Heads up, lead foots, Mayor Ed Lee is moving ahead with plans to bring speed cameras to San Francisco.

“It remains in our legislative agenda,” Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.

The cameras could be fixed or mounted on vans and first would be deployed near schools and seniors facilities. They would operate in much the same way as red-light cameras, using radar to track speed and then snapping a photo of those going over the limit.

“It’s a proven way to reduce accidents and fatalities,” said Rose, noting that Portland, Ore., New York, Seattle, Chicago and the District of Columbia are already using the gadgets.

As with red-light cameras, the new speed-trackers would capture the vehicle’s license plate along with the time, date and location. The vehicle owner then would be issued a $100 fine by Muni. The police would not be involved.

“Unlike a regular speeding ticket, it would not be a moving violation and would not go on the person’s driving record,” Rose said. The tickets would not be subject to the various state surcharges that can turn a $100 moving violation into a $400 fine.

In short, the speed-camera ticket would be more like a parking citation. And, as with a parking ticket, the car owner would be responsible for the fine — no matter who was driving.

Money from the tickets would go into road safety initiatives.

Rose said none of the city’s legislative representatives has offered to author the change in state law that is needed to make the cameras a reality, but that the mayor would keep pushing no matter what.

Terror threat: The recent arrest of three baggage handlers at Oakland International Airport has East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell calling for stricter controls on airline worker security.

The Oakland case “represents our greatest fear, the threat of an inside job,” Swalwell said.

Three Southwest baggage handlers were accused in a federal complaint of bringing suitcases filled with marijuana into an unsecured working area at the airport. They then allegedly used their electronic badges to open a door to the post-screening passenger area, where they handed the bags off to couriers, who then took them onto departing planes as carry-on luggage.

“Passengers going into the terminal area are screened and so are the pilots and flight attendants, but we have thousands and thousands of employees all over the country who can get near the plane with bags and they are not being screened 100 percent of the time,” Swalwell said.

Airport spokesman Keoni Wagner said the Oakland facility has bolstered its security program in a number of ways in recent years, including with enhanced video systems, more random screening of employees and new personal bag limitations for workers.

“Our enemy’s No. 1 target is to bring down an airline,” Swalwell said. “Our biggest fear is that an inside threat could carry explosives through an unscreened area and then put them on a plane.”

Sanchez still in: Her Indian war-whooping aside, a recent Field Poll shows that Southland Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, could still pose a significant threat to Attorney General Kamala Harris’ bid to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Here’s the thinking:

The Field Poll, conducted between April 23 and May 16, found Harris has the early lead with 19 percent support among voters, compared with 8 percent favoring Sanchez. The Democrats were followed by Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, R-Oceanside, at 6 percent, and former state GOP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro, at 5 percent.

But the poll also found a whopping 58 percent have no opinion on any of the candidates.

“That means that most people do not have a clear idea about any of the people running,” said pollster Mark DiCamillo.

In an open primary, the top two vote-getters advance, regardless of party.

As for the Sanchez war-cry flap?

“That’s just something for insiders to talk about,” said Sanchez campaign consultant Bill Carrick. “Look at the numbers — at this point no one else is paying attention.”

Whale tales: The two whales that washed ashore in Pacifica got a proper burial — and they have San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department to thank.

The first carcass — an adult sperm whale — washed up April 14 in Pacifica. But then it drifted over to a slice of sand that is technically part of San Francisco’s Sharp Park golf course.

The second whale turned up about a half mile away.

“I don’t know whether it was on our property, but Pacifica called us and said they were starting to get a lot of people complaining about the smell,’’ said Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg.

“We agreed in the spirit of co-managers of the land to partner with (Pacifica) to bury the two whales,’’ he said.

It was actually a pretty tricky job that required proper engineering. Bury the whales too shallow and they would wash back to the surface; dig too deep and the hole would collapse.

The cost: $40,000 — split 50-50.

San Francisco Chronicle Columnists Phil Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX morning news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter:@matierandross