The N.O. Metbloggers are covering Gustav as it hopefully misses them. Please give your support and get up to the minute reports from the ground at:

http://neworleans.metblogs.com

If Metblogs is a city, hub.metblogs is the playground. We kept hearing from people that one of their favorite parts of Metblogs was meeting and interacting with readers and writers from other parts of the world, as well as getting requests for more ways that readers could be involved besides just posting comments. We thought about this for a while and decided that with a network like this, a giant community area where folks from all over the world could hang out, post photos and videos, talk with each other, form groups, play games, send messages, and do about a million other things was probably a pretty fun idea. The Hub is that.

If you have any tech ideas or suggestions join this group and speak up. See you on hub.metblogs!

Despite the day’s schedule still being unannounced, the upcoming WordCamp conference looks to draw many a passionate fan and developer of Wordpress come mid-August. Sure, I may have taken advantage of Blogger-sponsored libations in the past courtesy of the city’s unending schedule of 2.0-themed happy hours, but I’m really a big fan of the easy-to-use Wordpress platform (which SF Metblogs and my personal blog are published on). The Mission Bay-based day costs $20, and volunteering is also an option if you’re interested in being the keeper of the ever-popular T-shirt/sticker/frisbee chochkeys and attending for free.

To quote Sean Bonner, as he has summed it up well….

Our team of coding lolcats has been hard at work this week and after taunting them with many cheeseburgers we have two fancy new features to show off. Check out the bar just up top there - previously you’ve only been able to see the most recent post followed by the second most recently followed by the third and so on. Now you can see them that way, or by clicking one of the other tabs you can also see them sorted by what has the most active discussions going on in the comments right now, as well as what our fancy internal magic has determined to be the most popular. I can’t tell you exactly how we figure it out, but I also can’t tell you that it’s not 100% based on us throwing darts at our laptop screens or a triple blind survey of kids hanging out at Starbucks on Melrose. Enjoy!

The SF Metblog is once again having an open call for authors. If you’re a blogger looking for a wider audience, or simply have a desire to write about whats happening in San Francisco, keep reading:

The qualifications:

• You need to live in San Francisco - Metblogs is all about the city from the perspective of people who live here.
• An ability and willingness to post at least three times a week. You’ve seen our stuff, so you know an entry could simply be a pic of a parking tard, a protest, a review of your favorite burrito place, or an interview with a local gadfly.
• A desire to cover topics that we’ve missed, or you think we need more of. We’re looking for unique voices and to more broadly represent the city.
• Team players. Authors here don’t always agree with each other, but we’re supportive of each other’s contributions.

Besides the wide audience, the best part of Metblogs is the editorial process: there is none. As long as what you write is about SF or specifically relevent to SF readers, it qualifies. Otherwise, we’re a sandbox for writers to play in, create their own columns, and write the stuff they wish existed.

While already having a blog doesn’t hurt, especially to demonstrate your ability to post frequently, its far from a requirement. If interested, send me an email telling me briefly about yourself and what type of topics you’d like to cover. (me: richard at metroblogging dot com)

This is an unpaid gig, but you have the opportunity to have your stuff read by over 1000 San Franciscans on a daily basis. Vloggers, photographers, community journalists, gripers, and anyone else with a desire to write about San Francisco is encouraged to apply.

Welcome to your new SF Metblog. After many days, weeks, months of blood, sweat and tears, we are humbled to present you an entirely new site. The design and the technology that powers it are brand spanking new. That being said, we know things will break, thanks for being patient while we work that out. This is the beggining, enjoy.

In the meantime, look around, comment, rate, or drop us a line if you have some specific questions or comments.

Also feel free to sign up for our new MBNN mailing list for breaking news or big network announcements.

In SF Weekly’s online Snitch blog today, a piece about Metroblogging, with quotes from co-founder Jason (mostly) and me (once).

Writer Tyler Callister emphasizes how the city-focused blogs in the world-wide network respond to local crises. In addition to the Pakistan cities Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore which have reported on that country’s recent upheaval, last year the Bangkok metblog reported on the Thai military coup; when bombers hit the Indian city of Hyderabad earlier this year, they were on it, as were Bangalore metrobloggers when riots struck the city in April 2006.

To see all the cities with Metblogs, click on the image of the world map at the top right of this page.

Cue a certain Journey rock anthem:

When The Lights Go Down… On The City…

Journey’s not the only one’s talkin’ about…Lights Out San Francisco.

Actually not everybody is talking about Lights Out SF, but a fair number of media outlets and bloggers are excited enough to report on about a 1 hour period on Saturday when the lights will voluntarily go out in certain participating buildings …

Unlike the military ordered brownouts of the 1940’s, when the coast feared for sneaky attacks from the seas, this one just makes it hard to see. I think that some electricity is saved, perhaps an hours worth.

