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City workers decry layoffs, demand alternatives

Christopher D. Cook, SF Public Press — Mar 15 2010 - 3:48pm

City workers are demanding alternatives to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s hard-nosed fiscal approach as he attempts to close a $522 million projected budget gap through mass layoffs and de-facto furloughs.

As San Francisco grapples with a ballooning deficit for the coming fiscal year, Newsom laid off 17,474 workers two weeks ago, but promised to hire back “most” of them at 37½ hours per week. For the rehired, that represents a 6.25 percent pay cut — which city workers’ unions intend to challenge in court.

Toting 8½-by-11-inch “termination of employment” pink slips, angry city workers lined up at last Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee hearing to decry the layoffs and urge city leaders to explore other sources of money.

Cap-and-trade ‘unpollution’ is nonsensical

Andrew Page, KQED — Mar 10 2010 - 1:53pm

When I first heard about cap-and-trade — the plan where a company can emit greenhouse gasses up to a point (the cap) then offset its emissions by investing in “unpollution” somewhere in the world (the trade) — well I thought, “This sounds like it’s worth a shot.” But after some looking into it, I have my doubts.

Embattled union seeks to blunt second year of city cuts

Kevin Stark, SF Public Press — Feb 26 2010 - 11:54am

(UPDATE: A reform slate of candidates won victory in the election. For details, see Kevin Stark's blog). wins the election this weekend at Northern California’s largest public-sector union will inherit a troubled labor local beset by internal conflict and controversial negotiations in San Francisco that cost the union hundreds of jobs this past year.

Bay Area News Project editor promises media renaissance

Delaney Kennedy, SF Public Press — Feb 26 2010 - 10:18am

Jonathan Weber, the new editor for the Bay Area News Project, reveals project details to an audience of more than 100 journalists at the World Affairs
Council in San Francisco. Weber said -- unlike most media outlets -- that he's hiring. He presented a contrarian point of view on modern media, saying that technology heralds the rebirth, of journalism, not its death.

Environmentalists, preservationists face off in Parkmerced

Alison Hawkes, KALW Public Radio — Feb 18 2010 - 6:08pm

KALW Public Radio reporter Alison Hawkes took a closer look at Parkmerced, where owners are pitching a 30-year plan to transform the site into a low-carbon community. For developers, it’s a test to see if “green” can stand for both environmental sustainability and the color of money. Hawkes found the drive for a clean new future is clashing with the past.

Mid-Market: The shape it’s in. Who owns it. What’s next.

Marjorie Beggs, Jonathan Newman and Geoff Link, Central City Extra — Feb 8 2010 - 3:17pm

We call it the plywood parade — the relentless march up Market Street from Fifth to Eighth of boarded-up or erratically open storefronts, emptying offices in the upper stories and crumbling facades. Some 31 percent of the storefronts on this stretch of Market Street are vacant. Both local government and businesses are trying to restore this faded area of Market Street into a vibrant commercial center. The three mid-Market blocks mostly look like hell.

City to carve out more contracts for ‘micro’ businesses

Monica Jensen, SF Public Press — Feb 3 2010 - 6:13pm

In a bid to make it easier for local businesses to grow in a down economy, San Francisco supervisors want to give more small, city-based firms a competitive edge in city contracts.

Underground farmers market finds home in Mission District

Gianmaria Franchini, SF Public Press — Dec 22 2009 - 5:19pm
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Acorn flour, wild fennel seeds and homemade sarsaparilla (that’s soda for all you non-foodies) are just some of the treats that have found their way into a new alternative farmers market. This underground bazaar sponsored by the founder of forageSF is a house party, dinner party and street fair rolled into one. Small vendors who can’t afford commercial kitchens or a booth at SF’s official farmers market are hawking their food on the second-floor flat of a Victorian.

Death of bilingual newspaper leaves void in Japanese American community

Conor Gallagher, SF Public Press — Dec 14 2009 - 5:05pm

One of the last bilingual Japanese-English newspapers in San Francisco has ceased its print publication and will likely end its Internet edition in the near future, leaving Japantown residents disappointed and searching for new sources of information.

New transit center to displace SoMa neighbors

Angela Hart, SF Public Press — Dec 11 2009 - 1:15pm

South of Market business owners and residents are conflicted over plans for an ambitious new transit-center redevelopment. They say that while the project may be good for the city and the Bay Area, it's bad for their livelihoods. Among those being pressured to relocate are 26 businesses, at least 24 live-work lofts and eight parking lots operators.

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