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Nonprofits Struggle With Influx of Immigrant Youth

07.15.2014
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By Leslie Nguyen-Okwu, Mission Local
The Bay Area, and the Mission in particular, has long been a refuge for immigrants fleeing their country of origin for refuge. However, with a surging number of predominantly young migrants escaping intensified violence in Central America, the Mission District’s leading immigrant advocacy organizations are assisting underage migrants in need like they never have before. Every week, unaccompanied children arrive in their lobbies seeking help for everything from imminent deportation to reuniting with loved ones in the Bay Area. The Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) estimates that 200 to 250 unaccompanied minors are arriving in the Bay Area each month. These organizations are struggling to keep up with the demand.

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Photo Essay: Life Inside San Francisco’s Single Room Occupancy Hotels

07.14.2014
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By KQED News Staff/KQED News Fix
We’ve been covering the housing crisis for a while now, so we’re quite taken with this photo essay looking at a little-explored component of San Francisco’s housing stock. “Life Inside S.F.’s Vanishing Single Resident Occupancies,” by James Hosking and Jeremy Lybarger, was published Friday in The Bold Italic. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.

City Hall
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‘Laura’s Law’ No Quick Fix for Strained San Francisco Mental Health System

07.11.2014
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The challenge of preserving civil rights while providing mental health care dominated debate about “Laura’s Law,” a controversial measure adopted this week that gives family members and law enforcement a legal means to compel treatment.
Proponents say the law will help families frustrated by their loved ones’ refusal to seek treatment, but service providers and activists say it is not a panacea for San Francisco’s overstretched mental health system. » Read more

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Lost Weekend Video and Hard Transitions for Mission District Businesses

07.10.2014
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 By Rigoberto Hernandez, Mission Local
It is become a common San Francisco cry: If you want your beloved business to stay in the city, you need to support it. Several Mission businesses have tried new ways to rally their customers and pivot their operations, but in a changing retail environment, it is tough going. Viracocha hosted a fundraiser to help the vintage store transform into a properly licensed event space. Before being pushed out of its original location on 16th Street, Adobe Books successfully rallied its fans and raised more than $61,000 via Indiegogo to re-imagine itself as an arts cooperative. Now, Lost Weekend Video is the latest neighborhood institution to ask its customers if they still want them around.

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State Officials Consider Mandatory Limits on Outdoor Watering

07.09.2014
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By Dan Brekke, KQED Science/News Fix
California water officials, confronting the possibility that the state’s drought will continue into a fourth year, are proposing a strict set of new regulations that would bar residential water users from hosing down sidewalks and overwatering their lawns. Violation of the new rules could carry penalties of $500 per violation. The regulations were unveiled Wednesday in Sacramento by Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board. She said the severity of the current drought, now in its third year, makes it imperative to crack down on wasteful water use. Read the complete story at KQED Science/News Fix. 

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Double Charged: True Co$t of Juvenile Justice

07.08.2014
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By Myles Bess, KALW Crosscurrents
Standing in the hallway outside a hearing room at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, you see benches filled with teenagers and their families–waiting to appear in court–many dressed up in button-down shirts and ties, looking their Sunday best. A lot of moms, too, and little brothers and sisters who would clearly rather be elsewhere. Many teens are here for trials and probation hearings, but on any given day, others are trying to negotiate fines and fees. The bill starts adding up before the courtroom—when you are arrested. Even if you are innocent, in Alameda County, the investigation alone will cost you 250 bucks.

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Online Site for S.F. Families Turns 10 and Gets New Look

07.07.2014
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By Leslie Nguyen-Okwu, Mission Local
SFKids.org, San Francisco’s primary online resource for parents, turned 10 this year, and to celebrate, it is getting a new look. The San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families released a revamped version of the site today. With the changes, the agency aims to enhance engagement with a broader swath of San Francisco’s families.The site hopes to reach more underserved communities with its sleek design and new user-friendly features, such as an added map view for the event calendar listings and targeted sections for parents and teens, and for child care providers. Read the complete story at Mission Local.

News
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Advocates Urge Repeal of ‘Maximum Family Grant’

07.03.2014
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 By Lisa Aliferis, KQED State of Health/The California Report
If you looked at that headline and thought, “What is the maximum family grant?” you are probably not alone. Twenty years ago this week, in the midst of the Clinton-era welfare reforms, California became one of 16 states to pass a limit on assistance to new children born into families that had been receiving benefits through CalWORKS, the state’s welfare program, in the 10 months before the child was born. The idea was to prevent people receiving aid from having more children. That law is still on the books and today, according to a brief from the Western Center on Law and Poverty, 13.4 percent of children in CalWORKs households — that is 143,300 children — are “currently impacted by the (maximum family grant) rule.”
Read the complete story at KQED State of Health/The California Report

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Campos and Chiu Go on the Offensive in Tight Assembly Race

07.02.2014
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By Rigoberto Hernandez, Mission Local
Which David is going to Sacramento? That is a question Supervisor David Campos likes to ask when stumping against Supervisor David Chiu, his opponent for the 17th state Assembly District seat. It is also a question that many voters are going to have a hard time answering in November in one of the most competitive races for Assembly in recent San Francisco memory. Though Chiu got more votes in the June primary, there is no clear front-runner in the race to replace outgoing Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, who has endorsed Campos. Chiu won 48 percent of the vote in June, but Campos was not far behind, with 44 percent.