Ciara Long, Author at San Francisco Public Press

Local leaders have criticized a proposed mandate that would require the majority of office workplaces to ensure 60% of their employees are working from home on any given day.

Bay Area, Climate Change, Economy & Business, Environment, Government & Politics, Transportation

Bay Area Leaders Reject Proposed MTC Telecommute Mandate

by Ciara Long October 20, 2020October 20, 2020

Bay Area political leaders are throwing cold water on a controversial work-from-home rule proposed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as part of a regional climate change plan. The proposed mandate, part of a long-term sustainability initiative called Plan Bay Area 2050, would require the majority of office workplaces to ensure 60% of their employees are working from home on any given day.

Wildfires, like the 2018 Carr Fire pictured, are one of the climate threats California may increasingly face in the coming years and that climate action plans are meant to address.

Climate Change, Community, Environment, Government & Politics

Oakland Approves Climate Equity Plan, but Organizers Say Funding Needed

by Ciara Long August 31, 2020September 10, 2020

Community-centered approaches are key to Oakland’s Equitable Climate Action Plan, approved unanimously by the City Council in July. It is designed to “bring about a just transition to a low carbon future” with green jobs and measures to mitigate the disparities felt by communities affected by climate change, according to a statement by Mayor Libby Schaaf.
But the plan doesn’t have guaranteed funding from the city government. For organizers, that’s a problem. “We need money to pay people to do work,” said Phoenix Armenta, who works with an environmental justice group.

For a tenant facing income loss due to COVID-19, eviction protections at the state and local levels will soon end. Here's how they work.

Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Housing, Law & Justice

How Pandemic Eviction Protections Work in S.F.

by Noah Arroyo and Ciara Long August 27, 2020September 10, 2020

On Tuesday, Mayor London Breed extended until Dec. 1 her order blocking most evictions in the city. But that is just one aspect of eviction regulations, which are robust and complicated. Here’s how they affect renters.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed Tuesday extended her eviction moratorium through the end of November. For many tenants, that will delay displacement — a longstanding political issue in the city, as exemplified by this demonstration at the 2014 Pride Parade.

City Hall, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Housing, Law & Justice

Breed Extends Eviction Moratorium to Dec. 1

by Noah Arroyo and Ciara Long August 26, 2020September 10, 2020

Mayor London Breed Tuesday gave San Francisco tenants an additional month to figure out how they will cover rent and avoid eviction, in light of economic hardships resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the soonest landlords could legally evict for nonpayment of rent is Dec. 1. That’s a month later than the previously announced eviction moratorium was set to end. The information was initially made public in a web post from the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. The San Francisco Public Press received confirmation of these changes from Hugo Ramirez, a staff member at the Mayor’s office.

Starting Jan. 1, 2021, gas burners will be replaced by electric stoves in new buildings in San Francisco.

Climate Change, Environment

As S.F. Edges Toward Building Electrification, Equity Questions Remain

by Ciara Long August 17, 2020September 10, 2020

San Francisco may be edging closer to its climate goals with an ordinance requiring all new construction to use electric power rather than gas. But the next step down that road involves retrofitting old buildings — and it could add costs low-income residents can’t afford.

City Hall, Government & Politics, Open Government

With Budget Cuts, Can the Ethics Commission Still Counter S.F. Corruption?

by Ciara Long August 7, 2020September 10, 2020

Members of the San Francisco Ethics Commission let out a sigh of relief last week when they learned from Mayor London Breed’s budget proposal that their funding would be sliced by 3.3%, far less than the 10% they had been expecting. But they warned that even the smaller-than-expected cuts would still have an impact on the political watchdog group’s effectiveness.

“Civic” Podcast, Government & Politics, Public Safety

Federal Enforcement Actions Recall Authoritarian Crackdowns for Central Americans in U.S.

by Ciara Long July 30, 2020September 10, 2020

Almost two weeks ago, protesters in Portland, Ore., were detained by federal police and taken away in unmarked cars. Five days later, President Trump said that he would send federal agents to a dozen other liberal cities, including Oakland. For some of the Bay Area’s Central American residents, there are parallels between this moment and […]

Climate Change, Coronavirus, Environment, Homelessness

As Fire Season Approaches, COVID-19 Strains Mask Supplies

by Ciara Long July 27, 2020September 10, 2020

The last few years’ fires are all blurring into one for Jessica Tovar, an Oakland resident and advocate at the nonprofit Local Clean Energy Alliance, a renewable energy advocacy group. “I had an office that you could see the port of Oakland from, and in those times, you could not see the port because the […]

City Hall, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Health

S.F. Mayor Says Indoor Malls, Non-Essential Offices to Close

by Ciara Long July 17, 2020September 10, 2020

UPDATE: July 17, 2020. Adds embedded audio and timestamps to summary of key points from press conference. Mayor London Breed announced this morning at a press conference that San Francisco would roll back some of its reopenings, closing indoor malls and non-essential offices on Monday. S.F. has joined a list of 30 counties on the […]

Author Archives: Ciara Long