Pedestrians on San Francisco's Russian Hill earlier this week, with Alcatraz in the distance. The former prison island, now a popular National Park Service destination, was one of many tourist sites across the country put off-limits by the government shutdown. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The government shutdown came to Fort Funston, in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, on Thursday. Some dog walkers entered the area using nearby trails, but the main parking lot was locked and off-limits. (Tom Prete/Ocean Beach Bulletin)
Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee speaks to advocates and reporters in San Francisco Tuesday morning at the opening of the Covered California health exchange. “While Washington is talking about shutdown, we’re talking about startup,” said Lee, as he declared an end to the era of a punishing individual insurance market. (Angela Hart/KQED)
Brad Stevens has been uninsured for the past 30 years. He took care of himself and didn't think too much about the various health care debates that have consumed the nation during those decades. Because of the health care law, Stevens will now qualify for Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid, the federal program for low-income families and individuals. Before the health law, Medi-Cal was available only to children, pregnant women and the disabled. Now all low-income people in states that are expanding Medicaid will qualify. Stevens earns less than $15,000 a year in his struggling massage business. (Sarah Varney/Kaiser Health News)