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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March Is Women's History Month
Tues., March 6 1:003:00 p.m.
Board Meeting at the office. All GPs members welcome!
Wed., March 7 10:00 a.m.
SAN's Shaq has called, with Supervisor Chris Daly, for a Board of
Supervisors' meeting about affordable housing for seniors. City Hall,
Rm. 263.
Thurs., March 8 International Women's Day
To get involved, contact the International Wages for Housework
Campaign, P.O. Box 14512, San Francisco, CA 94114, tel/fax 415/
626-4114.
Thurs., March 8 10:00 a.m.noon
SAN general meeting: Pedestrian safety and housing. Guest speaker
Mayor Willie Brown. St. Mary's Cathedral.
Fri., March 9 1:003:00 p.m.
SAN Health Committee, Sophie Maxwell, speaker. Z-Space, 1360
Mission, 3rd floor.
Tues., March 20 12:303:00 p.m.
Quality-ofLife Issues is the subject of our March meetiing with
Supervisor Sophie Maxwell exploring those issues that most affect our
daily living. First Unitarian Church, Geary and Franklin.
Wed., March 21 4:006:00 P.M.
Literary Taste & Tea Series: Restaurant critic, food writer, Patricia
Unterman discusses SF cuisine culture at Main Library, Latino/
Hispanic Meeting Room. Free.
Sat., March 24 10:30 a.m.12:30 p.m.
OWL monthly meeting. Women's History Month Celebration
documentary films about women doing "men's work" during WW II.
Info: 415/989-4422.

Quality of Life Issues
Sophie Maxwell is a fighter for those issues that most affect the quality of life in the City.
She based her campaign on those issues and won because they are what is most imnportant to
her constituents. She will describe each of these issues and what whe proposes to do about
each at our March meeting.
Health care for all San Franciscans and the specific hazards for children in the
polluted atmosphere of the BayviewHunters Point area; housing, not just for "moderate" income
people, but for low income and "no" income people displaced by the super-hyped
dot-com economy; and how to bring prescription costs to the point where it's not an either/or
war between food and life-saving medications.
Maxwell, an avid runner, vegetarian and practitioner of yoga and meditation,
developed asthma after moving into BayviewHunters Point. Next, her grown son was diagnosed
with cancer. Eventually, she got bitten by the political bug which has resulted in her crusade to
make the City a more livable place.

Just Say: "No Bailout!"
An overflow crowd at our February meeting applauded the lucid presentation of the
California energy situation by speakers Charles Kalish (Green Party) and Graham Brownstein,
The Utility Reform Network (TURN).
Kalish, formerly of SF MUD, switched to join the Green Party lobby in Sacramento to
work toward the same TURN goals as Brownstein and, after making some telling comments
about the machinations of the power suppliers' lobbies and how the Greens are working to
defeat them, deferred to Brownstein on the details of local participation in the antibailout campaign.
Among the most salient points made: Power generators are the big winners in the
state's deregulation game and consumers are the big losers. In 1996in three weeks of
backroom dealing with utility lobbyists, no public hearings or input and no debatethe state
legislature deregulated the electrical supply industry on the premise that competition in
supplying electricity to the utilities would bring down rates. Instead, competition is
nonexistent, deregulated electrical supply rates have gone up, and suppliers are reaping obscene profits.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is a regulated utility and generates
in-state almost half of its needed electricity, but its generating is unregulated and so it sells
electricity on the open market at whatever it can get, turning over profits to its unregulated
spin-off, PG&E Corp., and then crying "poor." Currently, the utilities want usthe
taxpayersto rescue them and their investors with a massive state bailout
now plus increased rates now and down the line.
What to do? Don't just pay the utilities with no return; buyoutnot bailout; get hard
assets for our money; take over ownership of transmission lines and power plants; cap
household rates, promote conservation, efficiency and renewable resources.
Opposite is a brief outline of the actions
you can take to influence the outcome of our
power dilemma.
Do them now!

