San Francisco is taking the largest steps in history toward creating a fully public energy system.

In filings with the California Public Utilities Commission, the city has determined that PG&E's local property is worth about $2.3 billion – and if the commission agrees, the city can seize those assets under the power of a significant one Apply for ownership.

This would fulfill the century-old promise of the Raker Act, which allowed San Francisco to build a water supply dam in Yosemite National Park on the condition that the city also establish a public power system.

Almost everyone agrees that it's time for SF to take over PG&E's facilities

Much of this happened under the public's radar: None of the major news media outlets have reported much on the proceedings, which date back to 2021.

But the implications are enormous: At a time when PG&E is largely unpopular, the chances of San Francisco running its own electric utility that could deliver cleaner electricity much more cheaply and reliably are much closer to reality.

A little background:

Since 1913, San Francisco has been under a federal mandate to provide public power to its residents and businesses. That was the deal that allowed the city to build a dam in Yosemite National Park. You can read the entire story here (I spent weeks at the National Archives in Washington DC collecting this data.)

But PG&E, through its political influence in City Hall and its unlimited campaign funds, managed to block any effort to make this mandate a reality, and after the 1950s the Interior Department stopped caring.

The sticking point was always a choice: To take over PG&E's system, the city would have to condemn it as an honorary domain and seize it for fair market value — but that would mean a bond act that required a two-thirds vote. PG&E has spent countless millions (from taxpayers) to ensure this never happens.

But times have changed, and thanks to a move a few years ago by Sup. Aaron Peskin, the SF Public Utilities Commission can now issue revenue bonds for clean energy projects, including a public power system. Tax bonds are backed not by the city's property taxes, but by a specific source of revenue – in this case, the money the city would make from selling retail electricity.

SF starts here with a big advantage: The city already has a huge hydroelectric dam that produces enough clean electricity to power all city departments, including Muni, with plenty left (in good water years).

The city already has a CleanPowerSF operation that offers 100 percent renewable electricity.

What the city doesn't have is a distribution system. This belongs to PG&E.

All San Francisco needs to do at this point to get rid of a company that charges far too high fees and provides poor service that, among other things, hinders the construction of new housing is to file the legal paperwork to take over this system.

Every time I run these numbers, and I have done it many times over the years, the results have been clear and unequivocal: San Francisco could spend up to $3 billion or more for the existing lines, poles, meters, trucks etc. pay for other infrastructure, invest millions in modernizations, reduce interest rates significantly – and not only pay off the bonds, but also generate hundreds of millions of dollars per year that could flow into financing affordable housing, for example.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the government cannot seize private property without paying fair compensation—that is, fair market value for the property.

That's why the SFPUC, under General Manager Dennis Herrera, has filed a series of complex documents with the California Public Utilities Commission over the past two years to determine the true value of PG&E's local distribution system. The CPUC agreed to proceed.

The documentation is extensive and sometimes difficult to understand – but when you get to the end result, it looks like this:

The system is worth between $2.3. and $2.8 billion. At that price, a buyout financed with revenue bonds would be a huge bargain for the city. Remember: Once San Francisco takes over the system, all the money we now pay to PG&E would go to the city. That's hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

PG&E is doing everything it can to delay the process. But at some point the CPUC will demand a counteroffer — and at that point, which could come in the next 24 months, the city will take the next step.

In an ideal world, Barbara Hale, the deputy general manager for energy at the SPFUC, told me, PG&E would come to the table and negotiate. In the real world, the company will try to delay and obfuscate – and work to elect a mayor and supervisors who would refuse to move forward.

Mayor London Breed is on record supporting a PG&E takeover. I have no doubt that six Sups – everything we need to file the eminent domain lawsuit – are now on board.

Of course, that could change in November.

I haven't seen much PG&E money in the mayoral or superate contests, This makes sense: The company is extremely unpopular right now, especially given recent rate hikes and power outages, so no one wants to be a “PG&E candidate.”

But with its most lucrative fortune at stake, the company with more than 100 years of history will consider all sorts of political angles.

At a hearing last week, Sup. Myrna Melgar asked PG&E officials why power keeps going out on the city's west side – even when there isn't bad weather. Representatives didn't have good answers – but people who live there lined up to talk about how impossible it is to get help, how some power outages last for days and how “we feel abandoned.”

No powerful lobbyists can counter this widespread feeling.

