Training Day is a gritty and violent crime story  put to film.  Denzel Washington won an Academy Award for his role as the corrupt, veteran Los Angeles cop, Alonzo.  Ethan Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the rookie cop who spends Training Day with Denzel.

The film is violent and compulsively watchable. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Training_Day

Now we are beginning to learn who is really behind the Right wing cabal to oust San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin.

The San Francisco Chronicle has taken a look at the most recent campaign finance reports. The findings follow.  To ward off this effort the thousands of citizens who spearheaded Chesa’s victory in 2019 need to take to the streets in his behalf, again.

Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 3.25.2021

A group seeking to oust San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has raised over $75,000 in the initial weeks of its campaign, according to the group’s campaign finance records .

More than 100 donors pitched in to the Committee Supporting the Recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin between Jan. 1 and March 15, with a single tech investor bankrolling nearly one-third of the war chest.

DA Boudin with Mayor London Breed – January 2021

By far the recall campaign’s largest donor in the period captured by the group’s campaign finance records was David Sacks, a partner at Craft Ventures and former PayPal executive who forked over $25,000 of campaign’s total $76,587. Sacks and his wife also donated to the campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.

In  2015 PayPal agreed to fork over $25 million in damages stemming from shady business practices the company used to a) trick consumers into signing up for services that they didn’t really want and b) net more money in the way of fines and late fees than they were entitled to.

https://bgr.com/2015/05/20/paypal-credit-scam-25-million/

Sacks recently took aim at Boudin on Twitter for declining to enforce the “three strikes” law, a policy that significantly ratchets up prison sentences on a person’s third offense. Critics of the law argued that it was a key driver of mass incarceration and disproportionately punished Black and Brown offenders.

California voters in 2012 rolled back these laws to only include serious or violent felonies, and Boudin’s office severely limits it altogether.

Sacks did not return a request for comment on social media and a number listed for him disconnected when The Chronicle tried calling.

“We had a couple of large donors, but the majority were $1,000 and below,” he said.

The committee must collect 51,325 signatures — 10% of the city’s registered voters — by Aug. 11 for the campaign to qualify for a special election.

The recall effort comes just over a year after Boudin was sworn in as district attorney, a role he won after vowing to reduce mass incarceration, hold bad cops accountable and fortify the city’s criminal-justice rehabilitation programs. Boudin has emerged as a national figure in a movement to elect progressive prosecutors, with voters increasingly rejecting the tough-on-crime criminal justice system that fed into to overflowing jail and prison populations.

Boudin on Thursday said his recall campaign’s biggest supporters represent a departure from the city’s famously progressive values.

“We are not surprised to see that Richie Greenberg is leading a charge to push back against a San Francisco that serves everyone, not just the few, and that he is bankrolled by a few very wealthy individuals who have long been out of touch with what San Franciscans want and need,” Boudin said.

“They couldn’t win the election so now they are trying to overturn it. We’ll keep doing our work.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Biggest-donor-to-Chesa-Boudin-recall-campaign-is-16054271.php

California just saw a Star of progressive law enforcement elevated to the top rung of California Justice.

Governor Newsom selected Eastbay legislator and Filipino American Rob Bonta as California’s chief law enforcement officer.

AG Bonta will be a center of attention in the rising tide of looking at criminal justice in a new way.

His ascension will provide a much needed boost to San Francisco DA Boudin and Los Angeles DA George Gascon. Both incumbents are facing vicious attacks by the forces of law and order old school lock ’em up punishment.

Davis Vanguard 3.24.2021

San Francisco, CA – In a move that will no doubt please progressives and came as a shock to many, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of Assemblymember Rob Bonta as the next Attorney General, filling the seat vacated by Xavier Becerra.

SF DA Chesa Boudin, a leading reformer was excited by the pick.

“Assemblymember Bonta has been a leader in the fight for criminal justice reform and we have partnered on reforms together. I commend @GavinNewsom for this fantastic selection!” Boudin tweeted.

