The second part of the series Our America: Trouble on Tap premieres Saturday, September 30 on various ABC-owned stations. There are three parts and the second one is entitled “America’s Lead Problem.” The docuseries comes from ABC’s owned stations, ABC News and National Geographic.

The episode examines the lasting impact of the use of lead pipes and the water infrastructure in America. Lead-based pipes are still being used to transport water to millions of homes, the producers say, nearly 40 years after being banned as a plumbing material by the federal government.

The special is on KGO San Francisco, KABC Los Angeles, KFSN Fresno and WLS Chicago September 30, and on KTRK Houston on Sunday, October 1. It is on ABC Localish October 2 and WTVD Raleigh-Durham October 8, then WPVI Philadelphia October 22 and WABC New York November 5.

It airs on ABC Owned Television Stations’ streaming and digital platforms in addition to being on linear TV.

Our America: Trouble on Tap utilizes data from the ABC station group’s data-journalism unit to examine how the effects of environmental pollution, climate change and aging infrastructure are eroding the availability of free potable drinking water.

The first episode is entitled “Life with Forever Chemicals” and looks at per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination in North Carolina. The third episode, “Drilling into California’s Water Crisis,” will focus on the effects of drought in the state and premieres later this fall.

Our America: Trouble on Tap is produced in partnership with Tracy J. Wholf, coordinating producer of the climate unit at ABC News, and Justin Allen, executive producer with ABC Owned Television Stations and National Geographic.

Previous Our America specials include Indigenous and Urban and Equity Report. 

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The second part of the series Our America: Trouble on Tap premieres Saturday, September 30 on various ABC-owned stations. There are three parts and the second one is entitled “America’s Lead Problem.” The docuseries comes from ABC’s owned stations, ABC News and National Geographic. 

The episode examines the lasting impact of the use of lead pipes and the water infrastructure in America. Lead-based pipes are still being used to transport water to millions of homes, the producers say, nearly 40 years after being banned as a plumbing material by the federal government. 

The special is on KGO San Francisco, KABC Los Angeles, KFSN Fresno and WLS Chicago September 30, and on KTRK Houston on Sunday, October 1. It is on ABC Localish October 2 and WTVD Raleigh-Durham October 8, then WPVI Philadelphia October 22 and WABC New York November 5. 

It airs on ABC Owned Television Stations’ streaming and digital platforms in addition to being on linear TV. 

Our America: Trouble on Tap utilizes data from the ABC station group’s data-journalism unit to examine how the effects of environmental pollution, climate change and aging infrastructure are eroding the availability of free potable drinking water.    

The first episode is entitled “Life with Forever Chemicals” and looks at per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination in North Carolina. The third episode, “Drilling into California’s Water Crisis,” will focus on the effects of drought in the state and premieres later this fall. 

Our America: Trouble on Tap is produced in partnership with Tracy J. Wholf, coordinating producer of the climate unit at ABC News, and Justin Allen, executive producer with ABC Owned Television Stations and National Geographic.

Previous Our America specials include Indigenous and Urban and Equity Report. 

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The three-part documentary series explores the US water crisis and will feature a number of prominent thought leaders and scientists including Michael S. Regan, head of the US Environmental Protection Agency; US Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey; Erik D. Olson, senior strategist at the Natural Resources Defense Council; and more

First episode available from April 21st

As issues of access to safe drinking water make headlines in the United States, ABC Owned Television Stations is partnering with ABC News and National Geographic to produce a three-part documentary series entitled “Our America: Trouble on Tap.” The first episode will air April 21 — in time for Earth Day on April 22 — on ouramericaabc.com and April 22 on Hulu. The trailer is available Here Now.

“Our America: Trouble on Tap” is a three-part documentary series — produced by Tracy J. Wholf, coordinating producer of the climate division at ABC News, and Justin Allen, executive producer at ABC Owned Television Stations — that explores pollution, climate change and aging infrastructure, which is gradually becoming an opportunity for more and more communities in undermine the United States’ access to free and potable drinking water. Over the past few decades, the safe and available drinking water that many Americans have taken for granted is now under threat. ABC Owned Television Stations and its data journalism division, whose data was used to show the severity of the contamination across the United States and the communities it affected, will work with ABC News and National Geographic to take viewers across America to witness this development to investigate crisis and offer solutions along the way.

