For several years, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation has, despite its name, presented as a pro-tenant group to the public, advocating against evictions. 

Yet a report from the Los Angeles Times reveals a different story surrounding the foundation, one filled not only with evictions, but putrid living conditions for its tenants. 

The backstory: The multi-billion dollar AIDS Healthcare Foundation operates over 730 treatment clinics across the globe. 

• It also jumped into the housing sector six years ago and has become one of the biggest landlords on Skid Row. 
• The foundation was founded by Michael Weinstein, who has used it to push his political agenda by funding recent ballot measures in California for rent control, a housing development freeze and mandating condoms in adult films, among others. 
• Weinstein’s political advocacy has made him a target, with the California Apartment Association funding a ballot initiative that would effectively bar Weinstein from funneling his organization’s money to ballot measures. 

The big picture: According to a recent report from the LA Times, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation owns properties in Los Angeles, managing nearly 1,500 units with another 467 under development. The foundation has also acquired buildings in Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas. 

• While the foundation publicly touts its own renovation work, it has a poor track record in three of its buildings on Skid Row – the Baltimore, King Edward and Madison. 
• The LA Times found squalid living conditions in the buildings, which include 32 complaints made in the King Edward since it was purchased in 2018. The city only had five complaints on file for the previous five years before the foundation bought the building. 
• Such complaints have come because of exposed electrical wiring, painted-over fire sprinklers, missing smoke detectors and inoperable doors and windows. 
• More serious issues include black mold, nests of cockroaches, maggots, plumbing breaks and a radiator explosion. 
• Complaints are made against the foundation’s buildings at a rate three times higher than buildings owned by other Skid Row nonprofits. 
• The foundation has also evicted tenants for owing a few hundred dollars and has sued nearly 70 tenants for back rent in small claims court.

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WASHINGTON (TND) — Retailers have lost billions, largely due to shoplifting and organized retail.

Some companies are redesigning their businesses to reduce crime and lower their profits.

According to CWB Chicago, Walgreens has only two aisles with physical goods, such as snacks. For everything else, customers need to schedule an order at a digital kiosk or in the app and pick it up at a counter.

It will not work. You’re going to lose a lot of customers,” said one customer in an interview with WBBM Newsradio.

The Washington Post reported Giant Food has hired security guards, limited self-checkout to 20 items, and is also securing certain items in its grocery stores.

In San Francisco, the city’s largest Whole Foods store, a Nordstrom store and the Old Navy flagship store have all closed.

Well, unfortunately, situations where stores either lock up the bulk of their merchandise or just abandon communities altogether are not uncommon,” said Zack Smith, attorney and manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program at the foundation’s Heritage Meese Center.”

Smith said laws critics call “soft-on crime” are to blame.

So if the people who physically go into the stores and steal the goods feel that there will be no consequences for their actions, or that the consequences for them will be relatively small, then at that point the reward, “It does it,” prevails much easier for these large retailers to attract employees to their organization.”

In 2021, retailers lost $94.5 billion to shoplifting. That’s $90.8 billion in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2022 National Retail Security Survey.

“No one is in favor of jailing every shoplifter, but we are definitely in favor of disbanding rings and making it clear that you will be prosecuted for participating in these rings,” Stephanie Martz, NRF executive director and general counsel , said, “When you get to a point where it’s literally unprofitable to have a store open, that’s all you can do to justify keeping the store open that long.”

From June 27, online markets must comply with the INFORM consumer law. The new law requires more transparency from high-volume online third-party providers. Retailers hope that this will help fight organized retail crime.

A new survey by the National Retail Federation shows that 51% of consumers say law enforcement and the courts are too lenient towards people who steal from stores. Nearly two-thirds are concerned about gang-run shoplifting in their community.

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San Francisco Housing Action Coalition fought to keep the city Board of Supervisors’ rival housing initiative off the ballot. But a judge ruled Tuesday that the voters should decide between the two.

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — San Francisco voters will decide between two competing housing initiatives in November as a trial judge on Tuesday declined to strike down one that was challenged in court after being voted onto the ballot by the city’s board of supervisors.