A reformer in the legislature who began his career in John Kekar’s prestigious San Francisco law firm and went to the City Attorney’s Office before being elected to the Assembly, Bonta assuming his nomination is confirmed by a state legislature overwhelmingly Democratic, would become the first Filipino American to serve as California Attorney General.

“Throughout his career in public service, Assemblymember Bonta has taken on big fights to reverse historic injustice – many affecting communities of color. He has been a leader in the fight to reform our justice system and stand up to the forces of hate,” the Governor’s office said in their release.

“Rob represents what makes California great – our desire to take on righteous fights and reverse systematic injustices,” said Governor Newsom.

“Growing up with parents steeped in social justice movements, Rob has become a national leader in the fight to repair our justice system and defend the rights of every Californian. And most importantly, at this moment when so many communities are under attack for who they are and who they love, Rob has fought to strengthen hate crime laws and protect our communities from the forces of hate. He will be ahenomenal Attorney General, and I can’t wait to see him get to work.”

Assemblymember Rob Bonta was elected to the California State Assembly’s 18th District in 2012, where he represents the cities of Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro. He became the first Filipino American state legislator in California’s then 160-plus-year history.

“Thank you, Governor. I am humbled by the confidence you have placed in me,” said Bonta. “I became a lawyer because I saw the law as the best way to make a positive difference for the most people, and it would be an honor of a lifetime to serve as the attorney for the people of this great state. As California’s Attorney General, I will work tirelessly every day to ensure that every Californian who has been wronged can find justice and that every person is treated fairly under the law.”

Elected to the State legislature as the first Filipino-American in California history, he has become “a statewide leader in the fights for racial, economic and environmental justice, advancing reforms that put California on the cutting edge,”the Governor said.

Among his legislative accomplishments:

Outlawed For-Profit Prisons in California: Bonta authored legislation that made California the first in the nation to ban for-profit prisons and immigration detention centers.

Led Major Sentencing Overhaul Effort: Following statewide marijuana legalization, Bonta authored the California law to automatically expunge and modify criminal records for people convicted of minor marijuana charges.

Took on Big Polluters: Bonta authored major environmental justice legislation and has been a leader in the fight against climate change and to ensure every community equitably benefits from our green economy.

Passed Nation’s Strongest Statewide Renter Protections: Bonta led the fight to pass statewide protections for renters, ultimately resulting in the nation’s strongest protections against wrongful evictions.

Fought to Strengthen Hate Crime Laws & Protect Communities: Bonta has introduced a number of bills to improve hate crime statutes, support victims of hate violence, and build bridges between law enforcement and targeted communities.

Protected Immigrant Families from Deceptive ICE Tactics: Bonta authored first-of-its-kind legislation requiring immigrants to be informed of their rights before speaking to ICE agents.

Sought to End Predatory Bail Laws: Bonta co-wrote the law that sought to end the racist and predatory for-profit bail system.

Required Independent Investigations of Unarmed Deaths: Bonta co-authored the law that required an independent investigation when there is a death of an unarmed civilian by law enforcement.

—David M. Greenwald reporting

https://www.davisvanguard.org/2021/03/breaking-news-governor-newsom-appoints-reformer-as-the-new-ag-rob-bonta/

Lee Heidhues 3.23.2021

Attn:  Richie Greenberg – Republican Functionary front man for the Chesa Recall Campaign

Recall Guru Richie

Since you are raising megabucks from Big Tech, well over $100,000 so far when you are going to comply with campaign finance laws and make public a list of contributors who are behind this Trump land attempt to recall Chesa?

I am sure there are all sorts of benignly named PACs propping up this odious effort.

While you’re at it, disclose the PAC of the Police Officers Association which undoubtedly is providing you with all the money and support you need.

Your Trump land cabal will not withstand the scrutiny when the public learns who is really pulling the strings and funding this campaign.

There are campaign disclosure laws in San Francisco which are monitored by the Ethics Commission.

Lee Heidhues 3.23.2021

In response to  comments by three members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the March 23, 2021 online Chronicle.  The comments revolve around the HOT issue of keeping JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park car free.

