San Francisco City Insider

San Francisco City Insider Is Moving

Sat, 11 Apr 2020 08:00:00 -0000

This podcast's timeline is ending, but the show will go on! Host Heather Knight is joining Audrey Cooper as co-host of the Chronicle's flagship podcast, Fifth & Mission, where she'll continue to interview newsmakers. And her patented Lightning Round is going with her. Subscribe to Fifth & Mission to keep listening. podfollow.com/fifth

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BART's Coming Off the Rails

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Bevan Dufty, a member of the BART board of directors, discusses how the already struggling transit agency has seen a 94 percent plunge in ridership during the coronavirus pandemic and how it will ever recover. | Get unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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How to Combat Shutdown Loneliness

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Madeline Dangerfield-Cha, the co-founder of Mon Ami, a service that matches volunteers with isolated seniors, talks to Heather Knight about the epidemic of loneliness during our new coronavirus reality and gives tips on how to build connections. | Get unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Glide in the Time of COVID-19

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Karen Hanrahan, CEO and president of Glide, the famous Tenderloin church and social service provider, tells Heather Knight about the livestream church services and what coronavirus is teaching us about poverty. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Homeless and Desperate

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 20:41:55 -0000

Kristie Fairchild, executive director of North Beach Citizens, talks about how more homeless people are seeking help since food and spare change from tourists and other passersby have dried up due to the coronavirus shutdown. | Get unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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San Francisco After COVID-19

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 16:48:33 -0000

Cities have long weathered public health crises and emerged stronger because of them. Benjamin Grant, urban design policy director at SPUR, talks with Heather Knight about the ways San Francisco will be permanently changed by coronavirus. | Get unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Is the Coronavirus Surge Still Coming?

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:41:06 -0000

Have we flattened the curve? Dr. Allison Bond, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, gives Heather Knight an inside view of San Francisco hospitals — which, so far, seem like a calm before a storm. | The latest on coronavirus: sfchronicle.com/coronavirus | Get unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com

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Inside San Francisco's Emergency Command Center

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Ivy Lee, a legislative aide, is among the hundreds of City Hall staff members who've been spending long days inside Moscone Center to prepare for the expected surge in coronavirus cases. She talks to Heather Knight about San Francisco's readiness for a potential disaster. | Get unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Coronavirus: A Disaster for Small Businesses

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 22:49:00 -0000

The shutdown to stem the coronavirus outbreak has already destroyed some small businesses, including the one owned by Sharky Laguana, president of San Francisco's Small Business Commission, who talks to Heather Knight.

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Treating Victims of S.F.’s Traffic Violence

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Dr. Andre Campbell, a trauma surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital, regularly treats pedestrians and bicyclists mowed down by cars. He speaks with host Heather Knight about the uptick in mayhem on the streets and what can be done to reduce it. | For more: Doctor Campbell on the Coronavirus

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“This Is Going to Be Catastrophic”

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 08:30:00 -0000

San Franciscan Amanda Kahn Fried is on sabbatical in Italy, a coronavirus hot spot where events seem to be a few weeks ahead of the Bay Area. She tells Heather Knight what it’s like to live under lockdown.

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Fifth & Mission: A Top S.F. Doctor on the Coronavirus

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 08:00:00 -0000

Dr. Andre Campbell, a longtime trauma surgeon and ICU doctor at San Francisco General Hospital, tells Heather Knight on the Chronicle’s flagship podcast what to expect with COVID-19 in the weeks ahead and how the hospital is preparing. | Subscribe to Fifth & Mission

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The Bart Board President's Big Dreams

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Lateefah Simon, a legally blind single mom who commuted on BART for years before she was elected president of its board of directors in December, talks with Heather Knight about her plans for the beleaguered transit system.

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Race, Power and Inequity in San Francisco

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Shakirah Simley, director of the new Office of Racial Equity, talks with Dominic Fracassa about rooting out and repairing the racial harms caused by city policies. | Get unlimited Chronicle access.

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There's a New Sheriff in Town

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Paul Miyamoto was sworn in at a pivotal moment for criminal justice reform in San Francisco. He tells Dominic Fracassa about the future of the city’s crumbling Hall of Justice and his vow to protect the city’s sanctuary policies.

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Vilaska Nguyen: Comedian, Public Defender and S.F. Supervisor Candidate

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0000

In a crossover episode with Total SF, Nguyen joins hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight to announce his candidacy for District 7 supervisor, talk about how Jeff Adachi inspired his comedy and why he lives in San Francisco, and to face the City Insider lightning round.

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Young, Homeless and Alone on the Streets

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Sherilyn Adams, director of Larkin Street Youth Services, talks about youth homelessness and debunks myths about the crisis in San Francisco. | Help Chronicle Podcasts serve you better! Take our survey at sfchronicle.com/podcastsurvey.

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Corruption in the Public Works Department

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Supervisor Matt Haney has long been frustrated by the filthy streets and lack of trash cans and public restrooms in his district. He was outraged by Public Works chief Mohammed Nuru's alleged corruption and is calling for major changes in the department. | Get unlimited Chronicle access.

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Fifth & Mission Live: Primaries 2020

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 07:19:23 -0000

In this episode of the Chronicle's flagship news podcast, Fifth & Mission, Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper, politics writer Joe Garofoli and columnists Heather Knight and Phil Matier talk about Iowa, the upcoming primaries, and local politics at a Chronicle Talks event at Manny's in San Francisco.

