# SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports
> SFist is San Francisco's source for fun, witty, & serious news. With updates about restaurants, events, sports, politics & more, SFist reaches millions of users in California.
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## Pages
### Contact Us
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Last updated: 2023-11-21T22:46:14.000Z
**SFist**
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### Staff
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Last updated: 2018-12-30T05:29:34.000Z
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Last updated: 2023-03-02T22:04:26.000Z
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### Best of the San Francisco Bay Area
URL: https://sfist.com/best-of-san-francisco/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T22:05:13.000Z
| [Food & Drink](#fooddrink) | [Shops](#shops) | [Places](#places) | [Services](#services) | [Miscellaneous](#misc) |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
With a cumulative several decades calling San Francisco home, we know this town up, down, and sideways. We've eaten all the foods, lost many afternoons in the city's many parks, and met thousands of the characters who make this the greatest city in the country, if not the world. SFist has dedicated itself since 2004 to providing guides to the **best of everything in San Francisco** — even if it means we'll have to wait in longer lines for our favorite taco or dim sum from now on.
### Best Food & Drinks in S.F.
| [Best Sushi](https://sfist.com/2017/07/27/the%5Fbest%5Fsushi%5Fspots%5Fin%5Fsf/) | [Best Bakeries](https://sfist.com/2017/04/13/the%5Fbest%5Fbakeries%5Fin%5Fsf/) | [Best Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings)](https://sfist.com/2016/03/31/the%5F12%5Fbest%5Fsoup%5Fdumplings%5Fxiao%5Flon/) | [Best Chinese Restaurants](https://sfist.com/2017/06/15/best%5Fchinese%5Frestaurants%5Fin%5Fsf/) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Best Pasta](https://sfist.com/2016/09/28/best%5Fpasta%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Bagels](https://sfist.com/2016/03/17/the%5F11%5Fbest%5Fbagels%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fbay%5Farea/) | [Best Taco Tuesday](https://sfist.com/2017/10/20/best%5Ftaco%5Ftuesday%5Fdeals%5Fbay%5Farea/) | [Best Ramen](https://sfist.com/2016/01/20/best%5Framen%5Fbay/) |
| [Best Hook Up Bars](https://sfist.com/2016/01/13/the%5Fbest%5Fhook-up%5Fbars%5Fin%5Fsf/) | [Best Ice Cream](https://sfist.com/2017/09/21/best%5Fice%5Fcream%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Candy & Chocolate Store](https://sfist.com/2015/02/11/the%5F10%5Fbest%5Fcandy%5Fand%5Fchocolate%5Fsho/) | [Best Cocktail Bars](https://sfist.com/2017/06/02/best%5Fcocktail%5Fbars%5Fin%5Fsf/) |
| [Best Korean Restaurants](https://sfist.com/2014/10/08/the%5F12%5Fbest%5Fkorean%5Frestaurants%5Fin%5Fs/) | [Best Chinese Noodles](https://sfist.com/2015/01/21/the%5F11%5Fbest%5Fspots%5Ffor%5Fchinese%5Fnoodl/) | [Best Burritos](https://sfist.com/2017/07/19/best%5Fburritos%5Fin%5Fsf/) | [Best Cheap Eats](https://sfist.com/2015/12/03/the%5Fbest%5Fcheap%5Feats%5Fin%5Fsf%5Ffor%5F10%5For/) |
| [Best Bloody Marys](https://sfist.com/2016/11/10/best%5Fbloody%5Fmarys%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco%5F1/) | [Best French Fries](https://sfist.com/2016/07/07/best%5Ffrench%5Ffries%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Tacos](https://sfist.com/2015/07/29/the%5Fbest%5Ftacos%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best SFO Food](https://sfist.com/2014/08/27/best%5Fspots%5Fto%5Feat%5Fsfo/) |
| [Best Fried Chicken](https://sfist.com/2017/03/30/best%5Ffried%5Fchicken%5Fsandwiches%5Fsf/) | [Best Piano Bars](https://sfist.com/2016/02/24/the%5Fbest%5Fpiano%5Fbars%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisc/) | [Best Bars with Views](https://sfist.com/2014/04/23/best%5Fx%5Fsf%5Fbars%5Fwith%5Fa%5Fview/) | [Best Bay Area Pizza](https://sfist.com/2016/09/15/the%5Fbest%5Fpizza%5Fbay%5Farea%5Flist/) |
| [Best Local Breweries](https://sfist.com/2016/04/06/beer%5Fbest%5Flocal%5Fbrewery%5F15/) | [Best Steakhouses](https://sfist.com/2016/12/08/the%5F10%5Fbest%5Fsteakhouses%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancis/) | [Best Wine Bars](https://sfist.com/2017/03/23/best%5Fwine%5Fbars%5Fin%5Fsf/) | [Best Vegan Restaurants](https://sfist.com/2014/07/23/the%5F10%5Fbest%5Fvegan%5Frestaurants%5Fin%5Fth/) |
| [Best Veggie Burgers](https://sfist.com/2015/07/22/the%5Fbest%5Fveggie%5Fburgers%5Fin%5Fsf/) | [Best Pizza SF](https://sfist.com/2015/09/17/the%5Fbest%5Fpizza%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Mac & Cheese](https://sfist.com/2017/01/12/best%5Fmacaraoni%5Fand%5Fcheese%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Grocery Delivery Companies](https://sfist.com/2020/03/12/best-grocery-delivery-companies/) |
| [Best Alcohol Delivery Services](https://sfist.com/2020/03/13/alcohol-liquor-delivery-sf/) | | | |
---
### Best Shops in S.F.
| [Best Tattoo Shops](https://sfist.com/2016/08/24/the%5F12%5Fbest%5Ftattoo%5Fshops%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fbay/) | [Best Spas](https://sfist.com/2016/12/01/the%5Fbest%5Fspas%5Fand%5Fbathhouses%5Fin%5Fsan/) | [Best Women's Clothing Boutiques](https://sfist.com/2017/04/07/the%5Fbest%5Fwomens%5Fclothing%5Fboutiques/) | [Best Marijuana Stores](https://sfist.com/2019/03/01/best-marijuana-stores-in-san-francisco/) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Best Wine Stores](https://sfist.com/2015/09/23/the%5F11%5Fbest%5Fwine%5Fstores%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffran/) | [Best Suit Makers](https://sfist.com/2014/10/22/10%5Fbest%5Fplaces%5Fto%5Fbuy%5Fa%5Fsuit%5Fin%5Fsan/) | [Best Local Fashion Labels](https://sfist.com/2015/10/21/sfs%5Fbest%5Flocal%5Ffashion%5Flabels/) | [Best Shoe Stores](https://sfist.com/2017/03/02/the%5F10%5Fbest%5Fshoe%5Fstores%5Fin%5Fsf/) |
| [Best Flower Shops](https://sfist.com/2016/05/19/the%5Fbest%5Fflower%5Fand%5Fplant%5Fshops%5Fin/) | [Best Adult Toy Stores](https://sfist.com/2017/02/09/best%5Fadult%5Ftoy%5Fstores%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffranci/) | [Best Record Stores](https://sfist.com/2014/08/20/the%5F9%5Fbest%5Frecord%5Fstores%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fba/) | |
---
### Best Places in S.F.
| [Best Music Venues](https://sfist.com/2013/12/06/best%5Fmusic%5Fvenues%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Movie Theaters](https://sfist.com/2017/05/11/best%5Fmovie%5Ftheaters%5Fbay%5Farea/) | [Best Private Clubs](https://sfist.com/2016/11/17/the%5F9%5Fcoolest%5Fprivate%5Fclubs%5Fin%5Fthe/) | [Best Swimming Pools](https://sfist.com/2015/06/10/our%5Ffavorite%5Fsf%5Fswimming%5Fpools/) |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Best Urban Hikes](https://sfist.com/2017/05/17/best%5Furban%5Fhikes%5Fin%5Fsf/) | [Best Dog Parks](https://sfist.com/2015/01/15/the%5Fbest%5Fdog%5Fparks%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Local Theaters](https://sfist.com/2015/09/02/the%5Fbest%5Flocal%5Ftheaters%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fbay/) | [Best Sunny Places](https://sfist.com/2017/08/04/10%5Fmost%5Freliably%5Fsunny%5Fplaces%5Fbay%5Farea/) |
| [Best Bay Area Tattoo Shops](https://sfist.com/2015/03/18/the%5Fbay%5Fareas%5F9%5Fbest%5Ftattoo%5Fshops/) | [Best Independent Bookstores](https://sfist.com/2016/07/21/the%5Fbest%5Findependent%5Fbookstores%5Fin/) | [Best Public Restrooms](https://sfist.com/2015/08/13/best%5Fpublic%5Frestrooms%5F-%5Fjoe%5Fk/) | [Best Hikes in North & East Bay](https://sfist.com/2016/06/16/the%5Fbest%5Fhikes%5Feast%5Fnorth%5Fbay%5Fediti/) |
| [Best Niche Museums](https://sfist.com/2016/10/13/the%5Fbest%5Fniche%5Fmuseums%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffranc/) | [Best Museums](https://sfist.com/2014/07/30/best%5Fmuseums/) | | |
#### Best Hotels in SF
| [Best Hotels in San Francisco](https://sfist.com/best-hotels-sf/) | [Top SF Luxury Hotels](https://sfist.com/best-5-star-and-luxury-hotels-in-san-francisco/) | [Best Boutique Hotels in SF](https://sfist.com/best-boutique-hotels-sf/) | [Best Motels in SF](https://sfist.com/best-motels-in-san-francisco/) |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Best SF Airport Hotels](https://sfist.com/best-sfo-airport-hotels-sf/) | [Embarcadero / FiDi Hotels in SF](https://sfist.com/best-embarcadero-financial-district-hotels-sf/) | [Best Union Square Hotels](https://sfist.com/best-union-square-hotels-sf/) | [Best Fisherman's Wharf Hotels](https://sfist.com/best-fishermans-wharf-hotels-sf/) |
| [Best North Beach / Chinatown Hotels](https://sfist.com/best-chinatown-north-beach-hotels-sf/) | [Best SoMa Hotels](https://sfist.com/best-soma-hotels-sf/) | [Best Hostels / Cheap Hotels SF](https://sfist.com/best-hostels-and-cheapest-hotels-in-san-francisco/) | |
---
### Best Services in S.F.
*Realty*
| [Best SF Real Estate Agents](https://sfist.com/best-real-estate-agents-san-francisco/) | [Property Management Companies in SF](https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-san-francisco/) | [Oakland Property Management Companies](https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-oakland/) | [Sacramento Property Management Companies](https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-sacramento/) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Best Real Estate Agents in Marin](https://sfist.com/2021/05/11/best-realtors-real-estate-agents-in-marin/) | [Best East Bay Realtors](https://sfist.com/2021/06/02/best-real-estate-agents-oakland-berkeley-east-bay/) | [Commercial Real Estate Brokers](https://sfist.com/best-commercial-real-estate-companies/) | [Best Rental Realtors](https://sfist.com/leasing-rental-realtors/) |
*Financial Services*
| [Best Accountants in SF](https://sfist.com/best-accountants-accounting-firms-sf/) | [Best SF Bookkeepers](https://sfist.com/best-bookkeepers-sf/) | [Top Tax Preparation Companies](https://sfist.com/best-tax-preparation-sf/) | [Best Tax Planning Companies](https://sfist.com/best-tax-planners-sf/) |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Outsourced CFO Services](https://sfist.com/outsourced-cfo-services-in-sf/) | [Best Bail Bondsmen](https://sfist.com/best-bail-bonds-in-san-francisco/) | [Top Stock Loan Providers](https://sfist.com/stock-loans-providers-sf/) | |
*Employment Services*
| [Best SF Temp Agencies](https://sfist.com/best-temp-agencies/) | [Top Staffing Agencies in SF](https://sfist.com/sf-staffing-agencies/) | [Top-Rated SF Recruiting Firms](#services) | |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
*Marijuana Delivery Services*
| [Cannabis Delivery SF](https://sfist.com/2021/07/16/best-cannabis-delivery-companies-san-francisco/) | [Cannabis Delivery Oakland](https://sfist.com/2021/08/16/cannabis-delivery-dispensaries-oakland/) | [Cannabis Delivery Marin](https://sfist.com/2020/08/17/cannabis-delivery-dispensaries-marin/) | [Cannabis Delivery South Bay](https://hoodline.com/best-cannabis-delivery-companies-san-jose/?ref=sfist.com) |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Cannabis Delivery Fremont](https://sfist.com/best-cannabis-delivery-dispensaries-fremont/) | [Cannabis Delivery Hayward](https://sfist.com/best-cannabis-delivery-dispensaries-hayward/) | [Cannabis Delivery Richmond](https://sfist.com/best-marijuana-delivery-services-richmond/) | |
*Remodeling & Repairs*
| [Best TV Mounting Companies](https://sfist.com/best-tv-mounting-installation/) | [Best Handymen in SF](https://sfist.com/best-handyman-services-in-san-francisco/) | [Best General Contractors](https://sfist.com/best-general-contractors-in-sf/) | [Best Electricians](https://sfist.com/electricians-sf/) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Best Locksmiths in SF](https://sfist.com/sf-locksmiths/) | [Best SF Plumbers](https://sfist.com/plumbers-in-sf/) | [Top Exterior House Painters](https://sfist.com/exterior-painters-san-francisco/) | [Best Interior Painter](https://sfist.com/best-interior-painters-san-francisco/) |
| [Best General Contractors](https://sfist.com/best-general-contractors-in-sf/) | [Bathroom Remodeling](https://sfist.com/bathroom-remodeling-contractors-sf/) | [Kitchen Remodeling](https://sfist.com/kitchen-remodeling-sf/) | [Home Remodeling](#services) |
| [Best Roofers in SF](https://sfist.com/best-roofing-companies-san-francisco/) | [Best SF Carpet Cleaners](https://sfist.com/best-carpet-cleaners-sf/) | [Best Upholstery Cleaners in SF](https://sfist.com/best-upholstery-cleaners-sf/) | [Best Carpenters](#services) |
*Event Logistics*
| [Best Event Planners](https://sfist.com/best-event-planners-sf/) | [Top SF Caterers](https://sfist.com/sf-catering-companies) | [Best Event Rentals](#services) | [Best Event Photographers](#services) |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
*Moving, Storage, & Logistics Companies*
| [Best SF Movers](https://sfist.com/moving-companies-sf/) | [Top Oakland Movers](https://sfist.com/best-oakland-east-bay-movers/) | [Top San Jose Movers](https://sfist.com/best-san-jose-south-bay-movers/) | [Top Marin Movers](https://sfist.com/marin-movers/) |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Best Commercial Movers in SF](https://sfist.com/best-office-movers-san-francisco/) | [Best Third Party Logistics / 3PL](https://sfist.com/best-3pl-third-party-logistics/) | [Best Fulfillment Companies in SF](https://sfist.com/best-fulfillment-companies-san-francisco/) | |
*Cars / Vehicles*
| [Best SF Mechanics](#) | [Vinyl Vehicle Wraps](https://sfist.com/car-wraps-san-francisco/) | [Best Courier Services](https://sfist.com/best-couriers-sf/) | [Best SF Tow Companies](#) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
*Misc.*
| [Best Sign Makers](#) | [Best Stylists / Personal Shoppers](https://sfist.com/best-personal-shoppers-sf/) | [Best Security Companies in SF](https://sfist.com/security-companies-sf/) | [Mobile Security Patrols in SF](https://sfist.com/security-patrol-companies-san-francisco/) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Best Orthodontists in SF](https://sfist.com/best-othodontists-sf/) | | | |
*Transporation*
| [Limo Services SF](https://sfist.com/best-limo-companies/) | [Party Buses SF](https://sfist.com/party-bus-sf/) | [Wine Country Tours](https://sfist.com/best-wine-tours/) | [Airport Transportation](https://sfist.com/airport-transportation-companies/) |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Black Car Services](https://sfist.com/best-black-car-services/) | | | |
*Branding*
| [Best SF Digital Marketing Companies](https://sfist.com/best-san-francisco-digital-marketing-agencies/) | [Top Growth Hacking Firms in SF](https://sfist.com/2021/07/10/best-growth-hacking-marketers-san-francisco/) | | |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | |
*Pets*
| [Best Dog Groomers in SF](https://sfist.com/dog-groomers-san-francisco/) | [Best Dog Walkers in SF](https://sfist.com/best-dog-walkers-sf/) | | |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | |
---
### Best Miscellaneous in S.F.
| [Best Stand Ups](https://sfist.com/2016/03/14/11%5Fbest%5Fbay%5Farea%5Fstandup%5Fcomedians%5F1/) | [Best Quotes about SF](https://sfist.com/2016/09/27/the%5Fbest%5Fquotes%5Fabout%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco/) | [Best Hip Hop Tracks about the Bay](https://sfist.com/2016/09/30/the%5F20%5Fbest%5Fhip-hop%5Ftracks%5Fabout%5Fth/) | [Best SF / Oakland Date Nights](https://sfist.com/2016/04/13/easy%5Fdate%5Fnight%5Fideas%5Fsf%5Foakland/) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Most Infamous SF Murders](https://sfist.com/2017/02/28/the%5F10%5Fmost%5Finfamous%5Fsan%5Ffrancisco%5F1/) | [Best Bay Area Bike Rides](https://sfist.com/2016/05/26/the%5F12%5Fbest%5Fbike%5Frides%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fbay%5Fa/) | [Best Songs about SF Places](https://sfist.com/2014/11/13/the%5F20%5Fbest%5Fsongs%5Fabout%5Fplaces%5Fin%5Fs/) | [Best SF-Centric Novels](https://sfist.com/2015/03/05/the%5Fbest%5Fsf-centric%5Fnovels/) |
| [Best LGBTQ Parties & Clubs](https://sfist.com/2017/06/21/best%5Flgbt%5Fparties%5Fclubs%5Fsf/) | [Best Storytelling Events](https://sfist.com/2016/02/19/10%5Fbest%5Fstorytelling%5Fevents%5Fin%5Fthe/) | [Best Things to Do](https://sfist.com/2013/10/23/here%5Fare%5F35%5Fthings%5Fto%5Fdo%5Fin%5Fsan%5Ffra/) | |
### The 22 Best Real Estate Agents in SF (2021)
URL: https://sfist.com/best-real-estate-agents-san-francisco/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T20:32:57.000Z
\[Updated 06/03/2021\] San Francisco real estate is - as I'm pretty sure the saying goes - an enigma burried in a mystery wrapped in a tortilla. When you are outbid by an all-cash offer that's more than $1 million over list price, you will understand the above metaphor as well I do. And, like every field, there are superstar real estate agents and then there are those infamous realtors who have managed to cast a negative light on the whole business. Nobody should have to go through a house search with an agent who is simply interested in making a quick buck, so SFist has assembled the top agents below. [Why is this list free?](#why-this) Are you an agent in SF with a great track record? [Click here!](#get-listed)
[](https://www.nickresidential.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
[Nick Chen](https://www.nickresidential.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
Featured SF Coldwell Banker Real Estate Agent
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.nickresidential.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents) [Call ](tel:+14152264843)
Nick Chen, a San Francisco native who grew up in Pacific Heights, can offer unique insights into the hyper-local, neighborhood-by-neighborhood real estate markets of SF. In fact, over his 30+ year stint in the community, Nick has personally lived in every quadrant of The City - as well as regions of Marin and Sonoma - giving him extremely personal expertise & understanding wherever you may be looking to buy or sale. Over his career in real estate, Nick has been involved with flipping his own properties, property management, remodels, buying, and selling. Nick specializes in working with both homeowners who are thinking about moving to a new property, as well as residential buyers looking for their dream house or condo.
[](https://www.realtorssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
[Lance King](https://www.realtorssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
Featured King Realty Broker / Agent
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.realtorssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents) [Call ](tel:+14159219053)
Lance King has been in the real estate business for over 15 years and has lived in San Francisco for around 30 years. Today, Lance is the founder and managing broker of King Realty. He has also already founded and managed two other successful businesses, and his latest enterprise, King Realty, has evolved into a thriving Bay Area brokerage. Lance King is one of San Francisco's best residential real estate service providers - not just because of his attention to his customers' specific needs, but also because of his experience in building construction and development projects. King can assist buyers in finding the ideal house and can provide detailed information on house improvements for fixer-uppers.
[](https://www.realtyagentsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
[Miriam Wells](https://www.realtyagentsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
Featured SF Realtor At Sotheby's International
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.realtyagentsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents) [Call ](tel:+14159174969)
Miriam Wells is a tenacious negotiator who works tirelessly on behalf of her clients to achieve their real estate goals. Raised in Marin County and San Francisco, Miriam possesses in-depth market knowledge and extensive networks on both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge. A former professional journalist, Miriam holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University. She leverages her expertise in digital and social media to position her clients for success in the fiercely competitive Bay Area real estate market. Miriam is driven by her journalistic values of ethics and integrity and always puts her clients needs first.
[](https://reagentsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
[Aviva Kamler](https://reagentsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
Featured Sotheby's Real Estate Agent
★★★★★
[Website ](https://reagentsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents) [Call ](tel:+14154497864)
Aviva Kamler, a fifth generation San Franciscan with extensive market knowledge and skill in digital marketing and real estate technology, works with buyers and sellers to achieve their real estate objectives in one of the world's most complicated, yet successful, real estate markets. Aviva uses her unique resources, access to local, national, and worldwide contacts, and Sotheby's marketing prowess to assist each of her clients in navigating the San Francisco Bay Area real estate market.
[](https://www.nealwardproperties.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Neal Ward](https://www.nealwardproperties.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
Top Compass Broker / Agent
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.nealwardproperties.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14152699933)
As one of the founding members of Compass in San Francisco, Neal Ward generally only manages the most expensive listings in San Francisco. For roughly three decades, discerning clientele have sought out Neal to assist them with the purchase and sale of some of the San Francisco Bay Area's best houses, including many of the highest value properties that you may have ever seen. Neal emphasizes that each customer is treated as if he or she is his sole customer - each listing handled with the utmost care and greatest attention to detail. Neal is known throughout SF's real estate industry for his integrity, stand-up reputation, and consistency as a top producing agent in the city for the longevity of his career. Neal has managed roughly $500 million in listings and transactions here in SF and was among the top 25 agents nationwide - the #1 in production in San Francisco.
[](https://ackermanrealty.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Craig Ackerman](https://ackermanrealty.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
Leading Ackerman Realty Broker / Agent
★★★★★
[Website ](https://ackermanrealty.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157303030)
Craig Ackerman got his start in real estate assisting his father by stripping drywall and banging nails as a youth. With a contractor's license under his belt, he supported his father in the purchase, renovation, and sale of real estate. Craig has seen firsthand how simple modifications can transform a property and increase its value. He's been using that expertise, as well as a decade of record-breaking success in corporate sales and marketing, to his work with discriminating Bay Area home buyers and sellers since 1999\. Craig built Ackerman Realty to outperform, and sales are regularly in the top 2% of all San Francisco Realtors. He has a strong eye for recognizing cost-effective upgrades that increase the value of a house.
[ Best S.F. Realtors ](https://sfist.com/best-real-estate-agents-san-francisco/)
[ Best Marin Realtors ](https://sfist.com/2021/05/11/best-realtors-real-estate-agents-in-marin/)
[ Best Oakland Realtors ](https://sfist.com/2021/06/02/best-real-estate-agents-oakland-berkeley-east-bay/)
[ Best San Jose Realtors ](https://hoodline.com/best-real-estate-agents-silicon-valley-san-jose-palo-alto/?ref=sfist.com)
[ Best SF Property Managers ](https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-san-francisco/)
[ Commercial Real Estate Brokers ](https://sfist.com/best-commercial-real-estate-companies/)
[ Best Rental Realtors ](https://sfist.com/leasing-rental-realtors/)
[](https://www.jenniferrosdail.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
[Jennifer Rosdail](https://www.jenniferrosdail.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
Sponsored SF Keller Williams Real Estate Agent
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.jenniferrosdail.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents) [Call ](tel:+14152694663)
Jennifer Rosdail is a well-known San Francisco real estate agent. Jennifer is not just in the top 1% of SF realtors, but she has previously been in the top 10 agents in the city based on the amount of transactions done in a year. Jennifer has a slew of other impressive statistics to back up her performance in Bay Area real estate, but it is what her customers have to say about her that has earned her a position on our list. With 5 star reviews from Yelp!, Google, Zillow, and others, you'd be hard pushed to find a buyer or seller who didn't have a positive experience with Jennifer.
[](https://www.dougandeddy.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
[Doug & Eddy](https://www.dougandeddy.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
Sponsored Vanguard Properties Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.dougandeddy.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents) [Call ](tel:+14153367910)
Doug & Eddy are a full-service, community-based real estate firm that sets the standard for real estate in the Bay Area. This dynamic combination blends their abilities and expertise flawlessly, surpassing expectations at every turn due to their unwavering commitment to their clients, their ethics, and their professionalism. Doug's decades of expertise in the San Francisco real estate sector, along with Eddy's vast background in digital marketing and consumer behavior, enable them to provide customers a comprehensive and customized experience from beginning to end.
[](https://harperre.com/agents/loukia-karneris/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
[Loukia Karneris](https://harperre.com/agents/loukia-karneris/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents)
Sponsored Harper Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](https://harperre.com/agents/loukia-karneris/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=agents) [Call ](tel:+14158670757)
Loukia Karneris derives a great deal of personal joy from assisting individuals in realizing their goal of home ownership. She goes above and beyond to make this happen with patience, tenacity, honesty, and creative thinking. Since 1907, Loukia's family has been working in San Francisco's real estate sector, where she is a fourth generation SF Native. As a top-producing agent in the Bay Area, Loukia possesses a variety of critical abilities, including a solid understanding of the local market, clever, aggressive marketing methods, shrewd negotiation skills, and an unwillingness to accept no for an answer. Loukia has amassed a lengthy track record of consistent successes, placing her purchasing customers in their ideal house at the appropriate price points and obtaining for her selling clients a higher selling price than their initial asking price.
[](https://patrick4you.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Patrick Lam](https://patrick4you.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 of 21 Top-Notch Real Estate Services in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://patrick4you.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157103704)
Patrick Lam has received numerous accolades and recognitions over his distinguished real estate career. Patrick was the top producer for Century 21 in Northern California for three years in a row, has been recognized as one of the top ten agents in the country, and is a member of the Top Agent Network, which previously verified that he is in the top 10% in San Francisco and San Mateo. Patrick assists in making the selling process as simple as possible, especially when dealing with intricate situations including trusts or numerous intermediaries. He is recognized for going above and above for his clientele, many of whom return in the future when they want other real estate services.
[](https://www.harperre.com/members/anthony-navarro/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Anthony Navarro](https://www.harperre.com/members/anthony-navarro/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#4 of 21 Best Real Estate Agents in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.harperre.com/members/anthony-navarro/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153053291)
Anthony Navarro's intuitive yet data-driven approach has garnered him several awards, including the Best of HomeLight Award 2018, which placed him in the top 5% of agents nationwide. He was dubbed a HomeLight Elite Agent in 2020, which is only given to the top 1% of agents in the country. This certification allows his sellers to trade in their homes when upgrading or downsizing, and it provides his buyers additional negotiating leverage by allowing them to make all-cash bids. Always an early adopter who keeps ahead of the curve, Anthony has also teamed with Harcourt's Auctions, an exceptional auction firm for non-distressed houses that claims a 31% greater success rate and 6-8% higher prices than the MLS.
[](https://welcomehomesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Andrea Swetland](https://welcomehomesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#5 of 21 Leading SF Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](https://welcomehomesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153854768)
Andrea has been a pioneer in the highly competitive SF Bay Area residential real estate market since she became an agent in 1993\. She is currently ranked in the top 1% of area agents. Andrea is a Certified Residential Specialist noted for her in-depth market knowledge, aggressive pursuit of possibilities, and individual service. Andrea is pleased that the majority of her sales are from returning customers or recommendations. Andrea, a native San Franciscan, has a unique perspective on local trends and market conditions. Andrea's strong reputation and long-standing ties with other brokers provide her customers a distinct advantage when it comes to finding their dream home.
[](https://www.sanfranciscorealestategroup.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Todd Wiley](https://www.sanfranciscorealestategroup.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#6 of 21 Top-Notch Realtors in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.sanfranciscorealestategroup.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153175888)
Todd Wiley, a resident of the Bay Area, has had a lifetime love affair with San Francisco, which he considers to be the best city in America. Todd opted to pursue a career in real estate in 2004 after completing SF State and spent his post-college years in software and business services professions. His decision was motivated by his love for the City by the Bay. Todd has built a solid reputation as a terrific communicator, strong negotiator, and a man of his word in both personal and commercial matters. Todd considers his customers' demands to be his own, and he is a firm believer in creating realistic objectives.
[](https://www.jessieleesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Jessie Lee](https://www.jessieleesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#7 of 21 Best Real Estate Services in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.jessieleesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14155186402)
Jessie Lee, who was raised in Korea by real estate investors, is an award-winning realtor who ranks in the top 1% of Bay Area real estate agents. Anyone who has dealt with Jessie knows she is tenacious and has strong negotiating skills. She is well-informed, well-connected, and has been a top earner at her brokerage since 2010\. Jessie focuses on high-rise condominiums, urban lofts, corporate and personal investments, multi-family apartments, and single-family houses. She has developed valuable customer connections over the years, which have helped her business grow through recommendations.
[](https://www.jessicabranson.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Jessica Branson](https://www.jessicabranson.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#8 of 21 Best SF Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.jessicabranson.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153417177)
Jessica Branson, a top 20 San Francisco agent, is passionate about real estate, a business shark, and has an impeccable reputation. She began her career in journalism but has since evolved into a real estate juggernaut, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in concluded transactions for her clients. As a result, she is consistently ranked in the top 1% of San Francisco Realtors. Jessica's sales figures are unrivaled, and her selective clientele — ranging from famous singers to company founders to law firm partners – frequently sing her praises.
[](http://sterlinghomesre.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Anna Spathis & Dennis Stavropoulos](http://sterlinghomesre.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#9 of 21 Leading Real Estate Services in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](http://sterlinghomesre.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14155951300)
Anna G. Spathis and her husband Dennis Stavropoulos work together in real estate. Dennis is a key figure in the San Francisco luxury real estate market. As a real estate agent, developer, and designer of luxury residences, he constantly sets yearly sales price and volume records. Anna finds her customers' exact objectives and goals through in-depth interactions and discussions with them and passionately pursues them, utilizing her business knowledge, smart negotiation abilities, and marketing abilities. Her considerable knowledge as a developer and designer provides the procurement and sales process with extra value.
[](http://www.homesbywilliam.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[William Freeman](http://www.homesbywilliam.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#10 of 21 Top-Notch Real Estate Agents in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.homesbywilliam.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157991283)
William Freeman is a full-service realtor in San Francisco who is passionate about real estate and people. For all transactions, William brings each customer with the greatest professional standards. The care each customer deserves is offered. William has experience in all facets of home sales, and is a certified real estate specialist. William is distinguished by innovative marketing methods, ethical standards and exceptional negotiation abilities. William's expertise as an agent and previous mortgage lender leads to innovative solutions when single deals emerge. You may be confident that you will obtain results based on experience and the greatest platform in the business.
