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Crosscurrents

Daily news roundup for Thursday, February 5, 2015

Daniel Mondragón / Mission Local
People displaced by San Francisco fires gather to learn about their housing rights

Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW news:

OPD Still Appears to be Targeting Blacks // East Bay Express

"OPD started collecting stop data in 2004, according to department spokesperson Frank Bonifacio, but a recently expanded effort began in 2013. The new data, which includes every vehicle and pedestrian stop made by OPD between July 2013 and June 2014, was first made public by the department in a September 2014 report that analyzed a sample of approximately 28,000 stops. The Express recently obtained an updated data set detailing approximately 44,000 stops conducted by OPD between April 2013 and October 2014.

"The updated data shows, unambiguously, that the majority of stops, searches, and arrests conducted by OPD were of African Americans. Of the 44,142 total stops, 26,049, or 59 percent, were of blacks. But blacks only account for 28 percent of Oakland's population. Latinos (who are classified as "Hispanics" in OPD's records) were stopped 7,910 times, making up 18 percent of all stops. Whites, who make up 26 percent of Oakland's population, represented only 13 percent of the stops carried out by OPD."

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Measles outbreak: California legislation proposed to repeal 'opt out' provision of vaccination law // Contra Costa Times

"Two state senators announced Wednesday that they will introduce legislation to repeal the controversial "personal belief exemption" that allows California parents to opt out of vaccinating their children against preventable diseases.

"The legislation will also require schools to notify parents of school immunization rates."

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Amended Ellis Act Relocation Law Caps Landlord Payouts At $50K // SFist

"Supervisor David Campos has come back to the Board with a new, dialed back version of the Ellis Act payout legislation that was previously passed and took effect last summer — only to be declared illegal by a federal judge after serious pushback from one Nob Hill evictor in particular. Under the new proposed amendments to the law, as explained in a release from Campos' office, relocation assistance payments by landlords would be capped at $50,000; tenants would be required to use the money 'on replacement housing, moving costs, or for other costs incurred to mitigate the negative impact on the tenant of eviction'; and there would be a clearer method, by the Controller, to determine what the market rate of an apartment in any given neighborhood is, to calculate the payment."

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Displaced Tenants Learn About Their Right to Return // Mission Local

"Victims of the fires in both the Mission and the Tenderloin gathered in a conference room at City College’s Mission campus last night and were told that tenants displaced by a fire have the “right to return,” meaning that once the damaged units are repaired, the tenants must be notified within 30 days and must be offered the opportunity to move back in to their units at their former rent. After notice is given, tenants have 45 days to accept or decline the offer to return."

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As Parents Get More Choice, S.F. Schools Resegregate // SF Public Press
"Since 2010, the year before the current policy went into effect, the number of San Francisco’s 115 public schools dominated by one race has climbed significantly. Six in 10 have simple majorities of one racial group. In almost one-fourth, 60 percent or more of the students belong to one racial group, which administrators say makes them “racially isolated.” That described 28 schools in 2013–2014, up from 23 in 2010–2011, according to the district."

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New position in SF school district to focus on success of black students // SF Examiner

"Landon Dickey, a Harvard Business School and SFUSD alumnus, was hired last month to fill the newly created position of the special assistant for African-American achievement and leadership. In that role, Dickey’s sole purpose is to chart a course for improving the success of black students — an effort youth supporters say cannot come soon enough...

"Despite efforts over the years to promote success for black students — last year, for instance, the Board of Education passed a resolution favoring alternatives to suspension, which the district said disproportionately affect black and minority students — a large gap persists in academic achievement. The SFUSD’s high school graduation clung to 82 percent in the 2013-14 school year, but only 65.5 percent of black students graduated."