San Francisco City Insider

Latest Episodes:

An Epidemic of Untreated Mental Illness Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

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 Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

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 Aug 02, 2019

Show notes

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 Jul 29, 2019

Show notes

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 Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

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 Jul 02, 2019

Show notes

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 Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

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 Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

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 Jun 21, 2019

Show notes

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 Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

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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