In an effort to protect public health, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will open the Winter Spare the Air season on Sunday, November 1, and begin enforcing a regulation that restricts wood burning in the Bay Area through February 28, 2010.
Between November 1, 2009, and February 28, 2010, the Air District will declare a Winter Spare the Air Alert when air pollution is forecast to reach unhealthy levels. During a Winter Spare the Air Alert, the use of wood-burning devices, including fireplaces, pellet stoves, wood stoves and outdoor fire pits, is forbidden. There are expected to be, on average, approximately 15-20 Winter Spare the Air Alerts during the season.
This season, Winter Spare the Air Alertswill be declared the day prior to the alert going into effect. Each day by 2 p.m., the Air District will issue an air quality forecast. If air quality is forecast to be unhealthy, a Winter Spare the Air Alertwill be called for the next day. The Alert will be in place for 24 hours – one calendar day – active from midnight-to-midnight.
Those who burn during a Winter Spare the Air Alert will receive a warning for the first violation and a second violation is subject to a $400 ticket. The ticket amount will increase with any subsequent violations, depending on the severity of the infraction. Residents and businesses that burn wood as their only source of heat are exempt from the regulation.
Under the new rule, only EPA-certified wood stoves or fireplace inserts, pellet stoves, or natural gas devices can be sold or installed
in new construction or remodels. The new rule also places year-round prohibitions on excessive smoke, and on the burning of
garbage and other harmful materials in fireplaces and wood stoves.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved and Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law, legislation that requires all persons and businesses located in San Francisco to separate recyclables, compostables and landfill trash and participate in recycling and composting programs. The new law takes effect on October 21.
The new law contains the following mandate:
“All persons in San Francisco shall source separate their refuse into recyclables, compostables and trash, and place each type of refuse in a separate container designated for disposal of that type of refuse. No person may mix recyclables, compostables or trash, or deposit refuse in a collection container designated for another type of refuse, except as otherwise provided….”
Owners or managers of multi-family or commercial properties will be required to provide information and/or training for new tenants, employees and contractors, including janitors, on how to source separate recyclables, compostables and trash and will be required to re-educate tenants, employees and contractors at least once a year.
The fine for any violation at a dwelling or commercial property that generates less than one cubic yard of refuse per week may not initially exceed $100.
If the Director of Public Health causes a dwelling or commercial property to be inspected to determine whether the owner has complied with the ordinance, the owner of the dwelling or commercial property will be required to pay an inspection fee equal to $167 per hour of staff time spent during the inspection.
Both Sunset Scavenger and Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling will deliver a larger recycling cart, a composting cart or a kitchen pail at no additional cost.
Caltrans ran into a little bit of trouble last Friday when a wax-like substance spilled and there was nobody on duty to clean it up because of Furlough Friday. Just in case there is a real estate emergency (i.e. you just HAVE to know if your license was renewed), expect the same response time… the California Department of Real Estate is also participating in Furlough Friday’s.
Harry and Pepper, the SF Zoo’s same-sex couple have raised a strong, healthy boy and have been living happily together for years. They became friends early in life, but sparks flew once puberty hit. Now that the boy has grown, Harry seems to be experimenting with females!
Harry would gather grass and bring it home to Pepper, who would arrange it tidily in their burrow. Single females would come around, but both birds never seemed interested.
Time went on and Linda, a friend of Harry and Pepper left her mate to start hanging out with a recently single, Fig. While with Fig, Linda and Harry became friendly and
One day, Harry and Linda approached Pepper’s pen and confronted Pepper. Harry began attacking Pepper violently and the three ultimately had to be separated. Harry and Linda successfully nested this year and eventually Pepper was returned to the penguin exhibit from a bachelor pad at the Avian Conservation Center, where he quietly took up his old residence. Zookeepers and fans are waiting with bated breath to see what might happen next.
Ya’ll seem to love the murder maps that SF Gate put together over a year ago because we continue to get large amounts of traffic to our old Murder Maps Revisited post. The good folks that put the first maps together are at it again with 2009 updates and a few additional filters. Be safe…
SF Schtuff loves Bay to Breakers, but we’re having trouble painting the picture of what the mobile party will look like this year. From the ING Bay to Breakers website, some of the new rules:
Shared enforcement of city ordinances regarding alcohol. Anyone publicly drinking alcohol or displaying public drunkenness on or along the racecourse will be subject to fines and prosecution. Race organizers will coordinate with the San Francisco Police Department to proactively remove kegs and glass bottles of alcohol from the racecourse.
Wheeled objects and floats will be permitted on the course, with new provisions for safety. Participants with wheeled objects and floats must be registered to participate. Wheeled objects and floats must enter the race at the starting line in designated corrals outlined below. Wheeled objects and floats cannot be motorized or taller than 9 feet; and may not be used to transport or store alcohol. Float owners are directed to act responsibly toward the environment and other participants, and to dispose of their floats in dumpsters provided along the course and at the Finish Line.
Leave no trace. Help us keep the city clean by placing your garbage and recycling in one of the many dumpsters placed along the course.
There have been hearings to ban illicit behavior, pissing in public, trash dumping and more, but the real questions are… Can we drink? Do you think we should drink? Do you like the chaos? What are you going to dress up as this year? Tell us your thoughts here!
According to The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco is No. 1 on TurboTax’s eighth annual list of Top 10 procrastinating cities, based on how many people used TurboTax’s online service to file on the last two days of the filing season in April 2008.
You’re help would be appreciated to advance this little blog to the national stage. Head on over to this link: http://varbuzz.com/national-blog-brawl-round-ii/ and vote theFrontSteps.com, to help put a San Francisco Real Estate blog on the National map.
The Community Action Marin 2nd Annual Dream House Giveaway winners have been announced and the winning ticket was held by Susan and Brad Wells. Winning the raffle was bitter sweet for the couple as Mr. Wells lost his job just one week prior, so winning a sweet, $2 million house sounded like luck was turning around. That was before they realized that they may not be able to afford to pay the taxes for the prize…
The department [of Alcoholic Beverage Control] is threatening to revoke the liquor license at DNA Lounge for “lewd” and “lascivious” behavior after department agents witnessed nudity and risqué behavior at four events last spring.
A few gay events held at the 11th Street location last spring did have some “misbehaving boys,” but shutting the place down for isolated incidents is absurd.
SF Schtuff loves Bay to Breakers, but we’re having trouble painting the picture of what the mobile party will look like this year. From the ING Bay to Breakers website, some of the new rules:
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