The GrowSF Report: Recalled School Board member Gabriela López is running (again)
PLUS: San Francisco violating State housing law
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of August 8, 2022:
- Recalled School Board member Gabriela López is running (again)
- San Francisco violating State housing law
- City Attorney David Chiu wins trial against Walgreens for opioid distribution negligence
- John Muir Elementary School is a model for math
Recalled School Board member Gabriela López is running (again)
In a twist that comes as an insulting shock to voters who recalled Gabriela López with 72% of the vote last February, López has filed to run for her old seat this November.
GrowSF strongly supported the Board of Education recall because the commissioners showed gross incompetence and did not prioritize academic achievement. We will make sure she does not win and bring incompetence back to the Board of Education.
Help us defeat her (again) by donating to GrowSF.
San Francisco violating State housing law
The California Housing and Community Development agency sent a scathing letter to San Francisco this week, informing our fair city that our Supervisors’ efforts to block desperately needed housing construction are in violation of state law. San Francisco has about two years to rectify the situation or the State will step in and take over land use controls.
This State takeover isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though! It will force San Francisco’s bureaucracy to get out of the way and let people add rooms or floors to their homes, and even let homeowners redevelop their homes into larger multi-family buildings.
UC Davis Law professor Chris Elmendorf sums up San Francisco’s folly:
San Francisco stands alone in making every permit for a land-use change subject to discretionary review. This means that anyone who doesn’t like a project can demand a hearing, and city officials may reject the project for any reason, regardless of applicable standards. And only San Francisco would be so bold as to post a self-study acknowledging its noncompliance with state permitting law — and then do nothing about it for the next two decades.
- Chris Elmendorf for the SF Chronicle
After seeing this report from HCD, Supervisor Matt Dorsey immediately called for fixing San Francisco’s broken system.
City Attorney David Chiu wins trial against Walgreens for opioid distribution negligence
Congratulations to City Attorney David Chiu on his big win in this bellwether opioid case!
In an Aug. 10 opinion, Federal Judge Charles Breyer wrote that Walgreens breached a regulatory duty to take “reasonable steps to prevent the drugs from being diverted and harming the public.”
Breyer wrote that Walgreens, one of the largest pharmacy chains in San Francisco, failed to identify “red flags” that opioid prescriptions were either issued by doctors with suspect prescribing patterns or were not used for a legitimate medical purpose.
Of course, fighting opioid abuse requires more than just suing corporations. We also need to arrest and prosecute the dealers who perpetuate the crisis on our streets every day, and the doctors who overprescribe or dole out opioids without reservation.
John Muir Elementary School is a model for math
SF Chronicle reports the John Muir Elementary School in the Western Addition has figured out how to close the math gap in schools.
Across the district, 72% of Asian American students and 69% of white students were proficient or better in math in 2019, the most recent statewide test scores available, compared with 14% of Black students and 21% of Latino students.
At the Western Addition school, 56% of Black students and 59% of Latino students were proficient or better in math in 2019.
Four years earlier, the math proficiency rates were significantly lower — 21% among Latino students and 12% for Black students.
A big round of applause for the students, teachers and administrators at John Muir! Now let’s keep it going and see this program replicated across San Francisco! A win for our kids is a win for San Francisco!
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Learn about November’s ballot measures
Alongside the United Democratic Club and ENDC, GrowSF is co-sponsoring a forum where voters can learn about the major upcoming ballot measures and hear from proponents and opponents to understand the issues from both sides.
WHEN
Monday, August 15th from 5:30 to 7:30pm
WHERE
Zoom
Safe, Accessible Parks for All campaign
The Safe, Accessible Parks for All campaign (i.e. pro JFK Promenade) is hiring a field organizer. They have a lot of volunteers ready to knock doors, and need someone great to help direct them! If you’re interested or know anyone who is, check out the details here: https://safeparksforall.com/field-organizer
Join a neighborhood trash cleanup
GrowSF is excited to continue its partnership with “Refuse Refuse”, a home-grown organization focused on building community and making San Francisco a cleaner, more livable place.
Keeping San Francisco beautiful requires we all do our part. Join one of these upcoming cleanups, or any number of other cleanups listed on their site.
Great Highway Park Cleanup: Sunday, August 14 - 1:00pm-3:00pm
Valencia-Guerrero Cleanup: Thursday, August 18 - 3:00pm-4:30pm
Castro Cleanup: Saturday, August 20 - 10:00am-12:00pm
Celebrate San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city. Here’s what makes it great:
Flower Piano at the Botanical Garden
San Francisco Botanical Garden and Sunset Piano are excited to present one of the most unique, creative, and innovative events in the Bay Area. After a successful return last fall we are excited to bring back Flower Piano to transform San Francisco Botanical Garden once again into the city’s own alfresco concert hall where everyone is invited to play and listen.
Live piano music nestled in the botanical gardens sounds like an “I love this city” moment! And tickets for SF residents are free!
WHEN
September 16-20, 2022 - 10:00am-6:00pm
WHERE
San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park
10 year old rocks Outside Lands
Bay Area band Green Day headlined Saturday night’s Outside Lands festival. SFGate reports that 10 year old Montgomery stole the show when he was plucked from the audience to play guitar with Green Day.
“The boy kept going — and the crowd roared far louder than any other moment in the show. One woman standing behind me was sobbing and screaming at the same time.
When Armstrong asked the boy his name, he replied it was Montgomery. Armstrong told the boy he’d call him Monty — and the crowd started chanting his new rock star name.
‘Oh, and you can keep the guitar,’ Armstrong said.”
Sounds like Gen Z is going to be just fine!
Strike a pose with REUSE!
Who knew shopping for vegetables could look so good? The REUSE team is popping up all over San Francisco. Participants will get their own professional-quality high-fashion photo, plus a FREE reusable bag or travel mug at local events including this Sunday, August 14 - 10:00am-4:00pm at the Inner Sunset Flea Market. Send us your photos!
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