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Audrey Mei Yi Brown

Audrey Mei Yi Brown (they/them) is a Report for America corps member and covers environmental equity for the San Francisco Public Press. Previously, they were a contributing editor at KneeDeep Times and worked at the San Francisco Chronicle on SFNext, a civic engagement initiative, where they covered a range of city issues spanning homelessness, digital inequity and downtown recovery. Audrey is a 2022 graduate of Columbia Journalism School. They grew up in San Francisco and still call the city home.

Elections

An employee at a local business in San Francisco gives change during a transaction.

Proposition M — Overhaul SF Business Tax System

10.07.2024

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By Audrey Mei Yi Brown

See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition M would fundamentally change how the city taxes businesses, in order to better align with post-pandemic work norms and strengthen the government’s long-term financial footing.

The measure would exempt more small businesses from taxes and fees, while reducing taxes on some of the city’s largest companies.

Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do. What it would do

Proposition M would shift how San Francisco calculates its gross receipts tax paid by businesses.

Elections

Passengers disembark a Waymo vehicle.

Proposition L — Tax Ride-Hailing and Autonomous Vehicle Companies to Fund Public Transit

10.07.2024

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By Audrey Mei Yi Brown

See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition L would tax ride-hail companies, including those that operate self-driving cars, and devote the tax revenue to improving San Francisco’s public transit. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.

Environment

John Britt sits in his apartment with his dog on his lap, and his air purifier to his left.

Local Groups Cut Red Tape to Give Low-Income Tenants Clean Air

09.17.2024

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By Audrey Mei Yi Brown

John Britt and dozens of other tenants are breathing easier, now that they have government-funded air purifiers. Community groups cut through bureaucracy to put the devices in their hands, in a pilot project that might continue next year if it proves successful enough.

Climate Change

Green Retrofits Might Displace Tenants — One Landlord’s Pilot Project Aims to Protect Them

08.28.2024

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By Audrey Mei Yi Brown

Amparo Vigil is decarbonizing and upgrading her property to help her tenants stay cool during sweltering heat waves.

The project aims to determine how to retrofit multi-unit buildings without displacing tenants, which could happen if the work scaled up across San Francisco and increased rents.

Environment

A ferry travels on the water.

Bay Area Ferry Electrification Will Also Be Jobs Program for Local Latinos

07.16.2024

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By Audrey Mei Yi Brown

On a recent morning on San Francisco’s Pier 9, New Zealand’s prime minister and other officials finalized plans to electrify Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry’s fleet.

The project, part of a statewide push to satisfy green-energy mandates, will create jobs for Latino San Rafael residents who might otherwise struggle to break into the green-energy field.