In a brief order, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer said the voters should be allowed to pick between Proposition D, a measure backed by the nonprofit San Francisco Housing Action Coalition and supported by Mayor London Breed, and Proposition E, which was placed on the ballot by a vote of the city’s Board of Supervisors in July.

Both propositions purport to speed up the process for building affordable housing in an increasingly unaffordable city. The Housing Action Coalition says its measure streamlines affordable housing projects by allowing developers to bypass discretionary review and bureaucratic red tape. It also eliminates the Board of Supervisor’s authority to approve funding for 100% affordable housing projects on public land.

The board-passed Proposition E is sponsored by Supervisor Connie Chan and similarly promises to accelerate affordable housing construction while leaving in the board’s authority to oversee some 100% affordable housing projects. It also demands more from developers in terms of size, construction and cost requirements for some types of apartments — requirements its critics deride as financially impractical.

“The main difference between Prop D and Prop E is that Prop D will actually result in housing getting built,” Todd David with Housing Action Coalition said in an interview Tuesday. “Prop E is a sham measure that was put on the ballot in bad faith to keep the status quo and make sure housing doesn’t get streamlined and gives the Board of Supervisors authority to reject 100% affordable housing.”

David said Prop. D will allow a mixed income project to get approved in six months, as opposed to the seven-to-nine years it currently takes.

“The Board of Supervisors sets their affordable housing requirement significantly higher than what’s currently required, which will make the project economically unfeasible,” David said of Chan’s measure. “It sets the bar so high that no mixed income housing will be built. It’s a bad faith effort to muddy the waters and confuse the voters. The last thing the Board of Supervisors wants is to get affordable housing built.”

Proposition D also has its detractors. Former city Supervisor John Avalos, now head of the Council of Community Housing Organization, said the measure is full of “sophistry and deception” that will enrich developers while failing to ensure that projects are truly affordable.

“They redefine what affordable is. Their measure changes dramatically what is going to be considered affordable housing to enable projects that were not affordable to get streamlined,” Avalos said.

He added that the measure opens the building process up to more corruption by cutting out board oversight. “If you take away Board of Supervisors’ ability to approve contracts and use of city land, we know there will be abuses,” said Avalos.

But Judge Ulmer said it was not the court’s job to decide the merits of either, writing, “setting policy by picking political winners and losers is not a court’s role.” Instead, the judge had to decide whether voters should be able to decide between them.

Housing Action Coalition had sued to strike Proposition E from the ballot as invalid, arguing that it did not go through the proper environmental review required of projects undertaken by public agencies. Review under the California Environmental Quality Act is not required of its own proposition, the group says, because Prop D made it on the ballot through signature gathering.

In his ruling, Ulmer reiterated a question he asked the group’s attorneys at a hearing last week.

“Why petition signatures by a minority of voters (who may or may not support a proposition) should receive one treatment, while an actual majority vote by the people’s representatives receives another is not clear,” he wrote, even as he acknowledged that the coalition’s argument has some case law support.

“In any event, whether Proposition E is a ‘project,’ and if so, CEQA has been complied with, are dense factual and legal issues that would require more development than they have received. These issues merit reasoned consideration, not a hip shot shortly before ballots go to the printer,” Ulmer wrote.

Avalos pointed out the irony of the coalition trying to invalidate Proposition E via an environmental law it derides for its frequent use by opponents to obstruct and delay housing projects.

“It’s totally ironic that they’re using CEQA as their method to take down the Board of Supervisors’ measure when that’s what they’ve been fighting against all these years,” he said. “I don’t think they have a sense that They have a strong case in court, but by going to court they get to keep hammering at the Board of Supervisors. They’re ok not winning in court as long as they can keep the story in the news media.”

David said his group opposes any abuse of CEQA. “Myself and the HAC, we find it equally offensive when people use CEQA to block housing and when they ignore CEQA to block housing. The Board of Supervisors has never found a CEQA environmental appeal they did not love — except for their measure,” he said. “We’re a pro-housing organization. We’re going to fight when people abuse CEQA to block housing or when they ignore CEQA to block housing.”

