SFNext: Fixing Our City

‘No Moderate or Progressive Potholes’: Board President Aaron Peskin Says Now is the Time to Come Together Jun 20, 2023

Aaron Peskin, president of the Board of Supervisors, has spent the majority of the last 23 years in office in San Francisco, representing District 3. His district includes North Beach, Chinatown and the Financial District, but the role of president means he must broker compromises between his colleagues and the mayor. On complex crises like the coronavirus pandemic, fentanyl use, and homelessness, he says he also helps coordinate siloed city departments. And with so many crises at hand, Peskin says, this is no time for divisive politicking — which is why he collaborated with Mayor London Breed on legislation easing restrictions on building use downtown. “There are no moderate or progressive potholes,” he says. “There are potholes and they need to be filled.” | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Fixing our City is coming to a close, but we’re not done pursuing solutions and having important conversations about San Francisco’s future! To keep listening, follow the Chronicle’s flagship news podcast, Fifth & Mission. The SFNext initiative is also continuing! Find more reporting on how San Francisco can tackle its toughest challenges at sfchronicle.com/sfnext

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Soup With the Supes: Ronen Says Local Solutions Ignore Root Causes Jun 13, 2023

Supervisor Hillary Ronen represents the Mission, the Portola and Bernal Heights, but she has been trying to tackle problems in those neighborhoods since before she was elected. Now, she’s termed out, and she says she’s conflicted about trying to address the fallout of national issues with a municipal toolkit. While San Francisco’s government has its shortcomings, she says, it’s grappling with effects of poverty and inequality around the country — from homelessness to drug dealing to the housing crunch — that are more visible than ever. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Catherine Stefani on Police and Public Safety Jun 06, 2023

Supervisor Catherine Stefani represents a part of San Francisco that does not have a reputation for violent crime — District 2 includes the Marina, Pacific Heights, Cathedral Hill, Laurel Village and NoPa. But shortly before SFNext: Fixing Our City interviewed her, a violent assault in the Marina made headlines, though it wasn't yet apparent that there was allegedly more to that story. Stefani describes how she would like to handle challenges with hiring cops, what we expect police officers to do, and why public safety is such a critical issue for San Francisco. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Matt Dorsey Lays Out His Drug Policy May 30, 2023

District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who lives in the Mid-Market area and represents downtown as well as SoMa, Mission Bay and Treasure Island, expresses some hope that the city’s economic engine is coming back to life. The former police spokesperson has experience with drug and alcohol abuse and talks about his own setbacks during the pandemic. One reason he ran for office was to represent people in recovery. Now, he has ambitious plans for the police department and its role in addressing drug dealing. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Connie Chan Is a Budget Wonk and Chowder Enthusiast May 23, 2023

Supervisor Connie Chan keeps a decorative sign in her office that says “I’ll be nicer, if you’ll be smarter.” She is chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and has made it a point to call for hearings about department overspending or inefficient spending. As part of our Soup With the Supes series, Chan tells the story of how she was introduced to clam chowder in a bread bowl and shares her vision of San Francisco’s economic future. |Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Overdoses Have Spiked. How Will San Francisco Respond? May 16, 2023

San Francisco has consistently seen more than 600 overdose deaths a year, and the rate of fatal overdoses has recently spiked. Dr. Jeffrey Hom, director of the city’s Office of Overdose Prevention, is optimistic that the city can turn the tide on overdoses, but acknowledges a long road ahead. The health department released a plan last year to reduce fatal overdoses, which calls for expansions in medication treatment and Narcan distribution as well as establishing safe consumption sites. Despite opposition in some quarters, opening safe consumption sites has broad support in city government, but they are against federal law. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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The Cases For and Against Safe Consumption Sites May 09, 2023

Hundreds of people are dying from drug overdoses every year in San Francisco, and the rate of deaths has spiked. In the same time frame, thousands more overdoses are reversed. Public health and harm reduction workers battling the opioid crisis are calling for the creation of safe consumption sites, which offer a place to use while trained staff are on duty to intervene if someone overdoses. Critics fear they would attract crime and open drug use and enable addiction, but city leaders have almost universally supported establishing a site in San Francisco. Despite that support, plans to establish them appear stalled. In this episode, we explore why that is. Advocates Madeleine Sweet, an overdose survivor in recovery, and Ellen Grantz, with the group Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Death, delve into the controversy around safe consumption sites. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Housing Wonks on a Mission to Shorten S.F.'s Permitting Process May 02, 2023

