Economic Edge Goes LIVE on kalwnews.org!

We have finally launched our brand new website!  A venture we have been working on and designing for many months.  Take a look and give us your feedback -- our goal is to make this a place for the best local news, as well as a place to engage and come up with solutions to the issues we cover.

From now on, you can find the Economic Edge Blog posts here, and we hope you will keep following us and contributing to our project!

Art in Storefronts

Last Friday, I attended the launch of a new effort to revitalize commercial corridors in San Francisco.  It's called "Arts in Storefronts", and it's the topic of my next piece.  The SF Arts Commission joined up with the Mayor's office, and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to commission art installations to fill empty storefronts in the Central Market, Bayview, Tenderloin and Market neighborhoods.  The idea is to join the artists, property owners, and merchants with the goal of avoiding blight and bringing foot traffic to these areas that sorely need it, especially after the recent economic downturn.


I was impressed with the turnout at the launch.  At 5pm, the corner of Sixth and Market was transformed, a live latin band started to play, people in cocktail dresses and neat suits started dancing in the street, people passing by lingered to hear the music and look at the art...for a few hours, it seemed to overshadow the usual rushed and abandoned feeling of the place.

But even as speakers took to a mic set up right there in the middle of the sidewalk, several homeless men got uncomfortably close to disrupting the flow of the evening, a vendor even pushed her cart right through the middle of the crowd as one of the key speakers addressed the crowd.  I couldn't help but think that these two worlds were going to have some trouble coming together, and just maybe, that they might carry different hopes for this neighborhood.

For more info on the Arts in Storefronts project, click here, and to listen to my report, tune in to Crosscurrents at 5pm on Nov. 2nd.

1 in 10 in SF Unemployed

Well, I guess this explains the crazy amount of people I see at cafes throughout the day, or lounging about in Dolores Park in the middle of the afternoon.

Seriously though, it is difficult to believe that the unemployment rate in San Francisco can be over 10%.  The Chronicle reports today that this is the highest percentage on record. Even harder to believe are the majority of economists who say "the recession is over."

Do you know anyone who is unemployed in the Bay Area? Are they young? College-educated?  Or coming out of retirement, a parent, or a grandparent?  We want to hear your stories about employment.  Write to us at news@kalw.org, or give us a call at 415-264-7106.

More Signs of the Recession

(I took this photo of a billboard off of Cesar Chavez, one of the many "signs" of the recession that I keep coming across in my daily life)

So it seems that the recession is showing its face in our lives in more ways than we might have imagined.  This SF Examiner article features census data that says the recession is leading to delayed marriage, longer commutes, and fewer immigrant laborers...just a few of the many social impacts of the economic downturn.

How are YOU seeing the recession appear in your life in unusual ways?  Can you represent it in a photo? Yes? Great! Email it to us, and we will feature it on this blog.  Just send it to Econ Edge Project, with your permission to publish it.

Featuring Oakland's Street Economy

For the past couple of weeks, Crosscurrents has been rolling out a special six-part series about the roots and solutions to violence in Oakland.  It is called the Oakland Fault Lines Project, and features a diverse array of perspectives from community leaders, drug dealers, activists, and young people, among others.

Today's installment happens to be related to the economic edge.  Reporter Sarah Gonzalez explores how disappearing formal economy jobs are replaced by the hustle of the street economy.  The conditions of this economy are harsh, competitive, and can quickly lead to crime and violence.  But in Oakland, where the unemployment rate is almost 16%, for many it is the best option.  Click here to listen.


(Photo taken by Reporter Sarah Gonzalez at Youth Alive in Oakland)

It's Everywhere

Doesn't it feel like sometimes the ECONOMY and signs of the recession are all around you?

I know that I am just a little more sensitive to it, given my profession, but these days it seems like I'm hearing more stories of muggings and robberies, lay offs, and life changes, and then there are little reminders like this van I photographed above, or billboards that use economic catchphrases to market things like pantyhose.

If you come across a "sign of the recession," whatever that may mean to you, take a picture and send it to us, or give us a call at (415) 264-7106 to tell us about it.  You can also write us a description and send it to news@kalw.org, with "Economic Edge" in the subject line.

"The Great Recession"

It seems that our Labor Day holiday yesterday was a chance for many of us to think of jobs, and how desperately we need some.  The California Budget Project released a new report yesterday that calls our current downturn "The Great Recession," finding that it stands apart from other downturns because of the breadth of its reach, especially when it comes to job loss.

If you look at today's headlines, you'd see that the media is reflecting exactly what the CPB has found.  All the stories are equally interesting, and one could say, equally depressing.  But better share in the despair, than suffer alone, right?  So I've included a list of the local economic stories that caught our eye today, mostly job-related.  Read on, but keep the tissue box handy.

LOCAL ECONOMIC HEADLINES:

1.3 million will lose unemployment benefits by the end of this year

California employment down to 2000 levels

Unemployment department still difficult to reach - Phone number takes an average of 17 tries, and 2/3 of calls are rejected

Budget cuts mean shelters can euthanize animals sooner - "The notion that your beloved pet could escape the yard and be put to death before you even have time to post flyers is a real possibility."

State government workers find themselves going to food banks

SF school volunteers program may be cut - Budget cutbacks for next year may be even harsher than this year

Frugality is the new normal, even after recession ends

Backlash against banks growing as modifications are rejected

Free Friday Fun

Lots of Free Friday Fun ideas for this Labor Day weekend...

SF Sunday Streets are back, this time on the Great Highway.  From 10am to 2pm on Sunday, you can walk, bike, run, and dance along Ocean Beach.  Don't  have a bike? Bay City Bikes offers free bike rentals!