[](https://thecanlasbrothers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Daryll & Neil Canlas](https://thecanlasbrothers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#11 of 21 Top SF Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](https://thecanlasbrothers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14155298883)
Daryll and Neil are the Canlas Brothers real estate group's co-founders. They were both born in San Francisco and have been certified realtors in California since 2006\. Neil is renowned as the agent of choice in San Francisco's premium market, having been trusted by discriminating clients to exercise discretion and produce results. He constantly puts his customers' interests first and works tirelessly to make his customers' real estate aspirations a reality. Daryll will provide a unique mixture of skills to get you the best bargain possible, owing to his significant history in real estate investing and marketing tactics. He brings negotiating and investing techniques to the table.
[](https://www.dinozuzic.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Dino Zuzic](https://www.dinozuzic.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#12 of 21 Leading Realtors in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.dinozuzic.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153174546)
Dino Zuzic, a second-generation real estate agent in San Francisco, specializes in residential and multi-unit transactions. Dino adapts his efforts to each client - whether Buyer, Seller, or Investor - in order to assist in meeting their unique real estate goals and has been engaged in over 200 real estate transactions totaling over $400,000,000\. Dino and his team are knowledgeable on tenant/landlord issues, building codes, innovative financing, and the myriad subtleties that come with purchasing and selling property. You can be confident that you will receive unrivaled experience, managed solutions to any difficulties that may occur, and direction that is aligned with your best interests.
[](https://www.kindredsfhomes.com/members/cynthia-cummins/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Cynthia Cummins](https://www.kindredsfhomes.com/members/cynthia-cummins/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#13 of 21 Top-Notch Real Estate Services in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.kindredsfhomes.com/members/cynthia-cummins/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157138008)
Our primary sanctuary is our home. It is also our primary means of accumulating riches. As the founder and owner of Kindred SF Homes, Cynthia Cummins is guided by these dual values. As a counselor, economist, and strategist, Cynthia brings extensive knowledge, experience, and responsiveness to her work, which she has refined over three decades of service to homeowners in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Cynthia is a top-tier Realtor that achieves excellent outcomes for clients, but what truly distinguishes her is a calm, focused approach that makes the process stress-free and gratifying. Cynthia provides insight and carefully advises clients to ensure that they make wise, conscious decisions in the midst of what might overwise be the most stressful transaction of their lives.
[](http://www.cmfoo.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[C.M. Foo](http://www.cmfoo.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#14 of 21 Top SF Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.cmfoo.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157066550)
CM has been in love with real estate since purchasing his first home in 1988\. He got his real estate license in 1991 and started investing in San Francisco real estate while working full-time in Silicon Valley. It was only natural for CM to pursue his interest in real estate after retiring from a fulfilling high-tech profession in 2005\. CM has represented hundreds of buyers and sellers over the last 15 years. CM's success as a perennial top producer can only be attributable to his enthusiasm for real estate and devotion to his clients. Whether you are selling a $1 million apartment or purchasing a $10 million house, CM has the knowledge and talents to make every transaction a pleasurable and gratifying experience.
[](https://www.polaris-re.com/members/ron-abta/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Ron Abta](https://www.polaris-re.com/members/ron-abta/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#15 of 21 Leading Realtors in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.polaris-re.com/members/ron-abta/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14155957661)
In terms of sales volume, Ron Abta is consistently ranked among the top ten agents in San Francisco. He has closed over a billion dollars in deals, representing over 700 completed deals for both buyers and sellers. He adds great sales, marketing, and negotiating abilities to every deal and always prioritizes his clients. Ron hails from a real estate family, with his mother a developer and his father a mortgage broker. He is skilled in improving or modifying properties on behalf of his clients, either to increase the value of their properties before to sale or just for his clients' enjoyment and usage after the sale.
[](http://www.vickivalandra.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Vicki Valandra](http://www.vickivalandra.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#16 of 21 Top-Notch Real Estate Services in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.vickivalandra.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14154322171)
Vicki Valandra, a Top 1 percent San Francisco Realtor, likes assisting her customers through the sometimes-complex process of purchasing and selling houses. Vicki is a highly successful agent who made the Top Producer list in her first year in the industry. Vicki has also reached the Top Producer list every year since then, and she was recently voted Zephyr's #3 Top Producing Agent. Vicki cultivates trusting connections with her clients while getting the work done. Vicki's dedication to her clients is evidenced by the fact that more than 90% of her business is repeat business or recommendations from current clients. Vicki has a Stanford MBA and excellent analytical and negotiating abilities.
[](https://www.pacificedgesf.com/members/amy-clemens/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Amy Clemens](https://www.pacificedgesf.com/members/amy-clemens/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#17 of 21 Best Real Estate Agents in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.pacificedgesf.com/members/amy-clemens/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153105749)
Amy Clemens is widely regarded as one of San Francisco's most dependable and experienced real estate professionals. Amy has been a committed professional since 1998, mastering the complexity of real estate contracts and negotiations from the ground up. Amy has successfully guided her clients through the volatile San Francisco real estate market, even during the most uncertain economic circumstances. Pacific Edge Real Estate is consistently placed in the top 1% of San Francisco teams and has finalized hundreds of deals totaling more than $400 million under her guidance.
[](http://www.donacrowder.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Dona Crowder](http://www.donacrowder.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#18 of 21 Leading SF Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.donacrowder.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153105933)
Dona Crowder worked as an Assistant Manager from 2010 to 2015, and she is now a senior broker associate with Coldwell Banker Pacific Heights. She formerly worked as a senior marketing broker for Pacific Union Christies International. Her experience ranges from basic residential sales to estates and luxury residences, as well as development prospects. She adds over 35 years of expertise to her job as a regular Top Producer, having managed her family's real estate business for 20 years. She has sold some of the most expensive luxury properties ever sold in San Francisco, including modern sleek high rises and classic cooperatives, as well as historic stately houses, neighborhood designer treasures, and new home developments.
[](https://www.compass.com/agents/sf/paula-rose/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Paula Y Rose](https://www.compass.com/agents/sf/paula-rose/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#19 of 21 Top-Notch Realtors in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.compass.com/agents/sf/paula-rose/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157243424)
Paula Y. Rose is a San Francisco native who has sold approximately $200 million in real estate throughout the course of her career. She owes her success to her innate ability to understand her customers' requirements, allowing her to assist them in achieving their real estate goals and effectively completing deals. Paula can handle any circumstance, whether it's a buyer's or seller's market. She is resourceful and tenacious, and she has service provider relationships all around the business to help her overcome any obstacles. Throughout her career, she has been a top producer, and she has served on a special committee for the San Francisco Association of Realtors for many years.
[](http://jonesgroupsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Amanda Jones](http://jonesgroupsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#20 of 21 Best Real Estate Services in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](http://jonesgroupsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14152182179)
Amanda is one of the top 1% of Realtors in San Francisco, working with both buyers and sellers to achieve better-than-average outcomes. She understands what it takes to be successful in this very competitive profession and applies that knowledge to each client's unique circumstances. Amanda and her team have extensive expertise in all aspects of real estate, including new construction projects, single-family houses, and condominiums, as well as tenancies in common and multi-unit apartment complexes around San Francisco. Amanda is the epitome of a hands-on Realtor. She gets involved early in every project and does everything she can to relieve her clients' stress.
[](https://teamhatvany.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Nina Hatvany](https://teamhatvany.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#21 of 21 Best SF Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](https://teamhatvany.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157106462)
Nina Hatvany has over 30 years of expertise and has represented clients in over $3.5 billion in sales transactions. Her comprehensive understanding of all facets of San Francisco real estate is simply unparalleled. Nina has been named the top individual agent in San Francisco on multiple occasions, and she was named in the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 35 sales agents by volume nationwide across all firms from 2009 to 2015, reaching as high as #9 during that time period. Nina founded Team Hatvany in 2016 with her family of attorneys and East Coast real estate agents. They reflect all property kinds and price points in San Francisco as a whole.
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☄ Are you one of San Francisco's great real estate agents, but you aren't listed here? Let SFist's team review your [Featured Real Estate Agent submission!](https://sfist.com/realtor-partners/) ☄
##### WHY THIS LIST IS FREE TO USE
The above list includes real estate agents that SFist believes actively provides superior services. In some cases, they are among the most successful teams in San Francisco. In some cases, variable, sponsorship listing fees effect the ranking position of the agents - labeled as "Featured," but every one could be considered as a strong contender among the top realtors in San Francisco. To learn more about SFist's classifieds listings [read more here](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
[SFist](https://sfist.com/) / [Best of San Francisco](https://sfist.com/best-of-san-francisco/) / [Best SF Real Estate Agents](https://sfist.com/best-real-estate-agents-san-francisco/)
### 13 Best SF Private Security Guard Companies (2026)
URL: https://sfist.com/security-companies-sf/
Last updated: 2026-07-30T22:13:07.000Z
## Top Security Services for Personal and Business Protection
Last Updated July 30, 2026
[JUMP TO THE LIST ⤵](#card-1) The doom-loop discourse feels like a lifetime ago. San Francisco in 2026 is riding a full-blown AI boom—startups snapping up office space downtown, a packed calendar of conferences and launch parties, sold-out galas, and a fresh crop of founders, executives, and visiting luminaries who all need to get in and out of buildings and events smoothly. All of that growth means quality security services matter more than ever: for event planners running thousand-person keynotes, for corporate offices guarding billion-dollar IP, for high-rise living, and for the now-not-so-occasional famous CEO passing through. For 2026 we've re-vetted every entry on this list—confirming licenses, checking recent client feedback, and trimming a few firms whose focus has drifted away from the city—while adding a handful of standouts that have earned their spot. As always, rankings weigh range of services, reputation, client feedback, and a commitment to employing personnel directly. [Why is this list free to read?](#why-this)
[  ](https://armadasecurity.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship)
[Armada Protective Services](https://armadasecurity.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship) [🛈](https://sfist.com/armada-protective-services-security-guard-patrol-bodyguard/ "More about Armada Protective Services")
#1 of 13 Best Private Security Companies in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://armadasecurity.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship) [Call ](tel:+14156478500)
Now more than three decades into protecting San Francisco (they've been at it since 1994), Armada Protective Services keeps its grip on the top spot by pairing an old-school, boots-on-the-ground service suite—BSIS-certified unarmed officers, mobile patrols, and specialized coverage for healthcare, construction, and residential properties—with a thoroughly modern digital operations platform that logs patrols, post activity, and incidents in real time. Clients get transparent, time-stamped documentation instead of promises, and Armada touts response times twice as fast as a police callout, backed by established working relationships with SFPD, fire, and ambulance services. From Financial District towers to SoMa tech campuses, their visible, reassuring presence remains the city's gold standard.
[  ](https://nobhillsecurity.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship)
[Nob Hill Security](https://nobhillsecurity.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship)
#2 of 13 Top San Francisco Security Guard Agencies
★★★★★
[Website ](https://nobhillsecurity.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship) [Call ](tel:+14157977575)
A perennial Yelp favorite that keeps landing on "best of the Bay" lists in 2026, Nob Hill Security built its reputation on a simple idea: hire for customer-service talent first, then train for security. The result is a roster of well-dressed, articulate officers—available in professional suits or traditional security attire—who feel as at home in a hotel lobby or condo tower as they do at a corporate expo. Officers pass FBI and DOJ background checks, many carry CPR and first-aid training, and reviewers consistently rave about the team's responsiveness, even on painfully short notice. For SF's cultural events and exclusive residential buildings, they remain the friendly first call.
[  ](https://theguardalliance.com/location/california/san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com)
[The Guard Alliance](https://theguardalliance.com/location/california/san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com)
#3 of 13 Top San Francisco Security Providers
★★★★★
[Website ](https://theguardalliance.com/location/california/san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+14153248505)
Founded in 2010 by former guard and mathematician Souleymane Ball, The Guard Alliance remains SF's most tech-forward security shop—now 200-plus employees strong out of its Market Street headquarters. Armed and unarmed officers, GPS-tracked guard tours, fire watch patrols, and a strict no-long-term-contract policy (services run as-you-go, cancelable with 24 hours' notice) make them refreshingly easy to work with. A 24/7 dispatch center can have crews on site in as little as three hours, and their high client-retention rate suggests the flexibility isn't coming at the cost of quality.
[  ](https://marinasecurityservices.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Marina Security Services](https://marinasecurityservices.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#4 of 13 Great Security Guards in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://marinasecurityservices.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+14157732300)
Minority-owned Marina Security Services—a California Street fixture since 1997—climbs our rankings this year on the strength of its deeply community-minded approach. Its Community Ambassador Program, which pairs uniformed guards with de-escalation and peaceful conflict-resolution training, has proven its worth on high-visibility assignments like nighttime coverage of Civic Center Plaza for the neighborhood's Community Benefit District. Add concierge-reception staffing, mobile patrol, event security, and consulting walkthroughs from a leadership team with a century of combined experience, and you have one of the most quietly essential firms in the city.
[  ](https://xpressguards.com/san-francisco-ca-security-guard-service/?ref=sfist.com)
[XPressGuards](https://xpressguards.com/san-francisco-ca-security-guard-service/?ref=sfist.com)
#5 of 13 Best Private Security Guard Firms
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://xpressguards.com/san-francisco-ca-security-guard-service/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+18664074342)
XPressGuards continues its no-nonsense, law-enforcement-based approach to private security. Owned by former police officers and backed by more than 600 offices nationwide, the firm hand-picks armed officers from law enforcement and military backgrounds and covers everything from event protection and mobile patrols to specialized offerings like on-site drug detection and fire watch. Available on short-term or long-term contracts and on call 24/7, XPressGuards is the pick for clients who want rigorous standards and seriously seasoned guard support.
[  ](https://palamerican.com/locations/san-francisco-security-services/?ref=sfist.com)
[PalAmerican Security](https://palamerican.com/locations/san-francisco-security-services/?ref=sfist.com)
#6 of 13 Best Security Services Providers in SF
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://palamerican.com/locations/san-francisco-security-services/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+18773609455)
One of North America's largest and fastest-growing security companies, PalAmerican now operates across 44 states, but its San Francisco programs are still run by SF-based teams who know the terrain—a legacy of its acquisition of longtime local operator ProTech Security. Drawing on some 50 years of industry experience, the firm pairs armed and unarmed guards with mobile patrols, off-duty law enforcement, risk consulting, and 24/7 video monitoring, and remains a specialist in high-rise buildings, healthcare facilities, and critical infrastructure. For clients who want national-scale training standards with locally accountable management, PalAmerican delivers.
[  ](https://www.overtonsecurity.com/san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com)
[Overton Security Services](https://www.overtonsecurity.com/san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com)
#7 of 13 Top Bay Area Security Companies Serving SF
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.overtonsecurity.com/san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+15107917380)
New to our list for 2026, family-owned Overton Security has been a Bay Area mainstay since 1999, with a client roster running from Fortune 500 companies and hospitals to the State of California—including a long-standing post at San Francisco's Transbay Terminal that has drawn public praise from Caltrans facilities managers. What earns Overton its spot is accountability: a 24/7 Security Operations Center, GPS-enabled guard tours with NFC checkpoints, dash-cam-equipped patrol vehicles, and time-stamped daily activity reports that turn "the officer said they checked it" into documented proof. Hands-on, family-run leadership keeps officer turnover low and clients loyal.
[  ](https://www.securelionsecurity.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Securelion Security](https://www.securelionsecurity.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#8 of 13 Top Security Services Agencies
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.securelionsecurity.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+18885725545)
A+ rated by the BBB and still one of the best values on this list, Securelion Security has spent more than a decade building a loyal Bay Area following—including a 625-unit East Bay condo community that praises the firm's ability to add guards on just a couple days' notice. From hubs in Hayward and Pleasanton (plus outposts down the coast to LA and Orange County), Securelion fields fully licensed and insured officers for 24/7 car patrols, fire watch, golf-cart patrol, and unarmed on-site guard duty, with customized security strategies tailored to businesses, schools, and HOAs. Proactive patrols, rapid response, and consistently glowing reviews keep them comfortably in our top ten.
[  ](https://specialforcesprotectiveservices.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Special Forces Protective Services](https://specialforcesprotectiveservices.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#9 of 13 Best Event & Estate Security Teams in SF
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://specialforcesprotectiveservices.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+15108335043)
Another 2026 newcomer, Oakland-based Special Forces Protective Services was founded by a US Army veteran and has quickly become one of the Bay Area's most talked-about young firms, holding a near-perfect Yelp rating on the strength of its event work across San Francisco. Their motto—"Your Safety, Our Mission"—translates into drug-tested, background-checked officers handling armed guard duty, on-site guarding, access control, and 24/7 residential and estate security, all at rates reviewers repeatedly describe as refreshingly reasonable. Wedding parties, conventions, and corporate events alike praise the team's clear communication and easy integration into event operations.
[  ](https://sentrisecurity.com/service-areas/california-security-guards/?ref=sfist.com)
[Sentri Security](https://sentrisecurity.com/service-areas/california-security-guards/?ref=sfist.com)
#10 of 13 Top Veteran-Led Security Providers in the Bay
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://sentrisecurity.com/service-areas/california-security-guards/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+18009258843)
Rounding out our new additions is veteran-led Sentri Security, which runs its Bay Area operations out of a Broadway command center in Oakland and has been racking up rave Yelp reviews for last-minute saves—like dispatching 24-hour fire-watch guards within a couple of hours of a call. The proprietary Sentri Command System™ backs every deployment with GPS patrol verification, digital reporting, and round-the-clock dispatch, while regional recruiting keeps guard teams local even as the firm expands its command centers nationwide. Armed and unarmed officers, mobile patrols, event coverage, and construction-site security round out a genuinely full-service lineup.
[  ](https://www.californiaprivatepatrol.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[California Private Patrol](https://www.californiaprivatepatrol.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#11 of 13 Top San Francisco Security Agencies
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.californiaprivatepatrol.com/?ref=sfist.com)
A Diamond Award winner and self-proclaimed #1-rated Bay Area security guard company, California Private Patrol continues to deliver comprehensive armed and unarmed coverage across the entire San Francisco Bay Area, 24/7\. Services run the gamut from event security and vehicle escorts to undercover operations and VIP protection details, with free quotes promised within four hours. Long-standing relationships with prominent Northern California businesses and venues—from exotic car shows to robotics firms—keep this award-winning outfit firmly on our radar.
[  ](https://www.guardiansecuritygroup.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Guardian Security Group](https://www.guardiansecuritygroup.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#12 of 13 Top Pro Security Services for SF Businesses
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.guardiansecuritygroup.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+18889596404)
Still landing on Yelp's best-of-the-Bay lists in 2026, Guardian Security Group remains a trusted partner for professional security services, providing customized solutions designed to safeguard businesses, assets, and personnel. A team of highly trained, uniformed security professionals is available 24/7 for on-site security, executive protection, event security, loss prevention, and advanced technology-driven services. Backed by over 60 years of combined industry experience, Guardian leverages state-of-the-art tools and personalized security plans to deliver dependable protection and peace of mind for every client.
[  ](https://jpscorp.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Jones Protective Services](https://jpscorp.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#13 of 13 Best SF Protective Service Providers
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://jpscorp.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+14156958800)
Jones Protective Services, the SoMa-based, certified Minority Owned Local Business Enterprise founded by Herman Jones in 2003, has now passed two full decades of delivering comprehensive protective services to San Francisco. The full menu runs from patrol, fixed post, and special event security to Live Scan fingerprinting and notary offerings—Yelp reviewers regularly single out the friendly, community-minded fingerprinting service at their 5th Street office. With an A- BBB rating and a hands-on approach that pairs advanced technology with skilled personnel, Jones continues creating secure environments through integrity and a commitment to complete client satisfaction.
## Frequently Asked Questions: Hiring Security in San Francisco
How much does it cost to hire a security guard in San Francisco?
Most San Francisco firms charge hourly, with unarmed guards typically running about $30–$50 per hour and armed officers about $45–$75 per hour, depending on training requirements, shift length, and how quickly you need coverage. Mobile patrol services, where a vehicle checks your property several times per night, are usually billed per visit or as a flat monthly rate and cost considerably less than a dedicated on-site guard. Always ask for wage-transparent pricing so you know how much of the rate actually reaches the officer protecting your property.
What should I look for when choosing a security company in San Francisco?
Start by verifying the company holds an active Private Patrol Operator (PPO) license from California's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS)—every legitimate firm will list its PPO number, and you can look it up online. Beyond licensing, prioritize companies that employ their guards directly rather than subcontracting, carry substantial liability insurance, provide documented reporting (GPS-verified patrols and time-stamped activity logs are now standard among the best firms), and have verifiable experience in your specific setting, whether that's a high-rise lobby, a construction site, or a thousand-person event.
Do I need armed or unarmed security guards?
For most San Francisco businesses, events, and residential buildings, unarmed guards are the right choice—they provide a visible deterrent, manage access, and de-escalate issues while keeping an approachable presence. Armed officers, who must hold additional BSIS firearm permits, are generally reserved for higher-risk environments like banks, dispensaries, high-value retail, and executive protection details. A reputable company will assess your site and recommend the appropriate level rather than upselling you.
##### WHY THIS LIST IS FREE TO READ
The above SF security companies represent our informed selections based on consistent positive feedback and public profiles. Sponsorship or commissions may influence placement in some cases, yet quality remains a priority. For details, see our [listing policy](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
---
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### The 9 Best Bookkeepers in San Francisco
URL: https://sfist.com/best-bookkeepers-sf/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T21:10:09.000Z
The best bookkeepers can help San Francisco businesses stay organized and avoid costly mistakes. A good bookkeeper helps management to better understand how daily activities meet with a big picture, overhead view of the company. [Why is this list free?](#why-this)
[](https://www.bayareaaccountants.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Dimov Tax Specialists](https://www.bayareaaccountants.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
Best Featured Bookkeeping Services in SF
[Website ](https://www.bayareaaccountants.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14156493795)
Dimov Tax Specialists has over a decade of bookkeeping expertise working with businesses of all sizes, from a single owner to hundreds of employees. Their bookkeeping services are customized to meet your unique requirements, whether they are quarterly or monthly deliverables such as financial statements, invoice and payment reconciliation, quarterly income or sales taxes, or a variety of other duties. Additionally, their CPA team can also discuss business and tax strategy on an ongoing basis, partnering with you to help enhance company performance.
[](https://www.accountantssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Pascual & Associates](https://www.accountantssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
Top Featured Bookkeepers in SF
[Website ](https://www.accountantssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14156049212)
Based in San Bruno and proudly serving the Greater Bay Area, Pascual & Associates, LLP is an incredible professional bookkeeping company that goes above and beyond that service. The talented team advises clients on accounting, tax, and operating issues. Composed of professionals with extensive experience from larger firms and expertise in a wide array of industries, this accounting agency offers a full range of business advisory, tax, and assurance services and will tailor a service plan that is catered to the characteristics and prospects of your business.
Startups in the SF Bay Area often try to get by without a bookkeeper or accountant to ensure that they are on the right path, but as time goes on, most find that their time is best spent focusing on their core competencies and future growth opportunities.
For that reason, it can be an important turning point for an early stage business when management brings on a great bookkeeping partner.
[](https://www.friedlandaccounting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Friedland + Associates](https://www.friedlandaccounting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#1 of 9 Best Bookkeepers
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.friedlandaccounting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14152977493)
Friedland & Associates is a San Francisco-based accounting services firm. The company prides itself on being local and accessible, as opposed to outsourcing its work. It offers bookkeeping services in areas such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, and reconciliations. Friedland & Associates will also analyze data and run financial reports like balance sheets, profit + loss, and cash flow. It will also serve as the accounting manager/controller for certain corporations. Additionally, the firm utilizes cutting-edge technology – such as FloatApp – to help predict future cash flow for clients. It offers a free consultation to help customers determine what is needed and how much services may cost.
[](https://synqmine.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[SYNQMINE](https://synqmine.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#2 of 9 Top Bookkeeping Services
★★★★★
[Website ](https://synqmine.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14083686799)
Synqmine is an accounting and tax preparation service located in San Jose. It serves the greater Bay Area region, as well as online clientele. The company provides many accounting and financial services. Some of these services include general accounting, entity selection, individual and corporate tax returns, payroll services, and various consulting services. The company uses QuickBooks Online to work with clients fluidly. It specializes in the production of financial statements, as well as quarterly and year-end balance sheet preparation. Synqmine provides clients with an online appointment process. Tax planning and preparation are other services that the company has in its portfolio of offerings.
[](http://bbkhq.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Beyond Bookkeeping](http://bbkhq.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 of 9 Leading Bookkeeper Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](http://bbkhq.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+18888650452)
Beyond Bookkeeping is an accounting service that is headquartered in the city of San Francisco. It stands out from other bookkeepers because it is based in the cloud. The company has been in business for over ten years and specializes in small business partnerships. It works with multiple industries, including technology startups, event planning, law, e-commerce, and retail. Its services include transactional projects such as payroll, tax returns, and financial statement preparation. It also offers financial insight and strategies to small businesses to help them move into the future. Beyond Bookkeeping will even set up entire back-office systems and provide training to users to utilize them effectively.
| [Best Accountants in SF](https://sfist.com/best-accountants-accounting-firms-sf/) | [Best SF Bookkeepers](https://sfist.com/best-bookkeepers-sf/) | [Top Tax Preparation Companies](https://sfist.com/best-tax-preparation-sf/) | [Best Tax Planning Companies](https://sfist.com/best-tax-planners-sf/) |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Outsourced CFO Services](https://sfist.com/outsourced-cfo-services-in-sf/) | | | |
[](https://sutroli.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Sutro Li](https://sutroli.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#4 of 9 Top-Notch Bookkeeping Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](https://sutroli.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14158949186)
Sutro Li is a San-Francisco based accounting business that specializes in working with non-profit clients. The company has a two-pronged approach to each client: a team is established in India while a U.S.-based director is appointed to the client here. Sutro Li provides a full suite of bookkeeping services and incorporates the latest in cloud-based technology within its methodology. It strives to maintain financial compliance and to streamline management of all aspects of running a non-profit company. It provides an outsourced CFO service and makes sure that its clients meet budgetary and timeline constraints. Account Managers also train clients using Xero and offer training in many areas of financial services and accounting.
[](https://www.peninsulaaccounting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Peninsula Accounting](https://www.peninsulaaccounting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#5 of 9 Top Bookkeepers
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.peninsulaaccounting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+16505885221)
Peninsula Accounting is an accounting firm with 2 Bay Area offices: one in Sausalito and one in San Francisco. It provides financial and bookkeeping services to clients in the small business, non-profits, and individuals. It offers a wide range of amenities, such as audits, tax services, back-office support, and payroll services. It works with clients in both tax and finance. Peninsula Accounting has a 24/7 customer service so clients can contact the company at any time. As a CPA, the company provides a full suite of complex accounting services. It incorporates QuickBooks and other technology. It also guarantees customer satisfaction.
[](http://www.pascualcpa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Pascual & Associates](http://www.pascualcpa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#6 of 9 Leading Bookkeeping Services
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.pascualcpa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+18447284699)
Pascual & Associates, LLP is a full-service accounting firm located in the Peninsula. Its services include accounting, business advisory, assurance, and tax services. The company is a QuickBooks-certified pro adviser. It has a large selection of bookkeeping offerings, including accounts payable, billing, invoicing, budgeting, and financial statement preparation. Business advisory services consist of ensuring compliance, strategic business planning, and new business formation support. The company’s assurance services include financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations. Pricing is transparent at Pascual & Associates, so customers can see what services they will be receiving and for what cost. From bookkeeping to tax preparation, the company will assist small businesses throughout the entire cycle.
[](https://www.accountiful.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Accountiful](https://www.accountiful.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#7 of 9 Top-Notch Bookkeeper Companies
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.accountiful.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+18882630225)
Accountiful is a full-service bookkeeping company that operates out of San Anselmo. It serves the greater Bay Area and beyond. The firm strives to eliminate paperwork as much as possible and has streamlined many of its services into web-based software. Clients go through a unique process. This involves an initial consultation, followed by an analysis of the projected task. The task is then customized by Accountiful to meet the various demands of the client. Once the cycle is implemented, the firm will continue to monitor the service. It offers multiple accounting and bookkeeping services, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and CFO and controllership opportunities.
[](http://mataxhq.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Matax](http://mataxhq.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#8 of 9 Best Bookkeeping Companies
★★★★☆
[Website ](http://mataxhq.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157872750)
Matax is an accounting and bookkeeping firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Matax is a Xero Gold Partner, which means it is certified with Xero and seamlessly integrates its software into is services. Xero itself is a cloud and web-based accounting suite of tools and software, and Matax has committed fully to its use. It specializes in creating customized accounting packages and services for individuals and small businesses. Some of its accounting services are payroll, project tracking, and invoicing. It not only organizes and streamlines financial statements such as balance sheets, but Matax will prepare financial predictions and projections for clients. The firm prides itself on its commitment to efficiency and the ability to adhere to timelines.
[](https://streamlinebookkeeping.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Streamline](https://streamlinebookkeeping.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#9 of 9 Leading Bookkeepers
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://streamlinebookkeeping.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+15105452161)
Streamline Bookkeeping is an accounting and bookkeeping business located in Oakland. The firm will prepare and supply clients with a monthly tax statement, which eliminates much of the day-to-day burden – and paperwork – many companies undergo. Its clients come from many different industries. Most clients that work with Streamline are small businesses, individuals, and professional service firms. It offers data entry services, as well as prepares and reviews financial statements. It utilizes QuickBooks online, so clients can access their information at any time. Streamline’s services include monthly reports, as well as monthly phone calls with clients to monitor progress. Customer satisfaction is paramount to the firm, and satisfaction is guaranteed.
##### WHY THIS LIST IS FREE TO USE
The above list includes Bookkeepers that SFist believes actively provides superior services. In some cases, they are among the most successful teams in San Francisco. In some cases, variable, sponsorship listing fees or commissions effect the ranking position of the teams, but every one has a history of providing great services. To learn more about SFist's classifieds listings [read more here](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
---
[SFist](https://sfist.com/) / [Best of San Francisco](https://sfist.com/best-of-san-francisco/) / [Best SF Accountants](https://sfist.com/best-accountants-accounting-firms-sf/) / [9 Best Bookkeepers](https://sfist.com/best-bookkeepers-sf/)
### 11 Best Event Planners in San Francisco
URL: https://sfist.com/best-event-planners-sf/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T22:03:19.000Z
From Kenny G in a clock tower to parties in Pacific Heights castles, these 11 event planners have created unique experiences throughout San Francisco. On numerous, less-fortunate occasions, poorly planned events have turned into public spectacles. Lest we forget the [tragic comedy of Fyre Festival](https://sfist.com/2017/05/17/satirical%5Ffyre%5Ffestival%5Fgathering%5Fp/) or the much more [grave outcome of the Altamonte Festival of 1969](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-altamont-festival-brings-the-1960s-to-a-violent-end?ref=sfist.com), the importance of hiring experienced and well-prepared event planners can make or break your day.
