Salinas Valley feeds the world, but too many locals are going hungry
By Emma Garcia :: It’s mid summer of 2009. I hear the kids playing across the street in the park. The sun is shining through the blinds and Saturday morning … Continue reading
A California law beefed up health care funding for part-time community college faculty. Is it working?
By Li Khan :: Suji Venkatamaran, an adjunct instructor at Skyline College in the San Mateo Community College District, pays out of pocket each month for a basic health insurance … Continue reading
Afghan journalists fled for their lives as the Taliban came to power. Two women tell their stories.
By Simmerdeep Kaur :: As Afghanistan fell to Taliban control in the summer of 2021, the lives of two female journalists changed forever, their fates intertwined by the prospect of … Continue reading
Apply for a chance to earn $1,000 for your freelance reporting or photography projects.
Send us an email with a word document outlining your idea for a reported story or photojournalism project about workers, civic issues, economic issues or racial justice. Please describe how … Continue reading
San Francisco is still trying to take the city’s power grid from PG&E
By JohnTaylor Wildfeuer :: The way California-based community organizer Pete Woiwode sees it, there was recently “a rare opportunity to really change the game and actually put the values of … Continue reading
A trafficking victim speaks out
By Cassandra Shoneru :: Davina Kerrelola was 19 years old when her boyfriend pushed her into sex work in the Bay Area, a nightmare that lasted seven years. She was … Continue reading
“Not a learning time:” For families of special-needs kids, pandemic-era remote schooling was a challenge
By Chaya Tong :: Robyn Dobruck trailed her 10-year-old son, Sam, with an iPad as he walked from the computer screen and virtual school, his teacher’s voice playing through the … Continue reading
How the story of this Northern California community is intertwined with the story of a church
By Janna Velazquez :: The Baptist Church has been a staple in African-American and Black churches since the times of slavery and was the first to allow African-Americans any semblance … Continue reading
The Invisible Economy
By Semantha Raquel Norris :: *Some last names in this story are omitted or altered due to concerns about immigration status. My mother emigrated from El Salvador to the United … Continue reading
“It’s not a driver shortage, it’s a driver strike:” How gig workers organized against Prop. 22 before the California Supreme Court called it ‘unconstitutional’
By Luke Wrin Piper :: July 21 saw gig workers across the country strike, demanding what they see as the bare essentials of working life that gig giants Uber, Lyft, … Continue reading
For U.S. immigrants, pandemic widens the chasm between two homes
By Menal Raach :: Maggie Escobar poses for a photo in Grizzly Peak, Berkeley, CA, on August 3, 2021 Photo by Menel Raach As a young Colombian immigrant, Maggie Escobar … Continue reading
How three cities are struggling to provide restrooms for the unhoused
Marquetta remembers the exact date she moved into a private room at a Market Street hotel in San Francisco. It was April 7, 2020. The formerly homeless woman was moved … Continue reading
Americans with disabilities are at an especially high risk of negative police encounters. Advocates want new solutions.
As studies find a disproportionate number of people with cognitive disabilities or those experiencing mental health crises have negative interactions with police, some are trying to change that Kim Randall … Continue reading
Young workers embrace unions in fight against workplace racism
John Hopkins, a warehouse worker by trade and a coder by passion, went to work one day in January 2020, hoping to pitch coworkers about joining a union. He had … Continue reading
Oakland family plagued by high levels of lead in their home. They’re not alone.
OAKLAND – Laura Smith took her infant daughter to the doctor for a routine wellness check. But when the results came back, Smith was shocked. One-year-old Lucy had been diagnosed … Continue reading
“Essential” workers face heightened risks but reap limited rewards during COVID-19 pandemic
For more than 10 years, Benito Huerta, a farmworker in Southern California, woke at dawn to perform hard labor in the fields of Ventura County, harvesting blackberries and strawberries. He … Continue reading
Small business survival tactic: Own your own building
Borderlands Books served as a literary hub at the heart of the Mission District for 20 years, offering one of the Bay Area’s finest collections of fantasy, science fiction, mystery … Continue reading
New training teaches Napa cops to work with the mentally ill.
