At Llangoed Hall I slept like a queen – and in the end smelled and shod like one.

The luxury British country house hotel in the Wye River valley amid the Black Mountains in mid-Wales near Brecon has hosted the Clintons, the Clooneys and Prince Charles. A letter of thanks from him hangs in the Great Hall, along with a letter from former British Prime Minister John Major.

Entrance to Llangoed Hall

The standouts are never far away. They are on every corner. I spent a lot of time in the shower with a famous Cornish man. When I emerged, in the oak-paneled library and along the colonnaded gallery of the classic Jacobean mansion, I was surrounded by “real modern dandies and brave women who knew how to forge their own path.”

Although they weren't aware of it.

Every step around Llangoed Hall (sacred meeting place) is a step into history.

Step into the shower or your bath and you'll meet William Penhaligon, Queen Victoria's Cornish court hairdresser, who invented the Blenheim Bouquet for the Duke of Marlborough in 1902 and was rewarded by royal appointment with the appointment of Manufacturer of Toiletries.
The royal family has issued over 850 royal warrants. There is a royal chimney sweep and even a royally approved manufacturer of “corsetry, lingerie and lingerie.”

Lounge area with the famous Laura Ashley fabric

For a riverside walk in Llangoed, choose your Her Majesty's Appointment footwear from a selection of Hunter Monarch boots. The bed linen in the hotel is the same as in the Crown Estates. The cushion covers are filled with feathers from Sandringham ducks, the bathtubs and toilet cisterns are from Chadder and Co, the porcelain tea sets are from Caverswall, the bathrobes are from Mitre, the retro radios are from Robinson's. , the carpets from “Brintons” and the stationery from only the very best – “Smythsons”.

The hotel is an art gallery. It features – discreetly – a collection of nineteen “Whistler” lithographs (1888-1902), as well as works by Andrew Melville, Wiliam Sickert, John Duncan Ferguson, Albert Lynch and Tenbys Augustus John.

The hotel is a popular wedding and honeymoon venue. Honeymooners often return. The couples are transported in a Rolls Royce, which was given to the Queen Mother for the birth of Elizabeth, Princess of York (the Queen). The whiskey decanter is appropriately empty. A Bentley, which once belonged to the Duke of York, is also available for events.

GM Calum Milne, a relative of AA, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, says: “If it’s good enough for the Queen, it should be good enough for anyone!”

The new owners have invested in renovating what previous owner Sir Bernard Ashley wanted to describe as “a home in the country”. Janet in the dining room tells a story about how Sir Bernard (who died in 2009) asked his butler to bring his shotgun. He immediately turned the television when Arthur Scargill appeared. Calum says, “We won’t see his kind again.”

The former Fusilier and Gurkha Army officer, an engineer and pilot (model trains sit on window ledges and “Airfix” Spitfires hang from the ceiling), married Laura Mountney (née Ashley) in 1949 after meeting her at a London youth club had. Ashley was born Merthyr Tydfil in Dowlas, the daughter of a civil servant.

As a Royal Navy Wren, she began doodling designs for headscarves, napkins, placemats and tea towels. The couple set up a printing company and in 1953 the ultimate cottage industry – Laura Ashley fabrics – was born.

Llangoed Hall is also a veritable art gallery

2015 marks the 90th anniversary of Laura Ashley's birthday and the 30th anniversary of her death. The Ashley family moved to Wales in 1961. The factory was originally based at the social club in Carno, Montgomeryshire (where both are buried), and moved to the village's railway station.

In 1966 Laura produced her first dress. In 1974 she opened stores in Paris and San Francisco. At the time of her death, the company had 220 stores in 12 countries. Their first store at 35 Maengwyn Road in Machynlleth, west Wales, is still open.

Suites at the 17-acre, 23-room Powys Hotel are named after the Ashley family's homes in Machynlleth, Rhydoldog, Paultons, their home in Brussels, Treveraux, the family castle in Picardy and Lyford in the Bahamas.

In a simple frame along the corridor of the Paultons master deluxe suite in Llangoed is the first object designed by Laura Ashley – a striped apron (1950). Room 7 is a tribute to her flock.

The motto of the former owners, the Christy clan, hangs above the fireplace in the hotel's lounge: “Sic Viresco” – “Flourishing”.

The hall was probably the seat of the first Welsh Parliament, whose origins date back to 560 AD. It was an episcopal estate. It belonged to a prominent hatter and was once lost in a card game during the time of the “Regency Hellfire Club”.

