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San Francisco 'shames' building owners into adhering to seismic laws
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Sep 16, 2014
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San Francisco 'shames' building owners into adhering to seismic laws
There are many buildings in San Francisco that do not meet the city's seismic safety laws. Officials there are approaching the issue in new way.
SAN FRANCISCO - FEBRUARY 02:  The famous row of homes known as the "Painted Ladies" are seen from Alamo Square Park February 2, 2009 in San Francisco, California. A report by the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association concluded that the city's infrastructure and buildings are unprepared for a major earthquake. The study suggests that owners of nearly 2,800 so-called "soft-story buildings" be forced to retrofit their property to avoid an estimated $1.5 billion in damages should a big quake happen.  (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - FEBRUARY 02: The famous row of homes known as the "Painted Ladies" are seen from Alamo Square Park February 2, 2009 in San Francisco, California. A report by the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association concluded that the city's infrastructure and buildings are unprepared for a major earthquake. The study suggests that owners of nearly 2,800 so-called "soft-story buildings" be forced to retrofit their property to avoid an estimated $1.5 billion in damages should a big quake happen. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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There are many buildings in San Francisco that do not meet the city's seismic safety laws. Officials there are approaching the issue in new way.

There’s been many efforts across the state to get property owners to retrofit buildings at risk of collapse in case of a major earthquake. Yet, several commercial and apartment buildings have still not complied with seismic safety laws.

Officials in the City of San Francisco have begun approaching this problem in a new way, by publicly shaming building owners.

Los Angeles Times reporter Rong-Gong Lin recently wrote about this and he joins us now to talk more about it.