October 9, 2020 

A Message From The Supervisor:

My team and I have been working hard to provide supports and resources for our community during this time. I know we are facing a pandemic and there is extreme hardship in our community, but we will get through this together!

Please don't hesitate to email us at SafaiStaff@sfgov.org or call us at 1-415-554-6976 if we can assist you in any way and we will immediately respond. 

Thank you all for your time, cooperation, and perseverance! 

Sincerely,




Supervisor Ahsha Safai 

Sideshow Legislation Moves forward to the Full Board of Supervisors

Supervisor Ahsha Safai's legislation on Motor Vehicle Stunt Driving to Establish a City policy to protect the health and safety of residents aka Sideshows was heard yesterday at the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. It was forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation. 

Thank you to all the community members who came out and shared during public comment. 

You can view the hearing (item #5) here: http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=10

San Francisco Issues "Safer Halloween Guidance" Due to COVID-19
 

We are in the month of October and that means that many will be celebrating Halloween(-related) activities throughout this month, e.g., trick-or-treating, indoor costume parties, and socializing and sharing in festive food or drink, thus, the City’s Department of Public Health has issued Safer Halloween Guidance to help everyone celebrate safely. 
 
Note, trick-or-treating is being discouraged and sharing food is considered a high-risk activity for COVID-19 transmission, and “trunk or treating” between cars is also being discouraged due to similar risks of transmission. If you are going to trick-or treat, please consider laying out individually wrapped goodie bags that are pre-arranged and lined-up for families to be able to just grab-and-go while continuing to physically distance from other trick-or-treaters.

These safer activities include: 

• Virtual parties/contests (e.g. costume contests or pumpkin carving).
 
• Creating a haunted house in your living space for members of your household.
 
• Scavenger hunt for hidden treats in your living space for members of your household, rather than going house-to-house.
 
• Having a scary movie night or other Halloween-themed activities.
 
• Outdoor pumpkin carving. Note: face coverings must be worn if carving pumpkins with people from outside your household.
 
• Halloween themed meals at outdoor restaurants to support local businesses.
 
• Having or attending an outdoor, open-air costume parade with no more than 12 people, where protective face coverings are used and people can remain more than 6 feet apart. 

The following activities present an elevated risk for the transmission of COVID-19 and are prohibited by local or state public health orders: 

• Gatherings of more than 12 persons, either indoors or outdoors. Note: Gatherings with more than 12 people are okay if all of those individuals live with you.
 
• Indoor Halloween gatherings, celebrations, events or parties with non-household members.
 
• Haunted houses, carnivals, festivals, and live entertainment attractions. 

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate Halloween, it is important to keep the following practices in mind: 

• Face Coverings: Wear a face covering that securely covers your nose and mouth when outside your home and around others that are not part of your household. Plastic, rubber, vinyl, and other Halloween costume masks are not acceptable substitutes for face coverings to prevent COVID-19 spread. 

• Practice Physical Distancing: Stay at least 6 feet away from people who are not part of your own household, especially when talking, eating, or drinking. 

• Outdoors is MUCH Safer: Avoid confined spaces, especially indoors.
 
• Good Hygiene: Wash or sanitize your hands often. Clean high touch items regularly.
 
• Minimize Mixing: Plan activities to limit mixing between different households. 

• Stay home if you are sick or you are in a high-risk group: If you are sick, or you have been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has symptoms of COVID-19 please get tested and stay home and away from others. High-risk groups include people above the age of 60, and those with certain underlying medical conditions.

To access the City’s guidelines and safe practices for this year’s Halloween festivities, please click here: 

https://sf.gov/celebrate-safer-halloween-during-pandemic   

SAN FRANCISCO ANNOUNCES EFFORTS IN PLACE TO HELP RESIDENTS VOTE SAFELY IN NOVEMBER ELECTION

All registered voters in San Francisco and California will be sent a vote-by-mail ballot for the November 3, 2020 election, and should expect to receive their ballot in the mail the week of October 5. The deadline to register to vote is October 19, 2020. Register to vote online or in person at the Voting Center. Those who miss the voter registration deadline but are still eligible can visit the Voting Center or a polling place to register and cast a provisional ballot.

