San Francisco to pay an ilegal $190K for sanctuary violation?

Via AP Twitter:   A man from El Salvador in the U.S. illegally who sued San Francisco after police turned him over to immigration authorities in violation of the city’s sanctuary law is set to be awarded $190,000, his attorney said Thursday.

Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno, 33, reached the settlement agreement with the city attorney’s office, said Saira Hussain, a staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus who represented Zarceno. The agreement must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.

“We have to insure that each and every local law enforcement official is following those sanctuary policies and we are seeing in Mr. Figueroa’s case that didn’t happen,” Hussain said.

Figueroa-Zarceno sued San Francisco in January for violating its sanctuary city law.

The construction worker said he went to police in December 2015 after getting a call from authorities that his stolen car had been found. Instead of helping him, he said, officers detained him and called immigration authorities.

He was taken into custody by federal authorities outside the police station and was in jail for two months. He has been fighting his deportation since his release.

“What happened to me was very unfair and it was an injustice,” Figueroa-Zerceno said. “I went into the police station to seek help and they didn’t tell me what was happening and they arrested me and treated me badly.”

(Link to more)

"San Francisco park reopens with city’s first outdoor urinal"

NY Post: San Francisco’s iconic Dolores Park is now home to the city’s first open-air urinal, the latest move to combat the destructive scourge of public urination in the City by the Bay.

The cement circular urinal is out in the open, though plants and a screen offer some privacy. It’s a welcome addition for the park that had just three toilets, which led many to relieve themselves in bushes and on buildings.

“Honestly, we were ready to go pee anywhere,” San Francisco-resident Aaron Cutler said told KNTV. “So any facility is better than none.”

"Danger: Giant seed pod falling from tree."

"Man suing over injury from giant pine cone in San Francisco"

The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1juNiqP) that Sean Mace is suing the U.S. government, the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park for $5 million.

Mace's attorney Scott Johnson says the veteran was relaxing under a non-native pine tree at the maritime park when the cone fell, causing an irreversible brain injury. Johnson says Mace has had two surgeries and requires a third.

We need gravity control legislation.

"SF Lamp Post, Corroded by Urine, Nearly Kills Motorist"

"Concerns about San Francisco’s decaying light poles were ignited Monday night after one corroded by urine toppled onto a car, narrowly missing the driver."

The three-story-tall lamp post at Pine and Taylor streets snapped around 6:30 Monday and landed on a nearby car, almost crushing the driver. No one was injured.

A perfect storm of conditions rusted out the base of the pole, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission officials say, and caused it to fall. At the time, the lamp post, which was already old, was damaged by urine and weighed down by an oversized banner.

“We believe there was some contribution of dog or human urine on the base of the pole,” PUC spokesman Tyrone Jue said. “It has actually been an issue for us in the past. We encourage people and dogs alike to do their business in other places, like a proper restroom or one of our fire hydrants, which are stronger and made out of cast iron.”

Urine accelerates the corrosion of the metal base of street poles, he said.

Use a fire hydrant... like everybody else ;-)  video at the link

Via Ricochet

If I could do it over again....

"San Francisco sheriff defends release of immigrant suspect"

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi ardently defended his jail's release of a Mexican national later blamed for the slaying of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle, saying federal officials know city law requires a warrant or court order to detain an inmate for deportation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials fired back, saying Mirkarimi has mischaracterized the incident and shown a "manifest misunderstanding of federal immigration law" by demanding a warrant for deportation to cooperate with federal authorities.

"There is no such document, nor is there any federal court with the authority to issue one," ICE said in a statement.

Sanchez, meanwhile, has said he found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt and that it went off accidentally.

He remains jailed on $5 million bail awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to murder charges.

Groups advocating stricter immigration enforcement are hoping the episode leads to closer collaboration between local law enforcement and immigration authorities. In recent years, California, Connecticut, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia have joined 293 cities and counties to restrict cooperation...

