After the Taliban took over the Afghan government, a massive evacuation effort began, but thousands are still waiting at the airport in Kabul. Tyler Solorio, an Army veteran deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and a policy analyst for the veterans nonprofit Swords to Plowshares, said the U.S. government has made it dangerously complicated for Afghans to get out.
Category: Bay Area
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, California, Community, Immigration, Social Services
Organizers Rush to Help Afghan Refugees in Bay Area
Thousands are fleeing Afghanistan in fear of violent reprisals from the Taliban, which captured the nation in a matter of days after the U.S. began withdrawing its troops. Farhad Yousafzai said refugees are arriving in the Bay Area from Afghanistan in dire need of everything — a place to stay, a shower, health care, a change of clothes for the first time in 10 days.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Public Safety
New Tsunami Maps Show More Widespread Potential Flooding Than Previous Ones
Rick Wilson, a senior engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey and manager of its tsunami program, joined “Civic” to outline some tsunami basics and explained how and why these maps are made and updated.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Arts & Culture, Bay Area, Community, Education, Social Justice
In ‘Homeroom,’ Meet Oakland Youth Who Organized to End Policing in Schools
A new documentary, “Homeroom,” shows how Oakland High School’s Class of 2020 faced a year of pandemic uncertainty with resilience and perseverance, amplifying calls to end policing in schools even as those schools shut down and their personal milestones were relegated to virtual spaces.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Coronavirus, Health, Law & Justice
Vaccine Mandates Likely to Pass Legal Muster, Law Professor Says
There have already been attempts to challenge vaccine mandates around the nation in court. Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law who researches legal considerations around vaccines and vaccine mandates, talked with “Civic” about what employers and governments must weigh when it comes to requiring immunization.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Community, Law & Justice, Social Justice
Peer-Run Center Empowers Young People Affected by Poverty, Violence, Incarceration
In the streets, in jails and other detention facilities and at its program sites around the Bay Area, the Young Women’s Freedom Center provides resources and support to girls, women and transgender and gender non-conforming people. It also provides training, internships, fellowships and jobs that pay to help people affected by poverty, exploitation and violence develop their voices.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Transportation
Bay Area Traffic Congestion Returns
Sean Nozzari, deputy director of traffic operations for the California Department of Transportation in the Bay Area told “Civic” that when the spring 2020 lockdown began, “the amount of travel initially dropped maybe 80%. But it started building up, and around December of 2020 it started going up steadily to a point that the amount of travel that takes place on our freeways is pretty much about what we had before.”
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Homelessness, Housing
Advocates Sue Mountain View, Calling its RV Parking Ban ‘Inhumane’
A group of civil rights organizations filed suit against the city of Mountain View over an ordinance that restricts oversize vehicle parking on most city streets, describing it as unconstitutional and inhumane.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Transportation
BART Emerges From Pandemic Slowdown
Ridership on BART is slowly returning at about 20% of pre-pandemic levels. Starting next week the transit agency will begin adding trains with a return to a near normal train schedule by August 30. “Civic” learns more about BART’s plans, ongoing budget problems, new trains, the homeless and how BART is prepared for a mass shooting like the one at a light rail yard in San Jose last month.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Public Safety, Social Justice
Anti-Asian Violence Resurfaces Narratives Shaped by White Supremacy
Jeff Chang, author of several books including “Who We Be: The Colorization of America and We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation,” has written extensively about this history and talked with “Civic” about the legacy of white supremacy and how it has influenced the discussion of recent anti-Asian violence: quietly rather than overtly.