So the process is moving forward like never before, and when it's over, the lights are back on and the city has money (pretty much every public power grid in the country is making money), the city can move to 100 percent renewable energy for everyone including rooftop solar power that PG&E is trying to undermine, we can all have a big party and thank Bruce Brugmann, founder of the Bay Guardian, who has been fighting for public power for more than 50 years.

And in the QT I know a former PG&E lobbyist who promised to buy the first round.

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Citing a slew of issues and a loss of confidence, the LA prosecutor is now recommending that the person she was hired by a judge a few months ago remove control of the troubled Skid Row Housing Trust.

In a memo Friday, prosecutor Hydee Feldstein Soto and the city’s housing director expressed their support for asking the judge to replace Mark Adams as bankruptcy trustee — and for the city to loan up to $10 million to fix housing problems permit.

To motivate the judge to replace him, the city would offer the soft loan on the condition that Adams be replaced. City council members are expected to take up the recommendation at a budget committee meeting on Monday. Committee chairman Bob Blumenfield told LAist Friday afternoon that he supports the move to replace Adams.

“All of these red flags evolve from red flags to flashing red lights that say, ‘Be careful,'” Blumenfield said.

“We really must do everything we can to prevent a human tragedy from getting worse and also look after the public money. Because that’s very much at stake,” he added.

WHAT IS A RECEIVER?

• A liquidator is someone hired by a court to take control of a property and fix problems. You essentially become the landlord, under the supervision of a judge and the city. According to the city attorney, the Skid Row Housing Trust case is by far the largest court-ordered receivership in LA history.

Back in late March, Feldstein Soto had petitioned a court to give Adams control of the trust’s 29 properties, which house about 1,500 formerly homeless people – after the non-profit housing trust fell apart financially and many of its homes were deemed healthy and safe .

But in a shift in confidence, Feldstein Soto, along with LA Housing Department head Ann Sewill, recommended replacing Adams with Receivership Specialists’ Kevin Singer for “some or all” of the properties.

“Disappointing” progress

“[Adams’] “The progress made in addressing serious violations of the regulations, such as B. repairing the fire/life safety systems, fixing plumbing issues in communal toilets, and restoring units cited by HACLA for minor sanitization violations were disappointing,” the memo to the city council said .

“In addition, the property management only placed an order a few weeks ago [Adams] sent out three-day eviction notices to hundreds of tenants, which were then withdrawn, but which should never have been sent out.”

Feldstein Soto previously told the Los Angeles Times that the 451 eviction notices were illegal under the city’s Tenant Protection Act and violated his promise not to evict anyone for rent arrears alone.

The memo also said Adams did not hire enough staff to repair and secure the properties, and he failed to provide the court-ordered reporting and accounting that the city and other agencies require.

“It turned out that the bankruptcy administration could be better served with another bankruptcy administrator,” it says.

Adams did not respond to LAist’s request for comment Friday morning, and a spokesman for the prosecutor said they had not commented.

When he recommended Singer as Adams’ replacement, officials wrote that Singer had worked on nearly 500 bankruptcy administrations nationwide — more than Adams’ approximately 300 — and that San Francisco officials praised his work in the city, which included “a very challenging one.” Bankruptcy Administration’ in the Tenderloin owned district.

When asked if Singer received more prosecution reviews than Adams, Blumenfield said he and others asked and “we were assured there were significantly more reviews.”

What happens next

The motion to extend city loans up to $10 million — assuming the court replaces Adams — will now go to the City Council Budget Committee for a decision. This meeting is scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m

“One way or another, the public is being held accountable,” Blumenfield told LAist, saying he believes if the Housing Trust implodes, many of the residents will end up back on the streets with no other choice.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We need to be smart about this and get involved as early as possible to prevent a major catastrophe, which will also end up costing us a lot of money – and that’s why we are.” committing your own tax money.”

As part of the loan, Blumenfield said, the city will impose stricter requirements on the new recipient to bring the city up to speed — and consequences if it doesn’t.

Blumenfield said the city cannot require this at this time because receivership is a court-controlled process and the city is not a lender.

Ultimately, it will be up to LA Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff to decide whether to replace Adams. His support for Adams may be waning — last week, during a tense downtown LA court hearing, Beckloff removed seven properties from receivership and questioned Adams’ efforts to improve the properties. Still, the judge expressed his support for Adams, saying he felt he was the right person for the job.

It’s unclear the status of prosecutors’ investigation into Adams’ performance, which it revealed last week. Her spokesman declined to comment on Friday.

The key to the future, Blumenfield said, is for the units to be renovated quickly so that they become financially stable. Currently, hundreds of the housing units are ineligible for federal housing credits because the city has said they violate quality of life standards, including when it comes to issues like fire safety.

