These Kids Believe In Hard Work, Not Unicorns
Iris Bonilla, 20, feels the pressure of being the only Latina in the room — in her college computer classes and at her tech company internship. But don’t call her a unicorn. Hard work, not magic, has gotten her this far. There’s a very real program that academically pushes and supports underserved public school students like Iris to get into and survive college. “Having to represent an entire community is a lot to put on one pair of shoulders,” Iris said. “It’s been nerve-wracking to prove that I can do it. But I think that I have so far.”
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Paris In the Sunset Is Possible, If We Think Outside the Box
What if there was an idea for housing that doesn’t just cherish neighborhood character but also makes the neighborhood a nicer place to live? This is the genius of Eugene Lew’s housing idea. The retired architect calls it Domicity, for Domiciles in the City.
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Happy Constitution Day!
September 17 doesn’t get much love. Yet it’s a day that should be as celebrated as Christmas or the 4th of July. Learn about Constitution Day, the most important holiday no one knows about.
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Strangest Thing: Some Agreement in SF Housing Debate
They're leaders who influence San Francisco's future. She’s an urbanist who likes density and fewer cars. He’s devoted to preserving single-family homes and parking. They represent opposite sides of the housing debate. Yet Christine Johnson and George Wooding agree on more than you think. Meet the not-so-odd couple.
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Fueling Girl Power in Tech
No one ever expected a tech revolution on San Francisco’s quiet and once-analog Westside. But at 17, Natalie Lunbeck is one of the young women in West Portal helping close the digital divide: “It feels good to show girls that a computer scientist can look like them, and not just a 30-year-old man.”
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What if We Turned the Sunset Into Paris?
“People go to Paris and say how much they love it, but have no idea the housing was 80 feet high. They say it didn’t feel that tall.” Architect Eugene Lew thinks the Paris approach to city design can keep a lot of middle-income families in San Francisco.
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A City Without Ice Cream Makers?
What good is San Francisco without young couples like Rica and Chris? She makes ice cream that draws crowds. He coaches high school basketball. They have a baby on the way. If we want our kids and grandkids to have a shot at staying here, we must build more housing for middle-income families now.
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A Million Reasons SF Must Build Housing
San Francisco feels way beyond capacity with a population of 870,000. Yet we’re headed to a million. Not enough housing, too much traffic and our kids can't afford to live here. We need a plan because the future of middle-income families is at stake.
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SF Politics 101: Discover Your Shade of Blue
San Francisco Democrats come in many different shades of blue, which is what makes San Francisco politics so confusing. Every month, I try to unravel the confusion with a presentation called “SF Politics 101.” It’s an intro course on politics sponsored by the United Democratic Club. I’m part of a team of speakers who explain local, state and federal basics.
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Finding God, Country and the Goo Goo Dolls
Your next Lyft driver might be Cheol Ryu. Former child slave, North Korean refugee, Goo Goo Dolls fan. His favorite lyric: “When everything’s meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.” Meet Cheol. See the people behind our apps and be inspired by their stories.
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There's Something About Carmen
Shrugs abound when asking people on the street what they know about the Office of Assessor-Recorder at City Hall. Yet Carmen Chu is poised to become the most famous and celebrated assessor-recorder in San Francisco history — by helping us survive the financial retribution of President Trump.
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This Isn't Your Parents' "Tales of the City"
Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" celebrates baby boomers in the 1970s — when they could move to San Francisco as young people and re-imagine it. But what are the tales of our city today and who will write them? A new publication, The Bay City Beacon, promises to report the remaking of San Francisco by the millennial generation.
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Turning "Yes, Over There" Into "Yes, Here"
“San Francisco likes to project paranoia and fear on a movie screen when it comes to change. Rise SF is offering an alternative movie. We embrace change because we believe that’s where the solutions are.”
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Second-Best Time for Tree Planting Is Now
My second-place showing against incumbent Norman Yee and three other challengers for District 7 supervisor feels like a success. Thousands of voters embraced my campaign’s forward-looking message, which will ultimately influence the direction of our city.
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Joel Engardio Investigates
In my work as a journalist, I asked tough questions and held government accountable. As a supervisor, I’ll do that from inside City Hall. In that spirit, my new campaign video — “Investigate” — pays homage to San Francisco in the film noir era when the reporter or private eye took on a big case to advocate for the little guy.
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M-Line to Mars?
We regret not building enough BART tunnels 50 years ago. Our grandkids will thank transit planner Liz Brisson if she gets her westside tunnel built.
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Better Death
By Joel P. Engardio -- Baby boomers changed everything because they were never content with the old rules of sex -- or career, or parenting or retirement. Now senior citizens, they are beginning to face a final taboo harder to break than sex ever was. Death has a lot of room for improvement.
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A Court for the 10th Circle of Hell
By Joel P. Engardio -- David Traylor attacked a tourist in a crack-fueled schizophrenic episode. But he isn't psychotic, in jail or dead today thanks to San Francisco's Behavioral Health Court. He is medicated, has a home and a job. Yet homeless and mentally ill people who haven't committed felonies are left to suffer as they scream at commuters and use the sidewalk as a toilet. Why don't we treat people who can't take care of themselves before they become violent?
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Helping a Silent Majority Become Squeaky Wheel
By Joel P. Engardio -- A flood of previously unengaged residents easily connecting with City Hall through technology could transform San Francisco into a place of true progress. Yet change of that magnitude is scary for everyone invested in the current balance of power.
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Not Your Grandma's Snapchat
By Joel P. Engardio -- It’s easy to forget that hippies and gays were originally despised as invaders and displacers when they first arrived in San Francisco. Does this mean a time will come when tech workers are celebrated in The City’s folklore?
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