San Francisco Mayor London BreedLast June, London Breed became the first African American woman elected as mayor of San Francisco, following the sudden death of Ed Lee in December 2017. She inherited a number of challenging issues, including the cityâs sky-high rents that have heightened concerns about growing income inequality, and homelessness, which has increased by nearly 20 percent since 2017. In March, she unveiled a controversial plan to open the cityâs largest homeless navigation center on a lot along the Embarcadero despite opposition from neighborhood residents. Mayor London Breed joins us in the studio for a discussion about the cityâs top challenges and her re-election bid in November.
Tensions with Iran and Look Ahead at Democratic DebatesAfter a U.S. surveillance drone was shot down near Iran this week, President Trump warned that he âwould not stand for it.â The incident comes just days after American officials blamed Iran for recent attacks on foreign shipping tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway where much of the worldâs oil is transported. On the domestic front, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is facing calls to apologize after he fondly spoke about what he considered civil working relationships with segregationists in the Senate. Also this week, NBC announced its schedule and placement of 20 of the Democratic presidential candidates for their first debates next Wednesday and Thursday.
Guests:
Sean Walsh, Republican strategist, Wilson Walsh Consulting Carla Marinucci, senior political writer, Politico
PG&Eâs Billion-Dollar Pledge to Communities Hurt by WildfiresGov. Gavin Newsom unveiled this week a plan that would set up an insurance fund as large as $21 billion to shield utilities from future wildfire claims, provided they make and certify safety improvements for their operations. Also this week, PG&E agreed to pay $1 billion to local governments after a series of devastating wildfires were linked to its power lines and equipment. The funds are intended to help cover damage spread over 14 cities and counties, including losses from last yearâs Camp Fire, which killed 85 people in the town of Paradise. Meanwhile, environmental activists and city officials want San Francisco to look into abandoning the utility, which filed for bankruptcy in January, citing liabilities in the tens of billions of dollars for its role in deadly 2017 and 2018 wildfires. Â
Guest:
Lisa Pickoff-White, data journalist, KQED
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