In observation of Earth Day, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced EcoMap San Francisco, an Internet-based tool that gives San Franciscans the ability to see the collective results of their individual climate change actions, while also motivating people to make responsible environmental choices. EcoMap provides information on carbon emissions from transportation, energy and waste, organized by San Francisco zip codes to create competition among neighborhoods to reduce their carbon footprint. Read more.

The WE Connect campaign is a pioneering public/private partnership designed to help California’s working families become more financially secure by connecting them to important programs and resources.

WE Connect Campaign

Maria Shriver’s WE Connect campaign is a pioneering public/private partnership designed to help California’s working families become more financially secure by connecting them to important programs and resources. Several of these programs, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), are available and accessible to working families but many are not taking full advantage of them. This leaves over a billion dollars on the table each year that could have been used by working families right here in California. This statewide effort will connect families with the information and tools they need to take full advantage of these valuable resources, empowering them to live their dreams.

Visit Website (outside of SFGov navigation): http://www.WEconnect.net

02/20/09 - Today San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that Pfizer will provide free medicines through Pfizer’s Sharing the Care program for San Francisco’s first-of-its-kind universal health care program, Healthy San Francisco. Healthy San Francisco provides accessible and affordable healthcare services to uninsured San Francisco residents. This extension of Pfizer’s prescription drug program will apply to all Sharing the Care registered community health clinics providing access for Healthy San Francisco patients.

"Due to rising health insurance premiums and an increasing number of employers dropping health benefits, more people are turning to community health services for care," said Mayor Newsom. "Pfizer has proven to be a committed ally in our efforts to ensure that residents get the care they need, when they need it."

This program will allow patients who participate in Healthy San Francisco at Sharing the Care registered clinics to have access to free Pfizer medicine as long as they meet standard program eligibility criteria: Patients must be registered members of the health care center, have an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and not have prescription drug coverage.

In his letter to Mayor Newsom, Pfizer CEO and Chairman Jeffrey B. Kindler congratulated the mayor on the success of the Healthy San Francisco program. He wrote, "Your program is an innovative model to address universal healthcare access." Kindler also said that, per the mayor’s suggestion, he visited the North East Medical Services clinic in Chinatown. "It provided a vibrant and impressive illustration of your reform efforts," Kindler wrote.

About Pfizer Sharing the Care

Pfizer Sharing the Care (TM) is part of Pfizer Helpful Answers (R), a family of programs that helps people without prescription coverage save on many Pfizer medicines, no matter their age or income. People with limited income may even qualify to get their Pfizer medicine for free. Consumers without prescription drug coverage who need a Pfizer medicine can call the Pfizer Helpful Answers toll-free number, 1-866-706-2400, or visit the Web site, www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com. Pfizer Helpful Answers is a joint program of Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Patient Assistance Foundation (TM).

This blog is managed by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. It draws together reports and updates from the City’s many public safety partners. This includes weekly updates from the SFPD’s 10 district station Captains. These reports summarize activity in each district and explain how each district Captain is deploying his or her officers in response. On a more macro level, we will be providing updates on larger strategies and policy initiatives involving the City’s many public safety partners. Police-related information is drawn from publicly available sources.

For more information, visit: http://sfpublicsafety.com.

Mayor Newsom Announces San Francisco Bike Sharing Pilot Program

01/27/09 - Mayor Gavin Newsom today used his visit to the successful bike sharing network in Paris to announce that San Francisco will implement a bike sharing pilot program in 2009. San Francisco's bike sharing program is intended to build on the recognition of San Francisco as a gold-level bicycle friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists-the largest United States city to receive such an honor.

"Bike sharing will help connect thousands of residents and commuters to their workplaces and shopping destinations by providing bikes that they can easily borrow," said Mayor Newsom. "This bike sharing pilot project will allow us to test and perfect the bikes and technology that will be used in our citywide network."

The pilot program will include 50 bikes located at five stations on non-city property (as required by a Court injunction until environmental review of the City's Bicycle Plan is complete). Each station will have either nine or 12 bikes and will provide approximately 50 percent more bicycle parking slots to help ensure proper distribution between available bikes and open, available drop-off spots. The stations will be in the Financial District, Mission Bay, the Presidio, Civic Center and the City College campus.

Bike sharing customers will sign-up through an online registration system linked to the website of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which manages the City's Bicycle Program. Registration will require a valid credit card to charge an annual user fee, hourly fees, and to provide security for lost bikes (which will be the responsibility of the user). A subscription will provide members access to all rental stations and the use of a bike for a limited period of time per day.

"We are committed to the vision of increasing bicycling in San Francisco through innovative programs like bike sharing," said SFMTA Executive Director/CEO Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr.

According to the 2007 Census update, 2.7 percent of San Franciscans commute via bicycle compared to an average of 0.5 percent in the United States and 0.9 percent in California. The SFMTA's 2007-2008 Bicycle Count found a 25 percent increase in bicycling over the previous year, and a 2008 survey showed that fully 6 percent of all trips in San Francisco are made by bicycle.

The start-up costs for the pilot program are estimated to be between $400,000 and $500,000, while the annual operating costs are projected to be $450,000. As provided for in the SFMTA's Transit Shelter Advertising Contract with Clear Channel, these costs are for Clear Channel to staff the pilot program and have responsibility for installation and maintenance.

Today in Paris, Mayor Newsom received a briefing on the history, organization and success of the "Velib" or bicycle share program in Paris, and toured the repair, design and showroom facilities along with the research and development facility. The "Velib" program was introduced by Mayor Bertrand Delanoe as a way to reduce traffic and environmental degradation in Paris by having a shared bicycle program encompass the entire city. Today Paris has over 20,000 bicycles as part of the "Velib" program and it has proven to be very popular and successful.