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......

Although we were much too busy with failed attempts at bit-part stardom to care about our civic duty this weekend -- a mistake we'll never make again -- we have read some interesting tidbits covering Saturday's Leno/Migden/some other candidate district 3 dance-off, or whatever. Ahem: -- San Francisco Blog claims that "Senator Carole Migden...took the high road and chose not to engage in dirty politics." Well, that's no fun. And...skewed perhaps. Also, it seems......

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is all over the problem of keeping only confident, competent senior drivers on the road. It's unveiled a new video to educate both seniors and those with seniors in their lives on the risks associated with driving while aging. It's introduced by former State Senator Quentin Kopp -- himself a senior -- who, in a bold performance admits that he, too, finds himself driving slower on the freeway. ...

The CHP is recommending to the Solano County DA's office that they press reckless driving charges against State Senator Carole Migden, for her wild, lane-changing, simultaneous cell-phone-talking and paperwork-reading 30-mile drive in Fairfield, culminating in a fender-bender. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor and has a max penalty of $1000 and/or 6 months in jail. Migden was found at fault not only in rear-ending the other car, but also in hitting a guardrail earlier in the......

Dude, she was shot at Jonestown! it doesn't matter she didn't win her race for Lieutenant Governor. Former State Senator Jackie Speier speaks at the Commonwealth Club tonight about the book she co-authored, This Is Not The Life I Ordered, which tells not only her story, but the story of three of her friends as well. $18, reception at 6, reading at 7, at 595 Market 2nd Fl. (x 2nd). Other events: --The Stars and......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

After poking some good-natured fun at State Senator Carole Migden for her driving mishaps last week, we now feel obliged to tell you guys that she's revealed that she was diagnosed with leukemia 10 years ago and thinks that her medication might have affected her driving that day. Migden says she was diagnosed in 1997, was unable to find a bone marrow match, but successfully fought off the disease nonetheless, saying she lost her hair......

Hey, remember last Friday when State Senator Carole Migden got in a fender bender in Fairfield? It was the same day that Ed Jew's office got raided, so you might have forgotten. So the original story was that Migden was lost, and took her eyes briefly off the road to make a cell phone call and hit someone's bumper. Not great, but sure, it happens. Well, now KTVU is reporting that the CHP is......

Now hating the war isn't just the domain of tree hugging hippies and the Defeatocrats-- it's the entire state of California. Today, State Senator Don Perata announced that he wants the entire state to vote on a referendum on pulling troops out of Iraq. Perata might be announcing it, but we see the evil workings of Barbara Streisand behind all this, probably in cahoots with David Geffen and Michael Moore. And even if Rosie lives on the East Coast, she probably has something to do with all of this too...

Here's the daily wrap up of the news...

So last week, we got an email from a friend of ours, asking us to show up to the State Building on a Sunday afternoon to vote for him for some obscure delegate position with the state Democratic party. Sure, we thought. Always good to vote for a friend! So how entertaining for us to find out we were in fact part of a huge juggernaut of people supporting people who support Mark Leno in......

A former San Carlos mayor is filing an appeal of his conviction for defrauding the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department out of $13,000, by using public funds to pay for a political consultant who failed to win a campaign back in 2003. The fountain at San Jose State smells bad. An occupational therapy major says it's this year's "stank smell," as opposed to last year's, which was their trees. However, a business management major says he......

State Senator Joe Simitian (pictured at left) has announced the finalists for his "There Oughta Be A Law" contest, where state citizens can submit their proposals for a law that California needs. You know, that's kind of a genius idea. This year's winners are all from the Bay Area (but people from all over the state are allowed to send in submissions). Unfortunately, no one suggested the things we think should be a law ("how come we don't have more fish and chips stands around here?") -- instead, soberer heads than ours have proposed protections for people getting reverse mortgages, requiring transportation authorities to plant water-saving plants when landscaping, and a bill requiring people to move over a lane when they see a stopped emergency vehicle or tow truck (which was proposed last year and Schwarzenegger vetoed. ....Why the veto? Seems reasonable to us.) Simitian will introduce the bills as legislation, and the winners get to testify before a committee about why their law should be passed. ("Because fish and chips are really, really good, especially with malt vinegar!"). Previous winners include a Los Altos couple who proposed a bill to lower foreign adoption costs, two women who independently suggested that you be required to turn on your headlights if your wipers are on, a proposal to add a bitter flavor to antifreeze so pets won't drink it, and a requirement that bankrupt companies honor gift certificates. In the last three years of the contest, six proposals have become laws (including the windshield wiper thing). ...

