Real Talk

Closing the door on California's youth prison system

2012-02-22T20:27:00.002-08:00

Governor Jerry Brown announced earlier this year that the Division of Juvenile Justice (also known as the DJJ) will no longer be accepting youth into its facilities starting January 2013. By 2014, responsibility for jailing youths will be handed over to local governments. This decision will make California the first state to completely close it's state-run youth system.

Courtesy of OC Register

The DJJ is made up of California's state-wide youth prison facilities. In 1996, the DJJ reached it's peak at 11 youth prisons which housed a total of about 10,166 prisoners. Around 2007, the numbers decreased when California passed SB 81, which stopped counties from sending non-violent youth offenders to DJJ facilities. Today, it runs three youth prisons and holds a total of around 1094 youth.

Youth advocates such as Books not Bars, agree that the price tag of the DJJ–$245 million a year–is a waste of taxpayer money. Over the years the DJJ became known for it's 23-hour cell confinement, phone-booth sized cages, abuse from staff, and an 80% recidivism rate. They say youth are more likely to be rehabilitated when they are closer to home, where their families can help them and ease the transition back to society when the youth is released.

But those against the DJJ closure, say that local counties don't have enough space or money and are unprepared to house the violent youth, especially since a large proportion of them are gang members. Since the DJJ also receives youth between 18-25, many are worried that they will most likely be prosecuted as adults.

Courtesy of Colorlines

The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice disagree and say there is enough space to house the youth in the counties. Out of 58 California counties, a majority of the youth in the DJJ come from a dozen counties. From 1996 to 2007, 41 counties invested $438 million to for new and secure juvenile facilities. As a result, there is a surplus of 4,090 beds that can house the youth during the transition. Also, Brown says he wants lawmakers to restore $100 million in funding for youth rehabilitation and services. Pushing for legislature that can monitor how many young people are being over prosecuted, and allowing extended custody for youth in local facilities can prevent them from being prosecuted as adults.

Although Brown says he set aside $10 million and one year for counties to prepare for the move, nothing is set in stone till the June 15th deadline.

Justin Morgan: Community Organizer

2012-01-19T00:28:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendars for June 5th because it's the California's Presidential Primary! Not only will we be voting for our presidential nominees, but also on state issues, local issues and who will represent San Franciscans in the Democratic County Central Committee.

This year, Dr. Morgan is campaigning to be elected for a seat on the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, the leadership council of the local Democratic Party.

Dr. Justin Morgan is a physician with the San Francisco Department of Public Health working at a community health center in the Fillmore neighborhood. He's on staff at San Francisco General Hospital and is the physician at the youth clinic in San Francisco's juvenile hall.

Dr. Morgan is also president of the John Hale Medical Society, an association of African American healthcare providers in San Francisco. He also teaches medical students as a member of the volunteer faculty at UCSF and UC Davis.

Click on the video below to learn more about him:

What is the Democratic Central Committee and what are their responsibilities? Dr Morgan explains:

Dr. Morgan's childhood dream was to be a neighborhood doctor and he has dedicated his medical career to community service and social progress. Click below to find out about what community health projects he's worked on:

Redistricting as a result from the U.S Census data is an important current issue. Dr. Morgan says how he thinks it will impact communities:

For more information about Justin Morgan check out his Facebook page.

Or contact him via email at justinvmorgan@yahoo.com

Ambassadors lend a hand to the community

2012-01-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

Last summer, SFPD Chief George Gascon l aunched a pilot Community Ambassadors Program (CAP) that hit the streets of District 10 in July 2010. During peak hour times that summer, twelve ambassadors (whom spoke eight different languages) wore bright yellow vests and spread themselves along the T-line and 9-San Bruno MUNI routs. The purpose of these Ambassadors is to serve as role models and they offered residents assistance by escorting them home, providing safety tips, information about city programs and services, reporting violence or crimes in the neighborhood.

The program was introduced in response to violence in the Visitation Valley and Bayview areas between African Americans and Asian Americans. Racial tensions began after the death of 83-year old Huan Chen, beaten by about six teenagers (and currently has a 100,000 reward offered to capture suspects) and a case where a 57-year old Asian woman was tossed off a MUNI platform at Third and Oakdale.

According to a San Francisco 311, "The pilot will allow the City to explore the possibility of a larger-scale, community-driven safety awareness program...goals are focused on increasing mutual understanding and collaboration among long-time and new residents, and preventing tensions and violence that may result from cultural and linguistic difference." The pilot lasted from July 2010 to September 2010, and during those three months Community Ambassadors reported interactions with more than 2,000 MUNI riders which includes reporting after school fights between teenagers on the bus, and other disruptive behavior.

