居住在舊金山西側，由市參事殷嘉立（Joel Engardio）代表的市民表示，他們對他於其他市參事共同發起一項投票提案感到措手不及。該措施旨在永久關閉海洋公路，禁止汽車通行，並將其改造為海濱公園。
民眾說，殷嘉立在支持這項措施之前應該先諮詢他們的意見。一部分正在敦促他修改這項提案或將其從投票中撤回。
(This story also available in English. Click to find it.)
Bay Area
As Bay Area Cities Adopt Real-Time AI Translation for Public Meetings, SF Abstains
Cities in Northern California are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence-powered translation tools in an effort to make public meetings more accessible to residents who are not proficient in English. The technology could address obstacles to access in San Francisco, where people can struggle to obtain city-provided interpreters.
Should San Francisco consider following San Jose, Modesto and others in adopting AI translation? City officials say no, and some community groups are wary but open to the possibility.
City Hall
Inadequate Language Services Leave Immigrants in the Dark at SF Public Meetings
For immigrants and other San Francisco residents who speak little English, accessible and robust interpretation services are essential in order to understand what’s said at public meetings and communicate with officials.
The city claims to have the strongest language-access policies in the nation, and a new proposal is on the way to strengthen them further. But, in practice, those policies leave a communication gap between lawmakers and those affected by their laws, community groups say.
Community
After Months-Long Coma, This Latino Immigrant Worker Is Still Fighting Mysterious Symptoms
Osbaldo Varilla-Aguilar and his housemates are members of a community that may have been hardest hit by COVID-19 in San Francisco: immigrants, especially those working unprotected essential jobs. While the devastating impacts on Latinx residents in the Mission District and Bayview are increasingly documented, the lingering, and sometimes extreme, symptoms of infection are much less understood.
Community
Cannabis Dispensary and Lounge to Open in SF Bayview, Despite Residents’ Objections
The dispensary will be on one of the Bayview’s less developed streets, near low-income and senior housing. Over a dozen cannabis facilities already operate in the neighborhood, nearly all of which are used only to grow the plant.
Many residents, especially Chinese Americans, have opposed the new facility, which will sell cannabis products, out of fear that it will encourage drug use and make the area less safe. Despite their objections, the city’s Planning Commission approved the project Thursday because it did not violate city laws.
Community
In SF’s Chinatown, Conflict Over Outdoor Events Resolved — for Now
A dispute among Chinatown businesses appears to be temporarily quelled, following a decision by San Francisco’s Board of Appeals to limit amplified sound at outdoor events along a major tourist artery for the next two months.
Merchants had objected after a local dance company obtained the amplified-sound permit. It was the latest point of friction resulting from a gradual uptick in events, which have disrupted some businesses in the neighborhood.
Arts & Culture
New Parade Dragon Carries on Local Legacy Dating Back Nearly 175 Years
There will be a brand new dragon in this year’s Chinese New Year Parade finale, celebrating the Year of the Dragon.
The Chinese New Year Parade, the festival’s pinnacle event, is scheduled this Saturday. Until then, the new dragon is on display at Three Embarcadero Center.
The parade’s organizer, the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, has announced the roster of floats and entertainers who will participate, including a 289-feet golden dragon that debuted in public on Lunar New Year’s Day, Feb. 10, for a Taoist “awakening” ceremony.
Community
Volunteers Race to Preserve Culturally Significant Records in Chinatown
A volunteer group led by community historian David Lei and University of California, Berkeley lecturer Anna Eng is working on a week-long project to scan boxes of documents — memos, letters, photos and other archived items.
The scanning project is a collaborative effort between historians striving to increase access to alternative historical sources and community organizations wanting the history to be restored and told.
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.
City Hall
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.
City Hall
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.