And if you happen to have a Bank of America ATM card, it will grant you FREE access to several local museums this weekend, and every other first weekend of the month until January 2010.  For a list of where you can go, click here.

And in honor of many people's Labor Day Staycations, Yelp! offers these reviews of local hangouts that will at least feel like a getaway:

In need of a rush? Look no further than the Seward Street Slides. Tucked away amongst the hills of Noe Valley, Kirk A gushes, "It's quite possibly the city's best use of concrete in a public area." He warns, "You can get some real speed and airtime on these puppies, so use a bit of caution when you go." Thanks, Dad! For both dog owners and non-dog owners alike, you can't beat an afternoon at Fort Funston. Cyn W explains, "Sure, it's doggy heaven... but it's a heavenly place for humans as well! Be ready for a good climb, as the trails offer gorgeous scenery replete with the Pacific Ocean, Lake Merced, rugged sea cliffs, and cute pups galore." 

Whatever it Takes to Reduce Traffic

I am glad someone (a.k.a. The Reason Foundation) found the money to fund this study, which finds traffic congestion is costing bay area businesses and local governments billions of dolllars in lost productivity and potential economic activity.

The SF Examiner article puts it like this:

If around $29 billion (in 2005 dollars) were spent adding lane capacity in the next 20 years, the resulting drop in traffic congestion could bring Bay Area businesses annual productivity gains of around $10 billion, according to the study. The improvements could also bring local governments an extra $750 million in tax revenue from the increased economic activity. 

For me, some questions still remain: will the Bay Bridge closure during Labor Day weekend, increase or decrease traffic?

Will it cost us, or make us money in the long run?  

...and most importantly, will the mass exodus to Burning Man offset any losses?  

I guess only time will tell...maybe The Reason Foundation can fund a study about that next!

You Don't Have to be Uninsured to have Medical Debt

Last week, we aired a first installment of a series that takes a closer look at the Human Services Agency of San Francisco, the people they serve, the ones they don't, and how that latter group is sure to get bigger after the agency suffered budget cuts in the tens of millions of dollars this past year. What is clear from the conversation I had with Trent Rhorer, Executive Director of the HSA, is that there are some people who are left behind by welfare services, simply because they make just a little too much to qualify....Or they have a car...Or savings...or unemployment benefits...the list of disqualifications is a long one.

And today there was a headline in our digest that proved there are people on the margin of the health care debate that are suffering greatly as well - the insured poor. The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research released a report today that found 2/3rds of the 2.2 million Californians who say they are in medical debt, actually had health insurance when they incurred that debt.

If you are one of the people on the margin, barely making it, give us a call at 415 264 7106, and share your story with us. Or write to us at news@kalw.org.

First Day of School

The San Francisco School District kicks off classes today, and so will other schools and universities across the bay later this week. Students, parents, and teachers alike are heading into this school year with tight budgets.

This Facebook group was recently launched to connect Oakland teachers with people who could contribute to their classes needs, such as pencils and magazine subscriptions. (As of now, there is still an unmet request for glue sticks and spiral notebooks!)

Tomorrow we will air an interview conducted by one of our street team members with a student at UC Berkeley, who is considering dropping out of school due to rising tuition costs. This Oakland Tribune article discusses ways that families can better prepare for rising college tuition. One piece of advice? Start early. Applying for government-based grants can start during the early high school years. But the cheapest option is still the California community college system:

Even with this year's $6-per-unit fee increase, community colleges can make the first two years of college significantly more affordable, and they can also improve an academically weak student's chances of graduating from a high-quality university.

Good Job News for California, not for Nation

So it seems that nationally, first time unemployment claims are up...again. Two weeks in a row, in fact. Bad news for the U.S.

But California has the largest drop of unemployment claims in the whole country, down about 5,000 claims. Good news for us!

If you want a better breakdown of the recession by state and county, take a look at the Oakland Tribune's Special Report page called "Faces of the Recession." There you will find a map tracking where the recession has hit the hardest, a database of announced layoffs, and another database of foreclosures. Useful stuff.

Finally, an Optimist

Okay, so enough of the doom and gloom...where is the GOOD news?

Recently I discovered The Stimulist, a news blog that claims to have a daily dose of optimistic news for us - sign me up!

The posting that caught my eye was this list of advice for the recently laid off.

Have a good news economic story to share with us? PLEASE, call it in to our tip line, 415-264-7106, or email us at news@kalw.org with "Economic Edge" in the subject line.

EE INTERVIEW: Mills College Professor Daphne Muse

For our Economic Edge Project, we are asking prominent members of our bay area to tell us what the recession looks like through their eyes.

Today we aired an excerpt from a conversation with civil rights activist, educator, and writer, Daphne Muse. She will be losing her job as professor at Mills College at the end of this month due to the recession, but she says she is still hopeful, and grateful to be an elder in these hard times, to know that the good times always return. Take a listen.

(photo taken by Brant Ward at the SF Chronicle, for an article published on February 1, 2007)

Recession Roommates

Multiple roommates and co-habitation is nothing new to San Franciscans - it is not that uncommon to find four or five people living in one flat, sharing one bathroom, and often without a living room or common space.

But the Chronicle says now more people than ever are turning to extra roommates as a way to make ends meet. Just to give you an idea of how many people, Craigslist is saying their "roommates wanted" ads are up 85% in S.F. from last year!

I blogged in June about how S.F. is behind in creating affordable-housing units, so we can expect this to continue for quite some time.

For those of you who might join the fray of multiple roommates, (I count msyethe SF Chron included some tips from the people who know a thing or two about home sharing:

-- Take time in selecting; meet more than once.

