San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2020/01/)
A San Francisco department head was arrested and charged by the FBI this week. Mohammed Nuru, now on administrative leave from his position as director of the Department of Public Works, is facing up to 25 years in prison on corruption charges and other charges relating to failing to keep the investigation secret. » Read more
Cover story: Ride-Hailing’s Dark Data. A months-long investigation by the San Francisco Public Press revealed that the California Public Utilities Commission — the agency charged with regulating the state’s ride-hailing firms — has kept reports on thousands of accidents involving Uber and Lyft under wraps. » Read more
The California Public Utilities Commission says it expects to decide by the end of March whether to revise or throw out an obscure footnote that it has used to justify keeping data about thousands of ride-hailing accidents across the state under wraps. » Read more
As the San Francisco Public Press reported in early January, ride-hailing safety data is kept secret by the government agency that collects it, the California Public Utilities Commission. In response to the story, the San francisco Taxi Workers Alliance has joined several legislators in calling for the commission to allow at least some public access to this information. » Read more
In the United States, you have the right to an attorney to defend you if a criminal charge is brought against you. In some other countries, you also have that right in civil cases. Not so in the U.S., which means low-income people facing an eviction or trying to take an abuser to court may need a lawyer but be unable to afford one. » Read more
The upcoming March 3 vote will be a primary election, the first since 2018 when a new law moved California primaries from June to March. But how San Francisco and California voters should go about casting ballots in the party primary of their choice has been the subject of much discussion and some hand-wringing. » Read more
When foster youth age out of the foster care system, they can find themselves in difficult financial situations: They often have very low incomes, don’t have credit, and don’t have a rental history — which can make it devastatingly difficult to find housing and thrive in the extremely high cost of living bay area. » Read more
It might be tempting to assume that homelessness is on the rise or beginning to wane based on the number of tents on the street in San Francisco. But as a recent report in the San Francisco Public Press shows, it’s much more complicated. » Read more
Governor Gavin Newsom has asked legislators for $1.4 billion to allocate for housing and health care for the state’s homeless, and has signed an executive order to create a $750 million fund for service providers to use to help people pay rent or help cities fund affordable housing. » Read more
Seth Rosenfeld, the reporter who broke the story that ride-hailing safety data has been kept hidden from the public with the help of the industry’s chief regulator, offers an update. Since the story appeared, legislators have been calling for changes that would allow at least some access to the data. » Read more