False Profit Labs will be showing both Pyrocardium and the Hydrogen Economy at Fire Arts Festival, Wednesday through Saturday, July 9-12, 2008.

Basura Sagrada is a temple constructed entirely from burnable trash, recycled materials, and the tossed-off detritus of American society. Meticulously detailed, the temple will be a precious space created from non-precious materials. By replacing the gold and marble surfaces of traditional temples with aluminum can adornments and cardboard spires, the hope is to inspire others to see everyday trash as beautiful, to save everyday trash and use it—not because it is responsible or right or necessary to recycle (although that is certainly important), but because people are excited about the materials and medium.

The Temple… is FOR you, is OF you, and NEEDS you… keep your eye on this as it evolves this summer! For more information about the Basura Sagrada temple project, visit www.basurasagrada.org

The Executive Summary

California Propositions
98 - NO
99 - YES

San Francisco Propositions
Prop A - YES
Prop B - YES
Prop C - YES
Prop D - NO
Prop E - NO
Prop F - YES
Prop G - NO
Prop H - NO

Our Reasoning and Thoughts

California Propositions

• Prop 98 - Property Owners & Farmland Protection Act - NO
Pinkfist says: Have you heard of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association? They were responsible for Prop 13 - the 1979 tax-cutting initiative that continues to gut our state’s public education, infrastructure and healthcare resources. Well, they are back. And they propose major changes to laws governing use of property, including use of eminent domain and regulation of land use. Proposition 98 threatens our water, our open space and the health of our communities. It’s a poorly worded and dangerous initiative that is opposed by a broad coalition of environmental, faith, labor, and housing organizations. Examples of what is at risk: projects like Yerba Buena Center revitalization, rent control, public access to drinking water.

• Prop 99 - Homeowner Protection - YES
Pinkfist says: What is the deal with all of these eminent domain propositions? Well, some right-wingers (see: Howard Jarvis Taypayers Association in the Prop 98 description) continue to put this issue on the ballot. Prop 99 is a defensive measure that is more modest in its approach than the bad bad bad Prop 98. Under existing law, a redevelopment agency may acquire a privately owned single-family home and resell it to a private developer for redevelopment in order to eliminate blight. In direct response to public concerns raised following the US Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo vs. City of New London, the initiative would amend the CA Constitution to prohibit a redevelopment agency, the State, or any local government from using eminent domain to acquire an owner-occupied, single-family residence and resell it to a private person. This change removes THE hot-button concern of eminent domain discussions–big brother is going to take my home!!–in hopes of putting the issue to bed. Let’s move on! Important note: Prop 99 has a poison pill, so if both 98 and 99 pass, Prop 99 will prevail.

San Francisco Propositions

• Prop A - YES
Skippy says: Vote Yes on Prop A: Prop A appears to be the long-overdue property tax that supports schools. The money raised will primarily go towards teacher salaries, teacher mentoring programs, and some for the purchase of new technology in schools. Seniors over the age of 65 can qualify for an exemption. Be prepared to revisit this issue - only 14%
of the city is made up of homeowners, and commercial property owners, by far the wealthiest owners in SF, contribute virtually nothing until this measure.

JD says: This measure creates a new tax expense for the owner of every “parcel” (meaning property, whether on its own land or not) in the city. The monies are intended to be used to “enhance quality educational programs for children; attract and retain quality teachers and staff by increasing salaries; provide teachers with additional compensation for extra work at hard-to-staff schools and in hard-to-fill subject areas; and increase teacher training, resources and classroom support, technology, innovation, and accountability.” It’s hard to argue with that. However, the tax structure in this case is totally regressive, set at $198 per parcel, whatever the actual value of the property. This means that the tax is a greater percentage of the property value as you move down the scale of property values; however, I would bet that only the upper echelons of SF society actually own their homes or condos, with the rest being owned by landlords and businesses. True, small business will feel the pinch more than big ones, but honestly, $198 annually is not that big of a deal. Ideally the tax structure could have been made to be progressive, but there is enough good here to outweigh that shortcoming. Here is a link to the official Prop A as it will be on the SF ballot, with pro and con arguments.

