By Joshua Sabatini
San Francisco Examiner

The plan to rebuild San Francisco’s most troubled and decrepit public housing sites is moving forward with nine developers applying to rebuild the sites. The idea of creating a local version of the federal Hope IV program — which provides funds to local housing authorities to rebuild dilapidated housing projects was planted during the tenure of former Mayor Willie Brown. Mayor Gavin Newsom, however, has championed the idea of rebuilding public housing units within new mixed-income developments and last year allocated $5 million within The City’s budget to help pay for $95 million in bonds that would fund initial rebuilds. Read more »

Four years ago I stood here at City Hall and said “Thank You” to my friends, family and supporters for electing me mayor of this incredible city. I look back now and realize it has taken the experiences of the last four years to truly appreciate the honor that you gave me that day. I knew it before – but now I’ve lived it. This place, our people, make up the finest city in this nation. There are bigger cities. But there are simply no better cities.  Serving as your mayor is the greatest honor I could ever imagine. In the past four years, I have looked at best practices throughout this nation. And I’ve learned – with both a growing pride and a profound sense of responsibility – that the nation is also looking back to us. Read more »

By NBC11 News

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday the federal government will spend more than $82 million next year toward revamping San Francisco's Hunters Point Shipyard. Newsom said securing the funds was "a huge victory" for the city's Bayview community. The city plans to turn the long-shuttered shipyard into a "world-class location providing waterfront parks, thousands of jobs, affordable housing and a major clean technology campus," Newsom said. The plans also include space for a potential stadium for the San Francisco 49ers. Newsom credits House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) for helping to secure the funds. Read more »

By Cecilia M. Vega, Matthew Yi,Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writers
San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco has emerged relatively unscathed from the mortgage crises sweeping the nation, but a coalition of city leaders is predicting that reality may soon change. To deal with it, the group called on major subprime lenders Thursday to change the way they do business with homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said that predatory lending practices have been unconscionable and that major lenders should step up their outreach to at-risk homeowners. The number of foreclosures in San Francisco makes up just 2 percent of foreclosures in the Bay Area, city leaders estimate, and Newsom said city residents have "been fortunate to date."

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By Kevin Fagan
San Francisco Chronicle

The number of chronically homeless people across the United States has dropped by 11.5 percent thanks to an increased focus on providing counseling and housing rather than police crackdowns or emergency shelter beds, federal officials said Wednesday. There was no homeless count in San Francisco from 2002 to 2005, when Mayor Gavin Newsom revived the practice. City and federal officials pointed out that between 2002 and 2007, the number of chronically homeless people in San Francisco dropped 38 percent, from 4,535 to 2,771. Chronically homeless people are defined as the most troubled of the homeless population, suffering from mental or addiction troubles and living on the street for at least a solid year.

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By Michael Cabanatuan
San Francisco Chronicle

The Bay Area might need smaller houses, higher gas taxes and tolls on busy roads and congested business districts if it is to meet the state's goals for the reduction of greenhouse gases, transportation and land use officials said Friday. The good news, however, is that a new poll shows that many Bay Area residents are ready to take those steps if it means a better future for the state and world. Setting goals is significant, leaders with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Association of Bay Area Governments told a crowd of 800 at a conference at the Oakland Convention Center. But making the lifestyle changes to meet them is far more challenging. Read more »

By Rosanne Haggerty
President, Common Ground Community

Maryann and Gerry were fixtures at the Times Square subway entrance, well known to local office workers, to the police and the courts.  With a dog as one prop, and Gerry’s drums as another, they had supported themselves and their heroin habits by panhandling, sometimes aggressively, to tourists and the regular business crowd.  Their belongings a makeshift tent, sleeping bags and clothes - were tucked into two carts, which sidewalk food vendors and the security staff at the office building above the station would watch for as they shifted to more lucrative posts over the course of the day or went to buy heroin or tend to their growing array of health problems.   By night, they bedded down at the subway entrance beneath the office plaza. Read more »

By Regina Davis, Executive Director
San Francisco Housing Development Corporation

Can changes in buildings and land use make a significant positive impact on people living in public housing? The HOPE SF program included in Mayor Newsom’s proposed budget takes up the challenge of initiating radical change for families living in public housing sites in San Francisco’s southeast neighborhoods. HOPE SF proposes a $100 million investment, $5 million from the City budget and $95 million from a proposed bond, to significantly change public housing by rebuilding 2,500 apartments for public housing residents and building 3,500 new market-rate and affordable homes on seven public housing sites. The City expects to leverage federal and private funds for the majority of its costs.    Read more »

We need your help right now to save the Community Justice Center.  Supervisor Daly introduced legislation yesterday to stop the Community Justice Center and to cut funds for more police, funds to fix our roads and sidewalks, funds to upgrade the successful new 311 Call Center, funds for new trees, funds to help rebuild public housing, funds to help small businesses and many other vital services.  We need the Community Justice Center to keep making progress on the homeless crisis. The court is a proven way to direct those who commit quality-of-life crimes like aggressive panhandling into social services.  In a time of rising homicide rates, we need the new police officers Daly wants to cut to keep our streets safe.  We need the funds Daly wants to cut to repair our roads and infrastructure after decades of neglect. Read more »

By Rob Black

Currently, San Francisco has a stated goal of 5.5 acres of park or open space for every 1,000 residents.  This goal represents about half the 10 acres per 1,000 residents recommended by the National Recreation and Park Association.  In neighborhoods like the South of Market and the Inner Mission, areas receiving thousands of new housing units, there are only 1.8 acres of parks per 1,000 residents.  As new units are built, the proportion of residents to park space continues to decline.  If we want these new and existing neighborhoods to thrive, we must plan for and invest in more parks and open space now.  If we wait, the costs will be too prohibitive, the neighborhoods too dense, and the opportunity for a greener, healthier community will be lost. Read more »