup," they claim it's the fast food.

In my opinion, I think it's a stupid idea to add additional taxes. We already pay 9.5% sales tax on the food we purchase at any establishment, so why the hell should I pay extra just because some irresponsible person littered their burger wrapper on the ground? If I bought something from a non-fast food joint, so I don't pay the tax?

Doesn't this just seem to just be a way to tell fast food establishments that they are not welcomed in our city? We don't welcome big box retailers in our city, and that plastic bag ban doesn't help too; so they spend their time opening up shop down in Daly City and Colma where the local government welcomes them with open arms, and also snatches taxpayer money from San Francisco citizens who decides it's better down south than in our city.

So what is the definition of a "fast food" chain that would be taxed? Could Costco's food court be in the same category as McDonald's, Burger King, and Carl's Jr.? How about Noah's Bagels? They serve their stuff fast and have multiple locations in the city.

OK, the city is poor. Do what you should be doing city government clowns, chase down those who didn't pay their property taxes, have multiple parking tickets, and start making your employees drink tap water instead of that bottled crap. And while you get a chance, why not take a bigger pay cut?

Hell, I'm doing all my business in Daly City. My office is just a few minutes away from the border.

Bad San Francisco DPW... Go to Time Out!

Since yesterday afternoon, the city closed down Upper Great Highway in both directions from Lincoln to Sloat. While I haven't heard any reasons why, it's likely due to the heavy winds from Sunday and Monday that caused the beach sand to pile up on the roadway. At this time, both directions are still shut down and most are taking Lower Great Highway.

As usual procedure, if DPW must shut down either direction (or both) of the Upper Great Highway portion, the city must always put Lincoln and Sloat on 4-way stop. They do this so drivers become aware of the steel barricades closing-off the road.

When the city fails to do their job and keeps the intersection signals on a three color cycle, it puts drivers at higher risk for collisions and cars making the left turn going west on Lincoln to go south on Upper Great Highway won't notice the barricade until it is too late (a huge blind spot).

I've warned the city multiple times of the dangers of not switching to 4-way stop when that road is closed, and it happened again. When it was closed yesterday afternoon, I called the DPT hotline and the call was forwarded to "public safety" where I informed the lady why I was calling and expected someone to fix it as soon as they can.

When I arrived at Great Highway & Lincoln at 8AM today, the signals were still running on three colors and many cars were running the red light to make the turn. I called DPT again and got someone from the signal shop to explain the issue. Even then, the guy didn't even believe me that both directions of Upper Great Highway was shut down and he said that DPW is responsible for fixing the signals in the event the road must be closed.

For the love of god, I've had to tell the city over a dozen times in just a year about this exact problem. This city government is an insult and there are no excuses for continuously screwing up.

SF Supervisor Chris Daly to use F-word at Every Board Meeting

San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly may be known as a wild man for stirring up some controversy from time to time at the Board of Supervisors meetings. Who would have ever believed that his first public meeting for this year (Board of Supervisors Rules Committee), he would commit to something totally outrageous?

Yes folks, Chris Daly promises you, the public, some first class entertainment. He promises to use the "F-word" in every single meeting.

Here's a direct quote from 1/7/10's meeting:
"I just updated my Facebook status update, vowing that in 2009 I will use the word f**k in uh, every Board of Supervisors meetings; my apologies. [Audience member applauds]"

(I think he meant 2010, I screw that up at my job on occasion)

--------------------

Hey Daly, keep stirring the controversy pot. The city's pants has fallen down and the underwear is next. Good for you to stir up some attention by providing a belt and suspenders (a.k.a. the f-word).

Maybe more people will now watch SF Government TV on a regular basis and make pool bets on what time he's going to swear.

Daly for Mayor? I want to be Mayor and say out loud on a microphone in front of city hall: "Muni is f**ked up!"

To watch an UNCENSORED clip of Daly's vow to swearing, click here.

