Crowdfunding in the Spot.Us way includes many features that are radically new in journalism.

Pitching in public is one of them. In the traditional journalistic process journalists pitch to editors, not to readers.

According to my study, the Spot.Us reporters find pitching in public intriguing, yet challenging in many ways. One of the reporters describes his experience with pitching in public:

“I don’t like pitching in public. Yeah, hell, it is scary to pitch in public. I didn’t reveal everything in the pitch – I know more than I wrote in the pitch, and have learnt more too since the pitch was published.”

The reporters are concerned about exposing their story in public because there is a risk that a competitor might use their idea. Investigative reporters identify the risk that the publicity might affect their sources, and the actions of the people the reporters are investigating.

However, the reporters think experimenting with the new level of transparency and publicity is worth it.

“If this story was easy to cover, somebody would have done it already. You need to have the experience and resources to do this story. And if I don’t try crowdfunding now, when will I try it?”, one reporter says.

I have interviewed Spot.Us reporters and donors for my study about crowdfunding in journalism. The study is a part of my Ph.D. project, in which I’m studying collective intelligence in journalism. More about my findings on the PBS MediaShift, and a SlideShare presentation based on my paper here.

Updates from stories in progress.

Interview with a desperate family. Reporting by Patrick Burke part of the American Apparel story.

These sisters both worked in American Apparel’s sewing department before the I-9 audit.  Now they’re looking for work and hoping for a way to avoid catastrophe for their family.  I conducted this interview, with translation help from Natalia Garcia, on 11/18/09.  Today, the 19th, I’m told that American Apparel CEO Dov Charney will be helping the Perez family, at least with this month’s rent.

A Desperate Family from Patrick Burke on Vimeo.

More than just a number: Theresa Rutheford – Part of the SF Public Press’ look into “SF city downsizing slashing worker’s paychecks.”

Supes will vote whether to restore funding for pink slipped workers next Tuesday.  Theresa Rutheford, a CNA at Laguna Honda, talked about how the cuts would effect her.UpdateFinal by monica.jensen

Inside the Alameda Courts: Day two. Part of the Crime Courts and Communities investigation with KALW. (Also see Day One).

Stanford law professor Robert Weisberg added another perspective on jury selection. He said that an experienced lawyer who tries the same types of cases will over time, start to come up with profiles of ideal jurors. Prosecutors, who are particularly prone to specialize, are great at this, he said. Weisberg added that in high-stakes, well-funded cases like lawsuits against big businesses, a defense attorney might even hire a jury consultant to research demographics. But ultimately, “lawyers know that there are a certain number of people that they won’t be able to get out of a jury,” he said. “That’s when they start using their questioning not to expose a bias in the juror, but to start to seduce the jurors into their way of thinking.”

New Jails, No Treatment, in California Prison Plan

With his first proposal rejected by a federal court, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week submitted a new, 130-page plan to cut California prisons’ inmate population by 42,000 in two years.

The proposal (PDF) would build new prisons and transfer inmates out of state, but comes amid a hefty budgetary slash to drug treatment programs that lawmakers had previously identified as an effective way of in keeping people out of prison.

Published: Parent and community groups fight uphill battle to reform public school food.

Tavon Frazier is a skinny 9-year-old squirming in front of his Styrofoam lunch tray. He’s eaten most of his chicken taco and his friends, all wearing the navy polo shirts of East Oakland’s Korematsu Discovery Academy, are wiggling around him, chewing on their flour tortillas and nibbling on baby carrots. Tavon didn’t stop at the salad bar on his way to the cafeteria table today. He says sometimes he’ll get applesauce when they have it, but mostly he doesn’t like vegetables, especially broccoli and carrots. His ideal cafeteria meal would be “donuts and cupcakes and a cake,” he says with a mischievous sideways grin.