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The Rare San Francisco Trump Supporter

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0000

John Dennis, waging his fourth campaign against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, discusses what it's like to be among the 6.6% of city residents registered to vote as a Republican and why he backs President Trump. | Get unlimited Chronicle access.

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Super Excited for the Super Bowl

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 18:35:31 -0000

Supervisor Shamann Walton, City Hall's No. 1 49ers fan, talks about his Super Bowl party and plans for a victory parade up Market Street if the Niners win their first ring in 25 years. Plus: Cable car No. 49, all decked out.

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Fifth & Mission: Bombshell Arrest of "MrCleanSF"

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 02:03:00 -0000

San Francisco City Insider host Heather Knight joins Audrey Cooper and Evan Sernoffsky in this breaking news episode of the Fifth & Mission podcast from the San Francisco Chronicle, which we're presenting on the City Insider feed. San Francisco Director of Public Works Mohammed Nuru and Lefty O'Doul's owner Nick Bovis are charged with fraud after a months-long federal corruption probe. | Get unlimited Chronicle access.

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Why San Francisco Needs a Safe Injection Site

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 09:00:00 -0000

For years, drug addiction expert Alex Kral has been studying a secret safe injection site in an undisclosed American city. He says San Francisco has to open its own site to cope with its drug crisis. | Get unlimited Chronicle access.

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No Love for the Haight

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Endless construction, high rents and increasing labor costs are harming businesses in the Haight. Booksmith owner Christin Evans, president of the neighborhood's merchant association, tells Heather Knight about the hardships.

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The Public Defender Makes His Case

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Mano Raju has big shoes to fill in replacing the late Jeff Adachi. He talks about the election of his fellow public defender Chesa Boudin to the district attorney's office and his efforts to make jury duty a regular job.

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Three Years of Rage

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Raveena Rihal and Palak Sheth co-founded the Post March Salon (PMS) after the first Women's March three years ago. Their anger over President Trump's policies and commitment to change has only deepened since then.

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Spending San Francisco's Big Bucks

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Treasurer Jose Cisneros talks about the city's whopping $12.3 billion budget and why he's directing more of it to kindergarteners, airport workers and low-income people.

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Best of City Insider: New Muni Director

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 09:00:00 -0000

Jeffrey Tumlin took over on Dec. 16. In case you missed it, you can hear him talk in November about his plans to chart a new path for San Francisco that will prioritize buses, bikes and pedestrians over private vehicles and "subsidized car storage" — parking spaces. First published Nov. 23.

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Best of City Insider: Chesa Boudin

Mon, 30 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

He came on the podcast as one of four candidates. Now he's the district attorney-elect. Hear how he'll operate as San Francisco's top prosecutor. First published Sept. 17.

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Best of City Insider: Vision Zero Isn’t Working

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Janice Li, a Bicycle Coalition staffer and BART director, talks about how San Francisco's program to eliminate traffic deaths is big on marketing and short on actual answers. First published Aug. 30.

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The Most Loved Librarian in America

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

San Francisco Public Library reference librarian Janet Tom has just won a national award for, yes, being loved. She tells us about her job and why the city's libraries are so well-liked.

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The Drug Crisis, Firsthand

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Thomas Wolf was an employed, married father of two when he got hooked on painkillers after surgery. He fell into homelessness and heroin addiction in the Tenderloin before pulling himself out. He talks about how City Hall can do better.

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A Rocky Year at City Hall

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Columnist Heather Knight and reporters Dominic Fracassa and Trisha Thadani discuss the major stories of 2019 and preview what's to come in 2020.

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Sacred sleep

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Shannon Eizenga, executive director of the Gubbio Project, discusses why it's so hard for homeless people to sleep and how offering them church pews for rest makes a difference.

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Talking Trash

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

John Porter, vice president of Recology, discusses changes the garbage collection agency is making to help clean up San Francisco's notoriously dirty streets.

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Dean Preston’s Big Plans

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0000

The supervisor-elect who beat London Breed ally Vallie Brown in November talks to reporter Trisha Thadani about his plans to shake up the status quo when he joins the Board of Supervisors in December.

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Hungry in San Francisco

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 20:29:57 -0000

Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco Food Bank, talks about how food pantries are cropping up at local colleges because students are broke after paying tuition, and how he scrapes together 48 million pounds of food each year.

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Byron Cobb: Cable Car Bell Ringing Champion

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 09:00:00 -0000

A crossover The Big Event and S.F. City Insider episode. Hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight interview Byron Cobb, the reigning Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest champion and eight-time winner. Produced by Peter Hartlaub.

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Meet Your New Muni Director

Sat, 23 Nov 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Jeffrey Tumlin, who will start one of the city's hardest jobs on Dec. 16, plans to chart a new path for San Francisco that will prioritize buses, bikes and pedestrians over private vehicles and "subsidized car storage" — parking spaces.

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The Effort to End Domestic Violence

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Esta Soler, founder of Futures Without Violence, talks with Heather Knight about the 25th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act and her plan for a new Courage Museum in the Presidio.

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SF Takes Big Step Toward Mental Health Care Reform. What's next?

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 20:13:23 -0000

After months of political bickering, San Francisco's leaders have united behind an ambitious, expensive plan to fix the city's broken mental health care system. Chronicle City Hall reporters Trisha Thadani and Dom Fracassa break down what's happening and what's yet to come.

