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.

The post After 111 years, SF is lastly shifting to oust PG&E and create a public energy system appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Evidently no longer content to flush public money down just any old toilet, the city of San Francisco is upping its toilet game and is prepared to spend up to $1.7 million to build a single commode in one neighborhood plaza.

City leaders are slated to gather Wednesday afternoon at the Noe Valley Town Square to officially announce a “$1.7 Million state budget win” to build a toilet there, according to an online event schedule. The proposed facility would include just one toilet in a 150-foot space, according to a new report by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight.

The city’s Recreation and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which will work together to build the pricey potty, expect it will take three years to complete.

San Francisco tops the list of the world’s most expensive cities to build in, and the proposed million-dollar toilet helps explain why. While construction costs everywhere have risen over the past couple of years due to inflation and supply-chain challenges, the process to install a single toilet in a San Francisco plaza that already has plumbing includes a maze of planning, permitting, reviews, and public outreach, according to the Chronicle report.

First, an architect needs to draw plans for the toilet, which will then be presented to the public for feedback. The Arts Commission’s Civic Design Review committee will be responsible for conducting a “multi-phase review” of the project, like it does for all projects on public lands. According to the Arts Commission’s website, “the committee evaluates each project’s design, scale and massing for accessibility, safety and aesthetic merit.” The review process “ensures that each project’s design is appropriate to its context in the urban environment, and that structures of the highest design quality reflect their civic stature.”

Before the project is put out for bid, it will be subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act, according to the Chronicle. The public toilet will be built by union workers who will “earn a living wage and benefits,” according to a joint statement from Rec and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works, which added that, “While this isn’t the cheapest way to build, it reflects San Francisco’s values.”

California Assemblyman Matt Haney, who secured the $1.7 million funding from the state to install the toilet, told the Chronicle he requested that sum because that’s what the Rec and Parks Department told him the going rate for a public bathroom was. The city said the $1.7 million estimate “is extremely rough.”

“They told me $1.7 million, and I got $1.7 million,” Haney told the paper. “I didn’t have the option of bringing home less of the bacon when it comes to building a toilet. A half a toilet or a toilet-maybe-someday is not much use to anyone.”

In an email to National Review Wednesday, the Recreation and Parks Department said it will consider various options for constructing the toilet, including installing a pre-fabricated restroom. The department said it budgets for the worst-case scenario, so it estimates high. “In the end, the project may well be delivered for far less [than $1.7 million], with leftover funding put toward further improvements or maintenance,” the email stated.

San Francisco, which is struggling with a troubling homelessness and public-defecation crisis, needs more public toilets. A 2018 report in the Guardian questioned “Why is San Francisco … covered in human feces?” One city non-profit has turned old municipal buses into rolling showers and toilets to help with the problem.

San Francisco also has a history of overspending on seemingly mundane items. Last year, the city spent nearly a half-million dollars to develop new trash can prototypes because city leaders “weren’t happy with the look” of off-the-shelf cans.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include additional details from a Recreation and Parks Department email received early Wednesday evening.

The post Flushing Cash: San Francisco to Spend $1.7 Million to Construct a Single Public Bathroom appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

A current San Francisco city employee and a former city worker were both charged on Tuesday with multiple felonies involving bribery, misuse of public money, and financial conflict of interest.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a press statement that the charges against Lanita Henriquez, Director of San Francisco’s Community Challenge Grant Program, and Rudolph Dwayne Jones, founder and president of public relations firm RDJ Enterprises, were the result of an ongoing investigation of corruption at City Hall.

Jones served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Mayor Gavin Newsom and was appointed by the late Mayor Edwin Lee to the local business enterprise subcommittee of the city’s Contract Monitoring Division.

The criminal complaint from the DA’s office alleges that between July 2016 through July 2020, Henriquez, 53, and Jones, 56,  appropriated public funds for their own use and the use of others. The complaint also alleges that Jones paid Henriquez a series of checks between February 2017 and October 2018 totaling $25,000. 

Henriquez is also alleged to have made 23 contracts in her official capacity between the City and County of San Francisco and entities controlled by Jones in which she had financial interests between July 2016 and July 2020. Leading up to and during the period of these contracts, Henriquez allegedly received $32,942 from entities controlled by Jones, while family members and close associates of Henriquez received a total of $156,821 from such entities.

“The public funds allocated to the City’s Community Challenge Grant Program are intended to benefit the communities of our City – not to line the pockets of government officials,” Jenkins said in a prepared statement. “My office will continue to investigate allegations of misconduct by public officials and employees, and our work with our federal partners will be a key part of that effort.”  

Henriquez and Jones were each charged with six counts of bribery and 23 counts of financial conflict of interest in a government contract. Both were also charged with one count of misappropriating public money.

Henriquez was arrested Tuesday morning following a warrant issued by the Superior Court of San Francisco. A warrant was also issued for Jones’s arrest but he has not yet been taken into custody as of Tuesday afternoon. DA investigators and FBI agents executed search warrants at multiple locations in San Francisco and Alameda Counties.

Jenkins said the investigation was conducted by her office’s Public Integrity Task Force with assistance from the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. 

The charges do not appear to be related to the corruption scandal involving former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru and other city officials, contractors, and developers.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Unit at 628-652-4000. 