[](http://www.glowevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Glow Events](http://www.glowevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#1 of 11 Best Event Planners
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.glowevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14159670553)
At Glow Events, they recognize that the most special days are the ones that we spend with our friends and family. However, they also understand that they can be the most migraine inducing. Offering a full range of services, they assure that they will take care of even the most minute detail. From the venue to budget, start up to clean up, they have got it taken care of. They customize their pricing and never approach a wedding, special holiday, or social occasion the same way. Working on a timeline and budget that works best for you. Glow prides themselves on being able to work with even the fragmented design ideas you might have in your head. Why? Because they are dedicated to giving you an event that both looks great, and works flawlessly.
[](https://www.shannonleahy.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Shannon Leahy Events](https://www.shannonleahy.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 of 11 Leading Wedding & Event Planners
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.shannonleahy.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14156445922)
While everyone knows that wedding planning is one of the most stressful undertakings out there, it is all for a good cause. So you can have a beautiful and fun party to celebrate the beginning of your new life! No one understands that more than Shannon Leahy of Shannon Leahy Event Design & Planning. Renowned for her calm and relaxed demeanor, she vows that you will have stress-free experience that you can look back on with joy for the rest of your life. She can back up these claims too. She has been featured in numerous magazines and blogs praising her for her ability to completely transform any space into the most magical place on earth, all while making sure you and your guests have the time of your lives.
[](https://www.alisonevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Alison Events](https://www.alisonevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#4 of 11 Top-Notch Events Coordinators
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.alisonevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14155677605)
Alison Events Planning and Design know that it is nearly impossible to enjoy your event while still managing to make sure that things are running smoothly. That’s why they take care of all the behind the scenes things and let you enjoy the party that you deserve. Whether you are seeking a destination wedding across the world, or have a local business party that needs sprucing up, this global event planning firm will work tirelessly to ensure that your every need has been met. They consider you and their vendors as their friends, and they work like it. Ensuring that no compromise is made, and that you get the best event for your budget with any aesthetic you want.
[](https://www.eventsolutions-sf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Event Solutions](https://www.eventsolutions-sf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#5 of 11 Top Event Planners
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.eventsolutions-sf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14158165555)
By listening to your objectives and expectations, Event Solutions is able to provide a customized product that both meets your expectation and saves you money. Offering a wide service of event planning, they are prepared for the unique, intimate destination wedding, or the largest, most impressive corporate party. With their specialty in floral design, they are able to create certain aesthetics that other’s outsourcing can’t possibly match. They pride themselves on their creativity and ability to handle every detail so you can rest easy and have fun surrounded by the vision that you started with not that long ago. From beginning to end, Event Solutions offers a seamless and enjoyable experience at even the most fixed budget.
The staff at SFist is regularly invited to events throughout the SF Bay Area. From product launch parties to restaurant openings to the occasional socialite gathering held in a rich guy's Pacific Heights castle (if that's your thing), we've seen events range from grungy to '[Kenny G at the top of a clock tower](https://www.forbes.com/sites/adrianspinelli/2017/06/15/great-sax-smooth-gin-say-hello-to-kenny-gs-hana-gin-brand/?ref=sfist.com#5def4d864e00).' Regardless, of the purpose or intended aesthetic, the best events are always managed by one of SF's many talented event planners.
Besides the obvious, there is a multitude of reasons that events with experienced planners turn out better than their amateur equivalents.
1. Budget Management
2. Vision Mapping
3. Cost Savings
4. Risk (And Disaster) Mitigation
5. Aesthetic Attainment
6. Day-of Relaxation
[](https://www.inspiremyevent.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Inspire](https://www.inspiremyevent.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#6 of 11 Leading Event Planning Companies
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.inspiremyevent.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+18664318708)
At Inspire, they have tasked themselves with providing the best and most affordable services that they can. Specializing in company picnics, corporate conventions, and galas, they seek to impress, or dare say, inspire, their guests and seek to give them an experience that they will remember for years to come. They’re comprised of a diverse and highly reviewed team that pledges to work tirelessly to bring your vision to life. With packages and prices that are suitable for every kind of budget. Planning is a no brainer at Inspire, allowing you to relax and enjoy your event while they handle everything from start to finish.
[](https://kennedyevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Kennedy Events](https://kennedyevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#7 of 11 Top-Notch Wedding & Event Planners
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://kennedyevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14158918270)
Specializing in corporate events, Kennedy Events excels whether they are working behind or in front of the scene. They offer a high level of service by utilizing their 20+ years experience and systems that have proven to be tried and true. Kennedy solves your problems before you are even aware they are there. Instead, you get to enjoy your event that they assure will exceed your expectations. All you have to do is to meet with them, craft your vision together while agreeing on a comfortable budget, and then they take care of the rest. They prove that strategy is just as important as style, and they continue to succeed in the San Francisco area.
[](https://www.annamarieevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Anna Marie](https://www.annamarieevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#8 of 11 Best Events Coordinators
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.annamarieevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14156854440)
Based upon their recent success, it is no surprise that Anna Marie Events was ranked as number 4 on San Francisco Business Times Fastest Growing Private Companies. They encourage prospective clients to seek out their previous clients and ask them; Anna Marie provides the utmost service. Basing their reputation on their professionalism and sheer creativity. Anna and her experienced team of professionals offer clients their 20+ years of experience, and a network of professionals that are willing to negotiate to make sure that you have an event that you can remember, at a price that you can afford.
[](https://abcey.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[ABCey](https://abcey.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#9 of 11 Leading Event Planners
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://abcey.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+18774354036)
Looking at ABCey’s client list, it is easy to see that they have the experience to back up their promise that there is no event that they can’t handle. Big corporate launch parties or small conferences, they have got you covered. They claim to know every spot in the city and have a dedication to ensuring that you get the best results possible. Ensuring that your event with them will blow away even the most unwilling participants. ABCey cares about their event’s guests and understands that they define how the event goes, and they tailor their experience to ensure that your guests leave fully impressed with your company.
[](https://www.mandyscottevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Mandy Scott](https://www.mandyscottevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#10 of 11 Top-Notch Event Planning Companies
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.mandyscottevents.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14154415973)
With features in bridal magazines and even more awards, Mandy Scott has consulted with a variety of high class clients with both her wedding planning and corporate function skills. She understands that working with you is a privilege, and works tirelessly to ensure that you are happy with your event. She promises to give you her closest attention and care when it comes to helping you with your upcoming function. Starting as a hard working entrepreneur, Mandy has proven herself to be able to handle any variety of complications that come her way.
[](https://www.aliciakdesigns.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Alicia K Design](https://www.aliciakdesigns.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#11 of 11 Best Wedding & Event Planners
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.aliciakdesigns.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14155902828)
With smart yet hip designs, Alicia K Designs has been recognized as one of the original San Francisco’s first event planning companies. They capture your guests attention and have them leaving with a lasting impression, and memories they will cherish for a lifetime. Their Dream Team is packed full of experienced and hardworking professionals that will work tirelessly to make sure that your wedding or special event is as stress free as possible. Offering a wide variety of services, it is easy to see why many consider them the one place to go for all of their event planning needs.
The above list includes event planning service providers that SFist's staff believes in and trusts that they are highly capable of providing superior services. In some cases, they are the largest companies in this field in San Francisco. In some cases, variable listing fees effect the ranking position of the companies, but every one could be considered as a strong contender among the top moving companies in San Francisco. You should do your own research before selecting a company or individual to provide services to you. To learn more about SFist's classifieds listings [read more here](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
---
[SFist](https://sfist.com/) / [Best of San Francisco](https://sfist.com/best-of-san-francisco/) / [11 Best Event Planners in SF](https://sfist.com/best-event-planners-sf/)
### 9 Best Personal Shoppers / Stylists in SF
URL: https://sfist.com/best-personal-shoppers-sf/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T21:25:35.000Z
San Francisco is certainly known for its unique style. In terms of high fashion, some might say our style is not good thing. Sure, the city is historically home of artists and innovators, but both groups seem to have their own version of grunge that we toss on our bodies and call clothing. These 9 best SF stylist & personal shoppers can help you go from downright shabby to shabby-chic, or in some cases, from a pumpkin into Cinderella on her big day. (Feel free to fact-check me on how that story goes..) [Why is this list free?](#why-this)
[](https://www.qthestylist.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Katie Quinn](https://www.qthestylist.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#1 of 9 Best Personal Shoppers
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.qthestylist.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153103961)
Since 2009, Katie Quinn has been providing style advice to customers across the nation. Her company, Q the Stylist, offers various wardrobe solutions to clients. She will fly across the country to work with individuals and can customize the contents of any closet. She will eliminate clothing options, as well as advise on new additions to individual wardrobes. Katie Quinn offers multiple tiers of services, ranging from a la carte to on-call advice. Additionally, clients can sign up for a membership, which gives full access to Katie Quinn’s services. She is also environmentally-conscious and tries to select eco-friendly outfits, such as those using recycled materials.
[](https://www.sheaenglish.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Shea English](https://www.sheaenglish.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#2 of 9 Top Stylists
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.sheaenglish.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153103668)
Shea English has based her personal shopping business on the belief that style comes from within. She fulfills clients’ potential by matching their life situations and desires to current fashion. Based in San Francisco, Shea English works with clients in choosing their wardrobe, while considering their body types and personal preferences. She has been in the personal fashion industry in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years. She offers a wide range of services, as well. Some of these services include wardrobe analysis, individual fashion assessment, vintage and consignment shopping, and window styling for boutiques. She will also cater to corporate clients and special events.
[](https://www.lilihenrystylist.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Lili Henry](https://www.lilihenrystylist.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 of 9 Leading Personal Stylists
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.lilihenrystylist.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+19257884504)
Lili Henry is an image consultant and personal stylist, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. She offers a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation in the case that potential clients desire more information. Lili Henry follows a protocol with each client, and all services begin with a home consultation. She provides several services, each with a unique set of outcomes. One such service is closet editing, which includes a color palette analysis, discarding clothes, and suggesting new wardrobe additions. Another offering is her personal shopping package, which comes with a personalized guidebook for each client’s style. Lili Henry even offers a home delivery package where Lili pre-shops for clients and then customers try on the clothes in the comfort of their own home.
[](https://www.mgkstyle.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Mary Gonsalves Kinney](https://www.mgkstyle.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#4 of 9 Top-Notch Image Consultants
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.mgkstyle.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+19167525195)
Mary Gonsalves Kinney, through her fashion styling company MGK Style, serves cities across the nation. Her home base is San Francisco, however, and she is the Stylist in Residence at The Avery SF. She provides many different fashion services to her clients. These include partial and full closet edits, monthly package options, hourly styling services, special event styling, and editorial/ad campaign styling. Her special event styling is one of her specialties, and she has a diverse background and portfolio of special event experiences. Another unique offering that the company provides is the MGK Edit, which is an online luxury consignment boutique.
[](http://www.megannoellelow.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Megan Noelle Low](http://www.megannoellelow.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#5 of 9 Top Personal Shoppers
★★★★☆
[Website ](http://www.megannoellelow.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+16232178831)
Megan Noelle Low is an image consultant, personal shopper, and wardrobe consultant. With over 10 years of experience supplying fashion consulting services, she has developed a deep understanding of style and individualized fashion advice. She will perform closet edits for customers, which involves going through their closets to see what clothing should stay, go, or be updated. She also serves as a personal shopper for clients and factors in their personalities, body types, and functional aspects of their wardrobes. Megan Noelle Low prides herself on her ability to fine-tune customer’s requests into the right outfit for any occasion. Her website also has an online booking feature, with instant confirmation.
[](https://www.judydomenici.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Judy Dominci](https://www.judydomenici.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#6 of 9 Leading Stylists
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.judydomenici.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14155172514)
Judy Domenici is an image consultant based in the city of San Francisco. Her consulting clients include men, women, teens, and children. Her process begins with a closet consultation, in which she works with clients to achieve a style goal together. Other services that she provides are wardrobe coordinating, business and career wardrobe shopping, home organization, and total image makeovers. Other offerings include special event style planning. Judy Domenici designs individualized wardrobes for special events such as weddings, anniversaries, and formal events. She will also help customers get ready to travel, whether it is for business or vacation. She also trains teenagers and kids to develop their unique sense of style.
[](http://www.mickiturner.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Micki Turner](http://www.mickiturner.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#7 of 9 Top-Notch Personal Stylists
★★★★☆
[Website ](http://www.mickiturner.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+15102065944)
Micki Turner is a San Francisco Bay Area-based personal shopper and image consultant. Most of her personal shopping takes place in the high-end stores of Union Square in the city. She accompanies clients into these stores, hand-selecting outfits that she sees as the best fit for customers. Micki Turner has been in the image consulting business for 20 years and has a deep knowledge of fashion and personal style. She offers other services, including closet editing and quick wardrobe updates. She will also assist customers as they prepare to pack and get ready for travel. She will work with individuals to build a lasting wardrobe and ensure that they are looking stylish.
[](https://ensemble-consulting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Ensemble Consulting](https://ensemble-consulting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#8 of 9 Best Image Consultants
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://ensemble-consulting.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157410011)
Supreet, and her company Ensemble Consulting, provide fashion consultation services to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Catering to both men and women, Supreet has a wide range of wardrobe solutions to offer. One such service is the Initial Style Consultation, where clients are given a customized plan of wardrobe revision. EPIC Start is a more in-depth service that includes the initial consultation as well as personalized suggestions for improving clients’ wardrobes through pre-shopping. Supreet will also perform the Ultimate Ensemble package, complete with accessories. The EPIC Overhaul service consists of a 3-hour closet cleanout, making sure that clients are starting fresh and ready to reinvent their style.
[](http://www.guerrillamakeovers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Beth Alyse](http://www.guerrillamakeovers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#9 of 9 Leading Personal Shoppers
★★★★☆
[Website ](http://www.guerrillamakeovers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+18662937895)
Beth Alyse is the owner and executive stylist of her company Guerilla Makeovers. She provides fashion consulting services and even has her own patented approach to coaching: The Life/Style™ Coaching service. Beth Alyse supplies wardrobe makeover services and closet curations, making sure that clients’ clothing is fashionable and fresh. Additionally, she provides lifestyle coaching, ranging from dating advice to the science of attraction. She specializes in bridal beauty preparation and makeovers, as well. She has customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. These customers come to Guerilla Makeovers for many different purposes, including upgrades to their closets, love lives, lifestyles, homes, and parties.
##### WHY THIS LIST IS FREE TO USE
The above list includes Stylists Personal Shoppers that SFist believes actively provides superior services. In some cases, they are among the most successful teams in San Francisco. In some cases, variable, sponsorship listing fees or commissions effect the ranking position of the teams, but every one has a history of providing great services. To learn more about SFist's classifieds listings [read more here](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
---
[SFist](https://sfist.com/) / [Best of San Francisco](https://sfist.com/best-of-san-francisco/) / [9 Best Personal Stylists & Image Consultants](https://sfist.com/best-personal-shoppers-sf/)
### 13 Best Movers / Moving Companies in SF
URL: https://sfist.com/moving-companies-sf/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T19:21:05.000Z
Last Updated March 24, 2022
[Jump to list](#list-jump)
News media have been persistent in sensationalizing the narrative of how many people are migrating into or out of San Francisco over the previous two years. To aid individuals in need of moving skills, we've compiled a [list of the best movers in San Francisco](#list-jump). Several of these companies provided anonymized data from request-for-quote (RFQ) leads in response to the alleged 'SF Exodus.' The desired move date, the origin city, the unit size, and the destination location were all included in these statistics. While this data indicates that almost all potential San Francisco residents settled elsewhere in the city or another Northern California region, cities such as Austin, Nashville, and Miami, as well as those who stand to benefit politically from the so-called exodus, have repeatedly pushed the message that San Francisco and New York are dead. Indeed, on [August 17, 2020](https://nypost.com/2020/08/17/nyc-is-dead-forever-heres-why-james-altucher/?ref=sfist.com), the conservative daily tabloid The New York Post notably published an article with nearly that exact title. It wasn't long before they changed course entirely, with the August 22 headline, "No, New York City is not 'dead forever' - here's why," a mere 5 days later.
As you prepare for a big move in or around the SF Bay Area, hiring the best movers near San Francisco can make the experience less stressful and allow you to fully enjoy entering your new home. [Why is this list free to read?](#why-this)
[  ](https://www.camoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[CA Movers SF](https://www.camoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#1 Best Featured Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.camoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+14153048148)
California Movers provides both long-distance and local moving services with a level of expertise superior in their industry. In business for about 40 years, CA Movers works from San Diego to San Francisco and beyond. They are committed to offering superior service. Each member of staff is trained in professional moving techniques and great customer service, ensuring the safe transportation of your valuables. They are fully insured, which means you are protected in the improbable event of product damage. Additionally, the pricing structure of California Movers is clear, with no hidden fees or last-minute charges. Customer support professionals are available to answer any questions you may have about the moving process. The company's whole fleet of moving vehicles is modern, reliable, and well-maintained.
[  ](https://www.localmoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Dependable Movers](https://www.localmoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#2 Top Featured SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.localmoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+14152235689)
San Francisco is a lovely city to live in. If you're considering relocating to this location, it's advantageous to work with a company that is intimately familiar with the area. This is why you should get in touch with Dependable Movers. They provide a variety of services, including white glove. Since they've been in business, they've completed a variety of different types of relocation. Additionally, they are adept at executing a variety of highly complex maneuvers. Additionally, they ensure that all of your services are performed safely. They strive to complete tasks as rapidly as possible to assist you to meet the standards necessary to move into your new area swiftly. Additionally, they offer boxing services for all of your belongings prior to your move.
[  ](https://www.packersmoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[SF B.A.M.](https://www.packersmoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 Leading Featured Pro Movers in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.packersmoverssf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+14153196741)
Any form of transfer may necessitate the usage of a variety of different types of services. A person who is relocating may require assistance with moving and packing. Additionally, they may require storage while the relocation is taking place. If you're moving in the San Francisco region, SF Bay Area Moving can assist you with all of these arrangements. They employ a skilled moving crew. Additionally, they offer packing services that make it simple to get your belongings packed and ready to move. Additionally, they offer a storage facility where you can store your belongings. They offer a variety of moving services to suit the needs of all clients. This includes office relocations, commercial relocations, and residential relocations.
[  ](https://www.wemovesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Good Green Moving](https://www.wemovesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#4 Top-Notch Featured Moving Services in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.wemovesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+14156902248)
A move requires a great deal of attention to detail in order to succeed. Effective movers are aware of this. That is why personnel at Good Green understand how much clients rely on them to ensure a successful transfer. They provide home relocation services. Their residential services are adaptable to any type of transfer, whether it is within a few blocks or across town. Numerous people use commercial relocation services. That is another chore that Good Green Movers can complete quickly for you. They are experienced in a variety of commercial relocation, including those to larger or smaller workspaces. Additionally, they are capable of providing a variety of other services, such as packaging your most valuable possessions.
[  ](https://www.bayareamoversf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[BayAreaMover SF](https://www.bayareamoversf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#5 Featured Best SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.bayareamoversf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+14155691067)
Pure Movers is certainly a one-of-a-kind crew serving San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco. Conscious of the fact that relocating can be unpleasant for a large number of individuals, they make every effort to eliminate the hardest elements wherever possible. Those in need of moving supplies are invited to peruse what Pure Movers has to offer. Whether individuals are relocating locally or across the country, this crew is proficient at managing the logistics. They go above and above to carry products safely and swiftly, providing peace of mind for their clients.
[  ](https://www.packnmovesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Pro Smart Movers](https://www.packnmovesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#6 Top Featured Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.packnmovesf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+14159655080)
Pro Smart Movers is a team of experienced movers with hundreds of 5-star reviews from customers in Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C., Sacramento, and the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Pro Smart knows how to pack and move San Francisco apartments, residences, and offices of any size, distance, or necessity for relocation services. They provide local and long-distance residential and commercial moving services and are committed to customer satisfaction. Pro Smart makes every effort to give exceptional service. Pro Smart is licensed and insured, which ensures that your belongings will be protected from beginning to end.
[  ](https://www.sfmovinginc.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[SF Moving Inc](https://www.sfmovinginc.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#7 Leading Featured Moving Services in SF
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.sfmovinginc.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+14158258791)
SF Moving Inc., a part of Adams Moving, has over eight years of expertise providing moving and storage services throughout the Bay Area and San Francisco neighborhoods. Local and international moving services are available through SF Moving Inc. They supply all relocation materials, including boxes, tape, labels, and moving blankets. This experienced moving team will assist you in packing your expensive and fragile belongings in order to transport them safely to your final location. With this firm, your belongings will be delivered safely and on time to your new house or office. SF Moving Inc. maintains a sizable fleet of dependable moving trucks and vans that are ready to assist you with your relocation.
| [Best SF Movers](https://sfist.com/moving-companies-sf/) | [Top Oakland Movers](https://sfist.com/best-oakland-east-bay-movers/) | [Top Marin Movers](https://sfist.com/marin-movers/) | [Top San Jose Movers](https://hoodline.com/best-movers-moving-companies-san-jose-santa-clara/?ref=sfist.com) |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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Without any doubt, New York and San Francisco are two of the most desired cities in the US for reasons other than their high average salaries. And, while the Bay Area saw a massive outbreak of 'move-out fever' in 2020 and 2021, recent research indicates that San Francisco remains one of the top cities in the country to "find a new, high-paying job in 2022—without sacrificing quality of life," as [reported by CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/05/the-top-10-cities-to-find-a-new-high-paying-job-in-2022.html?ref=sfist.com). Further, [this Business Insider article](https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-san-francisco-urban-exodus-migration-myth-bofa-2021-4?ref=sfist.com) explored a study that indicated that "the urban exodus of New York City and San Francisco is more myth than reality." Heck, SFist itself recently published the [findings from the Brookings Institution](https://sfist.com/2022/03/24/tech-didnt-move-out-of-ca-la-times-columnist-says-tech-exodus-a-bust/) that showed the so-called *Tech Exodus* turned out to be little more than hot air. And, while US Census data indicated significant out-migration in New York and San Francisco between 2020 and 2021, that trend looked to have slowed as of July 2021\. Additionally, the SFist staff analyzed over 10,000 client requests for transferring services from 2019 to 2022 and discovered that the late 2021/early 2022 (YTD) data more closely reflects pre-pandemic data than the 2020/early 2021 era did. And, let us not forget, both San Francisco and New York City are host cities to some of the world's most known events, are home to some of the country's most successful sports teams, and are destinations for foodies from all over the world seeking the most imaginative culinary experiences.
Some have even begun to pit San Francisco against New York City. It is a fact that the recovery of New York's rental market has outpaced that of San Francisco to this point, as [Gothamist reported](https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-surpasses-san-francisco-most-expensive-rental-market-country-report?ref=sfist.com) in 2021\. New York-based publication Bloomberg News extrapolated that a lasting change has occurred, as “New York City Beats San Francisco for Superstar Talent.” What many fail to acknowledge is the vastly different path that SF & NYC have followed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. New York was hit hard early on, but today, they are simply moving faster than SF for assorted other reasons. For example, banking companies like Citibank are already calling for a return to office work in just a couple of weeks, whereas technology companies, hosting a tech-enabled workforce that lends itself to sustaining a longer work-from-home period, are still erring on the side of caution - for the time being, at least. But this is not a thing of perpetuity. Clever tech companies have been snapping up more and more office space throughout the Bay Area, signaling what will almost certainly be an at least partial return to office life.
[  ](http://www.slmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Sweet Lemon Moving Services](http://www.slmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#1 of 13 Best Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.slmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 500-4298)
Sweet Lemon Moving Services is a California based company that is fully licensed and insured. This San Francisco Moving Company not only services the Bay Area, it also provides assistance on longer moves within the large state of California. Other services offered include moving furniture or one large item, packing/unpacking or loading/unloading. Rates are based on the number of crew members needed as well as duration of rental time for the truck and supplies.
[  ](https://ocdmovingservices.net/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[OCD Moving Services LLC](https://ocdmovingservices.net/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#2 of 13 Top SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](https://ocdmovingservices.net/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28510%29 375-3844)
Planning a move is hard, but OCD Moving Services LLC, a professional SF mover, is here to help. This San Francisco, California, moving company thrives on being customer-focused. They help customers with each step of the moving process from start to finish. Initially, they communicate with their potential clients and offer a free consultation. Once the customers are ready to move, OCD Moving Services LLC proudly provides them with services that cater to all aspects of a move, including packing and unpacking items, disposing of furniture, and transporting automobiles. The company is available for local and long-distance moves and provides moving services for individuals and businesses. Their number one goal is providing a stress-free moving experience to their customers. From their customer-focused approach to their numerous services, it is no wonder that this company has been meeting the needs of people in the San Francisco area for over ten years.
[  ](https://acemovingco.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Ace Marin Moving](https://acemovingco.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 of 13 Leading Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](https://acemovingco.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 417-0398)
Ace Marin Moving is a 5-Star rated moving company that has been in business for over 37 years. Not only is Ace Marin a Mover in San Francisco, but there are also offices located in San Jose and Oakland. Services provided are local, long distance and office moving. Rates are based on the number of hours required for the job and other expenses like taxes, tolls, equipment and protection materials are all included for free.
[  ](http://www.collegemoversusa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[College Movers USA](http://www.collegemoversusa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#4 of 13 Top-Notch Moving Services in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.collegemoversusa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28650%29 630-5881)
College Movers USA provides commercial, residential, and junk hauling services throughout the Bay Area. They have significant capabilities and can work with virtually any size move due to their flexible professional moving team size and a number of trucks, up to 26ft box trucks which can accommodate some of the largest of moving projects. College Movers touts their ability to handle any business move up to 10,000 sq. ft. and have transported everything from retail to offices to warehouses and more. On the residential side of things, this team has handled every size of home, from studios to mansion, and specializes in carefully handling heavy or awkward items.
[  ](http://www.westcoastmovingsystems.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[West Coast Moving Systems San Francisco](http://www.westcoastmovingsystems.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#5 of 13 Best SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.westcoastmovingsystems.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28844%29 321-6683)
West Coast Moving Systems is a reliable moving company based out of San Francisco. This San Francisco moving company offers its clients a number of services include but not limited to, moving, packing, and even storage solutions. West Coast Moving Systems San Francisco is a fully bonded and insured company, providing their clients peace of mind when it comes to their most valuable belongings. If clients find it difficult to describe what services they need, this forward-thinking moving company offers virtual walk-throughs that allow them to assess your needs via video chat. This is merely one way in which West Coast Moving Systems ensures that their clients have a stress free and seamless move. With over 15 years of experience in the industry, it is no secret that this moving company is professional, prepared, and a high-quality choice for anyone in the San Francisco area that is moving.
[  ](http://www.commandermoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Commander Moving](http://www.commandermoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#6 of 13 Top Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.commandermoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 407-5043)
Commander Moving is an SF mover often considered among the first choices in relocating needs whether you're moving a residential home, your business, or even moving your goods from storage. Commander Moving is fully licensed and insured and offers custom crates for your move, services to pack and unpack your goods, full inventory can be taken of your move, and Commander even offers services just to move goods from one room to another in your home. If you have relocation needs in the San Francisco area, call or email to get an estimate, then plan and schedule your move. It is that simple with Commander. With over 11 years of experience in the Bay Area, Commander helps to make your next move with peace of mind.
[  ](http://www.paradisemovingservice.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Paradise Moving & Storage](http://www.paradisemovingservice.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#7 of 13 Leading Moving Services in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.paradisemovingservice.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28510%29 414-2312)
If you are in the market for a mover in San Francisco, you have come to the right place. Paradise Moving & Storage is the best option for anyone looking to relocate their belongings. They offer a wide range of services, from local moves to long-distance relocations, and they are here to help make your move as smooth as possible. They aim to mediate this stress by properly protecting and packing your belongings and promoting open communication with the customer. In addition, their office staff is ready 24/7 for any questions or concerns you may have about your next move. Contact them today to learn more about their services or get a free quote.
[  ](https://in-out-movers-and-storage.business.site/?utm%5Fsource=gmb&utm%5Fmedium=referral?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[In & Out Movers and Storage](https://in-out-movers-and-storage.business.site/?utm%5Fsource=gmb&utm%5Fmedium=referral?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#8 of 13 Best Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](https://in-out-movers-and-storage.business.site/?utm%5Fsource=gmb&utm%5Fmedium=referral?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 573-9954)
In & Out Movers & Storage is a full-service moving company with extensive knowledge of the industry. In addition to providing precise estimates, they also provide full kitchen packing and unpacking, disassembly and reassembling of mattresses and cribs, and wrapping any significant furniture pieces. There is no house or apartment that is too large or too little for In & Out, as their employees are well-known for being dependable, courteous, and efficient.
[  ](http://www.franklinmovingservices.net/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Franklin Moving Services](http://www.franklinmovingservices.net/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#8 of 13 Best Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.franklinmovingservices.net/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 573-4945)
Franklin Moving Services is a company that is dedicated to catering to the needs of people looking to move around the city of San Francisco. Their professional movers are equipped with the required skills and equipment necessary to facilitate secure movement within a short period. This San Francisco Moving Company not only offers its incredible services to local movers but also to long-distance movers. For this category of clients, they are assisted with loading and unloading the rental trunk hired or PODS container that will be used to transport the items across the country from San Francisco. Once you decide to work with Franklin Moving Services, a team leader is immediately assigned to be in charge of your moving. Therefore, any questions you may have during the entire period are handled by the respective representative. This is done to ensure that you do not encounter any stress as the company takes full control of your moving process.
[  ](http://imovingusa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[iMoving Professional Moving System](http://imovingusa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#10 of 13 Leading Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://imovingusa.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 999-1212)
Using a professional mover can save you a lot of time and headaches. A company that should be on your list when considering an SF mover is iMoving. The iMoving Professional Moving System is perfect whether you are moving to or from a large house or a small apartment in the Bay area. The company offers a full range of services, including full-service moves for both residential, as well as packing, loading and unloading services. IMoving offers advanced equipment, competitive rates and professional service. Call or check out the company's website to get more information and book your move.
[  ](http://larrosmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Larro's Moving Services](http://larrosmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#11 of 13 Top-Notch SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](http://larrosmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 684-6400)
Larro's Moving Services is one mover in San Francisco that you want on your side right now. This is a moving company that knows exactly what you need in order to get the job done really well. They have been in the business for moving for a great many years. In doing so, they have learned a lot about the world of moving. They know how to ensure that everything you need to have moved arrives safely at the intended destination. This means that they're a moving service that you can trust. Each year, this is one company that does a lot of moves all over the greater San Francisco fully. They can make sure that you get the kind of personalized attention and service you need to make any move as fast and easy as possible. That is why this is one mover with a very loyal client base.
[  ](http://www.boutiquemovingservices.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Boutique Moving Services](http://www.boutiquemovingservices.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#12 of 13 Best Moving Services in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.boutiquemovingservices.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28510%29 816-2429)
Boutique Moving Services is worth considering if you're looking for a reliable moving services provider. The moving company is a San Francisco based SF moving services provider that offers quality and affordable services for those who need to move. The movers are experienced and efficient, making your relocation less stressful while your belongings are taken care of. They also offer packing and unpacking services so you can focus on more important things. Whether you’re a student, local or in need of commercial service, this professional moving service provider has got you covered. The affordable payment options make it easy to budget your move without breaking the bank. Moreover, this SF moving services provider is licensed, insured and bonded, thus making them an excellent choice for moving. You can be sure that your valuables are in safe hands with Boutique Moving Services. Contact them today to get started and enjoy a stress-free and safe relocation experience.
