California’s eviction moratorium protecting tenants affected by the coronavirus pandemic was set to expire June 30. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation extending it, but the state law supersedes local pandemic eviction protections and prevents city legislators from adding new ones through March of next year. Ora Prochovnick, director of litigation and policy at the Eviction Defense Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income tenants respond to eviction lawsuits, explained the details on “Civic.”
Category: Coronavirus
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Health
Ventilation Won’t Make Offices as Safe as Pre-Pandemic, Expert Says
Engineers are fielding questions about whether upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems will make their buildings as safe as they were prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Steve Taylor told “Civic” that’s not possible, but if workers wear masks, existing systems that meet ventilation standards we already have should be enough to bring the risk of infection to acceptable levels.
Posted inCommunity, Coronavirus, Parks & Open Space, Social Justice
Photo Essay — Return to Alcatraz: National Park Service Honors Native American Occupation 50th Anniversary
With the help of the original occupiers, indigenous rights activists, photojournalists and historians, the National Park Service installed a prominent exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the island occupation — “Red Power on Alcatraz Perspectives: 50 Years Later.”
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Coronavirus, Parks & Open Space, Social Justice
Return to Alcatraz: 50 Years After Native American Occupation, National Park Service Considers Permanent Cultural Center
As California reopens to tourism, Alcatraz is once again drawing visitors from around the world and featuring an exhibit celebrating the 19-month-long Native American occupation of the island 50 years ago. And in a dramatic, if delayed, response to the occupation, the National Park Service is contemplating the installation of a permanent Native American cultural center on Alcatraz in collaboration with a group that formed with that as one of its key objectives more than 50 years ago.
Posted inCalifornia, City Hall, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Government & Politics, Housing
SF Has Not Made a Single Payment From Federal Rent-Relief Program as Eviction Moratorium Poised to End
With time running out, not a single San Francisco resident has received a check from the city’s federally funded rent-relief program. Barely a week remains before landlords can resume evictions for unpaid rents due during the pandemic.
“I have never been evicted or homeless,” said Buddy Bates, a renter in Parkmerced and father of two. “I live in that fear constantly now.”
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Health
With California Reopened, Should We Keep Social Distancing?
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics – infectious diseases and of health research and policy at Stanford University, and Dr. Lee Riley, professor of infectious diseases at the School of Public Health in the division of infectious diseases and vaccinology at the University of California, Berkeley talked with “Civic” about the relative benefit of social distancing in concert with other prevention measures and under what circumstances distancing still makes sense.
Posted inCoronavirus, Government & Politics, Health, Homelessness
City’s Popular Portable Toilets Frequently Moved or Closed
While the number of 24-hour Pit Stop public bathrooms increased 16-fold at the beginning of the pandemic, keeping them in place has proven to be a challenge. Many high-traffic Pit Stops — some used more than 1,000 times per month — are being relocated, and Supervisor Mat Haney wants to know why.
Posted inCoronavirus, Economy & Business, Essential Workers, Labor
Cleaning During COVID-19: How the Pandemic Affected Janitorial Work
Janitors have been taking to the streets in San Francisco for weeks to advocate for better working conditions during the pandemic, even going on a three-day strike in mid-March.
Juan Hernandez, a janitor with decades of experience who works at a 42-story office building, joined “Civic” to give a sense of the day-to-day reality of this work during the pandemic.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Essential Workers, Health, Labor
Frontline Dispatch: SF Paramedic Reflects on Pandemic
Before coronavirus cases were confirmed in San Francisco, paramedic Alfredo Banuelos and his colleagues were watching case numbers in other cities, still at a distance. Then he got his first patient. When the virus arrived in San Francisco and the city locked down and everything changed, procedures on the ambulance changed too. He reflects on […]
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Health
SF Relaxes Outdoor Mask Rules
Under a new health order, San Franciscans no longer need to wear a mask while doing outdoor activities like walking or biking alone or with members of their households. Unvaccinated people should wear a mask if social distancing can’t be maintained. Fully vaccinated people can almost entirely forgo masks outdoors, with certain exceptions. Dr. Susan […]