Data Privacy
security-camera

S.F. Police Accessed Private Cameras to Surveil Protesters, Digital Privacy Group Reveals

07.28.2020
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When a tech executive helped bankroll a private network of security cameras in San Francisco, it was touted as crime-fighting technology that would not be directly in the control of law enforcement. But a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy advocacy group, shows that the San Francisco Police Department gained remote access to this private camera network for days at a time during protests in late May and early June. The privacy group says that access was a violation of San Francisco law. The camera network in question is managed by the Union Square Business Improvement District. Emails obtained by the foundation show that the group received, and approved, a request from SFPD to obtain remote access to the cameras for 48 hours on May 31.

Homelessness
HOT workers and homeless man

Homeless Service Providers Ask City for $43 Million to Handle Pandemic Fallout

07.28.2020
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As San Francisco leaders look for ways to slash spending in the face of a huge budget shortfall, a coalition of homeless service providers is asking for an increase in funding over the next two fiscal years to address an expected surge in demand due to economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The 30-plus-member Homeless Emergency Services Providers Association presented a proposal Monday to Mayor London Breed’s budget office requesting more than $42.5 million for homelessness-related programs through 2022, roughly 23% more than the groups received the previous two years. The money would fund subsidies that could help house hundreds of individuals and families, bolster emergency shelters and homelessness prevention programs, and jumpstart the city’s first safe drug injection site — provided Assembly Bill 362,  which would permit pilot versions of such sites, survives the state Legislature this year and is signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. “We all understand that this is a tough time for our city’s revenue and budget, but it’s also a very tough time for our residents,” Supervisor Matt Haney, whose district is home to many of the city’s unhoused residents, said about the proposal. “If we don’t invest in prevention and make sure that the most vulnerable people are taken care of, it can get much worse quickly.”

The service providers’ association has won funding for its members and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing in the past, including more than $24 million in funding for various programs in the last fiscal year.

Coronavirus
bhargava.jpg

Months Into Pandemic, Physician Reflects on Developing Coronavirus Knowledge

07.27.2020
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In March, Dr. Monica Bhargava, a pulmonary critical care physician at the county hospital in Oakland, predicted on “Civic” that the novel coronavirus would deeply affect the region’s health care system for many months to come. That, and some of her other observations, turned out to be correct. In recent months, scientists and doctors have learned much more about how the virus spreads and what makes patients vulnerable to serious complications. Bhargava returned to “Civic” to follow up on her earlier observations and discuss how the conversations doctors, patients and whole communities are having about managing the coronavirus pandemic have changed. “A lot of my patients live five or six patients to a one-bedroom.

Homelessness
Mask distribution

As Fire Season Approaches, COVID-19 Strains Mask Supplies

07.27.2020
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The last few years’ fires are all blurring into one for Jessica Tovar, an Oakland resident and advocate at the nonprofit Local Clean Energy Alliance, a renewable energy advocacy group. “I had an office that you could see the port of Oakland from, and in those times, you could not see the port because the smoke was so thick,” she said. Oakland was among the worst-hit cities when smoke from the 2017 Tubbs wildfires spread to the areas around San Francisco Bay, lowering air quality to levels comparable to Beijing, some of the worst in the world. As California’s fall wildfire season approaches, mask shortages mean Oakland residents are at risk of exposure to both coronavirus and to toxic smoke. Tovar, who frequently interacts with underserved Oakland residents, echoed the concerns of advocacy organizations that distribute masks.

Social Justice
Raven and Rhonda2 - Club Stride

Empowering Youth to Advance Justice in Vallejo

07.24.2020
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On June 2, police in Vallejo shot and killed a 22-year-old San Francisco man, Sean Monterrosa through the windshield of a police truck while Monterrosa was kneeling. Since then, the California attorney general has announced an investigation into the Vallejo police department. The detective who shot Monterrosa, Jarrett Tonn, was found to have been involved in three other shootings. A windshield that was shattered during the shooting was not preserved as evidence, and video relevant to the incident was initially withheld. According to the news site Open Vallejo, Monterrosa was the 19th person killed by the Vallejo police department in 10 years.

Housing
Merced Domínguez observa a las palomas volar sobre su jardín en la calle Octava. "Todos los días, me siguen a donde quiera que vaya," dijo Domínguez, arrojando alpiste en la banqueta. “Todo el camino hasta el Dollar Tree y de vuelta a casa. Solo están esperando que los alimente." La rutina habitual de Domínguez consiste en colocar comida y agua en la banqueta afuera de su vehículo para los animales callejeros que visitan la manzana, incluyendo un gato callejero que llamó Cookie y las docenas de palomas que aparecen dos veces al día.

Berkeley Obliga a los Habitantes de Vehículos a Seguir Rodando

07.23.2020
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Lee la historia que acompaña a este ensayo fotográfico, “Sin Dirección, Sin Descanso: Berkeley Obliga a los Habitantes de Vehículos a Seguir Rodando,” que forma parte del proyecto “Conduciendo a Casa: Sobreviviendo la Crisis de la Vivienda” (Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis). » Read more

Housing
Children play on Eighth Street in West Berkeley while their parents run errands. RV-dwelling neighbors or grandma babysit when the guardians are away. The kids fill the block with laughter and toys as they run up and down the line of vehicles, peeking inside neighbors’ doors to say hello.

Berkeley Forces Vehicle Dwellers to Keep Rolling

07.23.2020
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Read the story that accompanies this photo essay, “No Address, No Rest: Berkeley Forces Vehicle Dwellers to Keep Rolling,” which is part of the “Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis” project. Lee esta historia en español. » Read more

Housing
On a Sunday afternoon, children play in the Gilman District in West Berkeley. Their family is part of a community of vehicle residents called Friends on Wheels, whose members have parked and lived together for two years. The community is made up of families, students, gig workers, service workers and disabled and elderly people who live in all shapes and sizes of vehicles.

No Address, No Rest: Berkeley Forces Vehicle Dwellers to Keep Rolling

07.22.2020
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Part I of “Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis.” Lee esta historia en español.

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On a Sunday afternoon, children play in the Gilman District in West Berkeley. Their family is part of a community of vehicle residents called Friends on Wheels, whose members have parked and lived together for two years. » Read more

Housing
Dusk falls on seven vehicular homes at Eighth and Harrison streets in Berkeley’s Gilman District. For over a year, a vehicular community called Friends on Wheels has found refuge at this intersection, living together for safety and companionship. While searching for safe parking spots and the amenities of everyday life, vehicular residents met and banded together at the Berkeley Marina. But as the community of vehicle dwellers grew, their risk of being towed and receiving further citations forced people to leave. Vehicle residents had to find another safe place to settle, and so they found a resting spot on the industrialized streets of West Berkeley.

Sin Dirección, Sin Descanso: Berkeley Obliga a los Habitantes de Vehículos a Seguir Rodando

07.22.2020
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Part I of “Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis.” Read this story in English.

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Un Domingo por la tarde, los niños juegan en el distrito de Gilman en West Berkeley. Su familia es parte de una comunidad de residentes de vehículos llamada Friends on Wheels, cuyos miembros se han estacionado y vivido juntos durante dos años. » Read more