»Public utility.

While Mayor-For-A-Day Chris Daly sneakily appointed two commissioners to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Mayor Lame Duck Willie Brown was gallivanting in Tibet.
One of the appointments (which legal sources think will stick) is Robin Chiang, the San Francisco-based architect who designed the Islais Creek MUNI depot, and who consults for the SF Airport.

In other utility and regulatory news, I'm really excited for Nov. 24: Number Portability! After years of paying monthly fees (on both mobile and land lines!), ye American conusmer finally has the option of switching land-line numbers to mobile carriers, and of moving from carrier to carrier while retaining a telephone number. It's been a long time coming.

And next week my neighbourhood is finally getting composting bins! After a two-year wait, the Lower Haight is becoming part of the federally-mandated recycling program. Alleluia.