San Francisco, CA
Down and Out in San Francisco
Image by Joshua Earle.
For many residents of the United States, especially those in its cities and larger suburbs, the fact of homelessness is quite well established. Camps made up of lean-tos, tents, small fire pits and people exist in parks, woods, along city streets and under freeway bridges around the nation. The reaction to these settlements by residents with houses and local authorities ranges from acceptance and providing services to the unhoused to vigilante and police attacks on the encampments. Despite the differences in these responses, both represent an acceptance of an essential fact: most people living outside because they can’t afford to live inside do so because of the capitalist economy.
Those who support the vigilantes and the police attacks on the unhoused are, in essence, rejecting the humanity of those being attacked and “swept” up (to use a popular euphemism). Whether they acknowledge this truth or not, their actions reveal an understanding that only people with houses matter when all is said and done. Meanwhile, those who work through churches, social services and other organizations that assist the unhoused prove a certain belief that modern capitalism is irredeemable. 
J. Malcolm Garcia worked in an organization helping the unhoused during the 1990s. The agency was in San Francisco. I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s. Of the seven or eight years I lived there, I spent a few of them on the streets. Even then, there were several hundred, if not thousands, of unhoused folks making do, keeping away from the cops, hitting the free meals and sleeping where they could. By 1984—after almost four years of neoliberal Reaganomics—those numbers had increased dramatically. So had a certain sense of desperation as funding was taken away from government agencies and non-profits that served the poor—housed and unhoused. I was lucky. I got out. Some of my friends did not.
Since his work in the social services world of San Francisco, Mr. Garcia has gone on to become one of the world’s most unique and honest journalists. His articles focus on those whose lives have been disrupted, even overturned, by US capitalism and its wars. Several collections of his work have been published and received plaudits and awards. This summer, Seven Stories published his first novel, titled Out of the Rain.
Like his journalism, this novel is about people. Based on his experiences as a social worker in an agency that worked with those without houses, Garcia tells his story with a collection of profiles. From the chronic and amiable alcoholic Walter to the tragic life of a crack addict named Varneeta, the author weaves a profound tale of humanity. Lives that most of his readers can only imagine, if even that, are chronicled in bits and pieces. People in recovery struggling with the urge to go to the liquor store instead of work; men fighting off urges to take advantage of vulnerable women they interact with at the shelter and men that give in to those urges; recovering alcoholics and drug users living lives of loneliness because their previous friends are still using and are nothing but a temptation. Informing it all is the primary protagonist Tom who directs the shelter and center that serves as the focal point for the novel’s characters. His job is one that requires compassion, but demands a certain ruthlessness. That ruthlessness is most often related to the other primary informant of the tale: a national and local economy that cuts funding for services to the poor in favor of profits for the rich. For anyone who has been to San Francisco since Reagan took over the country they must certainly agree that it is the rich who matter the most there.
This is a very human story. It is also very honest. Despite the occasionally unbearable misfortunes that happen to different characters at points in the narrative, a certain hopeful spirit remains the novel’s essence. At the novel’s end, Tom has moved on from his role at the shelter and center to a new job helping refugees. His burnout from caring too much while wrestling with politicians and funders who don’t really like the grimness and squalor of lives lived in the street has won out. This novel is his reminder to the reader as to why we need to care.
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
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So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
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They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
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Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
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Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
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The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
One of San Francisco’s busiest freeways remained shut down Saturday, creating major traffic delays and dampening business for some local restaurants and shops.
All eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 just before the Bay Bridge are closed as crews work around the clock to rehabilitate the roadway. The 55-hour shutdown, which began on Friday night, is scheduled to last until Monday morning in time for the commute.
The closure has forced drivers onto detour routes, leading to heavy congestion for those trying to reach the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley.
The impact is being felt beyond the roadways.
At MoMo’s, a restaurant across from Oracle Park, staff found business noticeably slower.
“A little bit more mellow than usual. We usually see a little bit more foot traffic, a little bit more people on Saturdays,” said Daniel Bermudez, executive chef at MoMo’s.
Bermudez believes the freeway closure may be discouraging visitors from coming into the city this weekend, despite favorable weather.
“The weather is beautiful today. It’s nice and sunny. So we have plenty of tables outside,” he said.
With the San Francisco Giants playing an away game, the restaurant had hoped fans would still gather to watch, but turnout during game time remained light.
“This is kind of like our off-season Saturday. A lot slower than our baseball weekend,” said Casandra Alarcon, general manager at MoMo’s.
Other small businesses in the Mission Bay and South of Market neighborhoods reported similar trends, saying most of their customers are regulars who live nearby rather than visitors.
“A little bit slower for sure. Before, we had tourists come and walk to the baseball park,” said Ajaree Safron, manager at Brickhouse Cafe & Bar.
Caltrans has shut down eastbound lanes between 17th and 4th streets to repave the 71-year-old roadway. The goal is to extend the life of the Bayshore Freeway by another decade.
City and transportation officials said the timing of the closure was intentional, noting fewer major events scheduled in San Francisco this weekend, aside from the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Westbound lanes remain open, and officials said traffic heading into San Francisco from the East Bay has not been significantly affected.
“Getting into the city, it wasn’t too bad. Regular [traffic], what we expect on a Saturday morning,” said visitor Andrea Inouye.
While the closure has posed challenges for businesses, some workers said they are taking it in stride.
“Hopefully, it’s not for too long and we get past it, and get back to our normal routine,” Bermudez said.
Despite early concerns about widespread gridlock, transportation officials said the region has avoided the worst-case scenario. Traffic remains heavy in areas near detours, but the anticipated “carmageddon” has not materialized, in part because many drivers chose to avoid the area or take public transit.
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