Francisco da Costa

LET'S PUT SF OFFICE OF EMERGENGY ON NOTICE

San Francisco has a population of about 760,000 but it does grow to over a million and a half with people coming from all over the place to earn their living wages right in our City and County of San Francisco. More when there is a Ball Game, some Rock Concert, and major event.
Most of us that love our City love the tourists and the tourist places that San Francisco is so famous for. People love to leave their heart in San Francisco and we love to share our love with our tourist and other friends. We brag this is the City that knows how? We love to talk about the good things and do not like too much talk about the Big One!
Recently we all have read so much and more seen so much of Katrina that we are sick of all the realities that we have witnessed. One glaring fact stands out the people that died and those that suffered were the victims of bureaucracy. Mostly of color.
Let me tell you the responsibility lie at the local level. Here in San Francisco the Mayor and his cronies that now love SPIN and MEDIA would have to execute their plan of action. So let me put the fools on notice. Forget blaming the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Homeland Security. Let the local plans be well prepared and in place.
We may have to call them for help but what is of real consequence is a Blue Print that the local leaders should have in place. The better the logistics the better the plan. Good leaders know the way, show the way and go the way. Do we have such leaders to execute an Emergency Plan in San Francisco? Not from the vain talk I have heard and the lack of logistics that the fools pretend to have in place but do not.
Let me walk the fools through a scenario. Our City has the tourist spots that the world knows of. How ever in San Francisco we also have the poor neighborhoods. Let us take the Public Housing up on the hill that is Hunters Point and the Public Housing in Sunnydale that is by Visitation Valley. Thousands of innocent and poor folks live here. Is there a good plan for this area? I do not think so? Can you imagine AnnieMarie Conroy and her cronies taking her ass the to Public Housing area without any good Blue Print and much good logistics? Can you imagine AnnieMarie Conroy hearing gunshots and walking bravely to execute her half-ass plan? The woman can talk the talk but she cannot walk the walk.
Let us see how the Whites folks think about the Southeast Sector. I have mentioned Hunters Point and Visitation Valley. If you look at any tourist map that the San Francisco Tourist Agency give out. You can look all over the place and you will not see Hunters Point or Visitation Valley. In its place you will see an advertisement! Go check it out for yourself. What does this have to say about our City?
The City and County of San Francisco thinks it is fine to have the power plants in the Southeast Sector. The Raw Sewage plant in the Southeast Sector. The high ways and byways used by million of vehicles spewing all sorts of particulates and toxins into the air. Other toxic spots that have not been cleaned or abated. When it comes to Emergency Services think about what I am saying. San Francisco is a racist city and take it from me when the time comes there will be no one to help poor folks.
My friends the world has been talking about global warming. Experts and I count some of them as my students who keep me informed. In a couple of years the Ocean will rise by about 3 to 5 feet. Huge blocks of ice called glaciers are melting. In other places snow on the tops of mountains and in the Artic and Antarctic are melting. This global warming has caused the increase of hurricane and other natural calamities. All over the world people are suffering.
Take any old map of San Francisco and you will see much of downtown is landfill. Mission Bay is landfill. The Marina is landfill. Many areas in the Bayview are landfill. The waters will rise and there will be flooding. If there is a major earthquake the homes in the Avenues thousands of them will collapse and if the waters come in God forbid such a natural disaster is witnessed by any decent human being. Easily over 500,000 thousand people will be affected. Our hospitals will NOT be able to help us. Our roads will suffer damage. Our City does not have much air support. We lack heavy equipment much as the United States Army had when it came to our rescue before. Remember the Presidio of San Francisco.
Today at this very moment we do not have in place a sound Communication System. All the various agencies involved in any high profile Emergency Relief Operation in the Bay Area does not have a Communication System that can fully coordinate the Emergency Operations.
In San Francisco the Police Department does not have a State of the Art Communication System. Now go ask the San Francisco Fire Department if they have a State of the Art Communication System?