[  ](http://www.bigleprechaunmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Big Leprechaun Moving & Storage](http://www.bigleprechaunmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#13 of 13 Top Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.bigleprechaunmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 259-9427)
The Big Leprechaun Moving & Storage is a San Francisco-based moving company, serves customers across the entire Bay Area. They will simplify your residential or business move whether it's across town or across the state of California. It's a family-owned and operated company with a proven track record for customer satisfaction. Their rates are affordable, and the San Francisco Moving Company is known for its dependable and exceptional service. The firm handles all of your moving needs including short and long-term storage. Big Leprechaun Moving & Storage offers a wide range of moving products and supplies. Their expert team will even pack up your home in preparation for your move.
---
###### See The Next 13 Top Movers In The Bay Area
[  ](https://finchmovingservices.com/california/local%5Fmovers%5Fmoving%5Fcompany/san%5Ffrancisco/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Finch Moving and Storage San Francisco](https://finchmovingservices.com/california/local%5Fmovers%5Fmoving%5Fcompany/san%5Ffrancisco/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#14 of 26 Leading SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](https://finchmovingservices.com/california/local%5Fmovers%5Fmoving%5Fcompany/san%5Ffrancisco/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28855%29 969-6683)
Trust and reliability are two of the many words that people use to describe just how much they enjoy working closely with Finch Moving and Storage San Francisco. This is a high quality company that makes a priority of customer service. They will assist you with everything you really need in order to make sure your move is done properly. If you're looking for an SF mover, you've come to the right place. You have a company on your side that is ready for anything. They know what it takes to get a move done according to your time table. This is why they've been able to stay in business for over a decade. In the process, many people in the San Francisco area have found them to be a valuable and useful ally. Contact them today for help with all of your moving needs in the entire SF area.
[  ](http://www.jaymoves.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Jay's Small Moves](http://www.jaymoves.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#15 of 26 Top-Notch Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.jaymoves.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 999-6795)
Jay's Small Moves is a trusted mover in San Francisco with a reputation for helping customers to simplify their relocation efforts. The company offers a variety of different moving trucks along with the valuable help of its experienced movers who assist customers to efficiently relocate to their new address from their old one. The various moving trucks available from Jay's Small Moves include options that are ideal for relocating to a studio or a 1,2, and 3 bedroom home, office relocations, or relocation to a new commercial address. The company's team of movers is there to provide professional packing services, offer furniture disassembly and reassembly and to do the loading/unloading. All of these factors have helped the company to become the preferred mover in San Francisco by countless area residents and business owners.
[  ](http://luigysmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Luigys Moving San Francisco](http://luigysmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#16 of 26 Best Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://luigysmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 413-4646)
A member of the California Moving & Storage Association, Luigys Moving is a premier SF moving services provider. Luigys began their business in 2001, giving this San Francisco based moving company over 20 years of experience taking the hassle out of moving for companies and families throughout the San Francisco Bay area. Their services are wide ranging and include everything from simple local moves to long-distance interstate moving. The company even provides a specialized “special task” service that specializes in moving fine art and antiques allowing clients to have peace of mind about their most valuable possessions. With such a knack for moving, Luigys Moving San Francisco has received a number of awards, raving reviews, and certifications for their services. Most notably, the company has an A+ rating with the Bester Business Bureau and is Screened and Approved by Home Advisor. Whether undergoing a corporate or residential move, Luigys Moving and Storage is a top choice for many in the San Francisco area.
[  ](https://www.upandupmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Up and Up Moving and Storage](https://www.upandupmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#17 of 26 Top SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.upandupmoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28510%29 518-2770)
If you're looking for a really great worker owned company in San Francisco, you've come to the right place. Up and Up Moving and Storage is a San Francisco Moving Company that is just what you need to make any move work. This is one company that is on your side and ready to help you with all aspects of your move. It's also one company that also cares deeply about what all aspects of any move you have to get done and wants to make your move a lot easier. They are very reliable. Make an appointment with them and you can be sure they'll show up at the appointed time. They're also one company that lets you sit back and does all the heavy lifting for you. This is precisely why your first call when it comes to planning a move in SF should be to them today.
[  ](http://www.clutchmovingcompany.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Clutch Moving Company](http://www.clutchmovingcompany.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#18 of 26 Leading Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.clutchmovingcompany.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28650%29 963-2604)
Clutch Moving Company is a well-known mover located in San Francisco. Initially, the company started in the Bay Area with the goal of providing quality services to its customers’ satisfaction. They provide services such as residential move, commercial move, local and long-distance move, staging, receiving and warehousing, packing services, white glove delivery, and senior moving. Moreover, the company provides free move quotations to its esteemed customers or schedules on-site estimates. Their services are available throughout the week. Clutch Moving Company is unique because they thoroughly screen their employees before hiring them. They check their background and train them for two weeks to properly handle and secure clients’ items. Additionally, because they pay employees good salaries, the turnover rate is very low, giving them enough experience to handle the moving items. The company’s goal is to offer secure, efficient, and satisfactory moves. Reach them today and get the best moving services in San Francisco Area, and its sorroundings.
[  ](https://captain-move-a-lot-inc-moving-company.business.site/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Captain Move-A-Lot](https://captain-move-a-lot-inc-moving-company.business.site/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#19 of 26 Top-Notch Moving Services in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://captain-move-a-lot-inc-moving-company.business.site/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28858%29 876-7883)
Captain Move-A-Lot is one moving company that is very fast and efficient. Over the years, many people have praised them. That's because they are know to be professional as well as extremely speedy. They will come to any home in the SF area and help anyone who needs to have a mover in San Francisco. They are very friendly with a true emphasis on the kind of customer service that everyone wants. This is a company that has what it takes to begin a move and see it through from start to finish. They offer all types of moving services. They'll move anything you need moved in the San Francisco area. They can also assist anyone with the kind of long distance moving they need either in the SF area or out of it. They're ready and able to help you get the job done you need done right now.
[  ](http://www.goldenbayrelocation.com/?utm%5Fsource=google&utm%5Fmedium=gmb&utm%5Fcampaign=main?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Golden Bay Relocation](http://www.goldenbayrelocation.com/?utm%5Fsource=google&utm%5Fmedium=gmb&utm%5Fcampaign=main?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#20 of 26 Best SF Moving Companies
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.goldenbayrelocation.com/?utm%5Fsource=google&utm%5Fmedium=gmb&utm%5Fcampaign=main?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 668-9562)
Golden Bay Relocation is a reputable SF Moving Services Provider specializing in handling all your storage needs. For over ten years, they have been providing local moves throughout The Bay Area for residential and commercial customers. The best way to get your life in order is by using these professional movers. They will pack, move and unpack all necessary items for you fast and efficiently. They have a team that will always be ahead of the game because they're attending various training seminars. Plus, they know how difficult moving can get- which is why their high-quality solutions for relocation will fit all your unique needs.
[  ](http://www.fastnreliable.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Fast N Reliable Moving LLC](http://www.fastnreliable.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#21 of 26 Top Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.fastnreliable.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 812-3484)
Fast N' Reliable Moving & Zhang's Moving has been in business since 1994\. They are a family-owned and operated firm with a good reputation for fair pricing and exceptional customer service. Fast N' Reliable has moved houses, offices, and warehouses. They have an excellent record with the PUC and are on the Better Business Bureau's Honor Roll. They realize relocation is more than just relocating. Families and businesses alike benefit from relocation. This staff wants to be a part of your new adventure, therefore they strive to be economical and reliable, making your relocation as easy as possible.
[  ](https://localnlongdistancemovers.com/?s=san-francisco?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker&ref=sfist.com)
[Local N Long Distance Movers San Francisco](https://localnlongdistancemovers.com/?s=san-francisco?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker&ref=sfist.com)
#22 of 26 Leading Moving Services in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://localnlongdistancemovers.com/?s=san-francisco?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies&ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 373-1039)
Local N Long Distance Movers San Francisco is a leading name for those seeking to move. They specialize and provide best-in-class solutions that fit your unique needs, be they local or long-distance moves. Hiring them will help you save time by taking away most if not every hassle related to this arduous task of changing homes. They also provide secure and professional facilities where you can store your valuable belongings without any worries about them being damaged or lost during the relocation. In addition, their rates are economical, and they offer a wide range of services, from packing to loading or unloading at your new place.
[  ](http://www.movingcompanyinsanfranciscoca.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Master Movers](http://www.movingcompanyinsanfranciscoca.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#23 of 26 Top-Notch Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.movingcompanyinsanfranciscoca.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 317-6683)
Are you living in the CA area, and do you need to move? Do not worry again because you have the best movers around you. Master Movers are a recognized and licensed moving company that offers complete services, including storage services. Therefore, they are your trusted partners moving you from your place to your destination. They are committed to giving their clients the best moving experience and a smooth moving process. Their knowledge of twenty years plus makes it easy for them to provide you with the best services. Furthermore, they have familiarized themselves with the procedures, thus assuring you a smooth transition.The company have the best haulage vehicles and modernized telecommunication technologies. Furthermore, their technical and support staff are well trained and fitted with skills to handle the clients responsibly and offer them high-quality services. Master movers ensure that your load and belongings are properly packed and safely delivered to your new place. If you want moving or trustworthy storage and reliable services, do not hesitate to contact them.
[  ](http://pedrosmovingservices.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Pedro's Moving Services](http://pedrosmovingservices.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#24 of 26 Best Professional SF Movers
★★★★★
[Website ](http://pedrosmovingservices.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 678-0631)
Pedro's Moving Services is a premier and inclusive moving company in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company was originally started by Pedro himself in 2001 with only a single pickup truck. Today, Pedro’s has grown into a bustling company ran by Pedro’s three daughters, Vanessa, Veronica, and Brenda. The company offers services that go above and beyond most moving companies including, packing, relocation, moving, and even deep cleaning after the packing and moving is over. These specialized services are the key to the company’s commitment to service to each of their clients. With such great success, Pedro’s Moving and Storage is keen on giving back to the community that built them up. Each week Pedro’s dedicates their staff and trucks to help local non-profits deliver food to those in need. Those interested in using this dedicated team in their next move can easily contact Pedro’s and receive a free quote on their services.
[  ](http://www.tgimoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Top Gun Irish Moving & Storage](http://www.tgimoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#25 of 26 Top Moving Services in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.tgimoving.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 816-5226)
Top Gun Irish Moving & Storage is a premier moving and relocation service in the San Francisco Bay Area. This small family-owned company has over 16 years of experience in relocating families to and from the San Francisco Bay area. As a family-owned business, Top Gun Irish Moving & Storage takes great pride in the quality of their work and the speed at which they move. This San Francisco moving company also offers free estimates to each and every one of their prospective clients in order to provide transparent pricing. Some of the services offered by the company include full concierge packing, storage solutions, providing packing materials, residential moves, and even international moving. Although they offer a range of services, this moving company prides itself on taking special care in their clients’ needs no matter how big or small they may be. The family-owned company is so dedicated to helping clients, they even provide helpful moving tips ahead of time.
[  ](https://dywers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Dywer Hauling & Moving Services](https://dywers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#26 of 26 Leading Movers in San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://dywers.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 881-0010)
With the help of a professional moving and hauling service, you can alleviate some of the stress associated with moving and make the process as simple as possible. Whether you're moving down the street or relocating your business to a new city, Dywer Mover has a team of movers ready to assist you. Dywer is a full-service moving business with a price guarantee that will match or better any competitor's quote. They make no compromises when it comes to transporting your priceless possessions. Rather than that, they ensure that each assignment is completed with the utmost care. They are capable of doing any work, large or small. Dwyer's success is based on the recommendations of hundreds of delighted clients.
##### WHY THIS LIST IS FREE TO READ
The above list includes Movers in San Francisco that SFist believes actively provides superior services. In some cases, they are among the most successful teams in the region. In some cases, variable, sponsorship listing fees or commissions effect the ranking position of the teams, but they are still known to have a history of providing great products or services. To learn more about SFist's classifieds listings [read more here](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
---
[SFist](https://sfist.com/) / [Best of San Francisco](https://sfist.com/best-of-san-francisco/) / [27 Best Movers SF](https://sfist.com/moving-companies-sf/#list-jump)
### Lead Generation for SF Companies
URL: https://sfist.com/lead-generation/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T19:18:10.000Z
[  ](https://sfist.com/)
[Contact Us](https://sfist.com/lead-gen-contact/)
[Lead Generation](https://sfist.com/lead-generation/)
[SEO Services](https://sfist.com/local-seo/)
[  ](https://sfist.com/)
- [Local SEO](https://sfist.com/local-seo/)
- [Lead Generation](https://sfist.com/lead-generation/)
- [Contact Us](https://sfist.com/lead-gen-contact/)
#### SFist Is One Of The Largest Publishers Of SF News
# Lead Generation Services
for the SF Bay Area
As one of the largest publishers of San Francisco news - reaching over 25% of the population of SF on a monthly basis, SFist is in constant contact with your target audience already. Our readers come to us for service advice and our proprietary software guides them to you, the service provider.
[Free Consultation](https://sfist.com/lead-gen-contact/)
### SFist's Page Readership Is Approx. 2M Per Month
###### GEOGRAPHY
## US Traffic
92%
59%
California
51%
Bay Area
###### Age
## 18 to 49
67%
25%
30 to 39
24%
40 to 49
###### INCOME
## $100k+
45%
21%
$100-$150k
24%
$150k+
###### SF REACH
## % of Pop.
28%
21%
SFist
7%
Hoodline
Learn all about SFist's lead generation services which come highly recommended by our clients.
[Learn More](https://sfist.com/lead-gen-contact/)
#### Using Data To Generate Leads to Local SF Businesses
Find out what's under the hood of our sales funnel.
Lead generation has gone through many phases throughout history. From classified ads in your local newspaper to customer relationship management software that is meant to guide your salespeople through the entire process, you have probably tried all sorts of things to grow you client-base. Let's face it, 'Lead Gen' is certainly a buzz word in 2019, but companies around the world have discovered that they are able to find the exact business leads that they need using advanced data analytics. SFist lies between the tech-forward marketing strategies of the most cutting-edge lead gen services and the [classified ads](https://sfist.com/san-francisco-classifieds/) of times past.
## Why SFist's Lead Generation is Better
Neither a floppy old newspaper, nor a company with no verifiable source for leads, SFist is uniquely positioned to provide huge numbers of emails, phone calls, and drop-ins for your local San Francisco business. SFist is one of the Bay Area's largest news sources, reaching over 1,000,000 readers per month - that's more visits than the entire population of SF!
[Free Lead Gen Consultation](https://sfist.com/lead-gen-contact/)
We access our huge readership and combine it with the data-analytics of our parent company - [Impress3 Media](https://www.impress3.com/?ref=sfist.com) \- to drive the right traffic to your site, the correct callers to your phones, and the best possible leads to your inbox.
Because we are content creators at heart, we only craft ads that we know will reach the right readers on our site. For SFist, it's not about banners or display ads, we use Impress3's proven strategies that have **generated over $500 million in leads** for clients across the country. Because of this combination of content and data, your lead gen. costs will be greatly reduced compared to even the largest of alternatives.
### Can SFist Help You Grow Your Company?
For virtually any local service provider, SFist is your place to find new customers. We have worked with business from security companies to plumbers to web designers to vinyl vehicle wrappers ... if you know what that is. For the full list of services sectors that we cover, click the following button and scroll to "Your Industry / Service" for a drop-down:
[Let's Chat!](https://sfist.com/lead-gen-contact/)
### San Francisco Classifieds
URL: https://sfist.com/san-francisco-classifieds/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T22:02:44.000Z
SFist is uniquely connected to local businesses throughout the Bay Area. Our staff, largely San Francisco Natives, has worked with local service providers on jobs from SF to Sonoma to San Jose, and everywhere between. Using an intimate knowledge of the region and providing one of the farthest reaching networks of Bay Area users in our own site, SFist is able to give businesses the ability to target and market to hundreds of thousands of residents in your locale.
[Advertise on SFist ](https://impress3.typeform.com/to/q4aIgz?ref=sfist.com)
#### You Need a Better Lure to Catch the Big Fish in 2022
## How Are SFist's Classified Ads Different?
SFist isn't your floppy old newspaper with boxed text ads for a great shoe shine. It also isn't boring banner ad on an irrelevant page. We know that you've spent money on those types of advertisements before and experienced virtually no improvement in your business.
Our classifieds are data-oriented and results-driven, and we are so confident in our ability to bring new customers to your door that our **classified ads** section always starts out as free. We prove our worth to you, then our partnership truly begins to grow your business!
What's more: we don't run the same boring ads that you've seen before. It's not about banners or display ads, so with a proven method that has generated **hundreds of millions of dollars in business**, we will begin sending you the phone calls, emails, and contact forms that drive your local business. With better calls to action and top-of-the-line inbound strategies, your cost of [lead generation](https://sfist.com/lead-generation/) will be greatly reduced compared to even the largest of alternatives.
### What Industries Do SFist's Classifieds Cover?
If you are a local service provider, SFist is your place to find new customers. We have worked with every type of business from security companies to plumbers to web designers to vinyl vehicle wrappers. For the full list of services we promote, click the following button and scroll to "Your Industry / Service" for a dropdown:
[Advertise on SFist ](https://impress3.typeform.com/to/q4aIgz?ref=sfist.com)
### Events in San Francisco
URL: https://sfist.com/san-francisco-events/
Last updated: 2019-06-12T22:26:40.000Z
Many are initiated into Bay Area culture through one of the many SF events that lure millions into the City every year.
- ❮
- ❯
- June
2019
- Sun
- Mon
- Tue
- Wed
- Thu
- Fri
- Sat
- 1
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### Event Name 1
The Greek Theater @8PM
This is what the event is about because it's such an amazing event which a lot of people want to see. Furthermore, they pay money to watch the event, therefore, the event and its promoters will pay for listing here.
### Event Name 2
The Orpheum Theater @7PM to 11:30PM
This is what the event is about because it's such an amazing event which a lot of people want to see. Furthermore, they pay money to watch the event, therefore, the event and its promoters will pay for listing here.
### Event Name 3
The Fillmore Theater @10AM
This is what the event is about because it's such an amazing event which a lot of people want to see. Furthermore, they pay money to watch the event, therefore, the event and its promoters will pay for listing here.
### SFist Cocktail Connoisseurs
URL: https://sfist.com/cocktail-connoisseurs/
Last updated: 2019-06-18T23:09:27.000Z
Reaching the summit of SFist's 34 best cocktail bars list is a feat at which marvel. Get your name into these ranks, and live in infamy as one of San Francisco's cocktail connoisseurs! To appear below, visit all of the 34 top bar locations and snap a photo of yourself with one of their drinks. Send us the images, along with your permission to share it on our site, and you could win one of our limited edition 'SFist Cocktail Connoisseur' sweatshirts. Limit 34.
Submit below!
powered by [Typeform](https://admin.typeform.com/signup?utm%5Fcampaign=rJasGE&utm%5Fsource=typeform.com-12998785-Basic&utm%5Fmedium=typeform&utm%5Fcontent=typeform-embedded-poweredbytypeform&utm%5Fterm=EN)
### SFist Realtor Partners
URL: https://sfist.com/realtor-partners/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T22:02:06.000Z
SFist is among the top lead generators for real estate agents in San Francisco. Driving millions of dollars in real estate listings and purchases, SFist can help you grow your portfolio of buyers and sellers with the highest quality real estate leads in the Bay Area.
- Intro Trial
- **$295 / month**
(For The First 6 Months)
- Apply to Business Listing
- Basic Sponsored Listing Positions
- Analytics & Reports (Upon Request)
- Monthly Leads\*
- [Sign Up](https://buy.stripe.com/bIY8wUg9kcNI5tm8ww?ref=sfist.com)
- Preferred
- **$995 / month**
- Apply to Business Listing
- Upgraded Listing Features
- Analytics & Reports
- Monthly Leads
- Featured / Promoted Business Listing
- [Sign Up](https://buy.stripe.com/3cs4gEf5g8xs2ha145?ref=sfist.com)
- Advanced
- **$2,495 / Month**
- Apply to Business Listing
- Premier Listing Features
- Analytics & Reports
- Monthly Leads
- Featured / Promoted Business Listing
- [Sign Up](https://buy.stripe.com/fZebJ68GS9BwbRKdQS?ref=sfist.com)
Higher tiered sponsorship packages also exist! Please [reach out to SFist here](https://sfist.com/lead-generation/)!
### Realtor Partners Signup
URL: https://sfist.com/realtor-partner-signup/
Last updated: 2019-07-01T00:41:06.000Z
Thanks for submitting to SFist's Realtor Partnership Program!
By signing up with us, you are on track to receive many high-value perks, from business listing registration - which has provided leads such as $3 million+ seller listings - to numerous other marketing and networking opportunities. To complete your registration, please fill out the following form.
[Tell Us About You! ](https://impress3.typeform.com/to/rk60D6?ref=sfist.com)
### 16+ Best SF Property Management Companies in 2024
URL: https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-san-francisco/
Last updated: 2024-02-23T01:13:52.000Z
Updated: 02/08/2024
In the ever-evolving, tech-driven landscape of San Francisco, where the housing market is as dynamic as the city's iconic fog, finding a trustworthy property manager is no less than striking gold. With the city's real estate prices in recent flux, and the renewed influx of new residents, the role of property managers has never been more critical - they are the unsung heroes ensuring smooth sailing in the choppy waters of San Francisco's property market, offering a lifeline to landlords and tenants alike. So, whether you're a property owner too busy to handle day-to-day operations, or a tenant in need of a reliable point of contact, we've got you covered, presenting the 16 Best Property Managers in San Francisco, who not only have their fingers on the pulse of the city's real estate scene, but also offer an unparalleled level of service, transforming the complex world of property management into a walk in the park. [Why is this list free to read?](#why-this)
[](https://www.ziprent.com/get-started?utm%5Fsource=Sfist&utm%5Fmedium=web&utm%5Fcampaign=sf)
[Ziprent](https://www.ziprent.com/get-started?utm%5Fsource=Sfist&utm%5Fmedium=web&utm%5Fcampaign=sf)
Best Featured Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](https://www.ziprent.com/get-started?utm%5Fsource=Sfist&utm%5Fmedium=web&utm%5Fcampaign=sf) [Call ](tel:+14156886660)
Ziprent, a lauded property management firm, sets itself apart through the strategic blend of cutting-edge technology and exceptional hands-on customer service. Its unique approach to property management is designed to ensure a seamless, efficient experience for both tenants and homeowners. With a commitment to transparency, Ziprent provides real-time updates on its performance metrics, which is a testament to its dedication to accountability. The firm is particularly noted for its affordability, providing top-tier service at a flat-rate pricing model, making it an attractive choice for those seeking to get the most value for their money. Despite its commitment to automation, Ziprent's personalized customer service is something to be highlighted, as it strives to quickly and effectively address any concerns or inquiries. However, prospective clients should be aware that response times can sometimes be slower than desired. Ziprent's tenant placement service, another standout feature, is designed to thoroughly vet potential tenants, ensuring that only the best renters occupy their landlords' properties. This comprehensive approach to property management, combined with the firm's commitment to customer service, makes Ziprent an excellent choice for those seeking a property manager. Notably, Ziprent has been able to successfully manage and monetize properties across multiple states, demonstrating its capacity to handle a wide range of real estate scenarios and markets.
[](https://www.nickresidential.com/?utm%5Fsource=sfist&utm%5Fcampaign=property%5Fmanagement%5Fsf)
[Nick Chen](https://www.nickresidential.com/?utm%5Fsource=sfist&utm%5Fcampaign=property%5Fmanagement%5Fsf)
Top Featured San Francisco Property Management
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](https://www.nickresidential.com/?utm%5Fsource=sfist&utm%5Fcampaign=property%5Fmanagement%5Fsf) [Call ](tel:+14152264843)
Nick Chen, a seasoned property manager based in San Francisco, offers a wealth of experience and intimate knowledge of the city's real estate market. With over 30 years of personal and professional involvement in the community, Chen's expertise spans every quadrant of the city, providing a hyper-local, neighborhood-by-neighborhood understanding that sets him apart from his competitors. His diverse background includes property flipping, management, remodeling, buying, and selling, making him a comprehensive resource for both residential buyers and homeowners looking to move. Chen's dedication to using data analytics to determine the optimal time and price for listing properties is a testament to his commitment to his clients' success. Prospective clients should keep in mind Chen's unique connections with local news and publications, which he leverages to effectively promote listings. His ability to quickly adapt to market changes, coupled with his passion for helping clients achieve their real estate goals, makes him a standout in his field. Whether you're selling a large multi-family property or buying a studio condo, Chen is ready to guide you through the complex real estate process, striving to make it as seamless as possible. His ability to quickly adapt to market changes, coupled with his passion for helping clients achieve their real estate goals, truly sets him apart.
[](https://pages.doorstead.com/region/san-francisco-bay-area?redirect=disable&utm%5Fsource=s&utm%5Fcampaign=sfist?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies)
[Doorstead](https://pages.doorstead.com/region/san-francisco-bay-area?redirect=disable&utm%5Fsource=s&utm%5Fcampaign=sfist?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies)
Featured Leading Property Management
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](https://pages.doorstead.com/region/san-francisco-bay-area?redirect=disable&utm%5Fsource=s&utm%5Fcampaign=sfist?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+18889665572)
Doorstead, a San Francisco-based property management firm, stands out in the highly competitive field by reimagining the traditional model and integrating innovative technology and data systems. This company, founded by Uber veterans Ryan and Jenn, uses a unique service-guarantee approach to ensure a tenant in every home, thereby reducing vacancies and increasing profits for homeowners. What sets Doorstead apart is its guarantee of accurate rent, even before a tenant is placed, which is a game-changer in the industry. They offer a real offer within 24 hours, and a vacancy cap, ensuring that your property will start generating income from a specific date. Their leasing and placement time is reported to be 57% faster than the industry average, a testament to their efficient operations. They also provide both traditional property management services and an innovative guarantee that includes risk protection of up to $10,000 for damage and eviction. Potential clients should note the company's commitment to consistent quality and hustle, as they strive to quickly solve problems and provide a seamless customer experience. However, to fully appreciate their unique offerings, one must be ready to embrace a modernized approach to property management.
[ Best S.F. Realtors ](https://sfist.com/best-realtors-real-estate-agents-sf/)
[ Best Marin Realtors ](https://sfist.com/2021/05/11/best-realtors-real-estate-agents-in-marin/)
[ Best Oakland Realtors ](https://sfist.com/2021/06/02/best-real-estate-agents-oakland-berkeley-east-bay/)
[ Best San Jose Realtors ](https://hoodline.com/best-real-estate-agents-silicon-valley-san-jose-palo-alto/?ref=sfist.com)
[ Best SF Property Managers ](https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-san-francisco/)
[ Commercial Real Estate Brokers ](https://sfist.com/best-commercial-real-estate-companies/)
[ Best Rental Realtors ](https://sfist.com/leasing-rental-realtors/)
[](http://azaripm.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Azari Property Management](http://azaripm.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#1 of 16 Best Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://azaripm.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-377-4115)
Azari Property Management, nestled at 333 Beale St Apt 6j, has carved a niche for itself among the top echelons of property management firms. Known for its professionalism and expertise, the company has consistently demonstrated an ability to quickly adapt to market changes, a trait that sets it apart from its competitors. This adaptability, combined with a commitment to personalized service, positions Azari as a standout choice for property owners seeking to maximize their returns while minimizing their hassles. However, prospective clients should be prepared to actively engage with the team, as some have noted the need to regularly follow up to ensure tasks are completed to satisfaction. The company's offerings include comprehensive property management services, from tenant screening and rent collection to property maintenance and legal compliance. These services are delivered by a team of dedicated professionals who strive to exceed client expectations at every turn. Furthermore, Azari Property Management's commitment to leveraging technology to streamline operations and improve client communication is also a testament to its forward-thinking approach. All in all, Azari Property Management's unique blend of adaptability, personalized service, and technological savvy make it a worthy contender in the competitive property management market.
[](http://www.progressivesf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Progressive Property Group](http://www.progressivesf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#2 of 16 Top San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.progressivesf.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-515-4275)
Progressive Property Group, a premier property management company, has established itself as a standout in the industry due to its unique approach to property management. It distinguishes itself through its commitment to personalized service, drawing on a wealth of experience to expertly navigate the complexities of the property market. The company’s dedication to meeting individual client needs is evident in its comprehensive suite of services, which range from tenant placement to full-service property management. Clients appreciate the company's ability to seamlessly handle every aspect of their property management needs, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of property ownership without the associated stress. However, potential clients should be aware that the company's commitment to quality service can occasionally lead to delays in communication. The team strives to promptly address all concerns, but due to their meticulous attention to detail, responses may not always be immediate. Yet, it's this very thoroughness that sets Progressive Property Group apart. They are known to go above and beyond to ensure every property is well-maintained and tenants are well taken care of, which in turn, leads to higher tenant satisfaction and lower turnover rates. Their innovative approach to property management has earned them a reputation as a leader in the industry, making them a worthy contender among top property management companies. It's a testament to their ability to not just meet, but exceed client expectations. The Progressive Property Group is a beacon of professionalism and efficiency in the property management industry, and their unwavering commitment to client satisfaction continues to set them apart from the competition.
[](http://www.hemlane.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Hemlane](http://www.hemlane.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#3 of 16 Amazing Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.hemlane.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1855-720-0224)
Hemlane, a property management firm, offers a unique blend of technology and personalized service that sets it apart in the competitive landscape. Its location at 218 9th St is a testament to its commitment to being at the heart of the property market. This firm has managed to quickly adjust to the ever-changing real estate landscape, demonstrating a level of flexibility that is commendable and, indeed, essential in this industry. The company's innovative approach includes a robust online platform that allows for efficient property management, which is a boon for property owners and tenants alike, and makes property management to be a seamless process. However, it's not just about the technology; Hemlane also prides itself on its excellent customer service. The team is known for its responsiveness and willingness to go above and beyond to meet client needs. While it's true that the tech-savvy may find it easier to navigate their services, those less comfortable with technology may experience a slight learning curve. But, with a bit of patience, it's clear that Hemlane's offerings have the potential to simplify property management significantly. Hemlane's combination of innovative technology and exceptional customer service makes it a worthy contender in the property management space, and it's no surprise that it has made it to the top echelons of the industry.
