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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Tatiana Torres hatte alles gegen sich. Sie verbrachte die meiste Zeit in der High School damit, von zu Hause aus zu lernen, nachdem sie nach einem Unfall unter anhaltenden Kopfschmerzen und Lichtempfindlichkeit litt.

Sie war gerade ganztägig an die Heritage High School in Brentwood zurückgekehrt, als die Covid-19-Pandemie die Schulen schloss. Trotz dieser Herausforderungen wird sie diesen Herbst als Juniorstudentin an die UC Berkeley wechseln, um dort Politikwissenschaft zu studieren. Sie hatte ihr Allgemeinbildungsstudium in nur einem Jahr am Los Medanos College in Pittsburg abgeschlossen.

Dies ist der fünfte und letzte Artikel in der Reihe „Klasse 2022“. EdSource verfolgte die Fortschritte von 12 Senioren, die während der Highschool und ihres ersten Studienjahres mit den Folgen der Schulschließungen aufgrund von Covid-19 zu kämpfen hatten.

Torres schloss ihr Studium im Juni 2022 an der Heritage ab und schrieb sich am Los Medanos College ein, nachdem sie an keiner der Universitäten, die sie besuchen wollte, aufgenommen werden konnte. Sie wurde dort in ein Honours-Programm aufgenommen und blühte auf, obwohl sie viele ihrer Kurse online belegte.

„Akademisch gesehen war es nicht allzu schwierig“, sagte Torres. „Dieses Jahr war jedoch aufgrund der Herausforderungen im Leben viel schwieriger als ich erwartet hatte. Es hat mich überrascht und ich hatte ein wenig zu kämpfen, aber ich konnte mich erholen.“

Torres ist einer von zwölf kalifornischen High-School-Absolventen des Jahrgangs 2022, die EdSource bis zum Abschluss und ihrem ersten Jahr als Erwachsener begleitet hat. Fünf besuchten eine Universität, fünf besuchten ein kalifornisches Community College, einer nahm einen Job an und ein Student – ​​der während seines Studiums an der UCLA in seinem Auto schlafen wollte, weil er sich die Miete nicht leisten konnte – konnte nicht mehr erreicht werden.

Ein Unfall schickte Tatiana Torres für den größten Teil der High School nach Hause. Trotzdem schaffte sie es, ihre allgemeinbildenden Einheiten an der Hochschule in einem Jahr zu absolvieren.

Für den Jahrgang 2022, der während der Schulschließungen aufgrund der Covid-19-Pandemie mehr als ein Jahr damit verbracht hatte, von zu Hause aus zu lernen, war der Abschluss der High School und der Besuch einer Hochschule oder der Berufseinstieg eine besondere Herausforderung.

Die neuen Erwachsenen hatten schulische Schwierigkeiten, vor allem in Mathematik, und hatten aufgrund der langen Zeit, die sie nicht zur Schule gingen, soziale Probleme. Einige der befragten Studenten änderten ihren langgehegten Plan, weit weg von zu Hause Colleges zu besuchen, und einer entschied sich, überhaupt nicht daran teilzunehmen.

Die Pandemie hatte Auswirkungen auf die Studien- und Berufswahl der Studierenden

Sie sind nicht allein. Eine neu veröffentlichte landesweite Umfrage unter 1.500 Senioren des Jahrgangs 2023 von ACT Research zeigt, dass fast die Hälfte angibt, dass die Pandemie ihre Entscheidung für mindestens eine College- oder Berufswahl beeinflusst hat. Mehr als ein Viertel der Studierenden gab an, dass die Pandemie ihre Meinung darüber geändert habe, welches College sie besuchen sollten, und einer von zehn gab an, dass die Pandemie sie dazu gebracht habe, sich zu fragen, ob sie überhaupt ein College besuchen sollten.

Obwohl die meisten Schüler ihre Studien- oder Karriereentscheidungen aufgrund finanzieller Schwierigkeiten, schlechterer Noten und Zweifel an der Hochschule im Zusammenhang mit der Pandemie änderten, änderten andere ihren Kurs, weil die Schulschließungen ihnen Zeit zur Selbstreflexion oder zum Entdecken neuer Interessen und Prioritäten gaben. laut Forschern.

Torres nutzte ihre Zeit zu Hause, um eine gemeinnützige Organisation zu gründen, um jüngeren Kindern zu helfen, die während der Pandemie mit psychischen Problemen zu kämpfen hatten. Sie hat die Website erstellt ruhig-4-du nachdem sie mit einer fünfjährigen Nachbarin gesprochen hatte, die sich verwirrt und schuldig fühlte, weil sie nicht mit ihren Freunden und Klassenkameraden zusammen sein konnte.

Drei der anderen elf Senioren, die am Projekt „EdSource Class of 2022“ teilnahmen, gründeten Unternehmen, einige mit dem Ziel, sich nach ihrem College-Abschluss und dem Berufseinstieg mehrere Einnahmequellen zu erschließen.