In 1912 it was remodeled by Clough Williams-Ellis before he founded the quirky Italian village of Portmeiron in North Wales. Work on Llangoed's 'majestic chimney outline' was completed in 1919. Sir Bernard Ashley bought it in 1987 and converted it into a hotel in 1990.

Llangoed is ideally and idyllicly located for visiting the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Elan Valley, where Barnes Wallis tested his jump bombs before the Dambusters attack in 1943. Also Llandrindod Wells (the town hosts the Victorian Festival and Old Things exhibitions in August), Hay on Wye (the literary festival takes place in May), Brecon (jazz festival in August) and the site of the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells Here you can watch the pony sales and bid at auction for your own speckled-face breeding sheep. Wales' only distillery, Penderyn, is also not far away.

But Llangoed is the right place to stay.

Under chandeliers, enjoy infused petit fours, beetroot and macaroon bites, homemade cheese with quince paste, homemade scones, 'Bra Brith' (Welsh speckled or speckled currant bread), elderflower champagne, Llangoed chicken truffle eggs and Miss Milligan's signature and very Bespoke egg and watercress sandwiches.

All that chintz, all that high life and sophistication, the four-poster beds and fine valances, the crystal tableware, the free sherry in a decanter in your room, the Frambuie in your porridge, the Camden Town group and the Slade School on the walls, the gouache and gum arabic, the thin wash, the aquatint on vellum paper, the famous bohemians, Scottish colorists, the masters of the “Blottesque” and the Glasgow Boys.
And all royal warrants.

And the Laura-Ashley connection.

Llangoed Hall, named Best Hotel of the Year in the UK and Ireland 2014 by the AA, is enough to drive any sensible person to Paisley.
And monarchist.
To boot.

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With the death of Queen Elizabeth II reported by British authorities Thursday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said a condolence book is being made available at City Hall for people who want to write messages in her memory.

Elizabeth, who died at the age of 96, became queen in 1952 and was the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch. Her son Prince Charles is now King Charles III.

The condolence book will be in San Francisco’s fourth floor South Gallery on Friday between 10 am and 3 pm and will be sent afterwards to the British consulate general in San Francisco with the messages from well-wishers, according to the mayor’s office. No comments, flowers or other gifts will be accepted.

“She was a marvelous lady and she definitely will be missed,” Breed said, speaking at a news conference Thursday afternoon about San Francisco’s Central Subway project.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, also attended the news conference in San Francisco Thursday and commented on the queen’s death.

“Not that we always agreed on everything in the UK, but nonetheless, a great leader for many generations,” Pelosi said.

gov. Gavin Newsom and other elected leaders from the Bay Area also released statements Thursday about the queen’s death.

“The longest-ruling monarch in British history, Queen Elizabeth II has had an extraordinary impact throughout her momentous life and work,” Newsom said. “As we reflect on her incomparable life and legacy, our hearts are with the King and the Queen Consort and the entire Royal Family during this time of great loss.”

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Three years ago, the Board of Supervisors made the landmark decision to shut down San Francisco’s juvenile hall by the end of 2021, becoming the first major city in the nation to take such a step. Yet the Youth Guidance Center remains open—and it could take another three years or more to close.

The decision in 2019 came in the wake of a Chronicle report that showed a dramatic drop in serious youth crime that had left the state’s juvenile halls almost vacant. Supervisors pledged to stop incarcerating kids and instead create home-like rehabilitative centers, including a secure site for youth who pose a public safety risk.

While no clear timeline or new deadline has been set, officials acknowledged this week that juvenile hall may remain open for many more years, highlighting how difficult criminal justice reform can be even amid strong political support. The city is struggling to find an acceptable site for a smaller “non-institutional” building that would be secure enough to meet state regulations for youth deemed dangerous.

“If I had to give a realistic estimate (for closure), it would be three years,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen, co-sponsor of the legislation to shutter juvenile hall.

Ronen acknowledged that the original goal was overly ambitious.

“Originally, we thought we could just find a big house and fix it up,” she said. “But that was wishful thinking. There is not an existing building that meets the state regulations for a secure building.”

Ronen said the realistic conclusion is that a new building will need to be constructed to meet state regulations. Those rules include a requirement that the building have hallways that are at least 8 feet wide, which is exceedingly rare.