[](http://www.structureproperties.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Structure Properties](http://www.structureproperties.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#4 of 16 Top-Notch San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.structureproperties.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-237-6240)
Structure Properties, nestled in the heart of the city, is a distinguished name in the realm of property management in San Francisco. What sets this company apart is its unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, a trait that is often hard to find in the competitive property management landscape. The company prides itself on its comprehensive range of services, designed to cater to the diverse needs of its clientele. From property maintenance to tenant relations, Structure Properties is equipped to handle it all, making it a one-stop solution for property management needs. However, prospective clients should be prepared to occasionally have to wait, as the company's high demand can sometimes lead to slightly longer response times. Yet, the quality of service they deliver makes the wait worthwhile. The company's team of professionals is known for their meticulous attention to detail, ensuring that no stone is left unturned when it comes to managing your property. Structure Properties is noteworthy not just for its exceptional services, but also for its commitment to maintaining a personal touch. Despite the rise of digital solutions, the company continues to prioritize personal interactions, ensuring that clients feel valued and heard. This dedication to customer service is what truly sets Structure Properties apart from the rest, making it a worthy contender in the top echelons of San Francisco's property management industry.
[](http://www.citiscapesf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[CitiScape Property Management Group](http://www.citiscapesf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#5 of 16 Best San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.citiscapesf.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-401-2000)
CitiScape Property Management Group, a notable name in the realm of property management, has gained recognition for its exceptional service and unique approach. This firm, located at 3450 3rd St # 1A, stands apart from its competitors through its commitment to consistently deliver superior service, a quality that is often hard to find. Their team of professionals is known to quickly and efficiently address any issues that may arise, ensuring a seamless experience for their clients. What sets them apart further is their ability to effectively manage a wide range of properties, from residential to commercial spaces, demonstrating their versatility and expertise in the field. However, potential clients should be mindful of the fact that their high-quality service comes at a premium, but many feel it is worth the investment for the peace of mind it provides. Their dedication to maintaining a high level of professionalism while also providing personalized service is what truly sets them apart. Their team is known to go above and beyond to ensure that their clients' needs are met, and they have a reputation for being able to handle even the most challenging situations with ease. But one should not simply take this for granted; it is always beneficial to thoroughly research and compare before making the final decision. It is their commitment to excellence that has earned them a spot among the top property managers and continues to set them apart in the industry.
[](http://www.adventpropertiesinc.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Advent Properties](http://www.adventpropertiesinc.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#6 of 16 Top Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.adventpropertiesinc.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1877-823-8368)
Advent Properties, a distinguished name in the realm of property management, is recognized for its exceptional service and unparalleled commitment to client satisfaction. Their strategic location at 1600 MacArthur Blvd makes them easily accessible for clients seeking professional property management services. They have managed to quickly rise above their competition by offering a range of services that are not only innovative but also tailored to meet the unique needs of each client. Their dedicated team of professionals works tirelessly to ensure each property is well-maintained and tenants are thoroughly satisfied, fostering a harmonious landlord-tenant relationship. This company stands out for its ability to seamlessly manage diverse property types, from residential to commercial, demonstrating a remarkable versatility in their field. However, it is crucial to bear in mind that their exceptional services come with a premium price tag, which some might find to be a bit steep. Yet, the quality of their service and the peace of mind they provide to property owners is worth every penny. To fully appreciate their offerings, potential clients are encouraged to thoroughly review the terms of service and to openly discuss their expectations with the team at Advent Properties. This will help to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship and to quickly address any potential issues. This is one company that truly knows how to effectively manage properties, making them a worthy contender among the top 16 property managers in San Francisco.
[](http://www.chandlerproperties.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Chandler Properties](http://www.chandlerproperties.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#7 of 16 Amazing San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.chandlerproperties.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-921-5733)
Chandler Properties, located at 3475 California St, is a premier property management company that has successfully carved out a niche for itself in the competitive San Francisco market. What truly sets Chandler Properties apart from its competition is its dedicated team of professionals who are committed to providing exceptional services. They strive to quickly and efficiently address any issues that arise, ensuring that both tenants and property owners are satisfied. This commitment to customer service, combined with their extensive knowledge of the local real estate market, makes them a go-to choice for property management services in the city. However, those considering hiring Chandler Properties should be aware of certain factors. While their team is praised for their prompt responses, there have been instances where some customers felt that the company could do a better job at proactively addressing potential issues. This is not to say that they are negligent, but it is a reminder that communication is key when dealing with property management. Moreover, their ability to seamlessly navigate the complex world of property management, combined with their commitment to maintaining high standards of service, has led them to be recognized as one of the best in their field. They are known to go above and beyond to meet the needs of their clients, which is a testament to their dedication and professionalism. So, if you're looking for a reliable and trusted property manager, Chandler Properties is a choice you should certainly consider.
[](https://www.gorentwise.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[RentWise Property Management](https://www.gorentwise.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#8 of 16 Top-Notch Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](https://www.gorentwise.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1800-943-9371)
RentWise Property Management, comfortably ensconced at 100 Pine St., Ste 1250, distinguishes itself in the competitive realm of property management with its unique blend of professionalism, efficiency, and personal touch. What sets RentWise apart from its competitors is its commitment to ensuring, not just to maintain, but to enhance the value of the properties they manage. Their team of seasoned professionals, equipped with extensive industry knowledge and experience, strive to provide the most comprehensive, tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of each client. The company's exceptional service is reflected in their ability to consistently secure high-quality tenants, minimize vacancies, and effectively manage maintenance issues. They have a knack for quickly responding to tenant inquiries and concerns, which is a testament to their dedication to customer satisfaction. However, potential clients should bear in mind that they might occasionally encounter some communication delays during peak times, which, while not ideal, is not uncommon in the industry. Their advanced technology platform, which allows for seamless online rent collection and maintenance requests, is another feather in their cap. This company is a shining example of how a property management firm should operate, combining the best of traditional customer service with modern technology. RentWise Property Management's unique approach to property management, coupled with their unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, truly sets them apart in the industry. With their innovative solutions and customer-centric approach, they are indeed a force to be reckoned with in the property management sector.
[](https://www.keyopp.net/?ref=sfist.com)
[KeyOpp Property Management](https://www.keyopp.net/?ref=sfist.com)
#9 of 16 Best Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](https://www.keyopp.net/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1628-888-6650)
KeyOpp Property Management, located in the heart of San Francisco, is a distinguished player in the property management sector. The company, situated at 3557 Geary Blvd floor 2, is renowned for its comprehensive and client-centric approach, setting it apart from its competitors. What makes this company truly unique is its commitment to provide an all-encompassing service, offering everything from property investment advice to full-scale management services. KeyOpp is not only managing properties but also helping to quickly and efficiently resolve any issues that may arise. Clients have frequently praised the company for its exceptional customer service, which is a testament to its dedication to meet and exceed client expectations. However, it's important to note that some clients have expressed concerns over communication lapses, so potential clients might want to ensure clear and open lines of communication from the outset. KeyOpp's ability to swiftly adapt to market changes, coupled with its extensive knowledge of property management, has enabled it to maintain a competitive edge in the industry. The company's team of professionals is known to go above and beyond to ensure client satisfaction, which is a key factor in its success. However, the team's enthusiasm can sometimes lead them to over promise and under deliver, which is something potential clients should be aware of. In conclusion, KeyOpp Property Management is a reputable and efficient company that offers a wide range of property management services. Its dedication to client satisfaction and its ability to adapt to market dynamics make it a worthy contender in the property management sector.
[](http://www.rentalsinsf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Rentals In SF](http://www.rentalsinsf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#10 of 16 Top San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.rentalsinsf.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-699-3263)
Rentals In SF, positioned at 1318 Hayes St, is a standout player in the property management landscape. As a premier property manager, it offers a comprehensive suite of services tailored to meet the unique needs of property owners and tenants alike. What sets Rentals In SF apart from its competition is its unwavering commitment to customer service, which is evident in their swift response times, professional demeanor, and transparent communication. This company has managed to quickly establish trust and rapport with its clients, making it a reliable choice for property management. However, potential clients should be aware that the company's thoroughness can sometimes lead to a lengthier process, which may not be ideal for those seeking immediate results. The team takes time to meticulously inspect properties and to carefully screen potential tenants, which is a practice that ensures the long-term success of its rental agreements. It's a trade-off that many clients seem to appreciate, despite the extra time it may take. The company's ability to seamlessly navigate the complexities of the San Francisco rental market, coupled with its dedication to maintaining high-quality properties, makes it a worthy contender in the property management arena. Despite the occasional hiccup, Rentals In SF continues to strive to provide exceptional service, making it a property manager to seriously consider when looking for a reliable partner in this industry.
[](http://www.gpmsf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Gordon Property Management](http://www.gpmsf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#11 of 16 Amazing Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.gpmsf.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-554-8812)
Gordon Property Management, nestled in the heart of the city, is a standout in the realm of property management. The company's strategic location at 1596 Church St offers easy access to clients, but it's their exceptional services that truly set them apart. With a focus on residential property management, Gordon Property Management has successfully carved out a niche for itself in the industry. The team is known for their professionalism and dedication, striving to quickly address any issues that may arise. Their attention to detail and commitment to customer satisfaction have earned them a spot among the top property managers in the city. Their services include, but are not limited to, tenant screening, leasing, and maintenance management, all of which are executed with utmost efficiency. Clients have praised the company's proactive approach, noting that the team is always ready to go above and beyond to ensure properties are well-maintained and tenants are content. However, it is important to carefully consider the company's fee structure before engaging their services. While they provide top-notch service, some clients have noted that their fees can be on the higher end of the spectrum. Despite this, many feel the quality of service received is worth the cost. In conclusion, Gordon Property Management is a company that is dedicated to providing excellent service, although it may be a bit more expensive. Their commitment to maintaining a high level of professionalism and customer satisfaction is evident in their work, making them a worthy contender in the property management industry.
[](https://rayrealtor.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Ray Amouzandeh](https://rayrealtor.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#12 of 16 Top-Notch San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆
[Website ](https://rayrealtor.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-494-7009)
At the heart of the property management realm in the United States, Ray Amouzandeh stands tall, commanding respect and admiration for his stellar services. Situated at 1390 Market St #200, his office is a beacon of professionalism and efficiency. What sets Ray apart from his competitors is his unparalleled dedication to client satisfaction and his comprehensive knowledge of the property market. His ability to quickly adapt to rapidly changing market conditions is a testament to his skill and experience. The services offered by Ray are diverse and tailored to meet the unique needs of each client. From property valuation to property management, Ray's expertise covers a broad spectrum. Clients should expect to receive a personalized service that is designed to meet their specific needs. However, they should also be prepared to engage in a relationship that requires open communication and mutual respect. Ray's commitment to transparency and integrity is evident in his dealings, but it's also important to realize that successful property management is a two-way street. It's not enough to simply hire a property manager; clients must also be willing to actively participate in the process. Ray Amouzandeh's reputation as a top-tier property manager is well-deserved, and his ability to consistently exceed client expectations is a testament to his prowess in the field. Clients seeking a property manager who is not only knowledgeable but also committed to excellence should seriously consider engaging the services of Ray Amouzandeh.
[](http://leasingagent415.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Leasing Agent 415](http://leasingagent415.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#13 of 16 Best Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://leasingagent415.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-238-8202)
Leasing Agent 415, located at 891 Beach St, San Francisco, CA 94109, United States, stands out in the competitive landscape of property management with a unique blend of personalized service and technological sophistication. This company has managed to expertly, yet subtly, weave a modern approach into the traditional fabric of property management, making it an attractive choice for those seeking a blend of old and new. What sets Leasing Agent 415 apart from its competitors is its commitment to providing a seamless, hassle-free experience for its clients, achieved through the use of cutting-edge property management software. Their services extend beyond the typical realms of property management, offering comprehensive solutions that include marketing, tenant screening, rent collection, maintenance, and legal guidance. Those considering hiring Leasing Agent 415 should bear in mind their emphasis on communication and transparency, which some may find refreshing, but others may perceive as excessively detail-oriented. Despite this, their ability to swiftly and efficiently manage properties, while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction, is commendable. They have a knack to quickly adapt to rapidly changing market conditions, and their proactive approach in addressing potential issues before they escalate is a hallmark of their service. In a nutshell, Leasing Agent 415 is a property management company that has embraced the future without compromising on the core values that define the industry.
[](http://www.wearemovemint.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Movemint Project Management](http://www.wearemovemint.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#14 of 16 Top San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.wearemovemint.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-347-1453)
Movemint Project Management, situated at 821 Irving St, is a sterling exemplar of superior property management, meriting its place among the top-tier firms. This esteemed enterprise stands apart from its competition, not merely for its exceptional service but also for its commitment to foster a seamless, stress-free property management experience for its clients. The company's offerings are comprehensive, encompassing everything from tenant screening to maintenance and financial reporting, all tailored to meet the unique needs of each property owner. Clients have lauded Movemint for its ability to quickly adapt to unforeseen circumstances, a trait that is invaluable in the unpredictable world of property management. They have also praised the firm's dedication to maintaining open and clear communication, ensuring that property owners are always in the loop about their investments. To quickly respond to client queries and concerns is a priority at Movemint, further solidifying its reputation for excellent customer service. However, potential clients should be aware that the firm's meticulous attention to detail may sometimes result in longer wait times for property reports. But this minor inconvenience is often outweighed by the peace of mind that comes from knowing your property is in the capable hands of Movemint's experts. It's clear that this firm is one that truly understands the nuances of property management, making it a worthy consideration for anyone in need of such services.
[](http://www.ramseypropertiessf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Ramsey Properties](http://www.ramseypropertiessf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#15 of 16 Amazing San Francisco Property Managers
☆☆☆☆
[Website ](http://www.ramseypropertiessf.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-474-5175)
Ramsey Properties, nestled at 535 Mahaffey Dr, has carved a niche for itself in the realm of property management, being counted among the top-notch players in the industry. The company's unique proposition lies in its commitment to providing personalized, professional services, a trait that distinctly sets it apart from its competitors. The team at Ramsey Properties is lauded for their ability to quickly and efficiently respond to the diverse needs of their clients, ensuring top-tier customer satisfaction. Their expertise spans across various aspects of property management including tenant screening, maintenance, and financial reporting, making them a one-stop solution for property owners. However, those considering to hire them should be aware that they are known to thoroughly screen potential tenants, which may sometimes lead to extended vacancies. Still, this rigorous process is a testament to their dedication to providing their clients with reliable tenants, thus ensuring long-term profitability. They are also known to be transparent with their financial reporting, giving property owners a clear view of their investment's performance. Despite the occasional delays in maintenance requests, they strive to address them as promptly as possible. This dedication to service and commitment to client satisfaction is what makes Ramsey Properties a worthy contender in the property management space.
[](https://www.bancalsf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[BanCal Properties](https://www.bancalsf.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#16 of 16 Top-Notch Property Managers in San Francisco
☆☆☆☆
[Website ](https://www.bancalsf.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+1415-397-1044)
With a strategic location at 220 Jackson St 3rd Floor, BanCal Properties has earned its place in the upper echelons of property management in San Francisco. The company's distinct edge over competition is primarily due to its comprehensive range of services, including property acquisition, management, and sales, tailored to meet the diverse needs of their clients. BanCal's team of seasoned professionals are known to quickly adapt to market changes, ensuring that their clients' properties are always positioned advantageously. This ability to swiftly adjust and implement new strategies is what makes BanCal a force to be reckoned with in the property management sector. However, potential clients should be prepared to fully engage in the process, as the company's approach requires active participation to ensure that their property goals are met. This might seem daunting at first, but the team's dedication and commitment to customer satisfaction make it a worthwhile endeavor. BanCal's unwavering commitment to quality service, combined with their extensive knowledge of the local market, has allowed them to consistently deliver results that exceed expectations. They are not just managing properties, they are building relationships, and this is what truly sets them apart. The company's track record of success is a testament to their ability to not only meet, but to boldly go beyond the expectations of their clients. With BanCal Properties, property management is elevated to a whole new level of excellence.
##### Need to hire one of the [best property management companies in San Jose or the South Bay](https://hoodline.com/best-property-management-companies-san-jose-south-bay/?ref=sfist.com "Best Property Managers San Jose - South SF Bay Area")? Search through Hoodline's list here!
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##### WHY THIS LIST IS FREE TO READ
The above list includes Property Management Companies that SFist believes actively provides superior services. In some cases, they are among the most successful teams in the region. In some cases, variable, sponsorship listing fees or commissions effect the ranking position of the teams, but they are still known to have a history of providing great products or services. To learn more about SFist's classifieds listings [read more here](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
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[SFist](https://sfist.com/) / [Best of San Francisco](https://sfist.com/best-of-san-francisco/) / [Real Estate](https://sfist.com/best-realtors-real-estate-agents-sf/) / [16 Best Property Managers](https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-san-francisco/)
[  ](https://try.belonghome.com/882r450po2pn?ref=sfist.com)
[Belong](https://try.belonghome.com/882r450po2pn?ref=sfist.com)
#1 of 11 Best Featured Property Managers San Francisco
★★★★★
[Website ](https://try.belonghome.com/882r450po2pn?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+16508859166)
Belong is a cutting-edge property management company offering homeowners stress-free, hands-off rental management solutions. Serving both homeowners and tenants, Belong goes above and beyond to provide a concierge-like service that ensures every detail is handled seamlessly. With over 1,942 homeowners trusting in their service, Belong offers homeowners guaranteed rental payments, maximized rental value, and 24/7 professional responses to inquiries. By prioritizing financial alignment, Belong fosters a true partnership with their member community, ensuring long-term wealth and rental income stability. Their dedication to customer satisfaction can be seen in their reviews, making them an ideal choice for property management.
[  ](https://www.ziprent.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[Ziprent](https://www.ziprent.com/?ref=sfist.com)
#2 of 11 Top Featured San Francisco Property Management
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.ziprent.com/?ref=sfist.com) [Call ](tel:+14156886660)
Ziprent's story began in 2012 when founder experienced the inefficiencies and inadequacies of traditional property management companies while managing his own rental units. He set out to create the next generation property management company, one that combines exceptional customer service and technology to simplify the rental process for everyone involved. With a hands-on approach and efficient automation, Ziprent has successfully managed its own portfolio of 100+ properties and offers their expertise to clients looking for top-notch property management services.
[  ](https://pages.doorstead.com/region/san-francisco-bay-area?redirect=disable&utm%5Fsource=s&utm%5Fcampaign=sfist?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Doorstead](https://pages.doorstead.com/region/san-francisco-bay-area?redirect=disable&utm%5Fsource=s&utm%5Fcampaign=sfist?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 of 11 Featured Leading Property Management
★★★★★
[Website ](https://pages.doorstead.com/region/san-francisco-bay-area?redirect=disable&utm%5Fsource=s&utm%5Fcampaign=sfist?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list-sponsorship&utm%5Fcampaign=top-companies) [Call ](tel:+1%28415%29 887-2036)
Doorstead is a revolutionary property management company that has reimagined the industry by providing a service-guarantee inspired property management system that eliminates inefficiencies for homeowners and renters alike. With a team of experienced professionals from Uber, Opendoor and Unison, Doorstead utilizes tech operations and two-way data systems to streamline processes, reduce overhead, and create products that are cheaper, faster, and more efficient. They are driven by six core beliefs: the use of tech operations, data systems, first principles, consistent quality, a service guarantee, and hustle. And with their upfront rental guarantee, homeowners can rest assured that they will receive their minimum guarantee each month and even more if the property rents out for more. With Doorstead, you can expect clear expectations from day one and a reliable, high-quality property management solution.
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## Exploring the World of Property Management: Is It a Smart Financial Decision?
Navigating the labyrinth of landlord responsibilities can be a daunting endeavor. For many, the allure of delegating these duties to a property management firm is strong. But does the financial trade-off make sense? Dive in as we unfold the layers of property management fees, the scope of responsibilities, and the economic rationale behind this decision.
## Understanding Property Management
At its core, property management serves as the backbone of a real estate investment's operational side, whether it be an expansive apartment complex or a quaint single-family residence. This broad umbrella encompasses rent collection, marketing to potential tenants, vetting applicants, orchestrating repairs, managing evictions, and meticulous financial record-keeping. Additionally, property managers may step in to find new tenants, oversee the property's budget, and ensure compliance with current building codes.
## Deciphering Property Management Fees
The calculus behind property management fees is influenced by several factors, including the property’s size, type, age, and geographical location, alongside the breadth of services a landlord requires. Landlords typically earmark approximately 10% of their income from the property for management expenses. These expenses are itemized as registration fees, fees for vacant units, charges for lease renewals, maintenance costs, and an assortment of miscellaneous fees. It's crucial for landlords to establish a financial ceiling for what the property manager is authorized to spend.
## Characteristics of an Effective Property Manager
Effective communication emerges as a pivotal attribute for any property manager worth their salt. The ability to not only convey but also to empathetically comprehend and relay nuances between diverse stakeholders is indispensable. Moreover, staying abreast of evolving legal frameworks, preemptively addressing potential needs, and adeptly juggling deadlines are hallmarks of a competent property manager. Possessing a proactive mindset, being meticulously organized, and showcasing interpersonal savvy are non-negotiable traits. Paramount to these, however, is the capability to foster and nurture relationships.
## The Financial Wisdom of Engaging a Property Manager
The decision to engage a property manager ultimately hinges on your specific circumstances and objectives. For landlords deeply entrenched in the real estate domain with multiple properties under their belt and ample management experience, outsourcing might not always spell value. Conversely, newcomers to the property market or those pressed for time stand to gain significantly, understanding the right property management firm can, very surely, transform potential chaos into a well-oiled real estate venture.
## Conclusion
The realm of property management is intricate, demanding a unique blend of skills to navigate successfully. Prior to committing, it’s advisable to vigorously shop around for quotes from prospective firms. Maintaining open lines of communication and staying updated with the law are key ingredients for a flourishing partnership with a property manager. Whether the investment is judicious will depend on your individual goals and the specifics of your property, yet for many, enlisting professional help is a prudent step towards real estate success.
### The 13 Best Commercial Real Estate Companies in San Francisco
URL: https://sfist.com/best-commercial-real-estate-companies/
Last updated: 2023-03-02T21:59:48.000Z
Commercial real estate agents can help place you in the perfect office space and can ensure that you get the best deal on the sale of your retail or industrial property. Working with the best commercial realtors can not only make the process less stressful for you, it can also save you enormous sums of money.
[](https://www.comresf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[COM\\RESF](https://www.comresf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
Featured Commercial Realtors
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.comresf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14159219053)
COM\\RESF, short for Commercial Real Estate SF, is a brokerage which is especially well-prepared within the Bay Area. As a local commercial real estate agency largely made-up of San Francisco-natives, this team has an in-depth knowledge of the innerworkings of San Francisco. COM\\RESF has very good relationships with some of the country's largest commercial land owners.
[](https://www.avisonyoung.com/professionals/-/ayp/view/senior-associate/in/san-francisco/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Avison Young](https://www.avisonyoung.com/professionals/-/ayp/view/senior-associate/in/san-francisco/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
Featured Commercial Realtors
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.avisonyoung.com/professionals/-/ayp/view/senior-associate/in/san-francisco/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153225050)
Avison Young is a full-service commercial real estate agency with offices throughout the country and around the world. With an emphasis on client relationships, Avison teams work to ensure that their clients are happy, whether they are looking to rent, lease, or sell a commercial property. Andrew Rebennack is Avison Young's office leasing & investment sales specialist in San Francisco.
[](https://www.us.jll.com/en/site-search?top=10&index=us-en&q=sam%20fisher&utm%5Fsource=&utm%5Fmedium=&utm%5Fcampaign=&utm%5Fcontent=&utm%5Fterm=?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[JLL](https://www.us.jll.com/en/site-search?top=10&index=us-en&q=sam%20fisher&utm%5Fsource=&utm%5Fmedium=&utm%5Fcampaign=&utm%5Fcontent=&utm%5Fterm=?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#1 of 11 Best Commercial Realtors
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.us.jll.com/en/site-search?top=10&index=us-en&q=sam%20fisher&utm%5Fsource=&utm%5Fmedium=&utm%5Fcampaign=&utm%5Fcontent=&utm%5Fterm=?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14153957225)
Jones Lang Laselle (JLL) pride themselves on their ambitious attitude that they both enforce in their employees, and request of their clients. They are ahead of the real estate game, offering up to date news about all the new zoning or realty related laws right on their website. They also offer a wide variety of properties; with everything from Offices and Multifamily, to Industrial and Healthcare, they have a location to suit your needs. You can also rest assured that you are getting the best price, as they check their listings across 59 different markets, showing that they, themselves, want to make sure you get the best price. This all comes from JLL’s insight into the “human side of business”, knowing that their customers are their most valued asset and treating them as such.
[](http://www.mavenproperties.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Maven](http://www.mavenproperties.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#2 of 11 Top Commercial Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.mavenproperties.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157817700)
Every property that you will encounter will be different, and every seller/buyer, a new challenge. The realtors at Maven recognize this and pride themselves on their ability to adapt to stay ahead of market trends. Due to their key insights and introduction of new forms of marketing, this diverse staff prides themselves on their willingness to adjust their methods to ensure that they can provide the best experience on behalf of their client. Whether you’re a landlord about to break ground on a new commercial complex, or an eager entrepreneur looking for a spot for your new boutique, you can rest assured that Maven will not only take care of you, but make sure to put you in a place where you can have the most positive effect on the neighborhoods around you.
[](https://www.urbangroupsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Urban Group](https://www.urbangroupsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#3 of 11 Leading Commercial Real Estate Brokers
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.urbangroupsf.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14158631775)
Real estate is a tricky business. It takes a tried and experienced company to be able to navigate the hazardous field of investors, negotiating, and all the other headaches that would plague the average person. Urban Group Real Estate uses their wide network of investors, buyers, and a hard working team of agents to insure that you do not have to fret. They want you to know that you can trust that their experienced methods will yield you the best outcome. They also take the time to understand the neighborhoods that they are working in, taking the time to become a part of the community. With a focus on client’s goals and a need to exceed your expectations, you can rest assured that Urban Group has your back.
[](http://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/offices/san-francisco?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Cushman & Wakefield](http://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/offices/san-francisco?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#4 of 11 Amazing Commercial Realty Agencies
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/offices/san-francisco?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157733569)
Cushman & Wakefield are successful in the real estate game, and they are not afraid to talk about it. With around 400 offices in 70 countries, and an estimated 8.2 billion USD profit in 2018, they certainly have nothing to be ashamed of. This comes from their understanding of market trends and how they may change, paired with consistent service across the world. They assure that their diverse teams bring a respect to the table that is unparalleled in service. They also come from an astounding 100+ years of experience, in which they have shown themselves to be resilient to a changing world and have still remained successful despite it all. One thing has remained the same after all those years, however. Their dedication and commitment to the client.
[](https://www.tricommercial.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[TRI](https://www.tricommercial.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#5 of 11 Top Commercial Realtors
★★★★★
[Website ](https://www.tricommercial.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14152682200)
Good business relationships are built on one thing: trust. There is no one who understands that more than TRI Commercial. They have focused their entire commercial real estate business model around creating the best relationships they can with their clients, investors, or whoever might have the pleasure of doing business with them. Their targeted marketing leads them to only deal with the most qualified clients and buyers, whether they be here at home or with one of their partnered realty firms in 15 countries. They also pride themselves on their diverse methods when working with clients, often relying on both old and new methods to ensure that you get the highest return on your investment. Relationships are work, and TRI is more than prepared to work.
### Commercial Real Estate Agents vs Residential Realtors
Commercial real estate is an entirely different beast from its residential cousin. Where the [top residential real estate agents](https://sfist.com/best-real-estate-agents-san-francisco/) strive to find you a place that feels like home, commercial real estate experts have your business needs in mind too. Certainly, each commercial real estate transaction has its own form of emotional attachment, but bottom line and true necessities reign supreme.
### Are Commercial Real Estate Agents & Property Managers The Same Thing?
Property managers tend to be involved with rental real estate markets. Though some of the [best property managers](https://sfist.com/best-property-managers-san-francisco/) have their finger on the pulse of the commercial real estate market too, they generally have a decidedly different point of reference. Property management companies keep their eyes on handling the ongoing affairs of both residential and commercial rental properties.
[](http://www.ngkf.com/home/about-our-firm/global-offices/us-offices/san-francisco.aspx?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Newmark](http://www.ngkf.com/home/about-our-firm/global-offices/us-offices/san-francisco.aspx?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#6 of 11 Leading Commercial Real Estate Agents
★★★★★
[Website ](http://www.ngkf.com/home/about-our-firm/global-offices/us-offices/san-francisco.aspx?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14154458888)
Due to Newmark Knight Frank of San Francisco’s success, it is easy to see why they consider themselves a global economic center. In the 80 years that they have been in business, they have built a strong base in order to instill trust in their clients and investors. They have grown with Silicon Valley and had just as much success. With their variety of commercial services, they assure customers that they are a one-stop shop for all of their real estate needs. With contacts all over the world, and paired with their partner company in London, Knight Frank, they have the connections to assure that your realty business is handled quickly and you get the largest return on your investment.
[](http://www.starboardnet.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Starboard](http://www.starboardnet.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#7 of 11 Amazing Commercial Real Estate Brokers
★★★★☆
[Website ](http://www.starboardnet.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157656900)
Starboard of San Francisco is the definition of an underdog. Starting in 1991, they have built a wide array of connections even with the presence and growth of already large firms surrounding them. First at home, and then globally. Their relaxed office setting allows their agents to connect with you on a personal level. Pair that with their agent’s knowledge of the local area and market, and it is easy to see why they are the largest independently owned commercial real estate business in the San Francisco area. Starboard also prides themselves on their ability to adapt to any number of challenges or changes that they may face. Proving, without a doubt, that they can handle your, or any, commercial real estate needs.
[](https://uprealestatecommercial0041279.engagereagent.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[RE/MAX](https://uprealestatecommercial0041279.engagereagent.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#8 of 11 Best Commercial Realty Agencies
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://uprealestatecommercial0041279.engagereagent.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157993728)
RE/MAX Commercial guarantees that they can not only offer you unparalleled service, but awareness of the local market. They also assure that their confidence in their ability to do their job is unmatched by any of their competitors. With a top notch training system and more than 110,000 sales agents available to their clients, Re Max is accessible to their consumers. No matter the transaction or property, they are open to even the most challenging properties. With all of these qualifications, it is easy to see that they are one of the most dynamic names in the commercial real estate sector.
[](https://www.kwcommercial.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[KW Comercial](https://www.kwcommercial.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#9 of 11 Leading Commercial Realtors
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.kwcommercial.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14152444046)
When it comes to real estate, the initials KW should automatically spark a sense of familiarity in anyone who has dealt with real estate in the past. KW Commercial is the commercial real estate arm of Keller Williams. They bring the same level of professionalism and experience as their parent company, except they are trained specifically to assist you with your commercial needs. KW Commercial’s knowledge of the market allows them to offer unmatched commercial real estate service. Their full range of service and willingness to deal with any complications show that they are willing to study your situation and give you the best deal possible. KW Commercial lives up to the Keller Williams name, and that is no small feat.
[](https://www.walkerpre.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Walker Partners](https://www.walkerpre.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#10 of 11 Amazing Commercial Real Estate Agents
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www.walkerpre.com/?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14152485388)
When dealing in commercial real estate, it is important to maintain an aspect of professionalism in even the most lax business relationships. Walker Partners gets that. They have no “one-size fits all” techniques when it comes to dealing with clients, as they feel that is a disrespectful approach. They, instead, are more persistent and adaptable from the second that they start working for you. Highly recommended, they offer a wide variety of commercial services. Specializing in office and retail leasing, Walker Partners wants to strive to give you the competitive edge that your business needs. They are prepared to fix even the most minute details to ensure that you are happy with your new property or sale with a good price.
