SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.29.2024 UPDATED

Often, encampments are found in a city’s “poorest and most vulnerable neighborhoods.” Brief for City and County of San Francisco et al. as Amici Curiae on Pet. for Cert. 5 (San Francisco Cert. Brief ); see also 2020 HUD Report 9. With encampments dotting neighborhood sidewalks, adults and children in these communities are sometimes forced to navigate around used needles, human waste, and other hazards to make their way to school, the grocery store, or work. San Francisco Cert. Brief 5; States Brief 8; California Governor Brief 11–12. Those with physical disabilities report this can pose a special challenge for them, as they may lack the mobility to maneuver safely around the encampments. San Francisco Cert. Brief 5; see also Brief for Tiana Tozer et al. as Amici Curiae 1–6 (Tozer Brief ). – Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch

(The case is Grants Pass v. Johnson, No. 23-175)

“With this opportunity, we’ll be able to do more to clean and clear our streets — especially for those who are refusing shelter and services,” Mayor London Breed said at a City Hall news conference. “This is very helpful to us as a city.”

City Attorney David Chiu said the court’s action “will give cities more flexibility to provide services to unhoused people while keeping our streets healthy and safe. It will help us address our most challenging encampments, where services are often refused and re-encampment is common.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the ruling “provides state and local officials the definitive authority to implement and enforce policies to clear unsafe encampments from our streets. This decision removes the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials for years and limited their ability to deliver on common-sense measures to protect the safety and well-being of our communities.”

–June 28, 2024. Official San Francisco reaction to Supreme Court decision to legalize the criminalization of the homeless.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins defended encampment evictions last December by arguing that homeless people “have to be made uncomfortable.” 

San Francisco, the City of St. Francis which prides itself on progressivism and compassion has completely shredded this reputation.

It was Trump appointed associate Justice Neil Gorsuch who penned the 6-3 decision. In it he relied on the Brief San Francisco filed with the Supreme Court in its effort to disenfranchise and criminalize the homeless.

It was Mayor London Breed and her minions who led a MAGA style rally in front of the Ninth Circuit courthouse last summer imploring the court to overturn an injunction. Which placed limits to what degree San Francisco could abuse and mistreat its homeless population of several thousand. Now those limits have been eviscerated.

Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 6.28.2024

Since December 2022, a federal magistrate has barred San Francisco from enforcing certain anti-camping laws, though the city has actually been able to increase encampment sweeps over the past two years by relying on other laws to clear tents

The Supreme Court overturned that ruling Friday in an appeal by Grants Pass that was supported by San Francisco officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom. The 6-3 majority, led by Justice Neil Gorsuch, said the ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” in the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment does not prohibit cities from removing people from encampments or from imposing fines and other criminal penalties on those who refuse to leave.

In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the city of Grants Pass, Ore., which is where the case originated, was punishing people for their status of homelessness.

“Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime,” wrote Sotomayor, joined by the other two liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. “For some people, sleeping outside is their only option. The City of Grants Pass jails and fines those people for sleeping anywhere in public at any time, including in their cars, if they use as little as a blanket to keep warm or a rolled-up shirt as a pillow. For people with no access to shelter, that punishes them for being homeless. That is unconscionable and unconstitutional.”

Now that the Supreme Court has given a green light to cities’ sweeps of homeless encampments, San Francisco officials intend to use the broader authority granted by the court to more aggressively respond to the hundreds of tents spread across city streets.

Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, which filed the lawsuit that led to Judge Donna Ryu’s injunction, was critical of Mayor London Breed after the Supreme Court ruling came out. 

“The Supreme Court, and I guess the mayor of San Francisco, is aligning with right-wing justice (Samuel) Alito in saying that it’s OK to put unhoused people in a cage when they have no other choice but to sleep outside,” Friedenbach said.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/homelessness-grants-pass-ruling-19484767.php

Top photo – Homeless person with his meagre possessions tries to rest in the shadow of San Francisco City Hall

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.28.2024 UPDATED

I am so shocked and depressed after watching Biden crash and burn on global television tonight.

All’s I can do is look for some solace in the backyard.

Our back porch bird feeder fits the bill.

I can’t sweep up the crumbs of President Biden’s disastrous presidential career ending meal. So, I will let the crows, birds and, yes, the neighbor’s cat Bendi clean up the mess.

At least our backyard neighbors don’t have to think about what comes next for America.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.22.2024

Mark Farrell the local guy, Venture Capital millionaire, former Supervisor, former temporary Mayor and violator of campaign laws in San Francisco can add another title to his sketchy political resume.

