10/17: Approximately sixty day laborers and supporters attended a planning commission meeting at City Hall today to protest the indefinite postponement of a hearing to obtain builiding permits for their new Cesar Chavez Street location. As winter approaches, it is imperative that the day laborers move into the facilities, which will provide improved shelter as people await employment. As a result of moving testimony from supportive neighbors, laborers, and allies, the commisioner set a hearing date for Nov 21. However, the city is requiring a Traffic Impact Study, which could cost the program close to $7000 and take a minimum of several months to complete, prior to allowing tenancy in the new building. That the program will bring increased traffic to the neighborhood, the city's pretext for ordering the study, is absurd; the vast majority of workers are sent directly to job sites via public transportation, drawing no new traffic to the area.

Despite an apparent victory for the Day Labor Program, Mayor Brown appears to be pushing ahead with his campaign to withdraw the city contract from La Raza Centro Legal. Several weeks ago, City Hall announced that the SF Immigrant Rights Commission would oversee the distribution of funding- a positive development, as the Commission had previously endorsed La Raza’s program administration. However, the Mayor’s Office is now giving mixed messages and it appears possible that there will be a third request for proposals, forcing La Raza to jump through further bureaucratic hoops.Details