[](https://www2.colliers.com/en/United-States/Cities/San-Francisco-Bay-Area?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
[Colliers](https://www2.colliers.com/en/United-States/Cities/San-Francisco-Bay-Area?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker)
#11 of 11 Best Commercial Real Estate Brokers
★★★★☆
[Website ](https://www2.colliers.com/en/United-States/Cities/San-Francisco-Bay-Area?utm%5Fsource=SFist&utm%5Fmedium=list&utm%5Fcampaign=tracker) [Call ](tel:+14157883100)
Colliers of San Francisco wants to collaborate with you on your next property to ensure that you get the type of service that you deserve. With over 45+ years of experience, it wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Their experts not only know San Francisco as a whole, but they have taken the time to study the individual areas and learned how to best handle business so that they can have a positive impact on the neighborhoods surrounding them. Their top quality research and marketing techniques have lead them to consistently deliver investments that have far exceeded clients expectations. Colliers want to give you positive results that last, and their dedication to excellence proves this.
The above list includes property managers service providers that SFist's staff believes in and trusts that they are highly capable of providing superior services. In some cases, they are the largest companies in this field in San Francisco. In some cases, variable listing fees effect the ranking position of the companies, but every one could be considered as a strong contender among the top moving companies in San Francisco. You should do your own research before selecting a company or individual to provide services to you. To learn more about SFist's classifieds listings [read more here](https://sfist.com/sfist-classified-listings/).
---
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### Jobs Available In SF
URL: https://sfist.com/jobs-in-sf/
Last updated: 2026-05-07T22:30:44.000Z
### SFist is hiring!
One of the most influential news sources in the Bay Area, SFist is has a new position available for an individual who loves San Francisco, and who is eager to cover the daily news and culture happenings of the city.
#### Contributing Editor
[Apply Here ](https://impress3.typeform.com/to/jeqwPl?ref=sfist.com)
**Requirements**: At least two years of professional writing experience, preferably in a blogging or journalism capacity; an understanding of what is newsworthy in the Bay Area and the skills to concisely deliver and/or report that news in a timely fashion; and local knowledge of the Bay Area, its politics, and its culture. We are seeking a candidate with an abundance of drive and piercing wit, a deep and abiding love for San Francisco, and the stamina to create three to four well-written and click-worthy posts per day on weekends, as well as occasional weekdays as needed by the editorial team.
**Added Pluses**: A bachelor's degree in English or journalism; understanding of copyediting practices and the AP Style Guide; a witty and original writing style; experience working for a daily website or newspaper.
**The Job**: Produce three to four well-written and click-worthy posts per day, primarily on weekends.
**Title**: Contributing Editor.
**Compensation**: Based on Experience.
[Apply Here ](https://impress3.typeform.com/to/jeqwPl?ref=sfist.com)
---
## Posts
### Sunday Links: Man Fatally Shot in Potrero Hill on Friday Night
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/18/sunday-links-8/
Last updated: 2026-10-18T19:18:22.000Z
- **Canadian officials are reporting that multiple people were killed and dozens more injured following an explosion on Saturday at a Canadian military base in Alberta province.** Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney is calling the incident "one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime." \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/story/multiple-people-killed-dozens-injured-explosion-canadian-military-training-base/19951639/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **SFPD say a man was fatally shot near an elementary school in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood on Friday night.** No further details, including information on the shooter, is currently available. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/sf-shooting-potrero-hill-22481391.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- French President Emmanuel Macron voiced "anger" and "shame" over rioting and looting as nationwide protests over living conditions erupt across France. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/17/nx-s1-6006773/student-protests-france?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-64 at home yesterday to take Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/golden-state-valkyries-atlanta-dream-face-off-game-1-wnba-finals-san-franciscos-chase-center/19948244/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Emergency crews successfully airlifted a woman from a creek in Wine Country on Saturday after she fell from a cliff. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/wine-country-cliff-rescue-sonoma-county-22482241.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- MapQuest has added a new "surveillance layer" feature that allows users to flag Flock cameras on routes. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/mapquests-new-surveillance-layer-feature-flags-flock-cameras-on-users-routes/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- One child and one adult are dead in addition to hospitalizations for 11 others after a vehicle drove onto a Kansas soccer field on Saturday. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/child-adult-killed-after-vehicle-drives-onto-soccer-field-kansas-sports-complex-this-is-tragedy?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A man from San Francisco has been arrested for allegedly striking two children, both six, as they were riding a bicycle in Half Moon Bay before fleeing the scene, per authorities. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/half-moon-bay-hit-and-run-children-22482694.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Noah Adams, who hosted NPR's *All Things Considered* for 18 years, died on Friday at the age of 84\. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/18/nx-s1-5556931/noah-adams-all-things-considered-has-died?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Former Placerville Resident Identified as Man Who Shot, Killed Oregon School Shooter
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/17/former-placerville-resident-identified-as-man-who-shot-killed-oregon-school-shooter/
Last updated: 2026-10-17T22:32:00.000Z
The mother of a man credited with confronting and fatally shooting the perpetrator of a school shooting in Bend, Oregon on Thursday has shared that her son, 36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco, is originally from Placerville. Kenda Freeman also called her son "a hero" for his actions.
In new [reporting from KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sacramento-mother-says-son-confronts-oregon-school-shooter/?ref=sfist.com), Sacramento resident Kenda Freeman is acknowledging that it was her son who killed a teenage gunman targeting a special needs classroom at Bend's Silver Rail Elementary School earlier this week.
A father to two children who attend the school, Giamanco reportedly saw the incident unfolding while driving home on his lunch break and decided to confront the 16-year-old shooter.
According to Freeman, her son "knew something was not right."
"So he pulled up onto the grass, grabbed his gun, and basically stalked the gunman back into the school," she continued. "He crawled through a window that the gunman had shot out. He army crawled through the window."
Giamanco, per his mother, legally owns and carries a firearm. Raised in Placerville (about 45 minutes northeast of Sacramento), she said he's been living in Oregon for over thirty years, where he works as a contractor.
After killing the shooter, Giamanco apparently called his mother, who recalled her son's words on the phone:
"He said, 'Mom, I just shot and killed somebody.' I said, 'Kaylub, tell me about it.' He said, 'A man went into my daughter's school and shot kids,' and he said, 'and I looked at him point-blank, and I shot and killed him, Mom.' "
Freeman told media that she subsequently told her son that she thought he was hero and that she was proud of him.
In total, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/savor-the-heat-while-you-can/), three children and one teacher were killed by the shooter before Giamanco was able to intervene. Neither of his two children were among those killed.
According to local law enforcement, the shooter used a shotgun previously purchased by his mother. They also stated that approximately 15 rounds were fired by the suspect during the shooting.
In her interview with KPIX, Giamanco's mother further noted that her son's decision to own and carry a firearm came from a desire to protect his family in the event of an emergency.
**Related**: [Teen Suspect In Fairfield High School Graduation Shooting Located and Arrested Near Dallas](https://sfist.com/2026/07/10/teen-suspect-in-fairfield-high-school-graduation-shooting-located-and-arrested-near-dallas/)
### Multiple Bay Area Congress Members Report Receipt of 'Suspicious' Mail
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/17/multiple-bay-area-congress-members-report-receipt-of-suspicious-mail/
Last updated: 2026-10-17T21:14:33.000Z
Congress members in Walnut Creek, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz all recently reported receiving suspicious envelopes at their district offices. The cases add to a growing number of similar reports being made across the country.
As [ABC7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/suspicious-envelopes-reported-california-offices-congressmembers-zoe-lofgren-jimmy-panetta/19945566/?ref=sfist.com), the local recipients include U.S. Representatives Mark DeSaulnier (Walnut Creek), Zoe Lofgren (San Jose), Ro Khanna (Santa Clara), and Jimmy Panetta (Santa Cruz) — all Democrats currently seeking re-election on this fall's midterm ballot.
Speaking with media, Panetta said that the envelope sent to his Santa Cruz office this week contained "a white powdery substance" that authorities later confirmed to be a mixture of sugar and flour.
This rash of suspicious letters sent to Northern California politicians comes as federal authorities continue to investigate more than 100 such reports across the country. ABC7 notes that recipients have included everyone from U.S. senators to local election offices.
In a statement responding to the letter received at his Walnut Creek office — which was reported to authorities and left unopened — Rep. Mark DeSaulnier decried the actions of the unknown perpetrators.
"Threats and political violence seem to have reached a fever pitch in our country," he said. "I urge my fellow Americans to stand united against such attempts at undermining our democracy."
DeSaulnier also confirmed that he doesn't plan to let the threat derail his current campaign for re-election against Republican Jeff Frese.
In Lofgren's case, a bomb squad turned up at her San Jose office on Friday. Ultimately, they determined the contents of the suspicious letter to be "non-hazardous" in nature but continue to investigate. It was a similar situation at Rep. Ro Khanna's office in Santa Clara, where emergency crews were spotted on Friday but refused to detail the cause of their visit.
In additional comments to media reported by ABC7, Panetta echoed DeSaulnier's sentiments in saying he refuses to be cowed by these tactics.
"Threats, fearmongering, and violence against public servants have become far too common over the past decade and undermine our democracy," Panetta said. "But these attempts to intimidate us will not deter us from doing our job."
Multiple investigations into who sent these suspicious mailings remain ongoing.
**Related**: [More Than 80 Pounds of Possibly Stolen Mail Recovered in Major Bay Area Bust](https://sfist.com/2026/08/16/more-than-80-pounds-of-possibly-stolen-mail-recovered-in-major-bay-area-bust/)
### Saturday Links: Marin Humane Finds Surprise Rattlesnake in Donated Bucket
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/17/saturday-links-marin-humane-finds-surprise-rattlesnake-in-donated-bucket/
Last updated: 2026-10-17T20:03:33.000Z
- **The Golden State Valkyries play their first WNBA Finals game in franchise history today and they've tapped 94-year-old Oscar winner (and East Bay resident) Rita Moreno to serve as the team's honorary drum-banger.** Meanwhile, some fans are celebrating the Valkyries' playoff run and the Halloween season with the aptly-named "Boohalla." \[[SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/17/waggle-elizabeth-holmes-guilfoyle-valkyries/?ref=sfist.com); [KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/sports/valkyries-fans-create-boohalla-to-celebrate-teams-progression-to-finals/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Staff at Marin Humane got an intense surprise earlier this week when someone left a bucket in their lobby that turned out to have a live rattlesnake at the bottom.** The unidentified person reportedly "turned and left without a word" after depositing the bucket. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/surprise-rattlesnake-left-in-bucket-at-bay-area-animal-shelter/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- LVMH, the French luxury company that oversees Louis Vuitton and Dior, has purchased a building on Post Street in Union Square, possibly portending a move for Louis Vuitton’s current SF flagship location on Geary Street. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/sf-union-square-louis-vuitton-22415183.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A sewage leak is temporarily halting oyster harvesting efforts at Tomales Bay. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/sewage-leak-temporarily-halts-tomales-bay-oyster-harvest?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Officials with Santa Clara University have announced that, starting next fall, they plan to offer free education to eligible low-income students. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/santa-clara-university-free-education-low-income-students/4160233/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new lawsuit filed by a 39-year-old Washington man accuses OpenAI's ChatGPT of giving him unlicensed medical advice that, in turn, led him to suffer a mental health crisis. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/chatgpt-medical-advice-lawsuit/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The FBI has added a 75-year-old Southern California woman to its newly created Most Wanted Fraudsters list for allegedly stealing more than $15 million while posing as an aircraft heiress. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/fbi-most-wanted-fraudsters-mary-carole-mcdonnell-socal?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Pope Leo XIV was discharged from the hospital today after undergoing lung cancer surgery earlier this week. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/17/nx-s1-6006762/pope-leo-xiv-leaves-hospital-days-after-lung-cancer-surgery?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Soon-to-Close Ripley's Believe It Or Not Announces Retro Discount
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/day-around-the-bay-soon-to-close-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-announces-retro-discount/
Last updated: 2026-10-17T00:51:17.000Z
### Local:
- **For its final day in operation on December 1, the Fisherman's Wharf location of Ripley’s Believe It or Not plans to revert its prices to what they were on its opening day in 1967\.** That means $1.50 admission for adults and 75 cents for children, with tickets available for $19.67 on Thursdays leading up to Ripley's closure. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/ripleys-san-francisco-closing-22478963.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- USPS officials are opening an investigation after vote-by-mail ballots from San Mateo County were allegedly stolen from a post office in Daly City on Thursday. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/mail-in-ballots-stolen-daly-city-post-office/4159508/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The new musical *Every Saturday Night*— SFBATCO's love letter to the Black roots and jazz history of San Francisco's Fillmore District — celebrated its world premiere at the Strand last night. \[[KQED](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13994807/every-saturday-night-fillmore-district-sfbatco-review?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **According to advisers, President Trump has fired new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia after only five days on the job.** For those playing at home, that means Zacharia lasted for only half a Scaramucci, prompting comment from the measurement's namesake. \[[The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6154556-anthony-scaramucci-katie-zacharia-donald-trump-white-house-tenure/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Strong Santa Ana winds are driving a wildfire that's now spread to 465 acres along the border of San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, prompting numerous evacuation orders. \[[OC Register](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/10/16/norte-fire-grows-to-50-70-acres-in-san-clemente-threatens-structures/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The 16-year-old who authorities believe was responsible for yesterday's shooting in Bend, Oregon — which left three children and one teacher dead — has been identified by police as a former student of Silver Rail Elementary School, where the crime occurred. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/story/multiple-people-injured-shooting-oregon-elementary-school-suspect-fatally-shot-police/19941760/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- A newly released video [via ABC7](https://www.ktvu.com/news/video-tesla-slams-stopped-chp-car-vacaville?ref=sfist.com) shows footage from Tuesday of a Tesla hitting a road barrier on a highway in Vacaville before crashing into the back of a parked California Highway Patrol vehicle with two officers seated inside. Both officers were reportedly released after being hospitalized. In other news, Alex Gibney's new [four-hour expose on Elon Musk](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/alex-gibney-musk-documentary-22467554.php?ref=sfist.com) opens nationwide in theaters today.
### ‘Clean Energy Dream Home’ Shows How Ditching Gas Appliances Reduces Indoor Air Pollution
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/clean-energy-dream-home-shows-how-ditching-gas-appliances-reduces-indoor-air-pollution/
Last updated: 2026-10-17T00:13:48.000Z
On the heels of new legislation aimed at helping Californians switch from gas to electric-powered homes, a Silicon Valley-based agency is bringing its “Clean Energy Dream Home” showroom to communities around the Bay Area.
During SF’s Fleet Week last week, a 18-by-8-foot mobile showroom created by Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) was set up along the Embarcadero, [as KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/all-electric-home-model-clean-energy-dream-home-san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com). The display, powered by a Ford electric pickup truck, offers visitors a look at electric appliances designed to reduce household pollution and slash energy bills, while making homes healthier and more comfortable.
The showcase comes as California makes it easier for homeowners to ditch gas. According to KPIX, Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed the [Clean Energy Choice Act](https://berman.asmdc.org/press-releases/20260219-assemblymember-berman-introduces-legislation-electrify-california-homes?ref=sfist.com), introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park). It requires utilities to offer financial incentives to homeowners who disconnect from gas and electrify their homes when gas service line repairs are scheduled.
“This is the all-electric home of the future,” said Nik Kaestner, senior building decarbonization coordinator for the San Francisco Environment Department, speaking to KPIX.
The Clean Energy Dream Home features a range of appliances that can replace gas-powered systems, including heat pumps for heating, cooling, and hot water, an induction cooktop, and an electric fireplace.
Kaestner demonstrated to KPIX that the induction stove, which uses electromagnets to heat cookware directly instead of burning gas, brings water to a boil considerably faster than a gas stove, keeping energy from escaping into the kitchen.
Electric fireplaces are also a source of clean energy.
“If you have an all-electric home, you may still want the comfort and warmth from a fireplace,” Kaestner said, speaking to KPIX. “Except this one produces no pollution.”
Heat pumps were another major feature of the display. The systems use electricity to transfer heat rather than generate it through combustion, allowing a single unit to heat and cool a home. Heat pump water heaters can also replace conventional gas models.
Kaestner said reducing indoor pollution is one of the central advantages of electrification.
“The most important benefit for an all-electric home is that it’s a healthier home because there is no gas combustion happening within your four walls,” he told KPIX.
Pacific Gas and Electric says customers can save an average of $714 per year by replacing gas heating systems with heat pump technology, as California moves away from new natural gas heaters, as KPIX reports.
Homeowners can also search for available rebates and incentives through [Switch Is On](https://www.switchison.org/incentive-finder?ref=sfist.com),[ BayREN](https://www.bayren.org/find-incentives?ref=sfist.com), and[ California’s home energy programs](https://climateaction.ca.gov/home-energy/?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [SF’s First On-Street, Curbside Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Are Coming to Duboce Triangle and Dogpatch](https://sfist.com/2025/01/02/sfs-first-on-street-curbside-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-are-coming-to-duboce-triangle-and-dogpatch/)
### This Week In Food: New Omakase
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/this-week-in-food-11/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T23:06:06.000Z
Shinka debuts downtown, New York's popular Bar Oliver is opening an SF outpost in Pac Heights, and a cocktail bar called Olde Fashioned has taken the place of Zhuzh on Nob Hill, all in This Week in Food.
The restaurant at The Jay hotel downtown has made the transition from Prelude, which closed last month, to [**Shinka**](https://jayhotelsf.com/eat-drink/shinka/?ref=sfist.com), a new Japanese-California omakase restaurant from the Omakase Group and chef Fumio Yonezawa. The menu, a $185 prix fixe with a $70 caviar supplement, includes a Dungeness crab and mushroom chawanmushi that former Chronicle critic Michael Bauer has [already raved about](https://www.instagram.com/p/Deh5CVnks1p/?hl=en&img%5Findex=1&ref=sfist.com), and unique creations like a dish of grilled eggplant and sea urchin with soy koji and fromage blanc.
After still more delays, apparently, **Julius' Castle** is finally going to reopen in early November. That is, at least, what owner Paul Scott [confirmed with KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/historic-bay-area-castle-designed-landmark-is-reopening-operate-again-restaurant?ref=sfist.com) this week. We take this with a grain of salt, given the yearslong delays with this project, and [last we heard](https://sfist.com/2026/07/09/julius-castle-the-long-shuttered/) it was opening in September.
The next new restaurant that we now know is coming to Pac Heights as part of billionaire [Neil Mehta's Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project](https://sfist.com/2025/04/15/billionaire-who-bought-up-part-of-fillmore-street-promises-new-theater-diner/) is [**Bar Oliver**](https://www.barolivernyc.com/?ref=sfist.com), an offshoot of the New York hotspot. As the [SF Business Times reports](https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2026/10/12/bar-oliver-vermouth-pacific-heights-clay-theatre.html?ref=sfist.com), Bar Oliver is set to take over the former Alice & Olivia space at the corner of Clay and Fillmore (2259 Fillmore), next door to the centerpiece of Mehta's project, the former Clay Theatre. The Chronicle [subsequently confirmed](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/bar-oliver-sf-opening-22475252.php?ref=sfist.com) that former Bay Area hospitality industry guy Aisa Shelley is behind the project, and Shelley says that unlike the more vermouth-focused New York location, the SF version will have a full bar, but will otherwise mirror the menu in terms of steaks and Spanish pintxos. No opening timeframe has been set, but ultimately, Bar Oliver will join Korean spot [Monami](https://sfist.com/2026/02/02/new-upscale-korean-bbq-spot-monami-coming-to-upper-fillmore/) from the SSAL team, and Kin Khao/Nari offshoot [Kao Soi Ya](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/kin-khao-and-nari-chef-planning-new-upper-fillmore-restaurant-centered-on/) on the same three-block stretch of Fillmore, as well as Mehta's art-house theater concept.
Two-year-old dance bar [Zhuzh](https://sfist.com/2024/03/13/new-micro-club-called-zhuzh-opening-this-weekend/) on Nob Hill is no more, and in its place we now have **Olde Fashioned** (1548 California Street), a new cocktail spot that has kept the same floral wallpaper of its predecessor and added some Victorian touches, as the [SF Standard reports](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/13/olde-fashioned-cocktail-bar-nob-hill/?ref=sfist.com). While Zhuzh focused on tap cocktails and quick pours, Olde Fashioned is geared more toward well-made classics like Sazeracs and Old Fashioneds, and there is also a Negroni served in teacup. A menu of house cocktails is still in the works.
Old-school FiDi seafood spot [**Sam's Grill**](https://samsgrill-sf.com/?ref=sfist.com) (374 Bush Street) has brought back Saturday dinner service, [as Tablehopper reports](https://www.tablehopper.com/newsletter/this-weeks-tablehopper-clink-clink-free/?ref=sfist.com). That means getting to enjoy some fried oysters or mesquite-grilled Petrale sole in white-tablecloth luxury without having to fight for a table with some of SF's biggest power players during the week (Ms. Tablehopper noted that Willie Brown's standard table up front was occupied by unaware plebs on her recent visit.)
And out in the Outer Sunset, **Black Jet Luncheonette** is getting ready to open its doors. The offshoot of Bernal's Black Jet Baking Co. was [first reported on by SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-bakery-outer-sunset-21960199.php?ref=sfist.com) back in March, when Black Jet owners Gillian Shaw Lundgren and Max Newman snagged the space that was formerly home to the legendary Trouble Coffee at 4033 Judah Street. Like the bakery, the luncheonette will feature house-made pop tarts, cakes, and other items, but it will also feature Newman's sandwich artistry. As the [Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/black-jet-bakery-san-francisco-22470768.php?ref=sfist.com) this week, the menu will feature a meatball grinder that once appeared on the bakery's menu, as well other items like a riff on French bread pizza. The opening date is October 23.
Chronicle critic **MacKenzie Chung Fegan** is back with another starred review, this time [giving one star](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurant-review/article/little-original-joes-menu-22458700.php?ref=sfist.com) (meaning "good, recommended") to **Little Original Joe's**, where she says every customer looks happy and the menu makes people feel like a kid again — in addition to being kid-friendly. She's a fan of the classics and the burger, and notes that the signature zucchini fries are "irresistible straight out of the fryer, \[but\] slightly more resistible the longer they sit." And, she says, the $60 chicken tender-caviar-parmesan-truffle fry tower is "a gimmick gone wrong."
### Bay Area Arts Groups Team Up to Support Artists, Spotlight Local Projects and Events
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/bay-area-arts-groups-team-up-to-support-artists-spotlight-local-projects-and-events/
Last updated: 2026-10-17T00:25:39.000Z
In response to local art school closures and shrinking support for emerging artists, nonprofits are developing alternative education programs and grassroots coalitions to help artists connect, collaborate, and sustain their work.
The Tenderloin-based [TnT Art Lab](https://tntartlab.com/?ref=sfist.com) has launched Meet the Moment, a coalition of Bay Area artists, museums, galleries, and cultural organizations that will publish a monthly guide to exhibitions, performances, and programs addressing current civic, cultural, and political issues, [as SF Examiner reports](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/community/san-francisco-coalition-launches-to-support-bay-area-artists/article%5F9fd886df-d67c-4748-9226-074204c0c342.html?ref=sfist.com). The group is also putting on three nights of video art exhibitions in Mid-Market and Yerba Buena at the end of October.
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[According to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/tnt-art-lab-tenderloin-sf-20327310.php?ref=sfist.com), Bradley McCallum, who founded TnT Art Lab through his nonprofit Conjunction Arts, has transformed the space at Turk and Taylor streets into a Tenderloin hub for collaborative art, community programming, exhibitions, and artist residencies. The 2,000-square-foot space reportedly includes studios, a media library, a flexible gallery, and a kitchen intended to encourage people to gather and connect.
McCallum told the Chronicle last year that he began pursuing the project after seeing the challenges facing people living on and around Sixth Street during San Francisco’s pandemic recovery. He said he wants artists to engage directly with those conditions through social art practice, which emphasizes collaboration and community impact.
Per the Examiner, Meet the Moment expands that community-focused approach by connecting organizations across the region and directing audiences toward work they might otherwise miss. Its first monthly guide includes exhibitions at the Museum of Craft and Design, the San Francisco Arts Commission Main Gallery, and Haines Gallery, among others.
The coalition is also accepting applications through November 16 for its inaugural [Call for Big Ideas](https://www.instagram.com/p/DehuiH-Admn/?ref=sfist.com). Selected proposals will receive seed funding and development support, with projects presented at a forum during San Francisco Art Week in January. The resulting projects are expected to debut in 2028\. Those interested in contributing to the project can donate to the nonprofit's [seed funding campaign](https://secure.givelively.org/donate/collaborative-urban-sculpture/tnt-art-lab-support-a-new-era-of-art-and-social-change-in-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com).
“Social practice is about working with communities, not just showing art to them, and no single organization can do that alone right now,” McCallum said, speaking to the Examiner.
The coalition comes as Bay Area artists and nonprofits develop alternatives to traditional arts education amid the loss of established institutions, including the SF Art Institute, which is being replaced by the unaccredited, billionaire-funded[ California Academy of Studio Arts](https://sfist.com/2025/06/05/sf-art-institute-will-reopen-with-the-new-name-california-academy-of-studio-arts-casa/?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) and the California College of the Arts, with [Vanderbilt University’s new San Francisco campus](https://sfist.com/2026/01/13/vanderbilt-university-is-indeed-opening-an-sf-campus-as-theyve-bought-up-potrero-hills-california-college-of-the-arts/?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) taking over its former site following a big-tech buyout.
[The Examiner reported](https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/as-sf-s-art-schools-shutter-artists-create-their-own/article%5F4e5d63be-2c52-4097-aac3-4dd55ae129b0.html?ref=sfist.com) last month that artists with ties to the two shuttered art schools are also developing smaller-scale alternatives. [Present Company](https://www.presentcompany.company/?ref=sfist.com), an experimental arts education program created by Lindsey White and Jon Rubin, brought 11 Bay Area artists together for a free program at the Headlands Center for the Arts in West Marin, with participants taking part in collaborative projects, group dinners, hikes, and other activities.
“Being inside a school falling apart can be pretty traumatizing, but I still really believe in arts education,” White said of her experience at SFAI, speaking to the Examiner. She described Present Company as an opportunity to move beyond that institutional collapse while continuing to develop new ways for artists to learn and work together.
Southern Exposure, a longtime Mission District arts nonprofit, is also developing two education programs. Its [Emerging Curator’s Lab](https://freedomfilm.my/emergingcuratorslab/?ref=sfist.com) will provide two years of professional development and mentorship, while its Night School program will help artists develop teaching skills and curricula through a free 12-week program that includes a stipend.
Per the Examiner, the Emerging Curator’s Lab is intended to expand access to curatorial training for people from diverse backgrounds. Night School will pair one teaching artist with six emerging artists, who will develop lesson plans and create curricula for Southern Exposure’s youth education program and San Francisco Unified School District.
Another new project [scheduled to open this fall](https://sfist.com/2026/03/25/dave-eggers-to-open-100-000-square-foot-art-and-community-space-at-pier-29-this-fall/) is[ Art + Water](https://artpluswater.org/?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com), a planned 100,000-square-foot arts space at Pier 29 founded by local writer Dave Eggers and Bay Area artist and educator JD Beltran, as previously reported. The project is using a tuition-free apprenticeship model designed to help artists establish and maintain their practices in San Francisco.
Art + Water reportedly plans to host 30 local artists at a time, including 10 established artists and 20 emerging artists selected through an application process. All participants will receive free studio space for a year, with established artists mentoring newer artists through daily instruction, shared workspaces, and hands-on collaboration.
“Economically accessible, demystifying, and welcoming — like, ‘Here, this is how we do this. You can do it, too,’” Eggers said of his vision for the project.
These grassroots projects are emerging as San Francisco’s arts scene faces another debate over the influence of wealthy donors. The new [Market Street Arts & Theater District is receiving $500,000](https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/new-mid-market-arts-district-launches-with-500k-investment-from-sf-billionaires/) from downtown business and civic leaders, including crypto billionaire Chris Larsen.
Larsen and Gap heirs Bob and Randi Fisher also backed [this year’s Downtown First Thursday series](https://sfist.com/2025/11/24/downtown-first-thursdays-funded-for-2026-with-2-million-from-chris-larsen/) with a $2 million investment, along with additional funds from other local billionaires.
**Related:** [Dave Eggers to Open 100,000 Square Foot Art and Community Space at Pier 29 This Fall](https://sfist.com/2026/03/25/dave-eggers-to-open-100-000-square-foot-art-and-community-space-at-pier-29-this-fall/)
### 'Oh, Mary!' Just as Subversively Hilarious on Tour at SF's Curran as It Was on Broadway
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/oh-mary-just-as-subversively-hilarious-on-tour-at-sfs-curran-as-it-was-on-broadway/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T21:01:49.000Z
Even though it was written to be a queer, campy, ahistorical comedy vehicle for Cole Escola, *Oh, Mary!* has, against the odds, become a successfully bawdy romp in the hands of a range of performers, and one that lets all of America in on the joke.
The much anticipated touring production of *Oh, Mary!* arrived at SF's Curran Theatre this week, its set (primarily the 1860s pre-Oval office of Abraham Lincoln) an exact replica of the one still being seen on Broadway, designed by the [dots](https://www.instagram.com/designbydots/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) collective. And the play has traveled well with its new touring cast, which features one performer, John-Andrew Morrison (*A Strange Loop*), reprising the role of "Mary's Husband" that he played on Broadway last fall opposite both Jane Krakowski and Jinkx Monsoon.
Though she was out sick for the first two previews at the Curran this week and let her understudy go on, *Rupaul's Drag Race* royalty Alaska Thunderfuck went on as Mary on Thursday night for the official opening of *Oh, Mary!*'s sold-out, three-week SF run. From here, it's on to Seattle, LA, and Boston — and it remains unclear who will pick up the role after that, given a [recent abrupt, health-related shuffle](https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/tony-winner-j-harrison-ghee-drops-out-of-touring-cast-of-oh-mary/) involving Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee, who may still be coming back
Alaska (nee Justin Andrew Honard) is a seasoned performer who has already done the seven- or eight-shows-a-week routine in the Off-Broadway *DRAG: The Musical*, which she cowrote, and which ran for six months last year. To the role of Mary Todd Lincoln, Alaska brings a keen sense of slapstick and all the necessary hoop-skirt shenanigans, as well as an undeniable command of the stage. She is also very much in her element as Mary Todd the cabaret "star," famed for her "madcap medlies."
**Michael Lepore, Alaska Thunderfuck, Pooya Mohseni, and John-Andrew Morrison in OH, MARY! Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade*
While every actor and actress who has taken on the role of Mary to date — a list which includes comedy legends like Krakowski and Maya Rudolph, as well as rising stars Bowen Yang and Meg Stalter — has no doubt brought their spin and unique intonations to the highly ridiculous script, having seen the originator and creator of the role, Cole Escola, on Broadway, I admit to a slight bias. I'm not sure anyone can bring the same intense lunacy and glinting-eyed villainy to the role as Cole.
