The Hellscape That Is Facebook

Communication, Data, Information, Media, Politics, Trump Disaster

Scott Galloway: Rick, over the last decade, I was fascinated when you were talking about media mix. If you had a hundred bucks to spend on media, how has that mix changed in terms of where you spend that money? And if you could only go with one platform or channel to spend money, what would that be?

[Rick] Wilson: Twenty years ago, obviously the mix was 99 to 1. Or 99.5 to …

Galloway: TV?

Wilson: For TV.

Galloway: Even direct mail?

Wilson: Direct mail as a persuasion tool has been dead for decades. Direct mail is good for raising money. And even that is dying off.

Galloway: So, it was all TV. What is it now? You got a hundred bucks. Where do you spend it?

Wilson: If I have a hundred bucks right now, I spend 30 bucks on cable, I spend 35 bucks on digital, I spend 15 on broadcast. And then I do a mix of other stuff out there, depending on the market and the audience. There are still markets in this country that are great for radio. It’s insane.

Galloway: What platform has the best tools? I think I know what the answer is going to be.

Wilson: The hellscape that is Facebook is the most meaningful tool of political manipulation ever devised in the history of all mankind.

-- "How the Lincoln Project Gets Into Trump’s Head," New York Magazine, July 21, 2020

California SB 902

California, Housing, Politics

This bill, which passed the state Senate by a 33-3 vote June 22, would allow cities to grant by-right zoning approval for up to ten units in transit- and job-rich areas.

The bill is now headed to the Assembly for review.

In short, SB 902 would permit, but not require, local governments to implement zoning ordinances to permit housing projects of up to 10 units without CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review, if the housing is located in a transit- or jobs-rich area or in an urban infill site.

San Francisco-based State Senator Scott Wiener says that this bill “provides cities with a powerful new tool to quickly re-zone for increased density.”

The bill was introduced following the Senate defeat of Wiener’s SB 50, a controversial housing production bill that would have preempted local control of zoning.

“If SB 902 becomes law, it would be among the most powerful tools cities have to increase the number of affordable homes in our cities,” read a June 23 statement from advocacy group California YIMBY celebrating the bill’s victory in the Senate.

-- Larchmont Chronicle, July 1, 2020

Sen. Wiener Takes another Shot at Upzoning State's Single-Family Landscape (San Francisco Business Times, June 23, 2020)

YIMBY California's priority policy and legislation for 2020

Bay Area Budgeting 3

California, Community Development Finance, Economics, Nonprofit, Oakland, San Francisco

California Legislature OKs Placeholder Budget as Talks with Newsom Continue (San Francisco Chronicle, June 15, 2020)

Oakland Schools Face $35 Million or More in Budget Cuts (East Bay Times, June 13, 2020)

SF, Other Bay Area Counties Facing Huge Bill from California at Worst Possible Time (San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2020)

California Legislature Pressing Forward on Budget Vote without Deal with Newsom (San Francisco Chronicle, June 10, 2020)

California Has One Week to Pass a Budget. Congress Doesn’t Plan to Help in Time — If at All (Sacramento Bee, June 8, 2020)

“Mutually Repugnant:” Gov. Newsom and Lawmakers Pursue Budget Compromise (CalMatters, June 7, 2020)

Editorial: California Lawmakers Need Federal Bailout to Plug Budget Holes (San Francisco Chronicle, June 6, 2020)

Editorial: California Legislature Needs to Get Real on Budget and Stop Counting on Federal Bailout (San Diego Union-Tribune, June 5, 2020)

Social Studies Chapter

Civil Rights, Minnesota, Oakland