So, I was talking about the poor folks at Hunters Point and Sunnydale? Do you think the racist Whites will go to their rescue? They will be in the Marina that will take a heavy toll. The fools will be in the Avenues where homes will crumble like match sticks. The fools will be at Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, and Telegraph Hill but they will forgot about the poor folks on Hunters Point a very famous hill.
In the Bayview the sewage will spill and it will take place in a Residential Area. It is paramount the fools remove the Phelps Raw Sewage Treatment Plant as soon as possible. Also repair, replace, and maintain the over 900 miles of sewer pipes. The same holds true for the over 1500 clean water pipes.
Can one expect leadership from Susan Leal, Tony Winnicker, the other crones that pretend that they have it all under control at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission? I do not think so?
Since San Francisco is at the tail end of the Hetch Hetchy system we will not have water for over 6 months. If the Reservoirs by City College and University Mound in the Portola District fail, we will have flooding of a magnitude that we have not witnessed. Right now there are NO plans to accommodate any rescue and Emergency Plans linked to the Reservoirs breaking and flooding the neighborhoods. And remember there are such Reservoirs in the Sunset too. All very vulnerable to a Big One.
Our Emergency Plan does not address many thugs who will be armed. They have better ammunition and arms then do our Law Enforcement. If there is a major disaster these thugs will cause havoc. We do not have the LE personnel to address priority objectives.
Right now we do not have a plan where Reservists and other LE can be called to police neighborhoods. We do not have a plan where Block Captains in the neighborhood are given evacuation and other emergency plans. We do not have anyone talking to the people at ground zero. Fools are making decisions and think all is well!
What we do have is some fools talking and patting themselves on the back in Room 200 that is the Mayor's Conference Room at City Hall. It is simply pathetic that at these meeting the Corps of Engineers, the Army, the Coast Guard, FEMA, Homeland Security, and others are NOT invited.
I read somewhere that the District Supervisors would take charge! Imagine Fiona Ma and Sophie Maxwell trying to calm the crowds when there is an earthquake 7.9 or bigger? Imagine total chaos and poor logistics and people suffering and no real down to earth plans in place? Now is the time to learn from Katrina!
People of color do not trust anyone. You may sure you have the plans and that you read the plans. Make sure you have the name and address of the folks that should protect your neighborhood. Go after their ass now not after the tragedy has taken place. Make sure you have the required information about your relatives and whom to contact.
In the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake the Army gave me the Commander's Award. They did this because they felt I helped a lot and used my experience to help many people. I learned from earthquakes and other disasters because I feel I can keep my composure and attain goals under pressure. You will often hear me on Channel 26 talking about the Infrastructure. It is very important to study our City's infrastructure. Especially when our sewer and clean drinking pipes are over 65 years old and in some cases over 75 years old.
It is good to know that we have an over $300 million backlog when it comes to repairing our roads. It is good to know that not all is well with our Reservoirs that hold millions of gallons of water. It is good to know that a Tidal Wave can and will consume us. It is just a matter of time. It is good to be aware of thugs armed with guns that will take every opportunity to make hay while the sun shines.
Now, let us be frank how many of you trust AnnMarie Conroy and her plans? How many of you feel secure with Mayor Gavin Newsom in the cockpit? How many of you have studied the infrastructure on your block? How many of you have met with your block neighbors and appointed a Block Captain or at least have a Plan of Action for the good of your neighborhood?
How many of you have all the telephone numbers at hand? How many of you really know whom to call before a disaster strikes? How many of you have stocked water and some other essentials to ride out any adverse situation for a week? For two weeks? For a month?
How many of you have sat down with the youth and worked out the logistics? Remember the better you do the home works the better it will work for you all. How many of you know that you can get materials to read and access the Internet for current information? How may of you have visited the SF Fire Station in your area and got acquainted with the Emergency Plans? There is nothing like teamwork and there is nothing like sharing!