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‘It requires a North Star': advocates say ‘Recovery First' ordinance combats SF's unhoused crisis
‘It requires a North Star': advocates say ‘Recovery First' ordinance combats SF's unhoused crisis

Yahoo

time24-05-2025

  • Health
  • Yahoo

‘It requires a North Star': advocates say ‘Recovery First' ordinance combats SF's unhoused crisis

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Mayor Daniel Lurie said San Francisco has marked a 'major step forward in the belief that recovery is possible,' after he signed new 'Recovery First' legislation on Friday. The bill — sponsored by District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey — aims to tackle the city's long-standing behavioral health and unhoused crisis. 'Since day one, our administration has been working to reshape how the city addresses homelessness, mental health, and addiction,' said Mayor Lurie in a news release. 'This ordinance reflects what we would want for our loved ones, if they were, or if they are, struggling.' 'By enacting 'Recovery First' into law, San Francisco is finally aligning our drug policy goal with what any of us would wish for a loved one struggling with addiction — a self-directed and healthy life, free from illicit drug use,' added Supervisor Dorsey, who has long been outspoken about his own personal drug addiction and recovery. Local advocates are applauding the progress at change. 'San Francisco's overdose death rates, especially among the city's Black residents, have reached devastating levels,' said the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions in a statement to KRON4. 'This is a crisis that demands more than temporary fixes. It requires a North Star.' 'By prioritizing long-term recovery — free of illicit drugs — expanding access to treatment, and creating real pathways to sobriety and independence, we can offer people more than survival, we can help them rebuild their lives,' said Steve Adami, Executive Director of the Way Out. SF to end free distribution of fentanyl paraphernalia without treatment The ordinance follows other recent action under the $37.5 million-funded Breaking the Cycle plan from Mayor Lurie to tackle issues impacting the city, including the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

InnovationRx: Medicaid Cuts Could Reverse Falling Overdose Trends
InnovationRx: Medicaid Cuts Could Reverse Falling Overdose Trends