Bully.

This is the same Mark Farrell, whose campaign manager Jade Tu bullied and harassed the campaign kickoff of Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s mayoral campaign. Which took place before a huge throng at historic Portsmouth Square in San Francisco’s Chinatown on April 6, 2024.

Mark Farrell displayed his genuine political character. He should have immediately fired Jade Tu for this anti-democratic attack on free speech. He did not. The goal of Farrell’s campaign manager was to disrupt and harass a political opponent. The fact Mark Farrell did nothing is indicative of the bullying and abusive manner he conducts his political operation.

Bully, campaign finance violator and dissembler. This is the true character of the candidate presenting himself as the once and future Mayor of San Francisco.

San Francisco Ethics Commission 2014 decision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Farrell_(politician)

In June 2016, Farrell was ordered to repay $191,000^[18] in unlawful campaign funding after the City ethics panel voted, 5-0, to uphold the original 2014 decision of the San Francisco Ethics Commission that he should have to forfeit back to the City the amount raised from just two donors and used late in the 2010 election by Common Sense Voters,^[19][20][21] an independent expenditure committee, with improper communications from a campaign consultant. Farrell was exonerated by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, although the campaign consultant Chris Lee and Common Sense Voters were found to be in violation of federal campaign finance laws, but a further complaint was filed with the City commission by Janet Reilly, who lost to Farrell by 256 votes. City law, stricter than state law, holds candidates personally responsible for staff as well as themselves, whether they knew about the illegal communication or not. In an unusual move, Farrell responded with a lawsuit against the City in May to prevent further collection efforts from the Treasurer’s office, and settled with the City for $25,000 in October 2016.^{[18][21][22][23][24]}

This is the same Mark Farrell who now describes himself as a Small Business Owner. A misleading job title he wants included in the November voters handbook.

Venture capitalist Mark Farrell wants to be ‘small business owner’ on November ballot

Farrell practiced law as a corporate and securities attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Silicon Valley, then joined Thomas Weisel Partners as an investment banker. He subsequently co-founded Quest Hospitality Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on the hospitality and travel sector.^[7] Prior to his election to office, he served as a mid-level director of Quest Hospitality Ventures,^[8] now Thayer Ventures^[9] a venture capital firm.^[3][7]

Excerpted from Wikipedia

Top photo – Jade Tu with bullhorn and symbolic fly swatter disrupts Aaron Peskin’s rally in Portsmouth Square – April 6, 2024 – photos of Jade Tu by Lee Heidhues

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.21.2024 UPDATED

The media, by accident or design, has already found Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Guilty. Of what????

The mainstream media loves a feeding frenzy. The local news hounds are in full throated tabloid mode. Following the early Thursday FBI no knock raid on the home of Oakland Mayor Thao.

It’s all speculation at this point. The Justice Department is being closed lipped about why the hours long search occurred. The FBI has said nothing.

Nonetheless the media with its saturation coverage is playing nicely into the political hands of the Mayor’s opponents. Who, by the way, have just handed in sufficient signatures to have a Recall election this November.

The Mayor’s opponents have just been handed a political gift by the media. With their coverage and giving air time to Mayor Thao’s political opponents.

Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 6.21.2024

More than a day after the FBI raided and searched her home, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao had not been seen or heard from as of midday Friday, and spokespeople provided no information on her schedule or whereabouts.

Thao had not commented on the federal law enforcement operation that unfolded early Thursday morning, when FBI and IRS agents and postal inspectors raided four properties, including three linked to a family that runs Cal Waste Solutions, the city’s curbside recycling provider.

Her staff only referred questions to the FBI, which would not say why its public corruption unit was interested in the mayor.

On Friday, City Administrator Jestin Johnson was, as usual, directing day-to-day operations in Oakland City Hall, spokesperson Sean Maher said in a statement. 

“The show has to go on — we have to continue to have a functioning government,” Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins said in a phone interview Friday. Jenkins was at home with COVID and had not been in touch with Thao.

The mayor’s absence baffled many residents and leaders in a city already plunged into crisis: Thursday’s raids followed both the verification Tuesday of enough signatures to qualify a November ballot measure to recall the mayor, and a rash of shootings Wednesday during a Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt.