Ulmer said he would review the merits of the group’s CEQA claim if Proposition E passes. If both initiatives receive more than 50% of the vote, the one with the most votes will be enacted.

David said his group hasn’t decided yet whether it will continue to challenge Prop E on CEQA grounds. “We just got the ruling. Our focus is 100% on Prop. D passing and getting more votes. We’ll revisit the consideration of a legal challenge at a later date.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The mayor of San Francisco on Tuesday announced even more initiatives aimed at curbing open drug use, brazen home break-ins and other criminal behavior that she says have made a mockery of the city’s famed tolerance and compassion.

Mayor London Breed said at a news conference attended by the police chief and other public safety personnel that she would introduce legislation to allow law enforcement real-time access to surveillance video in certain situations and to make it harder for people to sell stolen goods.

She also announced emergency intervention to improve safety in the Tenderloin, one of the poorest and most drug-infested neighborhoods in San Francisco, where parents have pleaded for protection from drug dealers and violent street behavior. The neighborhood contains several government buildings, including City Hall.

“What I’m proposing today, and what I will be proposing in the future will make a lot of people uncomfortable, and I don’t care,” said Breed, a Democrat. “We are past the point where what we see is even remotely acceptable.”

She said it’s time to get aggressive and “less tolerant of all the bull— that has destroyed our city.”

The announcement follows a meeting the mayor had last week with Tenderloin families, as well as a report by The Associated Press describing the frustrations of some residents who say the city is in decline. They said despite San Francisco’s wealth, city officials are not doing enough to keep streets cleared of human feces and trash, provide housing to people experiencing homelessness, and deter drug dealers.

They are also upset that San Francisco public schools spent much of last year teaching remotely while neighboring districts and private schools within the city provided in-class instruction.

Criminal justice advocates in favor of less incarceration say the media has been drumming up fear in a city where overall crime rates have declined in recent years. Increased enforcement, they say, only ends up harming the most vulnerable, including Black and homeless residents, without improving public safety.

Similar debates are taking place across the country in liberal cities where the murder of George Floyd led to a surge of progressive activism that included calls to rethink the way cities deal with crime. Some cities where there were calls to defund the police, including Portland, Oregon, have moved in recent months to bolster police budgets.

John Hamasaki, a San Francisco police commissioner and defense lawyer who is highly critical of extra policing and surveillance, said Tuesday that taxpayer money is better spent on services, treatment and housing.

He said the city should open a supervised drug consumption site and act to treat addiction rather than using methods that will shove dealing into other neighborhoods.

“The situation in the tenderloin isn’t ultimately going to be solved through more policing,” he said. “It seems like we’re doing the same dance over and over and expecting different results.”

But Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which provides legal services and housing to low-income people, said more police patrols would deter dealers and make the neighborhood safer for residents. At the same time, he heard the mayor’s promises before and seen little concrete action.

“I’m glad the mayor’s coming out like this, but it’s really actions speak louder than words,” he said. “We heard a lot of commitments, and now we have to make sure they happen.”

Breed has directed the city’s Department of Emergency Management to lead the response in the Tenderloin, much like the agency coordinated efforts to address the pandemic. The department will, in part, streamline emergency medical calls, disrupt drug dealing and use, and clean up “nasty streets,” she said.

“And when I say nasty, full of feces and urine, that the Department of Public Works is cleaning every single day, but it comes back just a few hours later,” she said.

Breed said she would ask the Board of Supervisors for more money to pay for police overtime and to increase the department’s budget. Legislative changes would also require the board’s support, which is not guaranteed.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the criminal justice system has changed so that drug possession doesn’t land a person in jail and that police now try to balance enforcement with offers of help to those suffering with addiction and homelessness.

“But at the end of the day, at the end of all of these people will not be allowed to smoke meth, to smoke fentanyl, to inject heroin into their arms in public spaces,” he said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The mayor of San Francisco on Tuesday announced even more initiatives aimed at curbing overt drug use, brazen home burglaries and other criminal behaviors that she says make a mockery of the city’s famed tolerance and compassion to have.

