Michael Stoll, SF Public Press — Dec 21 2011 – 11:17am As perennial tuition increases threaten to shut out students of low-income backgrounds from the University of California, could the school be on the road to making its student body less caring? That’s just one implication from new psychology research on compassion and economic class from […]
Monthly Archives: December 2011
Posted inNews
Leapfrogging the Commercial Press
Thanks to everyone who became a member this week! Your donations were doubled through our end-of-year matching grant. If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll consider becoming a member. Your contributions will be matched by our board of directors dollar for dollar up to $3,000 through Dec. 31. Please become a member today. Board member […]
Posted inNews
Teachers strive to do more with less at Visitacion Valley school
By Jane Xiao, New America Media/Sing Tao Daily Jenny Trac runs the newcomer program at Visitacion Valley Middle School. Even though she is fluent in five languages and has 10 years of teaching experience, Trac worries that she could soon join the ranks of teachers targeted for a pink slip. California’s public schools have experienced […]
Posted inCommunity, Economy & Business, Social Justice
California legislature may expand lending limit
LEGISLATION: Lawmaker wants to raise payday loan limit to $500; others want restrictions
“Fast Easy Cash when you want it!” That’s the promise on the cover of an application for a “cash ’til payday” loan from DFC Global Corp. The company operates eight Money Mart stores in San Francisco, more than any other payday lender. But fast money comes at a high price —an annual percentage rate up to 459 percent. Currently, California has a $300 limit on each payday loan. But legislation pending in Sacramento would raise the maximum amount to $500. While supporters of the bill say the loans benefit working people, consumer advocates worry that borrowing at high interest rates can sink poor people further into debt. That was the concern of the San Francisco city attorney’s office, which this fall settled a suit with a payday lender accused of exceeding the legal limit.
Posted inCommunity, Economy & Business, Social Justice
Big banks help payday lenders offer quick cash at steep prices
BUSINESS: Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse among biggest backers of profitable low-finance firms
Even as the Occupy San Francisco encampment at the base of Market Street expressed outrage at big banks and high finance, it remained business as usual at some of the city’s less glamorous financial establishments. San Franciso-based Wells Fargo, as well as other banks, are investing big money in firms that lend money at rates they are prohibited from offering. High-interest, unsecured “payday” loans are readily available at 32 establishments along Market Street and in low-income communities around the city. The banks’ names and brands are nowhere to be seen, but they have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in businesses that charge an annual percentage rate of 400 percent or more, a practice once considered by the state of California to be “usury.”
Posted inNews
S.F. food pantry helps out in hard times
By Jen Chien, Crosscurrents From KALW News The state of California produces more than half of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts. Still, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics from the last few years show that more than 14 percent of Californians are food insecure. Food security is a term that describes a person or family’s […]
Posted inCity Hall, Labor, Transportation
Muni operators deserve payout from settlement, says Mayor Lee
San Francisco transit workers got an unexpected holiday bonus, of sorts, after winning back a contested $8 million in health care payouts that the city initially refused to give because it was trying to cut its 2011 budget. Mayor Ed Lee said Tuesday that he agreed with the decision by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to relinquish the funds to the Transport Workers Union 250-A.
Posted inNews
What’s in a name change? – a lot of unhappy neighbors
Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park is set to become Hellman Meadow if the Recreation and Park Department approves the plan unanimously passed earlier this month by the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors. The name change would honor Warren Hellman, the financial and spiritual force behind the three-day free music fest known as Hardly […]
Posted inNews
Double Your Donation to Independent Media!
Great news! Our board of directors will match your donations up to $3,000 now through Dec. 31, 2011. Your gift will help the Public Press continue to do serious reporting on important under-covered stories in San Francisco. Please become a member today. We Don’t Duck Important Stories Our news editor, Rich Pestorich, who has worked […]
Posted inNews
California helps many who can’t get insured due to pre-existing health conditions
By Viji Sundaram, New America Media In the one year Gabe Chavez was without health insurance after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, life “was horrible,” he said. “Nobody should be without insurance,” said Chavez, 39. “It’s too dangerous.” Chavez’s doctors did the best they could to help him cope with the disease, but blood […]