((LA Times)) // The Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care reform act in the coming weeks. If the so-called “individual mandate” is struck down, California stands to lose. State officials worry that California could lose out on as much as $15 billion annually to provide medical care for the nearly 20 percent of the population that is uninsured…
((SF Gate)) // A non-native variety of kelp is threatening the San Francisco bay. The brown Japanese seaweed, called Wakame, has earned itself a spot in the list of top 100 invasive species in the world due to its ability to thrive in a variety of different climates and reproduce at an incredible rate. Biologists are working to eliminate it, but lack of funding for their efforts poses a problem…
((SF Gate)) // Yesterday, the San Francisco ethics committee began a first-of-it’s-kind investigation into whether the domestic violence case against Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi should cost him his job. Mayor Ed Lee believes that Mirkarimi’s misconduct is completely inappropriate for a top law enforcement official in the city. Former Sheriff Michael Hennessey, however, believes Mirkarimi should not be removed from office, citing cases in which other sheriffs were convicted of misdemeanors and allowed to keep their jobs…
((SF Gate)) // The head of San Francisco’s Building Inspection Department, Vivian Day, has also been feeling some pressure to leave her job. She is stepping down, she says, at the urging of Mayor Ed Lee, who allegedly viewed her as an obstacle to new housing development. The good news for Ms. Day, it seems, is although she will be taking an assistant job with the department and will keep her $206,000 a year salary…
((Bay Citizen)) // A new report suggests there is demand for more housing in the Bay Area. Despite high demand for rental housing, the report reveals that developers are not building many new apartments. Rents in the Bay Area are soaring, but lenders are reluctant to fund new housing projects, a reaction that is attributed to the huge oversupply of housing experienced just after the housing bubble burst…
((SF Weekly)) // BART officials are hoping to reunite a huge number of stolen bicycles with their owners after busting an alleged “serial bike thief.” Check the BART website to see if your stolen bike is among those found.
Connecting the Dots brings the day’s news together.