I n reporting on the tenant lawsuit against Veritas Investments Inc., the Public Press engaged company spokesman Ron Heckmann at length. Here are excerpts of some of our questions and his responses.
Category: Series
Posted inHousing, Land use, Law & Justice, Renters vs. Veritas
Searching for Truth in Tenants’ Lawsuit Against S.F. Corporate Landlord
More than 100 tenants in 39 rent-controlled apartment buildings have sued the owner, Veritas Investment Inc., for behavior they allege is designed to push them out in favor of new, higher-paying residents. The $3 billion company denies the charges, alleging the lawsuit is a money grab.
Posted inCity Hall, Economy & Business, Elections, Fall 2018 Election, Homelessness
Wealthy Opponents of Proposition C Bankrolled 2016 Tent Ban
Donors opposing a ballot measure to fund more homeless services in San Francisco with a new tax on its wealthiest companies previously bankrolled a successful 2016 initiative to ban tent encampments in the city.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Fall 2018 Election, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Labor, News, Technology
Prop. C Math Shows Potentially Greater Homelessness Benefit Than City Projects
A Public Press examination of calculations that went into projections of homeless people helped versus jobs or companies lost from a tax increase offers a clearer picture of Proposition C’s potential impacts and the limitations of trying to accurately quantify the effects of the measure — if it withstands legal scrutiny.
Posted inData Privacy, Elections, Fall 2018 Election, Media, News, Open Government, Social Justice, Technology
S.F. Voters Want Tough Data Privacy Rules, But Obstacles Loom
Voter-approved Proposition B mandates that San Francisco create what supporters say would be the toughest data-protection policy of any U.S. city, and would go beyond California’s landmark Consumer Privacy Act. Now comes the hard part: writing the rules that will overcome legal, technical and enforcement challenges.
Posted inBay Area Smart Growth, Elections, Fall 2018 Election, Homelessness, Housing, Land use
Rent Control Boosters and Bashers Both Base Claims on Incomplete Research
As Californians battle this fall over a ballot measure to allow cities much wider leeway to impose all sorts of rent control, both sides of the debate throw around citations to academic papers, economic studies and seemingly compelling statistics. But a review of the available research shows that both sides are wrong.
Posted inElections, Fall 2018 Election, Health, Housing, Land use, Law & Justice, Renters vs. Veritas
S.F.’s Largest Landlord Sued Over Alleged Efforts to Push Out Tenants
Veritas Investments owns nearly 200 buildings in the city. It’s been a target for tenant advocates, who accuse the company of building a business model that relies on pushing tenants out of rent-controlled units so they can be re-rented for much more. Veritas disputes the accusations that is “hostile or negligent” toward tenants.
Posted inEducation, Fall 2018 Election, News, Social Justice
Youths Step Up to Question School Board Candidates
In a first for the 2018 election season, students took the reins to organize a forum for school board candidates. They asked the questions and ran the show.
Posted inElections, Housing, Law & Justice, Remaking Rent Control
Voters OK’d Legal Aid for Tenants Facing Eviction — Now Comes the Hard Part
Over the past year, with housing still expensive and scarce, more than 1,600 San Francisco tenants have received eviction notices. On June 5, city voters made history, guaranteeing legal help to anyone facing eviction, regardless of income. San Francisco has until July 2019 to set up multimillion-dollar program under Proposition F.