More from CBS News

The post San Francisco metropolis employees charged in bribery, corruption scheme to complement themselves with public cash appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

A reporter gets out of a Cruise driverless taxi after a test ride in San Francisco this year. (Terry Chea / Associated Press)

In the wake of California withdrawing Cruise’s permit to operate self-driving cars in the state, the company announced that it’s suspending all U.S. robotaxi operations.

The move comes after the California Department of Motor Vehicles alleged that Cruise withheld from regulators video footage of a Cruise robotaxi dragging a person down a city street.

The future for the company is uncertain. Its parent company, General Motors, has lost $1.9 billion on Cruise so far this year, including a $732-million loss in the third quarter, according to its latest earnings report. Competitor Ford shut down its Argo robotaxi unit in 2022, concluding that the possibility of far-off profits weren’t worth the enormous cash drain.

The California DMV gave two reasons for suspending Cruise’s license this week: concerns about safety and claims that the company withheld from regulators video footage that showed a Cruise robotaxi drag an already injured woman 20 feet across street pavement before emergency workers could reach her.

Read more: California DMV pulls permits for Cruise’s driverless cars over safety concerns

“The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to rebuild public trust,” Cruise said in a statement online Thursday night. “Part of this involves taking a hard look inwards and at how we do work at Cruise.”

Cruise vehicles with humans behind the wheel will continue to operate. Until this week, the company had been operating driverless services in San Francisco, Phoenix, Miami, Houston and Austin, Texas.

Cruise needs to be “extra vigilant when it comes to risk, relentlessly focused on safety” as it rebuilds public trust, a spokeswoman told The Times.

(1/3) The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to rebuild public trust. Part of this involves taking a hard look inwards and at how we do work at Cruise, even if it means doing things that are uncomfortable or difficult.

— cruise (@Cruise) October 27, 2023

The incident marks a dark chapter in the emerging history of the automated vehicle industry. Whether Cruise’s actions will harm the industry’s reputation, or only its own, remains to be seen.

Story continues

Robotaxi companies claim that autonomous vehicles are already safer than cars driven by humans. Officials in San Francisco say they’re having trouble getting these companies to provide adequate data to prove that. But Cruise is dealing with more than safety in this case — it’s dealing with allegations that it misled regulators and the media in ways that might erode public trust.

On Oct. 2, a car with a human behind the wheel hit a woman who was crossing at the intersection of 5th and Market streets in San Francisco against a red light. The pedestrian slid over the hood and into the path of a Cruise robotaxi, with no human driver. She became pinned under the car, and was later taken to a hospital.

Cruise quickly called the crash tragic but said that the robotaxi stopped as it was supposed to and that a human driver couldn’t have reacted as quickly.

Read more: A Cruise car hit a pedestrian. The company’s response could set back California’s new robotaxi industry

What Cruise did not say, and what the DMV revealed Tuesday, is that after sitting still for an unspecified period of time, the robotaxi began moving forward at about 7 mph, dragging the woman with it for 20 feet.

Cruise had shown a video of the incident to reporters but barred them from posting it publicly. (Because of that restriction, The Times turned down Cruise’s offer.) The video shown to reporters ended with the robotaxi sitting motionless, but did not include the vehicle dragging the woman.

The DMV said Cruise showed it the same abbreviated video, and only later did the agency see the full version. The two sides are fighting about that version of events. Cruise told reporters it showed the DMV the full video from the start.

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the DMV said it stands by the facts outlined in the orders of suspension.

Cruise Chief Executive Kyle Vogt (Kimberly White / Getty Images for TechCrunch)

Controversy has surrounded the company for months, after San Francisco’s fire chief lit into Cruise and another robotaxi company, Waymo, for interfering with firetrucks and emergency workers. Police said robotaxis were getting in their way too.

Dozens of such incidents have been reported, including robotaxis blocking an ambulance from exiting a firehouse, driving onto fire hoses and parking themselves there, bursting through police tape and getting tangled in downed utility wires. Cruise robotaxis sometimes gather together up to a dozen at a time to block pedestrians and other cars at busy intersections, a phenomenon whose cause remains a mystery, at least to the public.

Nonetheless, the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates taxi fares, voted to allow a massive expansion of robotaxi service across San Francisco. Cruise Chief Executive Kyle Vogt soon started talking about big plans for explosive growth, including the introduction next year of a six-passenger pod-like vehicle with no steering wheel called the Origin. “The goal is to get to scale as quickly as we can in terms of the total number of AVs to make this business profitable and sustainable,” he said at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in September.

Read more: After disturbing week for Cruise robotaxis, state applies the brakes

Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, is also planning to grow its fleets and move into new cities. It has already launched in Santa Monica and will soon expand to Los Angeles. Los Angeles officials are trying to get a close look at company plans, but are stymied by state law that gives cities little authority over robotaxi operations.

Other robotaxi companies are also gearing up to expand, including Zoox and Motional. Those companies are likely to draw more scrutiny in the wake of Cruise’s setback, said Bryant Walker Smith, an automated vehicle law expert at the University of South Carolina.

Alain Kornhauser, who heads the autonomous vehicle engineering program at Princeton, said the dragging incident is indeed tragic but it’s something that can be fixed. “The problem is, I don’t think anybody who’s writing code thought about a person being trapped under the car,” he said. “Now they can do something like mount a camera to make sure there’s no one under the car before it moves.”

