Rally Today to Save Rent Control!Paul Hogarthbyline‚ Nov. 14‚ 2007There are few things scarier today in San Francisco than the prospect of losing rent control. In the last six months, rents on newly vacant apartments have jumped to appalling levels – so that a sudden abolition of rent control would create a mass exodus of seniors, the disabled, people of color, artists, students and non-profit workers. But that’s what a statewide Proposition in June would do – along with our inclusionary housing laws, proposed new water projects, environmental protections and many land use regulations. Under the guise of restricting eminent domain, the so-called California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act (CPOFPA) would devastate our ability to pass measures that make a real difference – making their definition of “reform” sound more like a wrecking ball. A wide coalition is necessary to defeat it now, and a Noon press rally today in front of City Hall with Assemblyman Mark Leno, PUC Manager Susan Leal, labor and environmental leaders is the first such step. |