Earlier this year, the San Francisco Public Press featured Gregory Nelson in “Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis,” a photojournalism project by Yesica Prado documenting the experiences of people living in vehicles in the Bay Area. Prado followed up with Nelson to find out how his life has changed during the pandemic.
Category: Coronavirus
Posted inCoronavirus, Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis, Homelessness, Housing
From an RV to Four Walls and a Pantry: One New Mom’s Story
In a dimly lit living room, Tantay Tolbert reaches for a warm bottle of milk on the glass coffee table. Her month-old baby, Supreme Samuel Lloyd-Vaughn, softly cries in her arms. She caresses his black curls as she tilts the bottle into his mouth. “You were hungry, my baby?” Tolbert asks with a smile. “You eat a lot, baby.” It’s an ordinary day for Tolbert — comforting Supreme and dressing him in cute clothes. And yet, what seems ordinary now represents dramatic change and newfound stability.
Posted inCoronavirus, Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis, Homelessness, Housing
Photo Essay — From an RV to Four Walls and a Pantry: One New Mom’s Story
Earlier this year, the San Francisco Public Press featured Tantay Tolbert in “Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis,” a photojournalism project by Yesica Prado documenting the experiences of people living in vehicles in the Bay Area. Prado followed up with Tolbert to find out how her life has changed in recent months.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Essential Workers, Government & Politics, Labor
Mail Workers Renew Calls for Critical Postal Service Funding
Postal workers nationwide rallied on Tuesday to demand Congress approve $25 billion in emergency funding for the Postal Service to ensure its continued operation, and reverse workflow changes made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. In San Francisco, members of the American Postal Workers Union San Francisco Local #2 gathered in the rain in front of the Fox Plaza post office to distribute leaflets, saying the service was still in dire need of congressional aid and could shut down next year without it.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Coronavirus, Transportation
BART Takes Cost-Cutting Measures While Making COVID Safety, Infrastructure Improvements
On BART, ridership was about 13% of pre-pandemic levels in October. Since around 65% of the system’s revenue comes from fares, the drop in ridership was a major blow to operating plans, said Janice Li, who represents BART District 8 on its board of directors. The board has since passed a cost-cutting plan that covers its expenses for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2021, but the agency still faces a $33 million deficit for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year and a projected $177 million shortfall in the next fiscal year.
Posted inCalifornia, Coronavirus, Health
S.F. Will Reverse Re-Opening Amid Statewide COVID-19 Case Surge
San Francisco’s COVID-19 risk level as assessed by the state will move from “minimal” to “substantial” on Tuesday, Mayor London Breed announced Monday. As a result, she said, non-essential offices will have to close and gym occupancy will need to be reduced from a maximum of 25% to a maximum of 10% of capacity.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Homelessness, Social Services
Responding to Homelessness With Law Enforcement Ineffective, Researchers Say
Researchers at the Urban Institute have been looking into how effective various responses to homelessness are. In a series of blog posts, they issue a warning against a punitive response to homelessness and recommend other ways to respond to homelessness, especially in the context of the coronavirus pandemic that threatens millions of people’s livelihoods and housing stability.
Posted inCity Hall, Coronavirus, Health
Fall Coronavirus Surge Forces S.F. to Ban Indoor Dining, Other Activities Starting Friday
A significant fall surge in coronavirus infections has forced San Francisco to reverse course and reimpose limits on some businesses.
San Francisco Department of Public Health Executive Director Dr. Grant Colfax said this surge could be far worse than the surge in June shortly after Memorial Day. “In the past two weeks, from Oct. 21 through Nov. 5, our rate has increased from 3.7 per 100,000 people to nine per 100,000 residents. We are averaging nearly 80 new cases a day now, up from just 32 new cases at the end of October,” he said.
Posted inCoronavirus, Health, News
While We Wait: COVID-19 Research Beyond Vaccines
Scientists in San Francisco have made significant discoveries in recent months about the impacts of COVID-19 as well as prevention and treatment of the disease. For one thing, they’ve discovered how SARS-CoV-2 — scientific shorthand for the coronavirus that’s causing the pandemic — slashes through muscle fibers in the heart. In another advance, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have developed a nasal spray with the potential to prevent infected people from developing full-blown cases of the disease. One major driver of the advances has been an unprecedented level of collaboration.
Posted inCity Hall, Coronavirus, Homelessness, News
Closure of S.F. Shelter-in-Place Hotel Program Could Push Homeless Back to Streets
San Francisco’s decision to move more than 2,000 homeless people out of hotel rooms could drive many back onto the streets, leaving them as vulnerable to COVID-19 as they were when the temporary housing program was launched in the spring.