Mirkarimi's wife seeks longer stay in Venezuela

Phillip Matier,Andrew Ross, Chronicle Columnist
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Negotiations are under way for ElianaLopez, wife of suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, to prolong her stay in her native Venezuela.
Mirkarimi is barred from contacting Lopez, but the talks being handled by their intermediaries "are amicable," said Lopez's attorney, Paula Canny.
Lopez was granted permission by a family court judge last month to take the couple's 2-year-old son for a monthlong visit to see her ailing father.
Ironically, it was Mirkarimi's refusal to allow such a visit that led to the New Year's Eve argument with Lopez in which he bruised her right arm - which eventually got him suspended without pay from the sheriff's post after pleading guilty to unlawful imprisonment.
The court order that cleared the way for Lopez to go to Venezuela also allowed Mirkarimi to return to the family's Western Addition home. If she returns, he has to leave again under the terms of a stay-away edict.
"With everything that is going on, it's just safer and more financially secure at this point for her to stay with her family," Canny said. "I think Ross supports whatever is best for the family."
The Mirkarimi side did not return calls for comment.