People will be forgiving of odd robotaxi behavior if they trust the companies involved, he said. “But this covering-up business and not being forthright” does long-term damage to public acceptance, he said. “Didn’t we learn from Watergate that the coverup can be worse than the crime? They could be apologetic. They could say, ‘We’re not going to do that again.'”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The post Cruise sidelines whole U.S. robotaxi fleet to give attention to rebuilding ‘public belief’ appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury today convicted Harlan Kelly, the former General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of charges that he accepted bribes and gifts from a local businessman in a scheme to provide confidential information about the city public bidding process and steer city contracts to that person’s businesses, announced First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Robbins, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian. The verdict follows a two-week trial before United States Chief District Judge Richard Seeborg.

Kelly, 61, of San Francisco, was arrested on a criminal complaint in November 2020, and he was tried on charges contained in a May 31, 2022, superseding indictment that included charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and honest services wire fraud. The superseding indictment also included charges of false statements to a bank, conspiracy to make false statements to a bank, bank fraud, and bank fraud conspiracy, related to a scheme to defraud Quicken Loans in connection with a $1.3 million mortgage refinance loan obtained by Kelly.

Kelly was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, one count of honest services wire fraud, and all four counts related to the bank fraud scheme. The jury found Kelly not guilty of two honest services wire fraud counts.

The charges against, and prosecution of, Kelly grew out of a years-long investigation into bribery and public corruption in San Francisco city government, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and IRS-CI. To date, 13 individuals have been charged in connection that larger set of investigations, including Mohammed Nuru, former director of the San Francisco Public Works department, and multiple city contractors and other facilitators of bribes and corruption.

The evidence at trial showed that Kelly, appointed in 2012 as General Manager of the San Francisco PUC, had access to confidential information about city contract bidding processes, and the ability to influence the awarding of some city contracts. Documents and testimony showed that Kelly had a close personal and professional relationship with San Francisco business owner and contractor Walter Wong, and that during the time Wong both conducted business with the city and sought additional lucrative contracts to supply the PUC with LED streetlights. While he was doing business with the city and seeking contracts, Wong provided numerous gifts, benefits, and bribes to Kelly. These bribes including discounted construction work on Kelly’s personal residence and a lavish international trip hosted by and in part paid for by Wong. Evidence showed that Wong paid travel and personal expenses for Kelly and his family during a March 2016 Kelly family vacation to Hong Kong, Macau, and China, and that Wong paid for hotel expenses and incidentals such as meals and luxury excursions. Wong has previously pleaded guilty to charges that he engaged in an honest services fraud conspiracy in connection with his interactions with Kelly and others.

The evidence at trial showed that as part of the bribery conspiracy, Kelly provided confidential information and documents about the details of bids submitted by other contractors, including proprietary pricing and cost information, and information and documents with internal notes about how city employees in the PUC were evaluating and rating the bidders. The evidence showed that Kelly delivered these documents to Wong and his associates in violation of Kelly’s fiduciary obligations to the city and its residents, and that the confidential information assisted Wong and his company in improving Wong’s chances to obtain the contract award.

Trial evidence also showed that Kelly defrauded Quicken Loans, a financial institution, in a $1.3 million dollar real estate mortgage loan provided to Kelly. The evidence at trial showed that Kelly worked with an associate, prominent city businessman and property manager Victor Makras, to mislead the bank. According to the evidence, in the application for the loan Kelly falsely represented that he had a $915,000 mortgage and concealed the true nature of his debts from Quicken. According to the trial evidence, these misrepresentations were material to the bank’s evaluation of the borrower and the loan. The outstanding debts that Kelly concealed from Quicken included a construction debt owed to the contractor, Walter Wong that amounted to about $89,000. Another debt concealed from the company was a $70,000 unsecured personal loan made by Makras to Kelly, a result of Makras directly paying Kelly’s credit card debt in order to conceal the fact that Kelly received this loan from Makras.

Co-defendant Makras, 64 of San Francisco, was also charged in the May 31, 2022 superseding indictment, and was convicted of making false statements to a bank and bank fraud at a separate trial in August 2022.

The federal jury today convicted Kelly of the following:

•    One count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 1346, and 1349, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss
•    One count of honest services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1346, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss
•    One count of making false statements to a bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine
•    One count of conspiracy to make false statements to a bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000
•    One count of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344(1),(2), which carries a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000, or not more than the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss
•    One count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344(1),(2) and 1349, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000, or not more than the greater of twice the gross gain or gross loss

As part of any sentence, the court also may order the defendant to serve an additional period of supervised release to begin after any prison term, to pay additional penalties, and to pay restitution, if appropriate. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. Defendant Kelly remains out of custody pending sentencing. No future date has yet been set.

The case is being prosecuted by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ward and Kristina Green prosecuted the case at trial with the assistance of Tina Rosenbaum. The case is being investigated by the FBI and the IRS-CI.