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Making San Francisco's Streets Safer

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Bicycle Coalition executive director Brian Wiedenmeier discusses the new car-free Market Street plan, his dream of a car-free Golden Gate Park, and why he's always polite while bicycling around the city

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Too Close to Call: Election Night Recap

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 21:31:27 -0000

With the ballots still being counted, Chronicle columnist Heather Knight and City Hall reporter Dominic Fracassa talk about the district attorney's race, the neck-and-neck competition for district 5 on the Board of Supervisors and more.

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Celebrating Transgender Awareness Month

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 09:00:00 -0000

Clair Farley, director of the Office of Transgender Initiatives, talks about her own transition and the importance of pushing progressive LGBTQ policies while the White House spreads transphobia.

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Jonathan Moscone: 41 Years Without Dad

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0000

The late Mayor George Moscone’s son recalls the horrible day his father was assassinated alongside Supervisor Harvey Milk. Moscone, chief producer for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, also discusses the importance of promoting artists in a city where they can't afford to live.

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Should 17-year-olds get to vote?

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Ella Yitzhaki, a senior at Lowell High, has become an advocate for amending the California constitution to allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they'll be 18 by the general election. She talks about the reasons for the change and what it's like being a kid in San Francisco.

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Losing Summer

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0000

Ten months. Nearly 30 visits to the psychiatric ER. And a suicide. Summer’s story reveals the weaknesses in San Francisco’s mental illness and addiction treatment system.

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“Off to the Races” Already

Sat, 05 Oct 2019 17:01:00 -0000

(Originally published March 4, 2019.) With the election nine months away, nearly $200,000 has already been poured into the race for the District Five seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Vallie Brown, who was appointed by Mayor London Breed following Breed’s ascension to Room 200, faces stiff competition for her reelection. Tenant Attorney Dean Preston, who narrowly lost to Breed in 2016, is running as a Democratic Socialist. That could be a problem for Brown, who’s associated with the moderate mayor. San Francisco Chronicle City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani sits down with host Heather Knight to talk about what this all means for Mayor Breed, the city and the district.

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San Francisco's New Political Spot

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0000

Manny Yekutiel looks back on the first year of Manny's, discusses the importance of civic engagement and talks about why he'd never let Donald Trump — or any other Republican — speak there.

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Fifth & Mission: Rocks and Hard Places

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 18:48:00 -0000

We're sharing this episode of The Chronicle's Fifth & Mission podcast, in which SF City Insider host Heather Knight joins Kevin Fagan and Demian Bulwa to talk about the infamous boulders on Clinton Park alley, which have become a symbol for San Francisco's inability to provide basic services for its homeless population or to enforce laws when street behavior turns dark and violent.

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Total SF: Warriors president Rick Welts interview

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 03:45:00 -0000

Warriors president Rick Welts joins the San Francisco Chronicle's #TotalSF team Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight for a The Big Event/SF City Insider podcast crossover. Welts makes the case to add the Chase Center to the new 49 Mile Scenic Route being created by Knight and Hartlaub, and talks about living in San Francisco, his friendship with NBA legend Bill Russell and submits to Knight's City Insider lightning round..

Produced by Peter Hartlaub.

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Taking a Shot at the NRA

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 08:00:00 -0000

Supervisor Catherine Stefani made national news when her resolution calling the National Rifle Association "a domestic terrorist organization" passed the Board of Supervisors unanimously. She talks about her reasons and the fallout.

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DA Tuesday: Chesa Boudin

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 08:00:00 -0000

The most progressive candidate in the race for San Francisco district attorney is a public defender who's been visiting his father in prison since he was a baby. He discusses the major changes he'd like to see in our broken criminal justice system.

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A Little Dignity for the Homeless

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:13:18 -0000

Doniece Sandoval, the founder of Lava Mae, which brings mobile showers and toilets to the streets, discusses City Hall's sluggishness, how parents can explain street misery to their kids, and what average San Franciscans can do to help.

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DA Tuesday: Suzy Loftus

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 08:00:00 -0000

The front-runner in the race discusses what she'd do about San Francisco's biggest problems, including untreated mental illness on our streets, drug dealing and car break-ins.

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DA Tuesday: Nancy Tung

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 08:00:00 -0000

In the second of four interviews with the candidates for San Francisco district attorney, Nancy Tung, the most conservative of the candidates — by San Francisco standards, of course — talks about prosecutors needing to get tougher on crime.

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Why San Francisco's Vision Zero Isn't Working

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Janice Li, a Bicycle Coalition staffer and BART director, talks about how San Francisco's program to eliminate traffic deaths is big on marketing and short on actual answers. Plus: What's in store for BART, and Li’s favorite and least favorite stations.

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DA Tuesday: Leif Dautch

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 09:00:00 -0000

In the first of four interviews with the candidates for San Francisco district attorney, Leif Dautch talks about how he'd remake the troubled office and his plans for a 150-bed mental health center. Plus: He plays his fiddle, a first for SF City Insider.

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An Attack, a Video and the Fallout

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 08:00:00 -0000

The harrowing viral video of an attack on a woman trying to enter her waterfront condo has reignited debate over how San Francisco ought to balance helping those in crisis with ensuring public safety.

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S.F.’s First Openly LGBT Fire Chief

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 08:00:00 -0000

Jeanine Nicholson talks about her cancer battle, what San Francisco should do about its homeless epidemic and whether we’re really prepared for a massive earthquake. Plus: Her favorite burrito spot.

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An Epidemic of Untreated Mental Illness

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 08:00:00 -0000

San Francisco is compelling far fewer mentally ill people into mandated treatment. Columnist Heather Knight and City Hall reporter Dominic Fracassa discuss the rise in clearly untreated mental illness on the city's sidewalks.