"Sanchez was on the streets thanks to San Francisco 'sanctuary city' policy"

"The family of a California woman who was allegedly shot dead by an illegal Mexican immigrant have criticized officials who didn't hand him over after he was jailed just months before the attack."

 

Kathryn Steinle

Grieving relatives of Kathryn Steinle, 32, who was shot dead on San Francisco's Pier 14 Thursday night, made the comments in light of revelations that alleged killer Francisco Sanchez, 45, had already been sent back over the border five times.

But when he was arrested over marijuana four months ago in San Francisco he was let go, in accordance with city policy designed to give 'sanctuary' to undocumented migrants.

Speaking to NBC Bay Area, Steinle's mother, Liz Sullivan, said: 'It would have been so much better if he were gone. Absolutely.'

Hidden Cash: There really is no agenda here - not political, not business, not religious - other than bringing people together in a positive way and bringing a smile to people's faces.

"One week ago tonight, on May 22, 2014, after a late dinner with a friend in San Francisco, I was telling him about my desire to give back to the community which I love and has given me so much, and to do it in a fun way. We rejected a few ideas I had as too complex, and decided that I would hide money in a few spots in San Francisco, and then tweet about it. We created the Twitter handle @hiddencash, and did just that, hiding envelopes of cash around midnight in SF, and tweeting clues. I contacted a local blog to tell them what we did. They asked me a few questions, and wrote about it, and it exploded from there."

What was originally meant to be a pay-it-forward scavenger hunt for San Francisco, has become much bigger than San Francisco and more than a scavenger hunt. The worldwide interest that has been spawned is tremendous, and though personally surprising, in some ways it is understandable.
I think we may have struck a chord with people for a few reasons:
1. Everyone likes free cash :)
2. Many people enjoy a real world scavenger hunt.
3. Many people who don't go on the hunt themselves, enjoy following the excitement and positive stories of people participating and so often paying it forward.
4. In many ways, we have become alienated from each other, and perhaps this is a fun way for people to come together.

We would like to keep this movement going, and we thank you for your support keeping it safe and positive. (read more)

"Free Crack Pipes Urged To Slow Spread Of HIV In SF"

"Barbara Garcia, Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, elaborated in a phone call to KPIX 5."

“This is a recommendation from a community group,” Garcia said. “And we get lots of different kinds of recommendations. That recommendation has not come to me. And I’m telling you that if it did, I would say ‘absolutely no, we are not going to distribute crack pipes.’ We have a lot of things to consider for those who are using crack for improving their health. And the distribution of crack pipes is not something I’m going to consider.”

Crack pipe distribution programs have been successful in Canada, said Laura Thomas, a member of the HIV Health Services Planning Council (HPPC), the group that recently suggested San Francisco consider a similar program.

“San Francisco has a long history of being at the cutting edge of things that we have turned out to be very right on… and I would like to see this one be another of those things that we were right about before the rest of the country catches on,” said Thomas.

“It may seem counter intuitive, but it’s a great program,” said Thomas. “Once you can bring people into your program, make them feel respected, taken care of, then they’re more likely to come back and get on HIV meds and want to be engaged and taking care of their health.”

If one parent is just as good as two, what would more than two be?

Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill allowing more than two legal parents http://t.co/OJSEtMLGVg

— TwitchyTeam (@TwitchyTeam) October 5, 2013 

"Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation allowing children to have more than two parents."

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/10/jerry-brown-signs-bill-allowing-more-than-two-parents-in-calif.html#storylink=cpy

Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, stressed that his measure applies only to families with more than two people who meet the state's definition of a parent. It does not apply to stepparents, grandparents, girlfriends or caretakers. In an interview, Leno said he expected the law to be used sparingly, such as when a child could be at risk of unnecessarily entering the foster care system."

Leno's measure grew out of an appellate court case involving a biological mother, her same-sex partner and a man who had an affair with the mother while she was temporarily separated from her female lover. In the 2011 case, the California Court of Appeal held that courts could not recognize more than two parents even if doing so would protect the child from harm."

Twitchy , The Sacramento Bee , (video after "read more")