By Todd Whitney, KALW Crosscurrents In the late 1990s and early 2000s, San Francisco passed a variety of measures to help low-wage workers try to keep up with the rising cost of living. The city now has the highest minimum wage in the country, at $10.74 an hour. It also requires employers to either provide […]
Yearly Archives: 2014
Posted inNews
Harassment on Muni and BART — Informal Poll of Women Who Use Public Transit
By Laura Wenus, Mission Local BART and Muni records of catcalling, groping, rape and other types of sexual harassment on stations and vehicles indicate that this public nuisance is rare. Only 12 incidents have been recorded in the past two years. BART’s numbers are even more impressive, with no incidents whatsoever in the Mission since […]
Posted inNews
Preserving San Francisco’s Latino Voices
By Leslie Nguyen-Okwu, Mission Local If San Francisco city planners had known more about the former thriving North Beach Latino neighborhood near Guadalupe Church, they would have done more to minimize the negative impact of the Broadway Tunnel, which ultimately displaced the community in the early 1950s. Now, a team of scholars working with the […]
Posted inHousing, Housing Solutions, Land use
Housing Solution: Build Dorm-Style Nano Apartments for Newly Arriving Tech Workers
In Seattle, developers are racing to build miniature studios that average 150 square feet to absorb skyrocketing housing demand from young professionals. San Francisco could follow that example — but first, it would have to strike down a law passed two years ago. Part of a special report on solutions for housing affordability.
Posted inNews
Replanting Bay’s Underwater Meadows
By Katie Harrington, Bay Nature Wildlife in the San Francisco Bay can be elusive. If it is not flapping quickly by, it is diving for a meal, cruising the ocean floor or intermittently surfacing to breathe. In other words, it can be hard to take a closer look — that is, until you wade into […]
Posted inNews
How to Prepare for Bay Area’s Next Earthquake
By Lisa Pickoff-White, KQED News Fix The South Napa Earthquake is a sobering reminder that the Bay Area could be hit by a devastating earthquake at any time. Are you prepared? 1) Create an Earthquake Kit Unlike hurricanes and other severe storms, earthquakes come without any notice, so it is imperative to have a supply […]
Posted inCity Hall, Housing, Housing Solutions
Housing Solution: Activate S.F. Ballot Box Again to Fund Affordable Housing
Nonprofit housing developers across the city say they have been waiting for years to begin building more than 800 planned, permanently affordable homes. A housing bond could get those projects off the ground, but politicians have other priorities. Part of a special report on solutions for housing affordability.
Posted inNews
Technically Illegal: How Thousands of S.F. Property Owners and Renters Are Breaking the Law
By Ben Trefny, KALW Crosscurrents Activists gathered in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood last month to call attention to part of the city’s housing crisis. They got together around a three-unit apartment building where flats are rented out to vacationers through an online broker. The protesters plastered the building with green stickers that said the […]
Posted inNews
‘Future Is Rich’ for City College of San Francisco, Says Chancellor
By Peter Schurmann, New America Media This week marks the start of the fall semester at City College of San Francisco, which celebrates its 80th anniversary next year. Even as the fight to retain its accreditation continues, school administrators say they are working to ensure the school’s survival for another 80 years. “City College is […]
Posted inArts & Culture, Housing, Housing Solutions
Housing Solution: Revisit the Much Maligned Live-Work Loft to Build Nonprofit Artist Housing
What if San Francisco took another stab at promoting live-work lofts by effectively targeting actual working artists? With enough funding, nonprofit organizations could house them in old, retrofitted commercial properties. Part of a special report on solutions for housing affordability.