Thao had not responded to multiple calls or text messages from the Chronicle, and her phone went straight to voicemail on Friday.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-mayor-day-after-fbi-raid-19524562.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL2NyaW1lL2FydGljbGUvb2FrbGFuZC1tYXlvci1kYXktYWZ0ZXItZmJpLXJhaWQtMTk1MjQ1NjIucGhw&time=MTcxOTAwMTQ4NjU0Nw%3D%3D&rid=OTJhM2RhZWItNDMzYy00ZjMxLTgyMTQtZTU2ZjE2NDIzNDRl&sharecount=NA%3D%3D

Top photo: The media camped outside the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao – 6.21.2024

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.20.2024

I was truly fortunate to watch Willie Mays play many times. Originally at Seals Stadium, the Giants home in 1958 and 1959. Then at Candlestick Park for many seasons. Even seeing Willie Mays play the Cubs twice at Wrigley Field in Chicago during the summer of 1963.

At the time I didn’t think much about it. Willie Mays was the best and the leader of the team.

Now that Willie is no longer with us I can reflect on how lucky I was to watch this baseball icon in action.

In 1962 The Giants won the National League pennant. Having to beat the LA Dodgers in a three game playoff to seal the deal. That season was memorialized in a 38 minute LP with announcers Russ Hodge and Lon Simmons providing the hi-lites.

Perhaps the ultimate 1962 hi-lite is the brawl between the Giants and New York Mets in May 1962. It’s here on the hi-lite tape. I was at Candlestick Park that day and witnessed the fight.

Willie Mays, with the reputation for being such a low key diplomatic player, was right there in the midst of the “fracas.” A word Giants announcer Russ Hodges used to describe the brawl.

Top photo: President Barack Obama awards Willie Mays the Presidential Medal of Freedom – 2015

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.19.2024

The announcement yesterday that San Francisco voters will decide to create a 24/7 Oasis by the Pacific Ocean is a potentially momentous event. Momentous when the voters JUST DO IT!! on November 5, 2024.

https://www.greathighwaypark.com/ballot-prop-press-release

Creation of this urban park will complete the San Francisco Triple Play.

First was the demolition of the horrid Embarcadero Freeway following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. This concrete eyesore was a blight on the San Francisco Bay for decades.

The second item in the San Francisco Triple Play is JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park which was approved by the voters in November 2022 with a resounding 63 percent YES vote

On November 5 The People of San Francisco will have the opportunity to complete the environmental Triple Play and ensure The City of St. Francis is an international environmental oasis.

Top photo: The People enjoy the Great Walkway along the San Francisco Pacific Coast shoreline.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.16.2024

“Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was treating (Russian reporter) Nikita Kozhin’s death as murder, as well as a case of obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists.”

The hypocrisy of Vladimir Putin is stunning. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been jailed in Moscow since March 2023. He was simply doing his job and now faces a sham trial for espionage.

Sadly, a Russian reporter was killed by a drone attack in Ukraine. Moscow is now describing Nikita Kozhin’s death as murder and “obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists.”

If Mr. Kozhin’s death can be described as “obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists” what is the false arrest, 15 months of imprisonment and upcoming sham trial of Evan Gershkovich?

Moscow Times 6.16.2024

A Russian journalist was killed in a drone attack in eastern Ukraine, his employer announced Sunday, coming just days after a cameraman from the pro-government NTV channel was killed near the front line.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was treating Kozhin’s death as murder, as well as a case of “obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists.”

President Vladimir Putin claimed earlier this month that “at least 30” Russian journalists had been killed since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.

The outlet said the attack happened around the Saint-Nicolas monastery near the town of Vugledar, which has been the scene of fierce fighting for the past three months.

Tsitsagi has done reporting for a number of Russian news publications, including Lenta.ru, Holod and Novaya Vkladka, the latter two of which operate in exile abroad.

On Thursday, an attack in eastern Ukraine killed a cameraman and injured a war correspondent working for the pro-government NTV television channel. Law enforcement authorities launched an investigation into the strike.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/06/16/russian-prison-standoff-ends-with-hostages-freed-suspects-liquidated-a85430

Top photo: Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich behind bars since March 2023

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.15.2024

Those of us who were around back in the height of the Cold War will never forget the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. Russian nuclear weapons in Cuba. The World on the brink of Armageddon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis

Those grim and scary memories are being recast as Russian ships are visiting their ally Cuba. Just 90 miles from the American mainland in Florida. There are Fake videos exaggerating what has been a normal activity for decades. It is much ado about nothing. Just another opportunity for red baiting cold war fear mongers to blow off more hot air.

Deutsche Welle takes a deep dive in the sea of misinformation.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 6.13.2024

Four Russian naval vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine and a frigate, have docked in Cuba ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean.