The program proved successful when Mayor Ed Lee announced in August the CAP program in District 10 would be permanent. Afterwards, in December, he announced a pilot program in the mid-Market area downtown.

Adrienne Pon, the Executive Director of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs in San Francisco who oversees the program says, "the program would've not been successful without the help of the community." Hiring people from the community to help the community was essential in the success of the Community Ambassadors program. She explains that people who live in District 10 were recruited for the Community Ambassadors program along with people from the JobsNOW! program. Pon adds she saw an overall positive response from the community, "people were glad to see the ambassadors on the street."

Currently the District 10 CAP has a $600,000 price tag a year which is covered by grants, donations and Obama job stimulus money. Pon hopes to see the Community Ambassador grow and serve other communities in San Francisco.

Occupy Oakland still has a heartbeat

2011-12-06T01:11:00.000-08:00

This year the Occupy movement first started in early September at New York City’s Wall Street. Soon afterwards, the occupy movement spread all over the bay area.

On October 10th, Occupy Oakland began its encampment at the Frank Ogawa Plaza, which they have renamed the Oscar Grant Plaza. Since then, the Occupy Oakland encampment has faced a lot of police raids which have resulted in failed attempts to kick out protesters.

On November 14th, they were raided a second time and police said they were no longer allowed to set up camp or pitch tents. In response, protesters set up a vigil, which allows them to sleep in sleeping bags and sit in chairs

A lot of people ask "What is the Occupy movement?" Some say it is about the unbalance of wealth between 1% rich and the 99% which is made up of the working class, the poor, and everyone else.

I talked with, Naomi Regan, a supporter of the Occupy Movement who has been part it since early October. She says unregulated capitalism and systematic inequalities are some of the reasons that brought her here, but stays because she sees the injustice of how the city tries to repress her voice.

According to the protesters, there are approximately 20 people that stay over night for the vigil. They hold events during the day, which is when most people come to support the movement. But with numbers dwindling, some think Occupy Oakland may soon face its end.

I talked to other protesters that didn't want to show their face on camera. They said that water sprinklers go off every day at the plaza to prevent them from setting up camp or pitching tents in the wet mud. They couldn't even set up camp if they wanted to since the police patrol the camp 24/7 and arrests anyone who tries to set up camp.

Ranked Choice voting

2011-10-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

San Francisco is choosing its next mayor using the ranked choice voting system. It may sound confusing, but take a second glance and you’ll figure it out.

What is ranked choice voting?

In a nutshell: You are given 3 votes, you can only give ONE vote per candidate but you’re not forced to use up all three votes. Your ballot will have three columns; each column will list the names of all the candidates and you’re allowed one vote per column. If you only like one candidate, you can vote for them in one column and leave the other two blank, but you CAN’T vote for them in all three columns.

How does ranked choice voting work, why am I given three votes?

First, all the votes for the first column on everyone’s ballot will be counted. Whoever has the least amount of votes will be eliminated. Then, all the votes for the second column on everyone’s ballot will be counted and whoever has the least amount of votes will be eliminated. This will happen again and again until one candidate has more than 50% of the vote.

Check out this video for more info:

Richmond city hall doesn't snitch

2011-10-23T00:39:00.000-07:00

The Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) in Richmond raised eyebrows earlier this week when they refused to talk to the police about a fight that happened in their City Hall offices.

ONS provides anti-violence programs for youth to keep them off the streets. One program includes a life-skills training fellowship, where students receive stipends ranging from $350 to $1,000.

The incident occurred around noon on October 14th. According to staff, a fight broke out in the ONS break room located on the third floor of Richmond's City Hall offices. According to the police report, the fight included 10 to 15 young people smashing dishes, toppling furniture, and left a trail of blood from the ONS office to the elevator. The police arrived at the scene too late to find suspects, but reported a s hirt soaked with blood on the floor inside the elevator. Judging from the crime scene, office workers and other visitors, the police guessed that two groups from rival neighborhoods bumped into each other when they went to pick up their checks at ONS.

Although several ONS staff witnessed the entire event, under the instruction of DeVone Boggan–ONS Director–no information was released regarding the suspects because it would ruin the trust between the youth and the program. Boggan commented on the blood soaked shirt, saying one of the youth suffered a broken nose. He also highlighted that it was better for a fight to be with fists and not guns, which is progress since most of the youth involved in the fight have a history of gun violence.

