Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW news:
San Francisco Torn as Some See ‘Street Behavior’ Worsen // New York Times
“From her apartment at the foot of the celebrated zigzags of Lombard Street, Judith Calson has twice peered out her window as thieves smashed their way into cars and snatched whatever they could. She has seen foreign tourists cry after cash and passports were stolen. She shudders when she recounts the story of the Thai tourist who was shot because he resisted thieves taking his camera.
“And that is her tally from the last year alone.”
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Berkeley's EnChroma bringing color to the colorblind// East Bay Times
“Dublin fifth-grader Vineeth Prabhuvenkatesh has always had trouble differentiating colors. He is among the 8 percent of males who have some sort of color vision deficiency, which is most often marked by an inability to differentiate particular colors, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“Vineeth recently got help from EnChroma, a growing Berkeley-based company that has developed sunglasses to help people with color vision deficiencies.”
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Will Gascon file charges against cops who shot Amilcar Perez Lopez? // 48Hills.org
“San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon is conducting an in-depth investigation of the shooting of Amilcar Perez Lopez and is expected to announce within the next week or two if he is going to file charges against the officers involved, we are told.
“Father Richard Smith, an Episcopal priest and vicar at St. John the Evangelist Church in the Mission, told a group of reporters last week that he had been in touch with Gascon and the DA’s investigators and they told him they are close to a decision on the case.”
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'Wild animals': Racist texts sent by San Francisco police officer, documents show// CNN
“'I hate that beaner,' one text reads, 'but I think the nig is worse' ...
“These and numerous other racist and homophobic text messages were allegedly sent by a San Francisco police officer at the center of an ongoing scandalthat is the most recent disturbing revelation for the beleaguered SFPD.”
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SF pushing changes to affordable housing requirements, short-term rental rules// San Francisco Examiner
“Ushering in a new era of housing policy, San Francisco has proposed a tougher rule on short-term rentals like Airbnb and will vote today on legislation to increase affordable housing requirements.
“Legislation from supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jane Kim would impose new affordable housing requirements on development,should voters in June approve Proposition C, a charter amendmentthat would allow the Board of Supervisors to adjust the requirements rather than voters, who currently have that power.”
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Oakland Considers Dividing City Into Three, Divvying Up New Developer Fees // Curbed SF
“Oakland is three weeks into a 90-day rent freeze, and the clock is ticking: How can the city drive down spiraling housing prices (increasing faster than any city in the country) in a city where the average income is $30,000 a year and the average rent is now almost $3,000/month?
“One of the proposals presently being mulled is a plan to divide the map into thirds (King Lear-style) and give developers a choice between either doling out more affordable housing or else paying an escalating series of fees, depending on where they want to build.”