San Francisco has a unique system of “discretionary review,” and YIMBY advocate Bilal Mahmood (with the pro-development Yes In My Back Yard group) and California Assemblymember Matt Haney see this process as a major roadblock to new housing. Mahmood went down the rabbit hole to suss out exactly how tangled this bureaucracy is for a Chronicle opinion piece. Haney has crafted two pieces of state legislation intended to make the process of getting new housing or office conversions approved a little more predictable, and thus faster. They explain how that could spur housing construction and how all this could help reshape downtown. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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How to Help Homeless People? Outreach Worker Uses “Radical Hospitality” Apr 25, 2023

When Castro neighbors see Erica McGary doing outreach, they sometimes assume she’s a volunteer. But McGary works for the Department of Public Health, and it’s her job to get to know people in the neighborhood — whether they’re unhoused, working or have a home or apartment there. Building relationships with chronically homeless people and newcomers alike helps foster trust in city services, which can be a major obstacle to accessing services. The approach has already helped several people find a path to housing, shelter or treatment, and the city intends to replicate it in other neighborhoods. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Rafael Mandelman Apr 18, 2023

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman wonders whether a local government needs a system of checks and balances and, over matzo ball soup, explains why he thinks certain controversies have been exaggerated. Mandelman represents District 8, which includes the Castro, Diamond Heights and Twin Peaks. He says San Francisco government has too many checks and balances for its size. He describes the huge fight over “killer robots” as blown out of proportion and says San Francisco is not failing to solve homelessness, but rather, is failing to manage public spaces. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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These Teens Love San Francisco, but They’re Leaving Apr 11, 2023

Three local high school students who are active in their communities share their concerns and hopes for San Francisco: They’re frustrated with the high cost of living, lack of support for educators, distant politicians and persistent damaging narratives about race. We take a hard look at the city from their perspectives and hear why all three plan to leave. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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How Could San Francisco Defy a Doom Loop? Apr 04, 2023

We’ve painted a grim picture of the future if Downtown doesn’t bounce back and San Francisco doesn’t reinvent itself. So we got some smart people together to come up with ideas to save the city. Panelists Desi Danganan from Kultivate Labs, Ixchel Acosta from Avenue Greenlight and Sujata Srivastava from SPUR share ideas for policies and personal civic engagement. The crowd at Manny’s chimes in with their own creative proposals. |Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Why You Should Care About Downtown Office Buildings Losing Value Mar 28, 2023

The move to remote work has created a self-reinforcing phenomenon of empty downtowns and sluggish recovery. It has also led to office building depreciation. A group of New York economists are warning that this could spell disaster. The economic activity that office workers fuel, and the tax revenue their activities yield, are essential to the city’s budget. But cutting services may drive out even more workers, and the city could get caught in a “doom loop.” Arpit Gupta of the NYU Stern School of Business explains why it’s worse here than on the East Coast, and what might help steer us clear of the death spiral. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Dean Preston Mar 21, 2023

You know him for being a Democratic Socialist who is passionate about affordable housing. Did you also know his office has pored over the police budget item by item, and that he says he could cut millions out of it without any effect on public safety? The District 5 supervisor, who represents a diverse set of neighborhoods in the city’s center, digs into some phở and the details of his stances on development, public safety and a disconnect between the Board of Supervisors and Mayor London Breed. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Supervisor Ahsha Safaí Mar 14, 2023

In October, San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safaí was the victim of a home burglary. Thieves made off with his stove, of all things. What he took from that incident features prominently in this entry in our Soup With the Supes miniseries. Over tortilla soup, the representative for District 11 in the southern part of the city talks about what the task force dedicated to addressing retail theft has accomplished, how he handled constituents’ fierce opposition to a parking site for vehicle dwellers near Balboa Park, and what keeps him up at night. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Supervisor Joel Engardio Mar 07, 2023