Where will this plastic in the LA River end up? (Photo: kqedquest)

Plastic Voyages

Two research vessels commissioned through Project Kaisei have already set sail for the North Pacific Gyre this summer to study the plastic soup’s impact on marine ecosystems and humans as well as assess possible methods for cleaning it up. (SFBG)

How do these expeditions compare to the anniversary voyage that Spot.us reporter Lindsey Hoshaw will go on with Captain Charles Moore? Ask her Friday morning between 11am and 12pm on our BlogTalkRadio show “Dissecting the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

Come prepared for the discussion by reading up on all the updates Lindsey has provided on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch pitch page.

Hospital Food gets Healthier

School and city meal programs aren’t the only ones getting fresher. Stanford Hospital and Clinics just announced a new menu, developed by local chef Jesse Cool, which will feature local and organic ingredients to help heal patients with nutrients grown on the farm. (Institute of the Future)

–Related pitch: Sustainable School: What’s for Lunch?

Pothole Progress

While you may be thinking one measly pothole being filled isn’t huge news, I like to think that Spot.us had a small hand in making Oakland streets a little smoother for at least one kid riding his scooter. Remember the Cost of Potholes article that Sean Maher wrote for the Oakland Tribune a few months back with the help of Spot.us? Well, since its publication, it looks like the response time for filling potholes is speeding up. There’s even a call center where citizens can report cracks and crevices on their streets. (SFGate)

An Honest Look at Improving School Food

The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act coming Sept. 30 has spurred a lot of talk about how to provide more nutritious school meals. Beyond Chron says the first step is honestly addressing the costs involved with healthier food, which the federal government might have to pony up. (Full story)

–Related pitch: Sustainable School: What’s for Lunch?

UC Execs Score Raises Amid $813 Million in Cuts

Looks like the University of California has followed the lead of national banks by quietly granting raises and bonuses to top officials while bankrupting the public, in UC’s case, through program cuts, layoffs and increases in student tuition. (SFAppeal)

Mass Layoffs at Kaiser Permanente

The hospital plans to cut 1,200 positions (or 2 percent of the workforce) in Northern California. (SFist)

SF Takes on Big Tobacco

Tobacco companies sued the city of San Francisco for banning tobacco products from pharmacies, arguing that  the city impeded their First Amendment rights. Huh? That’s what the lower court said, rejected the claim, but the tobacco companies appealed and fought the city attorney’s office this morning. Look out for the results tomorrow. (Calitics)

Social Spot: This Week’s Picks

• Mission Streetscape Community Design Workshop 4, Wed. Aug. 12, 6:30-8:30 pm. Tell the SF Planning Department what you think about designs and options in the new Mission Streetscape Plan. (Streetsblog)
• Meteor shower, the Perseids, Wed. Aug. 12. Best viewing time is late evening. Details here.
• Art & Soul Oakland, Aug. 15-16, 12 noon to 6 p.m. Visit their website for more info.
• The African Presence in Mexico at the Oakland Museum runs until Aug. 23. Details on the Oakland Museum’s website.
• kiss-in to protest gay harassment across the country, Sat. Aug. 15 at 11 a.m. in Union Square (SF Appeal)
• 2009 AVP Crocs Tour San Francisco, Bay Area’s Kerri Walsh is scheduled to appear at the volleyball comp this weekend in the SoMA on Piers 30 & 32. (SF Citizen)
• From the Ground to the Sky: A Neighborhood Vision Rises From the Concrete, Sat. Aug. 15, 11am-3pm: Neighborhood families will delve into “the possibilities of developing a full service, holistically planned community site with potential eco-friendly affordable housing, green space, education and job center” (Streetsblog)
• Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu “Guerilla-style” hula performances across San Francisco, Sat. Aug. 15, 10am-4pm (SF Appeal)

If you live in California you are probably aware of the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.

The legislation will make it possible for minors who fit specific criteria to get permanent residency in the United States. As with many immigration issues it is a hotly debated piece of legislation.

Spot.Us is happy to work with two UCLA students who are creating a documentary about the experience of young students impacted by the DREAM Act. This documentary will tell their story, showing the realities they face today and the dreams they are fighting for.

