San Francisco City Worker Abuse or Above the Law?

May 25, 2011-On my morning walk through Chinatown, I noticed a strange occurrence (or normal daily happenings whenever I am taking a walk) at the intersection of Stockton & Broadway; a white compact-like SUV on Stockton Street outbound from downtown, suddenly decided to make a left turn onto Broadway. The intersection have posted signs for "no left turn onto Broadway," and the white vehicle  had a roof mounted light bar with City's emblem on its door. I took out my trusted camera for this shot as he was about to complete the turn:

The time was 8:58 a.m., the driver never used the vehicle left turn signal nor had the light bar white & amber lights flashing. On this corner I have seen police cars, fire trucks and ambulances making left turns with sirens, horns blasting and flashing lights; in performance of their duties. I have also seen delivery trucks, taxi-cabs, motorists and City's vehicles making illegal left turns, on the assumption that they are exempt or the signs are meant for someone else. The MUNI buses are the only allowable City's vehicle to make a left turn up Broadway onto Stockton Street. I remember this City's driver, whom would be in a upcoming post too, therefore I walked up Broadway in anticipation of something special.

I watched as the City's vehicle drove up Broadway on the far left lane and stopped on the next intersection---Powell Street to make another illegal left turn. This corner only allowable left turn vehicle are the fire trucks returning back to the fire station on that block. The white City's vehicle now had the rear light bar amber lights flashing, as the driver await the cross traffic to clear. I know that flashing blue and red lights are for police, flashing red lights are fire & ambulances, and flashing white & amber lights are for utilities and construction vehicles. The City's vehicle is not on any emergency other than usurp two illegal left turns on the pretense of official duties. The driver did not make a left turn, but he instead made a U-turn. The Wizard surmised that this driver either do not understand vehicle codes or think driving a City's vehicle he is exempt. I watched as the driver drove back down Broadway slowly and closely to the parked cars on his right. The rear amber lights still flashing.

The City's vehicle was a Chevrolet Tracker with body ID number of 158 M 736. I could not locate any department markings, since I noticed the driver was checking at the parked cars as he drove by...I thought he might be working for Parking & Traffic---DPT.

I was taking additional pictures and the driver was getting suspicious or nervous (a guilty feelings)...he took out his cellular phone to shoot a picture of me. I wonder if it's illegal to shoot picture with a cellular phone while driving. I had to shoot my picture quickly too, a truck wanted to make the turn out of the alley, therefore the fuzziness!

I checked the City's website to see what kind of procedures to report City's worker abuse. They have a "Whistleblower Complaints Program" which stated:

The City and County of San Francisco's Whistleblower Complaints Program receives and tracks complaints about the quality and delivery of government services, wasteful and inefficient City government practices, misuse of government funds, and improper activities by City government officials, employees and contractors.

Then I checked what the City's definition of "abuse"...

The intentional, wrongful, or improper use or destruction of City resources, or seriously improper practice that does not involve prosecutable fraud. Abuse can include the excessive or improper use an employee or official's position in a manner other than its rightful or legal use.

The site allows complaint to be file online, but I would not be able add these nice pictures. I can also call the 311 Customer Service Center, but pictures are worth more than words. Lastly I can  mail in my complaint. 

Remember in America...you are innocence until proven guilty. Unfortunately justice does not always prevail---because of loopholes; law enforcement missteps, judicial procedure missteps, evidences missteps, witnesses missteps, medical & psychological missteps and lastly the power of the rich & famous! I figure this City worker is in management  or supervisory, since he have a vehicle with a roof light bar---a sign of power! If a investigation is started, he would refute all my findings since his work history would show he's a good decent City worker whom just make some bad driving judgements. A slap on the wrist and all is forgotten. 

I believe independent investigation of worker abuse are more impartial than City's Controller, which have more conflict of interests or known accomplices. The Wizard findings concluded that the City's worker was indeed an abuser and thinks he's above the law---why?

#1-He made the left turn onto Broadway on a last moment, he turned left onto the far right lane barely missing the parked car---why? He trying to locate a parking spaces along the right side of the 700 block of Broadway. 

#2-No available parking spaces on the right side, he made the U-turn. He drove down slowly not checking on the parked cars but for an available parking space. 

Now wait---these are all assumptions...maybe yes or maybe no!

I mentioned earlier how I recognized this City's worker; April 29, 2011 at 8:55 a.m. this same driver came down Broadway along the commuter "TOW-AWAY NO STOPPING 7 A.M. TO 9 A.M." lane with his front rooftop white and amber lights flashing. He stopped and parked at a fire hydrant, got out of his vehicle and headed for the right side of the 700 block of Broadway.

Today on my walk back home at 9:21 a.m., the City's worker Tracker is parked on the yellow zone on the 600 block of Broadway.

This City's worker must make regular visit along the 700 block of Broadway, therefore he qualify as a "Chronically Abuser."

Professional Driver or Professional Idiot?

May 9, 2011-The city of San Francisco have a long history of pitting two "Quality of Life"  fractions---motorists versus pedestrians. The "motorists" are the city's cash cow to fill its revenue coffers, while the "pedestrians" are the city's pawn for better safety measures...only in the forefront when death and injuries occurred! 