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Living on the Cheap in One of the World's Most Expensive Cities

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 08:00:00 -0000

As his name implies, Broke-Ass Stuart's whole shtick is living a big life with little cash. But that's become harder than ever in San Francisco. The city character explains how he does it and offers tips for others.

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Treating San Francisco Homelessness Like a Real Emergency

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 08:00:00 -0000

If San Francisco experienced a major fire or earthquake and thousands of residents were suddenly homeless, would the city form task forces and appoint an expert to study the problem? Kara Zordel, CEO of Community Assessment and Treatment Services, says it's time we treat homelessness like a real emergency too.

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Into the Weeds with SF's Cannabis Czar

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 19:14:07 -0000

As director of San Francisco's cannabis office, it's former prosecutor Marisa Rodriguez's job to grow the city's legal pot economy. One of her top priorities? Ensuring victims of the War on Drugs get the first chance to benefit as business-owners now that cannabis is legal in California.

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What Does London Lack That SF Has in Abundance? Misery on the Streets

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:49:14 -0000

In talking to friends and colleagues who’ve done their own recent traveling, it’s clear to columnist Heather Knight that many cities around the world and the U.S. maintain a better quality of life for residents of all income levels, as well as create a better experience for visitors.

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Breaking Down the Budget

Tue, 02 Jul 2019 16:44:50 -0000

How does a city with a $12 billion budget still have so many problems? City Hall reporters Dominic Fracassa and Trisha Thadani break down how the $12 billion budget isn't actually as much as it seems.

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The Fight Over the Embarcadero Navigation Center

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0000

Everyone agrees San Francisco must address its homelessness problem, but the fierce debate over the Embarcadero navigation center highlights how hard that is to do. Trisha Thadani and Dominic Fracassa on the city's struggle.

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Poverty and Financial Justice in San Francisco

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0000

For the past two years, San Francisco's Financial Justice Project has been working to eliminate government fees and fines that are particularly painful, and in some cases, ruinous, to the city's poorest. Anne Stuhldreher, who leads the project, sat down with Chronicle reporter Dominic Fracassa to talk about her team's accomplishments and how to keep the government from enriching itself on the backs of its most vulnerable.

For more on the project: https://sftreasurer.org/financialjustice.

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Making Sense of the Affordable Housing Mess

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 18:43:03 -0000

The mayor and a few members of the Board of Supervisors are battling over the best way to build more affordable and teacher housing. Both sides have proposals for the November ballot. We try to untangle the issues.

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Taxing Wealthy Companies to Solve SF's Problems

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Should San Francisco raise taxes on prosperous companies to help pay for the city's most gripping problems? Between a tax on IPO's, Uber and Lyft and exorbitantly paid CEO's voters will have plenty of options to choose from in November. We break down the three business tax proposals headed to November's ballot, focusing on the most recent one that would raise money for a new mental health care system.

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Finding the Tipping Point on Homelessness

Fri, 31 May 2019 08:00:00 -0000

Daniel Lurie is the CEO and founder of Tipping Point, an anti-poverty nonprofit in San Francisco. He tells Heather Knight that the solution to homelessness is homes, but also that we can all help the homeless by simply treating them as people.

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Total SF Live! with Amanda Guest, Emily Silverman, Tara Ramroop and Eugenia Chien

Mon, 27 May 2019 10:29:00 -0000

A crossover episode of The Big Event and San Francisco City Insider podcasts, recorded live on May 16, 2019, at the Betabrand Podcast Theater in the Mission District. San Francisco Chronicle pop culture critic Peter Hartlaub and San Francisco columnist Heather Knight interview BFF.fm online radio founder Amanda Guest, The Nocturnists podcast host Dr. Emily Silverman and Muni Diaries co-hosts Tara Ramroop and Eugenia Chien.

Produced by Peter Hartlaub. Music is "The Tide Will Rise" by the Sunset Shipwrecks on the album "Community."

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Opioid Addiction: One Family's Story

Fri, 24 May 2019 10:00:00 -0000

When 33-year-old Jeffrey Choate’s parents saw their son, homeless and addicted to heroin and meth, in Heather Knight's San Francisco Chronicle column, they wanted to tell her about how he ended up that way. We also hear from Choate, now in jail.

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I Left My Heart - and Wallet, iPhone and Sanity - in San Francisco

Tue, 14 May 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Joe D’Allesandro, director of S.F. Travel, took City Hall to task a year ago for doing so little to improve safety and quality-of-life on the city’s streets. Between poop, needles, tent camps and car break-ins, tourists are often shocked and disgusted and vow to never return. And that’s a problem for a city that relies on tourism. We’re talking to him again to see what, if anything, has changed and what tourists are saying now.

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Mid-Market: Vision and Reality

Fri, 10 May 2019 17:45:00 -0000

We're sharing this episode of the Chronicle's flagship Fifth & Mission podcast about the expiring “Twitter tax break,” created by San Francisco in 2011 to draw companies to the downtrodden Mid-Market neighborhood. Reporters Trisha Thadani, J.K. Dineen and Roland Li discuss its impact and effects, both good and bad. Subscribe to Fifth & Mission wherever you get San Francisco City Insider.

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San Francisco’s Deadly Streets - And What Could Help

Fri, 03 May 2019 07:45:00 -0000

Five years ago, city officials vowed to eliminate all traffic deaths in 10 years in a safe streets program dubbed Vision Zero. Halfway through those 10 years, San Francisco is making no progress in eliminating traffic fatalities. Already this year, 12 people have died in traffic including seven pedestrians, a bicyclist, a skateboarder and three people in cars. Jodie Medeiros, director of the pedestrian advocacy nonprofit Walk San Francisco, talks about why San Francisco can’t seem to get a handle on making its streets safe - and what changes are needed to make Vision Zero a reality.