“Our America: Trouble on Tap” is a powerful and thoughtful examination of the growing problems surrounding Americans’ access to safe drinking water. The series brings together the talent and expertise of the amazing teams at ABC Owned Television Stations, National Geographic and ABC News with national and local experts and leaders to ask what we can do to solve these problems and protect people’s health to protect across the country. I’m incredibly proud of the work these teams have done to bring this informative and timely topic to light,” said Debra OConnell, President, Disney Entertainment, Networks.

“Problems surrounding access to clean water vary across the country,” added Chad Matthews, president of ABC Owned Television Stations. “Our data journalism team examines information specific to local markets and works to tell stories that provide viewers with better context and understanding of how water – or lack of water – can affect them. We focus on specific problems, possible solutions, and tell the stories of those who experience it firsthand.”

The documentary series will consist of three hour-long episodes:

• The first episode, “Life with Forever Chemicals” premiere April 21, takes a look at per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination in North Carolina. This episode takes viewers to Cape Fear, North Carolina, often referred to as ground zero for PFAS water pollution, or water contaminated by toxic “forever” chemicals. For decades, more than 250,000 people’s drinking water supply was contaminated after a chemical company dumped toxic PFAS into the Cape Fear River. Years after the contamination first became public knowledge, the region continues to grapple with ongoing health problems, multiple lawsuits and the construction of costly water treatment plants as it grapples with decades of chronic exposure.
• The second episode, “Chicago’s $8 Billion Water Problem”Premiered in July and examine lead pipes and water infrastructure in Chicago. More than 30 years after the federal government banned lead in plumbing, lead-based plumbing still carries water to millions of homes across America, including Chicago, which has one of the highest concentrations of lead plumbing in the country. With an estimated 400,000 lead pipes serving Chicago-area residents with water, “this is an $8 billion problem,” according to Chicago Water Commissioner Andrea Cheng. This episode examines the key water infrastructure issues to see if bills like Senator Cory Booker’s Water Infrastructure Funding Act and others will help ease some of the financial burden on communities and really help solve the many problems faced by… affecting residents, often in communities that are predominantly Black, Latino and Indigenous.
• The third episode, “Drilling in California’s Water Crisis”Premiered in August and focus on the impact of the drought in California. As of late November 2022, the US Drought Monitor showed that nearly 85% of California was experiencing severe drought conditions or more. While current drought conditions have changed due to recent winter 2023 rainfall, California continues to experience statewide water emergencies as resources continue to vary based on current conditions. This episode takes viewers to Orosi, California to check in with a family whose water supply is due to expire by the state in four months. What happens to the water they use for drinking, cooking and bathing? California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Water Resilience and Storage Plan Under Review; and the process of subsidence, the gradual subsidence or subsidence of an area of ​​land, is also studied, including the process in relation to water and the effects it can have on land.

The series will premiere April 22 linearly across eight ABC networks: ABC7/WABC-TV New York, ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles, ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago, 6abc/WPVI-TV Philadelphia, ABC7/KGO-TV San Francisco, ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston, ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and ABC30/KFSN-TV Fresno. It will be available on 24/7 streaming platforms, 32 connected TV apps on streaming platforms Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku and April 22nd on Hulu.

ABC Owned Television Stations, which collectively reach 23% of all US television homes, are committed to producing high-impact content that represents diverse issues and voices in communities and newsrooms across the country. “Our America: Trouble on tap” will aim to educate audiences about the complex challenges facing citizens and legislators alike when it comes to accessing safe drinking water in the United States. The series will feature scientists, government officials and activists, and amplify the voices of a range of individuals and families directly affected by these water issues.

To view the trailer for “Our America: Trouble on tap,” Visit ouramericaabc.com.

For more information on ABC Owned Television Stations streaming channels, visit: ABC7/WABC-TV New York, ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles, ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago, 6ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia, ABC7/KGO- TV San Francisco, ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston, ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, and ABC30/KFSN-TV Fresno.

