sit-lie11.jpgYesterday The Examiner reported that San Francisco’s controversial sit-lie ordinance “has been rebranded as the ‘Civil Sidewalks Ordinance,'” noting that “the new name has been popping up all over blogs and opinion posts.”

Which, really? I read a lot of blogs and this is news to me! I used a technological device called “Google” to check out this claim and came up with 3 results for the phrase “Civil Sidewalks Ordinance,” 4 if you count the Examiner article saying the phrase is “popping up all over.” (And, once if publish this piece, probably 5. I AM FEEDING THE BEAST!)

The other three results all come from the same place: the SF Chamber of Commerce. So maybe not so much with the “all over”?

But let’s not quibble — maybe my Google machine was broken or something. In any case, the Examiner suggests that since the divisive law’s probably going to end up being decided on by voters, this is a step to make it more palatable, saying “We’re guessing ‘civil sidewalks’ are probably a lot more voter friendly than ‘sit-lie.'”

Let’s test-drive that hypothesis!


the author

Eve Batey is the editor and publisher of the San Francisco Appeal. She used to be the San Francisco Chronicle's Deputy Managing Editor for Online, and started at the Chronicle as their blogging and interactive editor. Before that, she was a co-founding writer and the lead editor of SFist. She's been in the city since 1997, presently living in the Outer Sunset with her husband, cat, and dog. You can reach Eve at eve@sfappeal.com.

Please make sure your comment adheres to our comment policy. If it doesn't, it may be deleted. Repeat violations may cause us to revoke your commenting privileges. No one wants that!