The trailer says it all. If you are moved to support their work, check out their pitch, every small donation helps tell the story of “An Unfinished Dream.”

The students behind this documentary are passionate. They also admit they aren’t “objective,” hence the disclosure in their pitch.

Spot.Us isn’t about “objectivity” as much as transparency. Our goal is to empower independent reporters (film-makers) to work on stories that they believe in and might otherwise be untold. Having spoken with the young film-makers I know they are ready to produce a heartfelt documentary about real people facing issues that are as serious as life can get.

Help support “An Unfinished Dream.”

Is this the future of the San Francisco Bay? Photo: liz_noise on flickr

Algae Bay

NASA has its eyes set on the San Francisco Bay to be a testing ground for producing large colonies of floating algae to sequester carbon, clean waste water and produce biofuel. (SFBG)

MUNI Collides Again

Just two weeks after the L-line MUNI crash at the West Portal, two MUNI streetcars collide at Market and Noe, this time with an SUV squashed between them. Any one scared yet? Don’t worry, MUNI officials assure you that every thing is A-Okay. (Examiner)

The Ghosts of Union St’s Past

Budding entrepreneurs should head to Union St. to set up shop. Just about every property between Gough and Fillmore is for rent, as one Curbed SF reader documented. (See his photo collage here)

Maybe Spot.us should continue an investigation into the vacant storefronts on Union St. once the Mission district is finished?

–Related pitch: The Stories Behind the Empty Storefronts in the Mission

From Environmental Disaster to the Next ‘Green Mecca’

In addition to a new 49ers stadium, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced a United Nations global warming center planned for the Hunter’s Point shipyard — an attempt to create green-collar jobs and revitalize an area plagued by poverty and toxic waste. (SFAppeal)

–Related pitch: Bay Area Toxic Tour

Are you a fan of SF Appeal? If so, you may be interested in contributing to their Independent City Hall Reporting crowd funded through Spot.us!

What’s Next for California State Parks?

The $39 million blow to the California State Park system that state legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved in the finalized budget could mean closures, but also partnerships and corporate control. (SFist)

–Related Tip: I Heart California Parks

Local Labs Divvy Up Stimulus

Four Bay Area laboratories will rake in the last of the Department of Energy’s stimulus allotment for projects ranging from fusion energy research to the mathematical analysis of a smarter electric grid. (SFbizjournal)

Governor Okays New Death Row, Others Question Legality

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislative restrictions on building a new Death Row at San Quentin State Prison to cut costs and green light construction—but he may be asking for a lawsuit. (SFGate)

–Related pitch: Prison Health and Our Community: A Public Health Investigation

Social Spot: Event Picks

• SPUR Citizen Planning Institute Series Final Session: Local Government’s Role in Low Carbon Development, Thursday Aug. 6, 4pm. Registration Required (Streetsblog)
• SF Chef’s Food and Wine Festival, Aug 6-9, Union Square (SF Citizen)
• Critical Mass, Friday Aug. 7, 6pm: meet at Justin Herman Plaza (SF Appeal)
• East Bay Express Best of the East Bay Party, Friday Aug. 7, 5pm-midnight at the Oakland Museum of California (Oakland Living)
• San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Buddy Ride: learn the route from Downtown to the Bay View-Hunter’s Point, Sat. Aug. 8, 2pm (Streetsblog)
• Annual Laurel Street Festival, Aug. 8-10 in Oakland (Oakland Living)
• Aloha Festival, Aug. 8-9 10am-5pm on the main parade grounds of the Presidio (SF Appeal)
• Sunday Streets at the Beach: Second to last ride of the summer, this time from Golden Gate Park to the San Francisco Zoo along Ocean Beach, Sun Aug. 9, 10am-2pm (Streetsblog)

Follow-up to Case Study: Santa Cruz City Schools and the Fight for Revolution
By Serena Renner

Last night’s school board meeting marked two drastic changes for food service at Santa Cruz City Schools: the entering of a new nutrition services director as well as the hiring of Revolution Foods for meals served at the elementary and middle school level.