Joel Engardio was elected in November to represent District 4, which consists of a chunk of the west side: The Sunset, Parkside, and Outer Sunset. A moderate, he unseated progressive incumbent Gordon Mar. Over stewed lemongrass coconut chicken soup, he lays out his case for increasing the police department’s budget to help hire officers, critiques the city’s district supervisor system, and talks about how he would cut red tape to foster small businesses. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Soup With the Supes: Supervisor Myrna Melgar Feb 28, 2023

What would San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar do if she were queen of San Francisco for a day? In this episode of SFNext: Fixing Our City, we kick off a new feature — Soup With the Supes. Members of the board talk about local issues while eating soup with host Laura Wenus and producer Cintia Lopez. Over pozole, Melgar explains why she wouldn’t put a safe consumption site in her district even though she supports them, how she’s working to get the certification of Laguna Honda Hospital sorted out, and whether she thinks San Francisco will actually reach its target of building 82,000 housing units in a decade. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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At This Stanford Lab, Government Interventions Are the Experiments Feb 21, 2023

Stanford’s RegLab designs real-world scientific experiments to test the outcomes of government interventions, figuring out what works — and what doesn't. Derek Ouyang is a research manager there and he also co-founded City Systems, an organization that explores potential fixes to municipal problems. From deploying Spanish-speaking contact tracers to developing a low-cost kit to turn garages into apartments, Ouyang is exploring equitable solutions to local cities’ most intractable challenges. And he has some ideas about how to fix San Francisco’s problems, too. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Privacy for Safety Is a Bad Trade, Camera Foes Say Feb 14, 2023

Last week, Fixing Our City probed whether giving police greater access to live monitoring of private security cameras has been a useful crime-fighting strategy. Now, we hear from privacy advocates who warn that any new surveillance capacity has the potential to be abused, and who also hold that it doesn’t actually work to reduce crime. A former beat cop cautions that cameras aren’t perfect witnesses. But those closest to the camera networks in question emphasize that the equipment does a good job capturing evidence, and the footage is in high demand. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Can SFPD Access to More Security Cameras Help Stop Crime? Feb 07, 2023

A security camera mounted on a pole captured damning evidence of the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. San Francisco is blanketed by security cameras too. But unlike in other cities, police aren’t monitoring them around the clock. The network they once used is defunct, so law enforcement here often relies on privately owned cameras for footage. Their ability to monitor private feeds live was recently expanded. Will that work to curb crimes like theft and drug dealing? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Be Angry at Systems, Not People, Says Organizer Vinny Eng Jan 31, 2023

He was once a prominent sommelier at San Francisco’s Tartine Manufactory. Now, as the director of policy and advocacy for Safer Together, Vinny Eng’s job is to demand better health equity from our institutions. Even in the face of fear and uncertainty — Eng is a native of Monterey Park and experienced a grueling wait for news from his family as the recent mass shooting there unfolded — he insists we have more in common than what divides us. He has some recipes for getting action from systems that fail to deliver results: Channel the urgency, make a precise diagnosis, and be adaptable. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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What San Diego Got Right About Housing Vouchers Jan 24, 2023

While the name of the federal Emergency Housing Vouchers rental subsidy program underscores how urgent finding housing is for at-risk groups, only a little more than half of the vouchers are in use in California. San Francisco has used 51% of its vouchers. But San Diego is seen as a standout success, having put more than 100% of its allotment to use on new leases. How did San Diego — the state’s second-biggest city — manage this, and can other cities take a page out of its book? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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SFUSD Is in Trouble. What’s the New Superintendent’s Plan? Jan 17, 2023

The San Francisco Unified School District has gone from one crisis to another, frustrating parents. Many were furious schools didn’t return to in-person instruction sooner, while others felt their kids were being pushed back into underprepared schools. Attendance, academic achievement, students’ mental health and overall enrollment were all battered by the pandemic, while longstanding racial inequalities in student achievement worsened. Dr. Matt Wayne, the new superintendent, lays out his plans for the district and mending what he calls broken trust with parents. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Formerly Homeless Nonprofit Director Offers Solutions to the Crisis Jan 10, 2023