Past Issues

The move comes after wrongful eviction orders and reports by the LA Times and LAist of several judges finding problems with his previous receiverships, including significant overcharges for his company’s services.

LAist also reported earlier this month that a company Adams founded to serve as a bankruptcy trustee has been banned by the state from doing business since 2015 for unpaid taxes. Adams told us he was looking into the matter and said his current business is in good shape.

SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETE TOWNHOUSE TRUST

• Skid Row Housing Trust is a non-profit organization founded in the late 1980s and is the largest provider of subsidized housing in Skid Row, LA’s premier community for homeless people. The organization develops, manages and operates 29 buildings in downtown LA that house people who were formerly homeless. In recent years, the nonprofit has completed construction of about 250 housing units with funding from Measure HHH, the $1.2 billion housing bond approved by voters in 2016.

  • Feb. 7: The nonprofit’s interim CEO warns of an impending financial meltdown and briefed employees on efforts to persuade other housing providers to take over the 29 buildings, according to the LA Times. The trust has been in financial crisis for years, posting annual deficits of up to $14 million.
  • March 30: Los Angeles District Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto files court documents, citing uncertain conditions, asking a judge to appoint Mark Adams as court-appointed receiver to administer the nonprofit’s properties.
  • April 5: According to the Times, three people are found dead in a Skid Row Housing Trust building of suspected drug overdoses.
  • April 7: Judge Mitchell Beckloff of the Los Angeles Superior Court approves the prosecutor’s motion and appoints Adams as the bankruptcy trustee. “We see the train falling off the cliff here,” a lawyer in Feldstein Soto’s office told the judge about the urgency of the situation.
  • June 2: Unlawful eviction notices were sent to 451 of the trust’s tenants by a property management company hired by Adams, according to the prosecutor. The following Monday, Adams retracted the communications, saying they had been sent in error.
  • June 6: City Attorney staff send Adams a letter saying they are “shocked and deeply disappointed” by the eviction notices. In an interview with the Times, Feldstein cited Soto’s other problems, such as a lack of 24-hour security, and said she was losing confidence in Adams.
  • June 15: Beckloff relieves Adams of control of seven of the properties after being at times frustrated with Adams’ reactions. Adams said the move could affect its ability to raise much-needed working capital.
  • June 23: The city attorney who originally recommended Adams for the job joins a senior city housing official in recommending replacing Adams and giving the city a loan of up to $10 million to redevelop the trust properties to grant. The decision to replace Adams rests with the judge, and the credit decision now rests with the city council.

City officials said the stakes are high at the housing foundation. For decades it has been one of the largest providers of affordable housing for the homeless in LA. But the buildings have fallen into disrepair in recent years as the non-profit owner went bankrupt and faced financial ruin, the memo and Times reporting said.

On April 5, just before Adams took over, three people were found dead in a Skid Row Housing Trust building of suspected drug overdoses.

When Feldstein Soto announced in late March that she would seek receivership, which gave Adams control of the properties, she said the 1,500 people who live in the buildings are extremely vulnerable.

“[These] are among our most marginalized and vulnerable populations,” Feldstein Soto told reporters. “If they lose their homes, there is little doubt that they will spread to our streets.”

LAist reporter David Wagner contributed to this story.

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“This was never about one vote count, it was never about one election night party, it was never about specifically which person gets to be in the office of the district attorney,” he added. “This is a movement, not a moment, in history.”

Brooke Jenkins, a former assistant district attorney in Boudin’s office, and a lead organizer in the campaign to remove him, voiced gratitude at an election night party at the Del Mar lounge in the Marina District.

“I feel relieved. I feel hopeful for San Francisco,” she told KQED. “We knew all along this was not a Republican billionaire effort, that this was not a pushback against reform, that we were trying to protect reform. That we knew a DA can balance implementing reform with prioritizing public safety.”

The recall was largely driven by San Francisco’s more conservative neighborhoods — including the Sunset District, Marina District, Park Merced, and St. Francis Wood — where overall turnout was higher than in progressive-leaning districts that generally stood by Boudin.

While Boudin’s loss is decisive, he won’t be required to leave office until 10 days after the election is declared official by the Board of Supervisors, which may take place at its June 25 meeting. Mayor London Breed is expected to announce Boudin’s replacement soon thereafter.

A number of names have been floated to replace Boudin, including Jenkins, prosecutor Nancy Tung (who said she would run in a future election), and San Francisco Supervisor Catherine Stefani (one of the few elected officials to endorse the recall).

