San Francisco has faced many scandals in which public officials abused their power for personal, political or organizational gain. Most recently, the Department of Public Works was rocked by an FBI investigation into alleged kickbacks, slush funds and illicit permitting influence. On the November, 2020 ballot, Proposition B has been proposed as a way to limit the scope of alleged corruption in the sprawling Department of Public Works, but what other measures could voters use in the future to keep elected and appointed officials accountable in San Francisco?
Category: “Civic” Podcast
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Arts & Culture, Media
Lessons From S.F. Mime Troupe’s Move From Live Events to Radio Plays
The San Francisco Mime Troupe has been performing socially conscious and often very funny productions in Bay Area parks since 1959 and was preparing for its summer series of live shows when the COVID-19 pandemic made that impossible.
The Troupe has been releasing half-hour radio plays for the last 10 weeks and now, with the first series, “Tales of the Resistance,” coming to an end, we wanted to find out how the move from live to radio play has worked out.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Essential Workers, Health, Labor
Nurses in S.F. Department of Health Demand Thousands of Hours in Overtime Pay
During the pandemic, nurses have been given a lot of praise for the vital, frontline work they do, but some nurses working for San Francisco’s Department of Public Health would like to be paid the overtime they have put in. In a lawsuit against the city, several nurses claim that due to chronic understaffing, the public health department is forcing them to work overtime to cover the gap. They are demanding thousands of hours in back pay.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, California, Elections
Insider Opposes $5.5 Billion State Bond to Fund Stem Cell Research
Proposition 14 asks California voters to approve a $5.5 billion bond to allow the institute to continue to provide grants for stem cell research, with the goal of creating new treatments for some of medicine’s most intractable problems. Jeff Sheehy has been a lonely voice on the board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, where he stands in opposition to the state ballot measure that would fund the organization for years to come.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Community, Elections, Social Justice
Senior, Disability Advocates Mobilize to Ensure Care Facility Residents Vote
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed elections, and for people who live in residential care facilities like nursing homes, that may be creating barriers to participation. Last week, organizers with Senior and Disability Action called together advocates and experts to lay out what rights these residents have and how to ensure they are able to exercise them.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Government & Politics, Social Justice
Workplace Inclusion Expert Reflects on Federal Diversity Training Ban
In September, news broke that diversity and inclusion trainings at two research labs in the Bay Area were being suspended at the direction of the White House. President Trump issued an executive order characterizing trainings about racism, sexism and white privilege as anti-American propaganda. Federal employees and contractors, including researchers at federally funded labs and […]
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Elections, Government & Politics
How Proposed S.F. Tax Measures Could Affect Inequality
Among more than a dozen ballot propositions that voters are deciding on in November, several are tax measures, including ones on businesses, property, and purchases. Many have components meant to reduce inequality or fund much-needed services. “Civic” talked with Donnie Charleston for an outside expert’s perspective on the tools local governments have to address income and racial inequities, and on some of the tax measures up for voter approval in San Francisco.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Arts & Culture, Elections, Government & Politics
‘She Represents’ Offers Critical Feminist Look at Women in Politics
“She Represents” offers politically aware teens a reframing of the election season. But author Caitlin Donohue said the book is decidedly not for fangirls and takes an often critical look at the lives and actions of women with political power.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Elections, Government & Politics
To Fight Apathy, Viewing Electoral Participation as Collective, Not Solitary, Act
President Trump has repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election. At all levels, candidates have been responding to this in part by encouraging constituents to vote. But Knight Foundation research into voter participation in the 2016 presidential election found that around 43% of eligible voters did not cast a ballot.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Arts & Culture, Bay Area, Social Justice
Draft Resistance Documentary Draws Throughlines With Civil Rights, Current Movements
The new documentary “The Boys Who Said NO!” shows how young draft resisters built a massive movement with a commitment to nonviolence that followed in the footsteps of civil rights organizers. Hundreds of thousands of people ultimately refused to be drafted into the military.