The nutrition services director, James “Jamie” Smith, was hired in closed session before the meeting began. Smith comes from a culinary arts background and most recently worked in institutional food service as the head chef at UC Santa Cruz.

Several lunch ladies in the audience murmured at the announcement of the district’s new hire, many of them still upset over the resignation of the former food service director, Denise McGregor, after her job description was changed to include expertise in culinary arts, nutrition and budget management.

Superintendent Gary Bloom halted the commentary just as one woman was about to stand up and speak, saying that the item was not up for discussion having been decided during closed session.

The board also approved a new food service contract with Revolution Foods to provide elementary breakfast and lunch as well as middle school lunch. The Oakland-based company is dedicated to offering scratch-cooked meals and fresh, local produce as opposed to the largely processed food currently served.

The consensus came after Board Member Rachel Dewey-Thorsett introduced an amendment to the proposal requiring the new food service manager to conduct a report by November assessing the cost-effectiveness of the program.

“The challenge is when you have something that isn’t working from the food point of view or the budget point of view,” Dewey-Thorsett said. “We want to improve the food now but also be careful about the budget simultaneously.”

Dewey-Thorsett echoed the sentiment of Board Member Don Maxwell who was hesitant to support a more expensive meal program when teachers are getting laid off and academic programs are financially strained.

The 2009-10 contract with Revolution Foods will cost the district an estimated $740,000 for daily food preparation and delivery, an increase from the current food program although Bloom was unable to give an exact figure because the cost could be offset by factors such as increased participation, which the district is anticipating. However, if the board decides the program is not cost-effective, the contract can be terminated with a 30-days notice, Bloom said.

Wellness Committee Chair Cynthia Hawthorne, who has been pioneering the changes for the past year and a half, was eager to cut through the debate and approve the contract once and for all.

“This isn’t the year to look at numbers,” Hawthorne said. “That was three, four years ago. We’re trying to turn direction…I don’t want to pick this a part with soft numbers.”

Now that the contract has been approved, meal prices will increase from $1.50 to $2 for breakfast and from $2.50 to $3.25 for lunch at elementary schools starting this fall. Middle school lunch will go from $3 to $3.50 while the high school food program will remain unchanged.

The district had originally planned to offer free breakfast through a Universal Breakfast program, but Superintendent Bloom decided it wasn’t affordable at this time.

The opposition to the contract is mostly made up of current food service staff who worry about additional costs as well as reduced hours and layoffs. While Superintendent Bloom said layoffs aren’t planned, he also made no guarantees.

“We can’t provide any definitive on [the impact to staffing] now but the new manager will be making recommendations soon,” Bloom said.

Others like food service employee Gina Navaroli question the logic in hiring a new culinary arts manager and then contracting out school food, especially since most board members agree that the district should eventually return to scratch cooking.

Food service employee Kim Jorgensen said the district tried outsourcing elementary meals in the past with a vendor named Preferred Meals and ended up losing money.

Jackie Henry-Russell’s main gripe with the whole decision-making process is that food service workers have been largely left out of discussions. She thinks the current staff is capable of preparing healthier meals if given the direction and resources to do so.

“We can do it, but we’ve never been given the opportunity,” she said.

Dewey-Thorsett agreed that ideally the district would prepare its own meals, but she admitted that the district doesn’t have the infrastructure to do so at this time.

“There’s an intuitive feeling that we can do this in house and it would be more affordable,” she said. “But the real goal is having kids in school having eaten breakfast and having access to a healthy lunch. This is the first step in doing that. It’s a step by step process.”

Kristin Richmond, founder and CEO of Revolution Foods, was also present at the meeting and spoke up saying the company has a proven track record of high meal consumption and that she is committed to creating a successful program through collaboration with the district.
———————-
Have questions about the Revolution Foods contract? Serena will be interviewing founder and CEO of Revolution Foods, Kristin Richmond, next Thursday 8/6 at 7 a.m. If you have any questions you’d like Serena to ask, comment here or email her at serena [at] spot.us .