-- Check references.

-- Get a deposit.

-- Write up a "living together" agreement.

-- Discuss how you'll solve disputes.

-- Address problems while they're still small.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/17/MNOR196OF1.DTL#ixzz0OTmQzIK8

(photo obtained from photo blog, TheLensCap.wordpress.com)

Unemployed? They Need Skilled Employees in Alaska

Today, we will be airing on Crosscurrents a couple of stories from the "funemploymed", to prove there might be a silver lining to the staggering 11.6% unemployment rate in California.

If you are among the laid off and think it's about time to start over somewhere new, Business Week lists 20 of the top places to start over a life or career in the country, based on potential hiring and on quality of life.

Among the top? Anchorage, Alaska. And I love how the Professor of Economics quoted in the story says: "it's possible that out-of-work Californians who have come to Alaska looking for opportunities might be responsible for pushing up the unemployment rate a bit." We really do get blamed for everything, don't we?

Staggering Health Effects of the Recession

Tomorrow, we will highlight on Crosscurrents some people who have found the silver lining in their unemployment. They are sometimes termed the "funemployed," and include both people who have decided to take time off from regular work, and those who have found new career paths thanks to being laid off.

But with California's unemployment rate at 11.6%, almost 2% points higher than the national average, it is clear that there are many people facing desperate times.

(You can track the unemployment numbers by state and compare to the national average on this handy google chart of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

A few days ago, the American Psychological Association reported a 25% increase in the amount of calls to their suicide prevention hotline, and attribute the spike to economic distress. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says it will provide more than $1 million in additional money to suicide crisis centers to compensate for the increase demand of their services.

What have you heard or experienced when it comes to the health effects of the recession? Share your story or thoughts with us, at 415-264-7106, or by email at news@kalw.org.

Employment Development Department Has Their Own Problems

The EDD is meant to provide employment assistance to people in need, but it looks like they could use some assistance themselves right now.

Today, EDD employees picketed in front of the state capitol to protest the mandatory furloughs imposed on them by the governor. The furloughs reduce employee salaries by almost 14%, but none of those savings are passed on to the state because EDD is a federally-funded agency.

It is hard to believe that the agencies meant to help those in need are now in such dire need of help themselves to stay staffed and running. How are state furloughs affecting you and your community? Write to us at news@kalw.org, or leave us a message at 415-264-7106.

The Joy of Less

When I talk to people about how the recession has changed their lives, I am surprised by how many people end up having positive things to say.

Today we aired a positive profile of a cafe in Oakland reported by one of our Street Team members, Robert Vergas. The message from the cafe owner and customers is one of appreciation for what they have, rather than focusing on what they lack, and on making do with less.

It reminds me of an article I came across that was titled exactly that, "The Joy of Less," about a man who lived extravagantly in New York, but always dreamt of living a stoic life in Japan. One day he went for it, and he never looked back.

It is comforting to see that hard times can inspire people to leap for their dreams, or can push people to discover reserves of positive thinking and creative problem-solving to live their best life, today, regardless of the circumstances that might otherwise stand in their way.

Future of News: Nichepapers

Umair Haique's latest blog on the Harvard Business Publishing website (coincidentally called "Edge Economy") contains some pretty savvy economic advice for people in the business of selling newspapers: stop, and start over.

Many organizations are struggling to find new distribution strategies, ways to get people to pay for the same old product. Haique says this is the era of what he calls "nichepapers", that are making a product with their audience in mind. Here is an excerpt where he explains:

To reinvent the buying and selling of news, it's necessary first to reconceive the making of news. The AP's latest attempt at business model innovation, for example, is a heavyweight "rights management" system for the same old stuff. But protecting yesterday's "product" is exactly what prevented the music industry and Hollywood from rediscovering the art of value creation.

Nichepapers are, above all, "M" organizations. Today's radical innovators are confronting the truth that, because it failed the fundamental test of being meaningful, yesterday's news is, well, yesterday's news.

Nichepapers, in contrast, do meaningful stuff that matters the most. The great failing of 20th century news is that monopoly power became a substitute for meaningful value creation. At root, that's the lesson that newspapers are learning the hard way.

Dealing with Furloughs

Who doesn't love a three-day weekend, especially when you get a paid holiday to scamper off for a short vacation getaway?

Well, now many state employees are facing a YEAR'S WORTH of three-day weekends: without pay, ifs, ands or buts.

It's the famed furlough, now imposed on state agencies for three Fridays a month for the next 11 months as a part of the Governor's plan to close the state's multibillion dollar budget deficit. You can read more about how this significant pay cut is affecting state employees in today's SF Chronicle.

Furloughed state agencies include the DMV, so budget even more time than you normally would on your next visit. But for now, you can count on these agencies to remain OPEN on Fridays :

-- State hospitals

-- State prisons

-- State parks

-- Parole offices

-- California Highway Patrol

-- California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection stations

-- Constitutional offices (e.g. the governor's office)

-- Franchise Tax Board

Hip Local Fundraiser with a Global Cause: Women!

Normally for our Friday posts we feature free events happening in the Bay Area. However, we are making an exception for the WorldofGood fundraiser ($5) this Saturday and Sunday in their Emeryville warehouse. WorldofGood is a non-profit organization with the mission to improve the lives of women from around the world. Half the proceeds will go towards WorldofGood. Find everything from fair trade accessories, jewelry, fabrics, and more from our beautiful world neighbors. Hope to see you there!

