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Monday, February 23, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO - CITY HALL BRAGS ABOUT OUR TRANSPORTATION - MENTIONS HOUSING - WANTS STATE OF THE ART INFRASTRUCTURE - WHO IS KEEPING STABS?

It is always interesting to hear the Mayor talk from both sides of his mouth.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee when asked recently what is his top priority - he said - transportation.

May be it should be housing, education, hospitals, childcare, safety and then transportation.

we can take a tour and see how - transportation works in the Southeast corridor of San Francisco.

That is before we take a tour of the entire San Francisco - which may be too over whelming for many. We can keep that for later.

Let us take the area known as the Southeast Sector - you have the T-Third Light rail - built from 4th and King to middle of no where - Visitation Valley.

Where the T-Third Light Rail stops - as I said - in the middle of nowhere.

Makes no sense and they spent over $800 million - the traffic lights do not work - and the software is not compatible - they say - they are working on it - all these many years since 2002.

Anyone with common sense - would have completed that line all the way to Balboa Station - going southwest - more towards City College.

If this was done - people could take the T-Third or whatever the new name designated for that line - would be - and travel all the way to downtown - Francisco.

That Light Rail  would pass through Excelsior, Geneva closer to Daly City, Visitation Valley, Bayview, Dog Patch, Mission Bay - all the way to 4th and King - to downtown - San Francisco. 

Makes sense right - not to our City planners.

They love doing things ass backwards - and take pride it making a fool of themselves.

If the T-Third went as far as Balboa - the entire transportation system would offer those that take Public Transportation - many avenues - they would take the Light Rail and reach their destination - faster.

The transportation to the Hunters Point Area is a joke - closer to the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard - and it has been like this - for years.

It is even worse going to Candlestick Point - it does not exist! 

The MUNI 44, the MUNI 23 - the only two lines that most people use take you to Hunters Point - one to Oakdale, really - that is the MUNI 23.

You have to wait for these buses MUNI 23 and 44 - and see how long they take to arrive - and what type of service they offer - seeing is believing.

The other two lines MUNI 54 and 19 Polk are even worse - you can wait for an hour - and sometimes more - you can huff and puff - and no one bothers - to do something - positive.

20,000 housing units are planned on land prone to severe liquefaction and flooding - around Hunters Point and Candlestick Point.

Most of the land around Hunters Point and Candlestick Point - are 98% poor landfill - and more contaminated.

Hunters Point in on the Superfund list - only the worst contaminated sites are put on the Superfund list.

Here is the paradox - the United States Navy polluted the land - but our City does not want the U.S. Navy to do the clean up - with some standards. I think that is absolutely - dead, wrong.

Let us simply what Proposition P mandated - that the entire Hunters Point Naval Shipyard be clean up to "residential" - standards.

At this moment - arrangement are made to swoop land - where the former garbage dump use to be - now, we call it a State Park - the first urban State Park in San Francisco.

The new plan calls for construction on this former dump site - and in exchange where Parcel E and E2 is - the most contaminate sites on Hunters Point - some Park - green grass - open space - the plans the White men comes with - is baffling - in his quest for "greed" - he could not care less about health, safety - and even less for Quality of Life issues.

On Hunters Point the land is contaminated with high levels of radioactive elements. Depleted Uranium was first tested on this site in the early 1950s - as part of the World War II - efforts.

This City and County of San Francisco - want to accommodate people - more on land that is contaminated - and does not give a second - thought.

Thugs raking in million using EB-5 visas to entice innocent people - to buy homes on Hunters Point - more Parcel A - which comes under the jurisdiction - of a rogue developer - Lennar Urban.

It cost $500,00 just for the visa - and more to buy a contaminated home - all the while the "thug" behind this venture - are laughing to the bank.

Is this what San Francisco is all about?

More since all this land belongs to the Ohlone - the Muwekma Ohlone - and no Ohlone would approve of such sordid - deeds.

All this done with intent - to adversely impact their health and impede Quality of Life issues - lying trying to entice these immigrants - from Mainland China.

The land which one see may be waterfront property - waterfront right - contaminated right - should people be living there - NO.

Plans are afoot to build educational facilities - when pressed further - they say they - " they do not know - what curricula".

All the same - no one should mix contaminated sites and education - that is a bad mix.

In San Francisco - where are all the Environmentalist - who must speak up - few do? 

Where is SPUR the Sierra Club and all those who say they know and comprehend - Quality of Life issues?

They are no where to be found - and hereby encourage rogue developers - to adversely impact life - by not taking a stand.

Right now we do not have sound transportation for about 10,000 people on that transportation corridor - the Southeast Sector - as if call it.

We have NO transportation worth the salt - for 20,000 people going to live at Candlestick Point.

There is talk about the Causeway - the plan has been discussed since 2002 and before - but who will build it.

Plans are afoot about a Light Rail - who will build it going all the way to Hunters Point?

There is a lot of talk - and very little walk.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee talks about infrastructure - and some of us have been fighting to have our own digital infrastructure - like some progressive - Cities have.

