Category: Bay Area
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Law & Justice, Transportation
BART’s Proposed Ban on Panhandling, Performing Slammed as Unconstitutional
A proposal to ban panhandling and performing on BART is slated to go before the BART board of directors in October. When it heard about the potential ban, the ACLU told the board that such a law would be a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. Abre’ Conner, a staff attorney at […]
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Homelessness
A Look at Bay Area Media Coverage of Homelessness
Journalist Sylvie Sturm discusses her analysis of how journalists reported on homelessness starting with what was billed as the S.F. homeless project, annual media blitz coordinated by the San Francisco Chronicle beginning in 2016. One of the upshots of the coverage: Lots of proposed solutions, but scant attention paid to digging into the “whys” of […]
Posted inBay Area, Housing
Cities Grapple With ‘Banked’ Rent Hikes
Even in cities with rent control, tenants in those buildings can still face unexpected and potentially ruinous rent increases. This is especially true in San Francisco.
Posted inBay Area, Government & Politics, Immigration, Law & Justice, News, Public Safety
Why Privacy Needs All of Us
One American city has gone further than any other in creating a workable solution to the current inadequacy of surveillance law: Oakland, which has pushed a pro-privacy public policy along an unprecedented path. Its Privacy Advisory Commission acts as a meaningful check on city agencies — most often, police — that want to acquire any kind of surveillance technology.
Posted inBay Area, Census, City Hall, Housing, Land use, News, Remaking Rent Control
Cities Sic the Taxman on Vacant ‘Ghost Homes’
Is an abundance of vacant units worsening the Bay Area’s housing crisis? That’s what some politicians have suggested. Their solution: a new tax on landlords who leave residential and commercial properties unrented. Oakland will vote in November and an S.F. measure is being planned for 2019. Vancouver, Melbourne and Paris already levy such taxes.
Posted inBay Area, City Hall, Elections, Government & Politics, Housing, Land use, News, Remaking Rent Control
Remaking Rent Control — if Voters Approve
Cities would regain power to regulate rental housing if Proposition 10 passes in November, repealing Costa-Hawkins. But would that help or hurt the affordability crisis?
Posted inBay Area, City Hall, Elections, News
Election Day Roundup: The Best of the Links
Still haven’t voted? Still undecided? Not sure where to cast your ballot or to register first? Just hungry for anything about the Big Day? We’ll point you to sources that can help feed the need and satisfy the cravings. Polls close at 8 p.m.
Posted inArts & Culture, Bay Area, Media, News, Social Justice
An Ethnic Media Beacon Goes Dark, but Its Creator Keeps Inspiring
Sandy Close has made it her life’s work to find and amplify unique voices from different ethnic communities, especially those of the young. For nearly 50 years, Pacific News Service and its successor, New America Media, practiced “journalism from the inside out” by bringing people from many cultures into the newsroom. Last fall, Close had to shutter her organization, but her legacy lives on in dozens of professional journalists who got their start with her.