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Homeless Navigation Centers: Now What?

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 22:44:00 -0000

The city's plan to build a homeless shelter on the Embarcadero faces a legal challenge. Jeff Kositsky, director of San Francisco’s homelessness department, talks about the need to balance an emphasis on short-term shelters with permanent housing.

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Fixing SF's Behavioral Health System Is Difficult. Here's Why.

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Something isn’t working within San Francisco’s behavioral health care system, but city officials don't exactly know how to fix it yet. City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani breaks down why it's so complicated, and what San Francisco is doing to add more coordination, focus and accountability to the system.

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Tribute to the Richmond District

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 11:00:00 -0000

A tribute to the Richmond District, recorded at the historic Balboa Theatre, before a #TotalSF screening of "So I Married an Axe Murderer." San Francisco columnist Heather Knight and The Big Event podcast host Peter Hartlaub interview Supervisor Sandra Fewer, former Green Apple Books co-owner Kevin Hunsanger, Balboa owner Adam Bergeron, Richmond resident and affordable housing analyst Sophie Hayward and Chronicle editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper.

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America’s Most Woke Library

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 11:00:00 -0000

A chat with Michael Lambert, San Francisco’s new city librarian. The title sounds pretty old-school, but the city’s libraries are anything but. They’re about to become fine free. They host drag queen storytimes. They were among the first to add social workers to the staff since libraries are also makeshift homeless shelters. And last year San Francisco was named the nation’s best library system.

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The Queen of Car Break-ins

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Shirin Oloumi is known as the Queen of Car Break-ins. She doesn't break into cars. She prosecutes the people who do. Every car break-in that leads to an arrest in San Francisco crosses her desk, and she not only makes the charging decisions about them but appears in court to argue to Superior Court judges that the city’s property crime epidemic needs to be taken more seriously.

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Why S.F. General's bills are so damn high

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Now that San Francisco General Hospital’s sketchy billing practice—in which privately insured patients are personally on the hook for their bills—have been revealed, there’s a central question: Why are the bills so high? From $34,000 bumps and bruises to $92,000 appendectomies, these amounts are outrageous because of the ever-inflated hospital “chargemaster.” That’s the list of rates, which is approved each year, no questions asked, by the mayor and the Board of Supervisors, who admit they had no idea what they were voting on. City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani interviews columnist Heather Knight about the latest in the billing scandal.

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Inside San Francisco’s Mental Health Crisis

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 11:00:00 -0000

Rachel Rodriguez, a social worker in San Francisco General Hospital’s psychiatric emergency room, is incensed at the way some people are painting the move toward conserving more mentally ill people. She’s in favor of the changes and explains why — and why the current system is so broken.

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“Difficult” Supervisor Hillary Ronen

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 12:00:00 -0000

From her insistence she wasn’t elected president of the Board of Supervisors because of sexist ideas about her being “difficult” to her drive to build more homeless navigation centers and shelters in her district despite neighbors’ resistance, Ronen isn’t afraid to say what she thinks. She’s the firebrand of the board — and she loves that reputation.

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A State Solution for SF General’s Brutal Billing Practices

Sun, 24 Feb 2019 12:00:00 -0000

Assemblyman David Chiu has heard the stories - of regular San Franciscans going to S.F. General with appendicitis, broken bones and migraines and getting stuck with a bill for tens of thousands of dollars. Even though they have private insurance. Chiu is teaming with State Sen. Scott Wiener to propose a state ban on all balance billing and cap what hospitals can charge for services at either 150 percent of Medicare’s rates or the average cost of insurance contracts. It would be a big hit to the city’s trauma center’s bottom line, but Chiu says it’s not fair to expect privately insured patients to shoulder such huge burdens.

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Seeking Small Miracles for the Homeless

Fri, 08 Feb 2019 12:00:00 -0000

Miracle Messages uses social media to try to connect homeless people in San Francisco with long-lost love ones in hopes of getting them back home with someone who cares about them. They’ve matched nearly 200 pairs, but founder Kevin Adler says the city could do more to help. Heather Knight interviews Adler and joins him downtown as he and his fellow "ambassadors" talk to people living on the streets.

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An Early Look at the Race to Become San Francisco’s Next District Attorney

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 21:00:00 -0000

Columnist Heather Knight and Hall of Justice reporter Evan Sernoffsky discuss the already crowded field to replace San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon. For the first time in about a century, there will be no incumbent in the race - meaning the field is wide open and several impressive candidates are already raising big money and gathering key endorsements. Who has the upper hand? What do San Franciscans want in their next DA? Get the inside scoop here.

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185 Million Reasons to Fight

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 12:00:00 -0000

Official discussions about how to divvy up San Francisco's $185 million windfall were set to begin at Wednesday's Budget and Finance committee meeting. These discussions have become about a lot more than just which city budgets should get a boost. They're about what kind of city San Francisco wants to be. Trisha Thadani reports from City Hall.

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City Attorney Dennis Herrera and the S.F. Voting Controversy

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 12:00:00 -0000

San Francisco voters have recently approved major tax increases to fund homeless services, teacher pay raises and childcare, but the money’s being kept under theoretical lock and key until the courts weigh in. At issue is whether these measures really needed two-thirds voter support versus the simply majority they received. City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s controversial advice that they only needed a majority is what set off this hullabaloo. Columnist Heather Knight interviews him about it, as well as other subjects like his fight against the oil companies to pay up for climate change and, of course, his favorite burrito.

