Civic
550 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 27 ratingsCivic is the flagship audio program from the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit news institution, covering the city and how it works. The radio program airs every weekday on KSFP -LP 102.5 FM in San Francisco.
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Episodes
Is San Francisco a Sanctuary When You Don’t Have Housing?
April 12, 2024 00:41 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBIncreases in the number of migrants arriving in San Francisco have stress-tested the city’s shelter system, revealing the dire need for more housing and support for families. We talk to migrant parents driven out of their homes by violence and political upheaval about navigating San Francisco’s homeless response system and its impacts on their families’ health and wellbeing as they fight for a better future. A housing provider shares the limitations of the city’s data on family homelessness,...
Unheard: The Plight of Maya Struggling with Addiction in SF
April 04, 2024 23:46 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBThe impact of the COVID 19 pandemic led to a rise in fatal overdoses among the tens of thousands of Indigenous Maya living in the Bay area. That alarmed Latinx advocates and officials at the Mexican consulate in San Francisco. Indigenous Latin Americans are categorized as Latinx even though many speak limited Spanish. That means vital information, like drug awareness campaigns and the dangers of fentanyl, may not be reaching the Maya-speaking community. And service providers say culturally-se...
Unheard: The Plight of Mayans Struggling with Addiction in SF
April 04, 2024 23:46 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBThe impact of the COVID 19 pandemic led to a rise in fatal overdoses among the tens of thousands of Indigenous Mayans living in the Bay area. That alarmed Latinx advocates and officials at the Mexican consulate in San Francisco. Indigenous Latin Americans are categorized as Latinx even though many speak limited Spanish. That means vital information, like drug awareness campaigns and the dangers of fentanyl, may not be reaching the Maya-speaking community. And service providers say culturally-...
Forgetting the Lessons and Losses of Covid
March 28, 2024 21:40 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBThe first years of the COVID-19 pandemic are behind us and it’s time for an early reckoning of our successes and failures. An epidemiologist shares how a lack of public trust led to unnecessary deaths. AIDS activists discuss the importance of facing trauma and a woman who lost her father to COVID is fighting for a memorial for those who died.
Group Helps Asian American Communities Feel Safe
March 22, 2024 01:03 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBThree years ago, when violence against Asian Americans spiked, local organizations took action to improve public safety. One group, the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice in San Francisco, is still doing that work. In this episode, we join them for one of their recurring community visits in the Richmond District. Outreach workers share how they connect with business owners and residents and help them feel safe.
Civic Roundtable: Three San Francisco Reporters Talk About Covering Drug Use and Overdoses
March 14, 2024 22:39 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBLila LaHood, publisher of the San Francisco Public Press, talks with Nuala Bishari from the San Francisco Chronicle, Sydney Johnson from KQED, and Sylvie Sturm from “Civic” and the San Francisco Public Press about their reporting on drug use, public policy and and substance use disorder treatment in San Francisco. They discuss the harm reduction philosophy and practice, San Francisco’s inconsistent stance on overdose prevention centers, public safety perceptions, Proposition F, and what othe...
What You Might Find on Your San Francisco Ballot: Party County Central Committees
March 01, 2024 01:23 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBElection Special: Voters in San Francisco registered with the Peace & Freedom, Green, Republican or Democratic parties have extra choices in the March 5th election that only come around once every four years — the party county central committees. We talk to a political strategist to discuss the power dynamics of these committees in San Francisco and find out what voters are tasked to choose. We also hear from representatives of each of these parties to learn a bit more about how they operate...
Proposition F: Tying Cash Welfare to Drug Screening
February 23, 2024 01:20 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBMarch 2024 Election Special: Mayor London Breed is facing one of the most pivotal moments of her political career as she campaigns for reelection amidst a dual crisis of addiction and homelessness. Her solution is a ballot measure that would compel welfare recipients to submit to drug addiction screening and treatment in order to get cash benefits. We explore the fierce debate that has rippled across San Francisco and beyond, and a very similar measure that catapulted a former San Francisco ...
Making Sense of Voting on Judges in San Francisco
February 16, 2024 02:14 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBMarch 2024 Election Special: Why are San Francisco residents being asked to vote on County Superior Court Judges? We talk to University of San Francisco professor of politics Keally McBride about the slate of candidates, how the process works, and what people should be thinking about when considering their vote.
FIXED: The Grassroots Effort to Save Lives: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 6
December 11, 2023 21:35 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MB*Audio fixed - Previously uploaded episode was the wrong audio and has been fixed* Fentanyl-related deaths among teens more than tripled across the U.S. from 2019 to 2021. And the CDC reports that two thirds of teens who died had someone nearby who didn’t provide an overdose response. Now San Francisco high school students are signing up for training sessions on how to recognize drug abuse and reverse overdoses. And it’s not just teens who want to help. City residents are carrying overdose ...