My comments are bold type underlined

soph·ist·ry

/ˈsäfəstrē/

Learn to pronounce

Supervisor Shamann Walton – President

“So when we look at segregationist policies like closing JFK to Bayview, Mission, Lakeview, Excelsior communities, that shouldn’t even be considered,” Walton said. “We need to allow Black and brown and all communities of color complete access again now that we’re in the orange tier.”

This argument is beyond nonsensical. What are you talking about? Waving the flag of discrimination is really reprehensible. What we are talking about is a car free environment. People can still drive to GGP and you know it. So, stop this incendiary rhetoric. I expect more from the President of the Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Connie Chan

Supervisor Connie Chan expressed sympathy for her two colleagues’ positions during Tuesday’s meeting. She said it was hard to get to Golden Gate Park from where she grew up in Chinatown.

“It is a racial equity issue…that consistently for a lot of us immigrants, working families, communities of color, that we have to fight for green space, we have to fight for equity in recreation,” Chan said. “When we have road closures, more often than not, that essentially is what segregation is all about.”

How is it hard to get to GGP from Chinatown?  The 5Fulton can be boarded on Market Street and taken directly to Golden Gate Park beginning at Stanyan Street all the way to Ocean Beach.

What do “road closures” have to do with “segregation?” Yes. Road closures inconvenience people who have cars. It forces these people to park and walk. It’s good exercise.

Supervisor Ahsha Safai

“Open up JFK drive,” he wrote. “Residents of the Excelsior, OMI, Outer Mission, Bayview and all neighbors of the Southern portion of the City need to have access to the park as well. Closing JFK takes away access to GGP attractions for many SF families and many communities of color.”

Explain how “Closing JFK takes away access to GGP.” Making GGP park car free requires people, who drive, to park and walk. It’s good exercise.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/local-politics/article/Will-cars-come-back-to-Golden-Gate-Park-Some-16048206.php

It’s been eight years since the deadly Boston Marathon bombing by the brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnev which resulted in the deaths of several people and the maiming of nearly 300.

Tamerlan was killed by authorities after the bombing. Dzhokhar was captured, tried and convicted to life on prison. In the last days of the Trump Administration the DOJ asked that the Supreme Court review the sentence and rule that Dzhokhar Tamerlan deserves the death penalty.

The Supreme Court will hear the case in its term beginning next October.

Wall Street Journal 3.22.2021
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court agreed to consider the Justice Department’s bid to reinstate a death sentence for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The court said Monday it would review an appeals court ruling from July that said the death sentence couldn’t stand because a trial judge hadn’t properly screened jurors about their exposure to pretrial publicity about the case.

The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in its decision last summer, said the judge “qualified jurors who had already formed an opinion that Dzhokhar was guilty—and he did so in large part because they answered ‘yes’ to the question whether they could decide this high-profile case based on the evidence.”

The decision didn’t overturn Tsarnaev’s convictions; his lawyers at trial admitted his participation in the 2013 bombings. But the ruling, if it stands, means prosecutors would need to go through a new penalty-phase trial if they hope to have a death sentence reinstated.

Tsarnaev’s legal team said the lower court ruling was correct and asked the justices not to hear the case.

I saw ‘Heat’ in 1995 when it opened at the now shuttered Alexandria Threater in San Francisco. In the intervening years I have watched it, again, several times on DVD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_(1995_film)

When ‘Heat’ was released Vanity Fair wrote it was the BEST MOVIE ever released.  That observation may be a stretch. But, it is fair to say that ‘Heat’ is a classic piece of crime noir with a human touch.

‘Heat’ is the first film in which Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro appeared together. Their late night conversation over coffee is now thought of as a classic moment in American cinema.

NPR – Marc Rivers 9.5.2020

I decided to watch Heat because of the epidemic.

Not the most obvious choice, maybe. With things as bleak as they seem, Michael Mann’s 1995 crime epic doesn’t promise the comforts of a good rom-com like When Harry Met Sally… or a classic family film like Finding Nemo, movies that offer the kind of happy ending we’re looking for these days.