Breed on Wednesday insisted the city is not backing away from progressive criminal justice reforms, and pledged to meet with community groups and police officials before appointing the next DA.

“This does not mean that criminal justice reform in San Francisco is going anywhere. It does not mean that there will be, all of a sudden, a significant setback,” she said. “We want justice. But we also want to make sure that people have a second chance.”

A group of recall supporters — including Brooke Jenkins, center — take a selfie during an election night party at Del Mar in San Francisco on June 7, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

And, Boudin may also choose to run in a future district attorney’s race. But newly appointed Supervisor Matt Dorsey, a former San Francisco police spokesperson who became one of the few elected officials to endorse Boudin’s recall, said he doesn’t think another election would bode well for Boudin, based on Tuesday’s vote.

“It could happen, yeah. But I think the numbers say something,” Dorsey said.

In the meantime, Dorsey noted, the debate over Boudin’s record has fractured the community, pitting neighbor against neighbor.

“The most important thing is, we’ve got to put the hurt feelings behind us and move the city forward,” he said.

The historic recall garnered national attention, bitterly dividing Democrats in the city on issues of crime, policing and public safety reform. The effort was fueled by a tsunami of contributions — more than $7 million, according to filings at the San Francisco Ethics Commission — from well-heeled donors, including real estate interests and Republican billionaire William Oberndorf, who individually gave north of $650,000.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin addresses a crowd at The Ramp restaurant after the effort to recall him succeeded. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

In contrast, recall opponents raised less than half as much — about $3 million — with the largest donations from the American Civil Liberties Union, a criminal justice reform PAC and tech billionaire Chris Larsen.

For months, the Yes on H campaign has saturated San Francisco media with online, television and radio ads, while also investing heavily in a field operation and a texting campaign.

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WASHINGTON — San Francisco voters fired their headline-grabbing reformist district attorney Tuesday, NBC News projects, after rising crime rates proved intolerable even for the famously progressive city.

Chesa Boudin, the son of left-wing radicals who was elected on a Black Lives Matter-aligned platform to reform the criminal justice system, faced a successful recall effort as voters grew frustrated with the perception that his office is not willing to do much about crime.

The outcome and its lopsided margin was a rebuke of the left as Democrats retreat from calls to “defund the police” in the face of polls nationally showing growing concern about public safety, especially from people of color.

With more than two-thirds of the expected vote counted, votes to remove Boudin from office were outstripping those to keep him 60.5 to 39.5 percent.

Mayor London Breed will appoint a temporary successor to fill the DA’s office — formerly occupied by Vice President Kamala Harris — until an election can be held.

California was one of seven states holding primary elections Tuesday that will set the course for key congressional and other races in November.

The battle for the House came into fuller view as Republicans chose nominees in districts that could decide whether Democrats retain their narrow majority in Washington.

In another sign of dissatisfaction in a nearby Democratic stronghold, an ex-Republican billionaire will face a Democratic congresswoman in November runoff to be the next mayor of Los Angeles, NBC News projects.

Rick Caruso, a major real estate developer who joined the Democratic Party shortly before declaring his run for mayor, dramatically outspent his main opponent, Democratic Rep. Karen Bass, and capitalized on mounting frustration with homeless and crime.

Rick Caruso and Karen Bass.Getty Images/AP

Caruso found support in famously liberal Hollywood from left-leaning celebrities like Katy Perry, who has performed at Democratic National Conventions and been a reliable booster for the party.

Addressing supporters, Caruso called the outcome a “great awakening,” saying Los Angeles residents felt unheard and disappointed by “career politicians.”

“Our big, beautiful city needs our help,” Caruso added.

Homelessness was by far the leading issue for voters, with 49 percent picking it as one of their top two issues in a University of California Institute of Governmental Studies/Los Angeles Times poll conducted shortly before the election. It was followed by crime and public safety and housing affordable.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, retired Adm. Michael Franken won the Democratic Senate nomination, NBC News projects, defeating former Rep. Abby Finkenauer, who had been seen as the favorite.

Franken ran for the Senate in 2020 and positioned himself to Finkenauer’s left by supporting issues like “Medicare for All” while foregrounding his national security experience.

He will face longtime Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in November, who cruised to his party’s nomination and who will be difficult to beat in a state that has trended Republican.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

Democrats in Iowa are focused on trying to defend their only congressional seat in the state, held by Rep. Cindy Axne, who is one of five House Democrats representing a district Donald Trump would have won if the new post-redistricting congressional lines had been in place in 2020.