The Grassroots Effort to Save Lives: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 6
November 30, 2023 18:59 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBFentanyl-related deaths among teens more than tripled across the U.S. from 2019 to 2021. And the CDC reports that two thirds of teens who died had someone nearby who didn’t provide an overdose response. Now San Francisco high school students are signing up for training sessions on how to recognize drug abuse and reverse overdoses. And it’s not just teens who want to help. City residents are carrying overdose reversal nasal spray in case they come across someone in need of rescuing. But rever...
The Fight for Safe Consumption Sites: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 5
November 02, 2023 23:05 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBThe Fight for Safe Consumption Sites: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 5 As overdose fatalities reach two to three deaths a day in San Francisco, demands for supervised consumption sites are getting more urgent. But city leaders are increasingly reluctant. And health officials who once campaigned for them are now conspicuously silent. We investigate San Francisco’s long fight for safe consumption sites and what changed. And we visit an overdose prevention center in New York City t...
The War on Drugs Revisited: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 4
October 05, 2023 22:02 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBThe War on Drugs Revisited: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Some San Francisco city officials are advocating jail for unhoused people who use drugs and murder charges for people who sell drugs. Critics say their approach mirrors the abysmal failure of the 50-year-old war on drugs. In the fourth episode of our series on San Francisco and the overdose crisis, we take a historical look at the justice system’s approach to drugs, its racial inequities, what has changed, and what may be mak...
The War on Drugs Revisited: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis
October 05, 2023 22:02 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBThe War on Drugs Revisited: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Some San Francisco city officials are advocating jail for unhoused people who use drugs and murder charges for people who sell drugs. Critics say their approach mirrors the abysmal failure of the 50-year-old war on drugs. In the fourth episode of our series on San Francisco and the overdose crisis, we take a historical look at the justice system’s approach to drugs, its racial inequities, what has changed, and what may be mak...
Criminalizing Drug Use: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 3
September 14, 2023 23:11 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBSan Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 3 *Content Warning: Explicit language and a description of an overdose experience.* San Francisco city officials have decided that arresting unhoused people for using drugs is the way to get them into treatment programs. Critics say jails are no place to get clean. And besides, forcing people into rehab doesn’t work. Based on the rate of treatment refusal by those arrested, the critics have a point. In the third episode of our series on San Franc...
How Drug Addiction and Homelessness Connect: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 2
September 01, 2023 00:04 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBCivic Presents: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 2 While San Francisco is on track to break records for the highest number of fatal overdoses in one year, health experts say the city is failing when it comes to one surefire way to save lives: housing. San Francisco’s history has made housing a huge challenge. In this second episode of our series, we take a historical look at the city’s homelessness crisis, how it worsens addiction and drug-related fatalities, and how the city is r...
The Origins of Rampant Opioid Addiction: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 1
August 17, 2023 22:09 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBCivic Presents: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis San Francisco is experiencing its worst rate of drug-related fatalities ever, and as city officials impose increasingly punitive measures against people who use and sell drugs, the problem only seems to be getting worse. In this first episode of our series on San Francisco’s overdose crisis, we take a historical look at opioid addiction, and we assess the damage of stigma on the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Update: Maya and Sebastian
June 03, 2023 17:06 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBSeven months after being violently removed from their grandmother’s Santa Cruz home and taken to reunification therapy, Maya and Sebastian take to social media to announce that they have escaped. We touch base with Maya and get an update on the push for reforms. The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential assistance to anyone affected by domestic violence through a live chat and a free 24-hour hotline at 800-799-7233.
Why Black San Franciscans Are Fighting for Reparations
May 26, 2023 00:04 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBSan Francisco is considering reparations for Black San Franciscans. To understand why advocates are pushing for reparations in the city, we dive deep into the history of redlining, urban renewal, and other discriminatory housing policies, as well as their impact on two historically Black neighborhoods: the Fillmore and Bayview Hunters Point. The final plan, created by the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, outlines recommendations to address mass incarceration, the war on drugs...
Report Card: SF and Winter Storms
March 30, 2023 22:06 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBThe extreme winter storms put San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management to the test. Early in the storm cycle, the department faced challenges communicating with people experiencing homelessness. Internal confusion over the forecast delayed the opening of its Emergency Operations Center until a major storm was under way. In at least one instance, flood barriers were deployed too late to prevent homes and businesses from being inundated.
Reunification Camp Survivor Recounts Horrific Experience
February 24, 2023 00:03 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBContent Warning: Audio of children in distress, discussions of child sexual abuse and child abuse, & swearing When a family court rules that a child was brainwashed into lying about parental abuse, judges routinely order the child into programs called reunification camps. The goal is to make the child recant abuse claims and embrace the parent they allege harmed them. The process involves forcibly removing the child from their preferred parent’s home and transporting them to a reunification...