The post Northern District of California | Jury Convicts Former San Francisco Public Utilities Fee Basic Supervisor of Felony Bribery and Financial institution Fraud Costs appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

After Arrest in United Kingdom, Zhang Li Admits Role in Scheme to Bribe Mohammed Nuru; Zhang’s U.S.-based Real Estate Development Company also Charged

October 16, 2023 – SAN FRANCISCO – Zhang Li, founder and chief executive officer of a Chinese real estate development company appeared last night in U.S. District Court on charges that he bribed former head of the San Francisco Department of Public Works Mohammed Nuru, announced First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Robbins, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian. A U.S. company that Zhang controls, Z&L Properties, Inc., was also charged with honest services wire fraud for providing bribes and gifts to Nuru in exchange for favorable city treatment of Z&L Properties’ mixed-use project at 555 Fulton Street in San Francisco, Calif. As part of a negotiated disposition both Zhang and Z&L Properties will waive the right to indictment and admit that they engaged in certain conduct.

Zhang, 70, of Guangzhou, China, has been charged by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. According to the Information, Zhang bribed Nuru by providing him with food, drinks, luxury lodging, and transportation during a trip Nuru took to China in 2018. The Information alleges the purpose of the bribe was to influence Nuru so that he would provide favorable treatment on decisions and city approvals needed during the construction and development of a mixed-use property at 555 Fulton Street in San Francisco being developed by Zhang and a company Zhang controlled.

Z&L Properties Inc., a U.S. company formerly based in Fremont, Calif., and controlled by Zhang, was also charged in a separate Information with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and honest services wire fraud for its participation in the bribery scheme. Z&L Properties managed the development of the 555 Fulton Street project and the company facilitated the payment of bribes to Nuru in exchange for favorable treatment regarding the 555 Fulton project, according to the allegations in the criminal Information.

“Zhang Li and Z&L Properties have admitted that they bribed a top San Francisco public official. The criminal charges and resolutions announced today send a clear message that this office will not tolerate the corruption of public officials in the District by anyone, including individuals acting from outside of the United States,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins. “To those who seek to corrupt public officials in the United States, wherever they are, we will use the powers at our disposal to bring them to justice and hold them accountable to the rule of law.”

“Zhang Li, who earned his profits through bribery of a San Francisco public official, is yet another individual charged in connection to our ongoing public corruption case,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp. “Public corruption erodes public confidence and strikes at the very foundation of our government. The citizens of San Francisco deserve better, and we stand firmly committed to investigating both corrupt officials and private citizens who attempt to bribe them, no matter where they reside.”

“IRS-Criminal Investigation’s priority is to ensure a fair and level playing field for all taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian of the Oakland Field Office. “Mr. Li’s conduct shows that greed and financial crimes have no borders, and we will continue to pursue those who take advantage of our system and taxpayers by following the money worldwide. We are proud to have worked alongside our federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing this case a step closer to closure.”

Zhang originally was charged by criminal complaint in May of 2021. At the request of the United States, Zhang was arrested when he arrived in the United Kingdom in December 2022 and the United States pursued extradition. After approximately six months, Zhang consented to extradition and was subsequently surrendered to U.S. authorities. The charges against Zhang now are set forth in an Information filed by the government.

Zhang appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse in the Northern District of California. Magistrate Judge Tse released Zhang on a bond pending further proceedings.

According to the documents filed in Zhang’s case, the defendant and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have entered a deferred prosecution agreement. Under that agreement filed today, Zhang admitted to the conduct that forms the basis of the charge in the Information, and, if Zhang abides by the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, the charge will be dismissed in three years.

According to filed documents, Z&L Properties also will plead guilty to charges set out in the Information filed against it; Z&L also will agree to a comprehensive compliance and remediation program designed to prevent bribery and corruption in connection with Z&L Properties’ real estate development work. Z&L Properties has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of honest services wire fraud, will pay a fine of $1,000,000, and will enter into a corporate compliance program acceptable to the Office of the U.S. Attorney. Z&L Properties appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse today, and the court set a further hearing before U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick, on August 10, 2023, at 1:30 p.m.

The charges against Zhang and Z&L Properties arose from an investigation into bribery and public corruption in San Francisco city government led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and IRS-CI. To date, more than 14 individuals and entities have been charged in connection that larger set of investigations, including Mohammed Nuru, former director of the San Francisco Public Works department; Harlan Kelly, the former general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; and multiple city contractors and other facilitators of bribes and corruption.

Nuru was charged in January 2020, pleaded guilty in January 2022, and on August 25, 2022, Nuru was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison. A separate defendant charged in the investigation, Walter Wong, was charged in June 2020 with conspiracy to defraud the public of its right to honest services and with conspiracy to engage in money laundering, both involving Nuru. Wong entered a guilty plea and agreed to cooperate with the government’s San Francisco City Hall corruption investigation.

An Information merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant Zhang faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. Z&L Properties faces a maximum fine of $500,000 per count, plus restitution if appropriate. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

The case is being prosecuted by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ward and Robert Leach are prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and United Kingdom authorities for their assistance in the extradition.

Source: DOJ Release

Related:

Property Developer Z&L Properties Fined $1 Million After Pleading Guilty To Honest Services Fraud Conspiracy

Company Admitted Its Chairman Bribed Former San Francisco Department of Public Works Head Mohammed Nuru with Meals, Hotel Stay During China Trip

October 16, 2023 – SAN FRANCISCO – Z&L Properties Inc., a Foster City, California-based subsidiary of a Chinese property development company, was ordered to pay a $1 million fine as part of its sentence for bribing a San Francisco official in exchange for favorable treatment on a construction project, announced First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Francisco Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. William H. Orrick, United States District Judge.

