Civic

The extreme winter storms put San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management to the test. Early in the storm cycle, the department faced challenges communicating with people experiencing homelessness. Internal confusion over the forecast delayed the opening of its Emergency Operations Center until a major storm was under way. In at least one instance, flood barriers were deployed too late to prevent homes and businesses from being inundated.

Content Warning: Audio of children in distress, discussions of child sexual abuse and child abuse, & swearingWhen a family court rules that a child was brainwashed into lying about parental abuse, judges routinely order the child into programs called reunification camps. The goal is to make the child recant abuse claims and embrace the parent they allege harmed them. The process involves forcibly removing the child from their preferred parent’s home and transporting them to a reunification camp in another city or out of state. It’s a process that’s caused trauma to an untold number of kids. They then go through four days of “deprogramming therapy” at a cost of $25,000 to $40,000, with parents footing the bill. A viral video showing two teens being violently removed from their Santa Cruz home for transport to a reunification camp has now spurred protests and politicians’ calls to ban the practice. We dive into what drives reunification camps, their impact on children, and the horrific story of one survivor who is now fighting to shut them down.

Family court judges routinely grant full custody to a parent after a child alleges they’re abusing them. That’s because they believe the other parent brainwashed their kids into lying about the abuse. The judge’s decision is often influenced by a pseudo psychological theory dreamt up 40 years ago by one guy who created a cottage industry out of defending child abusers. That cottage industry has now become a booming business for many family court lawyers. One lawyer we talked to said that in every single one of his cases, the court decided the child was lying about being abused. A ton of those kids are all grown up and say they weren’t lying, and were handed over to their abusers. We talked to one who is now fighting against these harmful family court decisions.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential assistance to anyone affected by domestic violence through a live chat at TheHotline.org, a free 24-hour hotline at 800-799-7233 and by texting "START" to 88788.The National Dating Abuse Helpline, can be reached at 1-866-331-9474, by texting "LOVEIS" to 22522, or through live chat at LoveIsRespect.org.More information about Pierce's Pledge can be found at PiercesPledge.org

Content Warning: This episode discusses sensitive topics, including accounts of domestic abuse and violence.

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NEW: Monkeypox emergency declared; Laguna Honda patients can stay; face masks on BART; Supe supports psychedelic mushrooms; SRO workers strike; Mayor veto stands NEXT: Up Your Alley fetish fest & Outside Lands music fest return; Supes on summer recess.

In 1978, the U.S. government created a path to recognizing Indian tribes in the United States. Four years later, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, a tribe native to Yosemite Valley, submitted their initial request to become a recognized tribe. They’re still waiting. We talk to Chairwoman, Sandra Roan Chapman, about her tribe's pursuit for federal recognition. We also explore the nuts and bolts of the process with SFSU professor and journalist Cristina Azocar.

NEW: $28 billion budget passes; DA gets pushback over criminal justice reform; SFPD policy for surveillance camera access; problematic BART plaza fenced off; ballot measures to 1) permit cars on JFK Drive 2) maintain car-free JFK 3) change election schedule. NEXT: monkeypox vaccines; stopping fatal Laguna Honda patient relocation; mayor vetos housing density law; LGBTQ cultural heritage hearing.

A new District Attorney hires new staff and fires staff hired by the previous D.A. We look at the history of the crisis at Laguna Honda Hospital that has displaced some frail and elderly patients. COVID infections on the rise. Our station KSFP-LP is back on the air and the Board of Supervisors looks at new ballot initiatives for November.

In part two of our coverage of the pending closure of Laguna Honda Hospital, we hear about the potential impacts of relocating patients - a directive from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to move all patients out of the facility before applying for recertification in the fall. We also hear about concerns regarding the recertification process and additional efforts to correct issues uncovered during the inspections. The numbers of patients transferred in this episode were accurate at the time of production, but those numbers continue to change.

NEW: Mayor picks new DA; prioritizing housing for veterans; Supes demand PG&E accountability. NEXT: Mayor wants watered down ethics rules; changes to Geary Blvd; Department of Homelessness oversight; shifting election years; SFPD improvement update; big money for affordable housing projects.

Nearly 700 live-in patients at Laguna Honda Hospital are in limbo after the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would pull federal funding following multiple damning inspection reports. San Francisco Department of Public Health officials are scrambling to regain the certification needed for funding. Meanwhile, two former hospital physicians say they warned city officials about a potential crisis nearly 20 years ago.

