By Dan Smith
San Francisco Examiner

Lost in the hubbub over Mayor Gavin Newsom’s staffing changes is the creation of a new “China Desk” to identify Chinese companies seeking North American locations, entice them to The City and smooth their transition. Newsom unveiled the China Desk proposal in his inaugural speech, saying it would be devoted to economic outreach to Chinese companies in an effort to bring them here, to a city whose population is 35 percent Chinese, according to the Mayor’s Office. Initially there will be two offices — one in Shanghai and one in San Francisco — up and running by this summer, said Michael Cohen, director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The Shanghai office would focus on marketing The City and identifying companies looking to expand into North America, Cohen said. Read more »

By Cecilia Vega
San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is in the nation's capital this week, where he is meeting with some of the biggest names in the Democratic Party to talk up the city's myriad efforts to combat global warming before he heads off to Switzerland to attend the prestigious World Economic Forum. Newsom spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill, where he plugged the city's universal health care program during a meeting with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and the city's environmental initiatives in a meeting with Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

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The Villager

The mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, announced on Jan. 14 his appointment of Luis R. Cancel as the head of that city’s Arts Commission. Since 2005, Cancel has been executive director of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center on Suffolk St. on the Lower East Side. “Luis Cancel has done amazing work in New York, both inside and outside of government, to promote the value of the arts in everyday life, and he’s going to do amazing work here in San Francisco,” said Newsom.

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By Jesse Mckinley
New York Times

A federal panel of judges granted San Francisco the right on Wednesday to put in place a key part of its universal health care program as legal arguments about the first-in-the-nation plan continue. The unanimous decision, from a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, allows the city to require businesses with more than 20 employees to pay a fee to help cover employees’ health care costs, something city officials say will help about 20,000 people without insurance. Dennis Herrera, the San Francisco city attorney, said the ruling would greatly strengthen the health plan, which has already signed up nearly 8,000 residents. Read more »

By Paul Elias
Associated Press

San Francisco can provide health care to the uninsured and have city businesses help pay for it while a lawsuit challenging the controversial program is decided, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. A lower court in December had struck down key provisions of the city program, a first of its kind in the nation, that would essentially add a business tax to pay for a plan that envisions covering about 80,000 people and costing $200 million. The city estimates that as many as 20,000 uninsured workers are eligible. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday it appears that the city's program will ultimately prevail. Read more »

Four years ago I stood here at City Hall and said “Thank You” to my friends, family and supporters for electing me mayor of this incredible city. I look back now and realize it has taken the experiences of the last four years to truly appreciate the honor that you gave me that day. I knew it before – but now I’ve lived it. This place, our people, make up the finest city in this nation. There are bigger cities. But there are simply no better cities.  Serving as your mayor is the greatest honor I could ever imagine. In the past four years, I have looked at best practices throughout this nation. And I’ve learned – with both a growing pride and a profound sense of responsibility – that the nation is also looking back to us. Read more »

By Michael Liedtke
Associated Press

A Silicon Valley startup is promising to blanket San Francisco with free wireless Internet service, reviving a crusade that crumbled last year after two much larger companies, EarthLink Inc. and Google Inc., scrapped their plans to build a high-speed network for Web surfing. Meraki Networks Inc., whose financial backers include Google, hopes to complete the ambitious project within the next year by persuading thousands of San Francisco residents to set up free radio repeaters on their rooftops and in their homes. The 21-month-old company is to announce its plans Friday. Read more »

By NBC11 News

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday the federal government will spend more than $82 million next year toward revamping San Francisco's Hunters Point Shipyard. Newsom said securing the funds was "a huge victory" for the city's Bayview community. The city plans to turn the long-shuttered shipyard into a "world-class location providing waterfront parks, thousands of jobs, affordable housing and a major clean technology campus," Newsom said. The plans also include space for a potential stadium for the San Francisco 49ers. Newsom credits House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) for helping to secure the funds. Read more »