Good morning!
D11 supervisorial candidate Michael Lai campaigns as the founder of Tinycare, a “creative” network of in-home micro daycares whose teachers lived and worked from apartments leased by the company. Lai sold the business in 2023. Abigail Van Neely digs into allegations of low pay, poor management, and exploitative housing arrangements at Lai’s former start-up.
Why is the rent still so damn high? SF is set to pass a ban on software intended to keep rents high through price-fixing algorithms, and the U.S. Department of Justice is close behind with its own complaint. The law, authored by Sup. Aaron Peskin, stops RealPage or similar companies from sharing data among different landlords so they can collude to set prices or keep units vacant.
Mayor Breed has appointed an interim fire chief, Sandra Tong, who’ll be the department’s first Asian-American chiefโand the first to come from its EMS side, without firefighting experience. SFFD veterans praised Tong’s competence, but some expressed concern that in a large-scale disaster Tong might lack the “intimate knowledge of what’s necessary on the fire side.”
More soon,
Sara
The Latest News
SFโs first Asian fire chief is first without firefighting background
“Donโt take her for granted. She knows what sheโs doing.”
SF poised to ban rent-fixing software ahead of DOJ
Software for landlords โbuilt a business out of frustrating the natural forces of competition.โ
Election 2024
D11 candidate Michael Lai touts his education start-up. Teachers recall low wages, disorder and collapse.
“He thought daycare was going to be an industry he could โdisruptโ.”
SNAP