As the executive director of Hospitality House, which serves primarily adults struggling with homelessness and other socioeconomic challenges, Joe Wilson has a front row seat to the situation unfolding on San Francisco’s streets. While a biennial snapshot of homelessness does show a drop in the number of unsheltered people, many residents feel the problem is not improving. Wilson says an insistence on quick solutions to problems that have vexed society for centuries is part of what’s holding us back. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Best of FOC: How S.F. Keeps Poop Off Streets Jan 03, 2023

Opening public toilets to address a public urination and defecation problem may not be revolutionary, but San Francisco’s Pit Stop program adds a crucial element: Attendants who make sure the toilets are used for their intended purpose only, clean up the surrounding area, and connect with visitors seeking relief. While resident reports of poop in the streets citywide have increased steadily over the years, data shows that in the Tenderloin, which has a high concentration of Pit Stops, reports have gone down. Neighbors we spoke with have rave reviews, but they want the toilets open longer. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

This episode of Fixing Our City first published in August. We're taking a holiday break and will return with a new episode next week.

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Best of FOC: Why a Hole in the Ground Is “The Death in the Mission” Dec 27, 2022

A 2015 apartment building fire at Mission and 22nd streets killed one person and displaced 50. Seven years later, there’s an empty lot, gathering trash and growing weeds. In the middle of a housing crisis. Why has nothing been built in the years since? The answers to that question are painfully emblematic of some of the biggest problems facing San Francisco. Host Laura Wenus and producer-reporter Cintia Lopez search for solutions.

This debut episode of Fixing Our City first published in June. We're taking a holiday break and will return with new episodes in the new year. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Institutionalize Innovation? This Former NYC Staffer Has Ideas Dec 20, 2022

To the average citizen, government processes can seem rigid and impenetrable. In her work across finance, municipal government, and the arts world, Sara Fenske Bahat has picked up some ideas about incorporating creativity into policy. Her experience as a New York City municipal staffer bridged the Bloomberg and Giuliani administrations, giving her insight into radically different approaches to local governance. Now, she’s interim CEO of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Fenske Bahat says leaders should be willing to experiment and listen to constituents about their needs. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Why Can’t San Francisco Build Housing More Cheaply? Dec 13, 2022

Housing is too expensive in San Francisco, and there’s heated disagreement about how to tackle the cost of building it. Construction and labor costs are through the roof. San Francisco has experimented with lowering the cost by having individual apartments constructed in a factory, then assembled on-site. At the SFNext Solutions Conference in October, this turned out to be a hot-button issue. John Doherty of the electrical workers union IBEW Local 6 and Jay Bradshaw of the NorCal Carpenters Union debate the merits of modular housing. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Pandemic Over? Not for San Francisco Restaurants Dec 06, 2022

Bruce Hill, owner of the Italian restaurant Zero Zero, did his best to weather the uncertainty of the coronavirus. He secured PPP loans, applied for federal relief money, downsized his staff, and provided takeout and delivery. Still, he was forced to close. Hill says he isn’t sure what else San Francisco could do to keep ailing restaurants downtown afloat. Laurie Thomas, head of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, has some ideas — and says far from giving up, now is the time for urgent collaborative action. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Shelter Expansion: Proponents Are Hopeful, Critics Doubtful Nov 29, 2022

New York City’s shelter mandate, requiring the city to offer a placement to everyone who needs it without forcing anyone to accept it, is often cited as a model. Now San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is developing a plan to offer some kind of shelter — ranging from a safe place to pitch a tent to a more permanent solution — to everyone willing to take it. While temporary shelter alone will not solve homelessness, advocates for shelter expansion see it as a crucial step. But critics worry a major investment in shelter will come at the cost of longer-term interventions. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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The homelessness department's strategic planning town hall will be held on Monday, Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. Details: https://hsh.sfgov.org/events/strategic-planning-town-hall/

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Best of FOC: Elect a Mayor for Nightlife? Why Amsterdam Did It Nov 22, 2022

