The Clinton Park rocks and the Ingleside Path barricade appear to be manifestations of swelling frustration surrounding homelessness. From the New York Times: “For the first time in 20 years of surveys, the issue was noted as a major concern for Californians, according to a poll released last month by the Public Policy Institute of California. The situation has grown so dire that some Los Angeles officials have recently called for the governor to declare a state of emergency to free up funding for addressing homelessness, similar to what has been done to address natural disasters.” New York Times

"Wherever homelessness appears out of control in America ... high housing costs almost surely lurk."
The Economist

With China's largest recycling agency no longer buying resale cardboard, San Francisco's collectors have lost their incentive to pick up the scraps of cardboard that businesses leave on the street. The disappearance of these trucks has imbalanced The City’s ecology ecosystem, and local businesses are getting slapped with extra hauling charges by Recology, sometimes $500, as a result. Hoodline

The Department of the Environment submitted a plan to state officials for a 3-year mobile recycling program to offset the loss of stationary recycling centers.
San Francisco Examiner

From a sobering center to overdose prevention programs, 17 recommendations published by San Francisco's methamphetamine task force aim to tackle The City's worsening overdose crisis. Mirroring Mayor London Breed’s mental health care proposal UrgentCareSF, the sobering center would provide refuge to individuals who are high or undergoing meth-induced psychosis. Most other recommendations call for connecting people who use meth to helpful resources. The report does not detail the costs of the increase in staff, services and housing it calls for. SFBay | KQED

The number of victims from Laguna Honda Hospital's abuse scandal has grown, along with the fines paid to state regulators. After months of investigation prompted by a human resource complaint, City Hall has paid $780,000 in fines and identified 130 patients who were drugged and photographed, health department officials announced Wednesday. San Francisco police have not filed charges against the six staff members directly involved in the abuse. San Francisco Examiner

“A traffic ticket could lead to the end of my life.”

The San Francisco Police Department took 3 years to complete 29 of 272 reform recommendations from the federal government. Of the other 89% of the recommendations, 170 are "in progress" and 73 in the middle of the review process. The U.S. Department of Justice made the recommendations when it reviewed the SFPD in response to a string of high-profile police shootings and scandals that revealed officers sending sexist, racist and homophobic text messages. Mission Local | San Francisco Examiner

A police department official blamed paperwork for the 20,000 drop in traffic citations issued for speeding and other instances of dangerous driving as San Francisco reels from a rash of pedestrian fatalities.
San Francisco Examiner

“Almost no other city in the world has so many layers of protection as San Francisco, and yet, it’s not enough.”

In response to the devastating fires expected to follow a giant earthquake, San Francisco's 1,500 hydrants would shoot out 90,000 gallons of saltwater per minute. One-third of San Francisco still remains unprotected. Nonetheless, San Francisco officials would rather spend $190 million to install new pipes delivering water for drinking and post-fire quakes than $600 million to build on its current emergency water system. NBC