Mayor London Breed told a news conference attended by the police chief and other public safety officials that she would introduce legislation that would give law enforcement real-time access to surveillance video in certain situations and make it harder for people to sell stolen goods.

She also announced emergency measures to improve security in the Tenderloin, one of the poorest and most drug-infested neighborhoods in San Francisco, where parents have asked for protection from drug dealers and violent behavior on the streets. There are several government buildings in the neighborhood, including City Hall.

“What I’m proposing today and what I’m going to propose in the future will make a lot of people uncomfortable, and I don’t care,” said Breed, a Democrat. “We’ve passed the point where what we’re seeing is even remotely acceptable.”

She said it was time to become aggressive and “less tolerant of all the cops that destroyed our town.”

The announcement follows a meeting the mayor had with tenderloin families last week and a report from The Associated Press detailing the frustrations of some residents who say the city is in decline. They said that despite San Francisco’s wealth, city officials are not doing enough to clear the streets of human feces and trash, provide housing for the homeless, and deter drug dealers.

They are also upset that San Francisco public schools have spent much of the last year distance learning while neighboring counties and private schools in the city have taught in-class.

Criminal justice advocates who are campaigning for fewer incarcerations say the media has fueled fear in a city where crime rates have been falling overall in recent years. They say increased enforcement only harms the most vulnerable, including black and homeless residents, without improving public safety.

Similar debates are taking place across the country in liberal cities, where the killing of George Floyd sparked a wave of progressive activism that has included calls to rethink how cities deal with crime. Some cities that have been calling for police relief, including Portland, Oregon, have relocated in recent months to bolster police budgets.

John Hamasaki, a San Francisco police commissioner and defense attorney who is critical of additional policing and surveillance, said Tuesday taxpayers’ money is better spent on services, treatment and housing.

He said the city should open a regulated drug consumption facility and take action to treat the addiction, rather than using methods that push trafficking to other parts of the city.

“The situation in the tenderloin will not ultimately be resolved through more policing,” he said. “It seems like we’re doing the same dance over and over again and expecting different results.”

But Randy Shaw, chief executive of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which provides legal services and housing to people on low incomes, said more police patrols would deter traffickers and make the neighborhood safer for residents. At the same time, he has heard the mayor’s promises before and seen few concrete measures.

“I’m glad the mayor is coming out like this, but actions speak louder than words,” he said. “We have heard many promises and now we must ensure that they are kept.”

Breed has directed the city’s Department of Emergency Management to lead the response in the tenderloin, much like the agency has coordinated efforts to combat the pandemic. The department will, in part, streamline emergency medical calls, disrupt drug trafficking and use, and clean up “bad roads,” she said.

“And when I say angry, full of feces and urine, that the Department of Public Works cleans up every day, it comes back just a few hours later,” she said.

Breed said she will ask the board for more money to pay police overtime and increase the department’s budget. Legislative changes would also require board support, which is not guaranteed.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the criminal justice system had changed so that drug possession no longer puts a person in jail and police are now trying to balance enforcement with offers of help to addicts and the homeless.

“But at the end of the day, at the end of all this, people are not going to be allowed to smoke meth, smoke fentanyl, inject heroin in their arms in public,” he said.

Copyright © Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed.

Follow @ktar923

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Mayor of San Francisco on Tuesday announced even more initiatives aimed at curbing overt drug use, brazen home break-ins and other criminal behavior that she says draws on the city’s famed tolerance and compassion Have made mockery.

Mayor London Breed said at a press conference attended by the police chief and other public security officials that she would put in place laws that allow law enforcement agencies to have real-time access to surveillance video in certain situations and make it difficult for people to sell stolen property.

She also announced emergency operations to improve safety in Tenderloin, one of the poorest and most drug-infested neighborhoods in San Francisco, where parents have pleaded for protection from drug dealers and street violent behavior. There are several government buildings in the neighborhood, including the town hall.