„Wir waren alle während unserer wichtigsten High-School-Jahre zu Hause. Aus diesem Grund haben viele Schüler diese unabhängige Denkweise“, sagte Gannon Peebles, ein Absolvent der Edison High School in Fresno im Jahr 2022. Wenn ich nicht weiß, wie man etwas macht, versuche ich es herauszufinden, bevor ich jemanden frage.“

Es ist nicht einfach, sich im Hochschulsystem zurechtzufinden

Nach mehr als einem Jahr Fernunterricht entdeckten viele der Studenten Lücken in ihrem Wissen und hatten Schwierigkeiten, mit ihrem Studium – insbesondere in Mathematik – Schritt zu halten, als sie ans College kamen. Einige Studenten hatten Probleme, ihre Unterrichtsstunden zu planen oder sich die Lerngewohnheiten anzueignen, die sie benötigen, um die Studienleistungen am College zu meistern.

Die Probleme von Miles Fu begannen danach In seinem ersten Semester am American River College in Sacramento konnte er keinen Termin mit einem Berater vereinbaren, um zu besprechen, welche Kurse er in seinem zweiten Semester belegen sollte. Es fiel ihm schwer, Kurse auszuwählen, und er wählte sie aus, ohne vorher Dinge wie die Dauer der täglichen Unterrichtszeit zu berücksichtigen. Donnerstags zum Beispiel hatte er Unterricht von 9 bis 18 Uhr Nach zwei Stunden Unterricht war er erschöpft und konnte mit der Pflichtlektüre nicht mehr Schritt halten.

„Das ganze Jahr ist in meinem Gehirn verschwommen“, sagte Fu. „Ich habe nicht alle meine Kurse bestanden und es gab viel Gerangel, herauszufinden, was ich als nächstes tun muss.“

Fu kann nicht sagen, ob die Schulschließungen während der Covid-19-Pandemie zu seinen Schwierigkeiten im College beigetragen haben.

„Vielleicht habe ich den Schulstoff besser aufgenommen, und das hat sich vielleicht auch aufs College übertragen“, sagte er. „Vielleicht habe ich Lerngewohnheiten früher erlernt. Es ist möglich, dass ich besser dran gewesen wäre (wenn die Schließungen nie stattgefunden hätten).“

Miles Fu erfuhr, dass er sich für Weidelandökologie interessierte, nachdem er eine Reihe von Exkursionen zu Weidegebieten und Naturschutzgebieten unternommen hatte.

Das College war dieses Jahr nicht nur schlecht für Fu. Er entdeckte sein Interesse an der Ökologie von Weideland, nachdem er mit Menschen gesprochen hatte, die Weideland und Naturschutzgebiete bewirtschaften. Er würde gerne ein Praktikum absolvieren, um mehr über den Beruf zu erfahren.

Studienanfänger stürzten sich eifrig in das Leben auf dem Campus

Trotz der Schwierigkeiten, sich an das College zu gewöhnen und den akademischen Rückstand aufzuholen, waren die neuen Erstsemester bereit, alles nachzuholen, was sie während der High School gesellschaftlich verpasst hatten.

Peebles sagte, die Erfahrung mit der Pandemie habe ihn kontaktfreudiger gemacht, als er letzten Herbst nach New York zog, um die Columbia University zu besuchen. Er genoss die Zeit dort so sehr, dass er nur für einen kurzen sechstägigen Besuch nach Fresno zurückkehrte, bevor er Anfang des Monats nach New York zurückkehrte, um Sommerkurse und ein begehrtes Sommerpraktikum bei Sumeru Equity Partners zu absolvieren, einer Private-Equity-Firma mit Niederlassungen im ganzen Land .

Selbst der dichte Rauch eines in Kanada brennenden Feuers hielt Peebles nicht davon ab, in die öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel einzusteigen und nach seiner Rückkehr alles zu genießen, was New York zu bieten hatte.

„In dieser Stadt wird es nie langweilig“, sagte er.

Gannon Peebles aus Fresno hatte Angst, neue Freunde zu treffen, als er zur Columbia University in New York ging. Es war kein Problem.

Peebles, a Als reiner Einser-Schüler an der Edison High scheiterte er in seinem ersten Semester an der Columbia in Mathematik. Er führt seine Probleme mit Mathematik darauf zurück, dass er während der High School nicht ein ganzes Jahr lang in Präsenzrechnungen gearbeitet hat.

„Eigentlich ist es das Gegenteil von dem, was ich dachte“, sagte er über seine Erwartungen an das College. „Als ich aufs College ging, dachte ich, ein akademischer Abschluss wäre machbar und das soziale Leben wäre eine Herausforderung. Kann ich eine Freundesgruppe gründen und Spaß haben? Rückblickend waren meine Freunde großartig und die akademischen Leistungen im ersten Semester waren herausfordernd, verliefen aber gut.“

Jennifer Tran, Politikwissenschaftsstudentin an der UC Berkeley, engagiert sich in der Studentenverwaltung und ist oft auf Reisen oder bei Zoom-Anrufen, um sich für Gesetzesentwürfe einzusetzen, die sie entweder als Mitglied von GENup, einer von Studenten geführten Organisation für soziale Gerechtigkeit, oder als Youth Power verfasst hat Project, eine gemeinnützige Bildungsorganisation. Tran hilft auch bei der Gründung der National Student Board Member Association.

Trotz des vollen Terminkalenders versteht Tran die Work-Life-Balance und hat sich die Wochenenden zum Spaß reserviert. Sie ist kürzlich aus dem Wohnheim in ein Haus mit sechs anderen Studenten gezogen.

