Will You Be Owned?

I've never done this before but it appears to be in a good cause.

As reported in The Atlantic (a highly respected magazine). the Supreme Court will be hearing a case where they will decide whether or not people can legally resell items that they have legally purchased, such as: iPad's, watches, Macbooks, cameras, etc.

Apparently certain corporations want you to get permission from the manufacturer before you can resell any copyrighted item made or assembled in another country. Since I intend to start reselling my Japanese made cameras soon, it is a subject that is dear to me.

The case will be presented to the Supreme Court on Monday, October 29th and some political types are organizing an online protest.

Click here to learn more.

SFMTA Wants the Waiting List Killed

Actually they phrased it differently.

"Staff recommends that the Board adopt amendments to Transportation Code Sections 1103 and 1116 to authorize transferring taxi medallions to the first 150 qualified taxi drivers on the taxi medallion waiting list at a discounted medallion price, and to provide that the SFMTA will no longer issue taxi medallions to drivers on the medallion waiting list at the cost of the application fee." 

And

"Staff recommends that 150 medallions be transferred to the first 150 qualified applicants on the waiting list at a price of $150,000 each, and that no further medallions be distributed to applicants on the waiting list for the cost of the application fee." 

You can find the entire draft proposal at the url below.

Please find attached a draft proposal for the medallion waiting list, to be considered at the Town Hall meeting of October 30 (see http://www.sfmta.com/cms/ctaxitownhall/taxitownhallindx.htm) , and the SFMTA Board meeting of November 20.  

Driver's Sue to Stop MTA from Killing the Waiting List

Cab Drivers Bill Mounsey (photo), Iza Pardinas and Jeffrey Grove along with the United Taxicab Workers and the San Francisco Cab Drivers Association filed suit against the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to prohibit the SFMTA from legislating a Taxi Medallion Transfer Program pursuant to Resolution 12-110 and to compel the issuance of taxi medallions to Plaintiffs and other qualified taxi drivers on the medallion applicants’ Waiting List.

The Plaintiffs argue that the Resolution:

1. is an unconstitutional legislative act by an administrative agency;
2. is an unconstitutional tax and otherwise unconstitutional and unlawful means of generating revenue for the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) and the SFMTA’s general fund;
3. that the SFMTA unlawfully has transferred or intends to transfer medallions to the detriment of qualified applicants on the Waiting List;
4. that the Plaintiffs have been or will be unlawfully deprived of taxi medallions - and the economic or other benefits possession of a medallion provides - on account of the Resolution’s and defendants’ unlawful actions and the representations and promises made to them. 

The Complaint goes on that “the SFMTA and CCSF are in violation of the Constitutions of the United States and the State of California, the Charter of CCSF and applicable City ordinances, regulations and regulatory decisions, have acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner and in excess and abuse of regulatory authority and have wrongfully induced taxi drivers on the Waiting List to rely to their detriment and financial harm on a long established system which SFMTA now unlawfully refuses to administer.”

More later