Across the country, 1,400 community clinics that care for some of the poorest people in the United States are anxiously making contingency plans for how to cope with potential funding cuts, all because Congress allowed a critical program to lapse. The impact is already being felt in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Category: Government & Politics
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Homelessness, Housing, News, Solving Homelessness: Ideas for Ending a Crisis
Local and National Efforts to End Youth Homelessness
Efforts to end youth homeless began in earnest in 1974, when Congress passed legislation that changed the national approach to helping at-risk youths.
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Neighborhoods, Parks & Open Space, Social Justice
Crissy Field Rally: Message of Peace Tainted by Violence
Against the backdrop of recent right-wing violence, the organizer of the now-canceled Crissy Field “free speech” rally said he just wanted San Francisco’s moderate “good liberals” to reject the city’s “intolerance” and embrace his message of peace and love. Dubious, officials and counterprotesters sent him a different message.
Posted inBay Area Smart Growth, City Hall, Climate Change, Economy & Business, Environment, Government & Politics, Housing, Law & Justice, News
California’s Push for Affordable Housing Could Weaken Environmental Law
The Legislature’s efforts to ease the housing-affordability crisis could chip away at longstanding protections in the state’s landmark environmental law. Two such bills were introduced by San Francisco lawmakers.
Posted inClimate Change, Environment, Government & Politics, Sea Level Rise: 2nd in a Series
Local Planners Brace for Faster Antarctic Ice Melt
Across California, policymakers and urban planners at every level of government are struggling with how to respond to new computer models that show massive ice sheets in Antarctica on the brink of collapse.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Government & Politics, News
After Exporting Raisins, Tech Pioneer Brought Campaign Finance Disclosures Online
David Montgomery never planned to go into software engineering and never thought he would be a trailblazer bringing campaign finance disclosures online to help hold candidates, lobbyists and committees more accountable to the public.
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Health, Healthy SF: Who Pays?, Immigration
As Healthy S.F. Serves Mostly Spanish Speakers, City Vows to Shield Undocumented Clients
Ten years after it was launched, Healthy San Francisco today predominantly serves Spanish speakers and people living in the city’s southeast neighborhoods. Because some clients may be here illegally, city officials have vowed to shield them if the Trump administration launches a deportation campaign.
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Health
With Obamacare Facing Repeal, Supervisors Consider Bolstering S.F. Health Program
San Francisco officials have created a new legislative committee solely for dealing with the local consequences of the Trump administration’s actions. Among the committee’s top concerns: protect beneficiaries of the city’s health care program.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Government & Politics, News
Proposition D Drains Mayor’s Power in Filling Supervisor Seats, Other Major Vacancies
Since 1948, every San Francisco mayor but one has appointed at least two people to vacancies on the Board of Supervisors. Incumbency has proven crucial, with nearly 80 percent being subsequently elected. On Nov. 8, voters will decide if they want to take back some power from the mayor’s office.
Posted in2016 Non-partisan Voter Guide, Elections, Government & Politics
Proposition T: Restricting Lobbyist Gifts and Contributions to Politicians
This ordinance would prohibit lobbyists from contributing money to an elected official if they are registered to lobby the official’s agency, and also bar campaign contributions to candidates for those offices. It would also keep them from giving gifts to elected officials or candidates and their family members. The measure would require lobbyists to notify the Ethics Commission before they planned to lobby a government office or make payments to influence legislation or administrative action.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission voted 4-0 to put this measure on the ballot.