Civic

City officials said Wednesday that the city would be leasing some 7,000 hotel rooms to house those who may have COVID-19 and cannot isolate themselves, and some vulnerable homeless people, and also announced new mental health support programs for frontline workers and city employees. Listen to the full press conference audio here for these and other updates.

As the SFMTA makes drastic cuts to service to prevent further spread of the coronavirus, drivers are afraid of being infected and are asking for masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and wipes. Five cases have been confirmed among Muni workers. Roger Marenco, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 250-A, which represents Muni bus drivers and some other transit workers, said the city has not been able to keep the number of passengers on buses low enough to ensure social distancing.

San Francisco leaders announced at a press conference Monday, April 6, that changes would be made to the emergency shelter at Moscone Center West after 19 people there were found to have had contact with two former residents of another shelter who have contracted the coronavirus. Listen to the full press conference, including updates about testing, hospital capacity, and coronavirus data, here.

As of Monday, April 6 three people in San Francisco’s shelter system had tested positive for coronavirus. Chris Herring, a sociologist and doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, is among those who have been calling for homeless people to be moved into hotel rooms. Herring has studied homelessness and its governance for the past decade, and says the coronavirus crisis has interacted with and exacerbated the public health problem of homelessness.

In What's New & What's Next, the Civic team offers a roundup of San Francisco news and a look at what's ahead on the city's calendar. The news: With extended shelter-in-place, officials also recommend wearing face coverings in public. Mayor London Breed lays out who will be placed in empty hotel rooms. SFPD begins to issue citations for noncompliance with shelter-in-place order. City College gets interim chancellor. Coming up: New CCSF chancellor to hold virtual town hall.

As the third week of sheltering in place came to a close in San Francisco, city officials said efforts to move homeless people into hotel rooms would be focused on the most vulnerable, and asked for trust and compliance as the city manages the coronavirus pandemic. Listen to the full briefing audio from 4/03 here.

In mid-March, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued what he called an eviction moratorium. But many tenant advocates say the term is misleading, because it postpones evictions rather than prevents them. Some landlords, too, are wondering how they’ll make ends meet, and to what extent the state will step in to help them if tenants just can’t pay. Advocates for both groups say landlords and tenants should start open communication to negotiate an approach that works for both sides to keep everyone in place.

A request for comment from UCSF was not returned by broadcast time, but we will update this story with their responses if they become available.

At this 4/01 press briefing, the mayor called again for compliance with the now-extended shelter-in-place order and responded to continued calls from advocates to house homeless people in hotels. Listen to the full briefing audio here.

Asked for comment on some of Ramos’ statements, Lyft referred to its coronavirus pandemic updates website and sent a written statement, which you can read here.

Find resources to report and avoid scams at sfpublicpress.org

S.F. officials offer an update on the shelter-in-place order, which is being extended to May 1, and on the COVID-19 outbreak at Laguna Honda hospital. Listen to the full briefing audio here.

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In What's New & What's Next, the Civic team offers a roundup of San Francisco news and a look at what's ahead on the city's calendar. The news: Officials express alarm at San Franciscans not sheltering in place; Governor suspends evictions for two months; CCSF chancellor resigns; public transit reduces operations. Coming up: Three new coronavirus testing sites are expected to open this week.

Hear the full audio from a virtual press conference San Francisco officials held on March 27. Announcements include the closure of parking lots at some public parks to prevent crowds, that the public lab's testing capacity is expected to increase to 450 tests a day, and a warning from SFPD Chief Bill Scott that police may soon begin enforcing the shelter-in-place order.

Bay Area biotech companies are using their resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Warner Green is a senior biologist and clinician with Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. He and his colleagues are using techniques developed in AIDS research to understand the life cycle of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and how existing drugs that have already been tested could be used to treat patients.

Grocery stores have been deemed essential during the pandemic, and their employees are stationed on the front lines. One San Jose grocery store worker has died of COVID-19, said Jim Araby, strategic campaigns director at United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5. The union, which represents some 30,000 workers at Bay Area stores such as Safeway, Walgreens, CVS pharmacy and even some cannabis dispensaries, recently reached a deal with several retailers to ensure employee and shopper safety and an hourly wage boost for those working during the crisis.

