San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2021/05/)
California is back in a drought, and in many parts of the state the drought is extreme. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, urban water use today is about 16% less than it was at the beginning of the state’s last drought because of continuing conservation. » Read more
According to a ranking from the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, all San Francisco residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, but residents of neighborhoods where most people identify as people of color have access to 56% less park space per capita than residents in neighborhoods that are predominantly white. » Read more
Just four San Francisco households had received state money to pay off their rent debts as of Wednesday, with 34 others approved but awaiting payment, according to state figures.
California’s rent-assistance program opened two months ago, and its eviction moratorium is set to lift in barely five weeks on June 30, allowing landlords to eject people for outstanding rent debts. » Read more
While California is set to fully reopen on June 15, it may take more than the lifting of restrictions for the state to recover from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The unemployment rate appears to be holding steady. Businesses are opening positions, but residents are also dropping out of the workforce entirely. » Read more
Every city is special in some way to the people who call it home, but as author Gary Kamiya writes, San Francisco is a more potent touchstone than most thanks to the unique place it occupies in the American imagination. For a new anthology, Kamiya edited essays from writers considering the city at a time of dramatic change and when many have threatened to leave. » Read more
The Board of Trustees for City College of San Francisco on May 10 voted on a plan to reduce teacher pay instead of laying them off, a plan that members of the teachers union had also voted on and approved. But this is only a short-term fix to one of the college’s recurring financial problems, said Alan Wong, a member of the Board of Trustees and a legislative aide to Supervisor Gordon Mar. » Read more
Aging is often obscured from movies, or portrayed in ways that perpetuate stereotypes about what aging is. The films at the Legacy Film Festival on Aging counter that by exploring more fully what it means to get older. The festival will showcase films about themes often associated with aging, like memory, disability and caring, but also includes stories about how people have shown and still show courage in the face of hate or how they have advanced civil rights. » Read more
Janitors have been taking to the streets in San Francisco for weeks to advocate for better working conditions during the pandemic, even going on a three-day strike in mid-March. According to LaborNotes, around 3,000 Bay Area janitors were laid off last year and unions have been calling for them to be hired back, while also demanding improvements including better ventilation in buildings, better protective gear for workers and a wage increase. » Read more
The company that owns and manages the Plaza East public housing complex in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood says it does not currently have a plan to tear down the property.
The shift in the firm’s message comes after the U.S. » Read more
Before coronavirus cases were confirmed in San Francisco, paramedic Alfredo Banuelos and his colleagues were watching case numbers in other cities, still at a distance. Then he got his first patient. When the virus arrived in San Francisco and the city locked down and everything changed, procedures on the ambulance changed too. He reflects on how the pandemic unfolded for emergency medical responders. “I remember having our morning roundups, and having our supervisors say, ‘OK, we’re still fine you guys.’ But then you get closer: OK, now it’s in the state of Washington.