Featured
Vintage Lincecum At His Best
San Francisco, CA – After pitching a no-hitter in his last outing, Tim Lincecum got his second consecutive win and helped the Giants out of their slump by shutting out the Cardinals 5-0. Lincecum has never posted back-to-back outings of eight or more scoreless innings in his career.
“I don’t think there was a big difference between his last start and tonight’s outing,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “He kept the ball down, threw quality strikes all night and gave us a great effort. If you look at them, it’s hard to find a big difference.”
Lincecum extended his scoreless innings streak to 17 consecutive innings. This is his longest scoreless stretch since posting 21 straight scoreless frames from May 4-10, 2011. He was simply brilliant on the mound tonight. Lincecum allowed four hits and struck out six in eight shutout innings.
“You have to treat it differently,” Lincecum said when asked about the comparison of his recent starts.
“We threw what we wanted to and things worked out for the best,” he explained. “Things were working. I felt like I did my last start, nothing was crazy nasty or anything like that. 93, 94 [mph] but I was trying to put them in good spots and keep them off balance and bury my pitches.”
Lincecum resembled his vintage days when he escaped a bases-loaded jam. His focus was profound after he put three on with a double, single and a hit batter. Lincecum struck out the next two batters and forced Daniel Descalo to ground out to end the inning, leaving three stranded.
“No question, that’s the turning point of the game,” said Bochy. “He’s in a tough jam there, facing some good hitters and doesn’t give up a run. It kept us from getting down and having an uphill climb.”
“It’s tremendous,” Hunter Pence said. “I really don’t know how to describe it, other than, it’s two phenomenal performances and he’s got that groove. It’s fun to play behind him.”
Pence backed his ace by sparking the offense. He led off the fourth with a single and Buster Posey followed with a a RBI double giving San Francisco a 1-0 lead. Then Pablo Sandoval blasted a two-run homer to left field extending their lead 3-0. Sandoval hit his 100th career homer.
“It’s hard to get one so 100 means a lot to me,” said Sandoval. “I’ve been through a lot of things in my career so I just stay humble and play my game. I knew I was at 99 home runs coming into this game. I’m excited to get that and help us get the win, we needed it.”
The Giants continued to opened up their offense by scoring two more runs in the fifth. Juan Perez lead off the inning with a single, Pence hit a RBI double and stole third base. Marco Gonzales loaded the bases after walking both Sandoval and Michael Morse with one out.
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny saw enough and replaced Gonzales, who made his second Major League start with Seth Maness. Hector Sanchez grounded out and Pence scored. Brandon Crawford grounded out and the Giants had a comfortable 5-0 lead.
This is the first time San Francisco won the first game of the series since June 6 against the New York Mets. They had dropped six straight series openers. The win tonight put them back in first place over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
Notes – The Giants had another setback with their center fielder Angel Pagan. He was scheduled to come off the disabled list prior to the start of this series against the St. Louis Cardinals. But he came in on his off day yesterday and was doing some running when he had a “minor setback.” Pagan will fly out to Los Angeles tomorrow to see a specialist (Dr. Watkins) and hope to find some better options than what’s been used for his recovery.
“I was working out yesterday and had a minor setback, ” Pagan said. “And to be cautious we want to see a specialist in LA in order to have a better plan for the future. We want the best plan possible so I can come back stronger.”
Pagan explained that he has a bulging disk that is pinching a nerve causing numbness in his legs. His goal is to find a better alternative as surgery is not an option. San Francisco has struggled in the leadoff position since he’s been out. They’re hoping to get him back soon as he’s been an asset to this team and the offense.
“We need a better plan than what we’ve been doing in terms of treatment, injections and medication,” explained Pagan.
“He came in on his day off yesterday and we’ll have the doctor look at him tomorrow,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “We don’t know enough to say what’s wrong with him at this point.”
Activism
An Inside Look into How San Francisco Analyzes Homeless Encampments
Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles. These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.
By Magaly Muñoz
Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles.
These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.
But it’s normal to have tents set up again within less than 24 hours after an encampment sweep, David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the Department of Emergency Management, says. Sometimes there’s less people than before but often there is also no change.
“Most of the people that were in the encampments that want to go inside, we’ve gotten the majority of those [into shelter],” Nakanishi says. “Many of the people we encounter now, are those who have various reasons to not accept shelter, and some are already in shelter/housing”.
Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.
Where neighboring cities in the Bay Area are clearing encampments a few days a week, San Francisco is sweeping 10 times a week, two per weekday.
Considering the controversy that plagues the city around its harsh policies, the Post decided to tag along on a ride with Nakanishi to show us how he decides what encampments make it on the city’s sweep list.