Boggan's approach is criticized and attacked by many saying it agrees with a common etiquette among youth called "no snitching". Which some say sends the wrong message, saying it strengthens the distrust between the community and the police. Others say Boggan is putting the program's "street cred" before the safety of others.

Boggan assures Friday's fight will not lead to more violence, but he and the ONS staff will meet with the youth for mediation.

Medical marijuana dispensaries may soon face their end

2011-10-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Medical marijuana sales will total an estimated $1.7 billion in 2011, but these numbers might change sooner than you think.

San Francisco landowners received letters from federal officials earlier this month stating a 45 day notice to close the medical marijuana dispensaries renting on their space or be at risk of paying fines and having their property seized. Landowners all over California received similar letters and forced medical marijuana dispensaries off their property; one Lake Forrest landlord giving a dispensary as little as a three day notice.

The problem:

Although selling and regulating medical marijuana is enabled in the state of California by Proposition 215 (passed in 1996) and AB 1300 (passed in March 2011) the federal government still considers marijuana a dangerous drug without a legitimate purpose. 15 other states and the District of Columbia are also facing the same problem.

Letters sent out to so-cal medical marijuana dispensaries state that federal law "takes precedence over state law and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana."

Taxing out of existence?

The IRS is calling out The Harborside Health Center for $2.5 million in back taxes owed
for the 2007 & 2008 fiscal year.

In 2007 The Harborside Health Center earned $7 million, and $12 million in 2008. When it came time to pay their taxes, they--like any other business--deducted payroll, rent, workers compensation, and other costs from their revenues and paid their taxes based on that amount. Federal officials claim that marijuana dispensaries cannot deduct those expenses due to the tax code section 280E (passed in 1982) which forbids any tax deduction relating to trafficking controlled substances.

Will they act on their threat?

A couple years ago under the George Bush administration the Department of Justice sent out similar letters to 300 Los Angeles landlords. Some landlords did kick out the medical marijuana dispensaries off their space, but the federal government never acted on its threats or took anyone to court.

Some think the recent threats might be another bluff, since the Obama administration promised they would not move aggressively against dispensaries. Obama explained in 2007 during his presidential campaign that he wouldn't use the federal resources to enforce the federal law, and claimed federal agents had more important items on their agenda. But about a week ago, four U.S attorneys gathered in Sacramento and announced any dispensary that still remained open after the 45 day warning “would be subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions."

Brown signs California Dream Act (AB 131)

2011-10-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, Governor Jerry Brown signed the California DREAM Act (AB 131) which will go into effect starting January 2013. This act must not be confused with the federal proposal DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act allowed conditional permanent residency for undocumented student immigrants if they: arrived to the U.S as a minor, lived five years continuously in the U.S, completed two years in the military OR two years in college, and have good moral character. Although the act was passed in December 2010 by the House of Representatives, it didn't have enough votes to make it to the Senate.

The California DREAM Act on the other hand is made up of two parts:

AB 130: Which allows undocumented students to receive privately funded financial aid (non-state funds).
AB 131: Allows undocumented students to apply and receive state financial aid (state funds). To be eligible for aid, students must sign an affidavit (a sworn statement), must have attended a California high school for at least 3 years, maintained a B average during their time in high school (if applying to CSU or UC) and a C average if applying to a community college.

Forces behind the California DREAM act root back to AB 540 which was passed 2001. It allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition fees. But many were frustrated that students could not apply for financial aid.

Those who oppose the California DREAM act say that money is going to waste. They say money is being invested towards undocumented students that cannot work legally in the United States or become a part of the California workforce.

Numbers are scattered for the price tag of passing AB 131. The 2013-14 school year is estimated to cost somewhere in the ballpark of $13 to $18 million (a little over 1% of all Cal Grant Funds) for about 2,500 - 5,000 students. But some opponents claim as many as 40,000 students might apply, they fear it might take away college spots and aid for documented students.

Affirmative Action Bake Sale

2011-09-27T22:57:00.000-07:00

Around noon on Tuesday, roughly 300 protestors dressed in black and gathered at the UC Berkeley Campus for an hour in silent protest responding to an affirmative action bake sale.

The sale was led by the UC Berkeley Republicans, who were selling cookies, brownies, and other pastries. The price differed depending on your ethnicity. Whites would pay $2, Asians $1.50, $1 for Latinos, 75 cents for Blacks, followed by 25 cents for Native Americans. All women were given a 25 cent discount. (but the group accepted any amount of money offered)

The purpose of the bake sale was to protest to the SB 185 legislation. If the bill passes, ethnicity, race and gender will be added to the factors considered (along with extra curricular activities) in student enrollment decisions for public California universities. But they cannot completely base their student admission solely on ethnicity, race and gender.