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San Francisco School Teachers and Their Struggle to Survive

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 12:00:00 -0000

Stephen Torres-Esquer, an award-winning special education teacher at Lowell High, talks about how hard it is to make it in one of the world’s most expensive cities on such a paltry salary. As San Francisco politicians fight over how to spend a surprise windfall of more than $184 million, he tells Heather Knight he’s likely to return soon to his hometown of Stockton, where he could buy a house and even open a savings account.

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Does City Hall Have the Fix for District Six?

Fri, 11 Jan 2019 12:00:00 -0000

New Supervisor Matt Haney has barely begun his new job representing District 6, but he’s already deluged with meeting requests, emails and tweets from residents fed up with the filth, needles and feces on their sidewalks. He’s fed up with it too and said the Tenderloin and South of Market can no longer be the city’s dumping ground and residents can no longer be ignored. He even says there’s been a city conspiracy to allow these issues to fester in District Six, but we’ll let him explain.

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The Great Progressive Compromise

Fri, 11 Jan 2019 04:10:00 -0000

For the first time in years, progressives have a majority on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, but their inability to unify around a single candidate for board president shows they have a long way to go to exert their power. Trisha Thadani reports on the victory of gentlemanly Norman Yee over firebrand Hillary Ronen.

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Best of City Insider: Jane Kim

Fri, 04 Jan 2019 12:00:00 -0000

Jane Kim was a San Francisco Supervisor who was running for mayor when she talked to Chronicle columnist Heather Knight for this episode, which ran on March 21, 2018. Kim, who lost in her mayoral bid and was termed out from her seat on the Board of Supervisors, is known for big, bold ideas, only a fraction of which became reality at City Hall. But she centered her mayoral campaign on a very practical policy initiative: cleaning the city’s notoriously dirty streets.

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Best of City Insider: Marc Benioff

Mon, 31 Dec 2018 12:00:00 -0000

The 61st floor of the Salesforce Tower was the setting for San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight's interview with CEO Marc Benioff just before the 2018 election. Benioff talks about his support for Prop. C, the initiative to tax big businesses — like Salesforce — to raise money for homeless services, and why he scolded other San Francisco CEOs for not doing the same. From Nov. 2, 2018.

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Best of City Insider: Police Chief Bill Scott

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 12:00:00 -0000

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight talks to SFPD Chief Bill Scott about the epidemic of car break-ins and what residents and the police can do to prevent these crimes. Scott also talks about homelessness and injection drug use on the city’s streets. From April 2, 2018.

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The San Francisco Movie Special

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 08:05:00 -0000

Chronicle columnist Heather Knight talks to Bay Area movers and shakers about their favorite San Francisco films. "Vertigo" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" get a lot of votes as Mayor London Breed, Marc Benioff, State Senator Scott Wiener and others weigh in.

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Best of City Insider: Candidate London Breed

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 12:00:00 -0000

When London Breed sat down with San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight in April, she was the president of the Board of Supervisors and the former acting mayor — after her colleagues had booted her from office. She was also running for mayor, a race she would win in June. In the April 4, 2018, episode of San Francisco City Insider, then-candidate Breed talks about her childhood in the Western Addition, her plans for San Francisco, and the fact that she worries about her own housing situation even as she serves in the upper echelons of city government.

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Divvying up San Francisco's unexpected windfall

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 22:45:54 -0000

Late last month, San Francisco woke up to find itself $415 richer. The question now is: Where is all that money going to go? Competing plans have already emerged, and some groups, including education advocates, are already making the case for why they should get a piece of the pie. City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani is here to help us make sense of it all. Hosted by Dominic Fracassa.

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State Senator Scott Wiener

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 12:00:00 -0000

The San Francisco Democrat talks with San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight about his proposal to give all homeless people in California a right to shelter, his second try at making car break-ins easier to prosecute, and one surprising benefit of being 6-foot-7.

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Election 2018: Analysis from The Chronicle's political team

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 09:56:50 -0000

An all-star cast of Chronicle political experts breaks down the biggest races and issues on election night 2018. San Francisco Chronicle senior political writer Joe Garofoli hosts this episode with editor in chief Audrey Cooper, editorial page editor John Diaz, political writer John Wildermuth, Sacramento bureau chief Melody Gutierrez and columnist Heather Knight.

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Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on homelessness

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 11:00:00 -0000

Marc Benioff has been making headlines for his support of Prop. C to tax big businesses to raise money for homeless services — and for his scolding of other San Francisco CEOs for not doing the same. Heather Knight talked to him on the 61st story of the new Salesforce Tower, where you’re looking down on the top of the TransAmerica Pyramid and pretty much everything else in the Bay Area. He talked about why he backs Prop. C, why he’s taking other billionaires to task so publicly and how his grandfather, a member of the Board of Supervisors in the 1940s, inspired him.

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San Francisco Fire Chief hangs up her helmet

Mon, 22 Oct 2018 22:28:49 -0000

San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White is the first woman to ever hold the job and the longest serving big city fire chief in the country. After nearly 15 years on the job, she has a big announcement: she's ready to hang up her helmet.

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SF District Ten Candidate Shamann Walton

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 04:43:32 -0000

San Francisco District Ten Candidate Shamann Walton, a former school board president, has a lot of support from San Francisco and California political veterans. He also has a long history of work in the neighborhood. But some political observers have questioned how voters will respond to his track record.

