It appears that District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy has something in common with a certain kind of fragile Hollywood star — he never, it appears, reads coverage of himself. That was made apparent Wednesday, when despite news items from May noting that Dolores Park litterers are never cited, Sheehy reportedly claimed he was unaware of that fact.

It was back on May 19 that we reported that Sheehy (whose District 8 includes the park) announced via press release a proposal to increase the fine for littering in Dolores Park to $1,000. However, as reported the day before by the SF Chronicle in an article that quoted Sheehy extensively, “not a single person has been has been ticketed for littering in Dolores Park this year.”

The fine for Dolores Park littering, should it ever be levied, is currently $192. As reported back in May, Sheehy's proposal was a reaction to the mounds of trash left in the park every week. The proposed $1000 littering ticket would apply only to Dolores Park.

I'm not going to assume that Sheehy — who is presumably exceptionally busy — has the time to read SFist (where the Chron's zero citation news was reblogged), but you'd think that he's read the Chron article about his proposal! This is the article that quotes him as saying “If it costs you money to leave your trash in the park, you won’t do it...There are consequences to every action...This behavior has to change. It’s a terrible situation.” This is the article with the headline "Lots of litter, but no enforcement, at S.F.’s Dolores Park." What I am saying is that the fact that no tickets have been written in the past year was hardly buried.

But apparently Sheehy didn't read that article — or perhaps the news on the complete lack of litter citations slipped his mind in the intervening six weeks. For as Mission Local reports, at Wednesday's meeting of the Supes Public Safety and Neighborhood Services committee intended to discuss the proposed fine increase, it was then and only then that the members of the commission (Sheehy, D1's Sandra Lee Fewer, and D9's Hilary Ronen) "discovered that no one has been cited for littering in the park at the current fee of $200 in the past year."

I mean, I get it, there's a lot to keep up with...but I'll bet a lot of you guys, for none of whom Dolores Park litter citations are a part of your job, managed to remember that no ticket thing, right? I know I did! And yet, reports Mission Local, Sheehy "was unaware until the hearing that no citations had been introduced."

At the meeting, the Ex reports that Ronen was skeptical about the proposed fine increase, saying that “If it’s your understanding that there are people with such extensive means that are using the park then a $1,000 fine will make no difference to these people just as a $200 fine clearly wouldn’t make a difference — not that anybody is getting fined anyway. So this is a completely pointless exercise to begin with."

The hearing concluded with all three supes agreeing that "until the existing $200 fee is enforced it is pointless to raise fees," Mission Local reports. Which seems like information they had at their fingertips back in May, making Wednesday morning's meeting even more pointless an exercise than Ronen might have meant.

Previously: Huge Fines Proposed for Dolores Park Litterbugs

Legislation currently being considered before the state assembly would give certain judges the authority to fine jurors whose internet use puts the integrity of a trial in question. What's more, the Associated Press reports that going forward, being an internet addict might be enough to get you bumped from a trial.

Paula Hannaford-Agor, Director of the Center for Juries Studies at the Nation Center for State Courts, suggested that those who can't help themselves from accessing the internet may just be sent home. “If you have an internet addict who just can't psychologically stop, you may want to excuse that person,” she explained to the AP.

As noted by the AP, a 2011 state law means that "improper electronic or wireless communication or research by a juror" is already punishable with a contempt charge. However, that was rarely done as it is a bureaucratically time-consuming process, and so the new legislation would lower the barrier for censuring jurors.

"It's disruptive of the judicial process, and there ought to be a fairly simple and convenient way for a judge to sanction a juror based on the order that the judge has given,” Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), who authored the legislation, explained. Fines could be as high as $1,500 for any juror that looks up information about the case online, or who otherwise engages in inappropriate digital activity.

If passed, the new law will first undergo a five-year pilot program in selected areas throughout the state.

Related: Is It Possible To Truly Go On Vacation Anymore Unless You're Off The Grid?

Don't think you'll get a ticket for tossing another Duraflame into the fire during a Spare the Air day? Think again. Last winter, the air district received 2,316 wood smoke complaints from Bay Area residents. Of those complaints, 178 tickets (replete with a $100 fee) were issued to those in violation of the wood burning ban. So you best be careful this winter because Spare the Air season starts today.

What does this mean? It means that authorities (i.e., the Gods of Wind and Fire) can issue Spare the Air alerts. On a daily basis they decide "whether air quality in the region is healthy enough to allow the burning of wood, firelogs or other solid fuel."

“The Winter Spare the Air program has successfully helped the public understand the hazards of wood smoke while helping us make significant progress toward cleaner air in our neighborhoods,” Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the air district, said in a statement.

Winter Spare the Air season goes from November 1 to February 28. For more details, go here.

[SF Appeal]
[Mercury News]

Back in March, as SFist first reported, thousands of red balloons were released into the air from Yerba Buena Gardens, a stunt that was part of game release launch for Home Front. Although the balloons were allegedly made from a 100% organic product and are 100% biodegradable, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board "has fined national marketing company TrashTalkFCM $7,000 for [the] promotional event
that resulted in hundreds of red, latex balloons falling into San Francisco Bay."

Many of the balloons ended up in the Bay, endangering wildlife. See for yourself.

In addition to an eternity burning in the lower circles of hell, handicap placard and parking space abusers will now face larger fines in San Francisco. Yesterday, the SFMTA approved fine increases for on everything "from blocking a blue zone to displaying an invalid placard." And we're sure we have more than one guilty reader.

This all comes on the heels of a state law authored by Assemblylady Fiona Ma, in October that lets local cities puff up fines. According to reports, "as of Jan. 1, those who display a lost, stolen, expired or counterfeit placard or plate will be fined $825, up from $750."

And, sadly, having handicap placards without the required handicap is as San Francisco as the Golden Gate Bridge, gays, and arrested development. Most of us know at least one driver with a bogus placard.

But the good news is that you can snitch on said friend(s), enemies, or that nasty bitch you've always hated. Just visit handicappedfraud.org to turn in violators. It's easy: simply record the placard number, the vehicle's license plate number, leave a "ha ha, I snitched on you, loser!" note behind, report it back to handicappedfraud.org, and then sit back and back in the warm glow of righteousness.

State Senator Leland Yee introduced a bill in the State Legislature this morning that, if passed, would see traffic fines double for violations occurring along the deadly strip of San Francisco road known as 19th Avenue. (Shudder.)

Over the past few years, 19th Avenue -- which connects San Mateo County with San Francisco and pierces commercial and residential sections of the city rife with foot traffic -- has played host to numerous traffic accidents and several pedestrian deaths. Yee's bill, which was initially vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, will go into effect at the start of Jan. 9. Oh joy. That's less than one year away!

But don't fret, pedestrians of San Francisco: next month the California Department of Transportation will start construction on a swank new series of pedestrian-safety improvements, including "countdown signals at 10 intersections, more visible traffic signals, and fiber optic cables to coordinate traffic signals," according to CBS5. Add said improvements to this double-fine bill, and 19th Ave. sounds safe enough to babysit your newborn.

Also, great timing there, powers that be. It's only been almost a half a decade since we brought this up, and something is finally getting done about it. Kudos!