In announcing her candidacy to become only the third Black woman in the history of the body, Lee says that representation matters. She also tells It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli that while it’s harder for Black women progressives to raise funds, she’s proven herself up to the challenge in the past. And she says Sen. Dianne Feinstein has “done a phenomenal job,” but spells out how a Sen. Barbara Lee would be different. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod ...
Feb 21, 2023•29 min
Portugal’s decision to decriminalize drug possession as of 2001 garnered international attention. But that move was just part of the nation’s broader public health strategy to curb the devastating effects of an opioid epidemic. At the time, on average, Portugal had an overdose death every day. Today, it’s dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths, HIV infections associated with drug use, and problematic heroin use. Meanwhile in San Francisco, overdose deaths have exploded. Dr. João Goul...
Feb 20, 2023•28 min
As The Chronicle's food critic, Soleil Ho has spent the past four years reviewing the Bay Area restaurant scene, and they won a James Beard Award for it last year. Now, they're moving to the Chronicle Opinion Section. Ho joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why they're making that move. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 17, 2023•18 min
The decades-old policy was enacted in the worst days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and while it's been relaxed some in recent years, the latest change represents a major loosening of rules that gay rights activists have long said are needlessly stigmatizing and discriminatory. But some restrictions remain, including one that excludes anyone who uses PrEP, a drug highly effective at preventing HIV infection. Reporter Erin Allday and state Sen. Scott Wiener join host Demian Bulwa to talk about the poli...
Feb 16, 2023•21 min
Chronicle Washington correspondent Shira Stein joins host and lead political writer Joe Garofolli to talk about what Dianne Feinstein has now said will be her final term in the Senate. They discuss a career marked by tragedy and perseverance — from the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone to more recent battles over the issue most associated with her, gun safety. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn mor...
Feb 15, 2023•20 min
The 2017 law forces local governments to streamline construction projects if they don’t meet their state-mandated targets. It’s working to get housing built in San Francisco, but it’s set to expire at the end of 2025. Sen. Scott Wiener wants to make it permanent to fix California’s housing crisis. Chronicle reporter Dustin Gardiner joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss SB35's impact and why some are opposed to extending it. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, questi...
Feb 14, 2023•16 min
The San Francisco district attorney intends to drop the historic prosecution of an SFPD officer who shot and killed an unarmed man. She claims her predecessor, Chesa Boudin, filed the manslaughter charges against Christopher Samayoa for political reasons, while Boudin says Jenkins is not interested in holding police accountable. Reporter Joshua Sharpe joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about the death of Keita O’Neil and what it means in the context of the police reform movement nationally. | Unlim...
Feb 13, 2023•17 min
"You can write us off, but you better write in pencil," said London Breed in her state of the city address Thursday. City Hall reporter Mallory Moench joins host Joe Garofoli to talk about the mayor's vision for San Francisco, including plans to build 82,000 new housing units and bolster SFPD staffing numbers. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 10, 2023•15 min
Street prostitution has been an issue on Capp Street in the Mission District for decades. Chronicle reporter Rachel Swan joins host Dominic Fracassa to talk about San Francisco’s efforts to combat what’s become an “out of control” sex work scene there, including a bold proposal to legalize prostitution. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 09, 2023•18 min
Over 7,000 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria from major earthquakes this week. How prepared are Bay Area cities for a similar quake? Geologist Austin Elliott of the USGS joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the probability of the Bay Area's next "big one" and how to prepare for it. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 08, 2023•20 min
The federal government has been providing emergency funds to tackle food insecurity since the start of the pandemic, but that support will end this month. Meg Davidson from the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the local action that's needed now. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip? Question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 07, 2023•18 min
San Francisco has half a dozen teams responding to people in crisis on the streets. Have these teams been effective? Chronicle reporter Mallory Moench joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the city’s new pilot program to address homelessness, and what the data tells us about the impact of San Francisco's crisis teams. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 06, 2023•16 min
The LGBTQ community is facing aggression on both the legislative and community levels. New San Francisco Pride president Nguyen Pham joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about being the first gay Vietnamese man to hold the position. He shares recent challenges for the queer community and how the backdrop of anti-trans legislation across the country is informing his local leadership. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 03, 2023•21 min
Last month's mass shooting highlighted problems that have long existed: Exploited populations living in substandard conditions on California farms. Reporters Matthias Gafni and Nora Mishanec join host Cecilia Lei to talk about what's been exposed since the shooting, and Darlene Tenes of Farmworker Caravan shares why deplorable living conditions at farms have been a long-standing crisis across the state. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...
Feb 02, 2023•29 min
California is facing huge challenges as it fights climate change and the extreme weather that comes with it. On one hand, the state wants to limit carbon emissions by going all-electric — in your home and in your car. But it also needs to keep the lights on, building a stronger and more innovative power grid less prone to frustrating outages. Chronicle reporter Claire Hao joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about potential solutions. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more abou...