„Ich mache auf jeden Fall die ganze College-Erfahrung“, sagte sie. „Die Covid-Beschränkungen werden jetzt viel lockerer. Ich fühle mich ein bisschen freier.“

Victor Contreras aus Elk Grove brach sich im November den Knöchel, als er beim Radfahren von einem Auto angefahren wurde in der Nähe der San Diego State University, wo er das College besucht. Nachdem der Bruch verheilt war, saß er wieder im Rennteam der Universität auf dem Fahrrad und nahm einen Platz in einem Basketballteam an der Universität ein.

Contreras sagte, die Schulschließungen aufgrund der Covid-Pandemie hätten ihn noch mehr darauf gefreut, Elk Grove zu verlassen und am College neue Leute kennenzulernen. Mit Begeisterung stürzte er sich in das gesellschaftliche Leben auf dem Campus, obwohl er in seinem ersten Jahr mit Mathematik und anderen Fächern Schwierigkeiten hatte. Er geht davon aus, dass er im College wahrscheinlich bessere akademische Leistungen erbracht hätte, wenn es nicht die Schulschließungen aufgrund von Covid-19 gegeben hätte.

„Jetzt bin ich kontaktfreudiger und dadurch definitiv aktiver“, sagte Contreras. „Ich habe das Gefühl, dass mein Sinn für Humor (positiv) beeinflusst wurde.“

Das Beste aus Covid machen

Für Payton Zarceno, der die Mt. SAC Early College Academy in West Covina besucht hatte, bevor er nach The Hill an der UCLA, dem Wohnheim der Universität, zog, war es für Payton Zarceno ein großes Anliegen, Freunde zu finden und sich auf dem Campus einzufügen.

Zarceno beschloss, die Pandemie zu einer Gelegenheit zum Lernen zu machen. Sie verbrachte den größten Teil ihres ersten Studienjahres damit, mit Studentenorganisationen an der Bindung von Studenten zu arbeiten.

Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Payton Zarceno

Payton Zarceno besucht Anfang Juni im Rahmen ihres Praktikums beim Samahang Teaching Through Experience Program den Unidad Park in Filipinotown in Los Angeles.

„(Dies) ermöglichte es mir, mehr über die Probleme zu erfahren, mit denen Studierende an der UCLA konfrontiert sind und die durch die Pandemie verschärft wurden“, sagte sie. „Das Engagement bei diesen Organisationen hat mich sozial und persönlich sehr beeinflusst, weil diese Organisationen mir so viele neue Freunde und Gesichter vorgestellt haben.“

Während der pandemiebedingten Schulschließungen fand Tran ihre Nische als Verfechterin der Bildung. Sie Während seines Besuchs an der Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove schrieb oder befürwortete er mehr als ein Dutzend Gesetzesentwürfe zur Unterstützung kalifornischer Studenten als politischer Direktor von GENup. Jetzt macht sie sich an der UC Berkeley einen Namen, wo sie öffentliche Politik studiert. Tran plant, im nächsten Semester Bildung als zweites Hauptfach hinzuzufügen.

Sie wurde vor kurzem eine von zwei Berkeley-Studenten, die diesen Sommer für ein Travers Fellowship am Commonwealth Club in San Francisco ausgewählt wurden. Laut Angaben des Commonwealth Club ist der Commonwealth Club das älteste und größte Forum für öffentliche Angelegenheiten des Landes Website der Universität.

Tran sagte, die Covid-Pandemie habe sie auf den Streik an der University of California vorbereitet, der die Studenten wochenlang wieder zum Fernunterricht drängte, sowie auf die virtuelle Lobbyarbeit, die sie im Rahmen ihrer Arbeit mit GENup und dem Youth Power Project betrieben habe.

„Es hat definitiv meine Einstellung zu Bildung verändert“, sagte sie. „Ich denke, dass es mittlerweile ganz normal ist, dass ich den Unterricht verpasse. Ich kann virtuell aufholen.“

Im Rahmen des Youth Power Project half Tran auch bei der Ausarbeitung eines Gesetzentwurfs, der US-Studenten im Rahmen des President’s Education Awards Program einen Presidential Award für bürgerschaftliches Engagement verleihen würde. Der US-Senator Cory Booker aus New Jersey hat sich als Autor des Gesetzentwurfs verpflichtet.

Bildnachweis: Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Jennifer Tran

Jennifer Tran, zweite von links, und andere Studenten der UC Berkeley besuchen den US-Abgeordneten John Garamendi, D-Calif., Mitte, in seinem Büro in Washington, DC

Peebles ist zuversichtlich, dass der Jahrgang 2022 die Corona-Krise hinter sich lässt und wieder auf dem richtigen Weg ist.

„Ich denke, die Leute haben es herausgefunden,” er sagte. „Ich denke, dass es mittlerweile normaler ist. Wir haben uns akademisch alle einigermaßen ausgeglichen.“

Um weitere Berichte wie diesen zu erhalten, klicken Sie hier, um sich für die kostenlose tägliche E-Mail von EdSource über die neuesten Entwicklungen im Bildungsbereich anzumelden.