Over the last few months, the Department of Elections has been working diligently to safely reach voters and potential registrants with a wide range of multilingual, multi-format informational resources about the November 3 election. In collaboration with its non-profit outreach partners and City agencies, the Department is distributing digital presentations and print materials designed to inform all residents, including members of the City’s vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, about upcoming election dates and deadlines, vote by mail, and the new health and safety protocols implemented at in-person voting sites. The Department of Elections has also been informing the public about the November 3 election through several informational mailings, digital notices, and Public Service Announcements. 

There are several ways to vote in the election:

By Mail – This is the safest way to vote. The Department of Elections recommends voters return their ballots using a United States Postal Service blue mail collection box. The USPS provides nearly 1,400 collection boxes in the City. Find your nearest mail box here.

At the Voting Center – October 5 through November 3, and open weekends starting October 24.

At a Polling Place on Election Day. There are 588 polling places in San Francisco. Find your polling places on San Francisco’s Voter Portal.

At Ballot Drop-Off Sites – Starting October 5 and through November 3, voters can drop-off ballots at the Voting Center.

Starting October 31 and through November 3, the Department will provide drop-off sites at the Chase Center, Bayview/Linda Brooks-Burton Library, Excelsior Library, and Portsmouth Square.

Accessible Vote-by-Mail System – allows voters to mark screen-readable vote-by-mail ballots using common internet-connected devices. After marking an AVBM ballot, a voter must download and print the ballot and return the ballot printout by mail or in person in a timely manner, just as vote-by-mail voters who use official paper ballots must do.

Authorizing another person to pick up your ballot – Beginning October 5, any registered voter may authorize a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, sibling, or person residing in their household to pick up a vote-by-mail ballot from the Voting Center and deliver it to them, provided the authorized person is at least 16 years old.

Health and Safety Measures

In compliance with current guidance from public health officials, the Department of Elections has adopted several new health and safety protocols at its in-person voting locations. The Department will offer hand sanitizer, gloves, and face masks to all voters and post notices asking voters and observers to observe health guidelines, including those regarding facial coverings, hand hygiene, and social distancing rules, at all in-person voting locations.

The Department will also introduce new sanitation and disinfection protocols for the voting supplies and equipment used at all in-person voting locations. The Voting Center and 588 polling places will be set up to maintain 6 foot distances between people in line, computer workstations, voting booths, and ballot return boxes. Although all voters will receive ballots by mail, voters can still use in-person services at the Voting Center or polling places. San Franciscans are reminded to wear a face covering when voting in person or dropping off their ballot to protect public health.

Voting Center

The Voting Center will provide ballots and services to all City residents who wish to pick up or drop off vote-by-mail ballots, register to vote (before or after the registration deadline), obtain personal assistance, use accessible voting equipment, obtain replacement ballots, or cast their ballots in person.

To protect the health of voters wishing to obtain in-person voting services during the 29-day early voting period, the Voting Center will be set up in the area outside of Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on 99 Grove Street, between Polk and Larkin Streets.

The Voting Center will be open during the 29-day early voting period during these times:

• Every weekday, October 5 through November 2, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Two weekends, October 24 and 25, and October 31 and November 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (same voting hours as polling places).

To make their voting experience faster and safer, voters can use the Voting Locations and Wait Times Tool to check wait times at the Voting Center as they are planning their trip. With early voting opportunities available 29 days before Election Day, San Francisco encourages residents to vote as early as possible.

The Voting Center will also offer accessible voting tools such as page magnifiers, pen grips, and seated voting, as well as accessible ballot-marking devices with touchscreen/audio format and personal assistive device compatibility. Any voter may request to vote “curbside” at the Voting Center by calling (415) 554-4375 or by asking a companion to enter the voting center to request delivery of voting materials to the voter.