The Industry of Defending Child Abusers
February 16, 2023 22:23 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBFamily court judges routinely grant full custody to a parent after a child alleges they’re abusing them. That’s because they believe the other parent brainwashed their kids into lying about the abuse. The judge’s decision is often influenced by a pseudo psychological theory dreamt up 40 years ago by one guy who created a cottage industry out of defending child abusers. That cottage industry has now become a booming business for many family court lawyers. One lawyer we talked to said that in ...
When judges dismiss claims of domestic abuse, children can pay the ultimate price
September 29, 2022 23:02 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBThe National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential assistance to anyone affected by domestic violence through a live chat at TheHotline.org, a free 24-hour hotline at 800-799-7233 and by texting "START" to 88788. The National Dating Abuse Helpline, can be reached at 1-866-331-9474, by texting "LOVEIS" to 22522, or through live chat at LoveIsRespect.org. More information about Pierce's Pledge can be found at PiercesPledge.org
Coercive control is domestic violence. When will judges adapt to the new law?
September 08, 2022 22:55 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBContent Warning: This episode discusses sensitive topics, including accounts of domestic abuse and violence.
We Know the Heat Is Coming. SF Has a Plan.
August 25, 2022 23:43 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBTo sign up for AlertSF text your zip code to 888-777 or visit: www.alertsf.org.
What's News & What's Next 7/29/22
July 29, 2022 20:45 - 5 minutes - 4.89 MBNEW: Monkeypox emergency declared; Laguna Honda patients can stay; face masks on BART; Supe supports psychedelic mushrooms; SRO workers strike; Mayor veto stands NEXT: Up Your Alley fetish fest & Outside Lands music fest return; Supes on summer recess.
Indigenous People Are Still Fighting for Recognition
July 28, 2022 23:29 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBIn 1978, the U.S. government created a path to recognizing Indian tribes in the United States. Four years later, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, a tribe native to Yosemite Valley, submitted their initial request to become a recognized tribe. They’re still waiting. We talk to Chairwoman, Sandra Roan Chapman, about her tribe's pursuit for federal recognition. We also explore the nuts and bolts of the process with SFSU professor and journalist Cristina Azocar.
What's New & What's Next 7/22/22
July 22, 2022 20:00 - 6 minutes - 6.27 MBNEW: $28 billion budget passes; DA gets pushback over criminal justice reform; SFPD policy for surveillance camera access; problematic BART plaza fenced off; ballot measures to 1) permit cars on JFK Drive 2) maintain car-free JFK 3) change election schedule. NEXT: monkeypox vaccines; stopping fatal Laguna Honda patient relocation; mayor vetos housing density law; LGBTQ cultural heritage hearing.
What's New & What's Next for 7/18/22
July 18, 2022 16:30 - 4 minutes - 4.58 MBA new District Attorney hires new staff and fires staff hired by the previous D.A. We look at the history of the crisis at Laguna Honda Hospital that has displaced some frail and elderly patients. COVID infections on the rise. Our station KSFP-LP is back on the air and the Board of Supervisors looks at new ballot initiatives for November.
Laguna Honda Hospital Must Self-Destruct in Order to Survive
July 15, 2022 16:10 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBIn part two of our coverage of the pending closure of Laguna Honda Hospital, we hear about the potential impacts of relocating patients - a directive from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to move all patients out of the facility before applying for recertification in the fall. We also hear about concerns regarding the recertification process and additional efforts to correct issues uncovered during the inspections. The numbers of patients transferred in this episode were accurate...
What's New & What's Next 7/11/22
July 11, 2022 01:00 - 7 minutes - 6.49 MBNEW: Mayor picks new DA; prioritizing housing for veterans; Supes demand PG&E accountability. NEXT: Mayor wants watered down ethics rules; changes to Geary Blvd; Department of Homelessness oversight; shifting election years; SFPD improvement update; big money for affordable housing projects.
Looming shutdown at Laguna Honda Hospital was 'preventable,' doctor says
July 07, 2022 23:41 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBNearly 700 live-in patients at Laguna Honda Hospital are in limbo after the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would pull federal funding following multiple damning inspection reports. San Francisco Department of Public Health officials are scrambling to regain the certification needed for funding. Meanwhile, two former hospital physicians say they warned city officials about a potential crisis nearly 20 years ago.
What's New & What's Next 7/4/22
July 04, 2022 01:00 - 7 minutes - 6.98 MBNEW: Supes, mayor reach $28 billion budget deal; $4M estimate for abortion services; victory for safe consumption; call for city overdose plan; no more slow Lake Street; school board suspends meetings; two controversial housing bills pass; questions over monkeypox. NEXT: nixing new street cleaning department; potential vacant home tax; cost-of-living adjustment for elder city pensioners; shifting the election cycle; abortion rights protests.
