News
check1.jpg

Victory for Pigeon Palace Tenants in Court Auction

06.17.2015
|
By

By Laura Wenus, Mission Local
Residents of the so-called Pigeon Palace, who have been resisting its sale for fear of a massive rent increase or eviction and out of respect for what they say are the wishes of its owner, scored a huge victory this week when the Community Land Trust won the $3.28 million auction for the property in probate court. Judge Peter Busch, presiding over the proceeding on the multi-unit, three-story building at 2840-2848 Folsom St., called the case “probably the most spirited I have seen.” 
Read the complete story at Mission Local. 

News
5077531036_06814d4d8d_z.jpg

Undocumented Children to Get Health Coverage Under New State Budget

06.16.2015
|
By

By Viji Sundaram, New America Media
Calling it one of the “best” budgets the state has ever had, California Gov. Jerry Brown said the $167.6 billion  budget the Legislature passed Tuesday would pump more money into child care and education, pay down the state’s debt by $1.9 billion and provide health care for its undocumented children. “This is just one step and we need to do more,” Brown said during a press conference, referring to the $40 million budgetary allocation for providing health insurance to all California children regardless of their immigration status, through Medi-Cal – California’s name for Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people. Read the complete story at New America Media. 
 

News
oralhealth.jpg

S.F. Income Disparity Displayed in Smile of Bad Teeth

06.15.2015
|
By

By Laura Wenus, Mission Local
Tooth decay paints a bleak picture of the Mission’s growing inequality. Even as incomes rise, the kindergartners at Mission Education Center claim the dubious distinction of having the worst teeth in the city – some 75 percent have had tooth decay, according to Department of Public Health statistics. In the 94110 zip code, between 15 and 19 percent of white kindergarteners had experienced tooth decay, compared with 35 to 39 percent of Hispanic children. Read the complete story at Mission Local. 
 

Education
boe_01.jpg

School Board Stalls on Effort to Address Racial Isolation

06.12.2015
|
By

All the members of San Francisco’s Board of Education agree that the city’s public schools should be more racially, ethnically and economically diverse, but they have not been able to settle on the first steps to take.
The Public Press reported in January that already pervasive segregation has increased in San Francisco public schools in the five years since the newest school assignment policy was implemented in 2010. » Read more

News
img_0192-e1433807639761.jpg

Property Owners Want S.F. to Maintain Trees

06.11.2015
|
By

By Joe Rivano Barros, Mission Local
San Francisco has no money for trees, according to the Department of Public Works. Property owners want that remedied and so does the department, but until that happens, Public Works will continue to transfer 24,000 city trees to make property owners liable for their care and any ensuing accidents. In its third year, the Tree Maintenance Transfer Plan, which transfers responsibility for street trees from the city to fronting property owners, is now drawing the ire of a group of 35 Mission residents calling themselves the Friends of Folsom Street Trees. Read the complete story at Mission Local. 
 

News
rs7744_mission_district_0138_web.jpg

S.F. Officials Want to Help Save City’s ‘Legacy Businesses’

06.10.2015
|
By

By Bryan Goebel, KQED News Fix
San Francisco city officials plan to put a measure on the November ballot asking voters to back a preservation fund supporting longtime small businesses and nonprofits facing rising commercial rents and gentrification. “They have a very important part in the character of these neighborhoods, and unless the city makes an investment in helping them, they’re going to fail,” says Supervisor David Campos, who is sponsoring the legislation along with supervisors John Avalos, Jane Kim and Eric Mar. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix. 

News
img_3443-copy.jpg

S.F. Supervisors Postpone Action on Airbnb Law

06.09.2015
|
By

By Guy Marzorati, KQED News Fix
A majority of San Francisco supervisors voted to postpone action on two competing measures aimed at strengthening short-term rental regulation in the city — but an unhappy minority forced some debate before the continuance passed. “A vote for a continuance is a vote for Airbnb,” Supervisor John Avalos said about an hour into the debate, as it became increasingly clear that most supervisors supported moving the issue to the Board’s July 15 meeting. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix. 
 

News
4744807024_91bceff05a_z.jpg

S.F. Supervisors Taking Steps to Regulate Soda

06.04.2015
|
By

By Lisa Aliferis, KQED News Fix
You may remember that San Francisco voters rejected a soda tax last fall. The tax failed to get the two-thirds majority vote it needed but did get a solid majority — 56 percent. Three San Francisco supervisors are taking that voter sentiment and moving ahead with proposed ordinances that — while short of a tax — would still regulate soda and other sugary beverages in other ways. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix. 
 

News
brown.jpg

California Budget Fight: Predictions More Than Programs

06.03.2015
|
By

By John Myers, KQED News Fix/Faultlines
In the post-recession era of California budgets, there is a wide consensus that the state needs to “live within its means,” a jab at the spending that paved the way for almost a decade of deficits. But it is also a talking point that seems almost obsolete, given how the spending saga is now overshadowed by who gets to define the “means.”
It is a change in the budget debate that, so far, seems to have further strengthened the hand of the governor. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix/Faultlines.