About ABC-owned TV stations

ABC’s eight proprietary channels are cross-platform leaders in local news and information. Collectively the No. 1 in all US television, reaching 23% of homes and more than 34 million total viewers and 62 million digital visitors per month, with a record 2.2 billion minutes streamed, the eight channels consist of WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KGO-TV San Francisco, KTRK-TV Houston, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham and KFSN-TV Fresno. WABC-New York has been #1 in the country for 19 years.

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Legendary art rock group The Residents have officially announced FACELESS FOREVER, their 50th San Francisco, California) tour April 17-19, 2023. In glorious celebration of their strange and unlikely 50th anniversary, The Residents will perform a selection from their legendary DUCK STAB! Album plus spotlight music from recent release METAL, MEAT & BONE along with an eclectic collection of fan favourites. Always unpredictable, The Residents bring their debut feature film, Triple Trouble, to live audiences nationwide at every venue on the FACELESS FOREVER tour. Triple Trouble is shown at 8:00 p.m., the concert time at 9:30 p.m.

Following its New York theatrical premiere on March 7, Triple Trouble will stream March 9-23, 2023 on MoMA (NYC)’s members-only Virtual Cinema platform (CLICK to join).

Detailed information on DUCK STAB!; METAL, FLESH & BONES; and Triple Trouble, see below:

DUCK ROD!

Released in 1978, DUCK STAB! was an EP of seven cleanly sung songs with understandable (if nonsensical) lyrics – a first for The Residents. The EP was a resounding success. After the first pressing quickly sold out, The Cryptic Corporation soon released a second pressing. Unfortunately the sound quality of the EP was poor because The Residents tried to squeeze sixteen minutes of music onto the disc. The band decided to re-release the songs in an album to improve the sound. They took a similar unreleased EP called Buster & Glen and made it onto side two of the new album. DUCK ROD! / Buster & Glen was released the following November and later renamed simply DUCK STAB. The album was a huge critical hit thanks to the music’s accessibility and sly, Lewis Carroll-inspired lyrics (not to mention Snakefinger’s amazing guitar work).

METAL, FLESH & BONES

The Residents released a new double CD recording, METAL, MEAT & BONE, based on newly discovered recordings by Alvin Snow (aka Dyin’ Dog). METAL, MEAT & BONE includes 10 Dyin’ Dog demos, 10 renditions of The Residents demos and six new Dyin’ Dog-inspired tracks. Black Francis of the Pixies is featured on the track “DIE! DIE! DIE!” to see. Rolling Stone released the music video for DIE! THE! DIE!“, which can be seen HERE.

For more information on Alvin Snow aka Dyin’ Dog, visit: youtube.com/watch?v=trE_SmrngbM&feature=youtu.be

Triple problem:

Written and directed by Homer Flynn and The Residents and produced by Starr Sutherland, Triple Trouble premiered at the 2022 Chicago Underground Film Festival and has since made guest appearances at the 45th Mill Valley Film Festival and other prestigious festivals. Triple Trouble is set in the near future after the death of Randy Rose, former lead singer of The Residents. His son Randy Junior discovers his father’s ashes have been stolen and put up for sale on eBay by a mysterious perpetrator. During his research, Junior discovers the footage for the group’s unfinished feature film, Vileness Fats, in a locker in his mother’s basement. Vileness Fats remained unfinished after initial filming in the 1970s – and was never released due to its format on half-inch “industrial” videotape. The Residents resurrect Vileness Fats with a rewritten script for Triple Trouble and feature an all-star cast of independent actors including Dustin York, Gerri Lawlor, Isabelle Ellingson and Isabelle Barbier.

Triple Trouble Synopsis:

Randall “Junior” Rose, a former priest who has lost faith in the church, has become a plumber, and instead of the easy life he had envisioned, Junior’s new job unveils an unexpected danger: an alien fungus that can destroy the whole city ​​congested. Convinced that the fungus poses a threat to humanity, Junior records a series of accounts detailing the origin of the strange white growth. Accompanied by his only companion, Cherry, an AI-powered drone, the plumber slowly gathers evidence to support his bizarre theory: an epidemic of white vans, a repeating pattern of black-and-white sidewalk drawings, a ubiquitous communications tower, and a massive increase in stops -Drains high.

He is further provoked by news of a “white flu” infiltrating the culture.

