May 2011

Department Softball in Full Swing

By Greg Corrales

“To persevere, trusting in what hopes he has, is courage in a man. The coward despairs.”

 - Euripides, Heracles, 422 BC

Other than notorious bandits like Bernie Madoff and a handful of other Wall Street criminals, the fact remains that the real perpetrators of the US economic meltdown remain at-large, sitting on a beach in some tax-sheltered Shangri-la like the Cayman Islands.  Meanwhile, local and national politicians and the pot-stirring media have successfully vilified public employees and their unions.  There has never been a more maligned personification of the word “scapegoat” than today’s hapless civil servant.

By Steve Johnson

Because of the demands of negotiations in both San Francisco and San Jose  -- aimed as they are, in part, at “pension reform,” a euphemism if ever there was one – I find myself unable this month to write a piece of the quality that I believe the reader deserves.  Therefore, I offer in its place a re-print of a an article I wrote a couple of years back that should prove interesting given the current debate over what is known as the “vested rights doctrine,” i.e., the notion that certain retirement benefits are considered “vested” as such and cannot be altered by an employer.  To read and com

On behalf of the men and women of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, I congratulate Greg Suhr on his recent appointment to Chief of Police. Although there are many other experienced individuals among our ranks who are qualified to lead this fine department, I feel that Greg Suhr is the best fit for this time and these circumstances. He has the background, the internal perspective, and the external vision to move this department forward and boost the sagging morale of our members.