San Francisco’s juvenile hall had just 11 occupants on Thursday. An average of 14 juveniles per day were kept in custody in San Francisco in 2021 — at an annual cost of about $1.1 million each— inside a facility built to hold as many as 150 people.

Juvenile Probation Chief Katy Weinstein Miller said at a special meeting of the supervisors’ Youth, Young Adults and Families Committee on Thursday that her department is seeking $500,000 in the next city budget for an architect or designer to work with the community on a vision for a new building. No new site has yet been identified.

According to a report from the juvenile hall closure task force last year, possible sites included cottages on the Edgewood Center for Children and Families campus in the Sunset District, where other spaces are used for health mental crisis care and other treatment. Other options include a former Academy of Arts residential building or the purchase of an industrial warehouse converted into a therapeutic setting. Miller said she also believes the current juvenile hall site should be considered, though she acknowledged that site would be controversial.

Ronen insisted that supervisors remain committed to closing juvenile hall.

“Our urgency and our goal have not changed,” she said Friday. “What’s changed is how we practically see ourselves getting to that goal.”

Speakers from a collection of city departments — including the police, district attorney, public defender, juvenile probation and public health — spoke at Thursday’s hearing and agreed that the city should continue to expand on its current strategy of steering juvenile offenders away from prison-like settings and toward supportive programs.

Already, youth who are arrested are typically diverted from juvenile hall and into programs they attend while living at home or in a group home.

Ronen and Supervisor Shamann Walton voted Thursday to continue the discussion. Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Ahsha Safaí were absent.

Advocates of the juvenile hall shutdown, including a group of youth activists, said the city needs to move more quickly, and shouldn’t focus so much energy on a new building — which they labeled “just a jail by another name.” Instead, they said, the city should aim to end incarceration by providing sufficient services to keep youth from needing to be held in a secure facility.

The hearing, and the renewed attention on closing juvenile hall, comes as concern about crime in San Francisco runs high, even as data shows a complex picture, and a variety of polls show that most San Franciscans support the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who they believe has been too lenient.

Supporters of the 2019 decision to close juvenile hall cited the trauma inflicted on young offenders in a setting where they sleep in locked cells on thin upholstered mats set atop concrete platforms. City officials deemed the detention morally unacceptable and ineffective at rehabilitating young people. They also decried the exorbitant cost.

Walton said it was important to acknowledge the progress the city has made in reforming juvenile justice.

“We are in a much better space now than we were then,” he said.

Plans to shutter juvenile hall have also been slowed by COVID as well as the state’s decision to close California youth prisons, which leaves nowhere to send youth offenders convicted of serious crimes.

In the next year, Ronen said, she envisions having a design informed by community feedback as well as a site selected. She also hopes the city will have figured out how to pay for construction.

Walton said the next steps also include directing the creation of support programs for children and families identified in the task force report.

That would include the creation of one or more wellness advocate positions to help youth and families ensure they’re getting the services they need and a commitment by all city agencies that work with troubled youth to collaborate with the Juvenile Probation Department, and with youth advocates , to change the way juvenile hall is operated.

“At the end of the day, there are some issues we are not fully in control of,” Walton told The Chronicle, citing the need for court approval. “But we are not backsliding.”

Michael Cabanatuan (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan

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“We’re the first woman-led food hall in the country, which you know, in and of itself is a huge, a huge success,” said La Cocina’s Food Justice Advocacy Manager Naomi Maisel. “And then when you think about how we’ve opened during a pandemic, that sort of shows the resilience of the people that we work with here.”

From Algerian to Salvadorian to California Creole options, this food hall is a foodie’s paradise that also serves as a spot for economic opportunity.

Cultivating low-income food entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses, La Cocina provides affordable commercial kitchen space, industry-specific technical assistance, and access to unique market opportunities.

“Being part of La Cocina it’s been amazing,” said the owner of Los Cilantros Dilsa Lugo. “We have the opportunity through La Cocina to open a restaurant in Berkeley. And now through La Cocina, we have this amazing opportunity to be in this municipal marketplace.”

“I always wanted to start a business, it has always been a passion of mine since I was a teenager. It’s very inspiring to be among other women entrepreneurs that I can learn from,” described Tiffany Carter, owner of Boug Cali.

La Cocina strives to create an inclusive, equitable and welcoming space for the community.

