As San Francisco officials worked to expand housing options for the homeless, city leaders warned that anyone from outside San Francisco seeking a hotel room or other shelter would be turned away to preserve resources for those who were homeless within city limits before the pandemic hit.
Category: Economy & Business
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business
Excluded From Federal Relief, Sex Workers Strategize for Survival
Many sex workers are barred from accessing protections and resources meant to help workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic — federal small business loans, for example, specifically excludes those whose work is “of a prurient sexual nature” from eligibility.
Posted inArts & Culture, Economy & Business, Opinion
Independent Filmmakers, Coronavirus and the Lost Spring of 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the independent film industry, with production on hold, festivals canceled or postponed, and distribution and revenue opportunities damaged. Industry organizations have rallied to support those feeling financial pain, but recovery may not be quick.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Food Systems
Farmers Markets, as Essential Food Sources, Adapt to Pandemic
Farmers markets are able to reconfigure stalls and have the advantage of often being open-air, but they are also adapting to social distancing health orders by increasing access to fresh produce for low-income customers. Markets across the nation are reshaping their layouts and changing shopping procedures, while farmers, vendors and advocacy groups grapple with decreased foot traffic and at times inconsistent government guidance.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Economy & Business, Labor
Stanford Volunteers Developing Financial Support Hub
A group of Stanford-affiliated volunteers has set out to develop a tool to make accessing financial support, whether public or private, easier. The project, called Healthier Finance, is part of Stanford’s COVID-19 Response Innovation Lab, in which volunteers from a broad range of disciplines including medicine, business and media hope to collaborate to create technology and systems that are needed during the pandemic.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Homelessness
Supervisors Set Goal of 8,250 Hotel Rooms, City Secures 2,200
San Francisco is securing hotel rooms to help people socially distance and avoid the coronavirus. But for whom, and how many? Here’s what we know about hotels, and how we got here.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Social Justice
Inequalities Worsen in Recession, but Economist Sees Opportunities for Change
With millions filing for unemployment benefits across the state, a projected unemployment rate of more than 18% and whole industries out of business, the state is also facing dire needs and stark inequalities.
Posted inCoronavirus, Economy & Business, Homelessness
Distrust of S.F. Agencies Leaves Some Homeless Wary of Quarantine Hotels
Some homeless people say they wouldn’t move into the hotel rooms progressive city supervisors have been pushing to allocate for them. That’s largely due to longstanding distrust in city agencies by homeless people who have been subject to move-along orders, police citations and sweeps that resulted in their tents and other belongings being confiscated.
Posted inCoronavirus, Economy & Business, Technology
Bay Area Startups Accelerate California’s COVID-19 Testing Efforts
At least two Bay Area startups are scrambling to address California’s testing shortage for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has unleashed a global pandemic and triggered economic freefall.
Oakland-based Renegade.bio, created just four weeks ago, has raced to obtain federal authorization and develop tests, while also formulating a plan to make it easier for people to access the tests. San Francisco-based Carbon Health, founded in 2015, started gearing up to offer COVID-19 testing in February, and created a free online symptom tracker to help more easily and quickly identify those infected with the virus.
Posted inCoronavirus, Economy & Business, Homelessness
Coronavirus Case in Homeless Shelter Adds Urgency to Hotel Room Debate
The push to move San Francisco’s homeless residents into hotel rooms in response to the coronavirus gained urgency Thursday with the announcement of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 by a homeless shelter resident.