As events that would draw crowds under normal circumstances go virtual, an upcoming performance from American Conservatory Theater centers on building connections in digital spaces as a central theme. “In Love and Warcraft,” a play by Madhuri Shekar, is a romantic comedy about a young woman’s exploration of her identity in an online role-playing game and expressing it in the real world.
Category: “Civic” Podcast
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, California, Economy & Business, Technology, Transportation
Taxi Workers Wait Out Fate of Uber and Lyft in California
On Aug. 20, a state appeals court gave Uber and Lyft more time to argue their case that they shouldn’t have to abide by a California law that requires them to classify their drivers as employees, who would be entitled to unemployment, sick leave and other benefits mandated in California.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Coronavirus, Neighborhoods
Treasure Island Organizer Fights to Make Residents Heard
When the shelter-in-place order went into effect in San Francisco to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Treasure Island was going into a different kind of isolation than the rest of San Francisco. The island has extremely limited public transit service, just one grocery store, no public school and experiences frequent blackouts.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, California, Utilities
Regulation Activist: Grid Mismanagement Led to Blackouts
Californians were hit with power shut-offs last weekend and were told to conserve energy by minimizing use as power needs could exceed availability. But some energy experts are doubtful that unusually high demand led to the shutdowns, alleging mismanagement on the part of the state’s energy grid operator.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Labor, Transportation
As Uber, Lyft Get Reprieve on Reclassification, Some Drivers Rally for Employee Status
Uber and Lyft were expected to shut down service at 11:59 p.m. tonight as a court ruling forcing them to reclassify drivers as employees was set to go into effect. With just hours to spare, an appeals court judge granted the companies a reprieve. “Civic” spoke with two drivers who want employee protections.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Media
‘Civic’ Marks One Year of In-Depth Community Radio Reporting
One year ago The San Francisco Public Press launched Civic, its flagship radio program and podcast, on our low-power radio station KSFP at 102.5 FM. Since then Civic has delivered in depth election reporting, interviewed community leaders, and explored the homelessness crisis, the housing shortage and inequality.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Government & Politics, Immigration, Media
‘Unforgetting’ Confronts Painful Personal, Political Histories of U.S. and Central America
Difficult and painful history connects gang violence and severe policing in Central America and in the United States, as well as mass migrations of refugees. In his new memoir, “Unforgetting,” Roberto Lovato teases out these connections with research and reporting, but also by telling his own story of coming of age as a U.S.-born child […]
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Census, Community, Government & Politics
Census Education Falls to Community Groups as Trump Fans Confusion
The 2020 census is well under way, but a timetable muddled by the coronavirus pandemic coupled with attempts by President Trump to make disruptive changes have set the stage for the spread of misinformation that threatens a complete count. Local nonprofit organizations have been working to get correct and timely information to people often labeled “hard to count” to avoid that outcome.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Census, Government & Politics, Homelessness, Social Justice
Online Census Yields Mixed Accessibility Results
This year the census, a constitutionally mandated count of every person in the country every 10 years, is being conducted primarily online for the first time. While the shift offered convenience to the digitally connected, many communities already considered “hard to count” include people with limited digital tools or literacy that put the digital questionnaire out of reach. With the coronavirus pandemic and confusing federal directives, the in-person enumeration most likely to document them has been delayed and cut short.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Census, Government & Politics, Homelessness, Social Justice
Threats to Exclude Undocumented From Census Exemplify Fears of Other ‘Hard-to-Count’ Communities
The decennial census is used to determine how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. And according to the Project on Government Oversight, California can also expect to receive more than $170 billion in census-guided federal funding over the next ten years. In a July memo, the President sought to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count used to apportion representatives. But past encounters with well-meaning government agents have already made some homeless, poor, undocumented and otherwise marginalized people skeptical that being counted will actually benefit them.