The death of his mother and a recent divorce have left Junior emotionally isolated, a victim of his own deep-rooted fears, but despite warnings from Cherry and Suzi, his ex-wife, his obsession continues to swell at an alarming rate. Encouraged by his father’s spirit, Junior spirals out of control while being plagued by a mysterious figure that threatens the edges of his lonely world. Panicked, the plumber retreats to his apartment and starts drinking.

Drunk and beside himself, Junior staggers through his apartment, neurotically longing for his dead mother’s company. Desperate for fresh air, he opens his patio door when an ominous figure bursts in. It’s Al Gump, the former guard at the crematorium where Junior’s father was cremated. Five years earlier, Gump and his brother Ollie had kidnapped his ex-wife Suzi; As a result, Junior’s mother shot and killed Ollie and the enraged Al demanded revenge. But as the brute’s fingers tighten around the hapless plumber’s neck, Gump suddenly gurgles, snorts and staggers across the room and falls to the floor with a massive thud as a foamy white substance oozes and oozes from his mouth.

Staring in amazement, Junior can only utter one word: “FUNGUS!”.

About the residents

The Residents (band, writer, artist; she/they) are an American artist collective best known for creating avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, Santa Dog (1972), the group has released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs. You have done ten major tours and made several films. As pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have received multiple awards for their multimedia projects. Ralph Records, a record label focused on avant-garde music, was founded by the band. Throughout the group’s existence, the individual members have reportedly attempted to operate under anonymity, preferring instead to draw attention to their artistic production. Much outside speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and in costume, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats, and tails—an enduring costume now recognized as its distinctive iconography. His albums generally fall into two categories: deconstructions of Western popular music and complex conceptual pieces composed around a theme, theory or plot. The group is known for surrealistic lyrics and sounds, disregard for conventional musical composition, and the over-the-top theatrical spectacle of their live performances. In addition to their pioneering work in trance, world fusion, electronica, punk, industrial and lounge music, the group is also considered one of the founders of performance art and music video. Two of her videos are in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and her Freak Show CD-ROM was recently featured in MoMA’s Looking at Music 3.0 exhibit. The Theory of Obscurity, a documentary about The Residents, premiered at SXSW in 2015.

In January 2020, while reviving their critically acclaimed 1988 album God in 3 Persons, The Residents collaborated with noted video artist John Sanborn to create a major multimedia performance at the Museum of Modern Art. Based on Alvin’s newly discovered footage Snow, also known as Dyin’ Dog, the group completed their 49th studio album, METAL, MEAT & BONE. In August 2021, The Residents performed select concerts featuring Snow’s music, reviving The Third Reich ‘n’ Roll and Duck Stab, two seminal Residents albums. In Winter/Spring 2023, The Residents will embark on their FACELESS FOREVER 50th Anniversary Tour of Europe and North America. residents. com

The Residents – FACELESS FOREVER – 50th Anniversary Tour 2023

Thu 3/16/23 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom

Free. 3/17/23 – Seattle, WA – Fremont Abbey Arts Center

Sat. 3/18/23 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theater

Mon. 3/20/23 – Salt Lake City, UT – City Lounge

Tue. 3/21/23 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater

Thu 3/23/23 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar

Fri. 3/24/23 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

Sat 3/25/23 – Detroit, MI – Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit Mon

3/27/23 — South Burlington — Higher Ground Tue.

3/28/23 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair

Thu 3/30/23 – New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge

Fri 3/31/23 – Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry at the Fillmore