“You see this marketplace in the corner of Hyde and Golden Gate, you come in, it’s beautiful, it’s clean, it’s welcoming,” said Nafy Flatley, owner of Teranga. “Let’s make this place a successful place and also duplicate it to other cities around the United States. Let’s do it.”

Visit here for more information about La Cocina.

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What’s wrong with the blockchain voting at The town hall? I received a few concerned calls about meeting recordings this week SF elections YouTube channel showing discussions about spending taxpayers money on a blockchain voting program that – for some reason – is being run by the Emergency department administration. The city has an anti-internet voting policy for security reasons, and money that was supposed to be spent on open source voting now appears to be pouring into this other mysterious pursuit. Who is behind it? A Electoral Commission The meeting on Wednesday could shed more light on this. Go to sfgov.org/electionscommission…

Some masks came down in the SF Tech offices on Friday because The City lifted their mask mandate for office workers. The fintech startup Fast solemnly removed the “Masks Required” signs in its SoMa office on Ninth Street. As the name suggests, Fast also reopened on time in March when The City allowed personal work for non-essential workers to resume. The company, partially funded by Stripes, has a fast scheduling tool called Fast Flex, which employees can use to choose whether to work in the San Francisco headquarters, at home, or in a company-sponsored WeWork.

If you haven’t received a digital version of your COVID vaccine from the state, you can easily do so at myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov. So you have the verified data with a QR code on your mobile phone in case you lose the card …

If you read my story about innovation in the San Francisco supply chain, you may remember the sailors in the 1880s who received shipping information from brothels and saloons in San Francisco. These sailors were on board a ship that is still proudly anchored in The City. The 1886 Balclutha, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the ships serviced by the San Francisco Maritime Museum. And boy does it have a story …

The same way the kombucha flows, so does the startup scene. And the booch is apparently flowing again. Claude Burns, the CEO of Oakland’s office Libation, says his 20-strong company is backing up SoMa’s startups. “Business is picking up speed very quickly,” Burns told me. Startups run with cold brew, kombucha, and other goodies. “They want the fridges to be filled when they come back.” What is his strangest item? “Probably the vegan beef jerky,” he says. Any good? “I suppose if you’re a vegan who likes beef jerky.” ‘Nuf said …

GitLab, the Financial District-based open source platform that developers can share code on, went public on Thursday with a market capital of $ 15.6 billion. It’s good that they’re at Fi-Di so they don’t have to drag this loot around town. PitchBook estimated that the ten-year-old company with 1,000 employees could achieve a market capitalization of $ 10 billion. But that escalated quickly …

Why are VCs no longer investing in startups in the Bay Area that are exclusively run by female founders? This year NYC overtook us in funding rounds for startups founded by 1,194-854 women. How is it possible that New York City raised funds for 350 more women-led startups than we do? Take a closer look and the PitchBook data shows that the wallets come out when the startups are run by women and men. Got it. Some things never change. Perhaps some of the investors who got rich on GitLab’s IPO can get into this …

This PitchBook graphic shows that more venture capital goes to startups founded by both men and women, but founders founded by women only are no longer receiving. (Courtesy PitchBook)

Spark plug, A San Francisco-based fintech startup just raised $ 3.5 million to try to disrupt the pay of retail and hospitality workers. Supporters are the CEO of square, a former CEO of Deloitte and the inventors of Google AdSense. How it works: Retailers can reward their employees with financial incentives and paid time off for meeting sales goals in the store. What do the workers think of it? …

The newest non-fungible token that I don’t understand is digital lipstick from Estee Lauder. The makeup company gives fans NFTs of its top products. The reason for this: “When physical products like the bestseller Black Honey are sold out or there is a risk that they are sold out, loyal fans always have their iconic beauty gems in their digital wallet.” Question marks come out of my head …

Sunday streets Returns this weekend so get out there and stroll around and meet friends you haven’t seen in ages except at Zoom. Kudos to the sponsors who are helping to get the city’s public life back on track. Strange to see tech companies disappear from the sponsor list knowing they made money during the pandemic …

Send articles to jelder@sfexaminer.com

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cruise and Waymo are in a race to see who can win the market for autonomous driving – and have recruited lobbyists here in San Francisco to iron out the high-tech rules of the street. Waymo is Google’s own startup with a valuation of $ 31 billion. (Yeah, I just spat coffee on my screen too). Waymo lobbyists have reported or expected to pay $ 96,000 to San Francisco City Hall this year, city records show. GM-owned Cruise, also valued at over $ 30 billion, is headquartered at the South Beach baseball stadium. Cruise lobbyists have reported or expected to pay SF City Hall $ 136,000 this year.

