Ed Jew pleads guilty to extortion charges

Ed Jew, the former San Francisco supervisor who fled his post representing the southwest corner of the city after

Ed Jew

coming under fire for allegedly accepting bribes and living outside the district he represented, has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Jew pleaded guilty on Friday, Oct. 10 to federal charges of extortion, bribery and mail fraud related to accusations that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars from the owners of several tapioca-drink shops inexchange for helping them obtain City permits. The plea means that a trial on the charges that had been scheduled for November will not go forward.

Jew is scheduled to be sentenced in February. His attorney, Stuart Hanlon, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he expected Jew would go to prison but that he hoped it would be for only two years.

Jew still faces nine felony charges under California state law, alleging that he lied about living in San Francisco’s Sunset District while actually residing in the nearby suburb of Burlingame.

Ed Jew is alleged to have lied about living in this Sunset District house to qualify to represent District 4 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Jew’s sudden departure from office resulted in Mayor Gavin Newsom appointing current officeholder Supervisor Carmen Chu, who faces several challengers for the seat this November, including Ron Dudum.

Suicide barrier for Golden Gate Bridge OK’d by board

The board that oversees the Golden Gate Bridge has voted in favor of installing a safety net to deter people from

Golden Gate Bridge

committing suicide by jumping off the bridge, according to its web site.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District voted 14-1 on Friday, Oct. 10 in favor of the net, one of several ideas proposed to deter suicides. While the vote means the district has selected the net as its preferred alternative, several layers of environmental review are required before anything is installed on the iconic bridge linking San Francisco to Marin County. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission also would be required to include the project in its plans.

The statement on the Bridge District’s site is nearly unintelligible bureaucratic gibberish, but if you want to wade through the alphabet soup, read the official statement here.