Urban scene with palm trees, a tiled walkway, and a colorful mural on the right. People and a train are visible in the background under a clear sky.
3/15/25 NE 16th Street Plaza. Photo by Lydia Chávez

These are photos from both the 16th Street plaza, Wiese Street, which is across from the southwest plaza, and Julian Avenue, which is a half block west of Wiese Street. Both are places where folks hang out and are generally littered with trash. Wiese Street has been better since the crackdown. The two photos show how it looked at 8:52 a.m. today, and then better, a few hours later, at 10:28 a.m. One major problem: There is no garbage can on Wiese or Julian streets. Anyone wanting to toss trash in a can must walk at least a block to do so.

A public square with checkered pavement, palm trees, and graffiti-covered walls. People are walking and sitting. A cart with bags is in the foreground.
3/15/25 NE plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez.
Sidewalk with parked bicycles, orange cones, and a mobile command truck. A few people walk in the background under bright sunlight and palm trees.
3/15/25 SW plaza. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
Urban scene with three palm trees, a plaza, and parked vehicles including a large truck. Buildings and a partially visible market stall are in the background. Clear sky overhead.
3/15/25 SW plaza. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
A person with a pink bag stands at a crosswalk next to a trash-strewn alley bordered by a yellow and an orange building.
3/15/25 Wiese Street, 8:52 a.m. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
A narrow urban alley with graffiti-covered walls, metal barricades along the sides, and a faded crosswalk in the foreground. Trash is scattered on the asphalt.
3/15/25 Wiese Street, 10:28 a.m. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
A street scene with a person walking past several belongings and an open umbrella on the sidewalk. Cars are parked along the road, and buildings line the street on both sides.
3/15/25 Julian Avenue, west side. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
Street scene with people on a sidewalk, some seated and others walking. Vehicles are parked on the left, and the sidewalk has scattered trash. Buildings line the street.
3/15/25 Julian Avenue, east side. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

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I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.

As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.

As founder/executive editor at ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.

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