Cleaning Up the Streets

Last fall, the city laid off the majority of street sweepers who spent their days cleaning up after everyone else. "The change is noticeable," said San Francisco public works chief Ed Reiskin. Last week, Supervisor John Avalos asked Mayor Ed Lee what he planned to do about it. "We're not able to keep up with the amount of litter and trash that's accumulating," said Avalos. The mayor's $6.8 billion budget plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1 includes pumping money into the street-sweeping crew. Lee's plan, which needs the supervisors' OK, would bring together a combined $950,000 from the DPW, the Department of the Environment and the San Francisco PUC to pay for a new street-sweeping program. [SF Gate]