There was a time when Amsterdam was sick of losing creative people to Berlin because of its vibrant and diverse round-the-clock cultural scene. Much more appealing than the “open air museum” that residents complained Amsterdam had become. So, the Dutch city tried something new, including electing a new night mayor — a liaison between night culture operators and city government who advocated for policies under which a diverse and varied nightlife scene could flourish. Mirik Milan, former night mayor who currently runs a nightlife consultancy, talks about what worked, the benefits to the city as a whole and what obstacles cities around the world face right now in revitalizing nightlife. (First published July12, 2022) |Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Cooking Up an On-ramp to Employment Nov 15, 2022

When you’ve been out of the workforce for a while, the hurdles that stand between you and a job that can provide some stability can seem never-ending. Meanwhile, San Francisco is grappling with a shortage of restaurant workers. Farming Hope guides and pays people as they learn the ropes of working in the short-staffed food industry. Whether they’re experienced cooks or have never worked in a kitchen, by the end of the program they’ll have connections that could lead to a good job and skills that will serve them in the food industry. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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What San Francisco Can Learn From Portugal Decriminalizing Drugs Nov 08, 2022

Portugal’s decision to decriminalize drug possession as of 2001 garnered international attention. But that move was just part of the nation’s broader public health strategy to curb the devastating effects of an opioid epidemic. At the time, on average, Portugal had an overdose death every day. Today, it’s dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths, HIV infections associated with drug use, and problematic heroin use. Meanwhile in San Francisco, overdose deaths have exploded. Dr. João Goulão, Portugal’s national coordinator for drugs and drug addiction, explains how the country’s approach was shaped and what the results have been. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Why Does Speeding Up Housing Construction Take So Long? Nov 01, 2022

San Francisco is under pressure to pick up the snail-like pace of new housing construction. One research paper suggests the problem is local agencies having so much discretion over the process. Officials have tried to pare down the system to speed up production, especially of affordable housing, but things are still slow. Now two warring ballot measures — only one can become law — claim they’ll kickstart development by letting certain projects skip some steps. Experts lay out how we got here and why the need to streamline persists, and reporter Noah Arroyo gives an overview of what voters will have to consider. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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175 People Get In a Room to Fix San Francisco Oct 25, 2022

For a whole day, nearly 200 San Francisco residents examined the top three local problems on our collective minds: Homelessness, crime and housing. They quizzed panelists and discussed among themselves. Meanwhile, a cohort of small groups participated in a structured brainstorming exercise to address specific elements of the three overarching topics. They presented their ideas to the crowd for scrutiny: Pilot programs for housing development. Staffing police precincts like firehouses. A “supervisor exchange program.” Now the Chronicle’s SFNext team — including this podcast — will look for ways to dive deeper into these proposals and continue the conversation. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Understaffed, Overburdened City Workers “Just Need Help” Oct 18, 2022

San Francisco’s top human resources official acknowledges the need for workers and the calls for reforms to a lengthy recruitment and hiring process. The money is in the budget to fill the open jobs, but the rules that govern how that happens are enshrined in the city charter, and they exist to guard against favoritism and other corruption. Meanwhile, most city employees do not live in San Francisco. Human resources director Carol Isen, Labor Council leader Kim Tavaglione and 911 dispatcher Burt Wilson lay out the consequences of the worker shortage and what is being done about it. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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How Ranked-Choice Voting Works And Why It’s Used In San Francisco Oct 11, 2022

For local elections in San Francisco, voters don’t just choose their favorite single candidate. They ordered them from most to least preferred. Ranked-choice voting hgas eliminated the need for runoff elections since 2004. While some politicians, including former President Donald Trump, inaccurately insist ranked-choice voting favors one party over the other or propels unpopular candidates to victory, experts say that isn’t the case. We explain how the system works and hear some benefits and critiques. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Correction: An earlier version of this episode contained an error about the ranking rules. As of Oct. 12, the episode has been updated to reflect that ranking multiple candidates first will invalidate a ballot.