Photo from Flickr user "geekstinkbreath" using a Creative Commons License.

Lack of Communication between San Francisco Government Agencies?

You would expect that in this day of age and a modern city government, that their agencies/departments would be communicating with each other so they are all on the "same page." Surely the 311 program has helped bridge that gap by directing people in the right direction when they need services and information...

Yet, there are still problems between agencies sharing information so the public can be informed with straightforward information, instead of getting one answer here and a different one there.

--------------------

Example #1: Just today, I was riding Muni's 18-46th Avenue bus to work and noticed that Upper Great Highway was shut down due to sand on the road. Both entrances at Sloat and Lincoln (north and south directions) had to be closed.

But whatever city agency shut-down that road segment did not inform SFMTA/Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) about the closures so they can switch the road signals at those two key intersections to 4-way stop.

How did I learn this fact of lack of communication? I called DPT traffic signals directly, instead of calling the incompetent idiots of 311 who would just ask questions of why the signals should be changed.

This leaves two big problems, lack of communication between city agencies, and if the signals ran their normal (three color) cycles, some person may think it's OK since it's a green light and ram the steel gates closing the road and this means a possible LAWSUIT against the city for negligence.

--------------------

Example #2: The PGA golf tournament (President's Cup) is coming to San Francisco's Harding Golf Course next week (October 6-11) and this will bring in up to 25,000 golfing fans every single day to the south west region of the city. As always, combine it with over 32,000 SFSU students who are getting their education right next to the golf course, and hell will be here in no time.

But to the point: The city is informing the public that the entire length of John Muir Drive will be closed (south end road of Lake Merced, also home to the SFPD shooting range), and a portion of Skyline Blvd. from at least Sloat to Great Highway. While they are informing drivers with big electronic signs, 311 has not been helpful if these closures will affect SFMTA/Muni's 18-46th Avenue bus line that goes directly into both of these closed areas, mainly because city agencies failed once again to share information.

--------------------

Bravo City and County of San Francisco, bravo. How long until Mayor Newsom's term is up?

San Francisco's 311 works 80% of the time

San Francisco's "311" program was created by the local city government as a one stop place for citizens to call 311 for information and to report issues. The "one stop" concept is used in many places, and when it runs well, becomes a very successful way to conduct business. A perfect example is SFSU's "OneStop" Student Services center where students can see the registrar, financial aid, bursar, and get their campus ID in one central area.

From my own personal experience from calling the 311 service line, I feel they are able to resolve about 80% of the questions and problems I call them about.

Here is a list of the successfully resolved and answers found in an appropriate amount of time:

• Reporting potholes and they are patched-up within 3 days, in some cases, 24 hours! If you tell them it's a really bad pothole or a major Muni bus line keeps hitting it, they get on it quick.
  
• Answering general Muni questions, like "when is the first bus of the day for X line?"
• Removing a broken "Yield to Pedestrians" sign after the wind literally made it lean into the streets, and my car's mirror hit it, nearly making it fall off (I didn't sue).
• A small rock slide happened near the Cliff House, and it was cleaned-up the next day. But nobody reported it for two weeks until I did.
• Some cab driver flicked me off after cutting me off on Geary. The person on the phone was very pleasant to take the report.
  

So basically, when I ask very general questions or report problems, they get resolved or answered in a very quick fashion. While this is a short list, I've reported multiple potholes and other broken stuff, which accounts to about 80% of my calls.


Now, here is the list of problems that usually don't get resolved, provided inaccurate information, being hassled for more information (beyond common sense), and other similar issues:

• OutsideLands festival road closure information. One person transferred me to 511 without question, and I called 311 again to ask the question and was placed on hold for ten minutes. They claimed all the park roads were "open," when I knew that one nearby my home was closed. Their source of info: A poorly written SFMTA website advisory.
  
• Answering more complex Muni questions, like the nearest bus line to the (criminal) Hall of Justice building. It would take them a few minutes to find out, when the old "6-SF-MUNI" phone number (pre 311) would get you that answer in mere seconds.
  
