San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2009/04/)
As swine flu claimed its first U.S. victim and a total of six Bay Area cases were confirmed, a San Francisco public health official told reporters during a press conference this week that people should not be overly alarmed about the disease. » Read more
By Michael A. Chihak
We are as ill-prepared for newspapering’s demise as we were for economic meltdown. An odd comparison, perhaps, because we will recover from economic arrhythmia in relatively short time. Replacing the role of newspapers could take longer, and that has the potential to threaten our democracy. Newspapers for more than two centuries were American democracy’s bulwark: constitutionally protected watchdogs. The founding fathers knew a free press would sustain democracy, so they included it among the Constitution’s foremost rights.
More than 800 people participated Saturday in the fourth annual Walk Against Rape. The event, sponsored by San Francisco Women Against Rape, raised more than $55,000 for the 35-year-old sexual assault crisis center in the city’s Mission District.
Erica Guajardo Johnson, an organizer with San Francisco Women Against Rape, said she was approached by a man during the march who broke into tears while telling her that he was raped many years ago. » Read more
In anticipation of Wednesday’s Earth Day celebration, Berkeley Farmers’ Market has stepped up to the “green” plate – by becoming the first market in the nation to eliminate all plastic bags and packaging.
“We’ve been anti-plastic for a long time, but we’re also committed to our farmers and didn’t want to negatively impact them through diminished sales or costs,” said Ben Feldman, program manager of The Ecology Center – an environmental non-profit that has run the markets since 1987. » Read more
As San Francisco marks the 103rd anniversary of the 1906 earthquake Saturday, the city’s only free, hands-on emergency training program could be stalled by the budget cuts threatening every municipal agency.
The Neighborhood Emergency Response Team program — NERT — surpassed its annual goal of training 2,000 volunteers in four of the past five years and aims to increase participation by 25 percent this year. » Read more
In early April, The Public Press attended the Web 2.0 Expo at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, and was flooded with interest from technologists and entrepreneurs. Steering committee member Lila LaHood had the chance to speak with a reporter from KRON 4 News.
The Bay Area economy continued to slow from late February to early April, though some sectors showed signs of stabilizing, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
Photo by Shayne Kaye
Releasing its latest Beige Book, a summary of 12 regional reports, the Fed points to Silicon Valley as the big drag on the local economy. » Read more
Famously liberal in its politics and its spending, San Francisco is steering a new spendthrift path amid the federal Keynesian revival — cutting antipoverty and social-service programs that helped build the city’s reputation as a haven for the poor.
Photo by Andrew Turner
As homeless tent cities rise up in Sacramento and across the country, deep spending cuts here have ignited a debate over the city’s reputation and priorities, and raise a larger question: How will cities care for the widening ranks of poor and homeless in a recession that may get worse before it gets better? » Read more
Local officials in California failed to properly account for millions of dollars spent on homeland security efforts in the state, made dubious purchases that may not make communities safer, and could have overpaid millions by not seeking competitive bidding for equipment, according to an audit by the inspector general of the US Department of Homeland Security. » Read more
Last week I attended a meeting of the California Media Workers Guild. The group met to discuss the possibilities of extending membership to freelance journalists, making it one of the first locals in the nationwide Communications Workers of America to consider such a move. This idea comes close on the heels of drastic cutbacks across the media industry, and especially newspapers. Last month, members of the union approved changes that would allow the San Francisco Chronicle to lay off as many as 150 union members without regard to seniority. The company argued that if it could not cut costs, it would either sell or close the paper.