Tagged: recession

A medley of people wait for the San Francisco Public Library to open in the morning. Students on a deadline. People who really need a library book. Retired folks. And people checking email.

As the doors open, patrons stream into the atrium at the main branch near the Civic Center in downtown San Francisco. Some head to their favorite reading nook; others to computers to start surfing the Web.

Three years ago, we aired a piece about Caffe Delle Stelle in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. The café was changing up its menu to fit the times – the economic downturn was beginning to slow the flow of lunchtime customers, so it formulated an economy meal. KALW’s Laura Klivans spoke with then-server Flori Mashmeyer, who said the restaurant’s ten-dollar soup or salad and pasta dish was bringing in “a lot more business.”

The city of Pleasant Hill is launching a small business assistance pilot program that will grant $37,500 to small businesses that generate sales tax revenue for the city…