Sylvie Sturm appeared on KALW’s “Your Call” with host Rose Aguilar for last week’s Media Roundtable to talk about her reporting on San Francisco’s opioid crisis and recent rise in deaths, what the city and nonprofits are doing to address it, and how initiatives might be funded.
Category: City Hall
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, City Hall, Community, History, Land use, Neighborhoods, Reparations, Social Justice
SF Reparations Plan Nears Submission, but Funding Not Yet Secure
After 2½ years of meetings, community discussions, historical deep dives and policy generation, a panel tasked with proposing how San Francisco might atone for decades of discrimination against Black residents is ready to ask the city to step up and support equity rhetoric with action.
San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee is aiming to submit its final recommendations to the city by June 30, according to Brittni Chicuata, director of economic rights at the city’s Human Rights Commission. In the meantime, the city’s annual budget process is in full swing, which may affect funding and the timeline for whatever reparations policies the board decides to pursue.
Posted inCity Hall, Health, Law & Justice, Overdose Crisis, Public Safety
Military-Style Drug War in Tenderloin Sparks Fears That More Drug Users Could Overdose
Last week’s deployment of the National Guard and California Highway Patrol onto San Francisco’s streets to crack down on drugs comes amid intense public pressure to address open air drug use and sales.
But the emphasis on law enforcement for addressing the city’s drug crisis has distressed public defense attorneys and harm reduction advocates who fear the move may worsen the rate of fatal overdoses.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, City Hall, Climate Change, Public Safety
Intense Weather Stress-Tested SF’s Emergency Response
Rains this winter and early spring ended the drought in the Bay Area and brought a kind of weather whiplash that put San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management to the test.
Early in the storm cycle, the department faced challenges communicating with the public, especially with people experiencing homelessness. Internal confusion over the forecast delayed the opening of its Emergency Operations Center until a major storm was under way. In at least one instance, flood barriers were deployed too late to prevent homes and businesses from being inundated.
Despite those missteps, the city rallied a coordinated response from its Emergency Operations Center, where multiple city agencies, along with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. representatives, gathered to discuss and act on emerging issues in real time.
Posted inCity Hall, Community, History, Housing, Land use, Reparations, Social Justice
Housing Program to Redress Urban Renewal Could Get Boost From SF Reparations Plan
Urban renewal was a publicly and privately funded effort across the U.S. wherein local governments acquired land in areas deemed “blighted” — often using a racially biased lens — through eminent domain, forcibly displacing residents and demolishing existing buildings with promises to rebuild. In San Francisco, urban renewal targeted Black cultural centers and neighborhoods, uprooting thousands of families and destroying lively, well-established communities.
Now, San Francisco is giving renewed attention to a program that aims to bring displaced residents and their descendants back to the city as the Board of Supervisors prepares to review a draft Reparations Plan to address historic harms against Black San Franciscans at a meeting March 14.
Posted inCalifornia, City Hall, Housing
Plan for 82,000 Homes in San Francisco Moves Forward, Under Pressure From State
The Board of Supervisors passed a plan to build 82,000 housing units over the next eight years, maintaining city control over the permitting and building processes. Some critics said the plan does not do enough to prevent low-income residents from displacement as more market-rate apartments are built.
Posted inCity Hall, Community, Housing, Social Justice
Advocates Say SF Housing Plan Falls Short on Racial Equity
Housing advocates say San Francisco’s eight-year housing plan doesn’t include a comprehensive strategy to build enough affordable housing, to the detriment of the plan’s race and equity goals.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Housing, Politics, Transportation
SF Residents’ Concerns Were All Over Ballot. What Did Voters Say?
San Francisco residents revealed their top local concerns in a recent Public Press poll. They were given the chance to weigh in on some of those matters during this November’s election.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections
Need a Quick Ballot Review? Listen to Our Election Playlists
Our San Francisco election playlists include audio summaries for the local propositions and citywide races featured in our November 2022 SF Election Guide.
For more help navigating the ballot, check out our nonpartisan voter guide offering text and audio summaries, full descriptions of San Francisco ballot propositions, and profiles of 44 candidates running for various local and locally elected offices.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections
November 2022 SF Election Guide
A nonpartisan election guide featuring text and audio summaries of all San Francisco ballot measures and candidate profiles for local races for the Nov. 8, 2022, election.