NEW: Supes, mayor reach $28 billion budget deal; $4M estimate for abortion services; victory for safe consumption; call for city overdose plan; no more slow Lake Street; school board suspends meetings; two controversial housing bills pass; questions over monkeypox. NEXT: nixing new street cleaning department; potential vacant home tax; cost-of-living adjustment for elder city pensioners; shifting the election cycle; abortion rights protests.

NEW: Supreme Court decisions on abortion & gun rights sends city officials scrambling; SFPD won’t negotiate budget requests; school board reverses decisions on Lowell High School admission and controversial mural cover-up. NEXT: SFMTA decision makers to vote on union salaries and $7M cost for temporary facility; voters will decide fate of sales tax; SFPD equipment scrutinized; proposal to add gender identity to anti-discrimination rules; mitigating impact of ride-hailing and self-driving passenger service; upcoming 4th of July celebrations; supervisors weigh in on proposed $717M budget.

The largest display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in ten years took place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in June. Now the quilt is being taken on the road to the southern U.S., where new HIV infections and lower levels of treatment for those infected are the highest in the country. We also speak with the White House official overseeing the Biden Administration’s response to the pandemic, after resources for HIV care were diverted to battling the COVID pandemic.

NEW: Tenderloin Center will shut down in December; proposed drug enforcement zones; “massive mismanagement” of addiction and mental health services; proposal to permit behested payments; reopen JFK Drive fight continues; money for Asian and Pacific Islander residents; bridge toll crackdown; town halls after traffic deaths. NEXT: expediting housing development; vaccines for young kids; Golden State Warriors parade; racial makeup of city workers; city budget public hearings; Pink Painted Lady owner breaks contract.

NEW: San Francisco recalls DA with 55% in support; voters approve three anti-corruption measures; COVID rates spike while testing sites are defunded NEXT: school board rethinks Lowell High admission changes; public hearing on Laguna Honda shutdown; housing help for low-income residents; law to allow police access private surveillance cameras.

With the proliferation of social media channels, misinformation and disinformation now spread as fast as the click of a trackpad. Even for a trusted outlet like PBS — nationally recognized for its family friendly programming and sober, nonpartisan news coverage — this era has brought a flood of digital rumors to quell. As the public editor at PBS, Ricardo Sandoval Palos fields complaints for the organization and uses community feedback to cultivate conversations between viewers and PBS’s creative teams.

NEW: Get nonpartisan analysis of June 2022 ballot measure at sfpublicpress.org; Honey Mahogany will run for District 6 supervisor; Pride Parade organizers & SFPD reach compromise; driverless car service permitted; Mayor London Breed’s 2-year, $28B budget. NEXT: Street patrols for every police district; reviewing beleaguered Below Market Rate housing Program; charter amendment to forfeit pensions of city employees found guilty of crimes.

NEW: Supe reacts to mass shootings; schools step up policing; nearly $50M for city center; proposed change to city elections; city sues slumlord; SF population drops. NEXT: Update on botched school payroll; Pink Triangle returns; protest against gun violence.

HIV activists and healthcare professionals are warning city officials that while everyone is paying attention to COVID-19, rates of HIV infection and HIV related illness have been creeping in the wrong direction. We talk to Monica Gandhi, the director of the center for AIDS research at UCSF, about the history of HIV research in San Francisco, how the pandemic affected resources, and her advice for a path forward. We also hear from HIV survivors and SF officials about the importance of inclusion when it comes to funding decisions.

Recall Measure Regarding Chesa Boudin

Public Health Emergency Leave

Refuse Collection and Disposal

Behested Payments

Office of Victim and Witness Rights; Legal Services for Domestic Violence Victims

Recall Timelines and Vacancy Appointments

Building Inspection Commission

MUNI Reliability and Street Safety Bond

NEW: Laguna Honda takes another step towards closure; a drop in the city’s unhoused population; $1.3 billion shortfall in affordable housing goals; fired anti-vaccine firefighters fight back with misinformation and conspiracy theories NEXT: Resolution to change garbage rates after $23.4 million overbilling revelation; a new Department of Sanitation and Streets; proposal for gun violence trauma response; expanded Castro Theater landmark designation; pushback on proposed homelessness oversight commission.