The post Class of 2022 again on observe and shifting past the Covid pandemic appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Wednesday’s “First Call” has some fascinating news about a potential free-agent target for the Pittsburgh Steelers. An ex-Steelers linebacker returns to Pittsburgh. The Pitt basketball team is set for an even ACC duel.

And a former Robert Morris hockey player gets quite the conference honor.

open eyes

After the Steelers season ended, safety Terrell Edmunds raised eyebrows when he considered the notion of a possible “package deal” somewhere in free agency with his brother, Buffalo Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Both players are poised to hit the open market this off-season. They are free to look for the best contract available. Steelers fans would not only like to keep Terrell Edmunds in Pittsburgh, they would also like to land his brother as a potential solution to their perpetually troubled inside linebacker situation.

At a season-ending press conference, Bill’s general manager Brandon Beane gushed about Tremaine Edmunds as a player and said he’d like to keep the two-time Pro Bowler in Buffalo.

“He was just amazing watching his growth from a 19-year-old,” Beane said on WIVB-TV. “I mean, it’s not like he’s 29, he’s still a kid. He’s a young man. But very proud of who he is. And you can just see his maturation. … Like (Pro Bowl safety Jordan) Poyer and a lot of those other guys, I’d love to keep them all, and we’re going to do our best.

Beane pointed out that the franchise tag may not be a viable option to keep Edmunds because off-ball linebackers like him are placed in the outside linebacker category when it comes to setting the price. OverTheCap.com estimates the figure will be $20.95 million for a year.

Brandon Beane doesn’t rule out using the franchise tag on LB Tremaine Edmunds, but says the cost of doing so is high because it involves edge rushers. … Beane also addressed Jordan Poyer’s contract status, saying the team would like to have him back but need clarity on the cap.

— Jay Skurski (@JaySkurski) January 24, 2023

NFL Free Agency begins March 15.

sending a message

Steelers linebacker Quincy Roche celebrates his return to Pittsburgh. The former Steelers draft pick sent a tweet announcing his excitement at returning to the team that picked him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft.

Let’s get it Pittsburgh… let’s finish what we’ve been staring at #UnfinishedBusiness

— Q (@_Underated2) January 24, 2023

The Steelers signed a reserve/futures contract with Roche on Tuesday. He has been with the New York Giants since he was cut at the end of Steelers training camp in 2021.

Roche spent most of last season on the Giants practice team. Over two seasons, he appeared in 17 games (three starts) for a total of 36 tackles, 2½ sacks and one forced fumble.

The Steelers need outside linebacker depth. Malik Reed, who was acquired by the Denver Broncos in August, saw 281 snaps while TJ Watt was on injured reserve. He amassed just one sack and 17 tackles during that period and saw limited action after Watt’s return. He is an unrestricted free agent this spring. Reserve linebacker Jamir Jones is an exclusive free agent.

More sport

• Kris Letang’s return propels the Penguins to victory despite Tristan Jarry’s sudden absence
• Brother of ex-Steeler WR Antwaan Randle El convicted of murder
• Tim Benz: Steelers fans can hope for Cincinnati’s offense, but San Francisco is the more logical model

So much for that

For those hoping the Steelers get a compensatory pick in the 2023 NFL draft, don’t hold your breath.

Nick Korte, who contributes to OverTheCap.com when it comes to figuring out the NFL’s nebulous pay formula, doesn’t expect the Steelers to be among the teams to get such a pick.

In fact, none of the AFC North teams are on the list.

Here’s my final prediction for the equalizer pick for 2023. https://t.co/3o6FgV7Qhv pic.twitter.com/OPkEkxKPYI

— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) January 24, 2023

The compensation formula is designed to benefit teams that lose more value in the open hand than they gained in the previous offseason. Despite losing the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ray-Ray McCloud and James Washington, the Steelers have signed James Daniels, Mitch Trubisky, Myles Jack, Mason Cole and Levi Wallace.

Eyeing a bounceback

After a disappointing home loss to Florida State (7-13, 5-4 ACC) in their last game, the Pitt Panthers (13-7, 6-3) are looking to bounce back at home to Wake Forest on Wednesday (7 p.m.).

Like the Panthers, the Demon Deacons are 6-3 in ACC play, 14-6 overall. But they’re only going 3-3 this season. Wake Forest entered the league Tuesday night, scoring fourth in the ACC with 77.4 points per game. They shoot 46.7% from the floor, third best in the conference.

Conversely, the Panthers have the fifth best defense in the ACC with 67.7 points allowed per game. And they rank fourth when it comes to opposing field goal percentage at 40.9% and three-point percentage at 31.4%.

That’s what made the Florida State game feel like such an anomaly. The Seminoles shot 51% from the floor (25 to 49) and 50% (10 to 20) from behind the arc.

In conjunction with Wednesday’s game, Pitt will honor former All-American forward Jerome Lane on the 35th anniversary of his famous backboard-smashing dunk against Providence.

35 years ago today – Jerome sent it in. #H2P pic.twitter.com/Bm3zfQKmWT

— Oakland Zoo (@OaklandZoo) January 25, 2023

It is the second of three consecutive games at the Petersen Events Center for Jeff Capel’s crew. They also get 20th place in Miami on Saturday afternoon (4pm).

