San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2012/02/)
While California prosecutors mostly agree that the state’s human trafficking laws need strengthening, they also suggest that failure to recognize the crime itself remains a greater impediment in the fight.
State law is still relatively new. Assembly Bill 22 of 2005 creates penalties specifically for human traffickers. » Read more
By Lance Williams, California Watch
In losing the 2010 governor’s race, Republican Meg Whitman set a record for political spending in a California election: Her campaign cost $178.5 million. But Whitman’s losing campaign against Democrat Jerry Brown appears somewhat more economical in terms of dollars spent per vote obtained. Whitman paid about $43 for each of the 4.12 million votes she attracted. Compare that with the recent electoral foray of San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, who was among 16 contenders in the 2011 contest for mayor of San Francisco. In losing to appointed incumbent Ed Lee, Ting spent an astonishing $510.45 per vote, according to data compiled by the CitiReport political website.
By Renee Frojo, Bay Nature
A group of renegade agricultural activists is challenging the notion that nothing comes for free by grafting fruit-bearing branches onto trees lining city streets. Over the past year, the Guerrilla Grafters – a diverse group of volunteers who started in San Francisco – has been splicing fruit-bearing branches onto ornamental fruit trees around San Francisco in an effort to grow apples, cherries, pears and other fresh produce that urban residents can enjoy for free. Although the group doesn’t have explicit permission to graft trees, so far it hasn’t received any direct pushback from city officials. Read the complete story at Bay Nature.
Despite a strongly worded recommendation from a California-wide task force four years ago urging labor standards officials to look for signs of human trafficking, state and local investigators say there has so far been little coordination or direct follow-up with law enforcement or organizations supporting victims. » Read more
This special report appeared in the Spring 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.
A California group dedicated to stopping human trafficking is hoping to take its fight directly to voters this fall.
In January, the nonprofit advocacy group California Against Slavery began circulating petitions to get a measure on the November 2012 ballot to strengthen the state’s human trafficking laws. » Read more
By Bernice Yeung, California Watch
Better access to primary health care and prevention programs could have kept thousands of California adults out of hospitals, according to a new statewide analysis. According to new data released by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, there were more than 335,000 adult hospitalizations in California that could have been avoided if the patient had seen a doctor sooner. According to the state agency, so-called “preventable hospitalizations” are an indication of systemic shortcomings related to access to quality primary care. “These are people going into the hospital that probably shouldn’t be if they were getting good primary care up front,” said Michael Kassis, a research specialist with the office. Read the complete story at California Watch. California Watch, the state’s largest investigative reporting team, is part of the independent, nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting.
By Christy Khoshaba, Mission Local
Parking in the city — don’t wanna hear it. Take away 14 parking spots — come again? Yet add something nice in the neighborhood, and voilà, people forget those 14 parking spots ever existed. Or at least most people do. Often, business owners see the parklets that have grown up along Valencia Street as an extension of commercial space.
Double-parkers, vehicles obstructing traffic and bicyclists who ride on the sidewalks are all facing hefty increases in fines after the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors approved the boosts on Tuesday.
Currently fines for vehicles obstructing traffic and riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is $50, while a fine for double-parking is $80. All three fines will increase to $100.
The proposed increase was brought to the board in December last year, but was held off at the request of Director Jerry Lee who wanted to know how many citations were issued in 2011.
Commander Lea Militello of the San Francisco Police Department said they issued 20,576 double-parking citations (through November 2011) and 372 citations for bicyclists riding on the sidewalks.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is looking for new revenue sources to balance its budget for the next two years.
Despite cuts in overtime and management reductions, the transit agency still faces a looming budget deficit of $19.6 million for the 2012-2013 fiscal year and $33.6 million for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. » Read more
On the 900-mile trek of mostly desert that stretches between Eritrea and Egypt, hunting for humans has become routine.
Eritrean refugees who have fled their homeland fall prey to Bedouin or Egyptian traffickers. The refugees are held for ransom. Those with relatives abroad who can pay for their release might survive. » Read more