Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration is struggling to contain a worsening homelessness crisis despite record spending, is trying something bold: tapping federal health care funding to cover rent for homeless people and those at risk of losing their housing.

By Keith Musselman for The Conversation Another round of powerful atmospheric rivers is hitting California, following storms in January and February 2023 that dumped record amounts of snow. This time, the storms are warmer, and they are triggering flood warnings as they bring rain higher into the mountains – on top

Written by M.T. Agha Nearing a month since the onslaught of a ransomware attack that prompted city officials to declare a local emergency order, the city of Oakland is now dealing with the fallout after hackers released several gigabytes of sensitive material after weeks of threats.       Earlier today, the city

When I first heard the news that the ‘Bay Lights’ were in danger of going dark, and that an $11 million dollar donation was needed in order to keep them on, I thought to myself “some billionaire will foot the bill, probably Marc Benioff,” but that didn’t happen.  Instead, Illuminate,

If you’re feeling bad about people, try taking a city bus and, one by one, look at everyone for a few seconds. While looking at them, whisper ever so quietly under your breath, “I love you.” Try to see if you can actually feel it.

Prologue A few days ago I took a cross country train excursion from New York City to Norman, Oklahoma. The events leading up to the trip are varied, and frankly, none of your business. But for transparency sake two main points forced me to do this: my mother’s rapidly declining

Whether you recognize the name “Bucket Man’ or not, you’ll definitely recognize what he sounded like.  For decades Larry “The Bucket Man” Hunt played drums, buckets, pots, and frying pans downtown San Francisco, usually near the Powell Street Bart entrances, you know, where the Westfield Centre, Bart station, and the

There are two kinds of beauty in the world: the beauty of humanity and the beauty of nature. The world’s population centers often act as melting pots, not only of races and ethnicities, but also of ideas. In well-developed cities, specific neighborhoods can easily become hubs for certain segments of a population