Civic

Every city is special in some way to the people who call it home, but as author Gary Kamiya writes, San Francisco is a more potent touchstone than most thanks to the unique place it occupies in the American imagination. In the new anthology “The End of the Golden Gate,” writers including W. Kamau Bell, Margaret Cho and Michelle Tea reflect on a city in flux. Kamiya and writer and artist John Law t...

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The Burma Refugee Family Network recommended finding local aid groups through regional Refugee, Asylee and Immigrant Forums. These forums coordinate refugee nonprofit organizations in San Francisco , Santa Clara County , and the East Bay . Also: We are still interested in hearing what you think about Civic — find a short survey here . Your feedback is appreciated!

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: Rent assistance applications outpace disbursements; booster shot eligibility; congregate shelter intakes paused; ghost gun lawsuit; DA and police chief discuss crime. Coming up: Hardly Strictly back to virtual; planning commission to consider certain neigh...

If you have five minutes, we would love to have your feedback on Civic! Fill out our listener survey here . Thank you!

If you have five minutes, we'd love to get your feedback on Civic through a quick survey . Your feedback means a lot, so thanks very much!

A report on the waste picked up by cleanup crews working along the nation’s beaches and shorelines from the Surfrider Foundation showed that almost 90% of the more than 80,000 pounds of trash collected in 2020 was plastic. The report also criticizes the use of bioplastics — an umbrella term that refers to plastic alternatives marketed as biodegradable or compostable. Rachel Coccia, plastic polluti...

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: Vaccine mandate for indoor activities; kids return to school; first of two DA recall efforts falls short on signatures. Coming up: The DA and police chief in conversation; SFMTA board to discuss Van Ness report findings; Health Commission will get an updat...

The California Geological Survey creates maps showing which areas scientists expect a really serious tsunami would affect. The latest iteration of this map shows that the areas likely to be affected have actually expanded. Rick Wilson, a senior engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey and manager of its tsunami program, outlines some tsunami basics and explains how and why these...

California voters will be asked whether they want to remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office. If the recall is approved, there are more than 40 candidates vying to replace him, and they are listed on the same ballot. These ballots should arriving in San Francisco voters’ mailboxes around August 16. They can then be mailed in or returned in person. Evangelina Peña, co-manager of the outreach divis...

“Homeroom,” from director Peter Nicks and executive producer Ryan Coogler, debuts on August 12 on Hulu and will also begin a week of screenings at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater that day. 

*Editor's note: This podcast was updated Tuesday, August 10 because the SFUSD announced a vaccine mandate for staff.*

San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is a relatively new department, but it and its budget have been growing rapidly. The newly approved city budget allocates more than $1.1 billion over two years to the department. That money will be spent on programs including placing people in housing, finding ways to keep people who are in a precarious housing situation in place, o...

The proposal to create a public bank for San Francisco, in order to provide an alternative to big banks for the city's investing and lending needs, is moving incrementally from concept toward reality. A working group of experts in different relevant fields, from finance to affordable housing, has now been selected to start work on a business plan for a public bank. Fernando Martí, co-director of t...

The Manilatown Heritage Foundation will host a commemoration on Wednesday, Aug. 4. Details are at manilatown.org .

With the delta variant, coronavirus infections are on a sharp increase again in the Bay Area. California recently announced that health care workers and state employees must be vaccinated or get tested weekly and wear masks on the job. There have already been attempts to challenge the legality of similar mandates around the nation. Dorit Reiss, a law professor at UC Hastings who researches the law...

In the streets, in jails and other detention facilities and at its program sites around the Bay Area, the Young Women’s Freedom Center provides resources and support to girls, women, and transgender and gender non-conforming people. It provides training, internships, fellowships and jobs to help people affected by poverty, exploitation and violence develop their voices. One of the center’s core te...

The daily work commute nearly disappeared in March of 2020 as the Bay Area went into pandemic lockdown, and while travel on public transit continues to lag this Summer, many Bay Area residents are getting behind the wheel to get to and from their jobs. We talk to a CalTrans spokesperson about current traffic patterns and with a radio traffic reporter about what he has seen on the roads during the...

The pandemic and related precautions affected millions of restaurant workers around the country — unemployment in the restaurant industry shot up to more than 40% nationwide in April 2020, and to 60% in the Bay Area, according to the State of Restaurant Workers report from the advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. Zoe Caras, national research associate for the organization, expla...

The city of Mountain View is prohibiting oversize vehicle parking on streets that are 40 feet wide or, which more than 80 percent of the city’s streets are. While the ordinance is described as a traffic safety measure, according to local reporting, the ban primarily affects homeless people living in vehicles. Last week, a group of civil rights organizations filed suit against the city over that or...

Some of the people most at risk for infection with the delta variant of the coronavirus are those who have not gotten vaccinated. Outreach workers with Code Tenderloin head into the streets with vaccines to inoculate people right where they are and to build trust with those still reluctant to receive the vaccine.

The majority of San Francisco residents have gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus. But a lack of trust in the healthcare system or trouble making an appointment or going to a vaccination site may still pose barriers for some, especially people experiencing homelessness. Dr. Margot Kushel, a physician and researcher who directs the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, is part of a...