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The People Behind the Press: The Digital Strategist

12.31.2013
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We want you to know what you’re getting for your membership donation by introducing you to some of the talented freelance writers, editors, photographers and multimedia journalists who make our newspaper possible. Join or renew your membership now to make sure that our journalists can continue to bring you more serious public-interest reporting in 2014.  
The Digital Strategist: David Cohn
 
A longtime adviser to the Public Press, David has been a source of tireless enthusiasm, inspiration and new ideas.  
A member of the Public Press board of directors, David was an original member of the founding steering committee and has long advised our organization on everything from technology, marketing and outreach to crowdfunding and social media. “I’ve been sold on the vision and mission and want to help however I can,” he says.  
David is known across the country as an energetic, savvy expert in novel and engaging ways to cover communities.

News

The People Behind the Press: The Photographer’s Eye

12.26.2013
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We want you to know what you’re getting for your membership donation by introducing you to some of the talented freelance writers, editors, photographers and multimedia journalists who make our newspaper possible. Join or renew your membership now to make sure that our journalists can continue to bring you more serious public-interest reporting in 2014. The Photographer’s Eye: Tearsa Joy Hammock
Tearsa Joy Hammock brings versatility and verve to her work as a visual storyteller and multimedia journalist. “I may have an idea but I also stay open to trying new ideas for the shot,” Tearsa says. “I try to talk to the source while I’m shooting. I try to make the person feel like it’s more of a conversation, not an interrogation.”

News

The People Behind the Press: You

12.24.2013
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Dear readers,
It’s that time of year again. So, on behalf of all the nonprofits contacting you this week, thank you for reading our appeals and supporting our efforts. I am asking you to make a year-end donation to the San Francisco Public Press because I know you care about public-interest news. You care about in-depth analysis of local public policy. You care about independent, watchdog reporting that holds government and other powerful interests accountable.

News
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Combating Sexual Harassment in World of Tech

12.23.2013
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By Alexandra Garretón, Mission Local
Even anarchists need rules — that’s at least what the 6-year-old anarchist hackerspace Noisebridge, in the Mission, discovered this year after fielding complaints from women like Hannah Grimm. Grimm’s experience at the space over the last year, documented in a September Google Plus post, included being called the “c-word,” having her ass spanked and being told she was going to be made a bride. “It has become abundantly clear to most women in the space that ‘Be Excellent’ has failed us,” Grimm wrote in the post, in reference to Noisebridge’s guiding motto. The coed members of Noisebridge, a collective workspace, agreed. In late September, it became one of more than 100 hackerspaces, tech conferences and meetups since 2010 to impose an anti-harassment policy from the Ada Initiative, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that supports women in tech.

City Hall
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Counting Costs for S.F. Workforce Development Programs

12.20.2013
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City programs offering workforce development services range from simple access to a job-listings database to a full-time, 18-week certification course that funnels graduates into union apprenticeships.
They vary widely in cost, with some intensive programs costing tens of thousands of dollars for each participant placed in a job. » Read more

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Give the gift of membership

12.20.2013
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It’s a great time of year to invite a friend to join the Public Press family with a gift membership. Basic membership starts at $35 a year and includes free admission to member events, plus home delivery of the next four editions of the newspaper. Plus, if you join, renew, buy a gift membership or make a donation at the $100 level by Dec. 31, we’ll send you a copy of “The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use ’Plain English’ to Rob You Blind” by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, author and Public Press supporter David Cay Johnston.  
 
 
 
Purchase your gift membership by Dec.

City Hall
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S.F. Board Watch: Supervisors Take Aim at Bottled Water

12.19.2013
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Bottled water is the latest bottled beverage in the line of fire after Supervisor David Chiu proposed controlling its sale in San Francisco. The proposal comes soon after another proposal, to tax soda, which will likely appear on the ballot next November. » Read more

News

The People Behind the Press: The Analyst

12.18.2013
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We want you to know what you’re getting for your donation by introducing you to some of the talented freelance writers, editors, photographers and multimedia journalists who make our newspaper possible. Join or renew your membership now to make sure that our journalists can continue to bring you more serious public-interest reporting in 2014. The Analyst: Jeremy Adam Smith
Jeremy Adam Smith conducts his reporting with patience, persistence and an open mind, and uncovers nuanced stories that other journalists overlook. As a freelance reporter for the Public Press, Jeremy crafts stories that explain complex situations and resonate with readers. He is the lead reporter on our upcoming project on education inequality in San Francisco public schools.

News
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New Fight About Chain Stores May Erupt on Valencia Street

12.17.2013
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By Rigoberto Hernandez, Mission Local
The next battle over chain stores on the increasingly gentrified Valencia Street has likely arrived. Aesop, an upscale Australian perfume retailer, and San Francisco messenger bag company, Chrome Industries, confirmed to Mission Local that they plan to move into a vacant Valencia Street storefront early next year. If recent history is any indication, it’s the Aussie company that’s in for a San Francisco treat — and it sure isn’t Rice-A-Roni — in opening what would be its 12th U.S. store, putting it squarely within the definition of chain stores in the San Francisco planning code. Merchants on Valencia have now famously stopped two formula retail projects from moving in over the years — Jack Spade and American Apparel. Zoning restrictions in the Mission require chain stores — defined by the city as any company that has 11 or more brick-and-mortar locations in the United States — to get a special permit.

City Hall
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City Construction Course Offers Job Placements, but Excludes Many Who Could Use a Hand Up

12.17.2013
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Rigorous screening limits candidates, who are groomed for union apprenticeships
The good news: San Francisco offers a free 18-week training course through City College that takes low-skill, out-of-work city residents and sets them on the path to construction trade careers.
The not-so-good news: While the instructors try hard to be inclusive, some city residents who need the program do not satisfy the minimum qualifications, including a high school equivalency degree. » Read more