http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/us/california-today-tech-companies-bay-area-housing.html 2016-10-06 14:26:35 California Today: Silicon Valley Gets Behind Bay Area Housing Push Thursday: Tech companies join the political efforts surrounding Bay Area housing issues, a county sheriff’s department sergeant is killed, and an abandoned hospital comes alive with art. === Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Let’s turn it over to Silicon Valley tech companies have often The moves suggest that the tech industry, which has long complained about the Bay Area’s housing shortage but hasn’t done much politically, is starting to galvanize around the issue in the form of donations to politicians and advocacy groups. One of the higher profile efforts is Those moves come in addition to various individual efforts. Several tech executives, including Until recently, the tech industry has mostly steered clear of Bay Area housing politics. That started to change a year ago as upstart groups like the Bay Area Renter’s Federation and GrowSF started recruiting rank-and-file tech workers, and won donations from executives like Mr. Stoppleman. While rents have recently softened, over the past few years they have soared so fast that even well-paid tech workers have found themselves struggling with rising costs. Laura Clark, the founder of Her group plans to hand out material at the various tech shuttle stops around San Francisco. “Tech is starting to recognize that this is purely a political problem and that they have to solve this by getting involved,” she said. “I think they thought they could like hack their way out of this somehow, but you have to do the old-fashioned work of organizing and going door-to-door canvassing.” On Nov. 8, San Francisco, Oakland and Albany will each vote on a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages, including soda. In See reporting in The New York Times on some of the statewide initiatives: And dig into analyses of all 17 statewide measures by the • A Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant • Researchers discovered • In their only debate, the • Yahoo aided • Marc Benioff of Salesforce is trying to assuage Wall Street concerns about his • A home run by Conor Gillaspie lifted the • Sometimes a selfie is good enough. When it’s not, there’s always the • Explore the • New York’s High Line was one inspiration for a writer who Once a setting for the injured, the expectant and the mentally ill, a deserted hospital in Los Angeles has been converted into a gallery show that encourages visitors to ponder what it means to be human. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center, in the West Adams neighborhood, was shuttered in 2013 in the wake of a fraud scandal. According to a Workers were laid off, patients were transferred and the hospital was abandoned. Now, the space is being revived with a temporary exhibit curated by “The building itself houses so much human emotion,” Mr. Wolf said. “So many people passed through there in very traumatic times in their life, very painful times, and very exciting times, because there’s a maternity ward there.” The exhibit, “Human Condition,” includes works by more than 80 artists spread throughout the building’s first, second and fourth floors. Sculptures sit atop pedestals under surgical lights in rooms once used for operations. A maternity room features photographs of men dressed as infants, part of Polly Borland’s “Babies” series. Catherine Womack, a critic with L.A. Weekly who took a tour, Artworks are tucked in unexpected nooks — inside closets, offices and bathrooms, Ms. Womack wrote. “And it’s worth taking the time to look closely, because in this gallery, the art isn’t the only thing worth seeing.” “ California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a third-generation Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U.C. Berkeley.