Forbes

time26-03-2025

  • Health
  • Forbes

InnovationRx: Medicaid Cuts Could Reverse Falling Overdose Trends

In this week's edition of InnovationRx, we look at the trend in fatal drug overdoses, 23andMe's bankruptcy, the new CDC nominee, and more. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here. Narcan nasal spray for sale in a Washington, D.C. vending machine AFP via Getty Images Fatal drug overdoses, including from fentanyl, are falling. The latest preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 25% decline in overdose deaths for the 12 months ended in October 2024 versus the same period in 2023. That's a huge drop— with decreases in the number of fatalities from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids leading the way. Some 82,000 overdose deaths were reported for that period, which is still significantly higher than a decade ago. And some cities still have a major problem: In San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie, who took office in January, has made fighting the city's fentanyl crisis a priority with a recent Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance seeking to unlock resources to get drugs off the streets. Still, the decline is a small piece of good news at the national level. Researchers don't fully understand why the decline has happened, but suspect changes in policies and drug use are at least part of the reason, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Biden Administration last year launched an initiative to increase training and access to naloxone, often sold under the brand name Narcan. The FDA approved an over-the-counter Narcan spray in March 2023 and a first non-prescription spray in July, allowing anyone who needed it to buy it, no questions asked. Last week, the Trump Administration extended through mid-June an emergency declaration on the opioid crisis that was set to expire on March 21. President Trump has justified tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico by claiming a 'national emergency' in fentanyl smuggling, despite overdoses declining without tariffs, while simultaneously slashing funding for public health agencies. Republicans' proposed cuts to Medicaid, which paid for about 39% of non-fatal emergency department overdoses, could reverse the downward trend of opioid deaths. As Drug Policy Alliance executive director Kassandra Frederique said in a recent statement: 'By slashing Medicaid and public health grant programs, Trump's cuts will directly hinder access to treatment, naloxone, and vital health services.' 23andMe Cofounder Anne Wojcicki Christian Peacock for Forbes Struggling genetic testing company 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said that it would look to sell 'substantially all of its assets' through a court-approved reorganization plan. Anne Wojcicki, who cofounded 23andMe nearly two decades ago, stepped down as CEO, but will remain on the company board. Wojcicki had been trying to take the company private, and said in a statement on X that she still intends to be a bidder. In 2021, when SPAC deals were all the rage, 23andMe went public in such a deal with Sir Richard Branson. Its market cap peaked at $6 billion soon after, making Wojcicki a billionaire for a time. It's been all downhill since. The company's shares have plummeted more than 99% to a recent 65 cents as 23andMe failed to turn a profit. Worse, the company has faced privacy concerns, especially from a 2023 data breach, and there are open questions about what might happen to users' data during a bankruptcy and sale. The company said in a statement that 'any buyer will be required to comply with applicable law' regarding customer data. But the risks led California Attorney General Rob Bonta to issue a consumer alert in advance of the bankruptcy filing urging consumers to delete their accounts and direct 23andMe 'to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company.' The FDA has approved GSK's new drug Blujepa, an antibiotic for the treatment of urinary tract infections in women over the age of 12. Around 16 million women get UTIs every year, but this is the first new class of antibiotic against them to receive approval since the 1990s. The new drug works by preventing DNA in the bacteria that cause these infections from replicating. In clinical trials, the drug outperformed nitrofurantoin, the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for UTIs. Plus: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals received FDA approval for its treatment for a progressive heart condition, setting it up to compete against BridgeBio and Pfizer. Scientists are using machine learning to repurpose old drugs, according to an in-depth report from The New York Times. New techniques developed at different universities are helping doctors find new ways to use existing medications to treat patients with rare or complex diseases that don't have any approved treatments. Of course, the idea of repurposing drugs is decades old, but advances in AI now allow researchers to uncover new possibilities in a faster, more systematic way–particularly for cases where it wouldn't be cost-effective to develop a brand new treatment. Donald Trump nominated Susan Monarez to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently the agency's acting director, she would be the CDC's first non-physician chief in more than 50 years if confirmed. Monarez's nomination followed Trump's abrupt withdrawal of his previous nominee, Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman with a long history of supporting anti-vaccine theories, just hours before his confirmation hearing. Monarez is a biosecurity expert who was previously deputy director of the health research organization ARPA-H. She's likely to face questions about her views on vaccinations at her confirmation hearing, the date for which has not been set yet. The CDC, which has a budget of around $9 billion, is currently dealing with the Texas measles outbreak and the ongoing spread of avian flu. Plus: The Senate has confirmed Marty Makary to lead the FDA and Jay Bhattacharya to head NIH. And the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-13 to advance Mehmet Oz's nomination as director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to a full Senate vote. Character Biosciences, which is developing drugs for age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases, announced that it has raised a $93 million series B round, co-led by Luma Group and aMoon. The company will use the new cash, which brings total funding to $117 million, to bring its two lead drug candidates into clinical trials. In one tiny town in the Alps, more than a dozen people were diagnosed with ALS, an impossibly high number. Was a mushroom to blame? HHS hires a long-discredited researcher who has promoted false claims about the connection between vaccines and autism to conduct a critical study of possible links between the two, according to the Washington Post. Medicaid work requirements could cut coverage for 5.2 million people next year, according to a new report. Another report found that proposed cuts to Medicaid could result in nearly half a million healthcare jobs being lost. Johnson & Johnson will increase its U.S. investment in manufacturing and R&D to more than $55 billion over the next four years. The measles outbreak continues to grow, with 370 cases in Texas and New Mexico, as parents resist vaccination for the highly contagious diseases. Cases have been reported in 16 other states, including Kansas, which has now seen 10 cases across three counties. (Should you get a booster for your measles vaccine? Here's what to know.) The Trump Administration's crackdown on DEI could exacerbate a steep drop in diversity among medical school students, ultimately harming patient care. Trump's cuts to NIH hit an HIV prevention program for teens and young adults, who account for about 19% of new infections each year.

San Francisco gives new mayor expedited powers to tackle drug use, homelessness
San Francisco gives new mayor expedited powers to tackle drug use, homelessness

