MESSAGE FROM
CATHERINE
Dear John,
As San Francisco continues to reopen, it
is crucial that we prioritize public safety, good governance, and
small business recovery. Vibrant streets make for safer streets - and
that is why supporting our merchant community, ensuring our police
force has the means to support our neighborhoods, and being good
stewards of taxpayer dollars is so essential.
This month, I have fought to
preserve police academy classes in the City budget, passed
anti-corruption legislation, continued to tackle gun violence by
passing California's first ghost gun ban at committee, and worked with
our District 2 merchants on legislation to bolster their recovery. You
can learn more about my work below.
Please reach out to me at [email protected] or 415-554-7752 with any questions about
what I'm working on or how I can help you.
Warm Regards,
Catherine
COVID-19
RESOURCES AND UPDATES
Delta Variant & Getting
Vaccinated
The Delta variant of COVID-19 is now the
dominant strain in the United States and California. This variant is
40%-70% more infectious, and spreads more easily than the original
virus. Over the last few weeks, all Bay Area counties have seen at
least a doubling of new COVID-19 cases.
However, our health
officials are emphasizing that vaccines continue to be highly
effective at preventing severe illness and death. The San Francisco Department of Public
Health shared that nearly 100% of our cases of COVID-19
hospitalizations were unvaccinated patients. Vaccinations are 88% effective at preventing
transmissions and 95% effective are preventing
hospitalizations.
If you or your family
members haven't gotten vaccinated yet, now is the time. Visit the
City’s website for the
latest information on where and how to get your vaccine. If you're
having trouble accessing a vaccine in San Francisco, call 628-652-2700
for assistance from the City’s Vaccine Call
Center.
Rent Help
Eligible renters can
apply to San Francisco’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program to
receive up to six months of rental assistance, including back and
future rent. For more information on the program and additional
community resources, click here and here.
Support for Businesses and
Workers
Earlier this month, Mayor
London Breed announced the launch of the SF Small Business Recovery
Loan Fund, which provides zero interest rate loans for both existing
and new SF Small Businesses. You can apply online at www.CALoanFund.org.
POLICY AND
LEGISLATION
Public Safety
Pretrial Diversion Project
For nearly two years,
I’ve had concerns about how the Pretrial Diversion Project calculates
and reports its safety and appearance rates, and whether or not those
metrics adhere to national standards. This non-profit is tasked with
supervising individuals who are arrested for a crime and are awaiting
trial out of custody. As part of their contract, they are required to
report on how many of their clients fail to appear for their court
dates or reoffend. The Pretrial Diversion project routinely reported
their clients were reoffending only 5-10% of the
time.
I have consistently
challenged their reporting in private meetings, at public hearings,
and in a
formal letter of inquiry because it just didn’t add up with
what was happening on our streets. This month an independent report
was released and showed that 55% of those who were arrested and
released in San Francisco reoffended before trial, and 74% of the most
violent offenders committed new crimes before trial.
I have voted no on the extension of this
contract twice - the most recent extension was for three years at a
cost of $18 million. In light of the recent report validating my
concerns, I introduced legislation to reform our pretrial process and
adopt the report’s recommendations, which will require more accurate
reporting and methods to reduce bias. My legislation will also require
reporting every time a judge releases someone against the
recommendation of our public safety partners. You can read more here
and here or watch on ABC7
or Kron4.
Increase of Certain Crimes
San Franciscans are rightly
concerned about burglary, violent crime, and the rampant public drug
use they see on our streets. Anyone claiming that the crime rate is down invalidates the
experience of the thousands of San Franciscans who have had their
homes burglarized and cars stolen, or witnessed the state of our
streets. We need to deal with the reality of our situation so we can
solve it.
Locally, shootings
spiked by more than 60% in 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, they increased by more than
300%. San
Francisco’s drug overdose crisis is similarly out of control. Each
day, two people die from an overdose on our streets. Our stores are
also facing rampant shoplifting, and even deciding to reduce their
hours in
response.