Citizen Journalists at Work on the Economic Edge

Our Economic Edge Project is KALW's first venture into the world of user-generated content, where we ask our community to help us report on the massive impact of this recession. We have already gotten an amazing response from our listeners and our Economic Edge Street Team, and you can hear some of their contributions here and here.

As we struggle to keep our industry alive and relevant, most media organizations are coming to see the amazing potential of citizen journalists.

One such organization is Pro Publica, a non-profit newsroom that "produces investigative journalism in the public interest. " Pro Publica has recently asked citizen journalists to help them guage the impact of the stimulus package, an opportunity you can take advantage of from your own home. They are calling it "Stimulus Spot Check" and you can get more information on it here.

Never before has the potential impact of citizen contributors been so great. If you are interested in contributing to Pro Publica's "Stimulus Spot Check" project, you can click here or email us at news@kalw.org to join our Street Team, we are currently recruiting new members!

Next Door Millionaire?

According to a World Health Report report by Merill Lynch and Claritas, the bad economy has brought more.. millionaires to the Bay Area. Strange right? Over the Bay Areas nine-county region, the study showed that 2007's (toy dog/golf/organic food) population of  approximately 123,621 millionaires grew 10.2 percent in 2008. So what does that mean? Hopefully there's some generous tycoon out there who would love to support KALW Public Radio! No hint...

A Venture Lost

Nummi (New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated), Toyota and GM's joint venture auto-plant located in Fremont, is losing it's yang. After failing to produce a future product plan for the factory, GM has announced it is leaving the plant due to a series of turbulent transitions the company has endured in the past year. What does it mean? Thousands of Bay Area workers will be losing their jobs. Coming soon to our Economic Edge segment, we will be providing resources and information for those who have recently become unemployed. In these trying times, consider pragmatic optimistism.   

Microfinance Ain't Just for the Developing World

Today, Crosscurrents is airing an interview between host Holly Kernan and Eric Weaver, the CEO of Opportunity Fund, a microlending institution here in the Bay Area.

We speak with him about how Opportunity Fund joined forces with fellow microlending institution Kiva to launch an online microlending effort in the United States. As of June 10th, small investors from all around the world can choose to fund the recovery of the bay area economy. This is also a way to make a small investment in your neighborhood and local businesses go a long way.

Here you can read a recent column he wrote for the SF Chronicle on this topic, and you can go here to listen to our interview.

Coca Cola Microfinance 101

All colleges and universities are getting creative these days about how to stay running, but this Chronicle story about SF's City College concerned some of us about the extent educators are willing to go.

The idea: get financial sponsors to "save" classes that will otherwise be canceled.

Here's an excerpt from today's Chronicle piece:

About 800 classes will be canceled at City College during the next school year thanks to the state's budget crisis. State lawmakers plan to slash at least 9 percent - a total of $630 million - from the entire California community college system this year and next.

Hundreds of thousands of students could be locked out of college as a result, including some of the neediest Californians who depend on state subsidies for books, travel and food that make attending school possible for them. In addition to the lost courses, such subsidies will be cut way back.

So for $6,000 you could save a class, and get the class named after you in return.

I suppose the Chancellor is hoping to attract individual donors, but what if businesses want to get into the mix? How would it look to have "McDonalds Investment Strategy 200" or "Pottery Barn Intro to Art" on your transcript? Let's hope the economy bounces back before that becomes an issue.

Budget Cuts = Picket Signs

If you happen to stop by a chevron station to fill up your vehicle, be prepared to see angry California Labor Federation members, who have chosen 8 stations for their a series of ongoing demonstrations . They are protesting recent tax cuts that Chevron and other “big business” entities have received from state budgeting, which they estimate at nearly 2.5 billion. Democratic Senators Darrell Steinberg and Alex Padilla have proposed a recent bill that would induce a $1.50 tax on cigarette packets, in order to redirect money back into the states general budget and health protection fund.

How do you think the city can balance taxes with balancing the budget? Where do you think the city could save some money? Write to us at news@kalw.org and we will post your answers.

Criticizing The Media's Focus on Nouveau Poor

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of "Nickel and Dimed", and she wrote an op-ed this week for the New York Times that caught our eye here at the Economic Edge. It is titled "Too Poor to Make the News". In it, she criticizes the media for being consumed with stories about "the nouveau poor," without taking stock of how the already poor are being hit by this recession.

I reccommend reading the entire column, whether you're a member of the media or simply a consumer of it, because we can all take stock of what we render invisible or visible with our attention, air time, and/or dollars. I've pasted a the beginning section of the column below to give you a sense of where she is coming from:

THE human side of the recession, in the new media genre that’s been called “recession porn,” is the story of an incremental descent from excess to frugality, from ease to austerity. The super-rich give up their personal jets; the upper middle class cut back on private Pilates classes; the merely middle class forgo vacations and evenings at Applebee’s. In some accounts, the recession is even described as the “great leveler,” smudging the dizzying levels of inequality that characterized the last couple of decades and squeezing everyone into a single great class, the Nouveau Poor, in which we will all drive tiny fuel-efficient cars and grow tomatoes on our porches.

But the outlook is not so cozy when we look at the effects of the recession on a group generally omitted from all the vivid narratives of downward mobility — the already poor, the estimated 20 percent to 30 percent of the population who struggle to get by in the best of times. This demographic, the working poor, have already been living in an economic depression of their own. From their point of view “the economy,” as a shared condition, is a fiction.
-- Barbara Ehrenreich

Creative Ways to Make SF Living Affordable

So there may be hope for all of us out there praying for affordable housing in San Francisco. Today's Examiner reports that it's time for The City to update its "housing element", which is a report on how to meet anticipated demand for affordable housing. The recession has hastened the city's need to reassess their tactics for fostering affordable ways to live here, and so they are turning to some creative solutions, such as:

"Supporting situations where tenants share one kitchen, landlords offering renters free monthly Muni passes and employers advocating or even putting money up for housing projects are among the fresh strategies being considered."