• The city forgot to put the sticker on a street sign stating that street cleaning comes the 1st and 3rd week of Friday. I reported it over two months ago and it has not been resolved.
• Reporting potholes that may be under the jurisdiction of a different agency (such as Caltrans), but may be within the city limits. Sometimes they take the report, sometimes they don't even give you the phone number of the right person to call.
  
• Refusing to take a citizen's complaint about the Tour de California closing down Great Highway over 90 minutes before the bikers were to even enter the city.
• When the southbound Upper Great Highway had to be shut-down due to a storm, the city forgot to switch the signal at G.H. & Lincoln to 4-way stop (flashing red). Try telling that to the lady on the phone who asked why the signal cycle needs to be changed... I had to give a very detailed explanation of why it needs to be flashing red (by running the signals on a regular cycle, drivers heading southbound might think that the Upper Great Highway is open, and will zoom through the green and hit the security barrier that closes the road... a.k.a. LAWSUIT!). If 311 simply reported that the signals need to be on 4-way stop due to a road closure, the report goes to the traffic signal folks at DPT, and they know why in a snap. Before 311, I would call the traffic signal folks at DPT directly, and I told them very briefly of the situation and mentioning the road closure, and they said: "we got it!"
• Do you really have to ask how big the pothole is? The question of it being safe for a bicycle or motorcycle to drive over it is a simple enough question to determine priority.
• Reporting roadkill. They ask: "Is it smaller or bigger than a pigeon?" I would answer: "Does a skunk count as smaller?" (It sounds funny, but it's not a joke).
  

So this material covers about 20% of the issues that don't get resolved/answered or provides inaccurate information. It looks longer, but covers very specific incidents.

In summary, San Francisco 311's call center can answer/resolve the basic stuff, but when it comes to more complex stuff, they don't do well under the pressure and provides inaccurate answers, reports it improperly, and just simply shrugs it off their shoulder.

One note of improvement they do now, if you report something, they check their database for any similar reports before filing your request into the system. If something similar pops up, they tell you about it and confirm if it is the same problem. I could tell them a specific address or intersection, and whatever search program they use can narrow it down, even if it is off by a couple of address numbers or a block away.

Lastly, this may sound a little bit odd, but when I encounter a problem and I don't call 311 in say... a week, I find out that nobody has reported it while dozens to thousands of drivers pass by the problem area and sometimes on a daily basis. Just like that small rock slide, it was there for two weeks until I called it in.

I personally believe our city will be a better place if we simply report the deficiencies of our city as often as we can so they can be repaired in a timely manner (I don't mean snitching to the police every single time a driver doesn't use their turn signals). When people report problems and they get fixed: the better the reputation of 311, other city agencies, and the citizens will have a boost of morale!

When you experience issues with 311, post a comment or e-mail me at: complaints (at) akit [dot] org. I'll post it here at Akit's Complaint Department, where local officials do read my blog and either take action or post anonymous commments.

It's Akit's Complaint Department's Birthday TODAY!

It's a big happy birthday here at Akit's Complaint Department! Actually, its the birthday of my domain name: Akit.Org.

I started Akit.Org on February 7, 2002, and ran it through a simple Geocities web site program. But after many years, the website was total junk, and it really had no real potential.

So, on February 17, 2007, I decided to dump Geocities and started a blog on Blogger. I was really becoming an accomplished opinion writer, and was frequently getting my "Letters to the Editor" published in newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle and the Golden Gate [X]Press.

I could not really think of a name in the beginning to call my blog, but I thought... well, I do have a lot of complaints that I wanted to express, and influences like George Carlin, and Penn & Teller's Showtime program made me decide to start up "Akit's Complaint Department," literally home to San Francisco's complaints and sarcasm galore.

My first posting on February 17, 2007 was towards the local TV station I hated so much for their crappy programming... KRON channel 4. But a rookie Blogger didn't get much attention those days.