One of the worst offender of "City's Bad Driver" happen to be the 'Professional Driver.' These are the drivers whom main livelihood are driving a vehicle. These are the drivers that should knows all the rules in the California Vehicle Code. These are also the drivers that knows all the short-cuts and illegal maneuvers of driving in the City. Who are these 'Professional Driver'...the MUNI drivers, transit drivers, tour bus drivers, charter bus drivers, school bus drivers,  taxi drivers,  airport shuttle drivers, para transit drivers, construction drivers, maintenance drivers, utilities drivers and delivery drivers. There are also the 'Semi-Professional Driver'...pizza delivery drivers, commuter van pool drivers and soccer Mom's drivers!

Just yesterday Sunday evening at about 5:45 p.m., as I stood on the west corner of Taylor & Columbus awaiting for the green light to cross Columbus. This is one of numerous City's unknown hazard intersections, because it's basically a "Y" intersections with Taylor, Chestnut & Columbus. The traffic signal sequences are Columbus, Taylor and then Chestnut. On both directions of Chestnut Street are signs posted for "No Turn on Red," because of the Powell/Mason cable car line coming out of Taylor Street and turning left onto Columbus Street. This evening as I was about to cross Columbus, a taxi cab on Chestnut turned right on the red light, as one car about to turn left from Taylor and another car behind it about to cross into Chestnut on the green light. Luckily both vehicles from Taylor Street noticed the foolish cab driver and stopped to honk their horns. I stopped walking as the taxi veered in front of my path as he flipped the fingers at the other motorists. Typical 'Professional Driver' protocol---make a illegal maneuver and then acknowledge your intelligent with one's hand.

This morning at 8:04 a.m., as I was walking along Mason Street toward Bay Street to await the green signal light to cross. I noticed at the corner of my left eye a tour bus was slowly inching across the crosswalk on the red light. My first thought maybe the bus brakes were bad or the driver not paying attention. I took out my trusted camera:

The bus stopped...clearly in the middle of the crosswalk. The driver might be sleepy, since I watched him reached for a cup of coffee nearby his seat.

These two 'Professional Drivers' are better entitled "Professional Idiots." Both drivers can be cited on VC22526A Entering Marked Crosswalk with a fine of $90, but this is San Francisco---the Home of Selective Enforcement or non-Enforcement.

Postal Waste or Postal Perk?

April 30, 2011-This morning on my walk through Chinatown, we (today I was accompanied by two fellow senior citizen walkers) encounter a unusual situation...a postal delivery vehicle parked in the 1000 block of Stockton Street---right in the middle of Chinatown.

Why is that strange? Because the time was 8:30 a.m., my companions asked me why is that strange. I replied when have you ever seen a mail person (cannot use mailman, since it can be a mail woman too)  that early in Chinatown on a Saturday. One of my companion said the mail person could be delivering a "Special Delivery." I replied the Postal Service replaced that service awhile back with something call "Express Mail"! As I taking the picture, I noticed the gentleman with his back toward us in brown jacket and pants was getting into the postal vehicle. He dropped something inside the vehicle and came back between the vehicle to jaywalk across Stockton Street. It was an Oriental man but not dressed in the usual mail person uniform. We watched as the person walked into a produce store along Stockton Street. My other elder statesman companion waited until the gentleman walked by us and told me that he have seen this person before on a previous Saturday morning shopping along Jackson Street, but he was driving a white postal van that day. The wizard was very intrigue with these developments.

Why? I been reading news articles about how the Postal Service must downsize because of less mail volumes and on the brink of not having enough revenue to continue operation. I sense there were something amiss this morning with the postal employee at Chinatown. I have some understanding of how the post office operate in San Francisco and from Jackson Street to Fisherman's Wharf the zone belongs to my area post office. I have many occasion chatted with older mailmen in my area and I got to know that majority of the mail person who works around Chinatown have walking routes, because as they claims it's postal nightmares---no parking, jammed sidewalks & congested traffic! I have seen several occasions mail person in full uniform parking their postal vehicle to pickup trays of prepared foods like for a postal party  on Saturday morning. I might consider it more of a "postal perk," since the postal vehicle can easily park anywhere in Chinatown, get out and load the foods and off he/she goes. This gentleman might be better label as "postal waste," since he was using the postal service for personal gains.

I wanted to get an expert opinion, therefore I got back home and called an old friend whom had a son working in postal management somewhere in the Bay Area. I was able to describe what happened this morning to my friend's son; I know newer mail person do not get uniform right away and he corrected me by saying newer employee would not go shopping while delivering the mails; because they would be terminated at the end of the day. He said it could be either a clerk or supervisor making a "Express Mail" delivery that have a guarantee delivery standard of 11:30 a.m. that day and asked if I noticed the person carrying some kind of scanning device. I told him the person was not carrying any device and the vehicle  was clean of any mail delivery material except one pink grocery bag,

He claims I could be just right---a postal employee using the postal vehicle to easily shop at Chinatown. He told me I can file a complaint with the post office through their 1-800 number. I asked him would that gentleman get fired? He laughed and said the most the person might get is either a lecture to next time park in less visible area or worst a letter in his file for bad judgement. I said what about wasting taxpayer money! He said the post office is self-sufficient and is not supported by any tax-payer money. He claimed that the postal service would had made a profit the last few years if it was not for Congress requiring them to prefund future retiree's health benefits. I replied if the postal service wanted to be self-sufficient, therefore they should be required to paid all present and future obligations. The problem of not prefunding some benefits would lead to yearly postal rate increase or finally a "real" government bailout.



My old friend called me back an hour later and told his son that I read too much and during our ancient schooldays I major in American history, political science and economic. His son told him thanks God I did not run for public office! Would never happen---already sold my soul long ago!