I already share a kitchen, but I'd be down for a free MUNI pass any time! If you want to chime in on the report, the Planning Commission is holding a hearing on Thursday.

(Photo: View from Alamo Square, taken by Martina Castro)

Free Fun Friday: The North Beach Festival

Hey there people! Economy got you down? Well you deserve better, hell, we all do! And no matter what the state of the economy is, free is always good! So for this Friday's heads up on Free Fun, I'm highlighting the 54th annual North Beach Festival, from 10am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday, completely free. There will be crafts exhibitions, live music, and even a celebrity pizza toss...enjoy!

Budget Deficit? Think Environment.

Hi, I'm Daniella Pineda, Economic Edge Fellow for the summer and guest blogger. You'll notice from my weekly posts that I'm into the environment and animals. Cuddly ones. I graduated this spring from Mills College in Sociology and Radio Journalism, so you'll also hear me on KALW. 

For new graduates like myself who often perceive the current economy as a 90’s decade cemetery, green jobs might be the way to go, especially when it comes to looking for work in a state with a massive budget deficit. 

A recent study by UC Berkeley and Mills College professor David Roland-Holst says clean energy could significantly reduce California’s budget deficit, and create 500,000 jobs in the process.

One of those jobs could be at “Build it Green,” which trains and certifies people to become “green home” inspectors. That is, you visit homes and asses how green friendly they are, and what homeowners can do to make them more so. According to many, the pay is not too bad. The more green a home is, the more the property value goes up. So It’s true, Green is money.

"Free Weekend Fun" - Key word: FREE

So in the spirit of life on the Economic Edge, Fridays will be the day to come to the blog for a last minute tip to FREE events in the city/bay area for the upcoming weekend.

Today, I am highlighting an all day party in Golden Gate Park this Sunday hosted by Tableworks. See description and website info below:

Golden Gate Sound is playing it forward with a FREE daytime event for the whole family in Golden Gate Park. Now in its second year, this is a memorial get together remembering Tableworks SF founder Jamie James Owens. Held in beautiful Peacock Meadow, djs M3, Harry Who?, Michael Liu, Dr.Mindbender, Device, Jay Vibes, & Kelee Silva will be keeping the beats alive from noon to 6 pm... Bring bbq, the dog or the kids... relax with friends and please help us leave no trace. Porta-potties will be provided so you can hang all day. Location: Peacock Meadow in Golden Gate Park- along JFK Drive, near the Fell Street entrance, an easy walk from the top of Haight Street - between the Conservatory of Flowers & McLaren Lodge. Map & Directions at goldengatesound.com

Official Site: http://www.goldengatesound.com

Keeping Track of All the Layoffs

Yesterday, the OC Register reported that more than a quarter of the state’s unemployed have been so for at least 6 months, and these numbers are only growing.

For those of you interested in the dirty details, the Sacramento Bee has launched an interactive database where you can figure out what specific companies are issuing layoffs, how many, and where.

Just to give you an idea, the latest layoffs listed in our area include Wells Fargo in San Leandro (148), Durham School Services at Oakland Airport (137), and In-Home Supportive Services in San Francisco (120).

"Why We Must Fund Music" - A Principal's Plea

(Ana Nitmar, rehearsing for the San Francisco International Arts Festival, taken by Martina Castro)

Last week, Crosscurrents aired the latest installment of the Economic Edge series, which looked into how the arts community in the bay area is dealing with the recession.

Bottom line, the arts funding streams have gone down by a third, and many organizations are looking to collaborate to stay alive.

Coincidentally, last week I also heard of a local high school principal who, sensing the danger that the arts are in right now, is taking a stand. I have read letters from principals before, but never like this. So I decided to share it in its entirety with you.

Below the letter that Principal Ted Barone of Albany High sent out to his school:

From the Principal's Desk, May 20, 2009: Why We Must Fund Music
(photo of Ted Barone, from Albany High Cougar Online Newspaper)

Challenging decisions must be made in these economic times. There is too little money and too many priorities. One choice is whether to fund music programming or refocus our funding priorities to the “core academics” (which happen to be those subjects tested in the statewide testing system).

I propose that we really don’t have a choice. We must fund music.

There are two major groups of reasons why music has to be considered a core subject. One is about culture, tradition, and humanity. The other is about neurological development, learning, and necessary 21st century skill-sets.

From the rhythm of our breathing as infants and the comforting lullabies that helped us sleep, to the cacophony of song and sound that envelopes our modern every day lives, music is an essential factor in what defines us as a humanity. Music is a messenger that carries the history and collective experience of a people across time and space. Whether it’s the double reed tones of the Zummarra, an oboe like instrument, evoking the pulsating images and pungent smells of the caravans crossing the North African desert, or the flamenco with its passionate roots in Indian, Arabic and gypsy traditions, music reminds us of who we are. It is beautiful, inspiring, community building, and deeply satisfying.

Music also helps develop our brains in a way that will increase our ability to address and solve the extraordinary challenges that lie ahead of us as a people. I have long had a fascination with the neurology of learning and recently read a remarkable book that links neurological development with music, Daniel Levitan’s This is Your Brain on Music.*

I was particularly interested in Levitan’s discussion of the neural connections made when learning to play music. The musical key is the proverbial key. In other words, the structure and organization of music is exactly what makes it so important for brain development. There are only twelve pitches in Western music, but music is really about the combinations, variations and organization of those dozen tones. From the notes, chords are built. Chords determine keys, within which a skillful musician creates an experience, a message, a movement. Mix in rhythm and a new order of time emerges.

