| The Biggest Problem With San Francisco’s Rent Crisis |
[22 Jun 2015|09:45am] |
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http://www.slate.com/articles/business/metropolis/2015/06/san_francisco_rent_crisis_the_solution_isn_t_in_the_city_it_s_in_the_suburbs.html In the big, sad joke that is America’s urban rent crisis, San Francisco is a recurrent punchline. Last year, photographer Scott Hampton adopted a real estate broker's poetic license to advertise “waterfront condos,” “cozy studios,” and “lofts” alongside pictures of dumpsters, trash cans, and manholes. And this month the Onion reported that San Francisco would shut its doors due to rising rent—a literally unbelievable premise, but one that’s not too far from the mentality of Bay Area anti-gentrification activists who believe that stopping new housing projects will halt new arrivals at the city limits. David Campos, the supervisor who represents the city’s Mission District, has proposed halting all new residential construction in that hip, Latino neighborhood for a period as long as two years. The moratorium narrowly failed in a Board of Supervisors vote last week but may be reborn as a ballot initiative in November.
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| Stop Looking Like a Fool at the Gas Station |
[22 Jun 2015|12:49pm] |
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http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_short_cut/2015/06/how_to_tell_what_side_the_gas_tank_is_on_this_simple_trick_will_eliminate.html For anyone who drives rental cars often, or who borrows cars from family and friends frequently, this scenario is familiar. You drive up to the gas station only to discover that the cap to the gas tank is on the other side of the car. Sometimes, it’s only a slight annoyance to relocate, but at urban stations or jam-packed highway rest areas, it can be an absolute nightmare. Luckily, we discovered the magic indicator. In the video above, familiarize yourself with the quick tip that will eliminate any future guessing.
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| Do Not Disturb |
[22 Jun 2015|08:41pm] |
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http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/06/city_of_los_angeles_v_patel_the_supreme_court_rules_that_police_can_t_simply.html In a decision heralded as a big win for privacy rights, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, on 5–4 lines Monday morning, that the Fourth Amendment prevents the city of Los Angeles from enforcing a 116-year-old ordinance that compels hotel operators to turn over certain records to the police. In an opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Anthony Kennedy, the majority struck down the ordinance punishing hotel operators that refuse to turn over such records “without affording them any opportunity for pre-compliance review.” Justice Antonin Scalia penned a feisty rebuttal in response, accusing the majority of making it vastly more difficult for cops to break up drug rings, human trafficking, and prostitution operations.
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