The San Francisco Examiner's Joshua Sabatini reports today that city mayor Gavin Newsom says the planned deal with Google and EarthLink for a free citywide Wi-Fi network is "seconds away" from completion.

"The completion of negotiations is not, however, the end of the road. The board of supervisors would have to approve the contract, and some supervisors have suggested that the city should own its own wireless network," Sabatini writes. "Supervisor Jake McGoldrick has requested a report on how the city can set up its own network, saying a publicly owned wireless network could better serve the interests of the residents. Anticipating the opposition, Newsom said he hoped the board of supervisors would sign off on the deal as presented."

More here from InformationWeek, and here from Red Herring.