Sat 4/1/23 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar

Sun. 4/2/23 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle

Mon. 4/3/23 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse

Marry. 04/05/23 – New Orleans, LA – The Broadside

Fri 4/7/23 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler

Sat 4/8/23 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater

Sun. 04/09/23 – Austin, TX – The community

Marry. 4/12/23 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole

Sat 4/15/23 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater

Mon. 4/17/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall

Tue. 04/18/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall

Marry. 04/19/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall

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My adventure on San Francisco Bay Area public transportation to see how the system is recovering after Covid-19 did not begin auspiciously. It was about 8:30 a.m. on the last Tuesday in September, and I was waiting at a bus stop on Silicon Valley’s main drag, El Camino Real, in Mountain View. Nearly a dozen people were waiting with me. Then a shiny unmarked bus with “RIDE MPK” on its electronic destination sign pulled up, and almost all of them got in — headed, I guessed, for the sprawling Menlo Park office campus of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp parent Meta Platforms Inc.Together with one other guy at the stop, I watched in anticipation as a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority 22 bus to Palo Alto pulled up behind the RIDE MPK bus, then in dismay as it switched lanes and proceeded to the next intersection. After the other guy asked the driver of the private bus if he could drop us off in Palo Alto (answer: no), the two of us sprinted about 50 yards to where the VTA 22 bus was still waiting at what turned out to be a helpfully long red light. The driver let us on (with no apology for skipping our stop), and the rest of the ride to Palo Alto’s California Avenue shopping district, where I was meeting a friend for coffee, was uneventful.

After coffee, I resumed my planned circumnavigation of the San Francisco Bay by walking a couple of blocks to the California Ave. Caltrain station, walking through an underpass that looked as if it would take me to the northbound platform, walking back through that underpass after a nice woman walking her dog informed me that I couldn’t get to the train that way (she said people frequently make that mistake), then walking through the correct underpass. From there I traveled by:

• Caltrain to Fourth Street in San Francisco

• San Francisco Muni N-Judah light-rail train to Embarcadero station

• Golden Gate Transit ferry to Larkspur

• Golden Gate Transit 580 bus to the El Cerrito Del Norte Bay Area Rapid Transit station

• BART orange line train to the Berryessa/North San Jose station

• Lyft Bay Wheels bike to San Jose Diridon Station

• VTA Rapid 522 bus back to my hotel in Mountain View

The journey took about 10 hours, including that coffee in Palo Alto; a break for lunch, emailing and phone charging at Bloomberg’s office on the Embarcadero not far from the Ferry Building in San Francisco; some book shopping at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur while I killed time waiting for a Marin Transit 228 bus, followed by a mile-long walk to Bellam Blvd. in San Rafael, mostly on a bike path, after Google Maps informed me that the 228 bus was running late and would miss the connection to the next bus to El Cerrito; and a couple of ride-extending wrong turns in San Jose (where I could also have traveled by bus or light rail but chose the bike for variety’s sake).

The approximate distance traveled was 160 miles (257 kilometers). The total cost was $32.52, which would have been about $45 but for the half-price fares BART was charging during September in celebration of its 50th birthday and the discount on bike rides afforded by my Lyft Pink membership, which I have because Lyft also operates the Citi Bike service in New York, where I live. I could have paid for all of it through the Clipper account in my iPhone wallet, but I didn’t do so with the bike because my way was cheaper, and I ended up buying my Caltrain ticket with a credit card because I couldn’t figure out how to use the Clipper reader — although I subsequently saw enough other people succeeding at this to believe the problem lay more with me than with Caltrain.

All in all it was a pleasant, often scenic experience, with Larkspur the only bad connection. And no, I never had trouble finding a seat. I was on the two VTA buses at rush hour, and at times most seats on them were occupied, but they never felt crowded. The same was true on BART as we rode through Berkeley and Oakland, but after Warm Springs/South Fremont I was the only person in my train car during its late-afternoon journey to the last two stations on the line, both of which have been in service only since June 2020.

My motivation for all this (other than that I enjoy riding on trains and boats) was to explore the situation with the US public transportation network that has taken the biggest hit from the pandemic and accompanying shift to remote work. In 2019, the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area, which consists of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties, was second only to metropolitan New York City in the percentage of employed people who travel to work primarily by public transportation, at 18.9%. It then experienced the steepest drop in that percentage among the top public transportation metros, with its transit share falling to just 4.9% in 2021, behind Boston-Cambridge and even the great metropolis of Ithaca, New York.

The other metropolitan area through which I traveled, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara — also known as Santa Clara County or, roughly, Silicon Valley — had only a 1.1% transit share in 2021, down from 4.7%  in 2019. And yes, the people in the Ride MPK bus count as public transportation users in these statistics, which are from the American Community Survey conducted annually by the US Census Bureau. Respondents are supposed to check “bus” if that’s the main way they got to work and not asked whether that bus was public or private.

