Economy

Little old ladies set up shop selling 'free' food on streets of S.F.

Jonathan Newman, Central City Extra — May 17 2012 - 1:18pm

With the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market gearing up across the street at 8:30 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, six elderly Asian women line up their wares across the front of the Grant Building and entreat pedestrians, calling softly: “Buy. You buy.” Canned Bartlett pears, bagged carrots and onions, boxes of Land O’ Lakes American cheese, packages of whole-wheat bagels, jars of Algood peanut butter, dried beans, sesame crackers and squat cans of evaporated milk were neatly displayed at their feet, along with grape juice and orange juice in plastic liters — clearly food obtained from community agencies’ free distribution programs.

City to tackle shelter waiting game for disabled and older homeless

T.J. Johnston, SF Public Press — May 15 2012 - 2:33pm

The health of homeless people — especially older and disabled ones — is endangered by a time-consuming wait they endure daily when reserving a bed in San Francisco’s public shelter system, advocates and city officials said recently. They told a Board of Supervisors panel that to solve the problem, the city is putting together a group of providers, city officials and clients, led by homeless policy director Bevan Dufty, to seek improvements in shelter access and the health of senior and disabled clients.

Express bus eyed for Caltrain to mid-Market run

Jerold Chinn, SF Public Press — May 14 2012 - 2:23pm

Muni officials want to start an express bus route to speed workers from the downtown San Francisco Caltrain to a revitalized mid-Market jobs hub. The rush-hour service would cater to what the city anticipates will be a growing technology business cluster near the new headquarters of social media giant Twitter.

Neighbors hope to quash plans to open Chase bank branch on Valencia St.

Rigoberto Hernandez, Mission Local — May 3 2012 - 4:45pm

Chase Bank’s plans to open a branch on Valencia Street this fall will face an appeal by neighbors who are organizing to derail the project. Chase might be one of the last banks to benefit from what District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar calls a loophole in the planning code, which allows banks to open without neighbors’ input. Last month, the San Francisco Planning Commission voted 6-1 in support of an amendment that would close that loophole.

S.F. Bayview's food renaissance: Third St. welcomes Radio Africa restaurant

Rachael Myrow, KQED News Fix — Apr 26 2012 - 1:58pm

Radio Africa Kitchen is one of a growing list of city-supported food businesses on Third Street in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood. It's all part of a calculated redevelopment strategy to drive foodies to this long-neglected corner of Southeast San Francisco. Yes, there is plenty of the mouthwatering barbecue and soul food you'd expect to find, but Bayview has a lot more to offer now, including at least three places to get a latte. (Is it just me, or is that a key indicator of foodie culture?)

State bill would legalize selling home-cooked food

Noah Arroyo, Mission Local — Apr 16 2012 - 4:45pm

The California Homemade Food Act, AB1616, may be a game-changer for entrepreneurs who want to cook in their kitchen and sell on the street. Vendors who make breads, nut mixes, fruit butters, preserves and other foods that don’t spoil at room temperature would be able to legally cook from home if the bill passes.

San Francisco pitched as beacon of ‘collaborative consumption’

Michael Stoll, SF Public Press — Apr 4 2012 - 5:22pm

San Francisco’s current crop of leaders ran for office on a platform of deploying city resources to encourage private-sector job growth — which in this famously liberal city is seen as about as conservative as an elected official can get. But last week a task force convened by Mayor Ed Lee and four members of the Board of Supervisors opened an opportunity to expand the meaning of the pro-business moniker to a new crop of startup, do-gooder social enterprises that enable small-scale, peer-to-peer economic activity and resource sharing.

State says lax rules might let builders use questionable licenses

Les Mahler, SF Public Press — Mar 26 2012 - 9:13am

This story appears in the Spring 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.

The agency overseeing companies that build houses and office buildings across California has for years trumpeted its ability to sniff out phony contractors, often publishing photos of dramatic undercover police stings of unlicensed builders at work on half-finished suburban cul-de-sacs. But now the agency, the Contractors State License Board, is looking into a problem of the state’s own making — a program that allows contractors to essentially lease out their licenses.

Muni chief takes aim at swollen overtime budget

Jerold Chinn, SF Public Press — Mar 22 2012 - 9:14am

City transportation director Ed Reiskin says he hopes to control Muni’s overtime spending in the next fiscal year by budgeting it at $42 million. After budgeting $32 million for this fiscal year, the actual spending is expected to reach $60 million.

Bayview community garden program in peril as funding dries up

Leigh Cuen, SF Public Press — Mar 19 2012 - 12:05pm

Responding to food insecurity, neighbors cultivate network of plots to provide locally grown bounty and education

This story appears in the Spring 2012 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.

The Quesada Gardens Initiative, which has helped green and revitalize one of San Francisco’s most economically neglected neighborhoods, is struggling to survive as funding is running dry. Formed in 2002 as a community-building effort by Bayview residents, it has gone on to transform portions of the community, spreading through vacant lots, backyards and community spaces. It has also begun to produce significant quantities of food for a neighborhood where the available of healthy options is limited.

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