Photo: Sashafatcat via flickr

Your One Stop, Used Oil Drop Spot

Veggie oil vans just got more feasible in San Francisco now that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission set up established locations for people to drop off used cooking oil for conversion into biofuel. (SFGate)

Dressing Up the Vacant Storefronts

The SF Art Commission plans to spice up empty store windows in economically depressed neighborhoods with artistic displays. (Curbed SF)

Port of Oakland to Clean up 1,000 Diesel Trucks? East Bay Express Thinks Not

The Chronicle published this story today about the Port of Oakland’s $22 million plan to retrofit 800 diesel trucks while buying 200 new ones. But the East Bay Express had this to say in response, questioning the Chron’s  numbers seeing that retrofits cost $20,000 a piece and new trucks cost upwards of $100,000.

–Related Spot.us pitch: Bay Area Toxic Tour

Government Transparency Just Got Murkier

City lobbyists have been violating local open-government laws since 2005 by failing to report their activity to the Ethics Commission. (SFExaminer)

41 New Officers to Join OPD

The COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP) has responded to OPD’s grim budget (apparently Oakland is the most cash-strapped department in the nation) by funding 41 new officers (A Better Oakland)

–Related Spot.us pitches: Oakland Police Blues, Civilian Oversight of Police in Oakland, Oscar Grant Shooting Report

BART Negotiations May be Stalled Yet Again

Negotiations between BART and union leaders representing 2,800 employees are still underway with little forward motion and a possible “snag.” (SFAppeal)

Social-Political Spot: A Sampling of Midweek Bay Area Events

SFBC Bike-In Movie Night, Wednesday July 29, 7 p.m. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition holds its first summer movie night, featuring the BMX cult classic, “Rad.” (Streetsblog)

SPUR Lunchtine Forum: The Rise of Counter Institutions, Thursday July 30, 12:30 p.m. A discussion with local experts about “the origins of urban gardens, land trusts, and community development corporations.” (Streetsblog)

BART Police Department Review Committee Meeting, Thursday July 30^th, 6:30 p.m. The BART Police Department Review Committee seeks public input on the Draft Model of Citizen Oversight for the BART Police Department. (Oakland Living)

–Related pitches: Forthcoming Oscar Grant Shooting Report Will Lift the Veil on Transit Police Work; Civilian Oversight of Police in Oakland

Muni Crash Cam

The Municipal Transportation Agency released several videos of Saturday’s Muni collision that injured 48 people. Watch the footage from several different camera angles. (SF Appeal); (Streetsblog)

State Budget Deal Threatened by Inmate Release Plan

The hard-fought budget plan Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers reached Monday could be in danger due to $1.2 billion in unspecified prison spending cuts. (SFGate)

–Related pitch: Prison Health and our Community

Oakland Airport Connector Gets Needed Boost

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission approved $140 million with a 10-3 vote Wednesday to help fund the $522 million tramway between the Oakland Coliseum Bart station and the Oakland airport. (SFist)

The Snubbed San Francisco Urban Farm

Why has San Francisco’s thriving Alemany Farm, a leader in the urban farm movement, been ignored by Mayor Gavin Newsom and city supervisors amid talks of Newsom’s healthy eating initiative? (SFAppeal)

–See related article “Farming, Park Parking and Empty Promises (Streetsblog)

–Related pitch: Sustainable School: What’s for Lunch?; Related Tip: Down on this Urban Farm

Budget Meeting Breakdown

Mission Loc@l sifts through the bureaucratic jargon of Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors budget meeting and tells us what really happened. (Mission Loc@l)

–Related pitch: City Budget Watchdog

Social Spot: Event Picks from Around the Blogosphere

Go Green: Leave Your Car Behind, Thursday July 23 at 7pm. Learn easy ways to reduce personal automobile use to promote a healthier, more sustainable world at the final seminar in the City of Burlingame’s series on going green. (Streetsblog)

Willy Wonka’s Recycling Factory Ride, Saturday July 25 10am-1pm. A rare opportunity to tour the Pier 96 Recology Recycle Central recycling plant. (Streetsblog)

–Related pitch: Follow the Trash: What Happens to Your Recyclables?