If that seems like a lot Foreclosure just said, “Hold my beer.” The namesake of the tallest office building west of Chicago cannot be beat. Salesforce lobbyists have reported a staggering $ 1.1 million (coffee, screen) to SF City Hall in fees received or expected over the past 10 years. (If you wonder about the clumsy phrase “received or expected”, sometimes the bill is not paid when reports are due.) …

When a database company has its name in the practice hall, you might as well follow your strokes in practice, and the warrior do this with fancy new technology from, you guessed it, oracle. The Warriors Player Dashboard, powered by Oracle, aggregates and compares game and practice metrics of player shots with the league average. The Oracle Performance Center is the 25,000 square foot section of the Chase Center where the Warriors train and hang out. If you’re wondering what you’re doing with exercise metrics, you can look at where gunshots come and go and say, “Hey Steph, scooch over 5 feet and those threesomes get even cuter. ”It’s hard to do better than curry did it against the Clippers a few weeks ago when he went eight for 13 from downtown on the way to 45 points …

If you’re curious about what’s next Relaxed (I am, but I am a nerd), you will find out this next Thursday at an ask-me-anything online event Nolan Caudill, Senior Director for the in-house tools team in the team messaging application. Go to slackcommunity.com. Here are two things you might not know: 1. Slack is an acronym for Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge. 2. In the Salesforce Tower you could look across the park to Slack HQ, where friendly messages used to be posted in the windows (before Foreclosure acquired)…

A contemplative musical “MindTravel” event is planned for November 14th at 7:00 am in Land’s End. (Kevin N. Hume / The Examiner)

This is trippy: you can “MindTravel” by strolling through Land’s End, the park on the northwest corner of The City overlooking the coast and the Golden Gate, while a lot of people listen to “evocative, improvisational” piano music on headphones . The composer of music, Murray HidaryShe swears a “contemplative and powerful creative journey”. It happens on Thursday, November 14th at 7am. Bet you would be Zen at work all day? Go to mindtravel.com/upcoming-schedule…

I still don’t fully understand NFTs. Non-fungible tokens sound like a dessert that you can’t eat to me, and it is. You buy unique things that are only available online. But if that doesn’t seem real, it brings in real money from a well-funded VC. Andreessen Horowitz, the investor in Menlo Park in Facebook (Forgiveness, Meta), Airbnb, Elevator, Pinterest and many more, has participated in more than a third of all largest NFT finance deals, according to PitchBook data …

Finally, if you want to surprise your spouse, you can put a colored light in the toilet a night before bed. the Glow bowl adds some color to your life where you never expected it, and has a dimmer and “carousel mode” that alternates between colors. Go to Glowbowl.com. Don’t blame me, people send me these things …

Send articles to jelder@sfexaminer.com

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The federal prosecutor’s office on Tuesday added new bank fraud charges against him and prominent real estate investor Victor Makras to the corruption case against former top San Francisco public utility official Harlan Kelly.

The new charges came from a $ 1.3 million real estate loan that Kelly, the former general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, allegedly secured from a company called Quicken Loans, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Kelly and Makras conspired to defraud the company by agreeing to falsely increase the amount Kelly Makras owed on a previous loan. This enabled Kelly to get more money from Quicken Loans at a lower interest rate.

Kelly then allegedly used the funding to pay off other debts.

The charges are part of a wider FBI investigation into corruption in San Francisco City Hall.

This is the second round of charges against Kelly and the first against Makras. Makras is the director of Makras Real Estate and has served on various boards including the Port Commission and the Public Utilities Commission.

Kelly was first implicated in the scandal last November when US prosecutors charged him with fraud on allegedly taking bribes from businessman and license accelerator Walter Wong.

In the earlier complaint, prosecutors said Wong paid Kelly and his wife, former city manager Naomi Kelly, to take a vacation to China in 2016.

In return, Harlan Kelly allegedly used his position to help Wong land a lucrative contract to modernize the city’s streetlights. While Wong ultimately didn’t win the contract, prosecutors said Kelly smoothed the bidding process for him.

These allegations are based in part on statements Wong made to federal authorities. He agreed to join the investigation when he pleaded guilty of fraud and money laundering in July 2020.

Both Kelly and his wife have since resigned, pleading their innocence. Naomi Kelly was not charged.