Axne will face state Sen. Zach Nunn, a 43-year-old Air Force combat veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and defeated another well-funded candidate for the GOP nomination, NBC News projects.

Primaries also took place Tuesday in New Jersey, New Mexico, Mississippi and Montana.

In South Dakota, Republican Sen. John Thune, deputy to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, easily won re-nomination, NBC News projects, despite earning Trump’s ire for not supporting his effort to overturn the 2020 election and initially wavering on whether he would run for re-election.

Trump wanted Gov. Kristi Noem to challenge Thune, but she ultimately decided to run for re-election and also cruised to re-nomination Tuesday, NBC News projects.

Trump also called for the removal of Republican Rep. Chris Smith, New Jersey’s longest-serving member of Congress, after he voted for President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.

Some Trump-aligned figures like Roger Stone have been working against Smith, but Trump himself never endorsed an opponent, and Smith won re-nomination, NBC News projects.

Elsewhere in New Jersey, Republicans are eyeing a number of Democratic incumbents seen as vulnerable in the fall.

Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski wants to face a rematch against Tom Kean Jr., the former GOP leader in the state Senate, who won his party’s nomination, NBC News projects.

A winner has not yet emerged from the GOP primary to challenge Democratic Rep. Andy Kim.

And a Garden State Democratic dynasty is expected to continue after Robert “Rob” Menendez Jr., the son of Sen. Robert “Bob” Menendez, won his party’s nomination in a deep-blue open seat just over the Hudson River from New York City , NBC News projects.

In New Mexico, NBC News projects former TV weatherman Mark Ronchetti won a hard-fought Republican primary to take on Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is seen as vulnerable in the fall.

California is also home to a number of critical house races.

In two tossup districts currently held by Republicans, Reps. David Valadao and Young Kim are facing far-right challengers who have outside chances of pushing them off the November ballot in the state’s all-party “jungle primary.”

Two candidates will advance to the general election, and Democratic super PACs have made a late push to boost the far-right challengers in the hope they will snatch the second spot on the ballot, leading Republican national groups to respond with their own late cash infusions .

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KRON-TV reported that members of the San Francisco school board will oust their vice president in a special session later this week for her earlier racist tweets.

What is the background?

Alison Collins came under increasing fire last week after social media posts with racist comments against Asian Americans surfaced in 2016 as part of a campaign to recall school principals.

She said many Asian Americans use “white supremacist thinking” to “move forward” and called Asian Americans who did not speak out against then-President Donald Trump “house” -n-words.

“I grew up mainly in Asia [American] Schools and know this experience all too [sic] Good. Many Asian Am. believe they will benefit from the ‘model minority’ BS, “she wrote.” In fact, many are Asian Americans [Teachers], [Students], and [Parents] actively promote these myths. They use the thinking of the white supremacists to assimilate and ‘get on’. ”

30 REASONS TO RECALL THE SF SCHOOL BOARD 19. Commissioner Collins appears biased against Asian Americans … https://t.co/vv1wMsl0WD

– SF School Board recall (@Recall SF School Board) 1616124944.0

What now?

Collins gave no indication that she will resign despite being told by other board members. However, she apologized.

“I am sorry for the pain my words may have caused, and I apologize wholeheartedly,” she wrote on Medium a few days ago, adding, “as a black woman, mother, educator and fierce advocate of justice in ours Schools I use my social media platforms to talk about race and racism. ”

Collins also apologized during the regular board meeting on Tuesday evening, KRON reported.

“I would like to reiterate my sincere and heartfelt apologies. I am currently working with my colleagues and working with the community for the good of all the children in our district,” she said.

However, two other members of the school board – Faauuga Moligaplan and Jenny Lam – plan to present a resolution at the special session on Thursday asking Collins to lose their titles, the broadcaster said.

“I am not alone in saying I have no confidence in Commissioner Collins’ ability to run a school district that is almost half of it fairly [Asian Pacific Islander] without prejudice, “said Lam.” Restorative justice begins with recognizing the harm and making deliberate efforts to connect with those in the community who have been harmed. ”

Lam added, “Commissioner Collins’ words are undermining the work of the communities and our students to dismantle it, and it is particularly harmful. Words matter.”

According to KRON, 1,000 people signed up to speak about Collins’ tweets at the virtual school board meeting, but not everyone could speak – and many parents and community members felt silenced by CEO Gabriela Lopez for a limited time and shared the comments from not to who supports and does not support Collins.

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