Yahoo

time12-02-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

San Francisco gives new mayor expedited powers to tackle drug use, homelessness

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie notched an early victory in his crusade against the city's twin crises of homelessness and fentanyl addiction, getting sign-off from the powerful Board of Supervisors to bypass bureaucratic hurdles that have slowed expansion of shelter capacity and treatment programs, and more leeway to pursue private funding to help finance those initiatives. The measure, dubbed the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance, marks Lurie's first big step in fulfilling a campaign promise to visibly reduce homeless encampments and open air drug use within six months of taking office, in part by adding 1,500 shelter beds and expanding behavioral and mental health services. That pledge helped Lurie, a moderate Democrat and political newcomer, triumph in the November election against incumbent London Breed and three other City Hall veterans whom he accused of allowing homelessness, addiction and the companion ills of retail and property crimes to fester. During a City Hall news conference Wednesday before signing the legislation, Lurie said the new authority will allow his administration to "act swiftly and effectively." "The fentanyl crisis is not a nine-to-five operation," Lurie said. "It doesn't take breaks, and neither will we." Lurie introduced the ordinance shortly after his January inauguration, and has spent the last month negotiating for its passage with San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, an 11-member body that acts as the city's legislative branch. The supervisors gave the ordinance their final approval Tuesday in a resounding 10-1 vote. That overwhelming support marks a dramatic shift in the power dynamic between the mayor and the board, whose leadership for years has been considered staunchly progressive. The board frequently opposed Breed — also a centrist Democrat — in her tough-on-crime efforts to crack down on drug dealers and bolster police powers. The November election resulted in a turnover on the board, as voters weary of sprawling homeless encampments and brazen drug use looked to shake up local governance. The newly constituted board has five new members and a more moderate bent. "Progressives are much reduced on the board, and the ones that have been sort of progressive before are more toward the center now," said Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University. "I do think that the board and the mayor have a common sort of goal of ... trying to solve some of these problems that the electorate seems to still be quite upset about." Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who was named president of the board last month, worked with Lurie on amendments to narrow the ordinance in ways that appeased the board's more liberal members and secured a majority vote. Mandelman is among the supervisors who have moved toward the political center in recent years after he was elected in 2018 as a progressive representing the Castro district. The ordinance cuts red tape in the city's emergency response to homelessness and drug use by temporarily bolstering the mayor's authority — and reducing the board's role — in approving city contracts related to homelessness, addiction and mental health. It expedites the procedures for hiring outreach workers and public safety employees tasked with staffing shelters. It also exempts such contracts from the city's stringent competitive bidding process until 2026. The board still has the opportunity to weigh in on contracts worth from $10 million to $25 million, but the ordinance requires supervisors to act within 45 days of a contract proposal. A critical component of the ordinance allows Lurie and certain members of his administration over the next six months to solicit private donations of up to $10 million for these efforts from individuals with business before the city, waiving a prohibition on behested payments from "interested parties," a broad category that includes contractors, lobbyists and companies. That allowance gives Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss family fortune, the opportunity to leverage a Rolodex of wealthy connections in the tech and business sectors accumulated through his family's decades in philanthropy and his own experience as an anti-poverty nonprofit executive. The outside funding could help backfill a budget deficit projected at nearly $1 billion, and avoid cuts to homelessness and treatment services that could undermine Lurie's efforts. Lurie said the relaxed rules will help the city quickly set up a 24/7 "stabilization center" in the heart of the Tenderloin district for police to drop off people who need medical care, as an alternative to jail and emergency rooms. Read more: Daniel Lurie inaugurated as San Francisco's new mayor: 'This is where our comeback begins' The waiver raised concerns among a handful of supervisors, who advised Lurie to use his powers carefully and referenced an embarrassing series of scandals that have shaken City Hall in recent years. That includes the 2022 federal prosecution of a former director of the San Francisco Department of Public Works for a long-running scheme involving bribery and kickbacks. The same year, San Francisco voters approved a ballot measure that restricted city officials from soliciting private donations from people doing business with the city. "With my vote today, I am putting a great deal of faith in Mayor Lurie's administration to utilize these extraordinary powers to carry out the will of the voters and provide housing, shelter and treatment to our most vulnerable, and to do so without repeating the corrupt practices that have tainted the public's trust in city government for years," Supervisor Jackie Fielder, a freshman member, said after voting in support of the ordinance at a Feb. 4 meeting. Supervisor Shamann Walton, a progressive, voiced concerns about weakening government checks and balances and the lack of details in Lurie's plan before casting the lone "no" vote against the ordinance. Lurie on Wednesday pledged "full transparency" about who contributes to the funds for enhanced services. "The public will know who we are talking to and who donates," he said. Despite Lurie's early victory, political observers said that future policy disagreements between the board and mayor's office are almost certain. While tackling fentanyl abuse is a popular issue, said Democratic political consultant Jim Ross, debates over Lurie's recent City Hall hiring freeze and the looming budget crisis are likely to spark more tension. "This is his first legislative issue," Ross said, "and I think there's are a lot of members on the board who don't want to start their time ... making an enemy of the mayor." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