One person has now died of COVID-19 in San Francisco and as of Wednesday the city had confirmed 172 cases. At a virtual press conference Wednesday, city officials urged San Franciscans to stay home and warned that the crisis has not yet reached its peak. Director of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax said he expects a surge in cases hitting in less than two weeks that will necessitate 5,000 additional hospital beds and at least 1,500 ventilators. Hear the full press conference audio on this special edition of Civic.

Potential donors may review eligibility requirements to give blood on the Red Cross website or by calling the eligibility hotline: 1-866-236-3276. Appointments to give blood can also be made online (donors should try again later if there are no slots available immediately) or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.

At a virtual press conference live streamed from San Francisco’s coronavirus emergency operations center at Moscone Center, city officials offered updates on their work to enact social distancing protocols, source hotel rooms for people who need to be isolated and deliver personal protective equipment to healthcare workers. Listen to the full press conference audio here.

Millions of households have received an invitation in the mail to complete the survey, and nationwide more than 20 percent of residents have done so. But there are many groups of people who won’t be counted this way. Some do not receive mail, some have no fixed address, or live in group settings. The Census staff who will be going into the field to count those communities are also practicing social distancing, so these counts have been delayed. Pamela Michael, a media specialist with the Census Bureau, lays out how the timelines have changed to protect the health of both enumerators and people who will be counted in person.

In What's New & What's Next, the Civic team offers a roundup of San Francisco news and a look at what's ahead on the city's calendar. The news: Mayor emphasizes importance of shelter-in-place; City works to find shelter for the unhoused during coronavirus pandemic; BART reduces hours. Coming up: City continues to encourage remote participation in meetings rather than in-person, and many meetings are canceled; Board of Supervisors plans to meet and will vote on a motion concurring in the actions taken by the Mayor to meet the ongoing local emergency declared under coronavirus outbreak.

You can find the form to submit an incident report here.

Trust in institutions, business and government is critical during times of crisis and never more so than during a worldwide pandemic that brings with it panic buying and stock market collapse. Donald Palmer, professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, describes how dissonant messages from public leaders have further eroded trust in government. Palmer’s areas of research include the causes, processes and consequences of wrongdoing in and by organizations and the role of power and politics in corporate decision making.

Press conference audio: San Francisco’s Emergency Operations Center, a multi-department response to the coronavirus pandemic, has been expanded and moved to Moscone Convention Center. On Thursday morning, city officials gave a press conference about responding to COVID-19 and reviewed the stipulations of the current shelter-in-place order.

During the coronavirus pandemic, health care providers are facing shortages of the supplies and equipment they need to treat patients safely and effectively, while protecting their own health. Eric Talbert is the western regional director for MedShare, which collects and redistributes surplus medical supplies. He says MedShare is helping to get essential medical supplies and equipment to the places they’re needed most in the battle against COVID-19.

With the Bay Area under a shelter-in-place order because of the coronavirus pandemic, people are being asked to stay home. But for those without housing, that is difficult. San Francisco is implementing measures like installing public hand-washing stations and instructing people who are living on the streets to limit themselves to one person per tent. But certain plans are still unclear, and the situation is becoming increasingly urgent. Brian Howey has been covering the intersection of homelessness and the coronavirus pandemic for the Public Press. When he visited several hand-washing stations in the past few days, he found broken or missing equipment and supplies, and confusion about what the city’s policies will be and what resources are available.

Details of the order, including frequently asked questions, are available on the San Francisco Department of Public Health website

Find details about the shelter-in-place orders here.

In What's New & What's Next, the Civic team offers a roundup of San Francisco news and a look at what's ahead on the city's calendar. The news: CPUC eliminates footnote that keeps ride-hailing safety data secret; SFUSD schools close for three weeks; non-essential gatherings of more than 100 banned. Coming up: City encourages remote civic engagement rather than in-person; Board of Supervisors plans special meeting on coronavirus response.

The California Public Utilities Commission, the body that regulates ride-hailing, has unanimously voted to reverse a policy that allowed safety reports filed by Uber and Lyft to be kept hidden from the public. The commission receives these reports, but due to an obscure footnote inserted into its rules in 2013, does not release them to the public or to local government agencies. Seth Rosenfeld, whose reporting brought this policy into the spotlight, explains what the vote does and doesn't mean for data transparency.

You can read the San Francisco Public Press story on this issue here.