Colonial ‘Hall Call’

A third alum from the Robert Morris men’s ice hockey team is inducted into the Atlantic Hockey Hall of Honor. Forward Brady Ferguson (2014-18) will join former teammates Zac Lynch and Cody Wydo as members of the conference’s opening class. Wydo and Lynch (Shaler, Pennsylvania) have already been announced.

In honor of their 20th season, the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) recognizes the top 20 players from the first 20 seasons of the conference. The AHA announces one candidate weekly during the 2022-23 season.

Ferguson, who was a Hobey Baker Award nominee as a senior in 2017-18, finished his career as the program’s top scorer with 167 points. He scored 66 goals and 101 assists. That total equaled the Atlantic Hockey record originally set by Brett Gensler (Bentley ’14). Ferguson’s 101 assists ranks third in Atlantic Hockey’s record book.

Ferguson appeared in 152 games during his four years with the Colonials, ranking second all-time in school history. RMU compiled a record of 88-51-16 (.619) during Ferguson’s career, including a mark of 64-34-14 (.633) in Atlantic Hockey. Ferguson helped lead the Colonials to Atlantic Hockey’s 2015 regular season championship, the first in the program’s history.

Robert Morris University suspended the men’s and women’s Division I ice hockey programs after the 2021 season due to budget constraints. After a series of fundraising efforts and legal investigations, the teams resumed in December 2021. They will resume play at the start of the 2023-24 NCAA hockey season.

Tim Benz is a contributor to the Tribune Review. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless otherwise noted.

Categories:
Robert Morris | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast with Benz | Tim Benz Pillars

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South San Francisco’s 3-mile stretch of the Centennial Trail — used daily by joggers, hikers, and cyclists — will soon feature a host of new amenities including a skate park, pump track, nature playground, and picnic tables in a new expanse of space from Spruce Avenue through Huntington Way.

A pump track has berms and banks to allow bikers to maximize momentum with minimal pedaling. The unused park will include the facilities with lawns and shade for the picnic tables. According to a staff report, about 130 trees and 5,900 drought-tolerant shrubs will be planted, and there will be lighting and pet waste bins.

The California Department of Transportation’s Clean California Local Grant Program provided $2.4 million, and the city will fund an additional 50% through parking fees. City Manager Mike Futrell said the grant will not fund maintenance, but the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is committed to keeping up with the site.

“It’s a goal not only to build quality, but to maintain it over the long term,” Futrell said. “Right now when you go out there it’s just a blank canvas and because of that doesn’t get a lot of maintenance or attention.”

The grant program has funded more than $1 billion statewide and aims to reduce litter along state highways, local roads, parks, trails and transit centers and beautify the state’s transportation network, according to the report.

According to the report, local skate and bike groups will help conceptualize each part of the park during an additional phase of community engagement.

“Sometime last year, a petition for a bike pump track circulated in south San Francisco, and I’m glad to see that city officials found a way to implement one,” said councilman James Coleman. “I’m sure the signers of this petition will be very happy about it.”

The project will benefit students at nearby Boys and Girls Club, South San Francisco High School and Los Cerritos Elementary School, as well as the broader community by providing easy access to a walking trail and outdoor educational area, and by supporting underserved youth. The goal is to promote outdoor activities and environmental protection by holding six community events and running a social media campaign focused on raising awareness about waste prevention, which the report says will reach more than 26,000 residents.

Construction is scheduled to start next year and be completed by May 2024.

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After much back and forth on the subject, and despite acknowledging it may not be financially feasible any time soon, the South San Francisco City Council indicated it is now ready to place a question on November’s ballot that could allow the city to own and operate public housing.

The measure, spearheaded by Councilmember James Coleman, would permit the city to build or buy low-income housing with public dollars, something that requires voter approval as a result of Article 34 of the state Constitution.

Coleman’s argued the move could not only allow the city to bypass the 1950 amendment that’s been widely criticized as racist, but allow the city to more efficiently provide below-market-rate apartments. The prevailing method in the state is for jurisdictions to subsidize nonprofit developers to carry out the task.

During previous meetings, however, his colleagues have been less enthusiastic, both pointing to untenable cost projections and lost funding for schools that would not receive property tax revenue from city-owned developments.

But while those concerns were largely maintained this week, the council appeared swayed by impassioned input from residents, many of whom pointed to the state law’s beleaguered legacy.

“If we want to move forward with progressive, inclusive and equitable [policies] … it starts with changing laws that were just unjust, that were not supposed to be,” Councilmember Eddie Flores said. “These numbers, right now, don’t pan out, I’m fully aware of that, but we’re not building right now.”

The ballot question will request permission to add the equivalent of 1% of the city’s housing stock, roughly 225 units, annually over the course of the next eight years. The numbers would roll over and not expire, meaning the city could build all 1,800 units at any point in the future.

However, Councilmember Mark Addiego said the housing may not be built within the current council’s tenure, the measure, more importantly, would gauge public interest and allow the city to be ready to build if state funding became available.

“Even if it’s not right for today, things change,” he said.

A city study found that in current conditions, a 150-unit apartment building, with rents set at $1,713 to $2,375 depending on bedrooms (considered affordable for “very-low income” residents, per the state) would cost the city roughly $84.8 million to construct and operate. That cost could be reduced to $47.1 million with the use of low-income housing tax credits — federal and state assistance for which the city would need to compete.