At the Presidio some of us - put in a T-3 fiber line for sound communication - way back in the year 2001.

And at the same time - at the Presidio - a State of the Art Communication Center and a Water Treatment Plant.

We worked with Lucent Technologies and Motorola and created a State of the Art Communication Center. All this way back in 2000.

Here is our City and County of San Francisco - we could have laid our own infrastructure. We have not. We did not have a Central Communication Center when the Big One struck in 1989.

Today, in the year 2015 our Communication still has flaws - and we kick ourselves to believe that all is well. The Dispatchers treated with disdain - and the leaders - talk from both sides of their mouth.

Stalwarts like Tom Ammiano had the idea - about the City and County of San Francisco - owing our own infrastructure - but the others who are talking now - were fast asleep at the wheel.

We have with intent - permitted Pacific Gas and Electric, Comcast, AT&T and who have you - to have full access - to laying down cables and other amenities - to rake in millions.

We the City and County of San Francisco - are doing nothing on land that we say is ours - handing our land to others - preferring to spewing - hot air - adversely impacts the constituents of San Francisco. 

The constituents - the tax payers pay a lot for services be it for AT&T, Comcast, other carriers - who all are laughing to the bank.

Our City and County of San Francisco - Room 200 which is the Mayor office - simply does not get it.

How can we use the "digital world" as best we can - when we failed again and again - when we were in the informational world and cannot make a leap with confidence - into the digital world?

Many of City Departments - not along ago - could not access the more contemporary computer software with their antiquated Personal Computers at work - forcing many to bring in their own lap tops.

Even the SF Police Department could not receive reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation - not with software that was not compatible to the computers - using Windows 95. 

This is not a joke - I saw it for myself some years ago.

In fact some years ago - our Law Enforcement did not have access to the Internet - not all the 10 Police Station had Internet for use by the SF Police Department force.

Since Chief Gregory Suhr knows that Communication is necessary - he has made it his priority - but we still have miles to go.

At the SF Police Department - until a few years ago - all the incident reports - were done manually.

Today, it is still difficult to run queries - going back 10 years - 15 years - 20 years.

Silicon Valley is close by - we have the techies using our restaurants, enjoying the culture that we have created - we could use that talent - but, we choose to dole out millions to consultants - who cannot perform and when they perform - they laid stake to the the software - complete with licenses that make no sense.

Enjoying our weather - and testing the patience of the people of San Francisco - the techies and the tech companies - are using the hospitality of San Francisco and the constituents of San Francisco.

The future is the "digital world" - in San Francisco we are still making a gradual transition - from the informational world.

You have to be educated on issues -  and have the superior skills - to innovate and make good things - happen.

We prefer creating inept Task Forces - our Commissions on this and that - idiots who talk and have no clue what they are talking about.

The SF Planning Department and the Department of Building Inspection is still working on a "model" - to sync information - you have the blind leading the blind.

We talk about green building - the highest ratings "Platinum" and so on and so forth - it is just talk.

Perhaps someone should visit Spain to Gain - some experience.

In the interim the Academy of Art University has bought hundreds of Rental Units and turned them into dormitories.

Depriving hundreds if not thousands of rental units - with rent - control. 

Thousands of homes in the Avenues and elsewhere built on sandy ground - are prone to liquefaction and flooding.

It is critical that we have in our planning - at least one area - to show case - that meets the highest standards acceptable to what the experts have laid down - when it comes to the "digital" world - and all this costs - money.

I know something about our infrastructure and the empirical data shows - we are way behind - be it our sewer pipes over 90 years old, our clean drinking water pipes - over 90 years, old.

Our roads - full of pot holes - we talk a lot - and make the repairs of our roads difficult - with huge construction projects.

The constant digging by Utility Companies - who do not give a rat's ass.

We who know see the lack of planning, the lack of vision - the lack of initiative - we can talk about it - we can bitch about it - but who has the balls to do something about it? No one.

The SF Public Utilities Commission laid a plan to replace the Sewer Pipes - they have the money - the peoples' Bond Money - but they have never met their goals - they state it  - but they cannot meet it.

On the Water System Improvement Project - we the people want to know what is happen at Mountain Tunnel - the Irvington Tunnel, the Digestors - a $2.6 Billion project - that is going at snail pace - and little is no discussion with the stake holders.

All this infrastructure for which the tax payers have paid - the bond money has not been spent wisely - AECOM, URS, JACOBS others - have raked in the millions - and are laughing at the way - we the City and County of San Francisco do business.

Change orders are the orders of the day - and these orders and amendments - go through - with point persons - getting bribes and pretending they know something - when they know nothing.

The corruption when it comes to our infrastructure is a JOKE - with point persons hired - who do the bidding of the MACHINE.

So called Community Partners that did NOT participate in all the meetings and work shops - at the SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC).

Other "thugs" who are GREEDY - with connections to Dwayne Jones and Juliet Ellis - others -  are on the take - are raking in the profits - given grants and have nothing - "concrete" to show - for the grants - in the millions.

Time will tell - we are watching you all like a - hawk. Aho. 














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