Nakanishi, having over 20 years of experience in homelessness management, drives around the busiest parts of the city almost daily. He’s tasked with arranging a weekly sweeping operation schedule for city teams to engage with unhoused folks to help get them off the streets.
So what exactly is he looking out for when deciding what encampments get swept?
It depends, he says.
Locations like schools, recreational centers, senior centers, or businesses are places he tends to want to address quickly, especially schools. These are the places where the complaints are highest and access to facilities is important for residents.
He says he also takes into account 311 calls and reports made to him by city staff. On the date of publication, over 100 calls and reports were made about encampments around the city, according to San Francisco data.
Nakanishi made a few 311 reports himself on the ride along, pulling over to take photos and describe the encampments into his 311 app. He says it helps him remember where to possibly sweep next or allows smaller teams in the city to engage quicker with individuals on the streets.
Nakanishi also looks at the state of the encampments. Are there a lot of bulky items, such as furniture, or makeshift structures built out of tarps and plywood, blocking areas of traffic? Is trash beginning to pile up and spill into the streets or sidewalks? Sites that meet this criteria tend to be contenders for encampment sweeps, Nakanishi says.
Street by street, he points out individuals he’s interacted with, describing their conditions, habits, and reasons for denying assistance from the city.
One man on 2nd St and Mission, who rolls around a blue recycling bin and often yells at passing pedestrians, has refused shelter several times, Nakanishi says.
People deny shelter for all kinds of reasons, he says. There’s too many rules to follow, people feel unsafe in congregate or shared shelters, or their behavioral and mental health problems make it hard to get them into proper services.
Nakanishi references another man on South Van Ness under the freeway, who city outreach have attempted to get into shelter, but his screaming outbursts make it difficult to place him without disturbing other people in the same space. Nakanishi says it might be an issue of the man needing resources like medication to alleviate his distress that causes the screaming, but the city behavioral team is in the process of outreaching him to figure that out.
In October, city outreach teams engaged with 495 unhoused people. 377 of those engaged refused shelter and only 118 accepted placements, according to city data. That number of monthly referrals is consistent throughout the entirety of 2024 so far.
Nakanishi has long advocated for the well-being of unhoused people, he explains. In 2004, he was working with the Department of Public Health and told then-Mayor Gavin Newsom that there needed to be more housing for families. Nakinishi was told it was easier to deal with individuals first and the city “will get there eventually.” 20 years later, family housing is still not as extensive as it could be, and the waiting list to get placements for families is a mile long with over 500 names.
In 2020, he was a Senior Behavioral Health Clinician at a hotel in the city during the pandemic. He says in 2021 he collaborated with DPH to provide vaccines to those staying in the makeshift hotel shelters once those became available.
Despite the constant media attention that city outreach is inhumanely treating homeless people, so much so that it has led to lawsuits against San Francisco from advocates, Nakanishi says not a lot of people are seeing the true conditions of some encampments.
He describes soiled clothing and tents, drenched in urine, and oftentimes rodents or bug infestations in places where people are sleeping. He’s asked homeless advocates- often those who are the most critical about the city’s work- who have shown up to observe the sweeps if those are conditions the city should allow people to be subjected to, but not many have answers for him, Nakanishi says.
The city’s “bag and tag” policy allows city workers to throw away items that are “soiled by infectious materials” such as bodily fluids and waste.
Sweep operations are conducted at 8am and 1pm Monday through Friday. People at the encampments are given 72 hour notice to vacate, but some don’t leave the area until the day of the sweep.
City outreach workers come out the day before and day of to offer resources and shelter to those interested. The Department of Public Works discards any trash that is left over from the sweep and washes down the area.
Nakanishi told the Post that the only time the city takes tents or personal possessions from residents is when folks become physically violent towards workers and police take the items as evidence. Other items taken are bagged and tagged in accordance with city policy.
Stories from local newspapers such as the San Francisco Standard and the Chronicle show instances of SFPD handcuffing residents while their items are thrown in the trash or disposing of personal possessions without reason.
Advocates have long been pushing for a more competent and compassionate process if the city is going to choose to continue sweeping unhouse people.
No matter the lawsuits and constant criticisms from allies, the encampment sweeps are not slowing down, even with the cold weather quickly approaching the coastal city.
Nakanishi says there aren’t a lot of large encampments left in San Francisco so now they do runs of streets in order to stretch out the sweeps as much as possible.
It’s calculated strategies and years of first hand knowledge that make this job work, “It takes dedication to the work, caring for the people and the community, and persistence, patience and sometimes good luck to make the positive changes for the people on the street,” Nakanishi says.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST
Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST
Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024
5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST
Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?
Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.
STREAMED LIVE!
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YOUTUBE: youtube.com/blackpressusatv
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