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Think You Know San Francisco? The Numbers Might Surprise You Oct 04, 2022

Simple questions in San Francisco don’t always have easy answers. But even imperfect data can offer insights and a shared set of facts for tackling problems like homelessness and crime. In compiling the SFNext Index, Chronicle data reporter Adriana Rezal and data editor Dan Kopf dig into city records, census results, survey responses and other sources to find answers to reader questions and challenge their own assumptions. What they find is often surprising. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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We Put Two People Who Disagree About Housing in a Room and Nobody Died Sep 27, 2022

Nadia Rahman with YIMBY Action and Joseph Smooke with the Race and Equity in All Planning Coalition both agree it costs far too much to live in San Francisco and that this lack of affordability has serious consequences for the city’s diversity and equity. What they don’t see eye to eye on is the role of the market in influencing housing affordability. But when we all sat down to talk, it turned out they agree on the urgency of building affordable housing and creating a clear and detailed plan to produce it, while frontloading community input to minimize repetitive and exhausting battles about individual projects. So what would they say we should do about it? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext Project

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Tell Me About Your Debt: An Inside Look at S.F.’s Free Financial Coaching Sep 20, 2022

Poor financial health can keep people from accessing city services like affordable housing. Even if they otherwise qualify, bad credit can be an obstacle. So San Francisco has developed a program that provides anyone who lives in, works in, or gets services from the city with a financial coach free of charge. The Office of Financial Empowerment established Smart Money Coaching six years ago. Fixing Our City producer Cintia Lopez test-drives the program by talking to a Smart Money Coach about her own finances. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Poll: What S.F. Residents Really Think of the City Sep 13, 2022

The San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext Project has conducted a scientific poll to find out what residents really think of the city, its government and its problems. Respondents didn’t hold back on what they want solved: Homelessness, crime and affordability. They’re tired of assurances that they’re being heard. They want to see measurable improvements. In open-ended questions about who or what they see as the main obstacle to improvements, a significant number named government. Hear from residents about their concerns and a survey research expert on how reliable and meaningful these results are. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Why Can't SFPD Hiring Keep Up With Cops Leaving? Sep 06, 2022

The San Francisco Police Department says it’s struggling to meet the city's law enforcement needs because it’s so short staffed. While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how many officers the SFPD has the budget to hire, the number of applications to its academy has plummeted over the years. San Francisco is not alone in facing waning interest in police careers. Recruiters and marketers say it’s a nationwide challenge. But they also say departments must modernize their approaches, streamline their application processes, and target young people with messages tailored to their generation. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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A Chinatown Arts Group Wants to Be an Economic Engine Aug 30, 2022

Above the retail-dominated street level that visitors are familiar with, Chinatown is one of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the city, home to many seniors and recent immigrants. It's been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinatown Media and Arts Collaborative is establishing a hub called Edge on the Square, where it plans to serve the neighborhood and visitors alike with boundary-pushing art and performances. How can an arts group transform the life of a neighborhood? Co-founder Mabel Teng shares her thoughts with host Laura Wenus. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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How S.F. Keeps Poop Off Streets Aug 23, 2022

Opening public toilets to address a public urination and defecation problem may not be revolutionary, but San Francisco’s Pit Stop program adds a crucial element: Attendants who make sure the toilets are used for their intended purpose only, clean up the surrounding area, and connect with visitors seeking relief. While resident reports of poop in the streets citywide have increased steadily over the years, data shows that in the Tenderloin, which has a high concentration of Pit Stops, reports have gone down. Neighbors we spoke with have rave reviews, but they want the toilets open longer. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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“We Run to the Fire”: Mission Leaders' COVID Response Aug 16, 2022

Long description: Early in the pandemic, Latinos were disproportionately affected in San Francisco. When testing sites and other resources weren’t commensurately located in the heavily affected Mission District, community leaders from nonprofits came together to form the Latino Task Force. It ensures community members have access to testing, vaccines, PPE, food, and help accessing government programs. And now it’s preparing to face monkeypox too. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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8 Arrests Later, He Leads S.F. Police Accountability Aug 09, 2022

Before he became the director of San Francisco’s Department of Police Accountability, Paul Henderson had been a top mayoral adviser, a prosecutor and a sought-after lecturer and media guest. He says he’s been detained and arrested eight times for things he didn’t do, and that on his first day in court as an assistant D.A., the judge mistook him for a defendant and lectured him about where to sit. Now, he runs the city agency that audits police practices and issues policy recommendations, and he says the city needs honest conversation and inclusive citizen participation to meaningfully address racism. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Could Houston’s Homeless Strategy Work in San Francisco? Aug 02, 2022