That is why I
fought for meaningful
investment in our police department in the City's budget - especially
as funding for police academy classes, equipment, and new investments
in criminal justice reform initiatives were on the line. I
also introduced legislation that bans untraceable
ghost guns, demanded accountability from public
safety agencies, and
will continue to work with our police captains to increase foot beat
patrols in our neighborhoods and merchant
corridors.
Anti-Corruption
No Graft Act
Earlier this month a former DPW bureau manager was arrested
and charged for hiding a quarter-million dollars in income from his
wife’s company that had a secret no-bid agreement with DPW. These
kinds of no-bid contracts are now illegal as a result of
The No Graft Act that I authored and passed
in 2020. This
legislation closed the loopholes used to direct contracts to
recipients without open competition.
Rules For Awarding Grants
On July 20th,
my ordinance to reform the City’s process
for awarding grants passed with unanimous support from the full Board of
Supervisors. I drafted this ordinance in response to the City
Auditor’s "Public Integrity Review" of contracting at Public Works,
which found major flaws in the way the city conducts grantmaking. The
report also revealed that the issues weren't just with Public Works.
From 2017-2020 City Departments issued 5,746 grants, totaling $5.4
billion. Nearly $2 billion per year was awarded in grants without any
minimum requirements for competition, open solicitation, transparency,
fairness, or documentation.
The ongoing local and federal
investigations have made clear that we need more accountability from
City departments. This ordinance is a critical step forward to
safeguard taxpayer dollars by setting enforceable standards for
competitive solicitation, fairness in award selection, documentation,
and transparency. You can read
more about my legislation here and here.
Addiction Treatment
This month I went to the
Outpatient Opioid Treatment Clinic run by UCSF at SF Zuckerberg
General Hospital to get a better understanding of how they are helping
those who suffer from the disease of addiction. It is beyond alarming
that three times as many people died of a drug overdose rather than
COVID-19 during the pandemic. UCSF and the city are partnering to
pioneer groundbreaking treatment options and helping hundreds of
patients every year address their addictions, but more remains to be
done. The crisis on our streets is out of control and the status quo
is not working.
This summer I’m conducting site visits at all of our
city’s substance abuse treatment facilities. My next visit will be at
a 108-bed detox and residential treatment program site in the Haight.
In addition to providing treatment options for addiction, the City
must also do everything in its power to eliminate the open drug market
on our streets.
Shared Spaces
During the pandemic, restaurants and retailers
lost 90% of their revenue and we saw over half of our small businesses
close. This will take years to recover from, and it's why we must
continue to rally around our small business community. One big step
towards supporting their recovery was the passing of the long-debated
Shared Spaces program. This program allows our local businesses to use
outdoor spaces effectively to safely serve customers. Shared Spaces
are also necessary to preserve the vibrancy of our merchant corridors
and keep our neighborhoods active. You can learn more here
about what this means for your community
and business. Please also let our office know if there is an issue at
a particular location and we will look into it.
Saving The Clay Theatre
I introduced legislation to initiate a Landmark
Designation for Clay
Theatre that passed
unanimously on its first reading at the full Board
of Supervisors. This 380-seat theatre is
one of the oldest single screen movie houses in San Francisco. In 1972
the Clay made history and hosted the first midnight movie screening in
San Francisco with the premier of John Waters’ “Pink Flamingos.” This
single screen theatre is a unique cultural institution in our city,
and I'm so glad we can take this step to ensure it will be around for
generations to come.
Keeping District 2 Green
District 2 has some of
the city's best parks and green spaces, and protecting our trees is
critical to the beauty and health of our community. Thanks to a push
from an active community member, we designated the Canary Island Pine tree located on Filbert Street as a
landmark tree. This tree is 90 to 100 years old and will continue to
shade our residents for another century.
