Updated: Fight the "Anti-Fun" People at City Hall on October 26 at 10 a.m. on Monday
Update: Thanks to Sarafina for the update on the hearing's schedule change from next Monday to the following Monday, October 26th at 1 p.m. at City Hall, Room 263. That gives you all more time to spread the word and write those letters!
The latest saga in San Francisco's "War on Fun" comes from the attempts of a group of ultra-conservative busybodies with too much time on their hands who have banded together with anti-alcohol and anti-entertainment elements in the SFPD and the state Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to shut down night-time entertainment in San Francisco.
These folks have been showing up at hearings at City Hall claiming that night-time entertainment is the cause of "violent crime, murder, prostitution, public urination and defecation and any host of problems that the city has been facing for decades."
On Monday, there will be a hearing at City Hall regarding new legislation based on the "Night-Time Safety Summit," which the mayor and the Entertainment Commission held two years ago to hear recommendations from the entertainment community and the Police Department on how to strengthen the role of the EC in rewarding well managed venues, and disciplining problem venues that were making the industry look bad.
Currently, the EC doesn't have much authority aside from revoking permits, which is an expensive and time-consuming process. Ideally, Monday's hearing is about giving the EC the ability to write tickets for minor infractions -- for example, to tell a venue to manage their line better without having to first let things get bad enough that revocation makes sense. But the "anti-fun" folks are doing everything they can to undermine the EC in an attempt to give all of the unilateral control back to SFPD.
San Francisco's bars and clubs need your support in standing up for this legislation giving the Entertainment Commission more power. Show up at City Hall, Room 263, at 10 a.m. on Monday morning, or write to the Board of Supervisors. The DNA Lounge has key points to help you get started on your letter (at the bottom of the page).
To keep abreast of these issues, join the Stop the War on Fun's Facebook group, add them on Twitter, and check out the Entertainment Commission's Facebook group as well.