Nurses around the country gathered outside hospitals today, criticizing how the CDC and individual hospitals are handling the outbreak. The California Nurses Association, National Nurses Organizing Committee and National Nurses United issued a statement calling the CDC’s guidelines “weakened” and called employer responses “ineffective.” “Civic” spoke with one registered nurse at UCSF, outside the Parnassus campus, who said nurses felt left out of the conversation about responding to COVID-19.

Students at San Francisco State University are grappling with conflicting directions about student housing during the coronavirus outbreak. Students who live in dormitories received an email last night instructing them to leave campus housing due to the coronavirus outbreak. This morning, the school followed up with an email saying students would not be forced to leave their dorms, but left the decision up to students and asked anyone who chooses to stay in campus housing to notify the school by March 12.

"Waging Change" will have its San Francisco Bay Area premiere at the Castro Theatre on Sunday March 22 at 1 p.m. and will also screen in Oakland at the New Parkway Theater on Tuesday, April 7 at 7 p.m.

Voters approved a measure in 2018 that guaranteed legal counsel to every tenant facing eviction in San Francisco. But six months after Proposition F was supposed to have been fully implemented, a third of tenants facing eviction have had access to only partial representation. In a hearing before the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee, legal aid attorneys, tenant advocates and city staff testified that tenant right to counsel is an effective protection from eviction but needs more funding, and more attorneys, to cover everyone.

In What's New & What's Next, the Civic team offers a roundup of San Francisco news and a look at what's ahead on the city's calendar. The news: City offers text alerts for coronavirus updates, homelessness department head shifts to new role, state criticizes police reform progress. Coming up: Mayor to address the Board of Supervisors on corruption, SFMTA open house, Planning Commission to learn about city's housing affordability strategy.

Coalition on Homelessness executive director Jennifer Friedenbach gives her perspective on the announcement that the city will be shifting away from a complaint-based response to homelessness. City data show that that in 2019, when the complaint-based system was in place, nearly everyone who stayed in a city shelter or navigation center returned to the streets after their stay.

San Francisco is working to improve bus service and adapt infrastructure to encourage cycling and walking, but is also grappling with managing ride-hailing, parking, and congestion. Jason Henderson, a professor of geography and environment at San Francisco State University, studies the struggles for better street infrastructure across cities and says San Francisco and the region should do more to promote the decarbonization of transportation.

In What's New & What's Next, the Civic team offers a roundup of San Francisco news and a look at what's ahead on the city's calendar. The news: Coronavirus emergency declared, City Attorney issues more subpoenas, car-free Market examined, state plans for sea level rise. Coming up: Board of Supervisors to weigh another navigation center lease, and a resolution to end a contract with street furniture company JC Decaux.

Assembly member Phil Ting represents District 19, having been elected to that seat in 2012. He previously served as San Francisco’s assessor-recorder. He's recently worked on legislation advancing electric cars, addressing plastic waste, reforming how criminal records are cleared and improving housing protections and production to help curb homelessness.

In January, the San Francisco Public Press published an investigation showing just how much we don’t know about the safety record of the ride-hailing industry. The Public Press recently hosted an event at which journalist Seth Rosenfeld offered the latest developments in the story. Former California Public Utilities Commission President Loretta Lynch and Glen Smith with the First Amendment Coalition offered insights into how the agency, which regulates Uber and Lyft, operates and the broader implications of the secrecy revealed in Rosenfeld’s story.

John McDonnell is a business and tax attorney running to challenge State Assemblyman Phil Ting for the seat for District 19. He outlines his perspectives on education, housing, criminal justice reform, and how taxation and inequality intersect.

In What's New & What's Next, the Civic team offers a roundup of San Francisco news and a look at what's ahead on the city's calendar. The news: School district warns of staff cuts, transparency ballot measure upheld, Mayor seeks congestion pricing. Coming up: Valencia Street Bikeway open house, Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission may vote on youth navigation center, and a hearing on police staffing.

David Chiu, the state assembly member representing California’s District 17, discusses his recent legislative work, including his rent increase cap policy, a proposal to audit California’s spending on homelessness and a bill that would take steps toward making connections across Bay Area transit lines seamless.

You can find the Public Press’ full nonpartisan voter guide here.

You can find the Public Press’ full nonpartisan voter guide here.

You can find the Public Press’ full nonpartisan voter guide here.

You can find the Public Press’ full nonpartisan voter guide here.

You can find the Public Press’ full nonpartisan voter guide here.