News
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Amid Housing Crisis, S.F. Builds Fewer Units Last Year Than in 2016

04.16.2018
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By Julian Mark, Mission Local
As the mayoral race heats up, the city got some sobering news: Despite all the talk about the need for more housing, the city added fewer new units last year than it had in 2016. San Francisco added 4,441 housing units in 2017 — a 12 percent decrease, compared to net additions in 2016. Last year’s additions, however, are well above the 10-year average of 2,745 units built each year. Read the complete story at Mission Local.

News
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As Winter Shelters Close, Hundreds Are Sent Back Out to the Street

04.12.2018
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By Liza Veale, KALW/Crosscurrents
When winter comes, Bay Area cities open temporary shelters to keep unhoused residents warm and dry. But, as winter comes to an end, these shelters close down. In Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco about 500 homeless people will be back on the streets. Dorothy Day, in Berkeley is one of these shelters. It’s set to close for the year this Sunday, April 15.

News
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Could Proposition 13 Reform Help Ease the State’s Housing Crisis?

04.11.2018
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By Liza Veale, KALW/Crosscurrents
If you’ve heard of Proposition 13, you probably know that it cut property taxes in 1978, which reduced funding for public schools and other services. It also has a lot to do with the state’s shortage of housing and, many argue, the fact that rents are so darn high. Repeal efforts have failed for years, but the affordability crisis may mean that the time for change has finally arrived. Yet the new proposed ballot initiative is a compromise of sorts. Read the complete story at KALW/Crosscurrents.

News
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Backers of California Privacy Ballot Measure Hand-Deliver Letter to Facebook

04.10.2018
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By Marisa Lagos, The California Report
Mary Stone Ross left her Oakland home Monday morning and drove to Menlo Park in search of Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. After 10 minutes of driving around the tech giant’s campus, Ross found a place to park near Building 20. She marched inside and asked if she could hand-deliver a letter to Sandberg. About five minutes later, a man at the front desk apologized, saying Sandberg and her staff were in and out of meetings. He told her that for security reasons, they couldn’t accept the letter and to use snail mail instead.

News
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Assembly Candidates Get ‘Radical’ in Empathy Workshop

04.09.2018
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By Guy Marzorati, KQED News Fix
For nearly a year, candidates for the open 15th District state Assembly seat in the East Bay have been raising money, knocking on doors and participating in an endless series of debates and forums.
On Saturday, they had to put their stump speeches aside and focus on two ideas that may seem out of place during campaign season: empathy and caring. The goal of the Radical Empathy Forum was to get candidates in one of the state’s most competitive legislative races to model active listening and to discuss how to build a more caring and empathic culture. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.

News
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Lawyer John Burris, Black Activists, Stump for Tasers — and Against Police Union’s Taser Measure

04.05.2018
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By Julian Mark, Mission Local
On Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, civil rights attorney John Burris, along with the organization Brothers Against Guns, announced their support for arming San Francisco cops with Tasers. But only if the weapons’ use policy is subject to strict civilian oversight. Read the complete story at Mission Local.

From the Newsroom

David Cohn Leads the Public Press Board

04.05.2018
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In January, the Public Press board of directors elected nationally recognized journalism innovator David Cohn as its chair. David replaces independent filmmaker Marc Smolowitz, who stepped down after having expertly guided the board through its incorporation in 2009. Both David and Marc helped start planning for the Public Press in 2007. David, who lives in Berkeley, has dedicated his career to journalism in unconventional ways. He founded Spot.Us and Circa, which pioneered crowdfunding and mobile journalism respectively.

News
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S.F. Supervisors Thumb Noses at SB827

04.04.2018
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By Michael Toren, Mission Local
Following dueling press conferences, protests and counterprotests, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday went on record about SB827, state Sen. Scott Wiener’s bill in the California Legislature that would reduce restrictions on height and density for residential developments near transit lines. They don’t like it. Read the complete story at Mission Local.

News
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California Campuses Confront a Growing Challenge: Homeless Students

04.03.2018
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By Felicia Mello, CALmatters
The dream was always the same, Arthur Chavez says. He was following a bumblebee through a forest, stumbling over puddles and branches. When he caught the bee, he would find himself onstage, wearing a suit, in front of an applauding crowd. After the third time, Chavez decided the dream was a sign. He quit his job at a Fullerton gas station and enrolled in community college, on his way to a bachelor’s degree.

Arts & Culture
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An Ethnic Media Beacon Goes Dark, but Its Creator Keeps Inspiring

04.03.2018
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When Sandy Close recruited a young African-American rapper to her news organization, Pacific News Service, his first assignment was to write about Cantopop, popular music that swept Hong Kong and overseas Chinese communities in the 1980s and ’90s.
She also asked a 16-year-old Afghan refugee to hang out with Salvadoran immigrants in San Francisco’s Dolores Park and write about why they joined gangs. » Read more