Posted inCommunity, Education

San Francisco Schools to Add Language Classes While Scaling Back Programs for English Learners

The San Francisco Unified School District announced plans in July to open a school offering Chinese and English instruction using private funding, following a parent-led campaign to start a charter school with a similar focus. Proposals to expand bilingual programs in Chinese, which focus mainly on Mandarin, the official language of China and Taiwan, have […]

Posted inCommunity, Environment, Health

New Air Quality Monitoring App Aims to Protect Students in Polluted Bay Area Communities 

A new app aims to provide school administrators and teachers in these communities with real-time data that can help them protect students from harmful air pollution. When air quality is especially poor, teachers might keep kids inside during recess or a coach might cancel or move a sports team practice, said Kristina Hill, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Hill developed the tool in collaboration with Charisma Acey, also an associate professor at UC Berkeley, and a focus group of advocates from five Bay Area communities with high levels of air pollution. 

The app offers an interactive map where Bay Area residents can see hourly readings of the air quality in their area. It draws on the existing PurpleAir monitor network but adds key improvements like correcting for errors caused by fog and combining data from multiple monitors to paint a clearer picture of air quality in a neighborhood.

Posted inCommunity, Health, Hepatitis B: A ‘Silent Killer’, Social Services

Researchers Seek Hepatitis B Cure as Trump Slashes Health Agency Funding 

The Trump administration’s efforts to slash medical research funding threaten progress toward a cure for hepatitis B. Its proposed budget calls for $1.8 billion in cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the elimination of all federal funding for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, along with additional cuts to the Food and Drug Administration, which has final say on approving new drugs and treatments. The cuts are just the latest in a series of hurdles that researchers and clinicians face in managing hepatitis B infections in the United States.

Posted inCommunity, Government & Politics, Immigration, Law & Justice, Social Justice

Protests Against ICE Continue for 2nd Day in San Francisco

In response to weekend demonstrations in Los Angeles following raids throughout L.A. County by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and President Trump ordering the deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops against protesters there, Bay Area residents came together for a second day of protests largely focused on marching around San Francisco’s Mission District. 

Posted inCommunity, Health, Hepatitis B: A ‘Silent Killer’, Social Services

Stigma, Insufficient Screening Keep Hepatitis B in the Shadows 

Commonly known as a “silent killer” because it can have few symptoms, chronic hepatitis B can lead to liver damage or cancer, is not well studied and as a research area remains underfunded. Many living with it face significant social stigma, which discourages getting tested and leaves patients isolated and unwilling to open up about their experiences. 

The silence hits immigrant communities the hardest, a phenomenon advocates have spent decades trying to fix. Asian Americans are disproportionately affected by hepatitis B, especially by chronic infections. Years of community work have led to better outreach, and new efforts like universal screening are starting to build momentum.

Posted inCommunity, Environment, Health

‘Forever Chemicals’ Threaten Community of Bay Fishers

It’s long been risky to eat fish from San Francisco Bay because pollutants like mercury build up in their bodies, and new research shows they are also contaminated with harmful “forever chemicals,” including one never before detected in marine fish. High levels of these chemicals are found in 10 species of fish frequently caught in San Francisco Bay, according to a study that the San Francisco Estuary Institute published in May. The newly detected contamination threatens anglers’ health and what many of them consider a way of life.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are colloquially called “forever chemicals” because they are notoriously difficult to eliminate or break down. PFAS can cause cancers, thyroid and hormone disruption, and developmental delays, and can weaken the immune system, said study author Rebecca Sutton.

Posted inCommunity, Elections, Politics

Suspicion of Tech, Big Money Grows Among Some Asian American Organizers

Some local groups broke with Supervisor Joel Engardio after he supported Proposition K, which set in motion the closure of a portion of the Great Highway to cars.

Other Asian American leaders who share these views suspect they are not being taken seriously by the city’s moderate coalition — political groups and influential individuals who, like them, generally support tough-on-crime policies and who backed the recall of three school board members in 2022.

These Asian American community leaders feel they cannot expect political or financial backing from local heavyweights on the issues that they care most passionately about. Their constituents’ views and priorities have diverged sharply from other moderates on the Great Highway closure, and this has cost them power.

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