A billboard about the public charge rule at a bus stop on Page Mill Road in Palo Alto, Calif. on Oct. 5, 2019. The billboard directs people concerned about the proposed rule to call a San Mateo County help line.

Courts blocked Trump’s public charge rule. Immigrant advocates say the proposal had a ‘chilling effect.’

The Trump administration this summer proposed a rule that would have made it harder for people to get green cards if they had been using government assistance like Medicaid, housing vouchers or food stamps — or if they were deemed likely to use those programs in the future. The so-called public charge rule was set to take effect on Oct. 15. Instead, courts issued temporary injunctions to stop the rule four days before it was due to kick in.

Courts blocked Trump’s public charge rule. Immigrant advocates say the proposal had a ‘chilling effect.’ Read More »

Transcript: Tech disability community meets for conversation and connection

This is a transcript of a podcast about The Tech Disability Project’s first in-person gathering held on Oct. 7. IRENA FISCHER-HWANG, HOST: On a warm autumn evening, a crowd of tech workers gathers at Adobe headquarters in San Francisco. They’re attending a panel discussion and mixer about disability in the tech industry. The event is

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Bay Area restaurants tally losses from spoiled food, lost sales from power shutoffs

Pacific Gas and Electric’s late October power shutoffs impacted numerous restaurants in the Bay Area. Restaurants lost food and customers. Picco Restaurant & Pizzeria, a restaurant specialized in California-influenced Neapolitan pizzas in Larkspur, had to close their restaurant Oct. 26 at 2:30 p.m. and reopened on Oct. 29. It estimates its losses at $43,000. The

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Beelia Hanson’s home in Santiago Villa, a mobile home park in Mountain View. Mobile homes -- not RV vans -- are not subject to Mountain View’s rent stabilization act.

Despite existing rent control laws, mobile home residents in Mountain View lack protection

MOUNTAIN VIEW – Mobile homes, which refer to houses built in factories and transported to different sites, are affordable housing options in overpriced Mountain View. The city harbors six mobile home parks and a total of 1,130 mobile home spaces. But both a newly passed state law and an existing city law that limit how much landlords can increase rent do not apply to mobile homes.

Despite existing rent control laws, mobile home residents in Mountain View lack protection Read More »

Kincade Fire forces adoptable animals to evacuate twice

SACRAMENTO — The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County prompted large-scale evacuations on Oct. 26 and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes. But it wasn’t just humans that were displaced by the fire — pets and animals living at shelters also had to evacuate. The Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took in a total of 42 animals from Sonoma County.

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Tom Devine and Pat Halgren lead a neighborhood response team

Half Moon Bay neighbors support the medically vulnerable during power shutoffs

HALF MOON BAY — When the power goes out in Canada Cove, a Half Moon Bay neighborhood for seniors, dozens of residents are unable to use vital medical devices. So neighbors are helping spread support and information, including how to get backup batteries.

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Tech disability community meets for conversation and connection

SILICON VALLEY — Demographic data on employees who self-identify as having a disability is often some of the last to be added to diversity reports for tech companies. And some major tech firms still lack resource groups focused on disability. The Tech Disability Project is a place where tech workers with disabilities can meet, share their experiences, and discuss their hopes for disability advocacy in the tech industry.

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Are pesticides the reason honeybees are in trouble?

SAN MATEO — According to the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, the number of honeybees declined by 60 percent since 1947. Over the last decade, some environmental activists and scientists pointed to the negative effects of neonicotinoid pesticides as potential reasons for the declines in honeybee colonies. But some members of the San Mateo beekeeper’s guild are citing other explanations

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