LAGUNA HONDA: Supervisors Pass Bond Measure
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors last night voted 9-2 to place a $299 million bond issue -- the third-largest in city history -- on the November 2 ballot as part of a $401 million proposal to rebuild Laguna Honda Hospital. Board President Tom Ammiano said, "There is overwhelming support for Laguna Honda. Laguna Honda is not just an institution. Laguna Honda is San Francisco." Funds from the city's share of the state tobacco settlement will likely make up the remainder of the money needed for the project. But Supervisor Barbara Kaufman, who voted against the bond proposal, said the issue was predetermined, without adequate public input. She said, "We had no public hearings about this windfall of money [from the tobacco settlement]. Behind closed doors, the mayor and the city attorney made decisions that the money would go for Laguna Honda." Supervisor Gavin Newsom also objected to committing nearly all the city's tobacco money to the hospital project, arguing that the city faces other health problems such as smoking, asthma and hepatitis C that could use an infusion of cash. "This is a windfall we should use to follow through on our commitments," he said. The bond measure must be approved by two- thirds of city voters (Epstein, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/15).
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