News
dsc_5117-620x414.jpg

High Rents Keep S.F. Homeless on the Street, Various Ties Keep Them Here

06.30.2016
|
By

By Laura Wenus, Mission Local
Many people living on the streets know that the only exit from homelessness is finding a home. But in a city with exorbitant rents, that becomes trickier than simply getting a job and submitting an application. Some already work, and others are on a fixed income. And leaving altogether often isn’t a viable alternative. Catherine Mary Kelliher is living under the overpass in an area known as “the Hairball” with some 10 other of the city’s estimated 6,500 to 10,000 homeless.

News
dsc_4659-620x414.jpg

Property of San Francisco Homeless Routinely Disappeared by City

06.29.2016
|
By

By Laura Waxmann, Mission Local
Despite a large number of well-publicized sweeps and routine cleanups of homeless encampments throughout the city, records on file with the Department of Public Works show that city cleaning crews only picked up and preserved the personal belongings of 23 homeless people over a six-month period. Since February, two major homeless settlements underneath the Division Street and the Cesar Chavez Street freeway underpasses have been ordered dismantled by the city. The sweeps placed some 100 homeless people in shelters, while ushering dozens of others to other areas. Read the complete story at Mission Local. 
 

News
goodwill_bins.jpg

Homeless Lose Economic Opportunity as Goodwill Flagship Store Closes

06.29.2016
|
By

CLARIFICATION (7/5/2016): The Goodwill Flagship store was comprised of two retail stores (the main storefront and the As-Is outlet), corporate offices and classrooms for job training services. The As-Is store closed on June 30. The rest of the flagship’s operations are in the process of closing, likely by the end of this year, according to the redevelopment timeline. » Read more

News
dna_mouse_cover_notext.jpg

Re-Coding for Conservation

06.28.2016
|
By

By Alison Hawkes, Bay Nature
Every year, as summer turns to fall, the mouse population on the South Farallon Islands explodes to plague-like densities, numbering 490 mice per acre, among the highest found on any island in the world. The scientists who live and work there describe the assault of the invasive house mouse as a kind of purgatory in the otherwise stunning, windswept smattering of rocky islets and sea stacks 30 miles outside the Golden Gate. “At night they would be everywhere,” says Peter Pyle, a wildlife biologist who spent more than 20 fall seasons living at the research station on Southeast Farallon Island. “I had them crawling on top of me at night and in my hair. I tried to mouse-proof the house but we’d catch 50 mice in the night.”
Read the complete story at Bay Nature.

News
diablo-plant-1920x993.jpg

Why Plans to Replace Diablo Canyon With 100 Percent Clean Energy Could Fall Short

06.27.2016
|
By

By Lauren Sommer, KQED News Fix/KQED Science
When Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced plans to close California’s last remaining nuclear plant last week, it also announced a historic plan to replace it with clean energy, like solar or wind, and energy efficiency gains. That way, the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which doesn’t put out carbon emissions, won’t be replaced with something that does, like natural gas, the utility said. Read the complete story by KQED News Fix/KQED Science.

News
cyclistkilled-e1466699050669.jpg

S.F. Bike Advocates Blast Mayor for ‘Hollow Words’ After 2 Cyclists Die in Collisions

06.23.2016
|
By

By Dan Brekke and Ryan Levi, KQED News Fix
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee expressed anger about “illegal, irresponsible, outrageous” motorist behavior that resulted in the hit-and-run deaths of two cyclists on city streets Wednesday evening — a statement bicycle safety advocates criticized as “hollow words” that aren’t being backed up with effective action. The two women killed Wednesday — listed unofficially as the 14th and 15th cyclists to be struck and killed on San Francisco streets since 2011 — died in collisions in Golden Gate Park and South of Market. In the second case, passers-by reportedly detained the driver believed to be involved in the crash. 
Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.

News
c_gonzalez_prop47_500x279.jpg

Many Eligible for Prop. 47 Relief Still Need to Apply

06.22.2016
|
By

By Viji Sundaram, New America Media
California’s Prop. 47 allows many individuals to change certain felonies into misdemeanors on their criminal records — but less than a quarter of those eligible have submitted their requests, and the window of opportunity could expire next year. Eighteen months into Prop. 47’s enactment, the state has received some 211,000 petitions seeking resentencing or a record change. The ballot measure, which passed in November 2014 despite heavy opposition from law enforcement associations, gives a three-year window for the estimated 1 million eligible individuals to file for relief.

Bay Area
160622_jeff.jpg

How Media Coverage on Homelessness Falls Short (And What Reporters Can Do About It)

06.22.2016
|
By

In many newsrooms, “the homeless” is a well-worn catchphrase for the often-anonymous people on the street or in shelters.
But many professionals who work with these populations on a daily basis find the term offensive and misleading.
“People shouldn’t be defined by their housing status,” said Jeff Kositsky, director of the city’s newDepartment of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. » Read more