Nor does it provide the perverse pleasures of Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 film Contagion; that film’s take on a global pandemic eerily mirrors our own, and helps us imagine just how bad things could get.

I did watch Contagion during the pandemic, and it did creep me out a little, with its shots of desolate stores and streets. But Heat, which turns 25 years old this year, deals with a more existential kind of emptiness – one that becomes the film’s steady, plaintive bassline against the catchy melody of its cops-and-robbers plotting. And in its own strange and very specific way, it comforted me.

Al Pacino’s relentless detective Vincent Hanna chases Robert De Niro’s brooding thief Neil McCauly, who’s after “one last score” before he gets out of town. Many filmmakers, from Ben Affleck to Christopher Nolan, have copied the film’s melody — its shootouts, double-crosses and close calls — but few have bothered with that haunting bassline, which conveys the loneliness of modern existence.

Mann evokes that aching feeling visually: Figures framed against cold, hard glass and sharp angles, or overlooking an endless, glittering cityscape – LA as it might have been painted by Edward Hopper.

In one scene, De Niro’s McCauley slinks wearily into his home, somehow silhouetted in rooms already sunk in deep shadow, and leans against a large window that frames a churning body of water and a somber blue sky. Here Mann captures a mood of desperate longing – a need for something too far away to be seen.

Mann often shoots his characters dwarfed by their environments like this. Action filmmakers more given to glamorizing their cops-and-robbers characters — Michael Bay, Peter Berg, David Ayer — tend to avoid having them appear so small and impotent, as they make films that expressly avoid engaging with impotence of any kind.

For the last few months, the threat of COVID-19 has forced millions of Americans to go against our biological and emotional needs and stay apart from one another. Physical touch has gone from comfort to taboo, other people represent potential dangers rather than safe havens.

Feelings of impotence are bound up in our current state of loneliness, in the understanding that you, yourself, are not enough, even as you also understand that you’re unable to do anything about that.

The tragedy in Heat lies with characters who try, and fail, to do something about it. De Niro’s McCauley falls for another lonely soul, but he won’t commit to her, knowing that he’ll always be on the run. Pacino’s Hanna, a ghostly figure in his (third) marriage, comes to life only when he’s out on the hunt for McCauley and his crew. In one muted sequence, Hanna’s wife Justine (played by Diane Verona) speaks of his growing absence in their relationship:

“You walk among the remains of dead people,” she tells him.

And in another quiet conversation — the film’s most famous scene — Hanna and McCauley share a moment of truce over a cup of coffee. As they study each other, cop and criminal, each man begins to see his reflection in the other: a man defined by what he does — and nothing else. Theirs is the most intimate relationship in the film, but the path of collision on which they’re trapped dictates that their closeness cannot last. In the end, only one of the two men will survive.

Even the film’s minor characters seem perpetually on the verge of a sort of disappearance. Hanna’s adolescent step-daughter (a young Natalie Portman), for example, suffers anxiety attacks and retreats into herself because her biological father (pointedly unseen in the film) never shows up for her. An ex-convict (Dennis Haysbert) wants to make an honest living working at a diner, but he must deal with an abusive boss — and a society that would prefer for all those who have entered the industrial prison complex to just disappear.

Ultimately both of these characters will commit acts of self-destruction. Another film might have cut these subplots, but Mann seeks to create a world with living and breathing characters, lost though they might be, existing both at its center and at its margins. In Heat, individuals have both solitude and suffering in common.

Movies don’t have to uplift or inspire, of course. Sometimes they need only to understand. You can find a cathartic release in being understood, and in watching Heat, I felt my own struggle with loneliness understood, and clarified – which is to say: seen. This struggle isn’t new, and many of us grappled with it long before COVID-19, and will do so long after. I feel lucky that I’ve gotten to see some of my loved ones and cherish their company. But even in those fleeting, happy moments when the loneliness subsides, I can’t help but think about the characters in Heat – the cop, the thief, the young girl, the ex-con – who will remain alone.

