Big responsibilities for Californians
As we head toward a new year and a new administration, it's easy to see that things are going to change dramatically across the country. One example, pointed out in the S.F. Chronicle, is that Californians will be much more prominent in the Obama administration than they have been for the past eight years. Secretary of Engery Steven Chu will be one of the most important influences and likely to bring a new look to the Energy Dept. Most Californians pride themselves on leading the country in green initiatives, now is the time to demonstrate what our leaders can do to make the rest of the country more aware of these issues. Of course, it would help if Californians could solve the current budget crisis which undermines our credibility and may persuade some that the state isn't up to being a leader. We need to push the legislators in Sacramento to solve that problem so we can move ahead on other fronts.
A little warm news
Finding small upsides to gloomy economic times is not easy, but surely the boomlet in sales of crafts and craft supplies is something to celebrate during this holiday season. Despite Americans' love of shiny new gadgets and gifts, many are turning to the old-fashioned charm of handknit mittens and homemade scrapbooks to get them through the 2008 holidays. Perhaps handmade gifts remind us of the perceived stability of earlier generations when a family afghan was cherished year after year, something unlikely to happen to the latest version of an i-pod. Whatever the reason, let's enjoy the return to the past. It won't last forever, and our old shopping habits will return in years to come, but it's good to remember we still have resources from the past to keep us going through hard times.
Honoring her service
Police Chief Heather Fong's announcement yesterday that she would retire from the force came as a surprise to most of us in the city. Five years ago she was appointed as the first woman to run San Francisco's police force, and her appointment cheered many women who were happy to see female leaders stepping to the fore. She served quietly and without bluster despite the turmoil of city politics. Her leaving gives political junkies a lot to talk and speculate about but nothing can take away from the reality of her unblemished record for integrity and dignity. She has been a credit to the force and to the city. May she enjoy a happy and satisfying retirement.
Not so light reading
For those who grow weary of reading cheery or teary holiday stories here is an astringent change of tone. The stats and just the stats for the November 2008 election are presented for holiday reading suitable for political junkies. Many of us wonder not only who won and who lost the supervisorial races, but how the choices ran in various districts. Who was close and who was left out in the cold? Did some candidates run in tandem with voters choosing the pair for first and second place? Ranked choice voting has given statisticians a chance to chew over numbers for hours. This may be a minority taste, but we are grateful to David Latterman and to S.F. Usual Suspects for giving us the chance to look at as much or as little as we can handle. Thank you all!
We will miss his voice
Amid the bustle of holiday preparations and the turmoil of day-to-day politics, some important changes are slipping by unnoticed. One of them is the fact that Senator Edward Kennedy has resigned his seat on the Senate's Judiciary Committee, a post he has held for many years. Thankfully he is only giving up one committee and not his many other responsibilities in the Senate. This will give him more time to work on changes in the country's Healthcare system--changes long overdue which Senator Kennedy has championed during his more than forty year tenure in the Senate. As a strong voice for people whose needs are often ignored by Congressional leaders, Senator Kennedy has supported most of the important social legislation of our times. His voice on the Judiciary Committee will be missed, but we hope he will serve many more years in the Senate. It would be hard to get along without him.
One good thing
It's hard to find good news in the papers today, so a frontpage story in the Chronicle about cutting greenhouse gases was a welcome relief. Once again California is taking the lead in creating new regulations that will cut our carbon emissions and help to keep the air clean for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It will take time for these changes to have much effect, so we can't expect the streets to suddenly fill up with electric cars, but it's time to make a start. By 2012 many of the new regulations will be in place, and we should see some changes soon after that. The economy is very bad now, but it will eventually turn around. We must plan ahead so we are not suffocated in toxic emisissions once our economy starts moving again.
To build or not to build
The burning question of whether or not to build a modern art museum in the Presidio has been bothering San Franciscans for months. Through a series of public meetings, speakers for an against the project have had their say. Many Pacific Heights residents who enjoy the proximity of a quiet Presidio have spoken out against the plan. To appease those who believe a museum building would interfere with the historical ambiance of the location, architects have come up with a modified plan for a smaller building, much of it underground. What's troubling to many in the city, though, is that what should be a citywide discussion about the value of a new museum (with a guaranteed budget and the promise of many construction jobs) has turned into a question of traffic problems in the neighborhood. Public meetings are difficult for many working people to attend. When the crowd is large, the number of speakers is necessarily limited. In these days of quick and easy communication, why isn't this discussion being carried on electronically rather than face to face? Why not set up a website or blog where individuals can express their opinions easily and at a time and place convenient to them? The Presidio board welcomes public comment, why not make that comment more accessible to more people?
Something else to worry about
With the holiday season upon us, most people are trying to avoid as many worries as they can, but things keep coming up. In the current economic crisis there is something troubling about the news that this year the cost of winning a Congressional seat reached a million dollars. Elections have been growing more expensive over the years, but the expense to the country of spending that much money on each Congressional seat--not to mention the cost of higher electoral offices--must affect giving to other causes. Donating money to a campaign is similar in most people's minds to giving to a charity, so we can't help wondering whether charities are suffering because people gave to candidates. Isn't it time we gave more serious thought to public funding for candidates? If we are ever going to make it work, surely a time of economic distress is the time to do it.
City celebrations
Earlier this fall, the rotunda of City Hall was filled with bridal couples and their friends celebrating marriages. The building looked much more somber when that rush ended. Soon the rotunda will again be sending out a message of joy as a large Tree of Hope will brighten the area starting Tuesday, Dec. 8. Mayor Newsom and his wife have invited the entire city to attend an opening ceremony featuring music and entertainment. The tree is decorated with hundreds of lovely origami cranes sent by school children in San Francisco and people from all over the world expressing their hopes for the future of the world. For those of us old enough to remember the thousand cranes of Hiroshima sent to victims of the atomic bombs that fell on that city, the origami birds are an especially poignant reminder of how people from many countries can join together sharing wishes and hopes for a better future. Let's try not to forget them when all the season's holidays are over.
The sunshine mayor
In a move that would have pleased the founders of the League of Women Voters (if they had lived to see it) Mayor Gavin Newsom is putting his State of the City report on YouTube for every San Franciscan to read. Although those future-oriented founding mothers had never heard of YouTube, they embraced the idea of transparency in government. They faithfully attended city meetings and emerged to let voters know what was going on in City Hall. Now City Hall comes to computers all across the Bay Area, and even the world, so the ideas and plans of our elected officials become available. There are probably few people who will have the time and patience to watch all seven and a half hours of the report, but those of us in the League can be sure that if our respected founders were still around, they would no doubt be perched on their chairs watching, listening, and taking notes. Let them be an example to us all.