Feb 01, 2023•16 min
Intense storms like the ones that just rolled through California, combined with rising sea levels, are endangering scenic shoreline areas like West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, where large chunks of bluffs fell into the sea earlier this month. Reporter Kurtis Alexander tells host Cecilia Lei that coastal cities are having to deal with problems like this years before they thought they’d have to. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
Jan 31, 2023•19 min
Law enforcement officials have released recordings that document what happened before and after the attack on Paul Pelosi in the home he shares with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Abner Hauge, editor-in-chief of Left Coast Right Watch, which monitors alt-right extremism, joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about attacker David Wayne DePape and his extremist rhetoric. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 30, 2023•19 min
Almost two years before Election Day, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff have tossed their hats in the ring, and Barbara Lee is making plans. Washington correspondent Shira Stein joins host Joe Garofoli to talk about who else might run for the seat now held by Dianne Feinstein, who's expected to retire, and how they'll raise the enormous amounts of money required. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 27, 2023•20 min
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong is on paid administrative leave after a report said he mishandled an officer misconduct investigation. Chronicle reporters Sarah Ravani and Joshua Sharpe join host Demian Bulwa to discuss the latest scandal to rock the department, and whether Armstrong can keep his job and keep OPD on the path to ending 20 years of federal oversight. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 26, 2023•14 min
The state has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, including background checks and bans on assault-style weapons, but mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay this week have left the state reeling. Assembly Member Evan Low joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the limits of state legislation — and the support that AAPI communities need now. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2023•22 min
The newly elected Oakland school board reversed the controversial decision to shutter several elementary schools. Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss how that reversal may have serious consequences across the district, as well as the financial uncertainty that continues. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 24, 2023•20 min
A Chronicle analysis of more than three years of police data has found that San Francisco cops used terms like “marijuana” and “baggy” clothing to justify searches of Black residents that yielded no contraband. Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips and reporter Susie Neilson join host Cecilia Lei to explain the issue and the city’s plan to end pretextual stops. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 23, 2023•17 min
The Bay Bridge has sparkled for 10 years with a light installation designed by artist Leo Villareal. But the display costs millions to maintain and, with funds drying up, could soon go dark forever. Columnist and TotalSF podcast co-host Heather Knight and urban design critic John King join host Cecilia Lei to argue the cases for — and against — a fund-raising campaign to preserve the Bay Lights. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...
Jan 20, 2023•20 min
Climate change has unleashed flurries of rain on a city with an antiquated sewer system, and the severity of future storms is not going to lessen. Reporter St. John "Sinjin" Barned-Smith joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what San Francisco officials can and can't do, and a brewing fight over who will pay for the extensive damage. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Chronicle Weather: sfchronicle.com/weather Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 19, 2023•17 min
Entrepreneur Roger Lee started tracking tech sector layoffs in March 2020. Since then, Bay Area tech companies — including Twitter, Meta, Salesforce and Lyft — have laid off more than 93,000 employees. Lee joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the scale of recent layoffs, their effects on the tech sector, and what job seekers might expect in the coming months. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 18, 2023•17 min
After years of covering California disasters, Chronicle photojournalist Jessica Christian turned the lens to Sunol, where she grew up. The small town flooded during recent heavy rains, and she shares with host Demian Bulwa what it was like to watch her family’s memories and relics get destroyed — and how her local community came together to support one another. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17, 2023•17 min
Originally published Dec. 7, 2021: The pandemic has upended the traditional work week and some Bay Area employers are experimenting with a switch to a 32-hour work week. Critics say that the model would be costly and stunt job growth but Chronicle reporter Carolyn Said joins host Cecilia Lei to share results that say otherwise. Also: CommonFuture's VP of People Operations, Joann Lee Wagner, talks about why the four-day work week is about equity. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod ...
Jan 16, 2023•19 min
The clip that captured an art gallery owner spraying a homeless woman with a hose sparked massive outrage. Chronicle columnist and editorial writer Nuala Bishari joins host Cecilia Lei to explain why San Francisco's failure to manage homelessness has fueled tensions in the city and why human compassion is key to finding solutions. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 13, 2023•17 min
COVID-19 hit local nightlife hard, and it hasn’t come all the way back. Bar owners are struggling to find ways to attract customers who have changed their socializing habits during the pandemic. Chronicle senior wine critic Esther Mobley joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the how bar owners are adapting and what's at stake if bar culture doesn't bounce back. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 12, 2023•19 min
After nearly five decades of public service and 15 years representing San Francisco and San Mateo counties in the House of Representatives, Jackie Speier has retired from Congress. Washington correspondent Shira Stein joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the conversation she shared with Speier near the end of her term, which included thoughts on her legacy as well as her personal tragedies and regrets. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Related: Scroll to the Nov. 16, 2021 episode to...
Jan 11, 2023•19 min
