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Sam Harnett

Latest Stories (70)

San Francisco taxi drivers still struggle with medallion debt

Oct 27, 2021
Uber and Lyft jolted the taxi business. A credit union that loaned money to drivers lost its case against the city's transit agency.
Taxi driver Ali Alikhani at San Francisco International Airport in February 2020. He said he has used his Social Security to help him make payments on his taxi medallion.
Beth LaBerge/KQED

What's in a name? Company titles for gig workers reveal business models.

Jan 20, 2021
"Dasher," "tasker," "driver-partner." How companies pick worker nicknames that reflect the argument that workers are contractors, not employees.
An Uber sticker on a car during a protest by ride-share drivers in 2020. How ride-share and other gig workers are classified remains controversial.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Gig companies throw lots of cash -- and tech -- at California ballot measure

Oct 26, 2020
The ballot initiative in California would allow companies like Uber and Lyft to keep classifying workers as contractors.
A ride-share driver holds up a sign urging Californians to vote "no" on Prop 22 in Oakland, California, on Oct. 9, 2020.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Smoke damage to grapes is the latest blow to California wine industry

Oct 6, 2020
A glut of grapes on the market, the pandemic and fires that damaged or destroyed wineries. Now, grapes tainted by smoke may be unusable.
“It was difficult this year, and it’s going to be even harder next year,” says Enrique Lopez, who employs up to 100 people to harvest grapes.
Beth LaBerge/KQED

Good luck finding a name for your new company

May 25, 2020
The number of available company names that hasn't been trademarked is getting smaller and smaller.
Companies are having to get more and more creative to come up with a name that isn't already taken.
Pixabay

Food delivery startup Munchery folds, leaving small businesses on the hook

Feb 19, 2019
In 2018, U.S. venture capital investment surpassed the 2000 dot-com peak for the first time. According to the financial data company PitchBook, investors put some $130 billion into thousands of U.S. companies. Many of these businesses will not make it, and as some flame out, they’ll leave behind a trail of debt. This is exactly […]
Three Babes Bakeshop employees at a bake sale protest outside of Sherpa Capital, one of the VC firms that invested in Munchery. 
Sam Harnett for Marketplace

How delivery apps are changing the restaurant industry

Nov 19, 2018
"We have to adapt every single thing we do," one eatery owner says.
Sara Deseran and Joe Hargrave have made changes to their restaurant to adapt to third-party apps.
Sam Harnett for Marketplace

A California city is planning on giving money to some residents, no strings attached

Feb 27, 2018
The economically depressed city of Stockton, California is experimenting with Universal Basic Income.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Small farmers say meal kits cut into their CSA businesses

Jan 18, 2018
Some small farms that participate in community-supported agriculture say that meal kit companies are cutting into their profits.
Paul Underhill is selling more to restaurants and grocery stores to compensate for lost revenue from CSA boxes.
Sam Harnett/ for Marketplace

New barbershops cash in on male grooming trend

Jan 16, 2018
Men are shelling out for barbershops that have nostalgic atmospheres.
Jonah Buffa co-owns this Fellow Barber location with his brother Sam.
Sam Harnett/ for Marketplace