The council also looked at the potential of a mixed-income project, with half the apartments affordable and the others set at market rates. That project wouldn’t qualify for the state assistance, and would still cost the city $53.8 million, according to the report. The market-rate units would also cost $463,000 in lost property taxes, $320,000 from school district earmarks (The below-market rate units would similarly not pay taxes, though, it was noted that would be the case even if provided by a private developer) .

“The taxes that would not be going to the school district, those are the things that scare me,” said Vice Mayor Buenaflor Nicolas, who also conceded her support after recognizing the “racial tone.”

At the time of its passing, Article 34 was backed heavily by the real estate industry, with proponents arguing taxpayers should have a say on low-income housing projects, as they were publicly funded. But ads at the time also played heavily into fears of neighborhood integration and socialism. The law also came on the heels of a 1949 federal law that outlawed segregation in public housing.

Constitutional amendments require two-thirds voter approval, a threshold not met during at least three attempts to change the rule, most recently in 1993. While there have been efforts more recently, it’s unclear when repeating the rule could again land on the state ballot.

A bill that would create a state authority for public housing, however, made its way to the Senate, where it fell one vote short of passage out of the Governance and Finance Committee. Assembly Bill 2053, authored by South Bay Assemblymember Alex Lee, would not repeal Article 34, but would support public housing construction. It will likely be reintroduced.

“There has been an unprecedented amount of movement in the state Legislature to pass pro-social housing bills,” Coleman said. “If South San Francisco passes Article 34, guess what, we’re first in line to access that funding.”

The council will ultimately vote on whether to place the question on the ballot during a future meeting, ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline for items to make it to the Nov. 8 election.

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The modern NBA player is a far superior athlete to his predecessors, so the well-worn trope goes. Retired sharpshooter JJ Redick put a new veneer on the argument recently, when he said Celtics legend Bob Cousy “was being guarded by plumbers and firemen” in the 1950s and 1960s.

Watch a grainy highlight reel of Cousy dribbling in circles, and it’s hard not to give the trope some credence. At least one of Cousy’s Celtics teammates was decidedly springier than the average plumber, though, and the hard proof is in the record books of a completely different sport.

Bill Russell, who died Sunday at the age of 88, still holds the University of San Francisco school record in the high jump. It’s stood for 66 years. Russell was fond of telling younger generations he could hang in any era, once telling a group of Hall of Fame centers that he would kick their asses.

In 2020, Kendrick Perkins said that LeBron James was the “Most Athletic Player in NBA History!!!” Russell, possibly the most dignified man ever to yell at Kendrick Perkins on Twitter, responded with a photo of himself clearing an impossibly high bar, and helpfully provided a brief history of his high jumping exploits. “In 56 I could have made the Olympics in high jump but turned it down to play basketball instead we could only play one sport then,” Russell wrote.

“Track and Field News ranked me #7 high jumper in the world, I was ranked #2 in the US @ the time,” he added. (Pretty much: Seventh in the world and third in the US, according to that year’s Track and Field News.) Russell also only rejoined the USF track team in the spring of his senior year, and only because he could skip workouts, since “ he was too tired from the grind of basketball season,” as recounted in James W. Johnson’s history of that era of USF basketball, “The Dandy Dons.”

In 56 I could have made the Olympics in high jump but turned it down to play basketball instead we could only play one sport then. Track and Field News ranked me #7 high jumper in the world, I was ranked #2 in the US @ the time. @celtics @NBA pic.twitter.com/6FqZjiMlhG

— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) June 17, 2020

At the West Coast Relays in Fresno in May 1956, Russell high-jumped 6 feet, 9.25 inches (2.06 meters) for the still-standing USF school record. He tied that day with Charlie Dumas. Later in ’56, Dumas became the first human being to high-jump 7 feet, and won Olympic gold in Melbourne.

Russell’s school record will not be broken anytime soon, believes USF assistant track and field coach Matthew McGee, who oversees sprints, jumps and hurdles for the USF track program. He was particularly impressed with Russell’s mark considering that it came in the prehistoric era of high jumping, before the sport truly advanced.

“There was a high jump revolution in the late ’60s,” McGee said. “Everyone started using the ‘Fosbury Flop,’ so they’re going backward over the bar as opposed to forward. Russell jumped at a time before that revolution happened; it’s a much more athletically demanding form of high jumping that takes a lot of flexibility and mobility. It’s surprising that he was able to jump as high as he did at his height.”

But as Russell’s own tweet shows, he wasn’t even using the predominant techniques from the time; it almost looks like he was hurdling the bar or doing a “Western” roll instead of the “straddle” roll used by elite jumpers like Dumas.

“Nothing against the basketball players we have at USF,” McGee said, “but there is no one even close to being able to jump that high on the team currently, and this is a team that went to the [NCAA] tournament. … I would guess that a very small percentage of players in the NBA could do that. Just demanding incredibly physically to be able to do that over 2.06 [meters].”

As McGee explained, there’s another reason Russell’s mark will stand: the Dons track and field team is only partially funded, and haven’t recruited a male high jumper in years, essentially sealing Russell’s record in amber. The Dons have excelled in distance events in recent years, with the women’s cross country team even finishing second in the NCAA in 2017. But without a track on campus, or a full complement of scholarships, finding any high jumper — much less one like Russell — is difficult, McGee said. While they have had a select few field event athletes, there hasn’t been a high jumper on the men’s track team since at least 2010, if not longer.

