By Jen Chien, KALW Crosscurrents In October, a group of students from the 100% College Prep Club in the Bayview district marched into the San Francisco Unified School District board meeting. They were protesting suspensions for “willful defiance” – a vague term that in practice can encompass everything from talking back to a teacher to […]
Monthly Archives: November 2013
Posted inNews
5 Reasons Landlords Say They’re Not to Blame for High Rents and Evictions
By Amanda Stupi, KQED News Fix If you want a crowd to turn against you, then just tell people you’re a landlord. In some circles, those who own property and rent to others rank near the top of regional public enemies, alongside tech workers, Dodger fans, and oh, I don’t know, people who kick puppies […]
Posted inNews
Boom of Block Parties Brings Power to the People
By Courtney Quirin, Mission Local Simplicity. It’s the maxim behind many a success, and now San Francisco’s transportation agency has followed suit, streamlining the permit application for single-block party events and watching them multiply. With some help from a nonprofit, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency trimmed the 13-page application down to three pages in […]
Posted inCity Hall, Community, Economy & Business, Labor, Neighborhoods, News, Workforce Development
Twitter, Other Tech Companies Get S.F. Tax Breaks but Show Little Progress Hiring in Neighborhood
The largest of the firms settling in mid-Market signed extensive community agreements, but critics call them toothless
Last year, 14 San Francisco technology companies received $1.9 million in tax breaks for setting up shop in the mid-Market Street area. Supporters said it was a good investment, bringing economic development and jobs to an economically depressed strip in the core of the city. The zone is certainly coming back to life, and the companies that benefited now employ more than 2,700 workers. But it is less clear that the deal resulted in entry-level jobs for residents of the hardscrabble neighborhood — one of the goals most sought by skeptics of the tax break. The largest six of the companies promised a list of community benefits that included an effort to identify qualified job seekers in the Tenderloin and mid-Market area. But the agreements are vaguely worded, the companies have been slow to report their progress to the city, and most were unresponsive to direct questions about employment practices.
This story is part of a special report on workforce development in the San Francisco Public Press fall print edition.
Posted inNews
Addressing Chronic Homelessness With Permanent Supportive Housing
By Liz Pfeffer, KALW Crosscurrents California has the largest concentration of homeless veterans in the nation, and in San Francisco, it’s likely that more than 700 homeless vets slept on the street or in shelters on Veterans Day. According to Bevan Dufty, director of San Francisco’s Housing, Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement (HOPE) program, housing homeless […]
Posted inNews
San Francisco Looks to Curb Crime, Phone Thefts on Muni
By Bryan Goebel, KQED News Fix Citing an overall spike in smart-phone robberies and a high-profile shooting on Muni, San Francisco city officials launched a multilingual campaign Thursday to encourage transit riders to get off their phones and pay attention to their surroundings. “We think we can get to zero crime on Muni,” said Mayor Ed […]
Posted inArts & Culture, City Hall, Health, Homelessness, Housing, News, Parks & Open Space
S.F. Board Watch: City to Consider Expanding ‘Green Zone’ for Marijuana Dispensaries
The Board of Supervisors this week approved a limit to the number of marijuana dispensaries allowed to open on the southern end of Mission Street in the Excelsior commercial district. Medical cannabis dispensaries would need a special permit to open within 500 feet of an existing dispensary. Supervisor John Avalos said he may later propose expanding that distance to 1,000 feet. Plus: Marsh Theater’s Unwanted Neighbors | City Parks Closure | New Policy on Video Productions
Posted inNews
Well-Performing S.F. Schools Lag in Technology
By Andra Cernavskis, Mission Local While students at Marshall Elementary and George Moscone Elementary schools have scored well in state standardized tests, doing so has helped put them behind in acquiring technology. Better test scores meant they lost out on the $45 million, three-year federal School Improvement Grants that added computers, iPads and laptops at […]
Posted inNews
State Insurance Commissioner Impels Blue Shield to Delay Cancellations
By Lisa Aliferis, KQED/The California Report California’s insurance commissioner Dave Jones announced an agreement with Blue Shield this week that will mean some 113,000 people who had their policies canceled will now be able to keep them through March 31, 2014. If you’re one of those 113,000 people, you now have the option either to […]
Posted inNews
Election 2013: Guide to S.F. Propositions A, B, C and D
By Olivia Hubert-Allen, KQED News Fix Four years ago, just over 22 percent of people registered to vote actually showed up. Analysts are predicting this year could be even lower. The silver lining: If you do show up at the polls, your vote could count more than ever. Chances are good you’ve seen the “No […]