“Harlan Kelly is loved by his family, respected by our community, admired by his peers, and has served as a loyal civil servant,” wrote attorney Brian Getz in an email to The Examiner. “He has not committed any crimes.”

A Makras attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kelly is on trial today. Wednesday mornings. A date for the appearance of makras has not been set.

mbarba@sfexaminer.com

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San Francisco City Hall is working on several fronts to restore its moral character this week, nearly two years after a widespread corruption scandal broke out.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to restrict the way officials can solicit donations for their preferred causes – a mechanism that federal prosecutors say has been abused by the San Francisco Public Works Department, which is at the center of their ongoing investigation.

“We absolutely have to pass this law today,” said Supervisor Aaron Peskin at Tuesday’s meeting, speaking of what he called “embarrassing and shameful behavior.” Matt Haney, co-author of the law, said the bill seeks to “reform a comfort that creates a culture of corruption”.

The new legislation prohibits elected city officials and department heads from soliciting donations to charities from “interested parties”, including lobbyists, and those seeking contracts and permits from the city.

But that’s not the only attempt to contain the town hall’s pay-for-play culture. On Friday, the San Francisco Ethics Committee, a panel of appointed members that assesses the city’s conflicts of interest, is expected to discuss a voting measure that is expected to be presented to voters that sets general guidelines on bribery, gifts, and other prohibited conduct – and ethics training.

Both Peskin and Haney, the supervisors who campaigned for the measure passed on Tuesday, cited the public works scandal as the motivation for the new law. In that federal case, three Recology subsidiaries admitted conspiring to bribe former works director Nuru in exchange for helping raise garbage taxes. The company and its subsidiaries have also agreed to pay hefty fines to both the federal government and the city. Nuru, who was arrested in January 2020 and remains at the center of the ongoing city hall corruption scandal, is still awaiting trial.

In another example, the city’s ethics committee referred to former supervisor and Mayor Mark Farrell, who made $ 882,500 in donations to the Parks Alliance, a powerful nonprofit of which Farrell’s wife serves as the chairman of the board.

The commission found that a registered lobbyist contacted Farrell on behalf of telecommunications giant AT&T back in 2016, the same day Farrell was enacting tenants’ internet service laws. A month later, the lobbyist contacted Farrell about the regulation. The lobbyist’s company, which worked for AT&T, made a payment of $ 5,000 to the Parks Alliance at Farrell’s request, the commission found.

The Parks Alliance accepted anonymous donations of between $ 1.5 million and $ 3 million or more from 2016 to 2020, according to an analysis by the nonprofit earlier this month. Connie Chan, another supervisor who drafted the city law, passed Tuesday, requested the report from the Bureau of Budgetary and Legislative Analysis.

Anonymous donations allow a donor to win an official’s favor without the public knowing about it, Chan told The Examiner. A company or other powerful donor could then benefit from the official’s actions without sufficient transparency, Chan said.

Farrell, who left city government to work for a venture capital firm, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The Parks Alliance said in a statement to The Examiner that it had taken a number of steps to increase accountability. “We look forward to working with The City on more sensible guidelines that will provide greater transparency and enable us to continue supporting and improving San Francisco’s parks and public spaces,” said the nonprofit.

When asked by The Examiner, AT&T said that the ethics committee’s report “draws conclusions and seeks to find links between unrelated events. We have not directed our advisors or anyone else to contribute on our behalf. “

San Francisco’s new law, aimed at reforming the practice of charitable giving at the request of a public official – known as “due payments” – marks an advance The City has failed to make for years. In 2018, the head of the ethics committee resigned in the middle of a meeting because he could not limit donations.

These types of donations have taken many forms over the years. Nuru and other public works allegedly requested solicited payments into various Parks Alliance accounts and then used the money for parties and other personal uses, federal prosecutors say.

And big tech companies and investors have legally donated millions to Mayor London Breed’s most popular charities at their request. In December 2020, Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia donated $ 2.5 million at Breed’s behest to All Home, a nonprofit that campaigns against homelessness, according to an ethics committee report submitted by the mayor. Gebbia gave a total of 25 million US dollars to non-profit organizations that were fighting homelessness, as Breed announced in a press release. “I would like to thank Joe Gebbia for his incredibly generous support of these organizations,” said the mayor at the time.