What Can You Do to Stop the Bailout?
Tell your elected officials what you want:
· No more money spent on any form of bailout
· Vote NO on ABN 18X (the bailout bill)
· Vote YES on SB 18X (cheapest electricity for residential and small business
"core" customers
· Vote YES on SB 5X (promotes efficiency and renewables)
· Vote YES on SB 6X (creates state public power authority)
· Vote YES on SB 33X (public ownership of transmission)
· Vote YES on SB 23X (streamlines MUD process)
· Vote YES on AB 48X (local choice for aggregation)

Call, write or e-mail:

Governor Gray Davis Senator John Burton
State Capitol Building State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel. 415/703-2218 Tel. 415/557-1300
Fax: 916/445-4633 Fax: 415/557-1252
graydavis@governor.ca.gov
John.Burton@senate,ca,gov
Assemblywoman Carole Migden Assemblyman Kevin Shelley

State Capitol Building State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel. 415/557-3000 Tel. 415/557-2312
Fax: 916/319-2113 Fax: 415/557-1178
Carole.migden@assembly.ca.gov
Kevin.shelley@asm.ca.gov

When you write a letter, make it personal:

I. Handwrite it. Use your own words.

II. Here are some points you may want to include:
A. The declared purpose of deregulation was to bring rates
down. We should not have to pay more for electricity
than before deregulation.
B. Don't bail out the utilities again. Get value for our
money, like power plants and transmissions.
C. Support efficient use, conservation and renewable en-
ergy programs.

Bush Challenged on Power Over Census
The city of Los Angeles will seek to block a Bush administration order revoking the
Census Bureau's powerto adjust the 2000 census to account for millions of people who were
not counted, city officials said.
By transferring the authority to make any adjustment in the census count from the
Census Bureau director to the secretary of commerce, Donald Evans, the power to make
adjustments is now in the hands of the administration instead of the Census Bureau.
Some mayors of big cities say they are fearful that Evans will decide not to adjust the
census counts. They say urban areas suffered disproportionately from an undercount, which
could deprive cities of millions of dollars in federal and state aid.
Los Angeles officials have invited a number of other cities to join in their lawsuit, and
have so far received agreement from San Antonio, Inglewood and Santa Clara and New York
City is "thinking" about it.

The Newsletter of the San Francisco Gray Panthers is published each month, and distributed free of charge to members and friends of this nonprofit organization.

Editorial Board: Rebecca Hirshleifer, Mitzi Raas; Publisher, Astrid M. Spector; Art Director, Fannie Biderman; Proof, Lurilla Harris; Circulation: Harold Greenblatt and Mary Francis Smith. Printed by Graffik Natwicks; Webpage design: Barry Simpkins



	Call, write or e-mail: Governor Gray Davis Senator John Burton State Capitol Building State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814 Tel. 415/703-2218 Tel. 415/557-1300 Fax: 916/445-4633 Fax: 415/557-1252 graydavis@governor.ca.gov John.Burton@senate,ca,gov Assemblywoman Carole Migden Assemblyman Kevin Shelley

	State Capitol Building State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814 Tel. 415/557-3000 Tel. 415/557-2312 Fax: 916/319-2113 Fax: 415/557-1178 Carole.migden@assembly.ca.gov Kevin.shelley@asm.ca.gov When you write a letter, make it personal: I. Handwrite it. Use your own words.

	II. Here are some points you may want to include: A. The declared purpose of deregulation was to bring rates down. We should not have to pay more for electricity than before deregulation. B. Don't bail out the utilities again. Get value for our money, like power plants and transmissions. C. Support efficient use, conservation and renewable en- ergy programs.

	Bush Challenged on Power Over Census The city of Los Angeles will seek to block a Bush administration order revoking the Census Bureau's powerto adjust the 2000 census to account for millions of people who were not counted, city officials said. By transferring the authority to make any adjustment in the census count from the Census Bureau director to the secretary of commerce, Donald Evans, the power to make adjustments is now in the hands of the administration instead of the Census Bureau. Some mayors of big cities say they are fearful that Evans will decide not to adjust the census counts. They say urban areas suffered disproportionately from an undercount, which could deprive cities of millions of dollars in federal and state aid. Los Angeles officials have invited a number of other cities to join in their lawsuit, and have so far received agreement from San Antonio, Inglewood and Santa Clara and New York City is "thinking" about it.