Healin’ From Killin,’ a Bike Ride For Peace – from Lake Merritt to DeFremery Park on Saturday July 25 at 2pm, led by Scraper Bikes. (Oakland Living)

Superhero Street Fair, a new festival honoring extraordinary community heroes, this Saturday, July 25th at the Islais Creek Promenade in San Francisco. (Laughing Squid)

I woke up this morning to a very pleasant surprise. Our pitch “Dissecting the Great Pacific Garbage Patch” has hit the 5k mark in a little under three weeks! This is absolutely amazing and only possible because of the folks that saw a need for this kind of reporting and decided to chip in with $20 or whatever they could. The list of donors is on the right hand side of the pitch and we are giving them a big digital hug right now <hug>—-</hug>

This weekend, according to the blog attached to her pitch Lindsey will be attending a conference: “Communicating Plastics” in Monterey California. She will report back with interviews and news all related to her upcoming trip which WE are making possible.

Only $944 to go to reach our goal.

As we get closer we may raise the goal closer to the 10k mark which is the real cost of the trip on Lindsey.

By Bernice Yeung | Crowdfund this with Spot.Us
Part of the Prisons & Public Health news blog

(support Bernice’s work here)

Or: If you are a news organization – feel free to run this work giving credit to Bernice Yeung, NewsDesk.org and Spot.Us.

Ron Sanders, a community-health worker serving former prisoners at San Francisco’s Transitions Clinic, struggles to keep his clients from being among the 66 percent of parolees who eventually return to prison.

No easy task, as many are dealing with addiction, chronic illness, mental health problems — or all of the above. I first became interested in these issues when writing for the San Francisco Chronicle about Sanders, himself a former prisoner who is all to aware of the challenges parolees face.

But why should Californians care about chronically ill prisoner and parolee health? What’s the connection between prison reentry, medical care and our communities?

In fact, there’s a growing awareness of the public health and safety implications of ignoring this population. About 95 percent of the people in prisons or jails will eventually be released. Nationwide, that’s roughly 13 million releases each year — and when they get back home, these men and women aren’t exactly paragons of health.

More than 80 percent of 1,100 parolees from Texas and Ohio reported a chronic illness, according to a 2008 Urban Institute study, and more than 60 percent had no health insurance for nearly a year after release. A third sought medical care in emergency rooms, and 20 percent were hospitalized at one point during their first year out, creating costs that are passed on to taxpayers.

In Rhode Island, a program called Project Bridge connects the dots between parolees and public health, by hooking up HIV-positive parolees with medical care once they’re released.

Writing for Miller-McCune magazine about the program, I note that the moral issue of providing ex-inmates with health care is also a public health imperative:

In February, the Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a four-year study of 2,000 HIV-positive Texas inmates and found that only 5 percent of parolees filled their prescription soon enough to avoid interrupting their treatment regime. The lack of medical continuity had dire consequences.”If people are not getting their meds when they get out of prison, there’s a greater risk of medical complications for the patient, that the virus will spread and that drug-resistant strains will develop,” said Josiah Rich, the Project Bridge doctor and one of the authors of the study.

As one physician argued, connecting parolees to care is simply good public policy:

“The strongest argument at the moment (for post-incarceration health care) is not a humanitarian one, it’s an economic one,” said Dr. Robert Greifinger, a distinguished research fellow at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the editor of the 2007 book “Public Health Behind Bars.”"If we’re going to drive change in the costs of criminal justice and health care systems,” he said, “one very substantial area to look at is by providing through care for inmates.”

These are the issues I’ll be looking at through this blog, by telling the human stories behind the research, policy and news on inmate reentry and health care in California.