en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%2C_California
San Francisco has unique characteristics when compared to other major cities in the US, including its steep rolling hills, an eclectic mix of architecture including both Victorian style houses and modern skyscrapers, and unmatched physical beauty, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.
Enlarge The downtown San Francisco skyline, looking east from the central part of the city. The hills in the background are across the bay in Oakland and Berkeley.
Homelessness has been an intractable problem for the last two decades, aggravated by drug addiction and the closing of state institutions for the mentally ill, and encouraged by the nation's largest cash payments to homeless individuals.
The city proper is often reputed to be roughly a seven mile square, and in fact is only slightly smaller. The geographical center of the city is on the east side of Grandview Avenue between Alvarado and Twenty-third Streets. A "hill" in San Francisco is an elevation that is over 100 ft (30 m).
Twin Peaks, which are a pair of hills resting at one of the city's highest points. About 12km (1 mile) south of Mount Sutro is San Francisco's highest mountain, Mount Davidson, which is over 282 meters (over 925 feet) high.
The threat of another major earthquake like the 1906 one plays a major role in the city's infrastructure development. New buildings must be built to very high structural standards, while many dollars must be spent to retrofit the city's older buildings and bridges.
liquefaction during earthquakes causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. The most impressive example of an "infill neighborhood" is Treasure Island. It was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from tunnelling through Yerba Buena Island in the construction of the Bay Bridge. It was a site for the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, and it was originally envisioned that Treasure Island would serve as the site for San Francisco's municipal airport, but it became a Navy base at the start of World War II. In 1997 Treasure Island was returned to the city and it provides a unique vantage point to view the San Francisco skyline.
The weather is remarkably cool all year round, characterized by overcast or foggy summers and rainy winters; average daily high temperatures in the summer typically range from 15 to 24DEG C (60 - 75DEG F), while in the winter it hovers between 10DEG C to 15DEG C (50DEG - 60DEG F) during the day but can fall to between 5DEG C and freezing at night. Rain in the summer is quite rare, but winters are very rainy. The Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the city is particularly cold year round with the ocean temperature being about 10DEG C throughout the year. The combination of cold ocean water and the high heat of the California mainland creates the city's characteristic foggy weather that covers the western half of the city in fog all day during the summer and early fall, as well as the rest of the San Francisco metropolitan area as far as 35-50 miles inland in overcast and fog. Thus, the summer temperatures are significantly lower in San Francisco than in other parts of inland California where temperatures can top 40DEG C regularly (104DEG F). The fog is less pronounced during the months of September & October and during the late spring, which is generally the warmest, most summer-like months of the year. In January, morning lows average 6DEG C (43DEG F) and afternoon highs average 13DEG C (56DEG F). In September (the warmest month), lows average 13DEG C (56DEG F) and highs average 23DEG C (74DEG F).
narrow gauge, 1067 mm (3'6")), which were designed to carry residents up those steep hills. It is still possible to take a cable car ride up and down Nob and Russian Hills.
Coit Tower, a notable landmark dedicated to San Francisco's firefighters, is located at the top of Telegraph Hill. Current demographic and land use expansion is concentrated in the east and south.
San Francisco has the largest Chinese population in America and the largest Asian population outside of Hawaii. The City has the highest percentage of gay families (as well as a large numbers of single gay people) of any American county or large city. Gay men outnumber lesbians, who are more concentrated in the suburban East Bay.
The average household size is 230 and the average family size is 322. The median income for a household in the city is $55,221, and the median income for a family is $63,545 one of the highest in the United States at 15th place overall and 3rd in a single large city. Males have a median income of $46,260 versus $40,049 for females.
metropolitan municipality, being simultaneously a charter city and charter county with a consolidated government. It is the only metropolitan municipality in California and the only California county with a mayor who is also the county executive. San Francisco is the only California city with a board of supervisors, which is also the city council. San Francisco's unique status also makes it a municipal corporation and an administrative division of the state. It is in the latter capacity that San Francisco exercises jurisdiction over property that would otherwise be located outside of its corporation limit. San Francisco International Airport, for example, would be located within San Mateo County but for the fact it is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. Because counties are administrative divisions of the state, it is legally impossible for two counties to occupy or exercise jurisdiction over the same piece of land. Thus, the airport, which is about 15 miles south of mainland San Francisco, is legally part of San Francisco because the municipality owns it.
Under the current charter, the Government of San Francisco is constituted of two co-equal branches - the executive or administrative branch, which is headed by the mayor and includes other city-wide elected and appointed officials, and the civil service; and the legislative branch, which is constituted of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which exercises general oversight over all city and county functions. The mayor is elected every four years, in the odd-numbered year that precedes the US presidential election.
Aaron Peskin, who represents District 3 How the Board of Supervisors shall be elected has been a bone of contention in recent San Francisco history. Prior to 1977 and again from 1980 through 2000, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was elected at-large. The person who received the most votes was elected President of the Board of Supervisors, and the next ten were elected to seats on the board.
Dan White who had just resigned, district elections were deemed divisive and San Francisco returned to at-large elections until the current system was implemented in 2000. Under the current system, Supervisors are elected by district to four-year terms. The terms are staggered so that only half the board is elected every two years, thereby providing continuity. The President of the Board of Supervisors, under the new system, is elected by the members of the Board from among their number. This is done by secret ballot, typically at the first meeting of the new session commencing after the general election. The Mayor and members of the Board of Supervisors are subject to term limits under the San Francisco Charter. As part of the change to district elections, however, this provision applies to supervisors only as of the first full term of election following its implementation in 2000.
Tom Ammiano, who was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1994 and 1998 under the old system, then again in 2000 under the new system, was able to run yet again in 2004 (and won).
single vote transfer system of elections was approved by the electorate and implemented in time for the 2004 general election. This system replaced the old, expensive system of run-off elections. Under this new ranked-choice system, whenever there are more than two candidates for an office, voters rank their choices in order of preference. If a candidate does not achieve a majority...
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