- SF Mayor Ed Lee pledges new political era (SF Chronicle)
A historic era in San Francisco politics began Tuesday when Edwin M. Lee was appointed and sworn in as mayor, the first Asian American to hold the post..."I hope to move us past the labels that have pigeonholed us at City Hall," Lee told the throng that filled the floor of the City Hall rotunda and lined balconies three stories high.
- Dan Siegel, critic of cops, to advise Oakland mayor (SF Chronicle)
An Oakland civil rights attorney who is one of the city's most active and vocal police critics will be joining the administration of Mayor Jean Quan as an unpaid adviser in the coming weeks. Dan Siegel, who has fought against the city's gang injunctions, said he expects he will advise Quan on a variety of issues, including the budget and proposed marijuana farms. But that's not all.
- Chiu selects moderate for powerful Board of Supervisors position (SF Examiner)
A moderate took control over San Francisco’s most influential legislative committee Tuesday, the latest development in the political sea change at City Hall. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, re-elected to his post Saturday with the support of the board’s more conservative members, has appointed moderate Supervisor Carmen Chu as chair of the board’s influential Budget and Finance Committee.
- SF gay history museum finds home, identity (SF Chronicle)
Long recognized as "one of the great ground zeroes of queer liberation," the Castro becomes the site of the nation's first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history museum today.
- Study finds no evidence of SmartMeter risk, but says more study warranted (Marin Independent Journal)
Federal safety standards governing SmartMeters are adequate to protect the public from the known effects of radio frequency waves, but there has been insufficient research to determine if other health effects exist, according to a new study. The study released Tuesday by the California Council on Science and Technology came at the request for an analysis by Assemblymen Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and Bill Monning, D-Carmel.
- Marin supervisors OK reduced pension benefits for new hires (Marin Independent Journal)
A two-year labor pact that provides no pay raises for county employees and cuts pension benefits for new hires was swiftly approved by Marin supervisors Tuesday. The agreement with the Marin Association of Public Employees covering 1,400 workers will eventually save taxpayers more than $1.1 million a year, officials said.
- Man wrongfully convicted of SF killings to go free (SF Chronicle)
A man declared wrongfully convicted of a 1989 double-murder in San Francisco was ordered freed Tuesday after prosecutors said they would not seek to retry him. Caramad Conley, 40, has spent 18 years in prison for the killings of Roshawn Johnson and Charles Hughes after being convicted based largely on the testimony of a now-dead police informant, Clifford Polk.
- A new prosecutor and a six-week postponement mark Richmond rape case as it stretches into the new year (Bay Citizen)
The Richmond High rape case crawls into the New Year with a six-week postponement and significant changes to the defense and prosecution. Six defendants held to answer for the 2009 rape and beating of a 16-year-old student appeared in Contra Costa County Superior Court yesterday to reenter their pleas following last month’s preliminary hearing. Judge Brian Haynes postponed the arraignment until February 23—as requested by defense attorneys.
- Cal's Robert Birgeneau talks about Tucson shooting (Matier & Ross, SF Chronicle)
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has come out swinging over the shooting spree that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six people, linking it to Arizona's "discrimination against undocumented persons" and a "climate in which demonization of others goes unchallenged and hateful speech is tolerated." In a campus-wide e-mail message, Birgeneau said: "It is not a coincidence that this calamity has occurred in a state which has legislated discrimination against undocumented persons."
- California plan to help homeowners facing foreclosure kicks off (San Jose Mercury News)
A state plan to help homeowners facing the threat of foreclosure kicked off this week, with the California Housing Finance Agency taking applications on a toll-free phone line. Designed to help homeowners receiving unemployment benefits keep current on their mortgage payments, the program that kicked off Monday will give as many as 60,000 eligible homeowners a mortgage payment subsidy of up to $3,000 for a maximum of six months.