What's New & What's Next 6/27/22
June 27, 2022 01:00 - 7 minutes - 6.97 MBNEW: Supreme Court decisions on abortion & gun rights sends city officials scrambling; SFPD won’t negotiate budget requests; school board reverses decisions on Lowell High School admission and controversial mural cover-up. NEXT: SFMTA decision makers to vote on union salaries and $7M cost for temporary facility; voters will decide fate of sales tax; SFPD equipment scrutinized; proposal to add gender identity to anti-discrimination rules; mitigating impact of ride-hailing and self-driving pass...
The Future of the AIDS Memorial Quilt
June 24, 2022 01:17 - 32 minutes - 30 MBThe largest display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in ten years took place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in June. Now the quilt is being taken on the road to the southern U.S., where new HIV infections and lower levels of treatment for those infected are the highest in the country. We also speak with the White House official overseeing the Biden Administration’s response to the pandemic, after resources for HIV care were diverted to battling the COVID pandemic.
What's New & What's Next for 6/20/22
June 20, 2022 01:00 - 8 minutes - 7.79 MBNEW: Tenderloin Center will shut down in December; proposed drug enforcement zones; “massive mismanagement” of addiction and mental health services; proposal to permit behested payments; reopen JFK Drive fight continues; money for Asian and Pacific Islander residents; bridge toll crackdown; town halls after traffic deaths. NEXT: expediting housing development; vaccines for young kids; Golden State Warriors parade; racial makeup of city workers; city budget public hearings; Pink Painted Lady o...
What's New & What's Next for 6/13/22
June 13, 2022 01:00 - 9 minutes - 8.88 MBNEW: San Francisco recalls DA with 55% in support; voters approve three anti-corruption measures; COVID rates spike while testing sites are defunded NEXT: school board rethinks Lowell High admission changes; public hearing on Laguna Honda shutdown; housing help for low-income residents; law to allow police access private surveillance cameras.
When complaints roll in, PBS's public editor uses them to spark community conversations.
June 09, 2022 22:16 - 37 minutes - 33.9 MBWith the proliferation of social media channels, misinformation and disinformation now spread as fast as the click of a trackpad. Even for a trusted outlet like PBS — nationally recognized for its family friendly programming and sober, nonpartisan news coverage — this era has brought a flood of digital rumors to quell. As the public editor at PBS, Ricardo Sandoval Palos fields complaints for the organization and uses community feedback to cultivate conversations between viewers and PBS’s crea...
What's New & What's Next for 6/06/22
June 06, 2022 01:00 - 6 minutes - 5.76 MBNEW: Get nonpartisan analysis of June 2022 ballot measure at sfpublicpress.org; Honey Mahogany will run for District 6 supervisor; Pride Parade organizers & SFPD reach compromise; driverless car service permitted; Mayor London Breed’s 2-year, $28B budget. NEXT: Street patrols for every police district; reviewing beleaguered Below Market Rate housing Program; charter amendment to forfeit pensions of city employees found guilty of crimes.
What's New & What's Next for 5/30/22
May 30, 2022 01:00 - 6 minutes - 5.92 MBNEW: Supe reacts to mass shootings; schools step up policing; nearly $50M for city center; proposed change to city elections; city sues slumlord; SF population drops. NEXT: Update on botched school payroll; Pink Triangle returns; protest against gun violence.
While SF Fought COVID, HIV Prevention Efforts Stalled
May 26, 2022 22:34 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBHIV activists and healthcare professionals are warning city officials that while everyone is paying attention to COVID-19, rates of HIV infection and HIV related illness have been creeping in the wrong direction. We talk to Monica Gandhi, the director of the center for AIDS research at UCSF, about the history of HIV research in San Francisco, how the pandemic affected resources, and her advice for a path forward. We also hear from HIV survivors and SF officials about the importance of inclusi...
Proposition D
May 25, 2022 03:19 - 1 minute - 1.73 MBOffice of Victim and Witness Rights; Legal Services for Domestic Violence Victims
What's New & What's Next for 5/23/22
May 23, 2022 01:00 - 9 minutes - 12.8 MBNEW: Laguna Honda takes another step towards closure; a drop in the city’s unhoused population; $1.3 billion shortfall in affordable housing goals; fired anti-vaccine firefighters fight back with misinformation and conspiracy theories NEXT: Resolution to change garbage rates after $23.4 million overbilling revelation; a new Department of Sanitation and Streets; proposal for gun violence trauma response; expanded Castro Theater landmark designation; pushback on proposed homelessness oversight ...