I heard that big chain stores will be banned on Bernal Heights. What is going on with this unwanted Home Depot. The site looks terrible after so many years of been neglected. Can we just have a nice facility there instead. How about a nice Ice Hockey ring with a sports bar on top, our own SF Hockey team, a sport facility for all (children and adults) and for all of the children in the area and  keep them active and out of trouble. Elise Hyndman Read This Posty »

Why doesn't San Francisco send the notorious South Florida-based Lennar Corporation home and hire locally? Ann Garrison Read This Posty »

In my youth I enjoyed riding the cable cars as part of my transportation around The City.  Transfers or 25¢ was all it cost and I was on a Cable Car!  I still ride them, though far less frequently due to cost and limited space, but tourists know they are riding history and it makes up a big part of many of their trips.  Because the cable cars are so huge a part of a trip to SF the people who operate them are in a very unique position.  Good brakemen make it an even more joyous experience - ringing Read This Posty »

As a proud San Franciscan I go out of my way to help tourists (or anyone) with directions, local history, recommendations or to take pictures of them on their cameras.  I think The City should solicit such involvement from San Franciscans.  Sure - we have kinder people here than most cities (though not as kind as we were in the past to be sure), but not everyone will go out of their way to help people - and let them know - and feel - the unique loving quality of The City.  Give people a pass to something (a free Read This Posty »

Dear Mayor Newsom, First, let me just say that I think you're great. I've always liked your attitude, and how you handle yourself under pressure. Second, there is a lot of complaining these days about the SFPD budget, and funding more police. Did you know that the SFPD, and 90% of police departments in California, have police officers who are unpaid, who volunteer their time to their city? They are FULLY TRAINED, and have the SAME POWERS, and LOOK THE SAME as the full-time officers. They are citizens, like myself, with good backgrounds and an interest in civic duty. Often they're business Read This Posty »

I believe every merchant should be responsible for maintaining litter free and clean sidewalks regardless of what part of the City the store is located. Name Withheld Read This Posty »

Concerning Chronicle article "S.F. Boom Boosts Mayor". We expect Mayor Newsom and Board of Supervisors to create a better San Francisco. Though they have an effect, to actually transform San Francisco into the place we say we yearn for, each San Franciscan must change. You and I have contributed individually in making San Francisco and our callousness, insensitivity and self-centeredness maintain what it is. Virtually everybody in San Francisco lives better, longer lives with playthings the wealthy of 50 years ago could not imagine. Nevertheless personal wealth and comfort remains paramount, we continue to fight or resist – everybody being against somebody, Read This Posty »

When I look outside of my window, I see 1000's of square feet of empty roofs.  Why don't building owners put plants on their roofs?  It would clean the air, look better, and help the greenhouse effect by absorbing absorbing light.  Would you find a way to require building owners to do this?  Encourage it?  Maybe get the legal troubles with Citi Apartments dropped if they green all of their roofs?  Secondly, is there a way to encourage buildings to shut off the lights at night.  All I see is waste when so many lights are on in the Financial Read This Posty »

Full dental care for G. A. recipients comparable to PAES recipients. Low Income Studios per the Planning Commission and Dennis Herrera: add more to the developers now. There is no need to delay the plans for such units. Name Withheld Read This Posty »

Over the past three years I've been riding Muni every day to get to work, taking a local bus to muni rail to my office.  I also frequently take other buses and lines to get about the city during the day. Buses are frequently late or missing, many buses are damaged with scratched windows or painted graffiti, and I've filed complaints on the Muni website without receiving any acknowledgment or response.  Buses are either packed during rush hours, or totally empty, riding though neighborhoods with no riders into the late hours of the night. Here's a fresh idea: make Muni an outsourced, Read This Posty »