Music is all about creating neural networks and expanding the speed and capacity of the pathways that determine skill and memory. A key finding from brain research is that once a neural pathway is established, and the more that pathway is used, especially with passion and emotion, the greater the ‘bandwidth’ and strength of the connection. Memory is improved, processing speed is increased, and better, more sophisticated decisions are a result.

Playing music draws upon the multiple intelligences** while building capacity in each. Obviously, the musical intelligence is predominant, but musicians develop the kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and logical-mathematical intelligences as they nurture an expertise with practice, play, and performance. These developed intelligences carry over into all disciplines that require a complexity of thought, including math, the sciences, and the humanities.

Music requires bringing together a diversity of elements to form wholes that are qualitatively different from any of the individual elements. As Levitan describes, the brain is like a parallel processing machine with a lot of activity going on simultaneously but only one performance point. Developing the neural connections required to play complex music requires tremendous discipline, hours upon hours of practice, and a passion to sustain the interest that makes all of that practice worthwhile.

Music is organized, like all knowledge, into distinct structures and categories, such as chords, keys, genres, tempos, rhythm and musical eras. Music is all about the structural connections that are used to support memory. It’s much easier to remember something that follows a familiar structure or pattern than something random and unfamiliar. These familiar structures serve as the foundation for building greater knowledge and even stronger and more extensive neural networks that support learning of all kinds.***

In a world of extraordinary complexity, a premium is placed on one’s ability to quickly process massive amounts of wildly varying types of information. Musical instruction helps young people develop the brain capacity to process a lot of information and to organize and present information in a more easily understood fashion.****

Music is certainly worthy of study and celebration all on its own just because of the way it makes one feel. In addition, playing music cultivates a mind that is prepared to process and make sense of the rush of information and problems that have come to characterize the 21st century. Music is a core subject. We can’t cut funding for music any more than we can cut funding for math.

References:
*Levitin, Daniel This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession Plume/Penguin 2007 New York
**Gardner, David Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences Basic Books 1983 New York
***Sousa, David How the Brain Learns: A Classroom Teacher's Guide Corwin Press 2001 Thousand Oaks
****Another book that addresses these issues in an entertaining manner: Sacks, Oliver Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain Vintage Books 2008 New York

A Grassroots Networking Party

When we profiled Dickson Elias, the owner of the Big Sip Cafe in Oakland, listener Rashid Patch wrote in to tell us about his visit there.

Well he recently wrote back to us to tell us about an event that Dickson has been hosting at the Big Sip called "Information Explostion". These are part open mic, part networking party, and have drawn over 70 people in recent weeks.

This is how he described it:

It's somewhat hard to describe succinctly. Part music and vocals, with elements of jazz, reggae, Afro-Pop, Brazillian - some really talented performers; a little bit of spoken-word; part motivational seminar / "networking event". People from the community, entrepreneurs of various sorts, get up and describe themselves and their business, talking about how they could collaborate and help each other, giving each other applause and support - all ad hoc, spontaneous. It's like a grass-roots revival meeting for entrepreneurs with home businesses. It's not like there's some one waiting to try to sign you up afterwards for a multi-level marketing deal..

There's not a word for it. It's not a motivational seminar, but it's like that. It's not an open mic, but it's like that. It's not a poetry slam, or a cafe concert, or a salon.. it's got parts of all of them. There might be some kind of new genre developing here. Here's what some people are doing about the economy: starting a home-brew, grass-roots, self-help-motivational-event community, and having a lot of fun at it. This is a story!

If you have a story to share with us, just write it in! at news@kalw.org.

Scrap Heaven

Are you a teacher in need of materials? or an environmentally-conscious artist looking to recycle and reuse in your work? I just came across an ad for the Scroungers' Center for Reusable Art Parts, or SCRAP. This is the blurb about what they do:

SCRAP is a creative reuse center and workshop space founded in 1976 in San Francisco, CA promoting environmental awareness and creative reuse. SCRAP collects donations of reusable materials from individuals, organizations, and businesses and then distributes them to teachers, non-profits, artists, parents, and students. The donations help support SCRAP’s educational and community outreach programs, promoting creative reuse.

School's Almost Out...Time to find a Summer Job!

We have a story coming up next week about the Oakland Mayor's Summer Jobs Program. It is the main source of funding for subsidized summer jobs for kids in Oakland. The program is rather delayed in getting kicked off this year, and organizations are scrambling to get applications together to get kids through the really extensive application process. But even if they get meet all the requirements, they still might not end up with a job in the end because of our down economy. Many of the kids are competing with adults for these entry-level positions.

Are you a teenager or college student facing this dismal job market this summer? Or maybe you are a parent of one?

Call us at 415-264-7106, and share your perspective with us, and we might play your report before our piece airs next week!

(photo obtained under Creative Commons license from Flickr user: Gwen's River City Images)

Tips for Living on a Budget

I can't get enough tips these days for how to save money. I am always on the look out for easy ways to squeeze here, stretch there, and end up with just a little more at the end of the month. What a great feeling!

So when my friend told me about this website, wisebread.com, I thought, hey, now we're talking! This is a network of bloggers dedicated to finding new ways to live on a small budget, and even try to make it FUN. In their words: "We believe people on a budget can still enjoy fabulous and fun lives." I think that is a bit of a stretch, but I must say, it is pretty fun to save money with little effort.