The high jump is a highly specialized technical event, meaning it’s rare to pair it with a second event and takes intense technical instruction. That also underscores how impressive Russell’s performance was, since it came despite minimal practice or refined technique. (Russell’s tweet at Perkins shows he competed at least once with one shoe missing, for an added degree of difficulty.)

“It’s just not something that happens, ever,” McGee said. “It’d be like if a player on the USF basketball team jumped 7-foot-6 today. Unbelievable.”

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The 3-mile span of Centennial Trail in South San Francisco — used daily by joggers, walkers and bikers — will soon feature a number of new amenities like a skate park, pump track, nature-themed playground and picnic tables in a new space stretching from Spruce Avenue to Huntington Way.

A pump track has berms and banks so bikers can maximize momentum with minimal peddling. The underutilized park will include the amenities with lawn areas and shade for the picnic tables. Approximately 130 trees and 5,900 drought-tolerant shrubs will be planted and there will be lighting and pet waste receptacles, according to a staff report.

The California Department of Transportation’s Clean California Local Grant Program provided $2.4 million and the city will match an additional 50% through park impact fees. City Manager Mike Futrell said the grant will not fund the maintenance but the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is committed to keeping up with the grounds.

“It’s a goal to not only build quality but maintain it over time,” Futrell said. “Right now, if you go out there, it’s just a blank canvas and doesn’t get a lot of maintenance or attention for that reason.”

The grant program has funded more than a billion dollars statewide and aims to reduce litter along state highways, local roads, parks, paths and transit centers and to beautify the state’s transportation network, according to the report.

Local skate and bike groups will assist with the concept design of the respective portions of the park during an additional community engagement phase, according to the report.

“Sometime last year, there was a petition circulating around South San Francisco for a bike pump track and I’m glad to see city staff has found a way to implement one,” Councilmember James Coleman said, “I am sure the signers of that petition will be very pleased to see this.”

The project will benefit students from the nearby Boys and Girls Club, South San Francisco High School and Los Cerritos Elementary School as well as the broader community, providing easy access to a trail, outdoor education area and will support underserved youth. The aim is to encourage outdoor activity and environmental stewardship by holding six community events and running a social media campaign with emphasis on litter abatement awareness that will reach more than 26,000 residents, according to the report.

Construction is slated to begin next year and be completed by May 2024.

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Live music is definitely on rocky ground post-COVID. It often feels like two out of three tours are getting postponed before they even launch, with the third walking on eggshells and ready to be scuttled at a moment’s notice. But Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen thinks there’s no reason why this summer’s twice-rescheduled Stadium Tour won’t happen.

Speaking to Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Allen said:

“For sure. I think now we’re getting to the point where people can be safe, people can be safe enough. I think the way concerts are being run these days, there’s no reason why we can’t go forward. But it’s a moving target. So let’s just hope we’re on track.”

While we agree that Def Leppard might not have to worry about COVID, we wonder if Rick has heard his tourmate-to-be Vince Neil perform lately. Vince’s ability to pull off a tour like this comes more and more into question with every one of his solo shows. And if Mötley Crüe, who reunited for this tour, can’t please the crowd, how many shows in will things start to get ugly?

Anyway, catch Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe at one of the following dates, we hope:

6/16 – Atlanta, GA @ Suntrust Park [tickets]
6/18 – Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium [tickets]
6/19 – Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium [tickets]
6/22 – Washington, DC @ Nationals Park [tickets]
6/24 – Queens, NY @ Citi Field [tickets]
6/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park [tickets]
6/28 – Charlotte, NC @ Bank Of America Stadium [tickets]
6/30 – Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium [tickets]
7/2 – Jacksonville, FL @ TIAA Bank Field [tickets]
7/5 – St Louis, MO @ Busch Stadium [tickets]
7/8 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field [tickets]
7/10 – Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park [tickets]
7/12 – Hershey, PA @ Hershey Park Stadium [tickets]
7/14 – Cleveland, OH @ First Energy Stadium [tickets]
7/15 – Cincinnati, OH @ Great American Ballpark [tickets]
7/17 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Field [tickets]
7/19 – Kansas City, MO @ Kauffman Stadium [tickets]
7/21 – Denver, CO @ Coors Field [tickets]
8/5 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/6 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/10 – Buffalo, NY @ New Era Field [tickets]
8/12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park [tickets]
8/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ US Bank Stadium [tickets]
8/19 – Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park [tickets]
8/21 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome [tickets]
8/22 – Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Park [tickets]
8/27 – Inglewood, CA @ Sofi Stadium [tickets]
8/28 – San Diego, CA @ Petco Park [tickets]
8/31 – Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park [tickets]
9/7 – San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park [tickets]

The post Def Leppard’s Rick Allen On Upcoming Tour With Mötley Crüe: “It is A Transferring Goal…Let’s Simply Hope We’re On Observe” appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI) – Rhode Island has signed a contract with Salesforce.com to develop a mobile app that connects COVID-19 patients to services and helps public health officials track their contacts, locations and symptoms, according to a target 12 review of the deal.