San Francisco should jump on San Jose's mistake...... 'Tomorrow' project is suddenly so yesterday Mercury News A year after announcing San Jose as the U.S. headquarters of the futuristic Living Tomorrow Pavilion, where companies develop and consumers experience the products of the future, Peter Bongers is packing up and returning to Europe. Whether he will decide to find another Silicon Valley city to serve as the site to display the home, office and store of the future remains to be seen. A defeated Bongers said Monday that the project simply could not delay its opening until 2011, the earliest that a companion high-rise residential/hotel project is Read This Posty »

Dear Mr. Mayor, While the issue of funding and supporting a major sports team is a complicated one, I feel (and kindly hear me out on this) that it would be a gain for San Francisco for the 49ers to relocate to Santa Clara. First--we have always been the center of a regional metropolis. Having our team be based in Santa Clara enhances, rather than diminishes, our regional influence, in the same way the siting of the New England Patriots in Foxborough south of Boston provides convenience to a larger metropolitan community while reinforcing the predominance of the urban core of Read This Posty »

Yesterday I sat through one of the Mayor's "Meet Locally" meetings. Oddly, I found myself with nothing to say. This isn't because I am terribly shy, mute, or an unconcerned citizen. Rather, it's because I am so utterly impressed with the City of San Francisco and the progress the Mayor has made in our city that I have very little to gripe about. I found it to be a meeting of informed, caring citizens who sincerely want to keep our fair city a wonderful place to live. I do, however, have one idea to contribute and perhaps this blog entry Read This Posty »

In response to your letter I would like to submit the following suggestions for improvements to make San Francisco better in the future. First I want to start with the problem the drug addicts and the homeless. According to my knowledge San Francisco have not enough treatment facilities to get people off drugs and for this reason I would suggest that the City of San Francisco and  organizations working with this problem already open up an additional two or three treatment centers for people looking for help.The homeless people who are not addicted to drugs and get welfare money for Read This Posty »

Mr. Mayor, We all know MUNI is currently a mess. Particularly light rail since the T line was implemented.  The N line in particular has been a nightmare.  It seems that the head of MUNI is a great mouthpiece, but shows little in the way of action and solution.  It also seems logical that the city, and the Mayor, need to stop looking at MUNI as a public transportation entity and more as a supply chain.  What are the most effective, efficient and profitable supply chains; and how do we co-op those principles for our city are also questions that should Read This Posty »

Mayor Newsom;  I'd like to see you champion a return to city-wide elections, as the district elections produce such a poor crop of supervisors who embarrass us with their demogogic proposals.  We especially should cease to treat housing as a socialist sector.  People who own property should not have burdens placed on its use that are tantamount to a "taking,"   We should do more to keep business operations in the city, rather than have them move to the suburbs, which causes middle class and professional class people to leave, too.  And we should build no more low income housing--that's the Read This Posty »

Every day I walk from the Powell Street Muni station to my office on Sutter Street.  There is trash on the sidewalks on Ellis Street, Mason Street and Sutter Street.  How about if we introduced a program which would fine the owners of the businesses if they do not regularly clean up the sidewalks and street in front of their business?  It's another made in New York program which we should copy. Also, there are many of the recycling and garbage containers which have strewn all around them from people rummaging through them at night.  I don't have a solution for Read This Posty »

One on going thing that has been a real problem for no reason involves street trees. We have five Italian Cypress trees against the front of our building. As you may know they are not a shade producing tress and are usually used (as in this case)  as ornamentals. Two of the five are now getting a disease which spreads easily among this species and cannot be cured. The trees die.  We hired an arborist to get a permit (which shouldn't even be required for ornamentals) from Urban Forestry to replace all five with Yew trees which are not susceptible Read This Posty »

We must mkae SF the first stop city for any Asians come visitiing our country; provide the the most safe place, comfortable hotels, and lots of goods to buy and qn unique place for them - left their heart in SF. Since Shanghai is the sister city of SF, and the spending power of the people their are increasing every year. We should create the oportunities for them to come see the greatest city of the country and the world. This will create lots of jobs and economic growth for SF. Jason Chan Read This Posty »

Create solar panels that double as tinted windows for all high-rise skyscrapers in SF... Lik Roper Read This Posty »