If you know of good blogs with tips for savers, let us know here, at 415-264-7106, or by email at news@kalw.org.

CNN picks up on the Economic Edge

Remember the first story in our Economic Edge series about the opening of the Big Sip Cafe in Oakland? I profiled the owner, Dickson Elias, who was opening a business in the middle of the worst economy in decades. Turns out CNN Money got wind of our report, and you can watch it here:

A Dramatic View of Growing Unemployment

(Photo obtained under Creative Commons License, taken by Scott A. Drzyzga (C) 2009)

California has among the highest rates of unemployment in the nation: 10.5 percent. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Slate.com designed a rather dramatic interactive map where you can track the decline in jobs around the country. You can check it out here: Slate's Interactive Map.

Day Laborers in this Recession

Today on KALW's Crosscurrents, you can hear my report on how the economic crisis has affected day laborers, three quarters of which are estimated to be undocumented immigrants.

I spoke with many day laborers for this piece, but decided to profile Amadeos. He is a middle aged man from El Salvador, who crossed illegally into the United States six years ago, and now lives in San Francisco with his wife and baby. I met him on the corner of Oak and Divisadero, where there is a Kelly Moore Paint Store, a typical place for day laborers to congregate and look for jobs.

I went back today to check in with him, and he says everything has stayed pretty much the same, very little work, but now there are fewer and fewer guys on the corner because many have gone back to their native countries. I talked with some of the other men there today, and two confessed that they were ready to go home, if only they had the money to pay for it. It seems to weigh on them heavily, this choice of whether to return or not. "If the economy is bad here, it trickles through the rest of the world, and to our native countries," one man named Santiago told me. "So you can imagine how bad it must be back there, probably worse than here." But they stick around, they tell me, in case the stimulus money creates more jobs, or if there is an advancement in Washington on immigration reform. "It's really difficult right now, but we have to keep trying...no hay otra," Santiago tells me...there's no other choice.

The Lemon Lady

A little while ago, we got an email from a woman who calls herself: "Anna The Lemon Lady". She didn't always carry that fancy title, though. Until not too long ago, she was just regular Anna Chan, from Clayton. It was on her walks with her daughter, Ava, that Anna first realized many of her neighbors had fruit trees with excess fruit that would just rot on their lawns. She got the idea of collecting this fruit, and taking it to her local food bank, which was much appreciated.

In the past couple of months, what started as a novel idea became a sort of calling for Anna, and now she is recruiting volunteers and fruit tree owners to join her efforts. This is a section of the email that she sent us, so you can hear her story in her own words:

(photo obtained under Creative Commons from Flickr user Alasam)

This fruit picking project can really be done by anyone. I embarked on this idea by typing fliers and knocking on doors. As I write this, I have collected nearly 3,000 pounds of fresh citrus in my own neighborhood. As you are aware, with the poor economy, many people are turning more to the charity organizations. Fresh produce is scarce at food pantries. All fresh fruit and vegetables are welcome. The food banks even advertise as such on their websites. Sadly, it is just lack of awareness that prevents people from taking the initiative to donate. Most people I speak with are more than willing to help out. They just have never thought to donate.

Spreading public awareness that fresh fruit is accepted, very easy to donate, no red tape, can help hundreds, thousands of needy families. The need is never ending, and the fresh fruit bounty in California is all year long! My only dream is to inspire others, and hopefully harvest most of the fruit from the trees, rather than seeing it go to waste.

If I - only one person - could collect 3,000 pounds in just over a month, imagine what many willing volunteers could do!? Anything is possible. I believe.

Ending the Week on a Positive Note

Henry Sullivan is a half glass full kind of person.

And he thinks more people should be that way, when it comes to this economic downturn. Hear what he had to say in his call-in to us this week:

Hunting for A Bargain

A long time ago I signed up to be on the Yelp email list, and usually I don't read them all the way through, but recently I got one with this in the subject line: "Yelp! I'm Broke!" and this time they got my attention.

Turns out Yelp has a section of their site called Sales and Special Offers. Here is a blurb from the email, where they highlight some of the Yelpers' favorite deals on food:

Brandon D fiends for the "dried pig, pear compote, and stinky cheese, served with a healthy slice of gentrification" at Uva Enoteca, where you'll find $4 pizzas, paninis and fritto, as well as Peronis for $1.50 and vino for $4. The "Japanese covers of trashy American music" at Sushi Time keep Sig N coming back for more, and their $2 sake and $4 sushi rolls are the stuff of legend. There's a $2 sangria fest goin' on at Lalola, and you can counter-punch that sweetness with some small plates. Save room for dessert, though; Hen A reports their chocolate-drenched bread pudding is a "a semi-sweet fantastic melting soft chew of goodness."

So where do YOU go to find the best deals? Do you go to a website like Yelp to find your bargains? Let us know here, or at news@kalw.org.

Got an Economic Emergency? Dial 211

We all know to call 9-1-1 in an emergency in the event of a fire or an accident. But the economic crisis is creating its own set of emergencies. A job layoff can lead to hunger or homelessness, or both. So where can you turn when that happens? In Alameda County, you can dial 2-1-1, a free, 24-hour hotline. Ollie Arnold is with Eden Information and Resources which runs the 2-1-1 service. She spoke with KALW's Kristi Coale about what 211 can do to link people facing an economic emergency with the resources they need most:



Let us know if you have come across other resources that have proven helpful during this recession.

The Power of the Arts

Arts programs and organizations are seen by many as the first place to cut during hard economic times. Well one of our listeners argues that the arts just might be what keep us going, when the times get tough.

