Blog

Heather Knight, Rachel Gordon, Michael Cabanatuan
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Too bad "The Blind Side" is already taken for a movie title. If the saga over Mayor Gavin Newsom's surprise ouster of Film Commission Executive Director Stefanie Coyote was turned into a movie, the title would have worked just fine.
But it looks like Newsom is getting his happy ending. Coyote has agreed to resign, and her last day will be Jan. 31.
After appointing her in 2004, Newsom asked Coyote to resign from her $132,000 post in November. Speculation was that Newsom was miffed that Coyote's husband, actor Peter Coyote, had supported Attorney General Jerry Brown over Newsom for governor.
The Film Commission was in the dark despite its authority to hire and fire its executive director. At its monthly meeting last week, the 11 members criticized the mayor's decision and demanded a meeting.
Coyote hadn't agreed to resign, and Supervisor Chris Daly called for a city attorney investigation into whether the mayor unlawfully asked her to do so.
But Coyote has agreed to resign. The Film Commission president and vice president met with the mayor's chief of staff, Steve Kawa, on Monday and commission President Lorrae Rominger said she just wants to move on.
"The mayor certainly has authority to ask any of his staff to resign," said Rominger, who herself served in Coyote's position under Mayor Frank Jordan from 1992-96. "And if they agree to resign, there's no need for the commission to be involved."
She still doesn't know the reason for Coyote's dismissal, noting the commission believes Coyote has done a good job. And Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, usually a Newsom ally, said she's in the dark, too. Alioto-Pier has been working with Coyote to craft a charter amendment for June's ballot to give the board the power to appoint five film commissioners and to streamline the permitting process for filming in the city.
Looks like the credits will roll with the mystery unsolved. "We're not going to discuss personnel matters," said Newsom spokesman Joe Arellano.
- Heather Knight
On the small screen: San Francisco is ready for its close-up. The new show "Facing Kate" will film its pilot episode at City Hall today.
The USA drama, about a divorced female lawyer who becomes a mediator, will film scenes in Civic Center Plaza, on the Polk Street steps of City Hall, and in various parts of City Hall itself. The production crew will set up shop in the North Light Court.
The filming is expected to take most of the afternoon and may slow the process of entering City Hall.
- Heather Knight

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/06/BAVL1BE3HE.DTL#ixzz0dmZsPiqN