Ethnicity, race and gender used to be considered for public California institutions, but it was banned when California voters passed Proposition 209 in 1996. Now, SB 185 is being introduced to counter Proposition 209. On September 1st, both chambers of the California State legislature passed SB 185 and now the bill is waiting on Governor Jerry Brown's desk, he must either approve or veto the bill by October 9th.

Berkeley college republicans and others that oppose SB 185 say that it is unfair to have a policy that judges people differently by their gender the color of their skin. Allowing such factors starts an uneven playing field, and applicants should be viewed in a color blind lens.

But supporters of SB 185 say it's impossible to view students in a colorblind lens, when inequity still exists. Currently at UC Berkeley, Latino, Black and Native Americans represent 16% of the student body, compared to the 20% in 1995 before Proposition 209 was approved. White students represented 30% of the student body in 1995, and still represent 30% of the student body today. Meanwhile, Asians represented 19%, and now they represent 20% of the student body.

After an hour of the silent protest, BAMN (an on-campus student political organization) invited the campus Republicans to a debate about affirmative action. The president of the College Republicans said he was open to a debate. But nothing has been set in stone yet.

Free MUNI fast passes for San Francisco youth

2011-09-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Community groups, youth groups, leaders and other advocates gathered at the City Hall steps this past Monday. They rallied in favor of a program for free MUNI fast passes for San Francisco youth between the ages of five and 17. The program includes a three-year pilot program, which would cost roughly seven million dollars.

This program was introduced as a response to the cost of youth MUNI fast passes soaring over 100% in the past two years. Earlier this year, the city launched a one time program where a total of 12,000 free fast passes were distributed in April, May, and June. Supporters said the program was successful and that the demand surpassed the supply.

There is an obvious need for the program since youth make up 15% of MUNI riders. Sixty percent of students in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) take part in the free or reduced lunch program. Some are wondering where SFMTA (San Francsico Municipal Transportation Agency) will get the money to pay for this pilot program, since it is already in $23 million in debt. Campos says funds could come from private contributions, MUNI and public agencies like the San Francisco County Transportation Authority or the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. But MUNI officials estimate an additional $6 million to the tab: a possible rise of 10,980 riders in a day, meaning MUNI would have to provide more service, which could lead to more graffiti clean up.

Campos dismisses the money worries and argues that the program should be considered an investment towards a “new generation of transit riders” and for San Francisco families. This initiative is supported by Supervisors David Campos, John Avalos, Malia Cohen, Jane Kim, Eric Mar and Ross Mirkarimi.

On October 18th, The SFMTA Board will meet and discuss the program.

San Francisco Health Care Loophole

2011-09-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

In 2006, former Supervisor Tom Ammiano pushed for a Health Care Security Ordinance that went into effect in San Francisco.

The ordinance included three options to provide San Francisco workers with health care.

The first option was the “Healthy San Francisco” insurance, the second was for employers to purchase health insurance for their employees, and the third required the employer to set up Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA’s) for their employees.

The HRA option allows the employer to charge an extra 4% or more to the price of their menus, and the money made would go into an account the employee would use when they needed health care.

Although the plan sounds fair, employers can restrict how and when the employee can use their funds. For example, employers can deny reimbursement for dental care, vision care or insurance premiums. Additionally, at the end of each year, all the money accumulated in the employee account would be cleared and the employer would pocket the money. This meant that during the height of the flu season (January/February), employees wouldn’t have enough money in their accounts to use when they got sick.

In 2010, 860 companies contributed a total of $62.5 million into the employee accounts, but only $12.4 million (roughly 20%) was actually used by its employees. Supervisor David Campos noticed the loophole and over the summer he pushed for an amendment to close it. His amendment would stop employers from wiping out their employees accounts each year, and instead let the money roll over into the next year. Unfortunately, his amendment lacked support among businesses, the mayor and other supervisors. Business owners claimed that it was a burden to manage the accounts, and the unused accumulated money they pocketed at the end of each year helped their businesses stay afloat.

This past Tuesday, Campos pushed for a revised amendment where employers could close the accounts 18 months after the employee has stopped working for them. So far, Campos is supported by Supervisors Cohen, Mar, Avalos, Kim and Mirkarimi. It is enough support to pass the amendment, but not enough if the Mayor decides to veto it.