So after two years of writing and 165 postings (not including this one), what's the two most frequent topics I write about?

1. Muni
2. Translink

Public transit... if it worked so well, I wouldn't be writing about it! But since it's going so badly, there's always a good posting to write!

Here are some of my proudest moments with Akit's Complaint Department:

1. Literally being the place to read all the negative reviews of the Outsidelands festival in August 2008.
2. Making public a disgraceful letter from a condo developer and condo owners association president against a community festival in Japantown.
3. Targeting government waste, like the anti-Halloween campaign to get people to stay away from the Castro.
4. Being an "insider" of the Translink program. I was a pilot tester and knew all the ins and outs.
5. Being featured on SFist, Curbed SF, Eye on Blogs, N-Judah Chronicles, and many other local blogs.
   
6. Making a policy change on SF Muni with help from Phil Bronstein of the SF Chronicle about my article on why Muni will not accept "Muni to BART" discount coupons after baseball games. Then catching MUNI in the act ON VIDEO (see below).

I'm happy today that my blog has grabbed a lot of attention. I'm appreciative of the readers who use RSS, Feedburner, Google Feeds, and even e-mail subscriptions to read my insane and sometimes nutty opinions and thoughts.

Thank you to all you readers! Keep on reading!

And oh... I earned my M.A. degree!!!

SF City ID Card - Not quite an ID, more like a discount card

Yesterday, the City and County of San Francisco's Clerk office started the "San Francisco City ID" program which is a city/county issued identification card. It is only used for a select number of services and purposes within the city borders, and has no practical use outside of city lines, State of California (such as a driver's license), other states, federal purposes/services, and nearly all private businesses requiring ID (such as accepting checks, credit card applications, etc.).


It looks like many of the commentators of the Chronicle's website, SFgate, thinks this is a really stupid idea:

In one (really stupid) comment, this was featured on the main page of SFgate:

• User "triplx" says: "Time for me to get in line to get my ID card with a fake name so I can speed, apply for a few credit cards, etc."

Sorry "triplx" the ID can't be used for applying for credit cards. State identification cards and passports are the legal proof for applying for something like that. And even then to get a municipal ID, people still have to prove their residency in San Francisco, with such items as a passport or state ID, and a utility bill (this is a really strict list of requirements here). Fake names? Low chance. Possibly the clerk's office checks the info on a national database, and that's why they can only produce 30 ID cards a day. As for the SFgate editor who posted that comment, you DID NOT READ THE ARTICLE.

A lot of other comments from SFgate on this story loves to target illegal immigration, for example:

• User "sockmoneyed" says: "Suckers. Now they have your name and picture. I hope ICE is paying attention."

Is it always that when the city is in a financial crisis or spends too much money on projects that our citizens always uses the "illegal immigrant" or "sanctuary city" scapegoat? Doesn't seem that we blame Muni as often anymore. Can't fill all the potholes? Some idiot SFgate commenter will just blame "illegal immigrants." Geesh. Not everyone who gets a city ID is an illegal immigrant, maybe it's just for some other practical reason, such as just another piece of plastic to stuff in your wallet, or maybe just some good old fashioned San Francisco pride showing that you are a "true" San Francisco resident.


So what's the practical use of the ID card anyway? Or maybe ask the question this way, why an ID card? Here's my take on this:

I don't really believe it is an ID card, I think it's more of a membership discount card. Think of it this way, the city makes $15 for each ID produced (reduced price for kids, adults, and the poor), with homosexual marriage temporarily blocked off due to Prop. 8 (which brought income through marriage licensing), the city needs to make some money, and the card comes with all kinds of city government benefits/services, plus discounts to a large list of local merchants and businesses:

• City government services accepts the "ID" as proof of identity and residency ONLY. It doesn't prove immigration status you fools. The city issues IDs only to people who show documentation from official government sources, so that's proof of identity. Same for banks too, they require ID, Social Security number, and other documents to prove your identity. The City is just following the same standards as banks, and even the DMV. With that in mind, even people who can't get a U.S. Passport or State ID (for I'm assuming immigration status), can still use local city government services, like if you were badly hurt, and SF General Hospital only have your city ID, they can use it to find out your emergency contact so that family members can be informed.
  
