Fogcast: The Bay City Beacon Politics Podcast

California lurches toward rent control, but the housing crisis rages on; San Francisco is closing its juvenile detention facility, but justice is still elusive. The Beacon boys discuss the pros and cons of incremental progress and count the blessings buried in the quagmire of San Francisco politics.

Sam Moss joins the Beacon team to discuss proposals in state and local government to speed up affordable housing production. Why is it so expensive to build inexpensive housing, and why are the politics of permitting so thorny? Notorious YIMBY gadfly Sonja Trauss joins the podcast to discuss the potential for building municipal social housing in lieu of neoliberal workarounds. The issue is complex, but one thing is clear: everyone is mad.

The Beacon boys join Diego's former boss, housing activist gadfly Sonja Trauss, to discuss recent homeless shelter proposals and transit density legislation. Along the way, they bump into issues of environmental law, Beto's prog rock destiny, and lobsters.

The Fogcast team mourns slain cyclist Tess Rothstein and examine's the city's action (or inaction) on street safety improvements. Will San Francisco ever value human life over cars? Supervisor Matt Haney has taken the lead, but he's also thrown down the gauntlet on another issue: navigation centers. If the City opens its largest homeless shelter on the Embarcadero, Haney says another district should open one as well. Will the real City of Saint Francis ever step up?

Diego joins student reporter Ariel Gans to interview Berkeley City Councilmembers Lori Droste and Rigel Robinson about their proposed "Missing Middle Initiative." With housing costs at an all-time high, the City may study how to reform its land-use policies to allow for more "gentle" density in residential neighborhoods. Nevertheless, the racist and classist history of how Berkeley became so segregated has already been studied extensively.

The Beacon team tackles one of the biggest blunders of the decade: SF General's ER bills. How did the Board of Supervisors sign off on this insane "balance billing" practice for so long, for a hospital that remains entirely out of network? It's not even the only embarrasment the City's government has yielded this month: the Supervisors also managed to turn a $185 million tax windfall into a shortfall of reserve funds. Could San Francisco even budget its way out of a wet paper bag?

2019 starts with a bang, as the Beacon's editorial duo brings the play-by-play from the battle for the Board of Supervisors Presidency. After a brief overview of Governor Newsom and Mayor Breed's overlapping priorities for housing, things get spicy when Diego and Jay debate the substance (or lack thereof) of the Green New Deal.

After a long break, Diego and Jay reunite to recap San Francisco's latest budget controversy: too much money to spend. The team speculates on the recent CASA Compact, a move toward regional governance that could finally tackle the housing crisis. Why can't "the city that knows how" just figure things out?

Diego and Jay huddle over Tuesday's election results and try to read the tea leaves, and your favorite political odd couple's unfiltered bickering and banter ensue. What can San Francisco learn from the East Bay? And how will Mayor Breed navigate the political minefield of a new Board of Supervisors? The duo rarely sees eye to eye, but they agree on one issue: campaign canvassers are better off with pen and paper over the leading smartphone apps.

Bike activist Matt Brezina joins the team to discuss street safety, bikeshare, and the politics of transportation in San Francisco. How can the City move away from its bias toward cars and make its infrastructure available for healthier, cheaper, and greener options? Mayor Breed's Vision Zero ambitions sound good, but what will it take to really eliminate traffic deaths by 2024?

Special guest Theo Ellington joins Diego and Jay to discuss the Shipyard scandal at Hunters Point, where he lives. Radioactive material was recently found just a few feet away from where Ellington lives, and his campaign for District 10 Supervisor highlights the decades of racial, economic, and environmental injustice the neighborhood has faced. What does the future hold for the Bayview amid such a toxic present?

The team joins Andy Mullan to analyze the ADU hoopla: can Accessory Dwelling Units come anywhere close to solving the San Francisco's housing shortage? How hard is it to build them, and how easy should it be? Finally, shared e-scooters take center stage yet again as the trio debates whether the SFMTA pilot program is a government monopoly or a noble experiment.

Diego and Jay join their new regular co-host Andy Mullan to study the figurative and literal trash-fire that is San Francisco's Muni system. What is going on with the city's bus and train service, and how can it ever work smoothly? The team also evaluates the pros and cons of Proposition C, a ballot measure to fund homeless services. The pros are big; the cons are that it could be even better. CORRECTION: The Twin Peaks tunnel will have service reduced by two hours over two weekends, but will not be closed for those weekends, as accidentally stated in this episode. We regret the error. Image: aggregate square footage of space reserved for cars in San Francisco.