The fleet, featuring the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the Kazan submarine — both armed with advanced weaponry — entered Havana’s harbor on Wednesday morning.

With Havana situated roughly 145 kilometers (90 miles) from the southern state of Florida, Moscow’s deployment of these vessels so close to US shores has been seen as a provocative show of force.

It comes at a time when tensions seem to be rising between Moscow and Washington over Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine. US President Joe Biden recently gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use American weapons for strikes inside Russia.

In the days leading up to the arrival of the Russian warships, images and videos circulated online, purportedly showing the arrival of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in Havana’s port.

A separate video allegedly showed US troop deployments in response.

DW has investigated the footage.

Outdated footage claimed as new

Claim: A video allegedly shows the recent arrival of the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov in Cuba.

In the footage, a gray frigate is seen approaching the harbor. Specific Havana landmarks are visible in the background, such as the San Carlos de la Cabana fortress and del Puerto Avenue. In recent days, the video has been shared across social media platforms in various languages, including Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic and English.

One version of the video, posted on June 10 on X, formerly Twitter, was captioned, “Zircon hypersonic missile carrier, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, arrived in the capital of Cuba today,” attracting about 166,000 views by the time this article was published.

A separate, German post on X captioned the video similarly and was viewed about 35,000 times. Multiple other posts containing the same video with similar claims have each gained tens of thousands of views.

DW fact check: False.

While the video does show the frigate Admiral Gorshkov at the port in Havana, it has nothing to do with the fleet’s visit on June 12.

A reverse image search of a screenshot from the video using TinEye reveals that the video refers to a visit to Havana by the same frigate in 2019. A longer version of the video is available on YouTube, published by The Associated Press news agency in June 2019.

Has US deployed troops due to Russian threat?

Claim: A video shows US troop deployments in response to the Russian fleet’s visit to Havana.

Another video spreading across multiple platforms claims to show US warplanes and helicopters flying over a beach in Miami, Florida.

One of the posts, which has so far garnered about 2 million views, captioned the video as follows: “US Navy has now been deployed in Miami due to Russian warship and nuclear-powered submarine threats!”

DW fact check: False.

Although US forces have reportedly deployed ships and drones to track and monitor the Russian fleet, the footage shown is from an older, unrelated operation. A reverse search of one of the scenes from the video leads to a video published on TikTok in May.

The footage appears to demonstrate a US Navy air show on this year’s Memorial Day in late May. Similar videos from the show are available online, captured by people present at the same location, and published shortly after the show.

https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-fake-footage-of-russian-warships-in-cuba/a-69350465

Top photo: ​​Russia and Cuba have been allies for decades, with Russian ships occasionally visiting Havana. Their recent military cooperation echoes Cold War tensions. The fleet, featuring the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the Kazan submarine — both armed with advanced weaponry — entered Havana’s harbor on Wednesday June 12, 2024.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.13.2024

Native Americans have been treated brutally by the American government which stole, occupied and waged a war of genocide as it plundered their land in the 18th and 19 centuries.

Justice and restitution has been slow in coming. The Native Americans will never be fully compensated for the horrors they underwent at the hands and guns of their oppressors.

A Decision on June 6th by the United States Supreme Court provides a small measure of justice and relief.

Excerpted from Reuters 6.7.2024

June 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that the federal government has been under-funding Native American tribes that administer their own healthcare programs for 30 years and must pay potentially hundreds of millions more going forward.

In its 5-4 ruling, the court found that federal law requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to pay the overhead costs that tribes incur when spending money from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. The ruling is a victory for the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona and the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming, which had each sued over the funding.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by the court’s three liberals and by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, a consistent supporter of Native American rights. The ruling affirmed decisions by the 9th and 10th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals.

Carter Phillips of Sidley Austin, who represents the San Carlos Apache tribe, called the decision “a huge win for Indian country and for the quality of health care provided on Indian reservations.”

Adam Unikowsky of Jenner & Block, who argued for the Northern Arapaho Tribe, said it “will promote tribal sovereignty and provide resources for health care in under-served communities.”

The IHS provides health care services directly to about 2.8 million Native Americans. Thursday’s decision centers on the Indian Self-Determination Act (ISDA), a 1975 law that allows Native American tribes to take over administration of their own healthcare programs under contracts with IHS.

Those contracts require IHS to provide the same amount of funding it would provide if it were running the program directly, and to cover administrative expenses incurred by the tribe.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-must-pay-more-native-american-tribes-healthcare-costs-supreme-court-rules-2024-06-06/