Thanks so much to everyone who has donated lately! We're so close to full funding, and I'm really inspired by the fact that other people are just as curious about this problem as I am. Mid-Market has been in the news a lot lately -- from Proposition D last November, when I originally finished my first draft for the Panorama, to Gavin Newsom's latest declaration to turn the neighborhood around, plus juicy pieces in the Chronicle and the SF Public Press. My goal is to make this story interesting to people who aren't necessarily familiar with the Mid-Market travails of the last century, and hopefully even those who don't live in the Bay Area.
One way I'm trying to make that goal is with the help of graphic designer Laura Foxgrover. Given how visually arresting the Mid-Market stretch is, I think an equally visual representation is necessary to fully understand the extent of the troubles in the neighborhood. Laura was originally hired to do an infographic pairing my reporting and photographs with a map of Mid-Market for the Panorama. I'm going to pay Laura 15% of whatever we raise here for her role in this project, and we're going to be updating the graphic with all sorts of new information. This is just a teeny tiny teaser of what this graphic has in store. I'll have another preview chunk or two for you next week!