	CALENDAR OF EVENTS

	March Is Women's History Month Tues., March 6 1:003:00 p.m. Board Meeting at the office. All GPs members welcome! Wed., March 7 10:00 a.m. SAN's Shaq has called, with Supervisor Chris Daly, for a Board of Supervisors' meeting about affordable housing for seniors. City Hall, Rm. 263. Thurs., March 8 International Women's Day To get involved, contact the International Wages for Housework Campaign, P.O. Box 14512, San Francisco, CA 94114, tel/fax 415/ 626-4114. Thurs., March 8 10:00 a.m.noon SAN general meeting: Pedestrian safety and housing. Guest speaker Mayor Willie Brown. St. Mary's Cathedral. Fri., March 9 1:003:00 p.m. SAN Health Committee, Sophie Maxwell, speaker. Z-Space, 1360 Mission, 3rd floor. Tues., March 20 12:303:00 p.m. Quality-ofLife Issues is the subject of our March meetiing with Supervisor Sophie Maxwell exploring those issues that most affect our daily living. First Unitarian Church, Geary and Franklin. Wed., March 21 4:006:00 P.M. Literary Taste & Tea Series: Restaurant critic, food writer, Patricia Unterman discusses SF cuisine culture at Main Library, Latino/ Hispanic Meeting Room. Free. Sat., March 24 10:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. OWL monthly meeting. Women's History Month Celebration documentary films about women doing "men's work" during WW II. Info: 415/989-4422.

	Quality of Life Issues Sophie Maxwell is a fighter for those issues that most affect the quality of life in the City. She based her campaign on those issues and won because they are what is most imnportant to her constituents. She will describe each of these issues and what whe proposes to do about each at our March meeting. Health care for all San Franciscans and the specific hazards for children in the polluted atmosphere of the BayviewHunters Point area; housing, not just for "moderate" income people, but for low income and "no" income people displaced by the super-hyped dot-com economy; and how to bring prescription costs to the point where it's not an either/or war between food and life-saving medications. Maxwell, an avid runner, vegetarian and practitioner of yoga and meditation, developed asthma after moving into BayviewHunters Point. Next, her grown son was diagnosed with cancer. Eventually, she got bitten by the political bug which has resulted in her crusade to make the City a more livable place.



	Just Say: "No Bailout!" An overflow crowd at our February meeting applauded the lucid presentation of the California energy situation by speakers Charles Kalish (Green Party) and Graham Brownstein, The Utility Reform Network (TURN). Kalish, formerly of SF MUD, switched to join the Green Party lobby in Sacramento to work toward the same TURN goals as Brownstein and, after making some telling comments about the machinations of the power suppliers' lobbies and how the Greens are working to defeat them, deferred to Brownstein on the details of local participation in the antibailout campaign. Among the most salient points made: Power generators are the big winners in the state's deregulation game and consumers are the big losers. In 1996in three weeks of backroom dealing with utility lobbyists, no public hearings or input and no debatethe state legislature deregulated the electrical supply industry on the premise that competition in supplying electricity to the utilities would bring down rates. Instead, competition is nonexistent, deregulated electrical supply rates have gone up, and suppliers are reaping obscene profits. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is a regulated utility and generates in-state almost half of its needed electricity, but its generating is unregulated and so it sells electricity on the open market at whatever it can get, turning over profits to its unregulated spin-off, PG&E Corp., and then crying "poor." Currently, the utilities want usthe taxpayersto rescue them and their investors with a massive state bailout now plus increased rates now and down the line. What to do? Don't just pay the utilities with no return; buyoutnot bailout; get hard assets for our money; take over ownership of transmission lines and power plants; cap household rates, promote conservation, efficiency and renewable resources. Opposite is a brief outline of the actions you can take to influence the outcome of our power dilemma. Do them now!

	What Can You Do to Stop the Bailout? Tell your elected officials what you want: · No more money spent on any form of bailout · Vote NO on ABN 18X (the bailout bill) · Vote YES on SB 18X (cheapest electricity for residential and small business "core" customers · Vote YES on SB 5X (promotes efficiency and renewables) · Vote YES on SB 6X (creates state public power authority) · Vote YES on SB 33X (public ownership of transmission) · Vote YES on SB 23X (streamlines MUD process) · Vote YES on AB 48X (local choice for aggregation)