SF's Only Print Copy of Charlie Hebdo, Mohammed & Me

Three likely San Francisco venues where a print version of last week's Charlie Hebdo might be found - Fog City News, Cafe de la Presse, the Alliance Francaise - do not carry or subscribe to the controversial French publication.

But the humor collection of the main library on the sixth floor is, as far as I can determine, the only location in the city where Charlie Hebdo on paper.

I was there today to glance at it and giggle at the small portion of cartoons and texts I could understand, and had a librarian snap a photo of me holding the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo with Prophet Mohammed on the cover under the headline, "All is forgiven". Prophet Mohammed holds a "Je suis Charlie" sign as he sheds one large tear.

Sure, the issue is on the web but if you're the kind of free expression advocate and practitioner who likes the feel of newsprint and holding a physical copy of a newspaper, stop by the library on Grove Street and hold it in your hands as you read it.

Tom Ammiano Cancelled Tonight's Forum in the Mission

A sign was posted at the 518 Valencia political and cultural center announcing that progressive LGBT leader Tom Ammiano is sick with the flu, so his scheduled meeting was canceled.

I wish him a full recovery after getting all the rest he needs and applaud him staying home when sick, both for his health and that of others who might catch the bug he's got if he ventured out.

One of the group's sponsoring tonight's forum, the Progressive Democrats of America's San Francisco chapter, shared the cancellation on their Facebook page where a post from December said his planned meeting last meeting was put on hold due to the big storm.

Let's hope Tom gets well and is soon finally holding his forum with us.

SF Chron Invents New Oscar Acting Category!?

The Academy Award nominees announced last week and the omission of black-theme films and African-American actors, directors and other moviemaking talents this and in previous years, generated much good commentary about Hollywood and diversity.

A caption for a photo in the Jan. 21 San Francisco Chronicle, "Ben Affleck, who played a Latino in 'Argo', Accepts an Oscar for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast award", running with a column by syndicated Washington Post writer Ruben Navarrette Jr., invented a new acting category for the Oscars.

He's concerned about lack of recognition by the Academy Awards' governors and membership of Hispanic contributions to the movies, invented a new acting category for the Oscars.

There is no Outstanding Performance by a Cast category for the Oscars and the statuette in Affleck's hand is not a golden Academy Award. Oops.

To compound the incorrect information, today's Chronicle's corrections print and online section contains no correction about the photo's caption. Let's hope the paper gets around to addressing the mistake tomorrow.

Were Castro's Misspelled LGBT Plaques Auctioned Off for Charity?

The Rainbow Honor Walk is a project headed by gay publicist David Perry, who in September unveiled the bronze plaques featuring various LGBT folks embedded in the sidewalks of the Castro district.

Much embarrassment ensued because "biting" was misspelled in Oscar Wilde's plaque and Christine Jorgensen was mistakenly described as "transgendered".

In response to the outcry demanding to know why Perry and his board of directors hadn't checked the spelling and grammar before debuting the plaques, Perry said he'd auction off the grammatically incorrect plaques and donate the money raised to gay charities.

I tweeted to Perry and Armistead Maupin in December, asking if the auction had gone forward and if so, how much funding when to the charities. Since I've not heard from them, I sent a note to Perry via his PR firm's site requesting followup info.

Once I hear back from Perry with answers to my questions, I'll update this post.

'Homeless Cleansing' Under Mission Street Freeway Exit

It appears the San Francisco Police Department has eradicated the homeless population that was encamped along two stretches of Division Street, from Folsom to under the Mission Street freeway exit.

There are usually at least three dozen individuals with shopping carts, bikes and equipment to fix them, tents and discarded mattresses and a good number of canines sleeping, eating or peeing in this area.

Not today. As Mike and I walked around the neighborhood, we noticed the cops and probably the Department of Public Works performed some "homeless cleansing" from the sidewalks and passageways under the freeway.

Instead of homeless people, there were SFPD metal barricades and yellow safety tape lining the sections where these folks once congregated.

So, these two blocks are currently cleansed of the homeless and sidewalks are now free of trash, poop and any encampments. The homeless problem there is now solved, right?

Of course not. The homeless folks have merely moved to another location, probably more out of sight of the cops and DPW workers.

Would you say this is more evidence the sharing economy of San Francisco and the record profits of established and emerging tech firms isn't trickling down to the streets and the people who live on them?

Polk Street Porn Shop Shutters

Another one bites the dust. San Francisco continues to lose commercial venues where men gather for the sexual company of other dudes.

Before you say there is diminishing need for sex clubs, bathhouses or glory hole arcades, allow me to states that not every horny man cruises the web and there is still a large segment of men who need such places.

I was on Polk Street yesterday and noticed the signage over the entrance to what used to be Frenchy's Adult Superstore was gone. Passersby informed me that the shop was emptied of its wares and shuttered in the early days of the new year. A sign in the window read:

"We appreciate your patronage over the 35 operation of this store . . . But that doesn't mean goodbye! Please visit our other locations!"

We'll see if the three other locations manage to stay in business. Support your local sex shop or glory hole today.