The agreement with the San Francisco-based software company – entered into through a reseller company called Carahsoft Technology Corp. – Provides insight into how the state is trying to automate its current system of delivering services, scheduling tests, and finding people who may be contracting the disease from the infected, a response tactic known as “contact tracing” is.

“We’re taking a paper-based system and replacing it with a more efficient one,” wrote Health Ministry spokesman Joseph Wendelken in an email. “We have to do that because the response has become so great.”

Rhode Island began contact tracing for COVID-19 when the first positive case was announced on March 1st. As of Saturday, positive cases had grown to 2,349 and the number has been trending upward faster as testing became more widely available.

When someone tests positive for the disease, Ministry of Health officials collect information about those people’s travel history and who they’ve interacted with. After collecting the personal information, health authorities try to contact these contacts to determine if testing or quarantine is required.

The Salesforce agreement marks a major shift from the state’s personal strategy to an application-based program managed by a third-party vendor.

The app-based program is designed to make the process more efficient, but the idea of ​​automating contact tracing using cell phones – a strategy already being used in other countries – has won over advocates of civil liberty, including Jennifer Sista Granick and Jay Stanley of the American Union for Civil Liberties.

“Policymakers need to have a realistic understanding of what the data generated by cell phones can and cannot do,” write Granick and Stanley in a white paper entitled “The Limits of Tracking in an Epidemic.”

“As always, there is a risk that a simplified understanding of how technology works can result in investments that are of little use or even counterproductive and invade privacy for no real benefit,” they added.

Salesforce has signed a six-month contract to set up and provide free support for the program and app. The estimated value of the work according to the contract is $ 280,486. And while Salesforce, the Department of Health, and the state IT team continue to sort out the details, the overall goal is relatively simple.

“The state of Rhode Island has hired Salesforce to support its COVID-19 response management activities and enable a nationwide system for ubiquitous testing, contact tracing and effective quarantine,” Salesforce representatives wrote in the contract. “The aim is to reduce infections by preventing exposed people from spreading COVID-19.”

Based on the contract, the app will provide public health officials with digital tools to monitor patient symptoms and track down contacts. The effort is made possible through interviews, gathering of contact information, and gathering of “related organizational and location information” as per the deal.

On the support side, the app will help people schedule tests and give people in quarantine and isolation access to services such as food delivery and telemedicine, Governor Gina Raimondo explained in one of her daily news stories last week.

The platform could also help public health officials predict the future spread of the disease and offer other analytical tools that could help better inform the state’s response efforts and future containment strategy. Based on current state-based modeling – which has not been publicly shared – the pandemic is unlikely to peak in Rhode Island until the end of the month at the earliest, according to Raimondo.

That means leaders are still very focused on responding to the disease, but the Salesforce deal shows Raimondo is starting to focus more on developing a containment strategy for the future. With no vaccination or approved treatment currently in place, leaders across the country are struggling to find a way to both protect the health of citizens and get them out of their homes and back to work.

“If I want to reopen this economy, it has to be more automated and scalable, so we’ve worked hard to build a system,” Raimondo said on Wednesday of contact tracing.

Rhode Island’s economy is on the brink, with COVID-19-related unemployment claims exceeding 135,000 since early March.

Harvard University economist Nicholas Mankiw, who chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, suggested that if the pandemic is somehow contained, employment could be restored. However, he cautioned that month-long closings would likely mean companies would close for good, which would result in fewer jobs for people looking to return to work.

“That decline could have a quick recovery,” Mankiw said last week during a discussion with Brown University President Christina Paxson. “That depends on how quickly the pandemic continues.”

Emerging strategies for opening up the economy without a vaccine or properly screened treatment include ubiquitous testing and retesting – along with some level of surveillance to help with contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation.

Harvard researchers suggest that an effective testing strategy would require retesting the entire population about every three to four days to control the disease, while another group said targeted contact tracing using technologies like Bluetooth might prove more efficient .

“There are strong arguments for using digital contact tracing in combination with other technological interventions to fight COVID-19, and there are reasons to believe that it does not require major privacy sacrifices for this technology to work,” the researchers wrote .

Other countries – including China, South Korea, Spain, and Thailand – have all implemented a mandatory and voluntary type of location tracking that has apparently worked with varying degrees of success.

Whether something similar could happen in Rhode Island in the future is not entirely clear, but leaders assure that any information that is ultimately collected will be protected by federal health care privacy laws that would also apply to Salesforce.

“The Salesforce platform is the channel,” said Wendelken. “There are confidentiality rules and requirements associated with this technology, just as there are when third parties process sensitive information or health information for the state.”

Bluetooth technology is currently not mentioned in the contract with Salesforce. And “GPS upload and automation” is outside the scope of duties that the company has taken on for the state. However, the contract makes it clear that such work can be carried out on request.

Chirag Patel, director of enterprise applications and IT for the state’s information technology division, leads development work for Rhode Island. He told The Providence Journal last week that GPS tracking is not currently part of the mission. Raimondo previously told reporters it was too early to tell. When asked for clarification, Raimondo spokesman Josh Block said both statements were true.

“Current planning does not include the use of GPS tracking technology,” Block wrote in an email. “But it is too early to say if we could look into this as this situation evolves.”

Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is an investigative reporter for WPRI 12. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.

Stay informed | Coronavirus updates

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