• You’ve probably heard this story before, but the SF office vacancy rate has once again hit another all-time high. The office vacancy rate in SF is now at 35%, compared to 4% before the pandemic, and a CBRE analyst says, "We think that the vacancy rate will probably creep up some more in 2024, probably at least through the first half of the year.” [KGO]
• The co-creator of SF’s beloved Tom and Jerry Christmas House, Jerry Goldstein, has died. He was 81. Goldstein apparently passed away in mid-November, and of course, his spouse and co-creator Tom Taylor died in October 2020. [Hoodline]  
• A pair of planned residential towers at Fourth and Brannan streets, initially approved back in 2019, got less visually interesting in their latest redesign. Here is the 2019 design, compared to the new proposed design for the project that aspires to provide 1,105 residential units. [Socketsite]
• Elon Musk’s AI startup X.AI is seeking $1 billion in fresh investor capital, because sure, you can’t doubt Musk’s business acumen. [CNBC]
• LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman just gave $250,000 to a Nikki Haley super PAC, which is a little odd considering Hoffman just hosted a Biden fundraiser in June. [NYTimes]
• A small Pacific leatherback turtle was found dead in some abandoned crab fishing gear off the SF coast, sparking outrage from wildlife advocates. [Chronicle]

Image: Kevin Y. via Yelp