Education

Vocational education: a hands-on approach
By Nathanael Johnson on Monday, Feb 8, 2:46pm
Whether it’s higher education, secondary or primary education, we know we need to be training the next generation so young people can help make a better future.  But because of the current economic crisis, there isn’t necessarily the money to make that happen. So lawmakers are trying harder than ever to determine what works best.  And it just might be... work.  KALW’s Nathanael Johnson reports on programs that connect students to practical applications for the job market...
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Education

Budget cuts mean school's out for summer at City College
By Crosscurrents Producer on Monday, Feb 8, 5:00pm
California’s community colleges have had to slash about 8% of their budgets this year because of cuts. Last week, City College of San Francisco announced it was canceling most of its summer school classes for the coming year due to lack of funds. That will save the school up to $4 million -- but it will cost many students the chance to move forward with their career plans. KALW’s Brian Pelletier went to City College and heard from students Isaac Swan, Julia Whittaker, Rebecca Tamouli and...
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Arts and Culture

John Daly's city
By Steven Short on Monday, Feb 8, 3:37pm
Drive toward San Francisco Airport, and you’ll see an off-ramp for John Daly Boulevard, one of the main roads through Daly City. It’s fairly obvious that both the boulevard and the city are named for the man who started this community… but that’s only partly correct, as KALW’s Steven Short tells us in this segment of The Source.  *   *    * STEVEN SHORT: Have you ever seen the movie “San Francisco,” from 1936? You really should. There’s a scene in that movie, right...
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Politics and Watchdog Reporting

City wins suit against defunct landlord

By Hana Baba on Thursday, Feb 4, 3:28pm
In San Francisco, keeping an apartment can be tough, but finding an affordable one in the first place can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. A very expensive haystack. In many cases, even when you find that rental, life can be a nightmare. The tenants of CitiApartments in San Francisco know that all too well. CitiApartments, owned by the Lembi family of San Francisco, started buying up large numbers of buildings around the city in 2003. By 2007, the company owned more than 300...
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Arts and Culture

The whimsical music of metronomes
By Seth Samuel on Thursday, Feb 4, 2:20pm
The metronome is a humble device. Musicians have been using them since Galileo introduced the concept in 17th century England. Beethoven was the first composer to write the precise number of beats per minute for his music into the score, only possible thanks to the handy musician's tool. But metronome as instrument? One 20th-century composer decided to bring the metronome out of the practice room and into the concert hall. KALW's Seth Samuel has more. *     *     * SETH...
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Cops and Courts

Immigration court part 3: proposals to make the system more fair
By Jude Joffe-Block on Wednesday, Feb 3, 3:05pm
Today, we’re bringing you the final installment in our three-part series about immigration court. In the first two reports, we heard about how immigrants’ need for free legal services exceeds what local non profits can provide. And even those who can afford to hire private attorneys sometimes fall prey to scam artists. So should anything be done to improve immigrants’ chances of getting a fair shake in court? That’s the subject of today’s report, from Jude Joffe-Block. *   ...
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Recent Articles

Education

Teachers' Union President Challenges UC Regents "Financial Emergency"
By Ben Trefny on Monday, Feb 8, 5:23pm
One person who’s been thinking deeply about budget cuts to higher education is Bob Samuels.  He’s a writing teacher at UCLA and president of the University Council, a teachers union. It represents more than 4 thousand lecturers and librarians employed by the UC system.  In his work as...
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Arts and Culture

Arts/Culture/Weekend: celebrating independent film and beer
By Martina Castro on Friday, Feb 5, 5:43pm
If you're looking for something to do between sleep and the Super Bowl this Sunday, then there are a number of festivals that are offering up independent films and parties galore to keep you entertained. We gave you a heads up about the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival earlier this week, which is...
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Politics and Watchdog Reporting

Tracks for cheap?
By Nathanael Johnson on Friday, Feb 5, 5:34pm
It was reported in the Merc that the BART extension to San Jose is eligible for federal monies. This is interesting, because the last time BART asked Uncle Sam to help get it to San Jose the answer was: "No way." (I'm paraphrasing.) Now, it's a: "Maybe." So what changed between now and then? The...
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Economy, Labor and Biz

Mayor says law is needed to protect residents living in SF's soft-story buildings
By Nancy Mullane on Friday, Feb 5, 11:17am
On Friday, Feb. 5th, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom told a group of engineers and architects he's going to introduce legislation in the coming months that would require owners of some 4400 soft story buildings in the city to start retrofit them.  Appearing before the Earthquake Engineering...
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Education

San Jose continuation high school ranks 5th best in state
By Hana Baba on Thursday, Feb 4, 2:48pm
This week, 12 out of 525 continuation high schools throughout the state were crowned "2010 Model Continuation High Schools" by State Superindendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell. The Model Continuation High School Recognition Program is a partnership of the California Department of...
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Economy, Labor and Biz

San Francisco renters fall victim to foreclosures
By Monica Jensen on Thursday, Feb 4, 2:27pm
The United States is still working through its credit crisis, but a new study by TransUnion finds that people may just be shifting their debts. Typically, Americans have prioritized making their mortgage payments, often at the expense of falling behind on their credit card payments. But TransUnion’...
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Arts and Culture

La Plebe
By Crosscurrents Producer on Thursday, Feb 4, 1:03pm
Spanish punk band La Plebe will be playing a benefit show this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Slim's. Proceeds from the concert will support the relief effort in Haiti.
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