The restaurant in San Francisco refused to work with 3 police officers whose weapons made the staff “uncomfortable”

“What I propose today and what I will propose in the future is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable and I don’t care,” said Breed, a Democrat. “We have passed the point where what we see is even remotely acceptable.”

She said it was time to get aggressive and “less tolerant of all that bull – it destroyed our city”.

The announcement follows a meeting the mayor had with Tenderloin families last week, as well as a report from The Associated Press describing the frustration of some residents who say the city is in decline. They said that despite San Francisco’s wealth, city officials were not doing enough to clear the streets of human feces and trash, shelter people who were homeless, and deter drug dealers.

They’re also upset that last year San Francisco public schools taught remotely for much of last year, while neighboring counties and private schools within the city offered classroom teaching.

Criminal justice advocates for fewer incarcerations say the media has fueled fear in a city where overall crime rates have declined in recent years. They say increased enforcement only harms the most vulnerable, including black and homeless residents, without improving public safety.

Similar debates are taking place across the country in liberal cities, where the murder of George Floyd sparked a surge in progressive activism, including calls for cities to reconsider the way cities deal with crime. Some cities calling for police relief, including Portland, Oregon, have moved in recent months to boost police budgets.

John Hamasaki, a San Francisco police commissioner and defense attorney who is very critical of additional policing and surveillance, said Tuesday that tax dollars are better spent on services, treatment and housing.

He said the city should open a monitored drug use site and act to treat addiction rather than employing methods that push trafficking to other neighborhoods.

Thieves break in and throw a party at the San Francisco restaurant before it opens

“The situation in the tenderloin will ultimately not be resolved by more police work,” he said. “It seems like we’re doing the same dance over and over and expecting different results.”

However, Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which provides legal services and housing to low-income people, said more police patrols would deter vendors and make the neighborhood safer for residents. At the same time, he has heard the mayor’s promises and seen little concrete action.

“I’m glad the mayor came out like this, but actions speak louder than words,” he said. “We heard a lot of promises and now we need to make sure they are kept.”

Breed has directed the city’s emergency management department to lead the response at the tenderloin, much like the agency is coordinating efforts to fight the pandemic. The department will, in part, streamline emergency medical calls, disrupt drug trafficking and use, and clean up “bad roads,” she said.

“And when I say nasty, full of feces and urine, that the Department of Public Works cleans up every day but comes back only a few hours later,” she said.

Breed said she would ask the board of directors for more money to pay police overtime and top up the department’s budget. Changes in the law would also require the support of the board, which is not guaranteed.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the criminal justice system has changed so that possession of drugs does not put a person in jail and that police are now trying to balance enforcement with support services for the addicts and the homeless.

“But at the end of the day people won’t be allowed to smoke meth, smoke fentanyl, inject heroin in public places,” he said.

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The post San Francisco mayor pledges extra police, security measures appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Mayor of San Francisco on Tuesday announced even more initiatives aimed at curbing overt drug use, brazen home break-ins and other criminal behavior that she says mocked the city’s famous tolerance and compassion .

Mayor London Breed said at a press conference attended by the police chief and other public security officials that she would put in place laws that allow law enforcement agencies to have real-time access to surveillance video in certain situations and make it difficult for people to sell stolen property.

She also announced emergency operations to improve safety in Tenderloin, one of the poorest and most drug-infested neighborhoods in San Francisco, where parents have pleaded for protection from drug dealers and street violent behavior. There are several government buildings in the neighborhood, including the town hall.

“What I propose today and what I will propose in the future is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable and I don’t care,” said Breed, a Democrat. “We have passed the point where what we see is even remotely acceptable.”

She said it was time to get aggressive and “less tolerant of all that bull – it destroyed our city”.

The announcement follows a meeting the mayor had with Tenderloin families last week, as well as a report from The Associated Press describing the frustration of some residents who say the city is in decline. They said that despite San Francisco’s wealth, city officials were not doing enough to clear the streets of human feces and trash, shelter people who were homeless, and deter drug dealers.

They’re also upset that last year San Francisco public schools taught remotely for much of last year, while neighboring counties and private schools within the city offered classroom teaching.