What drove commuting by transit down was mainly a huge increase in working from home, with the percentage of workers doing so jumping to about 35% last year in both the San Francisco and San Jose metropolitan areas from 7.2% and 4.8%, respectively, in 2019, higher than in any other large US metro area, and topping 45% in parts of San Francisco, San Jose and some suburbs. 

Here’s complete(ish) transit ridership data through June of this year for the entire nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, which encompasses the two metropolitan areas already mentioned as well as three smaller ones along the north side of the bay: Santa Rosa, Napa and Vallejo.

Bay Area bus ridership in June was 62% of what it was before the pandemic in June 2019, and ferry ridership was 56%. Rail ridership was at only 35%. That’s because trains in the Bay Area were used mainly by white-collar commuters, and of course they were the ones most able to stop commuting and work from home. Another way to see this is by transit agency, of which there are reputedly 27 in the Bay Area (a trio of San Francisco Chronicle journalists tried to ride as many as they could the day after my journey and made it on to 17), although only 16 appear to report ridership data to the Federal Transit Administration.(1)

Commuter-focused rail services BART and Caltrain have experienced the steepest ridership declines since 2019. Golden Gate Transit, which operates ferries and intercounty commuter buses, is next. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Bay Area Vanpool, which subsidizes and helps bring together groups of people commuting together with unpaid drivers, has been the only service to report an increase in ridership. Apart from that, agencies focused on local bus service have generally done best, with Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) an exception that can probably be explained by the fact that it only went into full service in August 2017 and people were still figuring out that it existed in June 2019. (It was certainly a surprise to me when I encountered a station on my walk from Larkspur to San Rafael.)

The ridership recovery at BART and especially Caltrain has also lagged behind those at other commuter-oriented rail operations across the country such as New Jersey Transit and the Washington Metro.

These numbers are through July (the Bay Area transit charts stop at June because the National Transit Database didn’t have any July numbers for AC Transit). Since then, some large Bay Area corporations have been leaning harder on employees to come into the office at least two or three days a week, and daily BART statistics show that September ridership was back to about 40% of normal at midweek and more than 60% of normal on weekends. (And, yes, tickets were half price in September, but so far October doesn’t seem much different.) Here’s how that stacks up against the rail services operated by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is also nice enough to report daily ridership stats.

So far BART, the MTA and other transit agencies nationwide have been able to keep running despite the ridership declines thanks to almost $70 billion in federal pandemic aid. But starting in the middle of next year, they will face a financial reckoning, and it turns out BART and Caltrain are among the most vulnerable large US transit agencies because, before the pandemic, fares covered almost three-quarters of their operating expenses. The following chart is adapted from a recent analysis of the looming public transportation fiscal cliff by Garett Shrode of the Eno Center for Transportation in Washington. It shows all the US transit agencies that had (1) operating expenses of $100 million or more in 2019 and (2) farebox revenue that covered 40% or more of those expenses.

The New York City subway, by the way, had a farebox recovery rate of 70% in 2019; buses dragged NYC Transit’s score down to 53%. The largest transit agency with the lowest farebox recovery in 2019 was the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, at 15%. The San Francisco Muni was fourth lowest, at 23%. LA Metro, which I rode on and wrote about in February, is a bus-focused operation that caters to a much poorer ridership than Caltrain or BART, and this is to a lesser extent true of SF Muni as well. These agencies provide essential services, and their lower farebox recovery rates aren’t necessarily a sign of failure. But it does seem a little perverse that Caltrain and BART, the two large US transit agencies that have been most successful in getting riders to pay the bills, now face perhaps the most dire budget outlook.

One way to remedy that, of course, would be to get more riders. Barring a spectacular reversal of the work-from-home trend, this will require bringing aboard more non-commuters, and there are big obstacles to that. I can report from ample personal experience that BART is the most efficient way to travel at rush hour from Lafayette, the East Bay suburb where I grew up, to downtown San Francisco and back. At other times of the day, and between other destinations in the Bay Area, a car will usually get you there quicker. The region experienced most of its growth after the arrival of the automobile and is thus laid out to favor car transport over other modes — as is true of all but a few US metropolitan areas.

