News
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Report: State Still Shortchanging Counties for Election Costs

03.30.2017
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By Guy Marzorati, KQED News Fix
California’s state government should pick up the tab for more local election costs, according to a report released Thursday by the state Legislative Analyst’s Office. California’s 58 counties currently shoulder the costs for federal and state elections, but don’t receive reliable payments to cover those costs. Towns, cities and school districts typically reimburse counties for carrying out their local elections. 
Read the complete story on KQED News Fix.

News
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Fighting Children’s Cavities in Chinatown: It Takes a Coalition

03.29.2017
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By Laura Klivans, KQED News Fix/State of Health
Sixteen years ago, city and school officials in San Francisco came together with dentists to figure out how to improve oral health in students. The program screens all San Francisco public school kindergartners for tooth decay. A new report shows it is working. Overall, children’s oral health in San Francisco is improving:The citywide cavity rate has dropped almost 10 percent since 2008. Among children of color, however, the improvements have been slower.

News
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Nature Provides Its Own Flood Control. Time to Use It?

03.28.2017
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By Lauren Sommer, KQED News Fix/KQED Science
After millions of dollars of flood damage and mass evacuations this year, California is grappling with how to update its aging flood infrastructure. That has some calling for a new approach to flood control – one that mimics nature instead of trying to contain it. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix/KQED Science.

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Developments in Development: Affordable for Whom?

03.27.2017
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By Laura Wenus, Mission Local
Every time the words “affordable housing” are used in local media, commenters appear and argue about the phrase. Either they are frustrated that, in a region where someone thinks it’s OK to charge people $800 a night to sleep on the floor, nothing is really “affordable.” Or they are angry that we use the term in reference to city-administered, below-market-rate units with costs subsidized by taxpayer and bond money. (In some cases, as I was reminded this week, very heavily.) Both angles on this usually result in the question: “Affordable to whom?”
Not to teachers, that’s for sure. Read the complete story at Mission Local.

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Planners Say Flooding Fears Do Not Hold Water, Approve Affordable Housing

03.23.2017
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By Laura Wenus, Mission Local
In a rare specimen of lightning-speed bureaucracy, the Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously reapproved an entirely below-market-rate building planned for 17th and Folsom streets, dismissing a neighbor’s concerns over flooding in the area. “There couldn’t be any more win-win situation for all,” said Commissioner Kathrin Moore. Read the complete story at Mission Local. 

Homelessness
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How Pacific Northwest Cities Have Made Space for Homeless Encampments

03.23.2017
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San Francisco officials have been skeptical of sanctioning homeless encampments as transitional housing, but local activists note that the model has a long track record in the Pacific Northwest.
Wherever they appear, city-approved camps are never without critics or potential problems — violence, crime, addiction and cleanliness. » Read more

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California Officials: State Will Lose $24 Billion by Decade’s End Under GOP Health Plan

03.22.2017
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By Anna Gorman, KQED News Fix/State of Health
California would lose $24.3 billion in federal funding by 2027 for low-income health coverage under the current Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, according to a new state analysis released Wednesday. The bill, up for a vote in the House on Thursday, represents a “massive and significant fiscal shift” from the federal to state governments by setting caps on spending, reducing the amount of money available for new enrollees and eliminating other funding for hospitals and Planned Parenthood, the analysis said. The analysis, based on internal cost, utilization and enrollment data, was sent Tuesday to the state’s secretary of Health and Human Services. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix/State of Health.

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New Coastal Commission Director Says Trump Threatens California Coast

03.21.2017
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By Patricia Flynn, KQED News Fix/KQED Science
The new executive director of the California Coastal Commission, Jack Ainsworth, says his appointment demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to coastal protection and that his recommendations to Commissioners will be based on science and facts. Ainsworth took the helm as executive director in February, after a tumultuous year in which environmental advocates accused the Commission of firing the previous director to please developers. KQED’s Brian Watt talked with Ainsworth recently about his priorities, and how he plans to handle threats from the Trump administration to undo environmental protections. Here’s a transcript of that conversation, edited for brevity. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix/KQED Science.

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‘Deep Cleaning’: Public Works Dept. Says It Picked Up 55,000 Pounds of Trash, 4,000 Needles From Encampments

03.20.2017
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By Laura Waxmann, Mission Local
In response to increasing tensions between San Francisco’s housed and unhoused neighbors and an ever-growing stack of complaints about homeless encampments, the city’s Department of Public Works last week decided to take matters into its own hands by “deep cleaning” and essentially removing a number of them in the Mission and in South of Market. Nuisance and public safety complaints made attending to the encampments a high priority. Rachel Gordon, spokesperson for the San Francisco Department of Public Works who was clearly frustrated with the number of calls the department is getting, said cleaning crews picked up some “55,000 pounds of trash and close to 4,000 needles” over the course of a week in mid-March. 
Read the complete story at Mission Local.