Keeping informed

Ellis Act Evictions, the “housing crisis” and displacement of neighbors are the headlines of most newspapers today.
But it is Herb Caen’s voice that is especially missed today. November 11, 1962 Herb Caen posed the question “When can a city be said to be dying?” He then answered this question with the following quote from Howard Moody:
“‘A city is dying when it has an eye for real estate values but no heart for personal values,
When it has an understanding of traffic flow but no concern about the flow of human beings,
When we have competence in building but little time for ethical codes,
When human values are absent at the heart of the decision-making and planning and governing of a city
-it is dead and all that is left is decay.'”(The Best of Herb Caen 1960-1975, p.37)
Although we no longer have Herb to speak for the heart of our city, we can access so much information today via the internet so that our voices can speak from an informed place to defend our neighbors and our city.
A few sources:
San Francisco Board of Supervisors: http://www.sfbos.org
Click on Budget & Legislative Analyst-Reports-2013 -October 30 “Analysis of Tenant Displacement in SF”
San Francisco Government Website: http://www.sfgov.org
See Mayor Lee Announcement “Federal Housing Assistance” and “Housing Initiative”
News Articles for following current proposals: just type in “Evictions, Ellis Act, Housing Crisis”
Other sources: http://www.48Hills.org http://www.beyondchron.org (“beyond the Chronicle” reporting)