According to the non-profit mafia that runs SF these days, this is supposed be like totally awareness raising or something, at least the board of supervisors unanimously thought so when they voted to support it in August. I was surprised that even the Bay Area’s Boldest Burlingamer, Ed “Supervisor No” Jew actually voted for it, but I recalled that according to utility records he isn’t really much of a fan of having lights or water turned on at all much in San Francisco.

Lights Out SF’s main organizer Brian Scott says it’s gonna be a “pretty awesome event “, like a big ol’ 1 hour brownout party… or whatever. Maybe someone will disconnect some stoplights, that’s always hilarious.

There’s even a real live brick & mortar office at 2548 Mission St donated by Gus from Medjool restaurant where you can stop by and ask them, uh “what’s the big deal?”

“…oh and and how do I get a free compact fluorescent bulb?”

It appears the “turn off the juice & get hella loose” movement deal is so BIG and hype is so thick, one localized super snarkyblog-ist outlet was excited enough to announce that the Golden Gate Bridge tested the system last night and some 600 lights

“on the suspension cables were turned off in preparation for Saturday’s Lights Out San Francisco event”

.

.. they even sent their erstwhile correspondent in a car in the rain who took a camera and posted a “spooky” photo of the test on the dramatic and dimly lit bridge.

Only problem with that is …

uh,well, you can read the evaluation of that after the jump, and see the very important and influential Journey video of the song that likely started it all:
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Months after I reported here that local blogger Jeff Webb was documenting the dangerous conditions and inept management policies at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Matt Smith of the SF Weekly has now jumped on the story with a long sordid accusation filled article on the THC’s “Vice Hotel”racket this week.

I first told of the existence of the scary videos I saw in early August being posted on YouTubefrom the life of a tenant under veritable siege at The 204-room Seneca on 6th Street, one of the marquee properties in the THC’s growing chain of SROs, that provide so-called “Supportive Housing”. The poster complained of loud & dangerous dealers roaming the halls, overstuffed needle exchange cans, and thuggish , incompetent and suspiciously in-cahoots behavior from some of the so-called “staff”. The blogger, Jeff Webb was then told he was in violation of the imaginary “privacy policy” of the publicly funded joint, and was advised to take down his tiny door mounted safety camera, or face retaliation.

Paid scribe Matt Smith delves into far greater detail than I had time here to do on the THC’s Mission Hotel, and apparently may have withheld some of the more juicy stuff & accusations that are flying around. Smith follows up on the long and winding saga of “activist” Randy Shaw’s many minions that are supposedly providing “supportive housing” to hundreds of tenants with millions in “Care Not Cash” funds. Some say it gets more “supportive” if you bribe a desk clerk, and are running an all night crack dealership…

As documented here previously in August, the situation had declined to the point where the THC, a politically motivated non profit that runs numerous SRO hotels, filed a restraining order against one of it’s own managers whom they accused of “extortion” and called a Norteno “gang member”. Interestingly, in typical half ass fashion, no one from the agency showed up to testify, endorse or follow through on the restraining order after it’s existence became public via Webb’s ever vigilant blogging. When the matter went to court, and no one appeared to either defend or challenge it, it was thusly thrown out by the judge.

More on the “Vice Hotel” industry, “Handshake Drugs” , Why “Matt Smith is like the President” etc after the jump:
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City Hall blogger Luke Thomas at The Fog City Journal has reported this evening that the FBI raided first term District 4 supervisor and florist Edmund Jew’s home today, supposedly looking for evidence of cash transactions on his computer…

Jew is a relative newcomer to city politics, having mostly been preoccupied with running the Chinatown flower shop on Waverly Place his grandfather started over 80 years ago. His business made news awhile back when security cameras in front of his New Canton Flower shop recorded three youths assaulting a homeless man.

Although considered a conservative, and is a former vice president of the County Republican Council, he’s now claimed membership to the Democratic Party. He’s sided with the mayor and Sean Elsbernd on many issues, but shown some independence in his votes on the board. Within the past few weeks he’d voted No with Chris Daly against the Hunter’s Point Redevelopment & Stadium Project, No in a 9-1 vote against the city taking a loss on a PGA golf event at Harding Park, and No in a losing battle alongside Elsbernd to the idea spending $28 million of city money on affordable housing.

Jew’s mainly been known as an advocate for small business and is an advocate for Sunset neighborhood schools, and getting rid of the city wide “diversity index” particularly in the city’s westside which artificially creates percentage based standards for ethnicity/race in school populations. He alos serves on the board of the Chinese holocaust Museum.

His most controversial issue lately though has been somehow making a few calls to the Mayor, and getting the repaving of Noreiga St moved up a year or two, which did not go unnoticed in city political circles.

For more on Jew’s troubled situation as it develops at Fog City Journal

and SF Gate