Mission District News

A bond to improve roads faces tough hurdle, a bomb scare leads to evacuation at City College, medical marijuana dispensaries are worried about a federal crackdown and no more alcohol at self-service checkouts.

Those are some of the stories making news at the Mission Local blog.

Roadwork completion needs bond measure approval… Many of the bumpy sidewalks and roads in the Mission District are in need of some improvement. But a lot of the repaving depends on passage of the Road Repaving and Street Safety Board in November. But it faces a tougher task of passing as it won’t just take a majority, it needs two-thirds voter approval.

Bomb scare leads to evaluation… Police evacuated City College’s Mission Branch on Tuesday night after a bomb threat was called into the police department. They closed off four streets around the building at 1125 Valencia Street and the 600 people that were inside the building. Police found two suspicious packages in two classrooms, but both proved to be safe.

Medical marijuana dispensaries face crackdown… Three medical marijuana dispensaries have already been served with cease-and-desist letters by federal prosecutors. Now, others in the Mission are concerned whether they will be able to remain in business. Most of the dispensaries that have been targeted are near schools and places where children congregate.

Governor Brown signs alcohol bill… Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill that bans the sale of alcohol at self-service checkouts. It’s a move that is expected to directly impact Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, which has a store planned for the Mission District. The market relies solely on self-service checkout systems at its stores. Officials with the grocer said they are still unsure how they will handle the new law, which requires at least one human-run checkout for all alcohol sales.

It's simple. Keith Mizuguchi loves to write and write and write some more. After taking a hiatus from the journalism business, he has rekindled his passion for writing over the last two years, holding a job as both a web and on-air writer for San Francisco news radio station KCBS. While he enjoys the news business, his true passions are twofold: sports and food. Bay Area born and raised, he lives in San Jose, commutes to SF and loves every minute of it. You can follow his food adventures on Twitter @foodie_keith.