SF News Deadly Bacterial Infection Breaks Out at Berkeley Homeless Encampment, Kills Two Dogs Berkeley residents are now going to have to learn about a deadly bacterial disease called leptospirosis, which has broken out at an encampment there and already killed two dogs, and it could also spread to and kill humans.
SF News Lurie Strikes Deal With Caltrans to Sweep Encampments at Highway Off-Ramps and Overpasses We’ve all seen large homeless encampments beneath freeway overpasses in SoMa and the Mission, and Mayor Lurie just got the green light from Caltrans to start clearing encampments at eight major overpasses and entrance ramps.
SF News Federal Judge Says Berkeley Can Sweep Large Homeless Encampment, But That People With Disabilities Can Stay A mixed bag in a new legal ruling about a big and contentious Berkeley homeless encampment, as a judge says the encampment can be swept, but people with disabilities camping there are allowed to stay put and leave their stuff.
SF News Two Killed, One Injured In Vallejo Homeless Encampment Shooting One person has been taken into custody after three people were shot, two of them fatally, at a long-running encampment near Highway 37 in Vallejo on Monday night.
SF News New California Bill Would Outlaw Arresting or Fining Unhoused People Camping In the Street Several California mayors (including SF’s own) cheered a June Supreme Court decision that allowed cities to arrest or prosecute those camping on the street. But a new proposed California law could bring that practice to a complete halt.
Business & Tech Google Maps Lists an Oakland Homeless Encampment as “Homeless Encampment,” Hilarity Ensues A vacant East Oakland lot that’s become overrun with RVs and tents is now listed on Google Maps as “Homeless Encampment,” though this is clearly the work of some joker trying to embarrass Oakland City Hall.
SF News Unhoused Fairfax Woman Delays Clearing of Her Own Encampment With Lawsuit; Fremont Passes Strict New Ordinance Two Bay Area cities are going in different directions in battling encampments, as a Fairfax woman just won a delay on the clearing of her own encampment, while Fremont just passed a law that activists fear could illegalize handing cash or food to the homeless.
SF News Mayor Breed Touts 60% Drop in Tents on Streets, Mandelmans’s District 8 Supposedly Has Just One Tent Some very encouraging new statistics saying the number of tents on San Francisco streets is at a six-year low, including there being only one tent counted in District 8, but this does not seem to have meaningfully lowered SF’s homeless population.
SF News SFMTA Votes to Tow RVs Parked Overnight on Streets If Campers Refuse Offers of Shelter San Francisco's rules targeting people who live in parked RVs on the streets are about to tighten up, as the SF Municipal Transit Agency has approved a law to tow people’s RVs if they refuse an offer of shelter.
SF Politics Sheng Thao Issues Executive Order to Ramp Up Oakland Encampment Sweeps Facing a recall election and a slew of scandals, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is seizing on a recent Supreme Court decision to proclaim that the city will get a lot more aggressive in clearing homeless encampments.
SF News Hayes Valley Building Destroyed By Fire Full of Squatters, Stoking Fears It Could Be Destroyed By Fire Again It was last August when an under-construction Hayes Valley building caught fire, with many speculating that people camped just outside the site caused the fire. Construction has gone nowhere since, and neighbors are alarmed that squatters appear to have moved in, and it could just burn again.
SF Politics Newsom Says He’ll Yank Counties’ Funding If They Don’t Clear Homeless Encampments Aggressively Enough Governor Gavin Newsom is ratcheting up the threat level toward California cities and counties on the homeless encampment front, now saying he’ll cut their funding if they aren’t more aggressive in clearing encampments.
SF News Tents Return Right Away In Mission District, Tenderloin Areas Targeted By Encampment Sweeps The new and supposedly more aggressive sweeps of homeless encampments are turning into a familiar game of whack-a-mole, as new tents are reportedly popping right back up in areas where city workers have cleared encampments.
SF Politics Mayor Breed Doubles Down on Just Shipping the Homeless Out of Town, as Encampment Sweeps Ratchet Up SF Mayor London Breed’s new tactic to reduce homelessness won’t be seen as particularly compassionate, as her latest executive order demands encampment sweeps where people are first offered a bus ticket out of town before they’re offered shelter.
SF News Newsom Orders State Agencies to Clear Homeless Encampments En Masse in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling Governor Gavin Newsom just issued an executive order that would represent the largest homeless encampment sweep effort in the nation since the Supreme Court handed down their decision that cities can ban sleeping outdoors.
SF Politics Breed Vows Major Encampment Crackdown Coming In August, Says There May Be ‘Criminal Penalties’ Emboldened by the recent Supreme Court decision allowing bans on homeless encampments, Mayor London Breed said Thursday that a major effort to sweep encampments was in the works and would start in August.
SF News Mayor Breed Touts New Numbers Saying SF Tents and Encampments at a Five-Year Low London Breed’s office is making a big to-do over the latest city numbers that indicate tent encampments are at a five-year low, and while these numbers vary wildly over time, it does look like the trend line is going in a positive direction.
SF News Guy With ‘Free Fentanyl’ Sign Outside School Finally Arrested, His Encampment Cleared The unhoused man who’s long infuriated the Inner Richmond with his sprawling encampment and signs saying “Free fentanyl 4 new users,” and “Meth for stolen items!” was arrested late Friday morning, but it’s not clear whether this saga is finished.
SF News Encampment Guy Infuriating Richmond District With ‘Free Fentanyl,’ ‘Meth for Stolen Items’ Signs Near School Some joker with a tent encampment in the Inner Richmond has posted hand-scrawled signs reading “Free fentanyl 4 new users,” and “Meth for stolen items!” across the street from a school and a church. Oh, and he's a registered sex offender, and he claims he's not joking.
SF News Three Months After Wood Street Encampment Cleared, Few Have Found Permanent Housing After the controversial clearing of the enormous Wood Street encampment in West Oakland. The New York Times takes a look at what happened to the hundreds of people who were swept out.
SF News Fed-Up Neighbors Place Planters On Harrison Street Sidewalks to Deter Encampments The 1,400-pound metal planters seem to have done the job thus far at preventing encampments from returning after the large plant pots were installed after Carnaval, but have started another round of “hostile architecture” debate.
SF News Oakland Police Locate Baby Boy Reported Abducted From Encampment at Another Encampment Less Than 1 Mile Away The boy, who went missing and was found in the Oakland Coliseum neighborhood, appeared to have no signs of obvious physical injuries.
SF News Caltrans Crew Hits an Amtrak Train With a Crane While Trying to Clear Wood Street Encampment In Oakland An unexpected snag straight from a Looney Tunes cartoon has held up the renewed clearing of West Oakland's Wood Street encampment, as Caltrans reportedly managed to hit a moving Amtrak train while bagging and tagging unsheltered people’s tents and structures.
SF News Federal Judge Hands Another Reprieve to Oakland’s Wood Street Encampment Residents A three-day restraining order on the clearing of the West Oakland encampment has been extended for a month, as a judge rules that Caltrans must provide residents with relocation plans by August 26 before they can clear any more of the site.
SF News Federal Judge Halts Clearing of Oakland’s Wood Street Encampment, Though It Might Resume Friday It’s probably no comfort to the couple dozen people whose camps have already been removed, but a federal judge has halted Caltrans’ clearing of the Wood Street encampment, though that decision could be reversed as early as Friday.
