Fifth & Mission

Vandalism and burglaries are cutting into the already slim profit margins of Oakland's restaurant and bar owners. Chronicle food writer Elena Kadvany joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the latest struggle for business owners after the pandemic, inflation and staff shortages. Plus: William Tsui, co-owner of Viridian, shares why keeping his business in Oakland is personal. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, a trained social worker, is leading the drive to change laws to make it easier to get severely mentally ill people more help. She favors lowering the bar for committing someone for treatment involuntarily, and among the obstacles she faces is opposition from disability rights advocates. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of California acceptance rates have plunged, making this college admissions season particularly tough. High school seniors share how they're feeling, and Chronicle reporter Danielle Echeverria joins host Cecilia Lei to break down the GPA data of students accepted into UC schools, and what else admissions offices look at as they make their decisions. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The San Francisco clothing brand has announced it will use artificial intelligence-generated models "of color" to display products on its website and mobile app. Race and equity columnist Justin Phillips joins host Dominic Fracassa to talk about the thorny questions that raises. The practice figures to save Levi's money and offers representation, but is a diversity initiative that takes jobs from real people of color really diverse? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In two recent drug prosecution trials in San Francisco, defense teams have argued that some people accused of selling drugs are immigrants who have been forced to commit the crime in order to pay off debts, or face violence by cartels and coyotes. Reporter Megan Cassidy joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about that legal strategy, and how it may be consequential for future drug prosecution trials. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Progressive supervisors say Mayor London Breed is not properly managing resources to solve the city's biggest problems, like homelessness, the drug crisis, housing affordability and property crime. The mayor says it’s the board that’s being “obstructionist.” City Hall reporter Mallory Moench joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about that conflict, and the limits both sides face. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifth & Mission is bringing you an episode of The Chronicle's podcast about solving San Francisco's intractible problems. If you like this episode, please consider following SFNext: Fixing Our City. While the name of the federal Emergency Housing Vouchers rental subsidy program underscores how urgent finding housing is for at-risk groups, only a little more than half of the vouchers are in use in California. San Francisco has used 51% of its vouchers. But San Diego is seen as a standout success, having put more than 100% of its allotment to use on new leases. How did San Diego — the state’s second-biggest city — manage this, and can other cities take a page out of its book? Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext Project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stabbings at a middle school and on a Muni bus, brawls at Stonestown Galleria. The city and education officials have announced a plan to combat a surge of violence among teens, but will it work? Sarah Wan of the Community Youth Center of San Francisco joins Cecilia Lei to talk about why these incidents are worrying and whether San Francisco is equipped to tackle the violence. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former President Donald Trump is facing a litany of legal issues, including a criminal indictment in New York that could come any day. Will the investigations cost him the California primary and potentially a chance at reelection? Political Breakdown podcast host Marisa Lagos joins It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli to talk about whether the former president will go down or turn “political crap” into gold again. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As anti-trans legislation sweeps across the country, San Francisco is doubling down on its support of the transgender population with its first standalone clinic that provides a “one-stop shop for trans services.” Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday took a tour of Trans Thrive's new space and shares what she learned with host Cecilia Lei. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s draft plan to give qualifying Black residents a one-time payment of $5 million sent conservative media into a frenzy. But Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips tells host Cecilia Lei, the viral headline is a distraction from the city’s goal: to undo a long history of harm against Black San Franciscans. He argues that it’s a tough conversation the city should be having. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three years into the coronavirus pandemic, a minority of Americans have avoided infection — as far as they know. How did they do it? Chronicle reporter Kellie Hwang joins host Cecilia Lei to share what Bay Area epidemiologists have to say about COVID-19 holdouts. And some listeners share their own stories of dodging the virus. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salon writer Amanda Marcotte joins It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli to talk about the political right's new favorite word, co-opted from Black culture and now deployed as a stand-in for various slurs. Marcotte says conservatives’ inability or unwillingness to define “woke” is a tool, a way of "bulletproofing their arguments against rational discourse." | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though it’s known as the bank for tech startups, Silicon Valley Bank was also the go-to institution for California’s wine industry for nearly 30 years before its collapse this week. Chronicle reporters Esther Mobley and Jess Lander joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about wine country’s unique connection to the failed bank, and how winemakers are planning for their financial futures. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has been working to fight air pollution. Now, the agency is poised to ban the sale of natural gas-powered water heaters and furnaces. Chronicle reporter Julie Johnson joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why that move would 'spare the air' in the Bay Area, as well as the arguments against the proposal. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is the first state in the U.S. to require ethnic studies as a high school graduation requirement, starting with the class of 2030. The hard part? Each district deciding how to teach it. Chronicle education reporter Jill Tucker joins host Cecilia Lei to explain the differing approaches, and how Bay Area high school communities are responding. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's largest utility, PG&E, has obstructed newly constructed building projects by delaying their connection to the electrical grid — sometimes for months, even years. Chronicle reporter Dustin Gardiner joins host Cecilia Lei to explain how lack of power has impacted the state's housing crisis, and how a new bill could help. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After tragedy struck an Asian ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, host Cecilia Lei reports from ballroom studios and social dances in Oakland and San Francisco to see how Asian seniors are responding — and how dancing helps them find their personal power. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco spent millions on new street teams that bring mental health services directly to people in need. Now, the city appears to be pulling back, removing clinicians from the streets. Opinion columnist and editorial writer Nuala Bishari joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about this change in approach and potential impacts. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snow in the Berkeley Hills. Floods in the middle of San Francisco. A snowpack that's reached staggering heights. We're in the midst of an extreme winter, and another major storm is on the horizon. Chronicle meteorologist Gerry Díaz joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about this winter's record-breaking precipitation and its impact on California’s drought. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, 120 people were killed in Oakland. But police recorded a homicide clearance rate of 36% — less than San Francisco and other big cities across the Bay Area and nationally. Reporters Joshua Sharpe and Susie Neilson join host Demian Bulwa to explain why so many homicides are going unsolved and what it means for families searching for answers. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An emerging class of corporate landlords has made millions of dollars by buying and renting out homes in low-income, Black neighborhoods. Chronicle data reporter Susie Neilson joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about one example in West Oakland and a worrying national trend of neglected properties and eviction threats. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime outdoors writer Tom Stienstra has stared down grizzly bears, steered clear of mountain lions and braved the elements. But his closest call was a recent cancer diagnosis. He joins Cecilia Lei to talk about meeting it with the same joie de vivre that made him fall in love with California’s natural beauty in the first place. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For two decades, Oakland's police force has operated under court oversight — forced to reform itself as a result of a lawsuit brought by victims of the Riders, a group of officers accused of beating and framing people in front of a rookie cop who blew the whistle. Now, as OPD looks for another chief after the firing of LeRonne Armstrong, the department's failings are the subject of a new book, “The Riders Come out at Night.” Co-author Darwin BondGraham joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about the department's troubled history and current roadblocks to reform. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California just lifted its COVID-19 state of emergency. Local and federal assistance programs are expiring. No one wants to talk about the virus. But does that mean the pandemic’s truly a thing of the past? UCSF doctor Peter Chin-Hong joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about lingering COVID-19 risks, and what comes next. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco will be one of the inaugural counties to start using CARE court in October. The program could refer mentally ill homeless people to court-ordered treatment but some activists have disability rights concerns, and both critics and proponents of the law wonder if the city will be ready to provide comprehensive treatment. Chronicle reporters Sophia Bollag and Mallory Moench join host Cecilia Lei to talk about the state mandate and how CARE Court will function. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chloe Cole, an 18-year-old from the Central Valley, has sued Kaiser Permanente over gender-affirming care she was provided when she was younger. Cole says she has de-transitioned, and though her story is rare, she has been embraced by conservatives. As reporter Erin Allday tells host Demian Bulwa, Cole's lawsuit comes as efforts to expand transgender rights have met a fierce backlash that is now playing out in California courts. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a wide-raging onstage conversation with host Cecilia Lei, the comic, host of CNN's "United Shades of America," producer and director of "We Have to Talk About Cosby" and co-author of "Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book" says being progressive is about just that — doing the work. This episode was recorded live at Manny’s in San Francisco as part of Fifth & Mission’s 1,000th episode celebration. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unite Here Local 2 president Anand Singh and Platformer managing editor Zoë Schiffer join host Cecilia Lei onstage to talk about how the pandemic has changed labor organizing. Work stoppages and strikes increased during the pandemic across industries. What does that mean for tech workers who face massive layoffs? This episode was recorded live at Manny’s in San Francisco as part of Fifth & Mission’s 1,000th episode celebration. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the past five months, a San Francisco pilot initiative has been swarming the Castro’s most needy unhoused residents with services, support and “street magic.” Reporter Kevin Fagan joins Fifth & Mission host Cecilia Lei to share the program’s astonishing success — and why it will be so hard to expand it across the city. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In announcing her candidacy to become only the third Black woman in the history of the body, Lee says that representation matters. She also tells It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli that while it’s harder for Black women progressives to raise funds, she’s proven herself up to the challenge in the past. And she says Sen. Dianne Feinstein has “done a phenomenal job,” but spells out how a Sen. Barbara Lee would be different. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Portugal’s decision to decriminalize drug possession as of 2001 garnered international attention. But that move was just part of the nation’s broader public health strategy to curb the devastating effects of an opioid epidemic. At the time, on average, Portugal had an overdose death every day. Today, it’s dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths, HIV infections associated with drug use, and problematic heroin use. Meanwhile in San Francisco, overdose deaths have exploded. Dr. João Goulão, Portugal’s national coordinator for drugs and drug addiction, explains how the country’s approach was shaped and what the results have been. This episode of The Chronicle's Fixing Our City podcast was published Nov. 8. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext Project Got a tip, question, comment? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As The Chronicle's food critic, Soleil Ho has spent the past four years reviewing the Bay Area restaurant scene, and they won a James Beard Award for it last year. Now, they're moving to the Chronicle Opinion Section. Ho joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why they're making that move. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The decades-old policy was enacted in the worst days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and while it's been relaxed some in recent years, the latest change represents a major loosening of rules that gay rights activists have long said are needlessly stigmatizing and discriminatory. But some restrictions remain, including one that excludes anyone who uses PrEP, a drug highly effective at preventing HIV infection. Reporter Erin Allday and state Sen. Scott Wiener join host Demian Bulwa to talk about the policy change and the concerns that remain. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chronicle Washington correspondent Shira Stein joins host and lead political writer Joe Garofolli to talk about what Dianne Feinstein has now said will be her final term in the Senate. They discuss a career marked by tragedy and perseverance — from the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone to more recent battles over the issue most associated with her, gun safety. ​| Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2017 law forces local governments to streamline construction projects if they don’t meet their state-mandated targets. It’s working to get housing built in San Francisco, but it’s set to expire at the end of 2025. Sen. Scott Wiener wants to make it permanent to fix California’s housing crisis. Chronicle reporter Dustin Gardiner joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss SB35's impact and why some are opposed to extending it. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The San Francisco district attorney intends to drop the historic prosecution of an SFPD officer who shot and killed an unarmed man. She claims her predecessor, Chesa Boudin, filed the manslaughter charges against Christopher Samayoa for political reasons, while Boudin says Jenkins is not interested in holding police accountable. Reporter Joshua Sharpe joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about the death of Keita O’Neil and what it means in the context of the police reform movement nationally. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"You can write us off, but you better write in pencil," said London Breed in her state of the city address Thursday. City Hall reporter Mallory Moench joins host Joe Garofoli to talk about the mayor's vision for San Francisco, including plans to build 82,000 new housing units and bolster SFPD staffing numbers. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Street prostitution has been an issue on Capp Street in the Mission District for decades. Chronicle reporter Rachel Swan joins host Dominic Fracassa to talk about San Francisco’s efforts to combat what’s become an “out of control” sex work scene there, including a bold proposal to legalize prostitution. ​| Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over 7,000 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria from major earthquakes this week. How prepared are Bay Area cities for a similar quake? Geologist Austin Elliott of the USGS joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the probability of the Bay Area's next "big one" and how to prepare for it. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal government has been providing emergency funds to tackle food insecurity since the start of the pandemic, but that support will end this month. Meg Davidson from the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the local action that's needed now. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip? Question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has half a dozen teams responding to people in crisis on the streets. Have these teams been effective? Chronicle reporter Mallory Moench joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the city’s new pilot program to address homelessness, and what the data tells us about the impact of San Francisco's crisis teams. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The LGBTQ community is facing aggression on both the legislative and community levels. New San Francisco Pride president Nguyen Pham joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about being the first gay Vietnamese man to hold the position. He shares recent challenges for the queer community and how the backdrop of anti-trans legislation across the country is informing his local leadership. ​| Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month's mass shooting highlighted problems that have long existed: Exploited populations living in substandard conditions on California farms. Reporters Matthias Gafni and Nora Mishanec join host Cecilia Lei to talk about what's been exposed since the shooting, and Darlene Tenes of Farmworker Caravan shares why deplorable living conditions at farms have been a long-standing crisis across the state. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is facing huge challenges as it fights climate change and the extreme weather that comes with it. On one hand, the state wants to limit carbon emissions by going all-electric — in your home and in your car. But it also needs to keep the lights on, building a stronger and more innovative power grid less prone to frustrating outages. Chronicle reporter Claire Hao joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about potential solutions. ​| Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intense storms like the ones that just rolled through California, combined with rising sea levels, are endangering scenic shoreline areas like West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, where large chunks of bluffs fell into the sea earlier this month. Reporter Kurtis Alexander tells host Cecilia Lei that coastal cities are having to deal with problems like this years before they thought they’d have to. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law enforcement officials have released recordings that document what happened before and after the attack on Paul Pelosi in the home he shares with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Abner Hauge, editor-in-chief of Left Coast Right Watch, which monitors alt-right extremism, joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about attacker David Wayne DePape and his extremist rhetoric. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost two years before Election Day, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff have tossed their hats in the ring, and Barbara Lee is making plans. Washington correspondent Shira Stein joins host Joe Garofoli to talk about who else might run for the seat now held by Dianne Feinstein, who's expected to retire, and how they'll raise the enormous amounts of money required. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong is on paid administrative leave after a report said he mishandled an officer misconduct investigation. Chronicle reporters Sarah Ravani and Joshua Sharpe join host Demian Bulwa to discuss the latest scandal to rock the department, and whether Armstrong can keep his job and keep OPD on the path to ending 20 years of federal oversight. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The state has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, including background checks and bans on assault-style weapons, but mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay this week have left the state reeling. Assembly Member Evan Low joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the limits of state legislation — and the support that AAPI communities need now. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices