Public Press Weekly: Affordable Care Act — Alive and Living and (Sort of) Well in California

Despite all the efforts by Republicans to deep-six the Affordable Care Act, they failed — albeit by the skin of their teeth. However, undermining the law appears to be the GOP game plan of the moment — the Trump administration cut advertising for open enrollment by 90 percent, slashed the federal enrollment period, ended reimbursements to health insurers that helped offset discounts they provide to low-income customers, you know, things like that. However, California is a state that just wants to make Barack Obama’s law work and has enthusiastically implemented it from the get-go. Now, in face of the Trump onslaught, the state has managed to get insurers to stick with the exchanges and has maintained relatively stable prices. (FiveThirtyEight). So, for all present and future enrollees in Covered California (that’s what that law is called here), the program still exists and open enrollment is now. (KALW/Crosscurrents). Even though signing up can have a few glitches — read one woman’s account of the ups and downs of enrolling — it’s probably worth it. (Daily Kos).

Housing — It’s Always Something

  • Maybe the old saying, “the love of money is the root of all evil,” covers what’s happening with a few below-market-rate housing owners in San Francisco. The city’s program for low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers to buy condos at big discounts has spawned a new group of rapacious owners: Those who break the rules and rent out their digs illegally at ginormous prices. “San Francisco’s Below Market Rate Homes Illegally Up for Rent” (CBS 5).
  • If you’re a YIMBY-type of person (that is, “Yes In My Backyard”), talk to state Sen. Scott Wiener, who’s a big booster of development, yes, environmentally good, yes, school of urban living. He’s all for dense, walkable, car-free neighborhoods that state regulators say is the way to go to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. “Enviros and Developers: A Love Story” (Grist).
  • There is a glimmer of good news for San Francisco renters. Thanks to Eviction Protections 2.0, a rewrite of the rent control law that passed in 2015, evictions have been on the decline in the past two years. “Tenants Find Stability Under Eviction Protections 2.0” (San Francisco Examiner).
  • And help may be on the way for future homebuyers. Local entrepreneurs are founding startups to snuff out the Bay Area housing crisis — by doing such things as building new housing or helping people buy or rent. “Meet the Startups Fighting Silicon Valley’s Soaring Housing Costs” (The Mercury News).

North Bay Fires — A Grim Toll

S.F. Teacher Pay Going, Going … Up!

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (aka A Sad Farewell)

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