Earlier this week, State Senator Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, called for hearings into salary compensation and raises in the University of California system. Apparently, the UC people have been hiring a bunch of people at mid-level salaries, and then gave them all sorts of extra goodies. Not to mention kick-ass raises. All this would be all well and good except for the fact nobody at UC let the Powers That Be know that they were going to do this. Oh, and they just cut a whole bunch of student services and raised fees too. In short, juicy salary raises + lots of free stuff + cuts to student services= pissed off people. ...

Well, we're one step closer to being ahead of the curve on yet another issue here in California thanks to the efforts of State Senator Mark Leno, D - San Francisco. The farm bill that he gutted to expedite a vote on marriage equailty, AB 849, has passed, 21 to 15. Now it goes on to the full Assembly for concurrence. If passed there, it lands firmly on the 'moderate' lap of Herr Governator......

Hey, remember the kids rampaging through the streets of the Mission, smashing the state one window at a time? Well, it ain't quite over yet. First off, at least one protestor who's still in custody needs help coming up with the $5,000 needed to post bail -- you can send a donation! Us, we would call Bad Boy Bail Bonds (they speak our language -- funky-fresh rappin'). On the other side of the coin, "The......

In a not surprising maneuver, the Board of Supes yesterday passed a resolution calling for that old church on Van Ness and Broadway, St. Brigid, to be turned into a landmark. This despite the fact the Archdiocese of San Francisco has basically been saying from the get go, thanks but no thanks. And this despite it being California state law that the state can’t go around deeming houses of religions landmarks and what not (that whole separation of church and state that everyone’s so keen about). To get around all that, our State Senator, Carole Migden, also proposed legislation yesterday to exempt that and only that church. ...

The Bay Bridge's proposed single-suspension design is under attack by the Govenator. But the legislature has to approve the change to a skyway design....

you know what always catches our eye? That's right, a throwdown! So our attention was finally piqued when Adriel Hampton, the Examiner political correspondent, posted the following j'accuse on his blog: if you scroll past the tedious Don Perata interview, you'll see that Matier and Ross republished his scoop as their own! Without credit! Poor journalistic sportsmanship, M&R! ...

Yesterday the Democratic Caucus of the California State Senate voted to replace termed-out senator John Burton [D-San Francisco] with Don Perata [D-Oakland] as the new President Pro-tempore of the senate. Considered the 'second most powerful' political position in Sacramento, Bay Area lawmakers breathed a sigh of relief - an appointment of his rival for the post, Martha Escutia of Whittier, would have signaled a complete shift in power to Southern California (sorry, LAist). Perata is a former teacher in Oakland's public schools, having earned his credentials at the University of California, Berkeley. Generally considered left-of-center even within the California Democratic Party, he has fought for gun regulation, improved funding for public schools and even has a pet-project website, OaklandSchools.com, set up for students, teachers and parents to report problems and lobby legislators on behalf of their beleaguered school district. He's currently working to oppose the huge new casino in nearby San Pablo. This appointment comes on the heels of allegations, investigated by the Chron, of improprieties during his campaign related to business relationships with his son, Nick Perata, and local businessman and college friend Timothy G. Staples. It's also interesting to note that Perata was Burton's pick, and coincides with a number of political moves that Burton has made as his stint in the State Senate draws to a close. EssEffist would like to point out that they don't call it the "Brown-Burton Machine" for nothing....