By: Phil Ting

As we watch the news from the party conventions, we are hearing a new refrain – “We built that.”

As political rhetoric goes, it is hardly, “Where’s the Beef?” or even, “Bridge to the 21st Century.” What it lacks in rhetorical punch, it more than makes up for in policy weight.

Because it does make perfect sense for us to ask: “What can government do to rebuild our economy and put Californians back to work?”

A few weeks back, I released data surrounding the dramatic increase in property values in San Francisco’s South of Market and Mission Bay neighborhoods and discussed some of the policy-driven reasons behind this beneficial increase and the new tax revenues that come with it.

Our data seems to clearly show that one of the reasons this neighborhood is so economically healthy is the basic investment our state made in expanding the University of California, San Francisco a few years back. The state built a new UCSF campus in Mission Bay. And now that investment is already paying the dividend of higher tax revenues that can be used for anything – from cleaning our streets to improving our schools. Read More

By: Evan Brown

What if, when your boss catches you perusing Facebook, you could tell them that you’re actually doing your civic duty? What if you could order a voter registration form on a plane as easily as ordering an overpriced snack box from the flight attendant? Or shut down voter suppression attempts with the push of a button?

Far from wishful thinking, a new spate of social media platforms and smartphone apps are allowing some citizens to do all of the above, and more. Those who are developing and promoting these “citizenship 2.0” tools see them as a way to engage the younger generation in the political process, on their own terms. Read More

By: Mike Montgomery

Silicon Valley is the king of Internet innovation. But that doesn't mean the valley can ignore sovereign powers -- particularly when their actions could threaten its lifeblood: global Internet freedom.

In December, the innocuous-sounding World Conference on International Telecommunications will be held in Dubai. Its stated purpose is to update the international telecom ground rules for things like global interoperability of networks and exchanges of telecom traffic between countries. Read More

The venerable San Francisco Civil Grand Jury is out today with their report detailing possible solutions to the San Francisco Municipal Railway’s “switchback” problems.

“Switchback” is what Muni calls it when they stop a streetcar or bus before the end of the run, kick out the passengers to wait for the next vehicle, and then head back in the opposite direction. Read More