Criminal justice advocates for fewer incarcerations say the media has fueled fear in a city where overall crime rates have declined in recent years. They say increased enforcement only harms the most vulnerable, including black and homeless residents, without improving public safety.

Similar debates are taking place across the country in liberal cities, where the murder of George Floyd sparked a surge in progressive activism, including calls for cities to reconsider the way cities deal with crime. Some cities calling for police relief, including Portland, Oregon, have moved in recent months to boost police budgets.

John Hamasaki, a San Francisco police commissioner and defense attorney who is very critical of additional policing and surveillance, said Tuesday that tax dollars are better spent on services, treatment and housing.

He said the city should open a monitored drug use site and act to treat addiction rather than employing methods that push trafficking to other neighborhoods.

“The situation in the tenderloin will ultimately not be resolved by more police work,” he said. “It seems like we’re doing the same dance over and over and expecting different results.”

However, Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which provides legal services and housing to low-income people, said more police patrols would deter vendors and make the neighborhood safer for residents. At the same time, he has heard the mayor’s promises and seen little concrete action.

“I’m glad the mayor came out like this, but actions speak louder than words,” he said. “We heard a lot of promises and now we need to make sure they are kept.”

Breed has directed the city’s emergency management department to lead the response at the tenderloin, much like the agency is coordinating efforts to fight the pandemic. The department will, in part, streamline emergency medical calls, disrupt drug trafficking and use, and clean up “bad roads,” she said.

“And when I say nasty, full of feces and urine, that the Department of Public Works cleans up every day but comes back only a few hours later,” she said.

Breed said she would ask the board of directors for more money to pay police overtime and top up the department’s budget. Changes in the law would also require the support of the board, which is not guaranteed.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the criminal justice system has changed so that possession of drugs does not put a person in jail and that police are now trying to balance enforcement with support services for the addicts and the homeless.

“But at the end of the day people won’t be allowed to smoke meth, smoke fentanyl, inject heroin in public places,” he said.

The post San Francisco mayor pledges extra police, security measures appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

The Mayor of San Francisco London Breed (D) announced new measures to curb crime in the city on Tuesday, including drug use and home break-ins. The Associated Press reported.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Breed said it would introduce laws that allow law enforcement agencies to access surveillance videos in certain situations and make it difficult for people to sell stolen property.

Breed also announced the use of emergency powers to try to improve security in the Tenderloin district, one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Francisco, which is also several government buildings, including the town hall, according to the AP.

“What I propose today and what I will propose in the future is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable and I don’t care,” said Breed. “We have passed the point where what we see is even remotely acceptable.”

Breed’s announcement followed her meeting with the Tenderloin community last week at which local residents said city officials were not doing enough to clean the streets, provide shelter for the homeless and discourage drug dealers.

Residents also shared their frustration with public schools, which had spent much of the past year practicing virtual learning, while the city’s neighboring counties and private schools conducted face-to-face learning, the AP reported.

San Francisco Police Commissioner and Defense Attorney John Hamasaki argues that taxpayers’ money should be spent on services, treatment and housing, rather than additional police and housing.

“The situation in the tenderloin will ultimately not be resolved by more police work,” said Hamasaki. “It seems like we’re doing the same dance over and over and expecting different results.”

Breed added that it will ask the city’s board of directors for more money to fund overtime police and increase the police agency’s budget, the AP noted.

The post San Francisco mayor publicizes measures aimed toward curbing crime appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Mayor of San Francisco on Tuesday announced even more initiatives aimed at curbing overt drug use, brazen home break-ins and other criminal behavior that she says mocked the city’s famous tolerance and compassion .

Mayor London Breed said at a press conference attended by her police chief and other public security officials that she would put in place laws that allow law enforcement agencies to have real-time access to surveillance video in certain situations and make it difficult for people to sell stolen property.

She also announced the use of emergency powers to improve safety in Tenderloin, one of the poorest and most drug-infested neighborhoods in San Francisco, where parents have pleaded for protection from drug dealers and street violent behavior. There are several government buildings in the neighborhood, including the town hall.

