The N-Judah Chronicles

Today's announcement that you can email the Mayor and ask to be an MTA commissioner is one of those things that I'm sure someone in the campaign war room came up with to sound cool on the eve of a potential run for Lt. Governor. But let's cut the guy some slack and take him at his word and let's all apply.

Seriously. Now, I give Newsom a hard time, but that's primarily because he kinda sold himself as the idea guy and the good manager guy. So when he has done things that are cuckoo bananas, it's more a disappointment that's frustrating when I'm stuck waiting for the N than anything else.

And, while I do enjoy penning a good rant now and then, I've always tried to round up the latest news and try and put things into a more long term view, and offer solutions. Even if they're soundly hated by progressives and others, like my idea to pre-sell in bulk FastPasses to anyone enrolled at any place of higher education*.

So I have no doubt any email I send to Hizzoner will be sent to the Windows Recycle Bin, I figure, why not? All I can promise my fellow Muni owners is that I'd make sure the MTA puts the owners first, and the shenanigans last. That probably ensures I won't get picked, but hey, being on the MTA board would cut into my LOST watching time....

Seriously - go apply! If nothing else, have fun with it. Just email Mr. Mayor at gavin.newsom@sfgov.org!

*This idea was proposed before Translink was widely available, so yeah, I know. But guaranteed bulk sales at just CCSF, UCSF, USF, and SFSU alone would be a large, guaranteed monthly income, and when you do bulk sales, you can do a discount (that's how Wal-Mart does it) and still make some cash.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been especially busy this week with a project, more so than I have in a while (hooray getting gigs as a freelancer) and sadly it means that the blog is a bit neglected, which I don't like. So A) if you want to sign up and be a Guest Blogger, please email me, and B)things should be back to normal soon.

In the meantime, our friends at the Blackthorn Tavern on Irving Street alerted us to their new Twitter account, and to a new special on Thursday Nights: "Industry Night" which features free pool, $1 off all drinks starting at 8pm, and $1 pint margaritas from 9-930pm.

Not a bad deal if you can swing by!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week much of my time is taken up by a rather big project so I can't write endless posts about Muni and the like. However, it's worth it because once this thing is done, I think people will really like it.

In the meantime, here's a picture of a Muni complaint letter I found at The Other Shop on Divisadero, framed.

The piece begs so many questions. Why would someone frame a letter from Muni circa 1982? How did it end up in an antique store?

A while back, we had this gem from the MSR days in the 30s as well. It still cracks me up with the opening "Get This!"

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you want a rather eye-opening experience about the history of transit and traffic in San Francisco, then you should get yourself over to Eric Fisher's Flickr account, and take a look at the wealth of historical documents he's scanned in about proposals going back almost 100 years concerning proposals regarding Muni, BART, etc.

For example, here we see a proposed plan for a subway for Muni that would have traveled downtown, under the existing Sunset Tunnel, and outward towards the Inner Sunset , and end around 19th. Similar plans in the set include a subway station for SFSU, and an underground system for Geary Street. Geary was also supposed to be part of the BART system too, believe it or not.

Imagine if instead of riding an N Judah streetcar that has to fight traffic, double parked cars, and whatnot, taking a subway downtown instead. Sounds nice, doesn't it?

But that's not all. Eric's Flickr account also has freeway and bridge plans too! Imagine a huge freeway gouging the Inner Sunset, and feeding a freeway in Golden Gate Park. Crazy? Not really - plans were drawn up, and if completed would have meant my home would literally be next to an onramp.

I've always said that the history of transit planning and development in San Francisco and the Bay Area is a more accurate reflection of the political, social and economic climate of the times than people realize.

After reading up in history books and archives about our past, it's clear we're very good at coming up with great ideas, but then decide to go with the cheapest, short term plan possible, and leave the fallout for future generations to deal with, usually at great expense.

Anyway, check it out. It's definitely very interesting!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Stay with me on this one, folks. Trust me, the John Stewart "I'm Literally Speechless After Reading This And Am Putting My Face In My Hands" moment of silence is worth it.

So, it seems that folks in Sacramento are patting each other on the back about how they got some bill passed that would restore gas tax money to transit agencies around the state, including Muni.

Now, recall that the state raid on said gas tax money (which voters said should go 80% to roads and 20% to transit) was ruled totally freakin' illegal by the courts. Stealing is usually against the law.

To put it another way - if someone robs you of your iPhone on Muni they're breaking the law and aren't supposed to do that.

No matter, this isn't the theft of an iPhone, this is theft committed by the state so they get away with it.

Anyway.

So sure, Muni got mugged (as did every road and transit agency in the state). But today's news is no real cause for celebration. You see, they're passing a new law to make the state obey the law it broke, and restore a little bit of the eleventy billion dollars they stole already.

Put another way, a new law was passed to make the thief follow that already existing "thou shall not steak f*cking iPhones on Muni" law, and sure, they're returning your iPhone - only after they broke the glass, f*cked up your iTunes music collection, and loaded it up with lame apps.

Feel free to exclaim WTF if you must, but hold on, it gets better.

The Governor isn't sure he'll sign it into law. Because, being the mugger, he's "not sure" it's a good idea.

Even though the State Supreme Court said to not do so is breaking the law he's sworn to uphold

[Insert Stewart-esque Speechless Face in Hands Moment Here]

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Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Talking Muni seems to be en vogue these days. I'm not sure why it is now vs. say, a year ago or more. I have to say, the devolution of the discussion into a mish mosh of misinformation, mistakes, and mayhem has been kind of depressing to watch, and it's why I've been staying away from the computer most of the week.

However, some good folks around the Internet have been getting these things called "actual facts", and said facts are useful if anyone wants to be effective in doing anything of substance. Simply stamping one's feet, and defiantly proclaiming ignorance never got anyone anywhere.

First, Eric of Transbay Blog has two excellent posts analyzing Muni finances. One concerns proposals by SPUR and MTA staff to balance future budgets, and another about the MTA board's inability to do their jobs vis a vis funding a functional transit system.

At a time when politicians are peddling all sorts of faux "Fix Muni Quick" schemes, it's important to know what the facts are.

SF Weekly also had some interesting posts. First, they thoroughly debunk the sheer BS the TWU folks were bellowing out this week when they marched on City Hall. The Weekly (and the Examiner) also report that news that the TWU hired legendary political strategist Eric Jaye were premature (and prove once again TWU leadership doesn't know what it's doing in a rough environment).

Finally, there's a "Save Muni Summit" this Saturday at 9am at the Women's Building located at 3543 18th Street (between Valencia and Guerrero). The event has quiet a few co-sponsors from around the city. And, if you're really depressed (or really energized) by all the Muni talk, you can go to the 500 Club a block away and have a cocktail.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)