by Rachel Diaz-Bastin, Bay Nature Just two years ago, Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, San Francisco’s only state park, was slated for closure. Vandals had caused $15,000 in damage to a community garden on site. It seemed that this rare example of an urban California state park was falling by the wayside. But Candlestick Point […]
Yearly Archives: 2014
Posted inNews
A Tale of Two Davids: Chiu and Campos Battle for District 17 Votes
By Amanda Stupi, KQED News Fix San Francisco Supervisors David Chiu and David Campos faced off on KQED’s Forum today. The city leaders are in a tight race to win the right to represent District 17 in the state Assembly. The exchange, while polite, featured lots of tension and jabs between the two candidates. They […]
Posted inEconomy & Business, Neighborhoods
Heinberg: Localize Economy or Face the Consequences
Author Richard Heinberg and other experts spoke at the Economics of Sustainability conference, at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Heinberg said communities must become more self-sufficient in order to mitigate the coming climate crisis.
Posted inNews
San Francisco Bookstore Survival Guide
By Holly McDede, KALW Crosscurrents So you want to open a bookstore? Excellent news. Here’s your guide to survival: No. 1: Stock what your customers want. If someone wants “Pigeon Lofts of North America,” have it. No. 2: Stock what your customers don’t know they want. And show it to them. No. 3: Don’t just […]
Posted inNews
Lack of Asian-Language Materials on Exchanges Leaves Many Uninsured, Say Health Care Advocates
By Viji Sundaram, New America Media The lack of Asian-language materials on health care exchanges has left hundreds of thousands of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders uninsured, according to a report released last month by Action for Health Justice. “Sixty percent of our population are foreign-born and face language barriers and are in […]
Posted inHousing, Public Safety
List of S.F. Buildings Needing Earthquake Retrofits 60% Higher Than Original Estimate
With an estimated 70,000 residents living in vulnerable structures, landlords are moving fast to meet the city’s new retrofit deadlines.
Posted inNews
What Does ‘Affordable Housing’ Really Mean?
By Liza Veale, KALW Crosscurrents When we say “affordable housing,” we are actually using a precisely defined concept. “Affordable,” in this context, means housing that costs no more than 30 percent of a household’s income. Here in the Bay Area, almost half of us are living in housing we cannot, by this definition, “afford.” It […]
Posted inNews
Urban Shield: Training or Militarization for First Responders?
By Sandhya Dirks, KALW Crosscurrents For the past eight years, one weekend in late summer brings first responders from across the country and around the world — firemen, medics, SWAT teams and police officers — to Alameda County for Urban Shield, one of the largest law enforcement training exercises in the country. Urban Shield throws […]
Posted inNews
Ship Retraces Legacy of Once-Mighty Bay Shrimp
By Jimmy Tobias, Bay Nature Captain John Muir sails the Grace Quan into a small basin in South San Francisco, as spectators gather on shore to watch the wooden boat slice through the choppy waters. Muir, who is not directly related to the famous naturalist with whom he shares a name, smiles as he tacks […]
Posted inCity Hall, Housing, Housing Solutions, Land use
Housing Solutions: Affordable Tenant Co-ops Could Protect Buildings From Speculative Market
Cooperative housing managed by nonprofit organizations could substantially increase the availability of affordable housing in San Francisco, but progress has been stimied for years by lack of capital to buy buildings. Now policymakers in the city and at the state capital are devising ways to help them grow. Part of a special report on solutions for housing affordability.