Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW News:
SFSU students won’t eat until Ethnic Studies demands are met // SF Examiner
"A group of students at San Francisco State University have decided to forego food beginning Monday until administrators set aside $8 million in funding for the fiscally embattled College of Ethnic Studies."
"The four students plan to camp inside tents at the grassy center of campus until SFSU President Leslie Wong or Provost Sue Rosser direct funding for Ethnic Studies to 'not only sustain itself but thrive,' said Sofia Cardenas, a spokesperson for the students."
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With spike in heroin use, San Francisco battles overdose deaths // KTVU
"28-year-old Nicholas Clark is a self-described daily heroin user. Sitting on a sidewalk in San Francisco, he sticks a needle in his leg to shoot up. Clark says he tried to quit, but he can't, 'It's like coffee for my soul.'"
"Dr. Phillip Coffin, the Director of Substance Abuse Research for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, (SF DPH) says in the last five years, heroin use has spiked in neighborhoods all over the city."
"'We've seen a transition as we've tried to clamp down on opioid prescribing, because we've prescribed so much, we've expanded the pool,' said Coffin."
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In San Francisco, Colleges and Universities Struggle to House Students // KQED
“The hardest thing about being homeless for George Perez was acting like he wasn’t homeless.”
“During the day, Perez would study at school, go to class or clean up in the campus gym.”
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Neighbors of Mission District Affordable Housing Cry “Too Tall!” // Mission Local
“Neighbors of a new affordable housing project were adamant at a community meeting on Saturday morning: They oppose a nine-story senior building coming to Shotwell Street near Cesar Chavez Street because its height will create wind tunnels, block sunlight, and ‘bring downtown to the Mission.’”
“Bernal Heights residents were particularly vocal about the building, which will be the tallest in the area, saying the development would obstruct their skyline views.”
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Wounded veterans find freedom on Bay Area water // Mercury News
"It's a simple concept. Round up a few veterans who came home with broken bodies or damaged psyches or a lung full of poison. Take them to a body of water. Let them fish. Put them in a kayak, and give them a gentle push away from the shore. Then watch the magic happen."
"'What I've observed is veterans who have disabilities will come up to the kayak, and they'll have a certain amount of trepidation,' said Raydon Shippey, Northern California chapter coordinator for Heroes on the Water, a Texas-based national nonprofit that hosted between 40 and 50 veterans Friday at San Pablo Reservoir."
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92-foot ‘Venus,’ tallest sculpture in SF, raises its head // SF Gate
“The tallest sculpture in San Francisco — a twisty genie in shiny steel — is rising along Market Street, and nobody can see it.”
“The public artwork is called ‘Venus,’ and right now it is hidden behind construction fences and scaffolding, and surrounded by three residential towers that will comprise Trinity Place, the apartment complex at Market and Eighth streets.”