It was a Sunday afternoon when Richard Poccia, a registered nurse out on leave, was planning to go the store to pick up some alcohol. It was Thanksgiving weekend, the … Continue reading
Mental health stigmas disproportionally impact African Americans
At the age of 15, Gemikia Henderson didn’t know what a father’s love felt like. “I remember thinking, ‘This can’t be the life that God gave me. There’s no way … Continue reading
African-American community hopes Mayor Breed will step up
Bayview, Fillmore districts look to City Hall for much-needed support for housing, small business It was a warm, breezy Saturday in Bayview — ideal shopping weather in most commercial corridors … Continue reading
Thousands Face U.S. Immigration Court Alone
Defendants in immigration court without an attorney are five times more likely to be deported. But legal representation is often not available. In the ‘zero tolerance’ era a good lawyer … Continue reading
BART police still under fire
The killing of Oscar Grant forced changes on BART’s police force, but many in the community say the killings of other men of color show the agency is still flawed … Continue reading
Mental health services out of reach for many
First, the voices would come at night. Then he sometimes would hear them during the daytime as well, but at some point, the hour — morning, evening, afternoon — ceased … Continue reading
The busking life: An inside look at BART’s impromptu performers.
They strum, hum and literally bend over backwards to entertain passengers and passersby in BART stations and on trains. For buskers, hurtling trains are a stage; preoccupied commuters an audience. … Continue reading
YIMBY activists gather in Oakland to say “Yes” to housing
By Garrett Bergthold, Bay News Rising staff reporter – With roots in San Francisco – land of the highest rents in the United States) – the YIMBY phenomena is growing and it’s growing fast. From 2016’s New York Times column on local activist Sonja Trauss to the Atlantic’s June article From ‘Not in My Backyard’ to “Yes in My Backyard’, YIMBY is becoming a national sensation.
These workers say they can’t live on “living wage”
The apartment in South of Market was filthy and full of cockroaches, but Marlyn Tuliao came in anyway. Being a caregiver, she doesn’t choose where to work, but this time … Continue reading
Rising rent in Santa Cruz County leaves farms shorthanded
By Victor Tence, Bay News Rising Staff Reporter Andy Griffin of Watsonville is considered to be a “living farm legend” by those in the Bay Area produce scene for his pioneering work with organic agriculture. He’s known … Continue reading
Housing density remains hot issue in Balboa Reservoir plans
By Garrett Bergthold, Bay News Rising staff reporter – The city-owned 17-acre Balboa Reservoir is slated to add 680 to 1,245 housing units to the Ingleside neighborhood. Calling the project controversial belies the complexity of a three-sided fight as developers, housing advocates and angry neighbors strive to define its future.
Oakland punk rockers serve up lunch and clean needles
By Brian Howey, Bay News Rising Staff Reporter — Beneath the thrum of freeway traffic, Michele Magobet shuffles past a foldout table. Pausing to examine plastic tubs, she picks … Continue reading
Minimum wage workers priced out of Bay Area housing
Gregory Mitchell serves coffee at the Starbucks kiosk in the Pack ‘N Save grocery store in Emeryville. At $14.80 per hour, the 27-year-old earns just a bit more than the minimum wage. Although he holds a second job at a local gym and works 45 hours a week, Mitchell struggles to pay his half of the rent for the $1500 apartment in Emeryville he shares with his uncle.
Working warriors
They are the public servants and barkeeps, the Lyft drivers and hot-dog vendors, the parking attendants and security guards. While the glory all goes to the millionaire superstars on the court, quite a few ordinary workers are racking up their own NBA records — even if it’s only for overtime earnings and barroom sales posted during the Finals.
Bay News Rising interns win hourly pay
SAN FRANCISCO, JUNE 3, 2017 — Members of the Student Guild ratified unanimously the agreement with the Pacific Media Workers Guild that includes a provision granting hourly pay, and it … Continue reading
Together in homelessness: couples living on the streets of San Francisco struggle to find help
By Zak Cowan | With services few and far between, couples living on the streets of San Francisco have a unique and challenging road out of homelessness
Homeless shelters remain homeless in the Haight
By Kelsey Lannin, Bay News Rising staff reporter — There’s a lot of homelessness in the Haight. Even the homeless shelters are homeless. After a contentious debate, San Francisco legislators … Continue reading
Caring community steps up to help victims of Mission District fire.
