News
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Thanksgiving Meals for Those Seeking Food, Fellowship

11.27.2013
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By KQED News Staff and Wires, KQED News Fix
Many people in the Bay Area are struggling to make ends meet this holiday season. For those looking to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at no cost — and perhaps good company as well — a number of places will be serving turkey with all the trimmings, or vegan/vegetarian feasts. All events are on Thursday. EAST BAY:
Salute e Vita, 1900 Esplanade Dr., Richmond, has been offering needy families and homeless residents in Contra Costa County a free turkey meal and pumpkin pie for the past three years. Guests are seated at tables with white tablecloths and served by the wait staff and volunteers, which have included Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Richmond police Chief Chris Magnus.

News
The Fine Print

THANK YOU from the San Francisco Public Press

11.27.2013
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From all of us at the Public Press, thank you for your encouragement and engagement. Every time we hear from one of our readers, it reminds us that our watchdog reporting efforts are appreciated. We are especially grateful for all the financial support we’ve received from you this year. Member contributions are a cornerstone of our funding model and essential to sustaining our newsroom operations. Thank you for supporting in-depth, public-interest journalism in San Francisco.

Housing
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Board of Supervisors Cripples Transit Agency Plan for More Parking Meters

11.27.2013
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Drivers will soon be able to use their credit cards to pay for parking at all 25,000 meters throughout the San Francisco, but efforts to greatly expand metered parking are on hold.
The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a $51.2 million contract to replace the city’s aging coin-operated meters with machines that accept credit cards. » Read more

News
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As Need Increases at Bay Area Food Banks, Donations Are Dropping

11.26.2013
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By Mina Kim and Erika Maldonado, KQED News Fix
Bay Area food banks are falling short on Thanksgiving this year. Though we’re climbing out of the economic downturn, more Bay Area residents are struggling to put holiday meals on the table, according to the leaders of several food banks throughout the region. “It’s a reality many people in the community just don’t see,” says Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Kathy Jackson. Jackson says that lack of awareness partially accounts for low donations this year. The San Francisco and Marin county food banks are 200 turkeys shy of their goal as of Tuesday, says Media Manager Blaine Johnson.

News
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Anti-Eviction Group Strives to Put Housing on S.F. Ballot

11.25.2013
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By Lynne Shallcross, Mission Local
Sergio Lainez is fighting to keep his family of five in the only home they’ve known for the past 22 years on Bryant and 24th streets. “I don’t have peace at all,” said Lainez, 41, who, with the help of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, has been in a five-year legal battle with his landlord. “They just want me out.”
Lainez joined a group of about 50 other Mission and Excelsior residents Saturday at Everett Middle School for a tenant convention organized by Just Cause (also known as Causa Justa.) The event was intended to be the first step in getting a measure to fight displacement on next fall’s citywide ballot. Read the complete story at Mission Local. 

News
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Californians With Canceled Policies Cannot Renew, Says Covered California Board

11.21.2013
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By Lisa Aliferis, KQED/California Report/State of Health
After long discussion, the board of Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, voted unanimously to stay the course and phase out plans that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act by December 31. The board’s decision comes a week after President Obama said states should consider allowing consumers whose plans were canceled to renew them through 2014. Dave Jones, California’s insurance commissioner, said he agreed with the president’s request. But ultimately, the authority to permit renewals rested with board – because insurers have contracts with Covered California. The board weighed whether to release carriers from the provision requiring them to phase out plans.

News
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Why California’s Sudden Surplus May Not Last

11.20.2013
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By Scott Detrow, KQED News Fix
Sacramento is flush with cash. That’s no typo – for the first time since the end of the dot-com boom, the Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting multibillion dollar cash surpluses over the coming fiscal years. The Analyst’s Office report on California’s fiscal outlook serves as an unofficial start to next year’s budget cycle, which will kick off in early January when Gov. Jerry Brown unveils his proposed state budget. The office predicts Brown and lawmakers will have a lot of money to work with: a projected $2.4 billion surplus next year, and $3.2 billion more in extra revenue in 2015. Where did the extra money come from?

City Hall
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S.F. Board Watch: Supervisors Question High Cost of Jailhouse Calls

11.20.2013
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Prisoners at San Francisco’s county jails may not have to pay so much to call their loved ones after members of the Board of Supervisors balked at renewing a contract to extend pricey phone service Tuesday.
The contract with Global*TelLink, expected to generate more than $3 million in revenue over its 4-year term, has provided phones for inmates at the jail since 2010. » Read more

News
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If Ride-Service Driver Gets in an Accident, Who Pays?

11.19.2013
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By Jon Brooks, KQED News Fix
Veteran San Francisco cab driver Ed Healey said he would never ever drive for Lyft, Sidecar or any of the other smartphone-driven ride-service  companies operating in the city. It doesn’t matter that many of those driving for what state regulators call “transportation network companies” (or TNCs) say they’re making better money than old-school taxi drivers. It doesn’t matter that many cab drivers have moved over to the TNCs. Healey said his decision comes down to one issue. “I wouldn’t ever drive in one because of the insurance,” Healey said.

News
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Taking the Long View on BART Plazas and Homelessness

11.18.2013
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By Lynne Shallcross, Mission Local
Fifteen homeless men and women who were part of an encampment on Division Street got city-supported hotel rooms in October. In addition, two city officials are trying to align the 16th Street BART plazas with a more comprehensive community court, where offenders ticketed at the plazas for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies can connect with social services. These moves are elements of a strategy to both reduce homelessness in the Mission District and employ longer-term solutions to clean up the 16th Street BART plazas. Some homeless individuals living on Division Street also spent time at the plazas. Up until the housing placements, police tried to discourage the encampment by disbanding it, only to have it reappear a few blocks away.