According to the plea agreement, Z&L Properties’ executives approved or paid bribes to former San Francisco Department of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, including providing him and another individual with food, drinks, lodging, and transportation during a trip to China in 2018. The purpose of the payments was to influence Nuru to act favorably on Z&L Properties’ requests for city approvals needed to complete construction of a mixed-use property owned by Z&L Properties at 555 Fulton Street in San Francisco.

Z&L Properties was charged by Information on July 18, 2023, with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of honest services wire fraud. Z&L Properties pleaded guilty to the criminal scheme on August 17, 2023. In addition to the $1 million fine, Judge Orrick ordered Z&L Properties to implement a three-year anti-corruption corporate compliance program.

Also charged in the scheme was Zhang Li, 70, of Guangzhou, China. Zhang was the owner and controlling member of Z&L Properties as well as the chairman, co-founder, and chief executive officer of R&F Properties Co. Ltd., a real estate holdings and development company based in Guangzhou, China. R&F Properties does business in the United States through Z&L Properties Ltd. Zhang was charged by Criminal Complaint for his role in bribing Nuru. Zhang was arrested in London in November 2022 on an arrest warrant issued in the Northern District of California. He was required to post a £15 million ($19.1 million) bond and remained under house arrest in London for seven months before being extradited to the United States. Zhang waived extradition in June, returned to the United States, and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United States.

This case is part of a larger federal investigation targeting public corruption in the City and County of San Francisco. Nuru was charged in January 2020 with a long-running honest services fraud scheme. Nuru pleaded guilty to several charges on January 6, 2022, and was sentenced to serve 84 months in federal prison on August 25, 2022. Another defendant, Wing Lok “Walter” Wong was charged in June 2020 with conspiracy to defraud the public of its right to honest services and with conspiracy to engage in money laundering, both involving Nuru and others. Wong entered a guilty plea and agreed to cooperate with the government’s corruption investigations. Judge Orrick has scheduled Wong’s sentencing hearing for January 18, 2024.

Assistant United States Attorney David Ward is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of a multi-year investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
Source: DOJ Release

The post Chinese language Nationwide Actual Property Developer Seems in Court docket to Face Expenses of Bribing a Distinguished San Francisco Public Official appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO – Zhang Li, founder and chief executive officer of a Chinese real estate development company appeared last night in U.S. District Court on charges that he bribed former head of the San Francisco Department of Public Works Mohammed Nuru, announced First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Robbins, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian. A U.S. company that Zhang controls, Z&L Properties, Inc., was also charged with honest services wire fraud for providing bribes and gifts to Nuru in exchange for favorable city treatment of Z&L Properties’ mixed-use project at 555 Fulton Street in San Francisco, Calif. As part of a negotiated disposition both Zhang and Z&L Properties will waive the right to indictment and admit that they engaged in certain conduct.

Zhang, 70, of Guangzhou, China, has been charged by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. According to the Information, Zhang bribed Nuru by providing him with food, drinks, luxury lodging, and transportation during a trip Nuru took to China in 2018. The Information alleges the purpose of the bribe was to influence Nuru so that he would provide favorable treatment on decisions and city approvals needed during the construction and development of a mixed-use property at 555 Fulton Street in San Francisco being developed by Zhang and a company Zhang controlled.

Z&L Properties Inc., a U.S. company formerly based in Fremont, Calif., and controlled by Zhang, was also charged in a separate Information with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and honest services wire fraud for its participation in the bribery scheme. Z&L Properties managed the development of the 555 Fulton Street project and the company facilitated the payment of bribes to Nuru in exchange for favorable treatment regarding the 555 Fulton project, according to the allegations in the criminal Information.

“Zhang Li and Z&L Properties have admitted that they bribed a top San Francisco public official. The criminal charges and resolutions announced today send a clear message that this office will not tolerate the corruption of public officials in the District by anyone, including individuals acting from outside of the United States,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins. “To those who seek to corrupt public officials in the United States, wherever they are, we will use the powers at our disposal to bring them to justice and hold them accountable to the rule of law.”

“Zhang Li, who earned his profits through bribery of a San Francisco public official, is yet another individual charged in connection to our ongoing public corruption case,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp. “Public corruption erodes public confidence and strikes at the very foundation of our government. The citizens of San Francisco deserve better, and we stand firmly committed to investigating both corrupt officials and private citizens who attempt to bribe them, no matter where they reside.”

“IRS-Criminal Investigation’s priority is to ensure a fair and level playing field for all taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian of the Oakland Field Office. “Mr. Li’s conduct shows that greed and financial crimes have no borders, and we will continue to pursue those who take advantage of our system and taxpayers by following the money worldwide. We are proud to have worked alongside our federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing this case a step closer to closure.”

Zhang originally was charged by criminal complaint in May of 2021. At the request of the United States, Zhang was arrested when he arrived in the United Kingdom in December 2022 and the United States pursued extradition. After approximately six months, Zhang consented to extradition and was subsequently surrendered to U.S. authorities. The charges against Zhang now are set forth in an Information filed by the government.

Zhang appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse in the Northern District of California. Magistrate Judge Tse released Zhang on a bond pending further proceedings.