San Francisco gives new mayor expedited powers to tackle drug use, homelessness
San Francisco gives new mayor expedited powers to tackle drug use, homelessness

Los Angeles Times

time12-02-2025

  • Politics
  • Los Angeles Times

San Francisco gives new mayor expedited powers to tackle drug use, homelessness

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie notched an early victory in his crusade against the city's twin crises of homelessness and fentanyl addiction, getting sign-off from the powerful Board of Supervisors to bypass bureaucratic hurdles that have slowed expansion of shelter capacity and treatment programs, and more leeway to pursue private funding to help finance those initiatives. The measure, dubbed the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance, marks Lurie's first big step in fulfilling a campaign promise to visibly reduce homeless encampments and open air drug use within six months of taking office, in part by adding 1,500 shelter beds and expanding behavioral and mental health services. That pledge helped Lurie, a moderate Democrat and political newcomer, triumph in the November election against incumbent London Breed and three other City Hall veterans whom he accused of allowing homelessness, addiction and the companion ills of retail and property crimes to fester. During a City Hall news conference Wednesday before signing the legislation, Lurie said the new authority will allow his administration to 'act swiftly and effectively.' 'The fentanyl crisis is not a nine-to-five operation,' Lurie said. 'It doesn't take breaks, and neither will we.' Lurie introduced the ordinance shortly after his January inauguration, and has spent the last month negotiating for its passage with San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, an 11-member body that acts as the city's legislative branch. The supervisors gave the ordinance their final approval Tuesday in a resounding 10-1 vote. That overwhelming support marks a dramatic shift in the power dynamic between the mayor and the board, whose leadership for years has been considered staunchly progressive. The board frequently opposed Breed — also a centrist Democrat — in her tough-on-crime efforts to crack down on drug dealers and bolster police powers. The November election resulted in a turnover on the board, as voters weary of sprawling homeless encampments and brazen drug use looked to shake up local governance. The newly constituted board has five new members and a more moderate bent. 'Progressives are much reduced on the board, and the ones that have been sort of progressive before are more toward the center now,' said Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University. 'I do think that the board and the mayor have a common sort of goal of ... trying to solve some of these problems that the electorate seems to still be quite upset about.' Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who was named president of the board last month, worked with Lurie on amendments to narrow the ordinance in ways that appeased the board's more liberal members and secured a majority vote. Mandelman is among the supervisors who have moved toward the political center in recent years after he was elected in 2018 as a progressive representing the Castro district. The ordinance cuts red tape in the city's emergency response to homelessness and drug use by temporarily bolstering the mayor's authority — and reducing the board's role — in approving city contracts related to homelessness, addiction and mental health. It expedites the procedures for hiring outreach workers and public safety employees tasked with staffing shelters. It also exempts such contracts from the city's stringent competitive bidding process until 2026. The board still has the opportunity to weigh in on contracts worth from $10 million to $25 million, but the ordinance requires supervisors to act within 45 days of a contract proposal. A critical component of the ordinance allows Lurie and certain members of his administration over the next six months to solicit private donations of up to $10 million for these efforts from individuals with business before the city, waiving a prohibition on behested payments from 'interested parties,' a broad category that includes contractors, lobbyists and companies. That allowance gives Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss family fortune, the opportunity to leverage a Rolodex of wealthy connections in the tech and business sectors accumulated through his family's decades in philanthropy and his own experience as an anti-poverty nonprofit executive. The outside funding could help backfill a budget deficit projected at nearly $1 billion, and avoid cuts to homelessness and treatment services that could undermine Lurie's efforts. Lurie said the relaxed rules will help the city quickly set up a 24/7 'stabilization center' in the heart of the Tenderloin district for police to drop off people who need medical care, as an alternative to jail and emergency rooms. The waiver raised concerns among a handful of supervisors, who advised Lurie to use his powers carefully and referenced an embarrassing series of scandals that have shaken City Hall in recent years. That includes the 2022 federal prosecution of a former director of the San Francisco Department of Public Works for a long-running scheme involving bribery and kickbacks. The same year, San Francisco voters approved a ballot measure that restricted city officials from soliciting private donations from people doing business with the city. 'With my vote today, I am putting a great deal of faith in Mayor Lurie's administration to utilize these extraordinary powers to carry out the will of the voters and provide housing, shelter and treatment to our most vulnerable, and to do so without repeating the corrupt practices that have tainted the public's trust in city government for years,' Supervisor Jackie Fielder, a freshman member, said after voting in support of the ordinance at a Feb. 4 meeting. Supervisor Shamann Walton, a progressive, voiced concerns about weakening government checks and balances and the lack of details in Lurie's plan before casting the lone 'no' vote against the ordinance. Lurie on Wednesday pledged 'full transparency' about who contributes to the funds for enhanced services. 'The public will know who we are talking to and who donates,' he said. Despite Lurie's early victory, political observers said that future policy disagreements between the board and mayor's office are almost certain. While tackling fentanyl abuse is a popular issue, said Democratic political consultant Jim Ross, debates over Lurie's recent City Hall hiring freeze and the looming budget crisis are likely to spark more tension. 'This is his first legislative issue,' Ross said, 'and I think there's are a lot of members on the board who don't want to start their time ... making an enemy of the mayor.'