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SF District Ten Candidate Tony Kelly

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 04:34:17 -0000

San Francisco District Ten Candidate Tony Kelly, the current president of the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association, is a longtime neighborhood activist who has run for the seat twice before. He considers himself a democratic socialist -- but the question is how voters will respond to that label.

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SF District Ten Candidate Theo Ellington

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 04:27:03 -0000

San Francisco District Ten Candidate Theo Ellington, the current board president for the Bayview opera house, grew up in the Bayview and said his top three priorities would be "affordable housing, affordable housing and affordable housing." Ellington is the youngest candidate in this race, and the question some voters have about Theo is if he has enough experience to run a district.

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SF District Six Candidate Christine Johnson

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 00:08:02 -0000

San Francisco District Six Candidate Christine Johnson is a former planning commissioner with an engineering degree. A self-described a policy wonk, she is the only one in the race with experience working in a city department. But, so far, her campaign has failed to get as much momentum as her competitors.

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SF District Six Candidate Sonja Trauss

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 23:58:07 -0000

San Francisco District Six Candidate Sonja Trauss is a prominent housing activist who started the YIMBY movement and is running to bring a pro-housing voice to the Board of Supervisors. Trauss is often described as tenacious, outspoken and blunt. The question with her is how those qualities will translate into the board's chambers.

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SF District Six Candidate Matt Haney

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 21:19:09 -0000

Matt Haney is a school board member and a progressive candidate running for a district long held by supervisors of similar political stripes. He's running to create more shelter beds in District Six and to get the streets cleaned up. But he's up against two pro-housing moderates running a one-two ranked-choice voting strategy, and both have been endorsed by the mayor.

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SF District Four candidate Trevor McNeil

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:32:00 -0000

San Francisco District Four candidate Trevor McNeil, a public school teacher, is the only candidate in the District Four race who would support a Navigation Center in the district. He's picked up a smattering of endorsements, but whether he can get enough traction before November remains an open question.

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SF District Four candidate Gordon Mar

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:31:49 -0000

San Francisco District Four candidate Gordon Mar is a longtime labor activist in the city, who has a broad coalition of support from the building and labor and trade groups. But can this progressive candidate who sees housing opportunities on the westside win over a district long held by moderates?

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SF District Four candidate Jessica Ho

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 15:00:00 -0000

Since she swept into the political scene earlier this year as a legislative aide for outgoing Supervisor Katy Tang, SF District Four Candidate Jessica Ho has picked up several big-name endorsements, from Mayor London Breed to state Sen. Scott Weiner. But her race to represent District Four has raised eyebrows. Can she win in a sector of the city where name recognition really counts?

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SF District Two Candidate Schuyler Hudak

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 14:00:00 -0000

A political newcomer, San Francisco District Two Candidate Schuyler Hudak has centered her campaign around increasing services for the mentally ill on the city's streets. But she faces stiff opposition. Can her grassroots campaign stand up against her competitors?

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SF District Two Candidate Catherine Stefani

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 13:30:00 -0000

The SF Chronicle sits down with District Two Candidate Catherine Stefani -- Stefani has been District Two's incumbent since her appointment by former Mayor Mark Farrell. Stefani wants to make San Francisco safer and more accommodating for families. She recounts what she's accomplished so far in office, and what she still wants to achieve.

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SF District Two Candidate Nick Josefowitz

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 13:00:00 -0000

San Francisco District Two Candidate Nick Josefowitz, a BART director, has pledged to reform City Hall by tackling the city's homelessness and affordability crises. To win the District Two seat, Josefowitz has signaled a willingness to splash some serious money around: He's spent more than half a million dollars on the campaign.

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The front lines of San Francisco's mental health crisis

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 05:24:30 -0000

Paul Linde, a doctor who worked in the psychiatric emergency room of San Francisco General Hospital for 24 years. He talks about why the city's mental health system is so broken and what it would take to fix it - namely, far more mental health treatment beds so there's somewhere for mentally ill homeless people to go besides the E.R. or our sidewalks.

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Debunking climate change deniers

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 00:00:00 -0000

When Heather Knight tweeted about the link between California's dreadful wildfire season and climate change, the deniers responded. She reads their tweets to Kevin Drew of the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Jared Blumenfeld, formerly of the Environmental Protection Agency, to get their response — and the facts.

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Farewell to Chief of Staff Jason Elliott

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 21:15:39 -0000

Farewell to a four-time chief of staff: Jason Elliott, who served Mayors Ed Lee, London Breed, Mark Farrell and London Breed again, has just departed Room 200 to join Gavin Newsom’s campaign for governor. Elliott opens up about his last day working with Lee and that terrible December night his boss died. He talks about the biggest piece of city government that’s broken, and what he always makes sure to squeeze into his day with his wife, the city’s cannabis chief. (No, it's not pot.)

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SF District Eight Supervisor Rafael Mandelman

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 17:33:11 -0000

One of San Francisco's newest supervisors sits down with Chronicle columnist Heather Knight and City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani to talk about what it will take to tackle the crisis of untreated mental illness on the city's streets, his thoughts on the proposed ban on office cafeterias and where he goes for the city's best burrito.

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Emerge founder Andrea Dew Steele

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 17:17:28 -0000

Back in 2002, Andrea Dew Steele helped her friend, Kamala Harris, start a campaign for San Francisco District Attorney. Sixteen years later, Harris is a U.S. Senator with her eye on the White House and Steele’s Emerge, a training ground for women in politics, is active in 24 states. We’re talking about why more women are running for office during the Trump era, her predictions for the mid-term elections and what she’d like to see happen to Donald Trump after 2020.