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/05/908078733/michael-manns-heat-at-25-a-newly-relevant-study-in-loneliness

Lee Heidhues 3.20.2021

I am a long time Chronicle subscriber and write the following with total sincerity.

The departure of John Diaz is welcome and long overdue. Like a television sitcom which is past its prime his voluntary departure will hopefully bring a breath of fresh air and opinions in step with the 21st century to the stale Chronicle editorial page. John’s 25 years at the helm have been nothing more than  cheer leader and lap dog for the entrenched powers in San Francisco.

The City has changed in the past 25 years. Regrettably, under the leadership of John, the Chronicle editorial page remained embedded in a San Francisco which came crashing down, just like the Embarcadero Freeway and Candlestick Park, years ago.

Every picture tells a Story – Ongoing Series.

On the first day of Spring 2021 a band of citizens rallied on JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park with a clearly defined goal.

Designate JFK Drive a permanently car free zone.

During the past year JFK Drive has been a marvelous place for people of all ages; young, old, the elderly and disabled. Thousands of citizens have been able to enjoy the 1.5 mile JFK thoroughfare without the encumbrance and danger of cars.

We want to keep it that way.  PERMANENTLY.

Photos – Liz and Lee Heidhues – a pair of lifelong bicyclists and now senior citizens.

If San Francisco is genuinely  a people friendly town JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park must remain car free.

Motorist advocates of allowing cars to occupy JFK Drive again  are cynically using the elderly and disabled as their reason to permit cars back onto JFK Drive. 

The thousands who have enjoyed a car free JFK during the past year are vivid testimony to the benefit of this open space for people of all ages. The elderly and disabled included.

There is a solution. The City could provide shuttle service from the Park entry to those who genuinely need assistance.

 JFK Drive is not your parking lot.

Regards adequate parking, the underground garage has plenty of space. It was built to accomodate the motoring public.

The DeYoung Museum and the California Academy of Sciences want the Park open to cars, again. Why? It has nothing to do with the elderly and the disabled.

These institutions are in it for the money. Period.

Excerpted from The San Francisco Examiner 3.18.2021

Advocates will gather Saturday in Golden Gate Park to urge The City to make John F. Kennedy Drive permanently car-free. Billed as a family-friendly event with sidewalk chalk art, a selfie booth and music, the rally will begin at 10 a.m. at JFK Drive and 8th Avenue.

Their message boils down to a simple slogan: parks are for people.

“There’s a community that does not want to see our park turn back into a parking lot,” said Matt Brezina, one of the co-founders of People Protected. “We want to have our voices heard.”

Though JFK Drive was closed to cars on Sundays prior to the pandemic, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department temporarily barred them on an all day, every day basis starting April 28 in an effort to create additional outdoor space for recreation and essential travel during the shelter-in-place order.

The 1.5-mile stretch of road has since become a haven for throngs of cyclists, runners, walkers, roller bladers and others who can enjoy the northern side of the park without fear of vehicles. Families can regularly be seen teaching kids how to ride without training wheels, or walking dogs after dinner.

“The most beautiful thing is the diversity of people using JFK Drive, and they’re people who never would have felt comfortable there before,” Brezina said.

Formal action is required from the City to make all or part of this program permanent, otherwise the closure to cars must expire 120 days after the current public health order ends, an unknown date that’s theoretically moving closer as vaccination rates improve.

“Car-Free JFK has provided cultural connection, recreation and safe passage for all visitors, while activating a beautiful stretch of public space,” said David Alexander, co-founder and community organizer of Richmond Family Transportation Network, in his pitch for why the road should stay car-free.

Two institutions with major cultural and political influence in San Francisco have come out in opposition to permanent closure: The DeYoung Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.

Both assert the car prohibition would disproportionately impact patrons with limited mobility.

“While it is great for those who can walk or bike to the de Young, it negatively impacts a huge group of our local community, including people with disabilities, those with ADA placards, the elderly, families with infants and young children and others,” said Miriam Newcomer, a de Young Museum spokesperson.

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/street-safety-activists-rally-to-make-jfk-drive-permanently-car-free/