SFPD Discloses NYPD Funerals' Related Cost

I received this response today and we now know the number of cops paid to be at the funerals on the East Coast in recent weeks, and many tax-dollars were spent for their time in NYC:

"The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) received your request for information on Dec. 26, 2014.  We have looked into your request and respond as follows:

"Members officially detailed to the services by the Department were paid for their regularly scheduled on-duty hours.

"Please be advised that there is no specific City directive or legal citation [stating City funds will be spent for cops to attend funerals in other jurisdictions].  However, as a City department head, Chief Suhr has the authority to detail, assign and schedule employees to attend events, training and meetings.

"There were no additional related costs using City funds.  Members detailed by the Department were responsible for their own transportation, lodging and meals and could seek reimbursement from the San Francisco Police Officers Association (POA) for their expenses."

San Francisco paid out $7,797 for six personnel to participate in the first NYPD funeral and $9,626 for eight officers' attendance at the second funeral, for a grand total of $17,423.

At a time when politicians and the police force are saying they need more cops on the streets of San Francisco, should we be spending City funds to send 14 officers to the Big Apple?

The Oscars' IRS File: $91M Revenue & LAPD Donations

Did you know that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is a tax-exempt nonprofit that annually files an IRS 990 report? Yes, the Academy Awards and the Oscars' telecast are educational endeavors as defined by the Treasury Department and their tax filings are public records. My previous posts on their 990s are here and here.

According to the most current file, submitted to the IRS on May 8, 2014, the previous year's Oscar broadcast brought in $91,998,904 tax-free money. Nice chunk of change for providing education about the art of Hollywood movies to the general masses.

The Academy donated $10,000 in 2012 and also 2013 to the Los Angeles Police Department Foundation "to support the organization". The $20,000 in total donations stands out because the Academy principally gives to industry nonprofits. Read the Academy's tax reports here.

While the Oscar nominations this year have generated the genuinely truthful hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, we need to think about how #OscarsSoGreen is also a fitting hashtag. Never underestimate that the color of money drives Hollywood's business and creative decisions.

75 Attend Outdoor Homeless Center Meeting

The City of San Francisco owns a large parcel of land on Mission between 15th and 16th Streets, currently occupied by bungalows last used by local public schools, and the property will soon become a homeless navigation center.

An estimated 75-people turned out tonight for a meeting at the site that was held in the courtyard, with loud generators providing flood-lighting and free standing patio heaters. A good number of attendees were from City Hall and various departments, along with representatives of local nonprofits.

The meeting was facilitated by Mayor Ed Lee's homeless point-man Bevan Dufty, who's spearheaded this project that should open in March. Homeless folks will be offered one-stop social services and a few nights of housing in a bungalow, all of which may equal a ticket off the streets.

I'm optimistic about the navigation center, in part, because of Dufty's managerial skills pulling this project together and the key role Muhammed Nuru of DPW is playing. These are two public officials who communicate regularly with stakeholders and generally deliver the good and goals they promise.

There wasn't a sound system so even with my hearing aids I was able to hear only a third of what was said. Not sure why the meeting wasn't held indoors where we could have heard and seen everyone.



In this video, longtime Latina community organizer Laura Guzman is speaking, you get a visual understanding of the meeting.

I hope to soon see the City feeding two birds with one seed. Putting the property and bungalows to excellent use and homeless folks gaining a new resource of direct assistance in a single location, is something this Mission resident supports.

Is Homeless Group's PR Helping Street People?

Do you think Matthew Gerring, the editor of the Coalition on Homelessness' paper the Street Sheet, advises homeless folk to think about what they're doing with their lives in response to a request for information? I don't.

Last week, I asked him about the direct impact of recent public relations moves on the COH's part, including a photo-op at the Powell Street BART station over the agency's sit-lie policies toward homeless folks and pro bono ads featuring homeless people, both of which generated much public discourse. 

Instead of providing answers Matthew sent the following reply, boasting of his agency's dedication (which I don't doubt) and acting as though this accountability activist has no business poking around the COH. I've long gotten over defensive nonprofit workers who believe just because their agency may have a small budget and good people they should be above intense scrutiny.

There's also the detail of Matthew giving the wrong info about COH's tax returns. First, it doesn't take a FOIA request to read them. Second, the amount spent by the sponsor of the social marketing campaign isn't contained in the returns.

The larger questions remained in need of answering by the COH. Has your PR in recent months directly made life better for the homeless? Here's Matthew's letter:

I make roughly minimum wage, part time, providing an income to over 150 people who have no other access to employment. My boss makes the same base salary. And we all just worked a shitlad of unpaid overtime to boost sales of the Street Sheet, give the vendors a raise, and give them some free clothing.

The COH has a budget of $300,000 annually. The City spent many times that on road construction last year,and you're picking a public fight with *us* for not doing more than we already do to help homeless people directly.

You need to stop, take a breath and really think about what you're doing with your life. If you have this much free time, file a public records act request for our tax documents. And while you're doing that, ask yourself if that time might be better spent doing something to directly help homeless people.