According to the documents filed in Zhang’s case, the defendant and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have entered a deferred prosecution agreement. Under that agreement filed today, Zhang admitted to the conduct that forms the basis of the charge in the Information, and, if Zhang abides by the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, the charge will be dismissed in three years.

According to filed documents, Z&L Properties also will plead guilty to charges set out in the Information filed against it; Z&L also will agree to a comprehensive compliance and remediation program designed to prevent bribery and corruption in connection with Z&L Properties’ real estate development work. Z&L Properties has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of honest services wire fraud, will pay a fine of $1,000,000, and will enter into a corporate compliance program acceptable to the Office of the U.S. Attorney. Z&L Properties appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse today, and the court set a further hearing before U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick, on August 10, 2023, at 1:30 p.m.

The charges against Zhang and Z&L Properties arose from an investigation into bribery and public corruption in San Francisco city government led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and IRS-CI. To date, more than 14 individuals and entities have been charged in connection that larger set of investigations, including Mohammed Nuru, former director of the San Francisco Public Works department; Harlan Kelly, the former general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; and multiple city contractors and other facilitators of bribes and corruption.

Nuru was charged in January 2020, pleaded guilty in January 2022, and on August 25, 2022, Nuru was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison. A separate defendant charged in the investigation, Walter Wong, was charged in June 2020 with conspiracy to defraud the public of its right to honest services and with conspiracy to engage in money laundering, both involving Nuru. Wong entered a guilty plea and agreed to cooperate with the government’s San Francisco City Hall corruption investigation.

An Information merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant Zhang faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. Z&L Properties faces a maximum fine of $500,000 per count, plus restitution if appropriate. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

The case is being prosecuted by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ward and Robert Leach are prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and United Kingdom authorities for their assistance in the extradition.

The post Northern District of California | Chinese language Nationwide Actual Property Developer Seems In Court docket To Face Fees Of Bribing A Distinguished San Francisco Public Official appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

San Francisco— FBI San Francisco is warning the public of a new scam dubbed “The Phantom Hacker.” Scammers are impersonating technology, banking, and government officials in a complex ruse to convince a typically older victim that foreign hackers have infiltrated their financial account. The scammers then instruct the victim to immediately move their money to an alleged U.S. Government account to “protect” their assets. In reality, there was never any foreign hacker, and the money is now fully controlled by the scammers. Some victims are losing their entire life savings.

“These scammers are cold and calculated. They are targeting older members of our community who are particularly mindful of potential risks to their nest eggs. The criminals are using the victims’ own attentiveness against them,” said Special Agent in Charge John S. Morales. “By educating the public about this alarming new scam, we hope to get ahead of these scammers and prevent any further victimization.”

“The Phantom Hacker” Scam: How It Works

The FBI has observed repeated behavior by criminals involved in “The Phantom Hacker” scam. The ruse is often perpetrated in three major steps:

Step 1 – Tech Support Imposter

In the first step, a scammer posing as a customer support representative from a legitimate technology company initiates contact with the victim through a phone call, text, email, or a pop-up window on their computer and instructs the victim to call a number for “assistance.”

Once the victim calls the phone number, a scammer directs the victim to download a software program allowing the scammer remote access to the victim’s computer. The scammer pretends to run a virus scan on the victim’s computer and falsely claims the victim’s computer either has been or is at risk of being hacked.

Next, the scammer requests the victim open their financial accounts to determine whether there have been any unauthorized charges – a tactic to allow the scammer to determine which financial account is most lucrative for targeting. The scammer informs the victim they will receive a call from that financial institution’s fraud department with further instructions.

Step 2 – Financial Institution Imposter

In the second step, a scammer, posing as a representative of the financial institution mentioned above, such as a bank or a brokerage firm, contacts the victim. The scammer falsely informs the victim their computer and financial accounts have been accessed by a foreign hacker and the victim must move their money to a “safe” third-party account, such as an account with the Federal Reserve or another U.S. Government agency.

The victim is directed to transfer money via a wire transfer, cash, or wire conversion to cryptocurrency, often directly to overseas recipients. The victim is also told not to inform anyone of the real reason they are moving their money. The scammer may instruct the victim to send multiple transactions over a span of days or months.

Step 3 – U.S. Government Imposter

In the third step, the victim may be contacted by a scammer posing as the Federal Reserve or another U.S. Government agency. If the victim becomes suspicious, the scammer may send an email or a letter on what appears to be official U.S. Government letterhead to legitimize the scam. The scammer will continue to emphasize the victim’s funds are “unsafe” and they must be moved to a new “alias” account for protection until the victim concedes.

Victims often suffer the loss of entire banking, savings, retirement, and investment accounts under the guise of “protecting” their assets.

Tips to Protect Yourself

The FBI recommends that the public take the following steps to protect themselves from “The Phantom Hacker” scam:

• Do not click on unsolicited pop-ups, links sent via text messages, email links, or attachments.
• Do not contact the telephone number provided in a pop-up, text, or email.
• Do not download software at the request of an unknown individual who contacted you.
• Do not allow an unknown individual who contacted you to have control of your computer.
• The U.S. Government will never request you send money to them via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift/prepaid cards.

Reporting Suspected Fraud

The FBI requests victims report these fraudulent or suspicious activities to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov. Be sure to include as much information as possible, such as:

• The name of the person or company that contacted you.
• Methods of communication used, to include websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
• The bank account number where the funds were wired to and the recipient’s name(s).