Dem mayor unleashes task force in attempt to rescue crime-ridden city: 'Restore order to our streets'
Dem mayor unleashes task force in attempt to rescue crime-ridden city: 'Restore order to our streets'

Yahoo

time08-02-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Dem mayor unleashes task force in attempt to rescue crime-ridden city: 'Restore order to our streets'

San Francisco Mayor David Lurie launched the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Hospitality Task Force and secured a key vote in support of the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance this week as he works to clean up San Francisco's streets and restore common sense policies to the liberal city. San Francisco has had one of the slowest economic recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Images of San Francisco's open-air drug markets, homeless encampments and empty office buildings have caught the nation's attention since the pandemic. The SFPD Hospitality Task Force will target San Francisco's business and tourist districts, increasing police presence, dedicating resources to high-traffic areas and offering support to the hospitality industry. "Helping people feel safe walking downtown is the key to unleashing our city's comeback," Lurie said. "We are creating the conditions for a thriving commercial center by launching the SFPD Hospitality Task Force. The Hospitality Task Force will break down silos to increase the police presence across the areas that drive our city's economy, not just during large conferences, but 365 days a year." Former Aoc Chief Of Staff Announces Run Against Pelosi, Calls Dems 'Paralyzed And Unprepared' Under Trump Major retailers, including Nordstrom and Saks Off Fifth, pulled out of San Francisco's downtown due to rising crime and dwindling foot traffic. After more than 20 years in the heart of downtown San Francisco, Westfield abandoned the San Francisco Centre mall in 2023, citing a decline in sales, occupancy and foot traffic. Read On The Fox News App San Franciscans voted Mayor London Breed out of office in November. She was elected in 2018 and led the city through its struggling pandemic recovery. Lurie, a Levi's heir and political outsider, began his first term as mayor in January. He campaigned on cleaning up San Francisco's streets, public safety, tackling the city's drug crisis, creating housing, cutting through corrupt bureaucracy and "breathing life back into our downtown." California Plans To Continue Allowing Trans Athletes To Compete In Girls' Sports Despite Trump Executive Order "With a safe, bustling downtown, we will attract businesses, shoppers, tourists and conventions, creating jobs, generating revenue and helping us provide better services for everyone in San Francisco," Lurie said of the new task force. Also this week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 in favor of Mayor Lurie's Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance. "As a candidate for mayor, I promised San Franciscans that I would work in partnership with the Board of Supervisors to take action on the critical issues facing our city," Lurie said. "As mayor, I am proud to be delivering on that promise today. The Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance gives us the tools to treat this crisis with the urgency it demands. And with our partners on the board, that's exactly what we will do." The ordinance will equip the city with the resources "to get drugs off the street and keep San Franciscans safe" by unlocking funding and expediting the contracting process to allow for expanded treatment options, increased shelter capacity and health initiatives. The full Board of Supervisors will address the ordinance Tuesday for a second and final reading before Lurie can sign the ordinance into law. Click To Get The Fox News App "I don't think there's a problem facing San Francisco today that isn't caused by or made significantly worse by street-level drug addiction," Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who voted in favor of the ordinance, said. "Mayor Lurie's emergency ordinance aims to surge resources that deliver solutions as big as the problems. This is a needed approach to restore order to our streets, to diminish San Francisco's attraction as a drug-use and drug-dealing destination and to save lives."Original article source: Dem mayor unleashes task force in attempt to rescue crime-ridden city: 'Restore order to our streets'

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