Straight Shooting

There’s nothing like a few knife fights or shootings to push San Francisco’s peace-loving public officials into action.

That would explain why legislation aimed at curbing ongoing problems at city nightclubs that has been laying dormant for weeks is going to be heard next week.

The Examiner reported this week that police have grown increasingly concerned about a Mission district nightclub called Whisper, which has been the subject of a number of complaints and legal battles. The club is supposed to shut down next month, but not before planning a “last-blast reunion grand finale.”

But judging by recent activities, including a shooting outside the club, police are concerned that “blast” is not just a hyperbolic term. Mission Police Station Capt. Stephen Tacchini asked for more resources, including extra officers, to deal with Whisper. That caught the attention of Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who immediately requested a hearing on new regulations for the Entertainment Commission, which issues permits for The City’s clubs.

The key legislation involves giving the commission the ability to shut a venue down within 72 hours if it has a history of citations.

“If you have a situation where it’s gotten out of control and a club can no longer operate safely, you’ve got to give the commission the ability to shut it down,” Dufty said.

Dufty was none too pleased when the legislation first came up last month and the Police Department was a no-show, apparently because Chief Heather Fong objects to another law that would give the commission the ability to extend club hours and issue one-time permits. This week, Dufty demanded that police send a representative or face the possibility that the regulations would go to the full board without any department input.

“I was pretty disappointed by their reaction,” he said. “Just because you have reservations about some legislation doesn’t mean you don’t show up.”

Fong apparently heard the message. She responded that the Police Department supports key provisions of the legislation, though not all of it. It will send someone to next week’s hearing, which makes sense since police, and not the Entertainment Commission, receive the call when shots are being fired outside a dance hall.

Dufty said the nightclub legislation will move forward, and the full board may have a chance to vote on it shortly after Whisper holds its last blast.

See John Run

You have to give John Garamendi credit. He’s one of the only people around who can make marathon runners look lazy.

California’s lieutenant governor has run for so many political seats in his life it must be hard to keep track. No sooner than he was insisting that he was going to continue his faltering campaign for governor, he reversed field and will apparently run for Congress.

Hey, if Rep. Ellen Tauscher vacates her East Bay seat, what’s a professional politician to do?

Spin it, of course. Garamendi told reporters that he was jumping into the race for the 10th Congressional District because it would give him a chance to immediately tackle the biggest problem at hand, which is “getting people back to work.”

I guess he could not do that as governor. Or, rather,
he could not do that because he had no real prospect
of being governor, since he’s gone to the well too many times and he could not raise the money.

Still, Mr. Opportunity does have big name
recognition, which comes as part of the territory when you have run for office every two years or so during the past 40 years.

Cruise Control

The hottest thing in ferry service will hit San Francisco Bay next week when a high-speed, open-air boat takes off from Pier 39.

The new thrill ride, called RocketBoat (www.rocketboatsf.com), will begin ferrying passengers May 1 in jetlike fashion under the Bay Bridge, around Treasure Island and through McCovey Cove. It’s the coolest entrant in the Blue and Gold Fleet in more than a decade.

Reaching speeds of 40 mph, the dual-engine speedboat can carry up to 135 passengers on its route around the Bay, which is one of the best and fastest ways to tour The City waterfront. Ever conscious of San Francisco’s place as a leader in environmentally friendly travel, fleet officials are quick to note that RocketBoat glides on biodiesel.

“This goes after a different demographic than other boats in our fleet,” Blue and Gold President Taylor Safford said. “This is about pure entertainment. This thing is a gas.’’

RocketBoat was specially designed by Sunsplash Marina LLC in New Jersey, and is a larger version of a twin-engine cruiser used at other ports around the country. For racing technicians, the
all-aluminum vessel has 2,800 horsepower and uses water jets to power over the water.

As part of its opening promotion, Pier 39 is offering a special package where local residents will be able to have their kids, ages 11 and under, ride for free with the purchase of an adult ticket ($23).

One hitch: You have to be 40-inches tall to ride RocketBoat, because it’s, well, fast.

Special Effects

When he said “I’ll be back,” we were kind of hoping Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was just kidding. But the former action-film star is in negotiations to appear in the new “Terminator” movie coming out next month.

Schwarzenegger said that his image might appear in “Terminator: Salvation,” the fourth movie in the sci-fi franchise involving the ongoing battle between man and machine.

And if that sounds a lot like the daily doings inside the Capitol, it’s only fitting.

The governor said he told the film’s producers he would not have time to shoot new footage — he’s rather busy trying to make California financially solvent and all — but that they could use his image from earlier “Terminator” movies as a way to bridge the timeline.

Funny that some of his fellow Republicans are also trying to use the governor’s image to defeat his bundle of tax measures.\