A.M. Splash: Same-Sex Marriage Issue Erupts in SF Mayor Race; Muni to Allow Cabs to Stop in Bike Lanes; New SJ Parcel Tax?

...Accusations that City Attorney and mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera initially opposed the city marrying same-sex couples have been leveled by several members of former Mayor Gavin Newsom's administration. Herrera calls the charges a "bald-faced lie" by political opponents designed to cripple his campaign.

...Taxis will now be able to drop off and pick up passengers in bike lanes — a move welcomed by drivers sick of getting nailed with $105 parking tickets, but criticized by cyclists who say it will worsen safety conditions. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which regulates both taxis and bicyclists, recently began issuing bumper stickers to cabs giving them access to bike lanes without fear of being ticketed by parking control officers.

There may have been tension across the bay while police cleared Occupy Oakland's camps, but life carried on today at San Francisco's Occupy home with barely a hitch - despite a new warning from city officials to limit activities there.

In a powerful display of profound disappointment with President Obama, some of the Democratic Party's biggest donors gathered Tuesday - not inside his tony San Francisco fundraiser at the W Hotel, but outside on the sidewalks carrying signs in protest of his policies.

With San Jose's streets already among the Bay Area's worst and the city too broke to fix them, city officials on Tuesday renewed the idea of tapping city property owners for more cash. Homeowners and businesses could be asked to contribute up to $400 a year to help get the city's roads in good shape over the next 10 years.

...On Thursday, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will ask a state panel for authority to extend the area's toll lane network by 290 miles. The proposal is the next step in MTC's plans to construct 570 miles of toll lanes on Bay Area freeways over the next two decades, at a cost of $1.6 billion to $6.8 billion. Some 266 miles of toll lanes have already been approved, but not yet built.

In a move that could have a major impact on the recycling industry, California Attorney General Kamala Harris will sue three national companies that make plastic bottles or sell bottled water in California, contending that they illegally claim their bottles are "biodegradable." The lawsuit to be filed Wednesday, seeks to have tens of thousands of bottles of Aquamantra and Balance Water removed from supermarket shelves immediately

Andronico's Markets is slated to be sold by the end of this week to Renovo Capital, but while the deal would rescue Andronico's, the grocery chain said Tuesday it will close one of its Berkeley stores within days. The store at 1414 University Ave. in Berkeley will close over the weekend, according to Adam Alberti, a spokesman for Andronico's. The market chain filed for bankruptcy in August.

Medical marijuana advocates, decrying a federal government crackdown on dispensaries and a failure of state lawmakers to act, said Tuesday that they are drafting a 2012 ballot initiative to impose statewide oversight of California's burgeoning medicinal cannabis trade.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit opponents won't include language from the rail agency on their petitions asking voters to put an issue on the ballot to repeal the sales tax that funds the rail line. The SMART board last week voted unanimously to change the initiative process, despite warnings from the California secretary of state that it is on shaky legal ground. The new ordinance requires SMART opponents to attach to its petitions an analysis of the initiative prepared by the rail agency.