NEW: A breakthrough in the vehicle smash-and-grab epidemic; police commissioners may ban minor traffic infraction stops; former SFPD communications director appointed to Board of Supervisors; Supervisor wants public parking lots opened to unhoused vehicle dwellers; School District rescinds nearly all lay off notices. NEXT: Supervisors ask state to help beleaguered City College; hearing on shutting down juvenile hall; hearing on funding shortfall for affordable housing; town hall with city’s homelessness officials; proposal to protect wrongly evicted tenants.

John Muir is considered the father of the National Parks and has been honored extensively around California. But in 2020, the Sierra Club began reexamining their founder’s words. Was John Muir racist? Civic took a trip up to Yosemite to speak with Lee Stetson, a Muir historian and actor, and Sandra Roan Chapman, chairperson of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, to discuss Muir’s legacy, current efforts to increase recognition of and resources for indigenous people, and the impact of the conservation movement in the region.

NEW: Supervisors respond emotionally to possible overturning of Roe v. Wade; City College is laying off over 160 full and part time teachers; Great Highway weekend closure may be extended; U.S. Department of Justice microgrant will pay for more community policing in the Tenderloin. NEXT: Proposal for a ballot measure to create a Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing oversight commission; a hearing and report on racial equity in city department hiring patterns; presentation on the Southeast Rail Station Study’s new train station in the Bayview; ordinance requiring the city to add 20 housing units for homeless youth in the Haight-Ashbury.

When we look at the massive wealth gap between the rich and poor in this country, what stands out most is how differently it affects white and Black populations. In part two of this series on extreme income inequality, we dive into the federal programs that helped World War II veterans acquire housing, and the resulting maps with bright red lines around Black-populated areas deemed unsafe for federally backed mortgages. We also examine early union-busting practices and where they’ve led, and how Reagan-era policies created the billionaire class.

NEW: Redistricting Task Force approves a final map despite protests; BART reinstates a mask mandate; JFK Drive permanently closed to traffic; city-funded childcare workers getting pay raises; new pandemic recovery funding for small businesses and nonprofits NEXT: Rules Committee hearing to look into Board of Appeals president potential ethics violation; Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit performs better than expected; Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing on federal AIDS funding and services reduction.

NEW: Supervisor Matt Haney defeated former Supervisor David Campos for the 17th Assembly District seat; Redistricting Task Force approves a new supervisor districts draft map; Human Rights Commission says city is failing Asian American victims of violence; Street Crisis Response Teams divert calls to police, but more is needed; calls for a public hearing on bedraggled SFGH emergency psyche unit; plans are in for a $400M Transamerica Pyramid redesign NEXT: public hearing on JFK Drive shutdown to private vehicles; keeping track of sub-acute psyche patients discharged out of county; third try for a public hearing on lot subdivision hung up on address confusion.

"Income inequality is at a crisis point in America. But it’s not the first time the country has faced an extreme wealth gap. In part one of a two-part series, we explore the Depression-era policies and programs that were meant to address wealth inequality. And we talk to Bay Area residents who were stripped of generational wealth when their ancestors were barred from opportunities to capitalize on support programs."

NEW: Tuesday is voting day for Assembly District 17. Supervisors consider incentives to bolster lagging police ranks. Laguna Honda is again at risk of shutting down. The redistricting process could be settled in court. DA alleges bogus lawsuits are targeting hundreds of small businesses. NEXT: Proposed committee for unhoused residents locked out of shelters. Supervisors will consider a $1.5 million settlement over a homeless man’s police custody death. Supervisors will analyze whether Street Crisis Response Teams are making a difference.

In an episode from last Spring, “Civic” spoke with Tere Almaguer, an environmental justice organizer with PODER, which operates the Hummingbird farm in San Francisco’s Crocker Amazon neighborhood. As the state heads into another year of drought, we talked about how the drought already had an impact, and how the group has adapted to years of inconsistent rainfall.

NEW Another top city administrator resigns over dubious ethical conduct; a judge resurrects a lawsuit alleging ties between the mayor and a City Hall corruption scandal; school district deputy superintendent to resign over major payroll snafu; SF’s Ukrainian diaspora is angry and anxious; Ukrainian refugees coming to the Bay Area need homes. NEXT SF Election Commission will not remove redistricting task force members; ex-planning commissioner retaliation lawsuit settles for $1.8M; demolishing the private Kearney Street pedestrian bridge; a hearing on shelter access for unhoused BIPOC and pregnant residents; and new adult sex venue zoning in historically LGBTQ neighborhoods.

