San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2019/10/page/2/)
This ballot measure would change the name of an established city department, the Department of Aging and Adult Services, to signal to people with disabilities that this department also exists to serve them. The new name: the Department of Disability and Aging Services. » Read more
This is a proposal for the city to issue $600 million in bonds to build and preserve affordable housing, which is rented or sold at prices below the market rate.
“Affordable” in this case means that the housing is managed by a city program or nonprofit that cannot charge more in rent or mortgage than what’s affordable to certain income levels. » Read more
Other Local Races
The races for several elected offices have either only one contender — like Paul Miyamoto, who is running unopposed for sheriff, or José Cisneros, the only candidate for treasurer — or only one well-financed contender who is widely expected to win. Mayor London Breed is running for re-election against five challengers, none of whom have experience holding political office or attracted significant financial backing. “Civic” talked with San Francisco State University associate professor of political science Jason McDaniel about these races, their significance, and why so many candidates are running without formidable opposition.
How Voting Works in SF
The Public Press hosted a forum with all four candidates running for the post of district attorney, the county’s chief prosecutor. This is an unedited recording of the event.
State officials and scientists unveil a statewide early warning system for earthquakes, complete with a mobile app: MyShake. The system could give residents precious moments to prepare in the event of a quake. Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested the system could offer as much as 20 seconds to find a place to hunker down before the shaking starts, slow down trains, or open elevator doors. » Read more
Find out how you can prepare for a major earthquake, which the U.S. Geological Survey says is inevitable. Capt. Erica Arteseros discusses the San Francisco Fire Department’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT), a disaster-readiness program where participants can learn how to respond to a crisis. » Read more
Public Press Executive Director Michael Stoll talks with journalist Kevin Stark about Stark’s reporting that showed how local governments were slow in responding to the predicted effects of sea level rise on the Bay Area waterfront. “So I think the scientists were hesitant to get out and say you shouldn’t be building, but what they were saying is that you should be planning for the future in a way that recognizes that the water is going to rise, and you need to either learn to live with it, or you’re going to regret it.” — Journalist Kevin Stark
San Francisco Public Press Publisher Lila LaHood talks with board chair David Cohn about the ideas — like going ad free and printing a physical newspaper — that would shape how the Public Press operates. “People who know the Public Press trust it in a very deep way, which, you know, you have to earn that trust.” — David Cohn, Public Press board chair
San Francisco Public Press Executive Director Michael Stoll talks with Jennifer Waits, who hosts the radio show “Radio Survivor,” about why and how the Public Press launched a low-power FM radio station.
“We always thought of ourselves as a newspaper based on a public broadcasting model, and now we’re a public broadcaster based on a newspaper based on public broadcasting. We really feel at home in the spirit of it, but the technical and logistical challenges to get a whole radio station set up were enthralling.” — San Francisco Public Press Executive Director Michael Stoll
San Francisco Public Press Executive Director Michael Stoll and Publisher Lila LaHood look back on a decade of working in a nonprofit news operation they founded — including the hurdles they had to overcome to establish nonprofit status for the Public Press — and look to the future. “We are hewing much closer to the ideal of public media, which is to be a public trust, first and foremost, and not try to commoditize the news. You can do different kinds of journalism … if you start out from a place of public service.” — Michael Stoll, San Francisco Public Press executive director