Economic

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced a number of Community Engagement events to get the public more involved in the budget process and educate residents about the Mayor’s budget principles as he builds a balanced two-year budget. The Mayor will co-host District Based Budget Town Halls with the Board of Supervisors and will also provide online forums to hear directly from San Franciscans about their budget priorities and ideas; and [...]

San Francisco Arts Market from NENtv on Vimeo. The SF Arts Market is a weekly showcase of the work of local residents and artisans. Come join the festivities every thursday at UN Plaza between 11 am and 4 pm. There you will find dozens of local merchants, great food and live music. For more information please visit artsmarketsf.org  

    Best Merchant Association of the Year Award – Taraval Merchant Assoc. from NENtv on Vimeo. Congratulations to the Taraval Merchants Association for winning the 2010 NEN Award for the Best Merchant Association, for their continuing efforts to improve Taraval Street and the surrounding Sunset District.”They have attracted new members, started new events, sustained past successes, and secured grant money to help their corridor. “They have opened themselves up [...]

Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced the winners of the Community Challenge Grant Program (CCG), which provides matching grants to local residents, businesses, non-profits and other community groups to make physical improvements to their neighborhoods. The CCG Program has awarded 28 grants totaling $577,656. The bulk of the CCG awards continue to be for permeable landscaping, public artwork, graffiti/litter abatement, community gardens and gathering spaces, equitably covering all areas of the [...]

I had the honor of being in New Orleans during the days that led up to the 5th anniversary of one of America’s great man-made disasters. It’s important to know that folks in this great town don’t blame the hurricane that struck with such vengeance, but rather the under-engineered levees that ringed the neighborhoods that buckled in response to the surge of water they were designed to handle. Out of [...]

How can people care about neighborhood traffic calming or graffiti abatement if they’re still struggling financially? SF City Treasurer and upcoming Craigslist Boot Camp speaker José Cisneros talks with NENfm about his fight to stop citizens getting ripped off and the importance to our communities of financial empowerment. Episode Length: 29:04 Download this episode (right click and save) Show Information Guest: José Cisneros, Treasurer, City and County of San Francisco Related Event: Craigslist Foundation [...]

Want to make your neighborhood a better place? First, you’ve got to know what assets the community has. As Project Manager of the NENu (“NEN University”) Polk Corridor Resiliency Project, Doris Padilla understands better than most this vital “asset-mapping” process. Doris talks with NENfm about treasure-hunting on the Polk Street Corridor. Episode Length: 22:42 Download this episode (right click and save) Show Information Guest: Doris Padilla, Project Manager of the [...]

In hard economic times, San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood is taking an extraordinary step: Introducing a community currency that can only be spent in Bernal Heights. Crazy or calculated? NENtv investigates. View on Youtube here. Download here (right-click to save).

The concept of the arts as an economic defibrillator is not a new one. In the fall of 2008, the economy was in a state of cardiac arrest and the Merchants on Divisadero Street needed some fast resuscitation. Thus was born the Divisadero Art Walk. What started as a group of a few dedicated merchants who really wanted to bring the local folks out to Divisadero past sundown has blossomed into a [...]