The mayor said in a statement to The Examiner that she has worked with charities and philanthropists to promote causes such as housing and youth work. “The mayor reports to the ethics committee charitable funds, which ensure transparency by specifying the amount of the funds, the donor, the recipient organizations and the purpose of the funding.”

Gebbia and Airbnb have not commented on the donation. But Gebbia said at the time that he was “proud to support the work of Rising Up-Larkin Street Youth Services and All Home that are making the lives of so many people better”.

Some say the supervisory board vote will come on Tuesday after damage has already been done. “It’s a day late and a dollar short,” San Francisco ethics commissioner Larry Bush told The Examiner, noting that he was speaking for himself, not the commission. “Much of what happened to Mohammed Nuru could have been prevented.”

San Francisco isn’t the only one struggling to regulate ordered payments. California regulators in October approved new transparency requirements for solicited payments from unidentified donors – including $ 1 million paid on behalf of Governor Gavin Newsom last year, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.

And the ethics committee says the issue of ordered payments is only part of what town hall needs to address. On Friday, the commission plans to discuss a proposed voting measure in June that would regulate gifts to individuals and departments and outline general ethical guidelines.

Commission auditors said an example of what needs to be contained is the airport commission, which “allegedly accepted $ 1,018,000 in gifts from non-urban sources.” The commission found that 86 percent of that money came from airport operators or tenants. The largest donor, who provided $ 99,000, was a contractor who signed a $ 1.1 billion construction contract with the airport, the commission found.

The airport commission told The Examiner that it followed the city’s rules as the events were a fund set up by the board of directors known as the Airport Capital Improvement Promotion and Event Fund for such donations.

City hall insiders say the legislative and reform efforts are also aimed at sending a broader message. “We have to stop this culture of pay-to-play,” supervisor Connie Chan, a co-author of the city law passed Tuesday, told The Examiner.

Efforts expected Friday to put another ethics reform on the ballot could continue that mission, ethics commission officials said. “This reform package represents a holistic approach to improving the ethical culture of the city government. As we approach the biennial anniversary of the federal corruption allegations against Mohammed Nuru, this move is a way for the San Franciscans to make ethics a priority for The City and for The City to regain public confidence, “Patrick Ford, who is a senior policy and law advisor, told The Examiner.

The reform efforts spurred on this week have lasted for years and are aimed at repairing scars that have been placed on the town hall’s ethical reputation. Some saw it coming.

“I hope we have another opportunity to look back at this sometime in the future,” Charles Marsteller, former director of the Bay Area Chapter of Common Cause, a non-partisan, non-governmental, nonprofit told the Ethics Committee in 2018. ” It could come after a number of major corruption scandals. “

Shortly after these comments were made, former commission chairman Peter Keane announced disgusted with San Francisco’s failure to regulate the practice of solicitation.

jelder@sfexaminer.com

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San Francisco City Hall employees return to the office

Christien Kafton from KTVU reports.

SAN FRANCISCO – Monday was the deadline for the full vaccination of all workers in San Francisco.

City workers were finally able to return to the office instead of working remotely. The town hall was closed to the public for months and when it reopened only a few workers were allowed inside. The town hall was in full operation on Monday as the overwhelming majority of town workers were vaccinated and back on duty.

The city estimates that 98% of the workforce are fully vaccinated, only about 1,000 of the city’s more than 30,000 employees remain unvaccinated.

“We have no interest or desire to separate the city’s workforce,” said Carol Isen, San Francisco’s human resources director. “We want everyone to work and do everything we can to speak to each employee in the city individually, and we hope that in the end we don’t have to separate anyone.”

Those who are now fully vaccinated will now have to return to the office at least two days a week after working remotely for more than a year and a half.

“We’re very excited about it,” said Isen. “People are making their way back, people will be using public transport again, they will populate the Civic Center and other parts of the city.”

The head of the city’s economic and human resources development office said it was important that city workers set an example for getting back to work and stimulating the economy around the city offices.

“In this area where we stand, City Hall, Civic Center, one of the areas hardest hit by the pandemic, our urban workers are part of the economic recovery,” said Kate Sofis of the San Francisco Development Office for Business and Labor. “We go out, we buy coffee, we support the local restaurants.”

Just a block and a half from City Hall, Gyro King has always been one of the go-to places for city staff to stop for lunch.

Nuri Citaci said business is still slow and could use the influx of city workers.

“Thank you for the good news,” said Citaci. “But I think it’s not enough. The city is empty now.”