• SF Public Library access. Plain and simple, live in SF, you should have the privilege of borrowing books and videos. But still, I don't really see any purpose for a city sanctioned ID for this.
• Park and Rec services. Sure, I want to rent a picnic site, don't you? This is for sure one decent reason to have the city ID because even if you are an illegal immigrant, at least you can rent a picnic site, thereby the city makes even more money on rentals. Local residents also gets discounts on accessing the city owned swimming pools too, so the city makes more money that way. Libraries don't make money, at least that's what I know.
  
• Banks and credit unions. The city ID can start the process of opening an account, but federal law requires more identification due to terrorism laws so that money isn't funneled for the bad guys. Many credit unions require proof of residency in San Francisco because that's part of their requirements/charter rules (as per Federal law), thereby the SF ID can ONLY WORK AS PROOF OF RESIDENCY IN SF. You still may need to prove with a social security card, passport, etc. to pass muster for federal policies to establish an account.
  
• Goat Hill Pizza is one of the many businesses that accepts the SF ID card for discounts. 10% off everything is not a bad deal, especially in this economy. Combine that with other local merchant discounts, and you'll save more than the price you paid for that "ID." See merchant list here.

To summarize this list, the real purpose for the San Francisco ID is to grab the cool discounts from the local merchants, because your California ID won't get you that 10% discount on pizza, will it?

Really... it's more like a membership/discount card that is good for a few years and it's cheap in price. I say, if you are hungry for food or bargains, why not get a card? This economy sucks, so a $15 investment can go a long way. Sure beats that $35 "Entertainment" discount book that's only valid for one year.


Another way to think about the SF ID card is that it is like a college ID card. The college ID can't establish immigration status, and only proves that you attend the university. The SF ID only establishes identity and residency, not immigration status.

How about I compare the benefits of a SF ID card to a college ID, say the S.F. State University ID card (OneCard)?

1. Access to government services: SF ID: yes to city government services. SFSU ID: yes, access to SFSU services (registrar, medical clinic, etc.).
2. Library services: SF ID: all SF Public libraries. SFSU ID: SFSU library only.
3. Park and Rec: SF ID: Yes. SFSU ID: Yes, access to gym, pool, weight room, etc.
4. Banks and Credit Unions: SF ID: Yes to establishing SF residency. SFSU ID: Yes to credit unions on establishing membership (membership rules also note, you don't have to live in SF, but can attend college in SF).
5. Discounts: SF ID: Yes to specific places. SFSU ID: Yes to the entire food court at Westfield San Francisco mall, and AMC movie theaters.

Even for college students who moved into San Francisco for a couple of years who don't want to mess with changing their address with the DMV, getting an SF ID establishes proof of residency in the city, even if it is only temporary. You live in our city, but have a driver's license that says otherwise? You should get the same benefits that our local residents get.


Lastly, this is for SFgate commenter gojira who commented on my previous comment on the "Gate:"
"I'm off to the SFgov website right now to download that [discount merchant] list. Those merchants won't see a dime of my patronage."

My reaction: Yeah right. One of the best bakeries in the Mission is on that list. I don't think you can resist their freshly made and delicious pastries. Also, one of the nation's newest and best museums is on that list, the California Academy of Sciences. I guess you won't go to that as well. Do yourself a favor, go f*** yourself. Tell your kids that they can't go to the museum because the SF ID is accepted, they might just break your legs with a baseball bat. "Look daddy! I was trying to hit your baseballs (testicles), but I hit your leg instead!"

Cool things about Election Day in San Francisco

I have to say that yesterday's election day was historic for not just the United States of America, but also for San Francisco.