Pedestrian Safety
As people return to the bustling streets, we need to
recommit to pedestrian safety and improve trust.
Traffic Improvements to the Marina
1 California Temporary Emergency Transit
Lane is now fully implemented and these lanes are approved on
portions of Clay, Sacramento, and California street. In Chinatown and
Nob Hill, transit lanes are extended where SFMTA data showed they were
needed most. In addition to these new lanes, the SFMTA is resuming
tow-away enforcement along the transit lanes of this corridor. You can
sign up for project updates here.
Return of the 28
On August 22, the SFMTA will launch
widespread service changes to routes that were shortened or reduced
since the start of the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order. Specifically,
the 28 19th Bus route will have the following
modifications:
- Weekend service
added for modified route between Daly City BART and California and 7th
Avenue
- Access to transfer
points to UCSF, Kaiser and the California Pacific Medical
Center
- Daily frequency:
Every 10 to 14 minutes
For more information on
SFMTA service updates please see here or email [email protected] with any
questions.
IN THE
COMMUNITY
Merchant Walk
I had the pleasure of
going on a merchant walk down the Sacramento Street corridor this month. It was great to be
out and enjoying the now bustling cafes, boutiques, and galleries that
make this area so special. I spoke with many merchants and the same
sentiment came up in each conversation - our merchants are regularly
dealing with brazen crime. I won’t accept this as “normal” and will
continue to fight for public safety.
Holding Those Who Perpetuate Hate
Accountable
Last year, one of James Juanillo’s neighbors called 911 on
him for writing in chalk “Black Lives Matter” on the front of his
house. One year later, we gathered again, this time as a community, to
chalk messages of hope and unity for San Francisco. I was honored to
present James with a Certificate of Honor for his work in holding
those who perpetuate hate in our city accountable.
National Gun Violence Awareness
Day
June 4th was
National Gun Violence Day. It is also now National Gun Violence
Awareness Day in San Francisco, as my legislation was unanimously
passed in May. I wore orange to honor the lives of those taken by gun
violence and to show solidarity with survivors. Thank you to all of
those gun sense champions who wore their orange with me - we are
determined, and we will keep fighting for a future free from gun
violence!
Land Acknowledgment Ceremony at the
Exploratorium
Earlier this month I
joined Gregg Castro with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone and
Executive Director, Sharaya Souza, of the American Indian Cultural
District for a Land Acknowledgment Ceremony at the Exploratorium. A
Land Acknowledgment is a powerful tool that helps us begin to reckon
with the truths of our past. Thank you to the American Indian Cultural
District for your incredible advocacy. Be sure to save the date for their one year anniversary and cultural
hub grand opening on September 25th, located in Fort
Mason.
South Van Ness Improvement
Project
The South Van Ness Avenue
at Mission Street intersection will be closed to all traffic
Wednesday, August 4, 6:00 a.m., through Monday, August 9, 6:00 a.m. as
the roadway is replaced as part of the Van Ness Improvement
Project.
Juneteenth Celebration
On June 18th, we recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday
for the first time. There were several celebrations such as the
‘Monumental Reckoning’ located in Golden Gate Park. This piece was
created by the Oakland artist Dana King, and you can learn more about
it here.
Cleaning & Green Day
The Friends of Alta Plaza
Park hosted a Clean & Green Day in June. They play an incredible
role in maintaining the park and ensuring that residents
throughout the city can continue to enjoy and explore the beauty of
Alta Plaza Park. If you would like to learn how to get involved with
their amazing work, see here.
Join Us Tomorrow For "Bring Back
Fillmore - Saturday Clean Up"
Bring you friends and family to this street
clean-up event tomorrow, July 31, and enter into a raffle for $100
shop card. Those that volunteer get a $15 shop card also. Snacks will
be provided by local Fillmore business. Learn more and register
here.
Office of
Supervisor Catherine Stefani
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett
Place, Room 273, San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415)
554-7752 Fax: (415) 554-7843
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