California is in the early stages of a bold effort to change this by forcing its cities and suburbs to become denser, adopting legislation that allows homeowners in most of the state to add dwelling units to existing homes as well as divide their lots in two and build duplexes on each lot. It also streamlines housing approvals in commercially zoned areas and bans local governments from requiring parking spaces for residential and commercial developments within half a mile of major transit stops, among other things. If you squint, it’s possible to see a future in which many more Bay Area residents can walk to transit. And, let’s be honest, getting places by car is much more of a hassle.

In the meantime, the simplest way to make transit more convenient outside of rush hour is to increase its frequency. Low ridership and budgetary pressures are pushing Bay Area transit agencies in the opposite direction, but the data showing a much stronger recovery in ridership on weekends rather than weekdays at BART and the New York commuter railroads indicate that some schedule rejiggering away from peak commuting hours to other periods might entice new riders — as well as save money, given that peak service costs more to provide than off-peak does.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

• Is Your CEO Taking the Subway to Work?: Sarah Green Carmichael

• We Should Keep Wearing Masks on the Subway Forever: Justin Fox

• You Can Learn a Lot Taking a Bus to the Super Bowl: Justin Fox

(1) I’ve used the brand names of some services because they’re shorter than the formal names, but I realize that some may seem a bit cryptic to outsiders. Among those I don’t mention elsewhere in the column, AC Transit is the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, SamTrans is the San Mateo County Transit District, SolTrans is Solano County Transit and WestCat is the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Justin Fox is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business. A former editorial director of Harvard Business Review, he has written for Time, Fortune and American Banker. He is author of “The Myth of the Rational Market.”

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Powerful unions in San Francisco represent 39,000 city workers and $ 5 billion in wages.

OpenTheBooks.com

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to wonders of the modern world like the Golden Gate Bridge and Silicon Valley, as well as powerful progressive politicians like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Gavin Newsom, and U.S. Senator (and Vice President hopeful) Kamala Harris.

But the city is in trouble. Whenever we open the books, San Francisco is consistently among the worst tax and spending offenders.

In fact, the city’s $ 1.5 billion budget deficit doesn’t prevent 18,759 highly paid employees from bringing home salary packages worth $ 150,000 (or more) annually.

We found truck drivers loaded with $ 262,898. City painters earn $ 270,190; Firefighters earn $ 316,306; and plumbers who clean up $ 348,291 every year. A deputy sheriff made $ 574,595 last year – of which $ 315,896 in overtime.

On average, the city’s 44,526 workers received wages and benefits that cost taxpayers $ 131,335 each. Four in ten – 18,749 city workers – received a compensation package of more than $ 150,000 per year.

In addition to the basic salary, the salary package also includes retirement, health, overtime, pension and other benefits.

Mayor’s Office – San Francisco Mayor London Breed cost taxpayers $ 452,421 – the highest paid mayor in the country. Breed has a salary of $ 342,974 and additional performance perks of $ 109,447. Incredibly, there are thirty-one more people in their office with total salaries in excess of $ 200,000 per year.

Police and Sheriff Departments – The city’s 4,418 law enforcement staff cost taxpayers $ 831 million last year in compensation for an average cost of over $ 188,000 per person. The police are called “peace officers”.

Since San Francisco is both a city and a county, there is both a sheriff and a police department. Sheriff MPs run the prisons, enforce civil judgments and keep legal proceedings safe while police patrol the city.

Police Chief William Scott earned $ 434,613 ($ 338,482 salary and $ 96,131 in benefits). Four deputy chiefs (police and management) received between $ 346,528 and $ 445,539. Then there were 195 employees with salaries and perks greater than $ 300,000 each.

Matt Dorsey, the director of strategic communications, responded to our request for comment by saying that the recent reforms were costly to successfully implement.

Sheriff Paul Miyamoto made a total of $ 357,570. In total, the sheriff paid over $ 100,000 in overtime to fifty employees, including $ 315,896 in overtime to a deputy sheriff for a total of $ 574,595.

In response to our request for comment from Nancy Hayden Crowley, Director of Communications, the sheriff said, “My department continues to work on creative solutions to meet our minimum staffing requirements and the public safety challenges we all face on a budget.”

In total, the two departments employed 3,775 people – or about 8.5 out of ten employees – with comp packages that exceeded $ 100,000.

Most Popular Job Titles and What Public Employees Do in San Francisco.