Here is his message from the Economic Edge:



Are you a member of the arts community? How is the economic crisis specifically impacting arts programs? What are innovative ways that the community has come together to cope and weather the recession?

Let us know here in our comments, or email us at news@kalw.org, or by phone at 415-264-7106.

Entrepreneurship in Turbulent Times

Despite the economic storms around every corner, a small but growing band of believers are trying their hand at entrepreneurship. Business is actually up at the nonprofit San Francisco Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. The clients are often non-native English speakers, people without much education or money, and young parents who have trouble finding their footing in the old economy. Add to their ranks the recently unemployed, and you can see why the small business classes at Renaissance are filling up. KALW’s Melanie Young spent some time at Renaissance and reports on the dream of business ownership in turbulent times:

A Bit of Good News for the Big Sip

I recently got a call from Dixon Elias, the owner of the Big Sip Cafe in Oakland who I profiled for an Economic Edge story. Apparently our story about him was heard by many people who decided to pay him a visit at his cafe, even old CNN. Listen the message he left us:

Econ Edge Roundup

We've had a lot of good Economic Edge stories on the air lately, from what business owners are talking about in the Mission, to communities fighting to stay in their foreclosed homes in Oakland...from shanty towns cropping up in Fresno, to an independent bookshop closing it's doors...

Stay tuned this week to hear about how people are dealing with our budgetary crisis, and for phoned in reports from different parts of our community on how the economic crisis is impacting them.

Laid Off? Network here, San Francisco Style

We are getting more and more events and meetings to highlight in our coverage of the Economic Edge. One that caught our eye, is this Laid Off Camp. It's on Tuesday March 3rd, and as any responsible event for the unemployed, the entrance fee is on a sliding scale.

Here is the description of the event from the ticket site:

LaidOffCamp is a day-long unconference for unemployed and nontraditionally employed people (including freelancers, entrepreneurs and startups) in the San Francisco Bay Area who want to share ideas and learn from each other. At LaidOffCamp, attendee-driven session sessions may include: Living on an Extreme Budget, Building Your Personal Brand, Freelance Consulting 101 and more.

We are already sending one of our reporters to go check it out, but if you end up going, please give us a call or drop us a note to let us know what you thought of it.

Voices of America: Residents Meet to Talk about the Stimulus

Yesterday we aired voices from another economic recovery house meeting, this time in Noe Valley. Again, you should know that these are organized through Organizing for America - President Obama's former campaign organization now under a new name and mission - so most if not all of the people who were there are Obama supporters. But they touched on very important issues that are affecting all Americans right now. I invite you to listen and chime in with your own words for the administration: how is the economic downturn affecting you? What do you think the administration needs to make a priority? What do you like or dislike about the stimulus package?

Call/write and tell us.

Insurance Premiums Go Up for Over Half a Million Californians

Last week this story in the SF Chronicle got out attention - about 640,000 Californians insured through Anthem Blue Cross were just informed that their premiums would go up by an average of 30%, effective March 1st. In this economy, that's got to hurt the wallet, for sure. Not to mention that in the same week, Anthem settled to pay a $1 million fine for canceling coverage for over two thousand people because they had filed claims that were too expensive.

I wanted to talk to someone who had been affected by this, and so I called out to our Facebook group for help, and I got a hold of Bonnie Baron. She's 63 years old, a tutor in Oakland, and is insured with Anthem Blue Cross. She also happens to be an advocate for health care reform. I asked her to write to us, and tell us her story:

Hi Martina,

I work as a learning specialist, tutoring dyslexic students at a non-profit in Oakland. I'm an independent contractor, so my insurance with Anthem Blue Cross is through an HMO plan for individual members. The premium for this was raised 27% and is now more than 1/4 of my salary! I could not afford this if my husband and I did not live on our joint income.

In fact, I spoke to Anthem Blue Cross about changing plans. To change plans, customers usually need to go through a lengthy underwriting process. This is code for "examining people's medical histories to deny coverage if there are pre-exisiting conditions which could require costly treatment." Because the underwriting process is lengthy, there can be a break in coverage between one's old plan and the new one (if approved). I asked Anthem about this, and was offered another HMO that doesn't require underwriting. The representatives offered a plan with premiums similar to my existing ones, but none of my doctors accept this insurance (probably because the reimbursement rates are so low)!

So, I will keep the plan that I currently have and pay the exorbitant cost. I have filed grievances with the state of California and Anthem about the increase.

Strange to say, I am lucky. I have good coverage and will be able to pay the premiums. Millions of people will not be able to pay the increases. So many citizens in the United States can't afford any insurance, or pay for coverage that is inadequate for any treatment other than routine care. Medical costs are now the leading cause of personal bankruptcy. This crisis is now exacerbated because of the current economic situation.

These rate increases are particularly infuriating because it is well documented that 30% or more of every health care dollar is not spent on health care! Rather, that 30% goes to administrative costs--underwriting, processing and denial of claims--and to advertising, These are by products of a wasteful, for-profit health care industry that has thousands of different health care plans that divide, rather than pool risk, and therefore increase consumer costs and company profits.

I am a member of Single Payer Now, the local chapter of a statewide group supporting a state senate bill, SB 840, or a national legislation, HR 676. SB 840 twice passed the California legislature, most recently last August, but was vetoed by the governor. Mark Leno will be shepherding it through the legislature again this year. John Conyers of Michigan has recently reintroduced HR 676. You can read more about these at www.singlepayernow.net. There will be a meeting on March 7th at Centro de Pueblo in San Francisco about SB 840. Information about it is posted on the above web site.

Thanks.

If you have any comments or stories related to this topic, please write to us at news@kalw.org, or call it in at 415-264-7106.