SFPUC Prepares for Wet Weather Season With Changes to Increase Access to Floodwater Grant Program
New updates will offer upfront funding for qualified homes and businesses seeking to make stormwater resiliency improvements 

With rain forecast for parts of the Bay Area this weekend and the official start of the wet weather season set for October 15, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is updating its Floodwater Management Grant Assistance Program to make it easier for residential and commercial property owners to access this vital resource and help minimize the impacts of heavy rains on their properties.

“With weather patterns becoming increasingly more uncertain due to climate change, it is essential that the SFPUC works closely with our residents and businesses to prepare for the rainy season,” said SFPUC General Manager Harlan L. Kelly, Jr. “By making this grant program easier to access, we are empowering the public to make the changes necessary to protect their homes and businesses. By working together, we can adapt to the challenges presented by climate change.”

Established in 2013, the floodwater grant program reimburses residents and businesses up to $100,000 for installing flood protection projects on their property. Under the new program modifications, which were recently approved by the SFPUC Commission, owner-occupied, residential property owners who demonstrate financial hardship and eligible small businesses and non-profit organizations can now receive an up-front grant payment of up to $1,000 for contractor deposits to secure work, and reimbursement for the final installment grant payment to be based on submission only of an invoice (as opposed to proof of payment). 

In addition, for eligible small businesses and non-profit organizations with a maximum of 50 full-time employees, the grantee cost-share for projects has been reduced from 20 percent to 0 percent.

The SFPUC encourages property owners experiencing sewage back-up inside their homes every time it rains, to take advantage of the Floodwater Grant that would cover the cost of installing a backwater valve to remedy the issue. Other project examples under the grant program include installing flood barriers on the doorsteps or driveways, water-resistant seals, sump pumps, or other projects that could benefit the particular property based on its characteristics.

Modifying the floodwater grant program is just one of several ways that the SFPUC works with the community to help prepare for the rainy season. In the events of heavy rain forecasts, the SFPUC deploys crews to clean catch basins with high-powered vacuum trucks, assigns employees to proactively monitor low-lying areas of the City that are prone to flooding and assembles on-call teams to clear leaves and debris from the top of catch basins. The agency also deploys temporary interlocking flood barriers along 17^th and Folsom Streets, a low-lying area with increased flood risks.

The SFPUC will continue the successful implementation of its Adopt-a-Drain and Rain Guardians programs, which allow San Franciscans to “adopt” one of the City’s 25,000 drains (or catch-basins) or rain gardens with the pledge that they will clean and maintain the assets to reduce the risk of flooding.

Last year, the SFPUC launched an innovative new grant program to fund green infrastructure projects on public and private properties throughout San Francisco. That program encourages owners of large, impervious parcels to pursue green infrastructure improvements that will reduce stormwater runoff and improve the City’s collection system performance during wet weather.

As part of comprehensive flood resilience and stormwater management efforts, the SFPUC is investing in capital improvement projects to help reduce the risk of flooding in the low-lying neighborhoods:

• Capture 1 Billion Gallons of Stormwater with Green Infrastructure by 2050: Through capital projects, grant programs, and the City’s Stormwater Management Ordinance, the SFPUC has a goal to capture 1 billion gallons of stormwater using green infrastructure by 2050, improving stormwater management and contributing to a more beautiful, livable city at the same time.
• 15^th and Wawona neighborhood: The stormwater management project is scheduled to start in spring 2021.
• 17^th and Folsom neighborhood: The stormwater management project will start in in early 2022 for the 17^th and Folsom area.
• Cayuga neighborhood: The agency has also prioritized a project to improve system capacity near the Alemany Farmer’s Market and the area surrounding the U.S. 101 and I-280 highways interchange. This work will also provide stormwater management benefits in the Cayuga neighborhood in larger storms. Construction is anticipated to start in late 2024.

The SFPUC conducts targeted outreach to SF residents and businesses who are directly impacted by flooding in low-lying areas throughout the year, especially before a major weather event. Residents and businesses are urged to take proactive steps to protect their properties by elevating belongings and moving vehicles to higher ground.

The best way to report issues such as localized flooding, sewage backup or clogged catch basins is to contact 311 at www.sf311.org, or by calling 3-1-1.