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The story behind San Francisco's "Invisible Men"

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 19:00:00 -0000

People walking to City Hall will be surprised to see 40 identical sculptures, each weighing more than 300 pounds, standing like soldiers just out front. Artist Zak Ove, an Englishman who’s the first black person to have art displayed in the plaza, explains the work’s meaning, how it’s a counterpoint to the controversial Pioneer Monument and how it relates to San Francisco’s heartbreaking homeless problem.

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San Francisco's homeless problem, explained

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 16:00:00 -0000

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight talks with Jeff Kositsky, director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, about why the city’s homeless problem doesn’t seem to get much better despite city officials spending more than $300 million a year to solve it. Hint: For every 50 people moved off the streets, 150 take their place.

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Catching up with SF Mayor-elect London Breed

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 19:23:50 -0000

Now that she's clinched the race for the city's top job, San Francisco Mayor-elect London Breed is getting ready to bear down on the city's most pressing problems. After her July 11 inauguration, Breed plans to begin immediately working on solutions to curb homelessness, treat the mentally ill roaming the city's streets and — possibly — opening the country's first safe injection site. And with her job only secured until 2020, she'll have to work fast.

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San Francisco has a new mayor: London Breed

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 21:09:56 -0000

The S.F. mayor's race has finally come to an end, and London Breed will be the first African American woman to be elected to the city's highest office. Former state Sen. Mark Leno conceded defeat after more than a week of suspense. Listen in as The Chronicle politics team breaks down the election results.

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2018 California Primary Election recap

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 10:09:35 -0000

In a special election night podcast, the San Francisco Chronicle politics team breaks down the 2018 California primary. Listen in as John Diaz, Heather Knight, Joe Garofoli, Dominic Fracassa and John Wildermuth analyze results from San Francisco, Bay Area and California races.

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Understanding SF's opioid epidemic with Dr. Phillip Coffin

Sun, 20 May 2018 07:30:00 -0000

San Franciscans have a lot of questions about the blatant, open-air injection drug use occurring on our sidewalks. Dr. Phillip Coffin, director of substance use research for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, has answers. In an interview with Chronicle columnist Heather Knight, Coffin explains why the opioid epidemic has gotten so bad, the logic behind the city’s needle exchange program and what safe injection sites are really like.

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Catching up with SF Mayor Mark Farrell

Thu, 17 May 2018 07:30:00 -0000

Mayor Mark Farrell has just a few weeks left in office, but says he’s determined to keep the “pedal to the metal” in accomplishing real change for San Francisco before his time in Room 200 is up. In an interview with Chronicle columnist Heather Knight, Farrell says he might order the clearing of additional tent camps as he was pleased with the result the Mission, though he admitted the city hasn’t tracked what happened to the individuals who were cleared out.

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Beach Blanket Babylon in the age of President Trump

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 17:46:00 -0000

We talk with with Jo Schuman Silver, writer and producer of Beach Blanket Babylon, the silly, only-in-San Francisco stage production that’s celebrating its 45th anniversary. While President Donald Trump has been terrible for San Francisco, he’s been great for the show, reinvigorating the production that was a little boring in the Obama years. Silver talks about how she keeps up with the ever-changing news and how she keeps her production fresh when the White House happenings are flying fast and furious.

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London Breed on the SF mayor's race

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 05:17:06 -0000

In The Chronicle's final installment of our mayoral profiles, we talk with London Breed, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She's gone from growing up as a poor kid in the city's Western Addition to ascending to the upper echelons of civic power in the city. Now, she has her sight's set on the mayor's office. She served as acting mayor following the death of Ed Lee, until her colleagues booted her from office just six weeks later.

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San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 22:21:19 -0000

There were more than 31,000 reports of car break-ins in San Francisco in 2017, but police were only able to make arrests in 1.7 percent of cases. Police Chief Bill Scott explains to columnist Heather Knight why these crimes are so hard to tackle, and also discusses how law enforcement is responding to two other city scourges: injection drug use and homeless tent encampments.

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San Francisco mayoral candidate Angela Alioto

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 05:21:18 -0000

Angela Alioto is banking on her years of experience in San Francisco politics to separate her from the pack of mayoral hopefuls in the June 5 election. Her campaign has focused on her pledges to break through the despondency of the city’s homelessness crisis, clean up the city’s streets and crack down on street crime. In this episode, we’ll get to know Angela better and her quest to revitalize San Francisco’s soul.

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SF mayoral candidate interview with Supervisor Jane Kim

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 07:11:32 -0000

San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim is known for big, bold ideas, only a fraction of which become reality at City Hall. But she’s centering her mayoral campaign on a very practical policy initiative: cleaning the city’s notoriously dirty streets. The wonky Stanford graduate is clearly smart, driven and committed, and points to her affordable housing credentials and her proposal of free child care as examples of how a progressive would run city hall.

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SF mayoral candidate interview with Mark Leno

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 13:44:27 -0000

Progressive mayoral candidate Mark Leno has centered his campaign on a promise to "shake up City Hall." But can a veteran lawmaker like Leno, who served 14 years in the state Assembly and Senate as well as a stint as a city supervisor, convince voters that he's a true agent of change? In this inaugural episode of the "On San Francisco" podcast, we'll get to know Leno better -- from his vision for San Francisco to where he likes to go for a drink.

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