Matier and Ross have a way with making any story into something the national news media will use to say "only in San Francisco." And here it is again; check out hte first paragraph of the July 13 item:
Ex-convicts may soon become a "protected class" in San Francisco - joining African Americans, Latinos, gays, transgender people, pregnant women and the disabled.
Right there in one sentence, everything Fox news loves to report: That crazy city that loves gays and trannies now wants to protect criminals.
And this is going to play out as an issue in the sheriff's race, since Supervisor (and sheriff candidate) Ross Mirkarimi is the one carrying the legislation. You know, that crazy liberal -- the guy who whant to give civil rights to ex-cons. I can see the ads now -- if any of the other candidates decide to go negative on something that actually makes a lot of law-enforcement sense.
See, if people returning from prison can't get a place to live or a job, they're going to be homeless and back to a life of crime. Pretty basic math. And thanks to the governor's realignment plan, a lot more prisoners are coming to San Francisco, and the next sheriff is going to have to make anti-recidivism programs a top priority. That's really what this is.
And the fact that the district attorney and former police chief supports it was buried in the story.