That is not to say that Alaska doesn't do her level best to bring the lunacy, and most audiences will be none the wiser. Sam Pinkleton's able direction has also kept the show hitting all its beats.
Morrison brings a silly level of gravitas to the role of Lincoln/Mary's Husband, and he and Alaska bounce well off one another. As Mary's Teacher, Wesley Taylor (*Only Murders in the Building, Difficult People*) is marvelous and funny in all of his seductive actor-y-ness.
**Alaska Thunderfuck and Wesley Taylor in OH, MARY! Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade*
As Mary's Chaperone, Iranian American trans actress Pooya Mohseni is a funny foil to Alaska's fiendish Mary, but her accent distracts a bit from her scenes.
All one needs to know going into this show is that it bears almost no relation to actual history, and this caricature of Mary Todd Lincoln is a creation of Escola's, who was inspired by the idea that an alcoholic Mary might have had dreams of cabaret glory, and that maybe her life was better after her husband died.
What's brilliant about Escola's tightly constructed, 75-minute play is that, even with all the raunchy jokes and camp sensibility, it sits just on the edgier fringe of mainstream humor — especially when we live in a time when the mainstream includes things like *Rupaul's Drag Race* and *It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia*. And while it might still make some older, more straight-laced audience members bristle, it has succeeded in drawing people in to its Off-Broadway subversiveness and its goofy re-rendering of a sacred chapter of American history.
Thus, the SF run is totally sold out, though there may still be some not-too-crazy-expensive tickets to be found on the secondary market, or on rush via TodayTix if and when house seats are released.
*'Oh, Mary!' runs through November 1* [*at the Curran Theatre*](https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/oh-mary?ref=sfist.com)*.*
### House of Air Trampoline Park to Close After 16 Years at Crissy Field
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/house-of-air-trampoline-park-to-close-after-16-years-at-crissy-field/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T20:55:29.000Z
After 16 years of bouncing, dodgeball games, and birthday parties inside a former military airplane hangar in the Presidio, House of Air will close next February, with the owners citing the expiration of the building’s lease.
House of Air announced that its final day in business will be February 15, inviting customers to visit the Presidio location one last time before it closes, [as KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/business/house-of-air-in-presidio-to-close-after-16-years/?ref=sfist.com). The indoor trampoline park’s 17-year lease is reportedly set to expire.
“For years, House of Air at Crissy Field has been a place where gravity was optional,” the park said [on social media](https://www.instagram.com/houseofair/p/Deh7YNVgXsE/?hl=en&img%5Findex=6&ref=sfist.com), recalling the birthday parties, field trips, dodgeball rivalries, and other gatherings held there over the years.
“You filled this building with noise, sweat, and a whole lot of joy,” said the park.
**Photo via House of Air/Google Maps*
House of Air opened its doors in 2010 inside a converted airplane hangar, but transforming the historic building into a trampoline park was no small feat. The hangar was built in 1921 to support the Army’s 91st Observation Squadron, which flew De Havilland DH-4B biplanes, before later serving as a vehicle paint shop and Army offices and storage.
[According to Architect Magazine](https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/buildings/house-of-air%5Fo/?ref=sfist.com), the Presidio’s protected status as a historic property placed strict limits on exterior alterations of the hangar, which complicated efforts to transform it into a modern recreation facility. The Presidio Trust also requires new work on the property to meet [LEED green-building standards](https://www.usgbc.org/leed?ref=sfist.com).
San Francisco architect Mark Horton, whose firm had previously studied designs for an aviation museum at Crissy Field that never came to fruition, was recommended to House of Air’s owners for the conversion. Much of the project’s budget reportedly went toward seismic upgrades to the building’s lightweight steel structure along with asbestos and other hazardous-material remediation.
**House of Air/Google Maps*
Despite having a small budget for the actual redesign, Horton persuaded the owners to invest the remaining funds in a 45-foot-wide folding glass door that replaced the original hangar door, bringing more light into the space and opening up the building, as Architect Magazine reported at the time.
House of Air thanked customers for helping make the building a gathering place for 16 years, calling the experience “the ride of a lifetime.”
**Previously:** [More On Predisio Trampoline Park 'House of Air'](https://sfist.com/2010/03/25/more%5Fon%5Fpredisio%5Ftrampoline%5Fpark%5Fin/)
### Sculptural Pavilion Options For Embarcadero Park to Be Reviewed Monday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/sculptural-pavilion-options-for-embarcadero-park-to-be-reviewed-monday/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T19:20:50.000Z
There is at least one dramatic design element being considered for the new Embarcadero Park, as SF Rec & Parks moves ahead on the major renovation set to take place over the next year.
Design firm HOK will be presenting three design options Monday for a 40-foot-high pavilion that is being planned as a central aspect of the new plaza and park that will replace Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park — set to be called Art Agnos Plaza and Embarcadero Park.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/embarcadero-park-pavilion-designs-22480463.php?ref=sfist.com), the design presentation will be before the SF Arts Commission's Civic Design Review Committee, which meets on the third Monday of the month at 2 pm. The design options, seen below, include a more traditional pavilion-like shade structure, and two variations on an undulating concept that is more sculptural — it's not as clear how this lends itself to a space for performances, as Rec & Parks intends, but it looks cool!
**HOK Architects via SF Rec & Parks*
**Option 2B at dusk. HOK Architects via SF Rec & Parks*
**Option 2A. HOK Architects via SF Rec & Parks*
Maybe shade cloth or lights could be strung between the wires? The details aren't clear but should be made clearer at Monday's presentation.
As the Chronicle reports, HOK Principal Paul Woolford is expected to make the presentation, and public comment will be welcomed.
The new Embarcadero Park is about to undergo a $40 million renovation being paid for in a public-private partnership, with Embarcadero Center property owner BXP leading the charge, having put up $2.5 million for the initial design process.
With the loss of the much-maligned but beloved-by-some [Vaillancourt Fountain](https://sfist.com/2026/04/22/disassembly-of-vaillancourt-fountain-to-begin-next-week-with-full-removal-in-may/) earlier this year, and the [removal this week](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/45-foot-tall-nude-woman-sculpture-to-leave-embarcadero-plaza-next-week/) of Marco Cochran's beloved-by-some 45-foot-tall female figure, discussions have been percolating about what design elements or public art will become the focal points of the new park.
This pavilion would be located to the left side of the large multi-use lawn seen in the plan drawing below. Rec & Parks says it will be used for outdoor concerts, festivals, puppet shows, and more.
See the pavilion below, in a rendering, situated between the two green areas.
**Rendering by HOK*
Design refinements for the park are reportedly ongoing, and discussions about public art elements appear not to have started yet, beyond this pavilion design.
The park is expected to be completed, possibly, by late 2027, which means a whole lot of construction mess at the foot of Market Street for the better part of the next year.
**Previously:** [45-Foot-Tall Nude Woman Sculpture to Leave Embarcadero Plaza Next Week](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/45-foot-tall-nude-woman-sculpture-to-leave-embarcadero-plaza-next-week/)
### ‘Unruly’ Passenger Forces Singapore Airlines Flight to Return to SFO Hours After Takeoff
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/unruly-passenger-forces-singapore-airlines-flight-to-return-to-sfo-hours-after-takeoff/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T18:18:56.000Z
A Singapore Airlines flight landed back at SFO nine hours after takeoff, cutting short what was supposed to be a 16-hour flight after a passenger became “unruly,” with witnesses claiming he screamed, kicked seats, and tried to open an emergency exit.
Singapore Airlines Flight SQ31 landed back at San Francisco International Airport at approximately 8:40 pm Wednesday after the pilots decided to turn around because of an unruly passenger who injured himself during the flight, [as the Strait Times](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-bound-sia-flight-diverted-back-to-san-francisco-due-to-unruly-passenger?ref=sfist.com) first reported. The plane had departed SFO at 11:51 am for what was supposed to be a roughly 16-hour journey to Singapore.
“A Singapore Airlines customer on board flight SQ31... became unruly and injured himself in the process,” an airline spokesperson told [the Singapore Business Times](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-airlines-flight-returns-san-francisco-after-unruly-passenger-incident?ref=sfist.com).
A spokesperson said the pilots assessed the situation and decided to return to San Francisco. The airline did not provide details about the passenger's behavior or injuries, but said it was working with authorities to address the incident.
According to a Reddit user who said they were aboard the plane, the passenger [began screaming and kicking seats](https://www.reddit.com/r/flightradar24/comments/1x6bb2h/comment/pguf1sw/?ref=sfist.com) about three hours into the flight and attempted to reach the emergency exit. Another person claiming to have been on the plane also said the passenger tried to [pull the exit door open](https://www.reddit.com/r/flightradar24/comments/1x6bb2h/comment/pgu1gth/?ref=sfist.com).
“Not sure if he was having a psychotic break or having a bad trip, but he wouldn’t stop yelling and kicking even after being restrained,” the first Reddit user wrote.
Singapore Airlines has not confirmed the claims.
Per the first Reddit user, the FBI and SFPD boarded the plane and arrested the person upon landing.
The other passengers deplaned while the aircraft refueled before departing again for Singapore around 11:20 pm with a new flight crew, which had reportedly been scheduled to travel on the SQ32 flight the following day.
According to the Business Times, the aborted journey lasted about eight hours and 40 minutes, based on flight tracking data from FlightAware, and it traveled well into the North Pacific before turning back toward San Francisco.
Singapore Airlines said it was assisting affected passengers, including those who needed to rebook connecting flights, and apologized for the disruption.
**Related:** ['Ornery' Passenger Forces SFO-Bound Plane To Make Emergency Landing](https://sfist.com/2016/03/20/ornery%5Fpassenger%5Fforces%5Fsfo-bound%5Fp/)
### Court Interpreters Stage Walkout In SF, Other Counties
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/court-interpreters-stage-walkout-in-sf-other-counties/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T17:50:28.000Z
Unionized court interpreters planned a half-day walkout Friday at San Francisco's superior courts, after negotiations for a new contract have reportedly hit a wall.
Interpreters who provide language assistance in SF's superior courts walked off the job Friday morning, with union representatives saying that their workers want wage parity with interpreters in federal courts, who reportedly earn upwards of 35% more in salaries. The union, which represents state court interpreters in 12 California counties, is also seeking to limit the use of remote interpreters across all those counties.
As [Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/court-interpreters-walk-out/?ref=sfist.com), Friday's walkout is likely to cause delays for any cases that involve Spanish speakers and those for whom English is a second language.
"We need trained interpreters for us to do our jobs,” said defense attorney Jennie Stepanian, speaking to Mission Local. “We have so many Spanish-speaking clients that make up a significant population in our courthouse, and it’s vital that they have a fair trial. There need to be more interpreters. Not less."
SF's criminal courts currently employ 21 full-time interpreters, with 16 certified in Spanish, and the other five certified in Hindi, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, and Russian.
According to the union, the number of full-time interpreters employed by the state has shrunk over 40% over the last decade, and Mary Lou Aranguren, who is leading negotiations for the union, tells Mission Local this is due to low wages.
A shortage of interpreters has led to the court paying non-union contractors twice as much as the full-time interpreters, without benefits. And courts have been making greater use of online tools like Zoom since the pandemic, along with the use of remote interpretation. As the union tells Mission Local, this can be detrimental for those suspects in criminal cases who lose the ability to speak off the record with their attorneys, if there is no in-person interpreter available.
"The reason that the negotiations are so stalled is that there is a long-term neglect of interpreter compensation and really valuing this work for several decades," said Aranguren, in a [statement to Bay City News](https://www.pleasantonweekly.com/courts/2026/10/15/court-interpreters-authorize-strike-over-unfair-labor-practices/?ref=sfist.com). “A lot of people come to court and don’t get the interpreters they need, and that has to do with the courts’ failing to really develop a solid, adequate workforce of interpreters who are committed to just working in the courts and doing the public service."
The union represents full-time interpreters at state courts in San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties collectively known as Region 2.
Alicia Vojnik, a spokesperson for the Region 2 Superior Courts tells Bay City News that the courts "remain committed to negotiating a fair agreement with the court interpreters employed within the Region."
"To that end, the Region has proposed that the parties enter mediation to assist in resolving the significant difference between their respective wage proposals, as well as other outstanding issues," Vojnik said.
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Savor the Heat While You Can
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/16/savor-the-heat-while-you-can/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T16:44:35.000Z
- **Today will be another scorcher around the Bay, with a forecast high of 84 in San Francisco, but the warm spells may be wrapping up next week.** It's getting closer to the moment where we'll be saying goodbye to "actual summer" and hello to El Nino fall. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather-forecast/article/weather-warm-hot-san-francisco-22479189.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Three children and one adult were killed in a school shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon Thursday, and the suspect, a 16-year-old, was killed by a bystander who had seen the teen entering the school by shooting at locked doors. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/live-updates/oregon-silver-rail-elementary-shooting-bend/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and other city leaders faced a tough crowd at a community meeting Thursday night in which they tried to defend the expansion of data centers while many community members pushed back. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-mayor-mahan-defends-data-center-expansion-community-expresses-concerns?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Mack Paige Jr., the father of slain East Bay reality TV personality [Mackayla "Kash" Paige](https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/sister-charged-in-oakland-shooting-death-of-reality-tv-personality/), laments that most people only knew his daughter's on-screen persona, and not the real person. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/father-of-mackayla-kash-paige-speaks-out-after-fatal-oakland-shooting/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There has been some drama in the Marin County town of Ross, where the mayor apparently directed Public Works to remove campaign signs of opponents, which aren't allowed under town ordinances, but there is more to it than that and it's being referred to as "signgate." \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/ross-town-council-mayor-mcmillan-22478889.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Mark Wahlberg drew a large crowd at a closing event at TechCrunch Disrupt on Thursday, speaking about his views on the use of AI in film. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/hollywood-a-lister-mark-wahlberg-draws-huge-crowd-at-sf-tech-event-talks-about-ai-in-film/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Tesla has revealed a new "flying car," a Roadster model equipped with air thrusters that can launch it off the ground, but it's unclear what the purpose of this is, it's not approved for road use, and Elon Musk says, "It will probably work." \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/tesla-roadster-debut-elon-musk-flying-cars-are-real/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- At age 52, actress Hillary Swank is pregnant with her third child. \[[Slate](https://slate.com/technology/2026/10/hilary-swank-pregnant-52-ivf-natural-conception-age-data.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: 101 Southbound Lanes In SF to Close Again This Weekend
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/day-around-the-bay-sfs-us-101-bayshore-freeway-southbound-lanes-to-close-this-weekend/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T16:09:08.000Z
### Local:
- **All southbound lanes and one northbound lane will be closed this weekend along Highway 101 between Cesar Chavez Street and 17th Street in San Francisco.** The final weekend of the ongoing [repaving and rehabilitation project](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/sfs-bayshore-freeway-to-close-for-four-weekends-of-repaving-starting-labor-day-weekend/) will take place next month on the weekend of November 6–9\. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/highway-101-san-francisco-hospital-curve-lane-closures/4158578/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who represents the Tenderloin, called the newly released video game portraying [Tenderloin residents as zombies](https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/sf-tech-founders-zombie-shooter-game-turns-tenderloin-residents-into-targets/) “deeply disturbing and unacceptable." \[[Chronicle](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/f-leaders-slam-gross-ai-232154496.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Josh Harris, owner of the Mission District’s Trick Dog bar, was taking part in an ultramarathon in the Utah desert for his 47th birthday when the event was canceled mid-run due to poor weather conditions. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/josh-harris-moab-240-rescue-22476862.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The Justice Department sued California, alleging more than 20,000 noncitizens are unlawfully registered to vote and accusing the state of refusing to help investigate.** Secretary of State Shirley Weber disputed the administration’s claims, while the DOJ has lost 26 of 31 lawsuits seeking states’ unredacted voter rolls. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/justice-department-california-lawsuit-mail-ballots-noncitizens/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Three children and an adult were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, Thursday, and a bystander fatally shot the 16-year-old shooter. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/live-updates-bend-oregon-school-shooting/4158732/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- German police are investigating after a robot controlled by two young men allegedly touched a 16-year-old girl’s buttocks and made thrusting movements toward her in Cologne, while the men livestreamed the incident. \[[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/robot-germany-sexual-assault-cologne-bf171b1697bd9a7119424040a303af22?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- A Democratic candidate for city council in Indiana has gone viral for boldly suggesting that she would “fire all Republicans” and tearfully explaining she had been threatened by many MAGA types before concluding, “We have guns, too.”
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DehTMNCDq03/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by IndyStar (@indystar)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DehTMNCDq03/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Hawaii Mother Sues OpenAI Over Children’s Data as Eight States File Separate Lawsuits
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/hawaii-mother-sues-openai-over-childrens-data-as-eight-states-file-separate-lawsuits/
Last updated: 2026-10-16T00:54:07.000Z
OpenAI is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit from a Hawaii mother who alleges ChatGPT collected sensitive information from her children without parental consent, while eight states have filed separate suits.
A Hawaii mother is suing OpenAI in federal court in San Francisco, alleging the chatbot encouraged her 12-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son to share personal details, photos, and information about their health, emotions, and relationships, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/openai-lawsuit-parental-consent-22477644.php?ref=sfist.com).
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges the girl began using ChatGPT in February, initially asking about dinner and homework before sharing selfies over concerns about acne. She also asked the chatbot about her cheeks and what constituted a normal weight for her age. Her older brother, who began using the service in January, reportedly used it for schoolwork and relationship advice and uploaded photos of himself and his surroundings.
According to the Chronicle, the complaint argues that ChatGPT’s personalized responses, memory, follow-up questions, and tendency to mirror users’ communication styles encouraged children to reveal increasingly sensitive information. It also challenges OpenAI’s reliance on users to obtain parental permission, despite its terms requiring consent for users under 18 and prohibiting children younger than 13 from using the service.
“OpenAI treats a child clicking a ‘Continue’ button as proof that their parent consented to that use,” lead attorney Paul Yetter of Yetter Coleman said in a statement.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status for US users who were under 18 when they accepted ChatGPT’s terms and provided data from November 2022 onward, per the Chronicle. It asks the court to award eligible users a share of OpenAI equity or its cash equivalent, based on the amount of data allegedly collected from each child.
Separately, [as CNBC reports](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/14/openai-sued-by-8-states-over-chatgpt-safety-concerns-.html?ref=sfist.com), attorneys general in eight states — Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana — filed lawsuits Wednesday accusing OpenAI of harming children and misleading parents about ChatGPT’s safety.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said her state’s lawsuit alleges the chatbot has provided dangerous medical advice, encouraged violence, and coached users toward suicide while presenting itself as a trusted companion.
“OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” Bird said, per CNBC.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company disagrees with the allegations, pointing to its [August release of ChatGPT for Teens](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/openai-launches-chatgpt-for-teens-amid-lawsuits-protests/), which introduced age-specific protections, parental controls, break reminders, and other safeguards. The company has also argued that lawsuits and criticism targeting its products could push teenagers toward AI services with fewer protections.
However, the Youth AI Safety Institute at Common Sense Media called on OpenAI to [pause the product](https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/chatgpt-for-teens-safety-guardrails-fail-to-flag-crises-or-limit-engagement-says-watchdog/) last week after independent testing identified safety problems and other concerns. OpenAI disputed the findings.
The legal challenges come as OpenAI faces separate scrutiny over ChatGPT’s effects on vulnerable users, including [wrongful-death](https://sfist.com/2025/08/26/two-parents-sue-openai-saying-chaptgpt-assisted-their-16-year-old-sons-suicide/) [lawsuits](https://sfist.com/2026/05/11/widow-sues-chatgpt-for-aiding-gunman-in-florida-state-mass-university-shooting/) alleging the chatbot contributed to harmful delusions and suicides.
CNBC reports that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also sued the company in June, alleging it knowingly released an unsafe product.
**Previously:** [ChatGPT for Teens’ Safety Guardrails Fail to Flag Crises or Limit Engagement, Says Watchdog](https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/chatgpt-for-teens-safety-guardrails-fail-to-flag-crises-or-limit-engagement-says-watchdog/)
### New Mid-Market Arts District Launches With $500K Investment From SF Billionaires
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/new-mid-market-arts-district-launches-with-500k-investment-from-sf-billionaires/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T23:55:54.000Z
SF business leaders and wealthy donors are funding a new Mid-Market arts district, which launches alongside a free festival Saturday, as a growing number of Bay Area artists call for a boycott of events funded by billionaires.
A coalition of downtown business and civic leaders is putting $500,000 toward a new [Market Street Arts & Theater District](https://www.marketstreetarts.org/?ref=sfist.com), with plans to fund performance spaces, live music pop-ups, and other arts programming, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sf-market-street-arts-district-22476971.php?ref=sfist.com). Backers include the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation, the Proper Hotel Group, and crypto-billionaire Chris Larsen, with a [free festival Saturday](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/festivals/article/free-oct-sf-live-music-dance-theater-arts-festival-22444357.php?ref=sfist.com) marking the launch.
The Market Street Arts & Theater District will initially focus on the 900 block of Market Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. Plans reportedly include activating vacant spaces, adding lighting and public art, and funding pop-up performances and other arts programming over the next year.
[According to the SF Examiner](https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/visual-arts/market-street-arts-and-theater-fest-honors-theater-district/article%5F493e0afd-321c-443a-aad4-8d40d447772c.html?ref=sfist.com), Saturday’s inaugural Market Street Arts & Theater Festival will bring more than 50 performances and artistic experiences to 35 venues across six blocks, from Fifth Street to Van Ness Avenue, with UN Plaza serving as its central gathering place. The free event runs from 4 to 10 pm.
The opening ceremony at UN Plaza will feature circus-theater acrobatics from *Dear San Francisco* and aerial dancing by Bandaloop. Visitors can sing Broadway songs at the Orpheum Theater, take a Tenderloin walking tour with Del Seymour, learn embroidery and Japanese cord-making, customize denim, and watch video-art projections at Eighth and Market streets.
The festival also debuts “Idea In/Formation,” a six-month immersive art installation exploring consciousness and technology at 945 Market Street. Other offerings include drag shows and karaoke aboard the Hotsy Totsy Cable Car, plus live music, food, and drinks at the Timbri Hotel.
The initiative comes as groups like the Downtown Development Corporation and the Chris Larsen-back Civic Joy Fund, both of which support the monthly Downtown First Thursday series, face growing scrutiny from the local arts community.
Local content creators, including the account [Carl at Cole](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAD7ZPsqG0/?ref=sfist.com), have called for a boycott of events tied to the Civic Joy Fund, largely in part over recent allegations against its [co-founder, Manny Yekutiel](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/lurie-others-pull-endorsements-of-manny-yekutiel-after-new-groping-allegation/).
[As Coyote Media reported](https://www.coyotemedia.org/how-could-you-be-against-joy-bay-area-artists-are-turning-on-the-civic-joy-fund/?ref=sfist.com) in April, some artists object to the billionaire-backed groups due to their political connections, opaque finances, and relatively short-term investments. Critics say these highly visible events are doing little to address the deeper problems confronting San Francisco’s arts community, including venue closures, cuts to public funding, unaffordable housing, and limited opportunities for working artists.
“You could have saved an entire community with that,” said musician Austin Waz, speaking to Coyote, in reference to the money invested in large-scale events, arguing that sustained support could help venues survive for years rather than funding a single event.
Some artists who boycott Civic Joy-funded events say that refusing gigs can mean losing income.
Moth Belly Gallery, which previously organized the long-running grassroots SF First Thursdays Art Walk in Lower Nob Hill and the Tenderloin, has also criticized the downtown event for adopting a similar name without initially reaching out to discuss the overlap. In an account published by [Roborant Review](https://www.roborantreview.com/reviews/a-tale-of-two-first-thursdays?ref=coyotemedia.org), Moth Belly gallery owner John Vochatzer said that Yekutiel later offered to include the Art Walk in Downtown First Thursdays promotions, which Vochatzer ultimately declined, explaining he did not want the event to be affiliated with the organizers.
The backlash has also inspired the satirical punk band [Civic Joy Fucks](https://www.instagram.com/civic%5Fjoy%5Ffucks/?ref=sfist.com), which debuted at Moth Belly last weekend. (See the [footage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1unpixIR9g&ref=sfist.com) here, which is 18+.)
[Per Coyote](https://www.coyotemedia.org/civic-joy-fucks-daniel-lurie-band/?ref=sfist.com), the band’s masked members portray Mayor Daniel Lurie, Larsen, and Yekutiel, and its demo includes songs titled “We Love Police,” “Cameras Everywhere,” (in reference to Larsen’s support of [SFPD’s surveillance center](https://sfist.com/2025/06/03/crypto-mogul-chris-larsen-kicking-down-nearly-10-million-to-sfpd-for-more-surveillance-efforts/)) and “Have Some Joy, Motherfuckers.”
The Mid-Market area was previously the site of two one-off block party events dubbed UNSTAGED, [one in August 2024](https://sfist.com/2024/08/22/f-train-to-become-mobile-jazz-club-for-mid-market-first-thursdays/), and [one in June 2025](https://sfist.com/2025/06/17/mid-market-block-party-unstaged-returns-thursday-this-time-with-to-go-cocktails/). Supervisor Bilal Mahmood then [proposed](https://sfist.com/2026/02/20/supervisor-mahmood-wants-to-establish-a-theater-arts-district-to-gussy-up-mid-market/) the creation of a Mid-Market arts and theater district back in February of this year, and said he would be seeking $5 million from philanthropic sources to get it off the ground.
**Previously:** [Supervisor Mahmood Wants to Establish a ‘Theater Arts District’ to Gussy Up Mid-Market](https://sfist.com/2026/02/20/supervisor-mahmood-wants-to-establish-a-theater-arts-district-to-gussy-up-mid-market/)
### Man Killed In Scooter Crash During Apparent Police Chase In SF Was Wanted for Ankle Monitor Violation
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/man-killed-in-scooter-crash-during-apparent-police-chase-in-sf-was-wanted-for-ankle-monitor-violation/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T22:38:11.000Z
A police chase in SF's SoMa district that led to the [death of a man](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/suspect-on-scooter-killed-in-sfpd-chase-in-soma/) on Monday now has some further details, and it appears the man was being pursued for not charging his ankle monitor.
The man has been identified as 56-year-old Pittsburg resident Edwin Adams, and as [the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/scooter-crash-fatal-ankle-monitor-22479036.php?ref=sfist.com), Adams was out of custody pending legal proceedings in a criminal case, the nature of which was reportedly non-violent.
A warrant had been issued for Adams after an apparent violation of his release terms, the Chronicle has learned, and that violation was failing to charge his ankle monitor.
Adams's brother, Curtis Adams, lived with him and described him to the Chronicle as a "down-to-earth dude" and father of a seven-year-old daughter whom he loved. Edwin Adams had apparently had several run-ins with San Francisco police in recent months, all of which appear to be drug-related. Curtis Adams also said that his brother had had previous run-ins with undercover officers in SF who would "mess with him."
His most recent booking in jail had been on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance for sale, and he was also booked on suspicion of committing a new offense while having an open case in the city.
The SF Public Defender’s Office, which was representing Adams, put out a statement Wednesday [to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/edwin-adams-sfpd-identity/?ref=sfist.com) saying. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Adams, whom we proudly represented in connection with non-violent charges he did not yet have a chance to challenge at trial."
The office added, "We hope the city will conduct a thorough and independent investigation into why the police decided to pursue him and what circumstances led to his very troubling death."
Mission Local previously reported that witnesses saw what appeared to be an undercover cop get out of a gray Ford Fusion that had pursued him on Mission Street, and the man took Adams in a "football tackle," allegedly knocking him into the bus shelter. He was then seen lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
Frank Brown, one of three witnesses to the incident, told Mission Local, "We were all saying it was the undercover cops, because who else acts like that?"
The SFPD initially characterized the incident as a scooter riding suspect who "collided with a street fixture and suffered injury" while being pursued.
An investigation is now underway by the district attorney's office, as the Chronicle reports, into whether the SFPD officer's use of force led to Adams's death.
The case is likely to revive debates about the chasing of suspects on city streets, particularly when those suspects are wanted for non-violent offenses, given the potential dangers to the public and the suspects themselves.
**Previously:** [Suspect on Scooter Killed In SFPD Chase In SoMa](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/suspect-on-scooter-killed-in-sfpd-chase-in-soma/)
### Sheng Thao's Former Chief of Staff Testifies About Mayor's Odd Behavior, Ill-Fated Vietnam Trip
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/sheng-thaos-former-chief-of-staff-testifies-about-mayors-odd-behavior-ill-fated-vietnam-trip/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T21:10:08.000Z
The chief of staff under several Oakland mayors, including former Mayor Sheng Thao, was the first witness called by the prosecution in the federal corruption trial of Thao, Andre Jones, David Duong, and Andy Duong.
Opening statements kicked off the trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and three co-defendants Wednesday, and Thursday brought the first witnesses to the stand. As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sheng-thao-oakland-trial-duongs-live-updates-22476449.php?ref=sfist.com), that first witness for the prosecution was Leigh Hanson, who had a front-row seat to the alleged corruption and the relationships between Thao and Jones, and Thao and the Duongs.
Hanson already revealed some damning moments of Thao's tenure as mayor in her first bits of testimony, per the Chronicle. Those included a recounting of a 2023 trip to Vietnam that has become one of the main touchpoint in the corruption narrative — a trip Hanson said she warned Thao she should not be going on. Hanson reportedly testified that she told Thao it would be a pretty bad look for her in her first year as mayor to be out of the country if some public-safety emergency were to occur in the city.
What turned out to be the bad look, as the Chronicle reported from her testimony, was that Andy Duong took some of the male members of the delegation — which included officials from Oakland and San Leandro as well as the Port of Oakland — to be entertained by young, even possibly underage women. And the implication we understand from court filings from the FBI was that Duong may have even taken videos to use as potential leverage against the officials in the future.
Once the group was back in the states, a local journalist, Steve Tavares of the East Bay Insiders, magically caught wind of some details from the trip, including possible "sex trafficking of minors," and he made a call to Oakland City Hall to ask some questions.
Per the Chronicle, Hanson said that when she told Thao about the journalist sniffing around she replied, referring to Andy Duong, "I hate that fucking playboy. He’s always been trouble. He’s going to ruin my career."
As [we learned in July](https://sfist.com/2026/07/28/feds-reveal-new-allegations-against-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao/), Duong allegedly had a video of former San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo having a conversation in a car while on the Vietnam trip, "discussing sexual interactions from the previous evening." This may have been the thing that was leaked to Tavares, and according to prosecutors, very soon after, the Duongs offered to sponsor Tavares's newsletter to the tune of $2,000 per month — something the feds implied was in exchange for killing a story he was going to write about Azevedo.
As [Oaklandside reports](https://oaklandside.org/oakland-corruption-thao-trial-updates/?ref=sfist.com), Hanson said she went to work for Thao believing that she was "values driven" and was "very accomplished," but soon she began questioning some of her choices — in particular the choice to involve her romantic partner Andre Jones in city business, even though he had no role at City Hall.