The post FBI San Francisco Warns Public of New Monetary Rip-off — FBI appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

(THE CONVERSATION) In today’s electronic age, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous. Compared with the lead-acid versions that have dominated the battery market for decades, lithium-ion batteries can charge faster and store more energy for the same amount of weight.

These devices make our electronic gadgets and electric cars lighter and longer-lasting – but they also have disadvantages. They contain a lot of energy, and if they catch fire, they burn until all of that stored energy is released. A sudden release of huge amounts of energy can lead to explosions that threaten lives and property.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

As scientists who study energy generation, storage and conversion, and automotive engineering, we have a strong interest in the development of batteries that are energy-dense and safe. And we see encouraging signs that battery manufacturers are making progress toward solving this significant technical problem.

Urban transportation is undergoing a transformative shift toward electrification. As concerns grow in cities around the world about climate change and air quality, electric vehicles have taken center stage.

At the same time, e-bikes and electric scooters are transforming urban transit by providing convenient, low-carbon ways to navigate crowded streets and reduce traffic congestion. From 2010 through 2022, shared e-bikes and e-scooters – those owned by rental networks – accounted for more than half a billion trips in U.S. cities. Privately owned e-bikes add to that total: In 2021, more than 880,000 e-bikes were sold in the U.S., compared with 608,000 electric cars and trucks.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Battery-powered vehicles account for a small share of car fires, but controlling EV fires is difficult. Typically, an EV fire burns at roughly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 Celsius), while a gasoline-powered vehicle on fire burns at 1,500 F (815 C). It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to extinguish a burning gasoline-powered vehicle; putting out an EV fire can take 10 times more.

This is a major concern in large cities where electric vehicles are popular. Fire departments in New York City and San Francisco report handling more than 660 fires involving lithium-ion batteries since 2019. In New York City, these fires caused 12 deaths and more than 260 injuries from 2021 through early 2023. Clearly, there is a need for safer handling and charging practices, as well as technical improvements to batteries.

To understand lithium-ion battery fires, it’s important to know some basics. A battery holds chemicals that contain energy, with a separator between its positive and negative electrodes. It works by converting this energy into electricity.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

The two electrodes in a battery are surrounded by an electrolyte – a substance that allows an electrical charge to flow between the two terminals. In a lithium-ion battery, for example, lithium ions carry the electric charge. When a device is connected to a battery, chemical reactions take place on the electrodes and create a flow of electrons in the external circuit that powers the device.

Cellphones and digital cameras can operate on a single battery, but an electric car needs much more energy and power. Depending on its design, an EV may contain dozens to thousands of single batteries, which are known as cells. Cells are clustered together in sets called modules, which in turn are assembled together in packs. A standard EV will contain one large battery pack with many cells inside it.

What causes battery fires

Typically, a battery fire starts in a single cell inside a larger battery pack. There are three main reasons for a battery to ignite: mechanical harm, such as crushing or penetration when vehicles collide; electrical harm from an external or internal short circuit; or overheating.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Battery short circuits may be caused by faulty external handling or unwanted chemical reactions within the battery cell. When lithium-ion batteries are charged too quickly, chemical reactions can produce very sharp lithium needles called dendrites on the battery’s anode – the electrode with a negative charge. Eventually, they penetrate the separator and reach the other electrode, short-circuiting the battery internally.

Such short circuits heat the battery cell to over 212 F (100 C). The battery’s temperature rises slowly at first and then all at once, spiking to its peak temperature in about one second.

Another factor that makes lithium-ion battery fires challenging to handle is oxygen generation. When the metal oxides in a battery’s cathode, or positively charged electrode, are heated, they decompose and release oxygen gas. Fires need oxygen to burn, so a battery that can create oxygen can sustain a fire.

Because of the electrolyte’s nature, a 20% increase in a lithium-ion battery’s temperature causes some unwanted chemical reactions to occur much faster, which releases excessive heat. This excess heat increases the battery temperature, which in turn speeds up the reactions. The increased battery temperature increases the reaction rate, creating a process called thermal runaway. When this happens, the temperature in a battery can rise from 212 F (100 C) to 1,800 F (1000 C) in a second.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Managing the thermal runaway problem

Methods to ensure battery safety can focus on conditions outside or inside of the battery. External protection typically involves using electronic devices, like temperature sensors and pressure valves, to ensure that the battery isn’t subjected to heat or force that could cause an accident.

However, these mechanisms make the battery larger and heavier, which can reduce the performance of the device it powers. And they may not be reliable under extreme temperatures or pressures, such as those produced in a car crash.

Internal protection strategies focus on using intrinsically safe materials for battery components. This approach offers an opportunity to address potential hazards at their source.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Another solution is already in use: battery management systems. These are hardware and software packages built into battery packs that can monitor vital battery parameters, such as the state of charge, internal pressure and the temperature of the cells in the battery pack.

Just as a physician uses a patient’s symptoms to diagnose and treat their illness, battery management systems can diagnose conditions within the battery pack and make autonomous decisions to shut off batteries with hot spots, or to alter the load distribution so that any individual battery does not get too hot.