Has Texas’ largest city found the key to ending chronic homelessness? Houston has drastically reduced the number of homeless people counted every other year, and its collaborative housing-first approach has garnered national attention. SFNext listeners and readers took notice, and told us to find out what Houston’s getting right. So we did. Two Houston homelessness leaders outline their strategy, and San Francisco’s top homelessness official responds with what could be learned and what’s already in progress. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Guaranteed Income Combats Poverty With ... Money Jul 26, 2022

When the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) gave 125 people $500 a month with no strings attached, researchers found that recipients spent money the same way everyone else does: On food, gas, childcare and bills. The experiment, led by then-Mayor Michael Tubbs, drew criticism from people saying the money would disincentivize work, and that recipients would spend it on alcohol or drugs. Researchers found the opposite: The extra cash reportedly empowered people to get full-time and better paying jobs.

San Francisco has launched several guaranteed income pilot programs of its own. In this episode of Fixing Our City, Tubbs and a guaranteed income recipient describe how the payments can help people reach financial stability. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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He Reads Housing Bills, and He’s Got Memes Jul 19, 2022

Robert Fruchtman attends municipal hearings and meetings where the fates of housing developments or policies hang in the balance, and he takes to Twitter. He’s documenting, but he’s also offering commentary, from the succinct “lol” to more elaborate visual jokes. He volunteers his time knowing that these hearings, which often eat up hours in the middle of workdays, tend to exclude the very people who already have fewer opportunities to bend politicians’ ears. To democratize housing policy, he tells host Laura Wenus, public comment is not the answer. But until things change, he’s bringing politics to the people — one tweet at a time. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Elect a Mayor for Nightlife? Here's Why Amsterdam Did It Jul 12, 2022

There was a time when Amsterdam was sick of losing creative people to Berlin because of its vibrant and diverse round-the-clock cultural scene. Much more appealing than the “open air museum” that residents complained Amsterdam had become. So, the Dutch city tried something new, including electing a new night mayor — a liaison between night culture operators and city government who advocated for policies under which a diverse and varied nightlife scene could flourish. Mirik Milan, former night mayor who currently runs a nightlife consultancy, talks about what worked, the benefits to the city as a whole and what obstacles cities around the world face right now in revitalizing nightlife. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Community Policing: Can an Old Idea Be an Answer for San Francisco? Jul 05, 2022

Calls to improve public safety have covered a spectrum: At one end, moving funds from police to service workers. On the other, beefing up police budgets and getting more officers on the street. But for decades, departments across the country have been working on a strategy called community policing, intended to improve trust in and collaboration between residents and officers. In San Francisco, different neighborhoods have different relationships with the police force. From Chinatown, where officers were embedded in the Ping Yuen apartments, to the Mission, where a local advocate says they do what they can to not call on police, we look at what the SFPD is doing with community policing. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle's SFNext Project

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“Urgent Care” for Preventing Homelessness Jun 28, 2022

When you get badly hurt or sick, you know where to go. What if you were in danger of losing your housing? San Francisco and Oakland are developing programs to keep people from becoming homeless in the first place, which is cheaper and easier than helping them once they're on the streets. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle's SFNext Project

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Why a Hole in the Ground Is “The Death in the Mission” Jun 21, 2022

A 2015 apartment building fire at Mission and 22nd streets killed one person and displaced 50. Seven years later, there’s an empty lot, gathering trash and growing weeds. In the middle of a housing crisis. Why has nothing been built in the years since? The answers to that question are painfully emblematic of some of the biggest problems facing San Francisco. In this debut episode, Fixing Our City host Laura Wenus and producer-reporter Cintia Lopez begin their search for solutions. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Introducing Fixing Our City Jun 07, 2022

Host Laura Wenus and producer Cintia Lopez are on a quest to find out why one of the wealthiest and best-educated cities in America, one where most people belong to the same political party and subscribe to the same basic values, has so many intractable problems. And more importantly: Can they be fixed? Join us as we find out, one San Francisco story at a time. Coming June 21 from the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext project. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod.

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