More than 4 million Ukrainians have fled the country as Russian forces destroy entire cities. A local aid agency is racing to get medical supplies into Ukraine and bringing refugees into the Bay Area. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, members of the Ukrainian diaspora are angry, anxious and desperate to connect with loved ones in their ancestral homeland. We caught up with a few during a sunny weekend afternoon in mid-March where hundreds gathered at the bandshell in Golden Gate Park music concourse for a show called "Slava Ukraini" — Glory to Ukraine.

First, what’s new? Laguna Honda hospital has two weeks to fix serious problems or risk closure. SF Public Press’s rent relief tracker found that requests exceed authorized funds by $116 million. New possible district boundaries are drawing furious backlash. And a new poll has uncovered a deep malaise among locals. What’s next? The Board of Supervisors urge the state and federal governments to help survivors of domestic violence. The Land Use and Transportation Committee weighs in on Car Free JFK, and on a controversial plan to end most single-family zoning in the city. And the Battery Bluff area of Presidio Tunnel Tops park opens on April 23rd.

San Francisco is not alone in experiencing an alarming rise in overdose deaths. A lot of them are due to fentanyl, an extremely powerful synthetic opioid. But many fatal overdoses are the result of multiple substances. In this episode, the second in a two-part series examining the factors contributing to increases in drug overdoses in San Francisco, we talk to experts and community advocates about what measures have been taken to address this health crisis, how people who use drugs are reversing overdoses themselves, other harm reduction efforts, what treatment and recovery can mean and how activists, volunteers and the city are trying to help people find their way there.

First, what’s new? A proposed ordinance would require the city to provide a safe place to sleep for every unhoused person. Supervisors decide to put a new Amazon warehouse on hold. Supervisor Preston wants a hearing on police propaganda, aka copaganda. San Francisco’s outmigration is the second largest in the country. What’s next? The Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit finally starts rolling. And the planning commission gets busy with hearings on the proposed Lake Merced recreational park, the massive San Francisco Gateway industrial project in Bayview Hunters Point, a new outer Mission residential complex, and more.

San Francisco saw more people die from drug overdoses than from COVID-19 over the last two years. We take a deep dive into the complex factors contributing to the crisis and possible ways to mitigate the problem in this first of a two part series.

First, what’s new? Former Supervisor Jane Kim is being investigated for ethics violations after failing to register as a lobbyist while on the payroll of a man campaigning to block a new apartment complex. Teachers hold a sit-in to force an agreement on proper payment procedures. A new poll shows DA Chesa Boudin may be on thin ice over his recall campaign. What’s next? Supervisors consider a new law to regulate how police store victim DNA. The public gets to weigh in on progress over San Francisco Department police reform. City and county union workers will march to demand increased staffing.

Read the Public Press and Mission Local stories:Track fires in the Mission, day-by-dayLittle fires everywhere: Fires rose by 26 percent in San Francisco last yearSF Fires Linked to Homeless Surged as Pandemic Set InGrassroots Nonprofits and Homeless Communities Create Their Own Fire Prevention Solutions

First, what’s new? Three new school board members were sworn in by the Mayor London Breed after three elected members were recalled. Vaccine mandates are lifted for most indoor public settings. The District Attorney will not re-file a case against a police officer charged with excessive use of force. after a jury acquitted him. Mayor Breed said the police department is making progress on reform, but needs to hire more officers. What’s next? The Board of Supervisors will vote on a measure pushing back on a state law that makes it cheaper to build housing. The supervisors will vote on the rules for restaurants who want to make their pandemic parklets permanent and they’ll take up Mayor Breed’s plans to crack down on rampant drug dealing and use in the Tenderloin.

The last remaining tenant protections against eviction for pandemic-related rent debt that were granted by the state are expiring at the end of the month. They were based on tenants having applied to the state’s rent relief program, which according to a new study is slow to make decisions. The report indicates applicants are waiting months for the state program to make decisions on their cases, and that the majority of applicants have not received any payment. Still, the state should have enough funds to be able to pay every eligible applicant, even those who apply in the last weeks before the program closes.