• Prop B - YES
JD says: This measure would make major changes to the wording of the San Francisco city charter in regards to the retirement benefits program for city employees. In part it would actually increase the number of years of service required before one can collect partial or full retirement benefits, which will save the city some cach. This could be seen in a negative light, but in fact this measure is actually supported by groups representing the city employees. The reason is that Prop B also increases the actual retirement benefits eligible city retirees receive, both in terms of the percentage of final salary given as a benefit, and in terms of benefit increases based on COLA (cost of living allowance) calculations. Thus there are both cost increases and cost savings with the proposed reforms. Prop B would also set some funds aside now in preparation for anticipated increases in benefit expenditures, and create a dedicated retirement trust for the funds, and board to oversee that trust. Opponents argue that the City Charter is not the place to codify such details, but in fact All in all, this is a balanced measure that has broad support, and it deserves our support. Here is a link to the official Prob B as it will be on the SF ballot, with pro and con arguments.

• Prop C - YES
Nagu says: In San Francisco, if you’re a city employee who is convicted of a crime of “moral turpitude” (usually stealing from the city while serving as a trusted agent of the city), you’re denied a pension when you retire. This law has been on the books for a while, and makes sense. However, a recent court case opened up a loophole in the law, leaving the possibility that an employee who steals from the city and then retires on disability will still collect their pension. This proposition plugs that loophole.

• Prop D - NO
Skippy says :
Vote No on Prop D. The city charter already dictates that city boards and commissions be broadly representative of the people in the community. If the mayors of SF - past and present haven’t been doing that, we need to take him or her to task, not impose a strict numerical process of selecting appointees, based on unalterable physical characteristics, like disability status and color.

• Prop E - NO
SPUR says it well: “The institutional design of a public body needs to have a long-term policy logic, and should not be based simply on the personalities of the individuals who are around today. It is bad policy to make such a major change in the philosophy of the balance of powers in the city charter based on the political leanings of current elected leaders. This measure is, in fact, a straightforward power grab in the continuing attempt by the current members of the Board of Supervisors to reduce the power of the office of the mayor.” And so while many depts. do have some sort of minimum qualification, and some of them may be good, this particular measure misses the mark. Pinkfist recommends a “No” vote on Prop. E.

• Prop F - YES
Trix says: This is a late in the game counter proposition to G which is great in theory and approximately impossible in actuality. No reason not to endorse a proposition that tries to bring both development and affordable housing and development to a crappy part of the city. The project might not be financially realistic, but might as well put the sentiment forth.

• Prop G - NO
Trix says: This is a big developerswanting to make the city beautiful through gentrification and environmentally unfriendly practices. Many groups are calling out how the “affordable” housing offered in this proposal is to little and even then, not really all that affordable. I’m sure the luxury condos will have great views, be within walking distance of a Apple Store, and the lattes down at the ballpark cafe will be fabulous.

• Prop H - NO
Nagu says: Getting money out of politics is a fundamental issue, but this measure does little to accomplish this, while causing a number of negative, unintended effects. Contractors are already highly restricted from making donations to elected officials, and they bear the penalties for breaking the rules. What this measure adds is civil and criminal penalties to the elected officials and candidates themselves. The problem with this is that it will force campaigns and officials to track contributions much, much more carefully to avoid liability, effectively increasing the cost of campaigning and pricing out the many small campaigns that make San Francisco elections so interesting. At the same time, a well-constructed reform proposal is making its way through normal legislative channels (Mayor Newsom put this one on the ballot himself.) We should vote against H and wait for better reforms in the near future.

In the awful moment when someone demands at gunpoint, “Your money or your life,” that’s not supposed to be a hard question.

The address is entitled How to Be Hopeful.

In addition to the great music and amazing talent that Yuri’s Night is known for bringing out, we’re happy to announce that False Profit Labs will be debuting our new Hydrogen Economy installation. This is the first chance for investors to preview our new Hydrogen Chamber and new hydrogen bubble machines. Along with 80 other science and art experiments (only 2 others with fire!), we are looking forward to celebrating the first man in space and the adventurous and inventive spirit of that mission.

Despite taking a break from Poleng Lounge for a few months, the freaks of San Francisco came out en masse to support Dr. Toast in his new album release on False Profit Records. The good doctor was assisted in this operation by F’kir, Mr. Projectile, and Welder, all of whom turned in outstanding sets. His new album, The Wave Function, is now available for purchase on CD and digital download. More music. More life.

Introducing our newest venture: False Profit Records.

We’re excited to bring you our first release, Dr. Toast - The Wave Function, with a record release party at Poleng Lounge on Thursday, March 27.