OpenTheBooks.com

Fire Department – The fire brigade had two bosses last year. Outgoing boss Joanne Hayes-White retired with an annual pension of $ 311,560, and boss Jeanine Nicholson replaced her in May 2019.

Last year, Hayes-White received $ 386,727 and Nicholson received total compensation of $ 442,722. Cash settlement is not the whole story, however. The department maintains a two-bedroom landmark, valued at $ 2 million, as the chief’s residence.

A fire protection lieutenant earned $ 415,111 – more than double his base salary of $ 184,791, with a whopping overtime of $ 230,320. Fifteen employees received over $ 100,000 in overtime alone.

Just 389 of the 1,559 Fire employees did not bring a six-digit Comp package home with them last year.

Public works – Human litter cases on the streets of San Francisco rose to 31,000 in 2019 – an all-time high. The agency in charge of cleaning up the mess has a quarter of a billion dollars ($ 224 million) budget devoted to staff costs alone.

Public Works has 1,790 employees, including truck drivers ($ 218,495), arborists ($ 206,107), and general workers ($ 188,975). The team members of the self-proclaimed “Poop Patrol” cost taxpayers up to US $ 184,000 each.

San Francisco’s self-titled “Mr. Clean, ”said Mohammed Nuru, Public Works Director, best known for his failed efforts to keep feces and hypodermic needles out of the public eye.

In 2019, Nuru earned $ 380,120 total compensation, and his base salary alone rose to $ 65,000 over eight years. Apparently it wasn’t enough. In February 2020, the FBI arrested Nuru in an alleged porta potty scandal.

Human waste complaints reached an all-time high in 2019.

OpenTheBooks.com

Homeless Services and Supportive Housing – In 2016, the city added a new agency to help its homeless residents. As of 2019, the department had 148 employees, of whom 53 earned more than $ 100,000.

Director Jeff Kosinsky brought home up to $ 238,182 annually, but the city’s homeless population continued to grow each year. The population rose to 8,000 that year (up 17 percent), and complaints of human litter on the city’s streets rose from 18,246 (2016) to 31,000 (2019).

Incredibly, the department can still claim a “good” job compared to other California cities: In Oakland, the number of homeless has almost doubled over the same period.

Department for the Status of Women (DOSW) – DOSW is committed to “making San Francisco the best place for women and gender-specific people to live, work and study in the US”.

The agency deals with projects such as how many public spaces are named after women. The total compensation for the six full-time employees at DOSW in 2019 was $ 1 million.

However, our auditors also found that DOSW is saving money for its predominantly female cadre of “political scholarship holders”. These interns receive $ 20 an hour while other San Fran government internships in civil engineering, surveying, and similar functions pay $ 29.50 an hour.

War Memorial Opera House – This opera house employs 25 people (out of 120) on six-figure salaries, including a patrol officer who brings in total compensation of $ 164,399. While the summer and fall performance season was canceled or put online, our auditors could not find any reports of layoffs or even wage cuts.

Asian Art Museum – This museum cost the city’s taxpayers $ 7.8 million in compensation for workers last year and is closed to visitors this year.

In 2019, Director Jay Xu earned total compensation of $ 302,145, including a salary ($ 220,563) and benefits ($ 81,582). Other high earners included the assistant director ($ 248,463), a maintenance superintendent ($ 200,802), a curator ($ 200,046), and a librarian ($ 174,355).

The long-term financial situation in San Francisco looks dire.

The city has guaranteed $ 8.1 billion to fund retirees and retirees who haven’t been funded. Each resident of the city owes $ 9,000 to cover the unfunded liability. This is evident from data provided by the Truth In Accounting (2018) organization on tax accountability.

While the city is struggling to balance its books in the face of remarkable economic and social upheaval, the unions are not cooperating. Representing the 44,525 city workers in San Francisco, the organized labor force aggressively hit back against a recent proposal to halt the raise.

San Francisco is a progressive utopia, so well-meaning fiscal hawks have to cry much louder – or they don’t even have a voice at the table.

NOTE: Each agency mentioned in the piece received two requests for comment.

The post Why San Francisco Is In Bother – 19,000 Extremely Compensated Metropolis Workers Earned $150,000+ In Pay & Perks appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.