Of course, we have a new President-elect and that happened at the stroke of 8PM when I was watching KTVU and Fox News broke the word to me, then I flip the channels rapidly and all the news networks announced it literally seconds apart.

Once thing I did notice, the over-the-air digital TV reception was good during the results, went sour when Obama went on the stage. I wonder if our country's investment in the new digital TV equipment is ready for something extreme like that. It's like cable internet services, everyone gets a piece of the pie, but if there's too many people in the pie, the service goes slow.

Back to San Francisco...

I think it's really interesting that we had an extreme turnout. I work at San Francisco State University and the line at the residence hall community was huge! I heard that SFSU's polling place is the largest precinct (based on population) in the entire city of San Francisco. The line was at least 100 feet long and two to three people wide.

And all those freebies! I got myself some free ice cream from Ben and Jerry's too.

I think the one big thing about our ballots this year is that there was a lot of material to vote on, and that may be a reason why the lines were so long at places like SFSU. I live in the Outer Richmond District, and other than voting for the Presidency, state and local propositions, school and college board members, and a judge; I had to also vote for a supervisor. That's four ballot cards with most of them using the back side as well. That took me at least an hour to do an absentee ballot.

(Big tip: When you get your ballot book, read it, then use the practice sheet inside to fill it out so you can quickly do your official ballot later)

In other news, San Francisco's "George W. Bush sewage plant" won't exist. Rats. I thought that was some amusing stuff. But the 30% of San Franciscan's who voted "yes" can still call it that unofficially. Could we change the Main Library to be named the "George W. Bush "leberry?""

All I can say now is, what a relief that this is all over. No more political bickering over the news, no more political ads on the radio during every commercial break, and no more killing trees to put those hanging ads on my house's gate.

I forgot to mention, I gave the finger to a person holding a "Yes on 8" sign when I was driving towards Costco. Discrimination in this country, and especially laws that prohibit people based on their ethnicity, race, skin color, and sexual orientation is just wrong. If prop. 8 passes, this will be one of the worst human rights issue in this nation in recent history (although many of us acknowledge that the Japanese internment camps was the worst human and civil rights violations in American history).

San Francisco Government Broke? Take a pay cut city officials!

As many San Franciscans know, our city government is not doing so great after learning there is a budget shortfall, and it looks like a lot of our city paid services is going to get a nasty cut in funding that will always attack something important, the lower paid employees of those services.

But when you think about this, if for example, the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) takes a 10% cut in city funding to operate, who would you think they would let go? It won't be the administrative or high ranking manager positions, it seems easy for the people in power to cut out the easy people, the hard working wage donkeys that makes about $10 to $15 an hour (not including benefits).

Instead of letting go of the people that make lower salaries, why not chip off the high paid officials, such as elected officials of the Board of Supervisors or the high paid administrative level folks like Police Chief Heather Fong? Why does our tax money fund such HUGE salaries in this city? $100,000 a year salary is plenty to support at least a couple of families who are middle class.

Here's another thing that will piss you off. Why does the Board of Supervisors have the ability to vote for a raise in salary? Most of us have to meet with our supervisor to ask for a raise, all you have to do is just get a damn majority of your own peers. And in the name of greed, I don't think anyone would say "nay." I think it's best to do it the other way: Let the VOTERS vote to elect if the Board of Supervisors deserve a pay raise. If the Supervisor's performance sucks, then NO RAISE.

My solution: Every San Francisco government employee and elected official that makes more than $80,000 a year must take a MINIMUM 10% PAY CUT.

Maybe all the money they collect from kicking that out of their salaries can be infused in a helpful program like FIXING MUNI. Take a pay cut, go scrap your $50,000 luxury cars and use that pay cut money to fix Muni and take the fucking bus like us wage donkeys do on a daily basis.

Or do it the other way, become like ex-supervisor Ed Jew and extort tapioca drink shops.