By Christina Jewett, California Watch As California continues to forge ahead implementing health reform, state Medi-Cal leaders and UC Davis researchers announced an agreement to examine public health system transformation efforts that may serve as models for the nation. The researchers will evaluate public hospital systems as they revamp daily operations in ways meant to […]
Yearly Archives: 2012
Posted inHuman Trafficking, Public Safety, Social Justice
How an infamous Berkeley human trafficking case fueled reform
Advocates for increased prison terms say 10-year-old sex trafficking case changed conversation
This special report appeared in the Spring 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press. (Read in Spanish at La Opiñon/Impremedia. Leer en español en La Opiñon/Impremedia.)
Lakireddy Balireddy shocked the Bay Area a decade ago when investigators discovered how the Berkeley landlord transported young women and girls from India for sex. He served eight years in prison. His case still inspires reformers who want to put human traffickers away for longer.This year’s campaign to get tougher anti-trafficking laws on the November ballot as a voter initiative is the latest attempt to deal with what proponents call the unfinished business of legal reform.
Posted inFrom the Newsroom, Human Trafficking, News
Uneven fight against human trafficking — San Francisco Public Press Issue #6
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WEDNESDAY FEB. 15, 2012 CONTACT: Michael Stoll, executive director Lila LaHood, publisher (415) 495-7377, news (AT) sfpublicpress (DOT) org UNEVEN FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING — SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS ISSUE #6 SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area’s battle against the scourge of human trafficking has been hampered by state inaction because of budget […]
Posted inBack Issues, News
Issue 6: Spring 2012
State budget cuts and unsteady leadership have hindered local law enforcement agencies and nonprofits trying to stop human trafficking. But signs of better coordination are emerging.
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Human Trafficking, Law & Justice, Media, Neighborhoods, Public Safety, Social Justice
Bay Area agencies improvise tactics to battle trafficking
With little guidance from state leaders, local police, nonprofits fight for scarce funding
This special report appeared in the Spring 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.
Across California, local agencies have been left to scramble for limited resources and improvise strategies to fight human trafficking, a problem whose scope has yet to be defined with reliable numbers. A high-profile state task force studying California’s human trafficking problem made 46 recommendations in October 2007 but set up no mechanism to monitor progress. Attorney General Kamala Harris has begun picking up the pieces this year. But without clear guidance from the state, nine regional task forces sprung up to devise their own solutions. Their efforts have been supported mostly by federal grants. But as the funding rules become more stringent, the groups at times have been pitted against each other for resources.
Posted inFrom the Newsroom, News
Event — ‘The Future of Universal Health Care: Is San Francisco Leading the Way?’
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, 5:00-6:30 p.m. WHERE: 330 Ellis St. (at Taylor), San Francisco RSVP on FACEBOOK! Download the 8.5″ x 11″ flier Four years ago, the city launched Healthy San Francisco, a pioneering plan to bring universal health care to residents through a network of community clinics and hospitals. Though the program has earned […]
Posted inNews
Muni hopes new reports will give clearer view of performance issues
Muni is considering changing the way it looks at how well the transit system is performing by adding new measures and having more monthly reports for the fiscal year 2013-2014. Some of the new reports would gauge the average Muni system speed on a quarterly basis and also track how often buses leave their terminals […]
Posted inNews
Counties ready to handle state’s juvenile offenders, study says
County governments have invested nearly a half-billion dollars over the past 15 years to modernize juvenile lockups and now have the capacity to absorb offenders currently housed in the state’s youth prisons, if those facilities are closed, a new study contends. The report by the San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice offers fresh data in support of Gov. Jerry Brown’s renewed push to shutter the state’s three remaining youth prisons as part of a historic realignment of California’s criminal justice system.
Posted inPublic Safety, Transportation
Bike theft on the rise at BART stations
Jay Fraser knows what it’s like to lock a bicycle at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station and return to an empty rack. Fraser is a research analyst for the Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco and has commuted by bike for 20 years, 10 of them in the Bay Area. He had a bike stolen at the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART station and a seat stolen at the Walnut Creek station. Like Fraser, hundreds of other commuters have parked a bike at a BART stop and returned to find it gone or stripped of parts.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Law & Justice, LGBTQ+, Social Justice
Same-sex marriage takes the day as court calls Prop. 8 unconstitutional
Same-sex marriage proponents celebrated an important victory Tuesday in San Francisco following the 9th Circuit Court’s ruling that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. Backers of Proposition 8 were expected to appeal, either by asking for a review by a full panelof the court or by appealing directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.