San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2009/09/)
To help employees suffering "additional financial stress" from pay cuts and furloughs, the University of California-San Francisco is letting workers borrow their lost wages and repay the money — with interest.
But employees hoping to tap a UCSF emergency loan fund for help paying rent or bills are out of luck. » Read more
Warren Hellman, a San Francisco financier, had planned to announce his intention to launch a well funded nonprofit Bay Area news organization — until someone else broke the news.
Hellman, The San Francisco Bay Guardian first reported, will be partnering with KQED radio and television, the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism, and, "potentially," The New York Times. » Read more
San Francisco financier Warren Hellman -– in partnership with KQED, the UC Berkeley School of Journalism and perhaps even the New York Times – is about to launch a nonprofit, locally focused, online news organization with a medium-sized newsroom of full-time journalists, Hellman has confirmed to the Guardian. » Read more
We did it! Thanks to your help, The Public Press and Spot.Us raised $5,000 to support our City Budget Watchdog series. Over the course of three months, our team produced 18 articles and 13 videos, accompanied by numerous photos and information graphics, and co-produced with KALW (91.7 FM) a budget roundtable that aired Aug. 17 on the "Crosscurrents" news program. Our reporters uncovered so many stories that we’ll continue to publish new reports and videos as they are completed in coming weeks.
I’d like to promote two great events hosted by Independednt Arts & Media, The Public Press’ fabulous fiscal sponsor. Here’s a note from Clare Morales Roberts, Indy Arts’ executive director:
Greetings! I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very special invitation to an event this Friday, Sept. 25 from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the David Brower Center in Berkeley.
As part of our 10th Annual Expo for Independent Arts, Independent Arts & Media is very excited to present our first Symposium for Artists, a day of workshops, panel discussions, networking and collaboration. This event has a sliding scale and was created specifically with the independent artist and culture makers in mind!
San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos is crafting a proposal that would place a fee on alcohol sold in the city, potentially raising $25 million to $35 million annually to help pay for alcohol-related public health and criminal justice costs.
Avalos says the proposal, in its early stages and being reviewed by multiple city agencies, would provide another “source of revenue to help deal with the deficit and economic crisis.” » Read more
As the city shrinks its payroll, sending layoff notices to certified nursing assistants and clerical staff, it is touching off accusations from organized labor that officials are discriminating against women and minority workers.
The city has budgeted for laying off 340 employees and downgrading job classifications for another 290, as indicated last July in a memo from Controller Ben Rosenfield. » Read more
Already reeling from a deep recession and massive cuts to staff and services in this year’s budget, San Francisco is being hammered by a new tidal wave of state cuts — estimated at $26.5 million — which could put low-income seniors and others on the brink of homelessness and hunger, many advocates say. » Read more
The cost to attend the University of California could skyrocket by more than 30 percent next fall, which would bring fees to a level like never before, the Associated Press and others news sources are reporting. If approved by the UC Board of Regents, who will discuss details with President Mark Yudof next week, the proposed fee hike would include a 15 percent increase effective for the winter and spring semesters, as well as an additional 15 percent for fall 2010. This means in-state undergraduate students would pay $2,500 more in fees, about $10,302 a year. Graduate and out-of-state students would also have their tuition raised. Yudof’s fee proposal comes at a time when UC labor leaders have clamored for him to step down, because of budgetary policies that include a contentious employee furlough program and layoffs.
Although San Francisco’s city budget was passed in July, District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar says he believes taking a more fundamental process to passing it is in order.
He advocates having "a people’s budget," in which the process would solicit more grassroots involvement at "the early levels as opposed to where you have people rallying and begging at the last minute … when they can’t have as much of an impact on the budget." » Read more