By Shajia Abidi and Zak Cowan The fire alarms blared as black smoke billowed out of the Graywood hotel and residents went door to door helping their neighbors to escape. … Continue reading
Highway 101 is still the North Bay’s daily traffic jam
By Mariana Raschke, Bay News Rising staff reporter– At the break of dawn, when the hills of Sonoma are covered in a morning fog, Highway 101 is already at a … Continue reading
After nearly six years, the sit-lie law is having trouble staying on its feet
By Grady Penna, Bay News Rising staff reporter – Decorated with a nine-ball ornament dangling from his neck, rings covering each finger and a hulking pack strapped to his back, … Continue reading
San Francisco’s aristocrats, law enforcement and nudists come out for Pride
By Zak Cowan and Mariana Raschke Bay News Rising Reporters The sandstone was draped in rainbow as the attendees cuddled around the caviar stands, sipping sparkling wine and indulging in the splendor … Continue reading
Cricket – keeping South Asians together
By Shajia Abidi, Bay News Rising staff reporter The scorching heat, the sticky humidity, and the salty smell of sweat made the restless players anxious to call it a day … Continue reading
Local band challenges the music industry
By Mitchell Walther, Bay News Rising staff reporter- The sun beats down on the music lovers as they lounge on the grass. Cold beer and good weather entertain the crowd … Continue reading
T-shirt vendors cash in on The Bern at San Francisco Rally
By Kelsey Lannin, Bay New Rising staff reporter — As the California primary race wound down, candidates weren’t the only ones trying to make a few last-minute sales. At the … Continue reading
Barred from her homeland, a Palestinian woman marches against Airbnb
By Grady Penna, Bay News Rising staff reporter – *One of the names in this article has been changed in order to preserve the safety of that individual Demonstrators lined … Continue reading
For some, 40 hours a week is not enough to pay city’s soaring housing costs
By Ekevara Kitpowsong, Bay News Rising Staff Reporter — Except for those with sponsors or the status of a Keith Haring, it’s a given that artists need another source of … Continue reading
Star graffiti artists say form is losing its edge, co-opted by ‘insta-graf generation’
By Alex Lamp, Bay News Rising staff reporter — Graffiti is going mainstream. Don’t believe it? Come on down to the 1AM art gallery on Howard Street and watch techies from … Continue reading
Farmers counting the drops as drought drags on, yield drops by 20 percent
By Elisabetta Silvestro, Bay News Rising staff reporter — During a rare hot summer day in San Francisco, farmers’ stands fill United Nations Plaza. “Dollar a pound, mix and match!” some … Continue reading
Bayview population in flux, spurring fears, hopes among residents
By Alex Lamp, Bay News Rising staff reporter — Dawud Dirbas, 44, has worked at Kennedy’s Market on the corner of McKinnon Avenue and Third Street in San Francisco’s Bayview district … Continue reading
Is the gig up? Contract workers seek security, benefits, vote to unionize
The gig’s up on the gig economy as contract workers vote to unionize By Erasmo Martinez, Bay News Rising staff reporter — Tracey Kelly drives a double decker shuttle bus from South … Continue reading
‘Por Vida’ mural vandalism is only latest attack on Latino LGBT community
By Khaled Sayed, Bay News Rising staff reporter — Yellow police tape surrounds a crime scene. This time there is no lifeless body lying on the ground, but a mural, celebrating … Continue reading
When no place to park means no place to live: S.F. car dwellers “hammered by cops”
By Erasmo Martinez, Bay News Rising staff reporter — Melodie has lived in an RV since 2008, but this day, the 57-year-old looks distraught as she gazes down the road: A … Continue reading
Indie bookstores increasing, drawing customers with an appeal Amazon can’t match: community
By Elisabetta Silvestro, Bay New Rising staff reporter — The demise of independent bookstores has been predicted many times. They not only survived, they are regaining ground: The number of independent bookstores … Continue reading
Summer 2022 Applications
Apply for a chance to earn up to $1,000 for your freelance reporting or photography projects this summer. How to applySend us an email outlining your project idea (300 words … Continue reading
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