“What I propose today and what I will propose in the future is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable and I don’t care,” said Breed, a Democrat. “We have passed the point where what we see is even remotely acceptable.”

The announcement follows a meeting the mayor had with Tenderloin families last week, as well as a report from The Associated Press describing the frustration of some residents who say the city is in decline. They said that despite San Francisco’s wealth, city officials were not doing enough to clear the streets of human feces and trash, shelter people who were homeless, and deter drug dealers.

They’re also upset that last year San Francisco public schools taught remotely for much of last year, while neighboring counties and private schools within the city offered classroom teaching.

Criminal justice advocates for fewer incarcerations say the media has fueled fear in a city where overall crime rates have declined in recent years. They say that increased enforcement only harms the most vulnerable without improving public safety.

Similar debates are taking place across the country in liberal cities, where the murder of George Floyd sparked a surge in progressive activism, including calls for cities to reconsider the way cities deal with crime. Some cities calling for police relief, including Portland, Oregon, have moved in recent months to boost police budgets.

John Hamasaki, a San Francisco police commissioner and defense attorney who is very critical of additional policing and surveillance, said Tuesday that tax dollars are better spent on services, treatment and housing.

He said the city should open a monitored drug use site and act to treat addiction rather than employing methods that push trafficking to other neighborhoods.

“The situation in the tenderloin will ultimately not be resolved by more police work,” he said. “It seems like we’re doing the same dance over and over and expecting different results.”

However, Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which provides legal services and housing to low-income people, said more police patrols would deter vendors and make the neighborhood safer for residents. At the same time, he has heard the mayor’s promises and seen little concrete action.

“I’m glad the mayor came out like this, but actions that speak louder than words,” he said. “We heard a lot of promises and now we need to make sure they are kept.”

Breed said she would ask the board of directors for more money to pay police overtime and top up the department’s budget. Changes to the law also require the support of the Board of Directors.

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If you already have UV-C installed, consider these three strategies that have been shown to contain the spread of COVID-19.

By James Piper, PE

HVAC

While UV-C technology, carefully specified and installed in institutional and commercial facilities, can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, maintenance and engineering managers can also take other measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.

1. HEPA filtration. Highly efficient particulate filters (HEPA) can remove more than 99.9 percent of particles 0.3 microns or more in diameter. These particles include pollen, dust, some bacteria, and some viruses. The coronavirus is about 0.1 micrometers in diameter, but since the virus typically adheres to exhaled water droplets that are 5 micrometers or larger, they can be easily captured by a HEPA filter. Tests have shown an efficiency rating for catching the coronavirus at 99.9 percent.

The high cost and increased energy demands of fans associated with the use of HEPA filters have limited their use to specific applications such as certain medical facilities and manufacturing clean rooms.

An alternative system with a relatively low initial and operating cost is a portable HEPA unit. These systems include a fan and managers can specify them for air purification in high risk areas or areas requiring additional protection. Different power units are available depending on the size of the application.

2. Ventilation rates of the outside air. Over the past few decades, HVAC systems have been designed to operate with a minimum of outside air. Increased amounts of outside air dilute indoor air pollutants, including COVID-19, but that benefit comes at a price. Higher outside air ventilation rates increase heating and air conditioning costs because the system must increase or decrease the temperature of the outside air to the temperature of the conditioned space.

Higher outdoor air rates alone couldn’t help much in the fight against the coronavirus as they don’t reduce the human-to-human spread indoors. However, higher ventilation rates combined with other best practices can contain the spread of the virus from one area of ​​a building to another area served by the same system.

3. Humidity. Studies of the effects of indoor humidity have shown that a relative humidity of 40-60 percent could help contain the spread of the coronavirus. Researchers have shown it stays in the air longer and therefore can travel further in dryer environments.

Not all HVAC systems can hold these levels, especially in winter. When managers try to maintain higher humidity levels, they need to ensure that technicians carefully monitor the operation of HVAC systems and air-conditioned rooms for condensation and mold growth.

James Piper, PE is a national consultant based in Bowie, Md. He has more than 35 years of experience in facility maintenance, engineering and management matters.

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