The team brings their in-house data nerd Andy Mullan to discuss the results of the June primary election, and read the tea leaves for elections ahead. With London Breed as San Francisco's new mayor, what will happen in District 5? And speaking of San Francisco mayors, a heated ruckus ensues over the incumbency of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and her chances of fending off an upstart challenger, Kevin De León.

Data nerd Andy Mullan joins the Beacon team to read the electoral tea leaves on election. The mayor's race is a toss-up throughout the night, while other races turn into total blowouts, and all have valuable lessons for San Francisco. Mostly, we all learn just how unpredictable Ranked Choice Voting can be.

Diego and Jay duke it out over San Francisco's hottest new controversy: electric scooters. Later, the team dunks on Andy's doppelganger, Interim Mayor Mark Farrell, and his plan to clear homeless encampments without permanent shelter to offer in their place.

The crew gets together to roast Supervisor Aaron Peskin (pun intended) over his debaucherous treatment of the Fire Department. More central to the discussion, though, is a detailed analysis of the San Francisco Mayor's race, and where one can find the best take-out dim sum in the city.

Laura Clark of YIMBY Action and the "Infill" podcast drops by to fill in the Beacon team on the Central SoMa area plan and the spicy gossip of the California Democratic Party convention. Laura's epic twitter thread referenced in the end: https://twitter.com/NeverSassyLaura/status/969035981566328832

Jay and Diego take the reins to chat about local elections and dunk on the Brisbane City Council while the boss-man Andy is out on a ski trip.

The Beacon team discusses the shocking gentrification of the Mayor's Office by so-called "progressives" and Interim Mayor Mark Farrell.

Andy, Jay, and Diego welcome guest host Leora Tanjuatco of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo to talk about affordable housing just south of our fair City. The threat of a federal government shutdown and ICE deportations loom over everyone's minds.

The trio explores the enduring, understated legacy of the late Mayor Edwin M. Lee. Jay reveals more about the man the media didn't know.

The Beacon team tackles San Francisco's spiciest news: the tax default sale of Presidio Terrace and the Board of Supervisors subsequently rescinding it. Who wins the award for the most incompetent at taxes? Trick question: it's the Republican Party and their latest tax scam. ...with an honorary mention for this dolt: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/10/05/op-ed-person-2-0-wild-self-actualization-at-stanford/

Andy & Andy (special guest Andy Mullan) debate electoral term limits and San Francisco's byzantine ballot measure process. Diego and Jay fawn over their favorites for the California Governor's race.

Local journalist Ellen McGrody joins the program to discuss her investigation* on discriminatory policies that bar blood donations in the LGBTQI community. But before that, the trio dukes it out over the hottest topic in California politics: do we need six more years of Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate, or should a younger Democrat replace her? * Ellen's article: https://www.thebaycitybeacon.com/politics/in-the-midst-of-tragedy-blocked-from-donating-blood/article_7aeb3b2e-b762-11e7-a28e-e3e6846ac1e3.html

Our editor Diego's hippie side comes out as he spars with Jay and Andy on Fleet Week and medical marijuana. The team also argues about Senator Feinstein, the Koch brothers, and finally learning what a "zine" is.

Andy returns from vacation to discuss proposed Safe Injection Sites and the City's response to upcoming Nazi rallies with Diego and Jay. Come for the news, stay for a protracted discussion on the meaning of the word "f**ksticks."

Diego and Jay get into heated discussions about parking in the Presidio for two separate reasons: Should rich homeowners pay for parking in their private cul-de-sac? Will Nazis find any parking when they descend on Crissy Field? The answers won't surprise you, but the analysis delves deep into San Francisco's lurid past.

Andy and Diego welcome Beacon Publisher Jay Cheng onto the program, where they discuss future plans for Market Street and Medical Cannabis Dispensaries. Will San Francisco ban cars on its busiest street? Will the Excelsior be taken over by the weed industry? The trio concludes by taking on the follies of Facebook, Instagram, and Craigslist.

Andy and Diego gab about that sweet, sweet tobacco-- will SF ban the sale of its most delicious nicotine sources? Also, Andy has a wide variety of feelings about campaign finance disclosure laws and the DMV. Diego concludes with some thoughts about how everyone who voted for Trump is terrible.

On our debut episode of Fogcast, we discuss the long-awaited Bus Rapid Transit system on Geary (will it finally happen?) and a proposal to allow bars to stay open until 4AM. Diego and Andy try not to get too snarky with each other, but things get a tad personal when they chat about BikeShare and gentrification.

On the first episode of Fogcast we discuss the passage of HOME-SF. Beacon Contributor Andy Mullan joins us to talk about the (fraudulent) push to bring the Summer of Love back to San Francisco, and for our final thoughts we talk about potent turtles and the end of David Talbot's stint as a columnist for the SF Chronicle.