While Monday was the deadline for city workers to be fully vaccinated, the city is not moving immediately to separate workers. The unvaccinated employees will first be notified by the city’s human resources department and if they have requested an exemption, they will be heard to decide what will happen.

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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Up in the Oakland Hills, Gary Payton roars good-naturedly as if he were still on the pitch during his time as a dynamic point guard at the Seattle SuperSonics, but this time he’s closely teaching his Lincoln University assistant coaches where you want them to stand for a group photo, and so position them.

“Coach, the other way,” he orders Lester Conner on his right, adjusting his shoulders before looking at CJ Ashford on his left and ordering, “Turn over here.”

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Payton even throws up both hands as if “The Glove” is playing its signature stifling lockdown defense again.

Payton is the new men’s basketball coach at Lincoln, who launched college athletics for the first time in its 101-year history, and he is determined to make a lasting impression on the young players at the small school in his hometown of Oakland leave behind. There’s Guardian Jairren Lillard, younger brother of Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. And another guard named Isaiah Attles, the grandson of Golden State Warriors Hall of Famer Al Attles.

Lincoln head coach Gary Payton listens to his phone in Oakland, Calif. On Wednesday, September 29, 2021. Hall of Famer Payton is Lincoln University’s new men’s basketball coach determined to make a lasting impression in his hometown. (AP Photo / Janie McCauley)

“His presence is strongly felt in every room he enters,” said the younger Lillard. “If he steps into the room with us young men and has to do that, it’s different because many of us came from a program in which we weren’t really trained. They threw you a ball and just said ‘play ball’. There will be structure with him. He will teach you how to be a man not only on the court but also how to be a man off the court and he is simply a good role model for all of us at this time in our lives. “

You are here to help basketball-mad Oakland with a guide in Payton who knows how much his mere presence as leading this team could mean to a city that recently left two professional franchises and another that is theirs Explore options, make an impression in basketball-mad Oakland. The Warriors have moved to San Francisco, the Raiders from Oakland to Las Vegas and the Athletics are pursuing opportunities in Las Vegas if they can’t build a new ballpark here.

“I only took this job because I could bring something back to Oakland, California,” said Payton, who retired from the 2007 NBA Hall of Fame career. “And I can bring a lot of players with me from this bay.” Area and let them see that we still have a lot of good basketball players here. These young kids don’t know how to play basketball yet, but they will. “

Most are upper class people and transfers looking for a fresh start. Isaiah Attles has played at Contra Costa College and Alcorn State.

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“The support we have from Gary and our other coaches and the support from Oakland that we can go to school out here and not have to go anywhere outside the Bay Area is just a blessing,” said Attles. “I can’t ask for more. We are well positioned to be successful. It’s all up to us now. “

Lincoln is downtown, but the Oaklanders are training at a Merritt College gym and will play games in the Warriors’ former home arena.

“It’s another opportunity for children in Oakland,” said Guards Guard Juan Toscano-Anderson, who grew up in the city. “Gary is obviously a Hall of Famer, an Oakland legend, and I think the kids will respect that. Everyone in the Oakland basketball community admires Gary. He knows what he’s talking about, he knows what he’s doing, so I’m curious to see what happens up there. It’s just another opportunity for children in Oakland to follow their dreams. When it’s not about basketball, there are opportunities related to the game in the classroom. Hopefully it’s going well. “

Golden State coach Steve Kerr can’t wait to see how Payton develops.

“We have such a deeply rooted connection with Oakland, so I think it’s cool that Gary trains there and that the great tradition of Oakland basketball is continued and continued by leading his own team and also with these Warrior connections”, Called Kerr. “This is exciting. I need to check it out.”

Payton expects a full house when Lincoln plays in Seattle Pacific on Saturday. The team opens in Western Washington on Wednesday and hits Central Washington two days later.

Regardless of the early results, Payton will keep his players disciplined. He believes the program will gain momentum and grow if he can build fundamentally healthy athletes who are dedicated to learning and who make great strides. And, he hopes, ultimately not only attracting top recruits, but also nationally ranked opponents.

“Well, I’m not going to tell you how to do it, but it’s pretty tough,” Payton said with a big grin and chuckle. “And my children understand. I have a good group of children. They know that I’m a no-nonsense coach, I won’t assume that. I can’t stand all the madness. I’m very strict, and once you put it in and you buy your way, you have to get involved in what is going on and when you buy your way, you get the results. ”

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