Battery chemistries are evolving rapidly, so new designs will require new battery management systems. Many battery producers are forming partnerships that bring together manufacturers with complementary battery expertise to tackle this challenge.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Users can also take steps to maximize safety. Use manufacturer-recommended charging equipment and outlets, and avoid overcharging or leaving an EV plugged in overnight. Inspect the battery regularly for signs of damage or overheating. Park the vehicle away from extremely hot or cold surroundings – for example, park in shade during heat waves – to prevent thermal stress on the battery.

Finally, in the event of a collision or accident involving an EV, follow the manufacturer’s safety protocols and disconnect the battery if possible to minimize the risk of fire or electrocution.

The post Lithium-ion battery fires are a rising public security concern − this is find out how to cut back the danger appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

A dead-end street abutting a freeway on-ramp in a quasi-industrial part of San Francisco’s Mission District probably sounds like either the best place or the worst place to hang out at night, but it’s where Public Works has thrived for the last 13 years.

Public Works—which is to say, the club and not the scandal-ridden city department whose offices are a few blocks away—is a unique treasure in San Francisco’s nightlife ecosystem. It’s roughly the size of 1015 Folsom or the Great Northern, but there’s something different about Public Works’ vibe, beyond its conspicuously low ticket prices.

Beloved by scenesters and independent promoters alike, it survived the pandemic largely because the location on dead-end Erie Street allowed Public Works to put tables and a DJ setup outside, playing music at a volume somewhere between pulsating and library-appropriate. 

Even still, the nightlife scene has shifted, forcing clubs everywhere to change.

“Our crowd that has been supporting us for years is not going out as much,” said co-owner Jeff Whitmore. “They got older, they found the suburbs, they found sleep and they got out of the habit of going out three nights a week. But it’s exciting, because we get to look into styles and genres we haven’t played before.”

This need for experimentation has brought new audiences into Public Works, which has historically been a home for house and techno and is now leaning into other, more bass-heavy electronic subgenres. As it happens, this is something that bar owners citywide have echoed: San Francisco is constantly portrayed as circling the drain, yet fresh waves of new arrivals are finding their way here, as enraptured with the city’s magic as all those who came before.

This weekend, what they’ll find is the venue’s 13th anniversary, a triskaidekaphobia-be-damned, three-night party featuring DJs the world over, from London-based Hamdi to Berlin’s Lovefoxy. Five years ago, these were not names that would have played at Public Works—let alone for an anniversary.

While the door to 161 Erie St. in the Mission District may be discreet, Public Works is not, routinely making use of the outdoor space on its dead-end block. | Source: Astrid Kane/The Standard

Rob Casanovas, Public Works’ general manager, used to work at the much-missed SoMa venue Mezzanine. These days, he feels like he’s helping usher in a new San Francisco, at both the venue and its satellite salon space in the Tenderloin’s Little Saigon microhood. 

“Everybody knows it’s happening. I think the city’s actually swinging back better than ever. New people coming in through the door that just moved in,” he said. “It’s revitalizing to hear a fresh perspective on how beautiful the city is when the narrative for so long has been the city’s going to shit.”

Public Works’ ownership structure has some overlap with the Midway, the much-larger club and conference center in Dogpatch, but their working relationship is very informal, mostly on the level of borrowing chairs from each other.

Big-name artists who can fill much larger spaces routinely play Public Works, which has a capacity for only a few hundred people. The hugely popular John Summit, for example, played at Public Works over Memorial Day weekend. Granted, the show sold out within 90 minutes, but his other shows in the Bay Area this year included a block party for 7,000 people and a set at Stanford University’s Frost Amphitheater. 

Local independent promoters echo artists’ love for the venue as well.

Syd Gris is a longtime producer who throws parties under Opel Productions and for Opulent Temple, the 20-year-old Burning Man camp and nonprofit that stages fundraisers throughout the year. He appreciates the niche that Public Works fills, as independents like him are limited to a few clubs around the city.

“Some venues prefer to do most of their stuff in-house, so they don’t have to pay the promoter any of the money that comes in the door—and even when a venue will work with promoters, it’s not always on terms that make it worth the risk,” Gris said. “A venue like Public Works is key to my survival, and I’m sure I don’t speak for myself.”

Hyperinclusive dance party Electroluxx has thrown over-the-top parties at Public Works for the better part of a decade.

Muralist Elliott C. Nathan—whose joyously exuberant pieces fill up entire walls around San Francisco—has thrown the hyper-inclusive dance party Electroluxx at Public Works with his business partner Brett Mendenhall for years, partly because “they don’t say no to weird stuff” and the employees treat patrons with respect.

“Sometimes you find venues, and even if it’s great, the security is rough—and that’s the first experience of anyone who goes in,” he said. “Public Works ensured that their security is kind and generous and aware of the type of crowd, so having a party that leans into the queer community, they understand how to interact with everyone.”

While small record labels that nurture new talent are often “rewarded” by their artists outgrowing them and moving on, small venues can brag that giant acts played there way back when.

In Public Works’ case, those names include Jamie XX, the Martinez Brothers, Black Coffee and other people who’ve gone on to play renowned festivals like Bonnaroo or Coachella. As booking assistant Alec Mann put it, the club’s history tracks the development of dance music.

“It’s crazy to see the underground moving into the mainstream,” he said. “I like to think Public Works had a big role in giving into these nuanced sounds that are at the forefront of production.”

The post Public Works Is San Francisco’s Venue for the Individuals appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.