Nearly 2,000 San Francisco Apartment Buildings Don’t Meet Quake Codes
San Francisco, California
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Md. city council plan would neuter mayoral powers; hexavalent chromium emissions near L.A.; and Oregon town saved, strained by new data centers.
EARTHQUAKE SAFETY | Owners of nearly 2,000 San Francisco apartment buildings have not made improvements so that the structures meet current seismic safety standards, even though they’re facing a deadline and the possibility of fines. “They have had plenty of time to respond,” said Department of Building Inspection Director Tom Hui. “It’s for public safety. We just want them to comply and protect themselves, the tenant and the public. Earthquakes are not predictable—one could happen this afternoon.” [San Francisco Chronicle]
Use of the prototype ShakeAlert system, an earthquake early-warning detection system that can relay quick alerts to recipients faster than the destructive seismic waves can travel, is expanding from California to the Pacific Northwest. A Bothell, Washington-based engineering company that designs water systems is testing ShakeAlert for water valves that can automatically close just before the shaking from a major quake arrives. [The Seattle Times]
CITY HALLS | Three members of the Aberdeen, Maryland, city council are proposing changes to the city charter that would essentially remove all powers from the mayor and make the position a ceremonial one. "I believe it is a politically motivated move to the change form of government because some members of the council did not like the results of the election last November," Mayor Patrick McGrady said. [The Baltimore Sun]
PUBLIC HEALTH | Air quality authorities in Southern California are trying to determine whether hexavalent chromium emissions from two metal processing facilities in Paramount, near Los Angeles, are “causing elevated emissions of the carcinogen a few blocks away.” [Southern California Public Radio]
STATE FAIRS | Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year offered a $90,000 state subsidy to help keep the price for cups of milk 25 cents at the New York State Fair’s Milk Bar—staving off the need for a price hike to 50 cents. But only half the money materialized. The nonprofit operator of the Milk Bar for the last 64 years has since said it will shut down until Cuomo’s out of office. The soured relations between the group and the governor’s office have stirred a minor controversy. "Our group will lie dormant for the next 24 months to see if there is a change of administration in 2019," Gary Raiti, president of New York State Dairy Exhibits Inc., said in a recent letter to the group’s members. [AP via Syracuse.com]
LAW ENFORCEMENT | In the aftermath of the officer-involved shooting of Laquan McDonald in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel heralded a new policy that would require videos of police shootings to be released within 90 days following any incident. Now, the city has agreed for the first time to delay the release of a video beyond that three month limit. The Cook County state’s attorney sought the delay, despite the policy containing clear language that specified that the city “will not honor any further requests to delay release beyond the initial release.” [Chicago Tribune]
“I’m going to follow federal law on this issue,” said El Dorado County Sheriff John D’Agostini regarding California possibly passing a sanctuary state law. “It’s concerning because it’s going to put me crosswise with state law.” A late amendment to the law would allow sheriffs to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement before violent, undocumented felons are released. That’s not enough for D’Agostini, sheriff of a conservative county, who said the legislation is “unlawful.” [San Francisco Chronicle]
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | An influx of data centers helped save the struggling economy of Prineville, in central Oregon. But with the new tech jobs came a housing crisis, where “escalating rents make it hard for low-income residents to find or keep housing.” The local electric grid is also having problems, too. [Oregon Public Broadcasting]
ELECTIONS | Cary Kennedy, who previously served as Colorado’s state treasurer and Denver’s chief financial officer, says she will run for governor in the 2018 race. She’s the latest Democratic contender to emerge. Over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Colorado Democrat, said he would make a bid for governor as well. [The Denver Post]
And in other elections news, last week’s municipal elections in Anchorage, Alaska were remarkable in one troubling way—Tuesday saw one of the lowest voter participation rates in the past decade. Almost 80 percent of registered residents of the city stayed home. Of the abstaining residents interviewed, some said they weren’t aware there was an election and some didn’t feel enthusiastic about any of the candidates. But perhaps the most interesting reason given for failing to vote came from those Anchorage residents who say they have been worn down by national-level politics to the point of consciously avoiding the polls. "I'm just politicked out right now," said one non-voter. [Alaska Dispatch News]
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