As [NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sheng-thao-corruption-trial-testimony/4158548/?ref=sfist.com), Hanson said she was surprised to see Jones on a Zoom call in which city officials were interviewing a candidate for an important role at City Hall, given his lack of a role himself. And when she later questioned Jones's presence at a meeting to discuss the removal of then-Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong — [Thao placed Armstrong on administrative leave](https://sfist.com/2023/01/20/oakland-police-chief-placed-on-administrative-leave-over-allegedly-mishandling-internal-investigation/) amid an internal affairs scandal in January 2023 — she testified that Jones came back at her with a thinly veiled threat.
Hanson says that she warned Thao that if Armstrong were to ever sue the city over his firing, the presence of a non-employee of the city at such a high level meeting could become a legal issue.
Later, she said, Jones said to her, "We'll see which one is left at the end of the day."
Hanson would go on to serve as chief of staff under the interim mayors who came into the job after Thao [was recalled in November 2024](https://sfist.com/2024/11/08/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-recalled/). The homes of Thao and Jones as well as the homes and offices of the Duongs were [raided by federal agents](https://sfist.com/2024/06/20/fbi-agents-raid-home-of/) five months earlier, and she would [ultimately be indicted](https://sfist.com/2025/01/17/sheng-thao-and-her-boyfriend-indicted-on-eight-federal-counts-of-bribery-and-corruption/), along with Jones and the Duongs, in January 2025.
As the Chronicle notes, Hanson [was fired](https://sfist.com/2025/04/07/oakland-fires-sheng-thaos-former-chief-of-staff-over-memo-that-refers-to-using-black-people-as-tokens/) by City Council President Kevin Jenkins, who became interim mayor for five months last year, and Hanson now has a lawsuit against the city claiming wrongful termination.
The individual defenses of the codefendants point to one clear point, via the opening statements recounted by the Chronicle. Attorneys for both Andre Jones and David Duong are going to argue that their clients were not involved in any bribery scheme — pointing the finger squarely at Thao and Andy Duong.
Jones's attorney, Mark Goldrosen, is also going to be presenting evidence that what the prosecution has painted a no-show job given to Jones at the Duongs' startup, Evolutionary Homes, was indeed a real job that he showed up for.
Per the Chronicle, Thao's attorney, Jeffrey Tsai, told the court Wednesday that Thao and Jones had a strained relationship during the period in question, 2023-2024, and he implied the two are no longer together. He appeared to be setting up an argument that the alleged bribe, in the form of the $95,000 paid to Jones for said job, couldn't have been part of a bribery conspiracy involving the mayor because Jones spent the money on himself — and Thao and Jones reportedly exchanged heated texts, sometimes while in different rooms of the same house, which are going to be shown in court.
**Previously:** [Jury Selection Begins In Federal Corruption Trial of Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, Others](https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/jury-selection-begins-in-federal-corruption-trial-of-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-others/)
### Nordstrom Rack to Reopen In Downtown SF at Former Forever 21 Site
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/nordstrom-rack-to-reopen-in-downtown-sf-at-former-forever-21-site/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T19:36:30.000Z
Three years after closing all of its San Francisco stores, Nordstrom Rack will be returning to Union Square in the fall of 2027, joining a growing roster of retailers opening new locations or expanding their presence in downtown SF.
[Nordstrom has announced](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nordstrom-rack-to-return-to-san-francisco-with-new-store-302909356.html?ref=sfist.com) plans to open a 51,500-square-foot Nordstrom Rack at 2 Stockton Street in fall 2027, bringing the discount fashion retailer back to downtown San Francisco after [its departure](https://sfist.com/2023/05/02/nordstrom-to-shutter-downtown-sf-department-store-and-nordstrom-rack-this-summer/) in 2023.
The four-story building sits at the intersection of Stockton and Market streets, where [Uniqlo recently reopened](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/uniqlo-to-open-in-former-old-navy-site-on-market-street-in-early-october/) its flagship store. Ross and Levi’s are also located at the intersection, with Trader Joe’s nearby on Fourth Street.
[The Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/nordstrom-rack-san-francisco-union-square-22478658.php?ref=sfist.com) that other retailers have also returned to Union Square, including The RealReal and AT&T. Zara is planning to replace its longtime store at 250 Post Street with a [larger flagship](https://sfist.com/2025/04/07/zara-gives-good-news-to-union-square-with-flagship-store-planned/) at 400 Post Street. [Nintendo](https://sfist.com/2025/05/15/sfs-union-square-nintendo-store-opens-to-huge-crowds-and-mascot-animals-crossing-all-over-the-place/) and [Pop Mart](https://sfist.com/2025/09/15/that-union-square-pop-mart-opened-today-for-all-your-labubu-buying-needs/) have also opened nearby, and luxury brands including Bulgari, Patek Philippe, and Breitling have reportedly invested in new boutiques.
“Three years ago, companies were leaving San Francisco,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement. “Today, they want to be here, and Nordstrom Rack's decision to return to the heart of our city is another sign of the growing confidence in San Francisco.”
Nordstrom co-CEO Erik Nordstrom also pointed to the city's efforts to revive its downtown shopping district.
“The city has many wonderful assets, and it has clearly built momentum in making downtown a great place for customers,” he said in a statement.
According to the Chronicle, the building at 2 Stockton Street is also slated for a major renovation valued at $60 million. Public records reportedly show that a permit was issued for a three-story vertical office addition and replacement of the building's Market and Stockton street facades.
The former Forever 21 location closed in 2019, and then the space was briefly home to IT'SUGAR, a candy retailer, before sitting vacant again.
The shuttered San Francisco Centre mall began its downward spiral when Nordstrom left in 2023, and that enormous vacancy on Market Street, along with other prominent vacancies on Stockton and Powell including the former Barney's, remain blights on the neighborhood.
Macy's Union Square store remains open, but the retailer and developer TMG Partners are exploring possible future uses for the property.
[As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/08/05/former-nordstrom-rack-to-be-converted-into-apartments-new-housing-to-be-built-in-dogpatch/) in August, the site of Nordstrom Rack's former location at 901 Market Street might be converted into apartments.
**Previously:** [Nordstrom to Shutter Downtown SF Department Store, and Nordstrom Rack, This Summer](https://sfist.com/2023/05/02/nordstrom-to-shutter-downtown-sf-department-store-and-nordstrom-rack-this-summer/)
### Planned Memorial at SFPD HQ For Slain Retired Deputy Chief Ann Mannix Canceled Due to Outsized Response
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/planned-memorial-at-sfpd-hq-for-slain-retired-deputy-chief-ann-mannix-canceled-due-to-outsized-response/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T19:32:11.000Z
A memorial event that had been planned primarily for past and present SFPD officers and colleagues to attend at SFPD headquarters, for murder-suicide victim Ann Mannix, has been canceled due to capacity issues.
After a public invitation went out Wednesday from the SF Police Officers Association to the memorial tribute to retired officer Ann Mannix, which was scheduled for noon Thursday at SFPD headquarters (1245 3rd Street), the department said it had gotten a massive, outsized response for the event. As a result, the event has been canceled, they said, so that it could be rescheduled in a venue that would better accommodate an enormous crowd.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ann-mannix-public-memorial-service-sfpd-22477556.php?ref=sfist.com), the department is still planning to host a memorial tribute to Mannix at a later date, but no further details were provided.
"We are deeply grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love, support, and kindness during this difficult time," wrote SFPD Commander Amy Hurwitz in an email to officers Wednesday night, regarding the cancellation. "Your compassion and the many heartfelt tributes to Chief Mannix are a testament to the profound impact she had on so many lives. Thank you for keeping Chief Mannix, her family, and her loved ones in your thoughts."
A 35-year veteran of the force, Mannix served as deputy chief of the San Francisco Police Department from 2018 to 2021, after becoming the first woman to join and lead the department's SWAT team. She retired five years ago and was living in the Marin County community of Strawberry. She was reportedly in the process of divorcing her husband, 68-year-old retired SFPD Sergeant Kevin Mannix, when he came to her home Sunday and [fatally shot her](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/retired-sfpd-officials-and-their-daughter-killed-in-suspected-murder-suicide/), as well as the couple's 24-year-old daughter, Katherine "Katie" Mannix, before turning the gun on himself. Ann Mannix was 65 years old, and is survived by another daughter and a son.
Family friend and former congressional candidate Marie Hurabiell [spoke to ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/friends-mourn-retired-san-francisco-police-dept-deputy-chief-ann-mannix-daughter-killed-double-murder-suicide-marin-county/19934218/?ref=sfist.com) earlier this week, saying that she had recently seen Ann at a party and that she was happy about the divorce moving forward.
"'She acknowledged divorce was not fun or easy, but to have this happen right after she was so full of hope and joy and life..." Hurabiell told the station.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association described Mannix as a trailblazer and respected leader in the department. Police Chief Derrick Lew said in a statement that she "served with honor and distinction."
The [Chronicle spoke earlier this week](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/ann-mannix-marin-murder-suicide-22473706.php?ref=sfist.com) to Mannix's older brother and longtime colleague Richard Corriea, himself a retired commander of the SFPD, who said, "She was a star and a great mom. She embraced the whole job, enjoyed the teamwork and service."
Corriea and Mannix's family had deep ties to the SFPD, with family members on the force going back to the 1800s, the Chronicle noted.
**Previously:** [Retired SFPD Official, Daughter Killed In Alleged Murder-Suicide](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/retired-sfpd-officials-and-their-daughter-killed-in-suspected-murder-suicide/)
### SF AI Founder’s Zombie Shooter Game Turns Tenderloin Residents Into Targets
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/sf-tech-founders-zombie-shooter-game-turns-tenderloin-residents-into-targets/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T17:55:25.000Z
A local AI founder has created a multiplayer shooter game set in the Tenderloin, where players gun down zombie versions of neighborhood residents, drawing immediate criticism for its portrayal of people dealing with homelessness and addiction.
San Francisco tech founder Pierre-Louis Biojout is facing serious criticism after releasing a multiplayer shooter set in the Tenderloin, where players can gun down "zombie" versions of neighborhood residents, [as KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/zombie-shooter-game-based-in-san-francisco-sparks-online-controversy/?ref=sfist.com). The game, called *Night Shift*, features familiar streets around Jones and Eddy streets, with zombies hunched over on sidewalks and riding Lime scooters as players shoot them and throw grenades. The trailer also includes Waymo vehicles, Tesla Cybertrucks, and AI billboards.
Biojout [posted the trailer](https://x.com/plbiojout/status/2110030299040280666?ref=sfist.com) on social media Tuesday, writing, “San Francisco couldn’t fix the Tenderloin. So I monetized it Call of Duty-style zombie shooter on the real SF streets. Multiplayer, in your browser.”
According to KRON4, one of the zombies is called “the folded,” a posture associated with fentanyl use in which a person bends forward at the waist while remaining on their feet.
The game prompted immediate criticism, with social media users arguing that it turns the city's homelessness and drug crises into entertainment. The game’s depiction of Black characters also utilizes racist tropes.
One user compared the game to *Call of Duty: Black Ops 4*, which is set in Alcatraz.
“A zombie game based on an inactive prison is different than you monetizing shooting unhoused drug addicts,” they wrote. “You’re disgusting and really out of touch with reality.”
“Bring back shame,” said another commenter.
Unsurprisingly, the game has also attracted some enthusiastic responses. One user called it the best game they had played that year.
Another user responded, referring to the game’s critics, “Bro this is sick! Is what I’d say if I was a f-cking chud loser.”
Biojout, who founded the AI business platform NanoCorp in 2023, said he built *Night Shift* over a single weekend using AI coding tools despite having no previous video game development experience. He also claimed the game had already generated $300 in advertising revenue.
**Related:** [New Video Game Imagines San Francisco In 3022, After 200 Feet of Sea Level Rise](https://sfist.com/2022/02/25/new-video-game-imagines-san-francisco-in/)
### Pet Emu Gets Loose, Runs Through Traffic In Santa Cruz
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/pet-emu-gets-loose-runs-through-traffic-in-santa-cruz/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T19:37:54.000Z
Somebody's pet emu escaped their property in Santa Cruz earlier this week, and CHP officers were called in to help after the big bird was darting through traffic.
"Not your average day on the road!" says CHP-Santa Cruz in a Facebook post.
The agency said that they received calls about the emu in the area of Harper Street and 17th Avenue several days ago, "running in and out of the road" and "walking into traffic."
"While we often deal with dogs, cats, deer, and occasionally birds, an emu was unexpected!" the agency says.
CHP officers quickly got help from the emu's owner, who arrived on the scene, and "we managed to safely corral their feathery friend."
Emus running loose may be a novelty here in the US, but the Australian birds frequently cause havoc on roads in Australia. The [BBC shared video from a police chase](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgw8wpeg31o?ref=sfist.com) last month in Nashdale, in New South Wales, in which an emu got loose and was outrunning officers and causing traffic delays.
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Power Shutoffs Begin
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/15/thursday-morning-whats-up-power-shutoffs-begin/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T16:42:48.000Z
- **31-year-old Kelvin Chiu, an athletic trainer at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, was arrested last week on suspicion of sexual battery of a student in his care.** Police say that child sexual abuse material was found on Chiu's phone, and they believe there may be more student victims besides the 16-year-old girl who came forward. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-jose-school-athletic-trainer-accused-student-sexual-battery-mitty-way/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- PG&E public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) began in parts of four Bay Area counties on Wednesday night, and around 11,000 customers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties may have their power shutoff during this week's wind event. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/pge-power-shutoffs-could-impact-bay-area-counties?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The fired OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device inside OpenAI's offices, Abdulrahman Alfozan, is a Saudi national who was apparently working to advise the Saudi Arabian government on technology. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/technology/openai-engineer-hidden-device-saudi-government.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A group of protesters demonstrated Wednesday in front of City Hall as the SF Police Commission took a vote to approve new drone-use guidelines for the SFPD, guidelines that opponents say don't do enough to protect privacy. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/new-sf-drone-guidelines?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Bay Area nurse, Angela Wulbrecht, became a vaccine skeptic after a suspected adverse reaction to the Moderna COVID vaccine, and now she's a full convert to MAHA and is helping defend an Idaho woman who's suspected of suffocating her toddlers and blaming their deaths on a vaccine. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/angela-wulbrecht-nurse-vaccine-22468636.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 30-year-old woman was swept out to sea by a rogue wave in Ventura County, and her husband, who was with her at the time and was also swept up in the wave, has shared a haunting final photo. \[[California Post](https://nypost.com/2026/10/15/us-news/woman-drowns-off-socal-coast-after-wave-pulls-couple-out-to-sea/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Trump has caved to pressure from both Republicans and Democrats, as well as military leaders, who condemned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plan to have the execution by firing squad of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan livestreamed, and now the livestream isn't happening. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/us/trump-hasan-fort-hood-execution-livestream.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Four Arrested In Shooting of 49er Keion White
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/four-arrested-in-shooting-of-49er-keion-white/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T00:08:44.000Z
### Local:
- **Four people have been arrested in connection with the Super Bowl weekend shooting of 49er Keion White at a Mission District nightclub.** The [initial report from February](https://sfist.com/2026/02/10/49er-keion-white-shot-in-alleged-altercation-involving-rapper-lil-baby-at-super-bowl-party-featuring-strippers/) suggested that the 4 am shooting occurred at or just outside a party featuring strippers in the basement space of the nightclub Dahlia; White was shot in the ankle, and two of the suspects were arrested locally, while one was arrested in LA and another in Atlanta, the latter with a huge cache of drugs allegedly found in his home. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/police-arrest-4-feb-shooting-49er-defensive-lineman-keion-white?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Netflix is laying off 6% of its workforce, or around 1,000 employees, in its biggest round of job cuts in years.** The company has been steadily profitable, however these layoffs come ahead of an earnings call next week at which the company is expected to report earnings well below Wall Street expectations. \[[Associated Press](https://abc7news.com/story/netflix-is-laying-off-6-workforce-1000-employees-biggest-round-job-cuts-streaming-giant-years/19938143/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The San Francisco Police Department is planning a public tribute to retired officer Ann Mannix on Thursday.** Mannix [died in a murder-suicide](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/retired-sfpd-officials-and-their-daughter-killed-in-suspected-murder-suicide/) in Marin County last weekend that was reportedly perpetrated by her estranged husband. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ann-mannix-public-memorial-service-sfpd-22477556.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **A new report suggests that Kimberly Guilfoyle, having been burned now and ousted from her post as ambassador to Greece, might go scorched earth revealing secrets about the Trump family.** Maybe it's a threat to get some hush money sent her way? In any event, the former girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. probably knows some stuff. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/10/14/kimberly-guilfoyle-burn-book-trump-family/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Trump's new, blonde White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia claimed she was a lawyer, but that seems to be false.** Zachary apparently got a law degree at Pepperdine but never passed the bar in California or elsewhere. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/14/politics/katie-zacharia-lawyer-press-secretary?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **That 2,389-pound pumpkin that won the annual pumpkin weigh-off in Half Moon Bay on Monday has been seriously dwarfed by a 3,156-pound pumpkin grown in Rhode Island that just set a new world record.** The pumpkin handily [won the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off](https://fox17.com/news/offbeat/pumpkin-surpasses-world-record-at-frerich-far-weigh-off-world-record-surpases-record-large-pumpkin-heavy-pumpkin-official-weight-scale-frerich-farm-october-10-2026?ref=sfist.com) last Saturday, and broke a new record for largest pumpkin set in Britain only a week earlier. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/us/rhode-island-giant-pumpkin-world-record.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Oh my gourd! You probably want to see that giant pumpkin, so here's a local news report about it, and farmer Ron Wallace explains that his gourd, at peak, was growing by 60 pounds per day.
### SF School Board Approves New Neighborhood Enrollment Plan, Limiting School Choice
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/sf-school-board-approves-new-neighborhood-school-enrollment-plan-limiting-school-choice/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T23:32:38.000Z
The school board voted to advance a neighborhood-based enrollment plan for elementary and middle schools that drew less support from parents than an alternative preserving more school choice, with staff now tasked with mapping attendance areas for a 2028 rollout.
The San Francisco Board of Education voted 5-2 Tuesday to advance a [neighborhood-based enrollment system](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/sfusd-to-replace-school-lottery-with-neighborhood-based-enrollment-system/) that was less popular than an alternative option, [as KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12104230/sfusd-moves-closer-to-neighborhood-based-enrollment-in-historic-vote?ref=sfist.com). Commissioners Phil Kim, Jamie Huiling, Matt Alexander, Lisa Weissman-Ward, and Parag Gupta supported the change, while Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray opposed it.
Under the plan, known as Option C, students entering SFUSD elementary schools in fall 2028 would first be assigned to a school near their homes. Families who accept that placement would be finished with the enrollment process, while those seeking specialized options, including language immersion programs and K-8 schools, could still apply for available seats. Admission to those programs would not be guaranteed.
According to KQED, the district will now be working with demographers to establish tiebreaker criteria, develop a strategic investment plan for redistributing district resources, and draw attendance boundaries. The Board of Education is expected to consider the detailed policy and investment plan in April 2027, ahead of the planned fall 2028 implementation.
The board chose Option C over Option B, which would also have assigned students to neighborhood schools but allowed families to apply to other campuses with available seats. Option B received more support in a district survey conducted before Tuesday's meeting. Of nearly 3,000 respondents, 72% reportedly said Option B would meet their needs, compared with 48% for Option C.
As SFist reported previously, the district has been working on a replacement for its enrollment policy since 2018, as many families criticized the existing lottery system, introduced in 2011, for leaving them frustrated and uncertain about where their children will attend school.
Under the current system, students generally apply to schools through a lottery that considers family preferences and certain tiebreakers. One, known as CTIP1, gives priority to students from census tracts with the city's lowest average test scores, after certain applicants with sibling or attendance-area priority, but it's unclear what the new tiebreakers will be.
At the meeting Tuesday, parents raised concerns that narrowing school choices could disproportionately affect lower-income families and residents of southeastern neighborhoods.
Board members backing the change argued that the current system allows families with more time and resources to navigate the application process to seek out schools with stronger academic results or better-funded programs, while campuses in lower-income neighborhoods continue to struggle with enrollment and resources, as KQED reports.
Vice President Jamie Huiling said unrestricted school choice contributes to those disparities, while Commissioner Matt Alexander argued that the lottery offers an escape route to some families without resolving the underlying problems at the schools they leave behind.
**Previously:** [SFUSD to Replace School Lottery With Neighborhood-Based Enrollment System](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/sfusd-to-replace-school-lottery-with-neighborhood-based-enrollment-system/)
### Mother and Stepfather Charged In Asthma Death of San Jose Girl, Accused of Living In 'Dangerous Squalor'
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/mother-and-stepfather-charged-in-asthma-death-of-san-jose-girl-accused-of-living-in-dangerous-squalor/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T22:45:22.000Z
A San Jose couple has been charged with felony neglect following the death of their eight-year-old daughter, who prosecutors say suffered an eight-hour asthma attack before she died.
32-year-old Gabrielle Hanson and 39-year-old Jacob Randolph were arrested Monday in connection with the May death of eight-year-old Aurora Williams. As [Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/10/13/mother-stepfather-arrested-in-alleged-neglect-death-of-8-year-old-san-jose-girl/?ref=sfist.com), Williams and her siblings were being raised in filthy, vermin-infested conditions in a home on Lancelot Lane which had been the subject of 12 child welfare referrals over the past four years.
Aurora Williams died on May 17 after being taken off life support. She had arrived at the hospital four days earlier, unresponsive, after Hanson and Randolph allegedly failed to address that she was in respiratory distress due to asthma for eight hours. Her cause of death, the medical examiner said, was lack of oxygen to the brain, with medical neglect being a "significant factor."
After the girl's asthma diagnosis, the news group reports, Hanson had been told by medical providers that her asthma could be triggered by the filth and squalor in the home where they were living, which was reportedly filled with cockroaches, mold, pet feces, and garbage.
The home was shared by the couple's blended family of seven children, including Aurora, ranging in age from 2 to 17, along with several adult family members including Hanson's brother, 44-year-old Jonathan Hanson — who has been separately charged with the sexual abuse of another child in the house.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/parents-charged-neglect-in-infested-san-jose-home-22476103.php?ref=sfist.com), all three adults were arraigned on Tuesday.
Gabrielle Hanson and Randolph were released on supervised release, over prosecutors' objections, under the condition that they not care for any children or contact their surviving children, who are all now under the care of Santa Clara County's Department of Family and Children’s Services, or DFCS.
"There are serious questions about how this child and her siblings lived in this dangerous squalor for so long,” said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a statement. "In the name of this lost child and the others, this community deserves honest answers and real changes."
"Why does this keep happening? Why does this keep happening?" Rosen said, [per KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-aurora-williams-parents-charged?ref=sfist.com) — likely referring to the [death six months ago of toddler Jaxon Juarez](https://sfist.com/2026/04/20/murder-charge-added-in-case-of-san-jose-toddler-who-died-in-foster-care-with-family-member/) while in foster care, as well as the 2024 stabbing death of 7-year-old Jordan Walker after being placed in the care of a grandmother and uncle, and the [2023 fentanyl death](https://sfist.com/2025/07/18/san-jose-drug-dealer-charged-with-murder-for-a-babys-accidental-fentanyl-death-for-the-second-time/) of infant Phoenix Castro.
This is yet another case that will shine a spotlight on the failures of DFCS in keeping children safe.
The county reportedly had documentation that Aurora Williams was severely underweight, and had been seen by medical professionals and social workers appearing visibly neglected. In one hospital visit documented in court filings, a nurse saw a cockroach crawl out from under the girl's clothes, and she reportedly shrugged and said, "Oh yeah, bugs just crawl on me."
Social workers and school had also documented that the children in the house often had clothes that smelled of cat urine or marijuana, which led to social isolation.
"Despite prior warnings from social workers, repeated medical contacts, and their documented knowledge of the residence’s condition, Ms. Hanson and Mr. Randolph continued to allow the children to live in the home without taking adequate steps to address the cockroach infestation and other unsafe and unsanitary living conditions," detectives said in an affidavit.
Hanson's father, 70-year-old Clay Hanson, defended his daughter, telling Bay Area News Group, "She’s always been a good girl. She’s been a good mom," adding that she had never been arrested. Both he and Randolph attested to the fact that the parents had administered inhalers to the girl during the asthma episode, but while they usually worked, this time they did not.
Rosen expressed exasperation speaking to the press Tuesday. "We have a system that's supposed to protect children from these things. Why is it not happening?" Rosen asked. "Of course, this is a complex problem, but public servants are supposed to solve complex and difficult problems. These children's deaths have been met with reports and remorse and promises of reforms. And yet, here we are again."
**Previously:** [Murder Charge Added In Case of San Jose Toddler Who Died In Foster Care With Family Member](https://sfist.com/2026/04/20/murder-charge-added-in-case-of-san-jose-toddler-who-died-in-foster-care-with-family-member/)
### Sea Lions Keep Gathering on Moss Landing Roadway Despite Efforts to Keep Them Away
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/crowds-of-sea-lions-keep-gathering-on-moss-landing-roadway-disrupting-traffic/
Last updated: 2026-10-15T20:18:27.000Z
Hundreds of sea lions have turned a roadway near Moss Landing Harbor into a regular gathering spot in recent months, repeatedly spilling into traffic and forcing authorities to figure out new methods to usher them back toward the water.
The animals began gathering near the Moss Landing Harbor bridge in July, with their numbers growing over time, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/sea-lions-moss-landing-22475916.php?ref=sfist.com). In recent months, they’ve increasingly spilled onto the roadway, creating traffic delays and safety concerns for drivers and pedestrians.
“We were talking to the marine wildlife folks, the volunteers and such, and they were saying they're very social creatures,” said bystander Tanirll Lieoner, [speaking to KSBW](https://www.ksbw.com/article/hundreds-sea-lions-moss-landing-roadway-traffic/74122617?ref=sfist.com). “So two of them started, and now all of a sudden there's like 2 to 300 of them.”
California Highway Patrol officers have been [using sirens](https://x.com/abc7newsbayarea/status/2110105858499658020?ref=sfist.com), barriers, and shields to move the persistent sea lions off the road, but the animals keep returning.
> California Highway Patrol cars' sirens blared to disperse a large group of sea lions that took over a roadway near a marina in Monterey Bay. https://t.co/OjtTbL8D2r
>
> — ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) [October 13, 2026](https://x.com/abc7newsbayarea/status/2110105858499658020?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
The gathering is reportedly unusual for the bridge, though large sea lion colonies are common elsewhere along the Monterey Peninsula. Giancarlo Rulli, associate director at the Marine Mammal Center, told SFGate the nearby Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary offers plentiful food and places for the animals to rest between foraging trips.
“The Monterey Peninsula is arguably the best local supermarket for marine life along the California coast,” Rulli said, speaking to SFGate.
Warmer ocean temperatures ahead of a potentially [strong El Niño season](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/next-week-brings-chance-of-west-coast-hurricane-amidst-super-el-nino-season/) could also be shifting marine mammals into new areas as their food sources move.
Meanwhile, the growing crowds of sea lions have reportedly drawn visitors who stop on the bridge or approach the animals to take photos, further slowing traffic. Marine life advocates are asking people to avoid the area while the sea lions remain.
Rulli said they will likely move on as food availability changes, though the Marine Mammal Center does not know when that will happen.
**Related:** [Chonkers II? Large Stellar Sea Lion Makes Appearance at Pier 39](https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/chonkers-ii-large-stellar-sea-lion-makes-appearance-at-pier-39/)
### El Niño Emergency Project Will Shut Down Part of Highway 37 Next Week
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/el-nino-emergency-project-will-shut-down-part-of-highway-37-next-week/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T19:35:00.000Z
One of the most-clogged stretches of freeway in the Bay Area, Highway 37, which links Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano counties, will see some emergency upgrades next week as part of the state's emergency preparations for this super El Niño winter.
It's not normal for drivers to get less than two weeks notice about major freeway closures. But this is going to be anything but a normal winter in the Bay Area, and Caltrans is wasting no time in tackling the well-known issue of flooding on sections of State Route 37\.
Next week, there will be three closures on 37, one lasting 55 hours, as Caltrans attempts to make some quick improvements aimed at avoiding or reducing that flooding as torrential rains are likely headed our way in the coming months. As the [Napa Valley Register reports](https://napavalleyregister.com/news/napa-caltrans-el-nino-transportation-traffic-highway-37/article%5F56a9d29f-e7b1-43d3-bf70-a838df4b072a.html?ref=sfist.com), the first will be an overnight closure of the westbound lanes on the highway's eastern half from 7 pm on Wednesday, October 21, until 4 am on October 22\. That will happen again from 7 pm Thursday until 4 am Friday, and crews will be focused on constructing a new temporary median on the section between Mare Island/Vallejo and Sears Point Raceway.
**The blue section will be affected by the closure. Map via Caltrans*
Ultimately, after the closures, all traffic will shift into the eastbound lanes, with the westbound lanes closed.
Then, from 10 pm Friday, October 23 to 5 am Monday, October 26, the 10.4-mile stretch of Highway 37 between Mare Island and Sears Point will be closed in both directions as Caltrans works to raise sections of the roadway by 3 feet to address the chronic flooding.
During this time, traffic will be getting detoured through Napa and Sonoma counties, via Highways 29, 12, and 121.
Highway 37 between Novato and Sears Point will remain open.
**Map via Caltrans*
The biggest part of the work will be on a 1,300-foot stretch, where concrete and asphalt will be poured to elevate the entire section of road.
The short notice on what seems like a large project is reflective of the high concern for what this winter will bring, officials say.
"This is an indication to me of the state-level urgency about El Niño,” says John Goodwin, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, [speaking to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/highway-37-closure-el-nino-22475470.php?ref=sfist.com).
After the initial work is completed on October 26, another weekend-long closure will come from 10 pm Friday, November 13 to 5 am Sunday, November 15\. During that closure, crews will move the temporary median and shift traffic to the westbound lanes.
As [SFist reported previously](https://sfist.com/2022/02/04/caltrans-researching-re-design-ideas-for-sr37-ahead-of-projected-climate-change-road-flooding/), plans to reroute or otherwise improve Highway 37 go back years. And as the Chronicle notes, next week's project is separate from one also in the works to turn the shoulders of Highway 37 between Mare Island and Sears Point [into a toll road](https://mtc.ca.gov/planning/transportation/driving-congestion-environment/proposed-toll-highway-37?ref=sfist.com), in an effort to reduce congestion, with one free lane reserved only for carpools.
In total, the state [has allocated $100 million](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/california-spend-100-million-fix-highway-37-22400377.php?ref=sfist.com) to improvements and fixes on Highway 37, two thirds of which will be dedicated to the toll-road project.
**Related:** [Next Week Brings Chance of West Coast Hurricane Amidst Super El Niño Season](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/next-week-brings-chance-of-west-coast-hurricane-amidst-super-el-nino-season/)
### Woman Questions California Law After Coworker’s Felony Poisoning Conviction Dismissed
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/woman-questions-california-law-after-coworkers-felony-poisoning-conviction-dismissed/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T20:19:19.000Z
Nearly a decade after a coworker began poisoning her water bottle at work, Bay Area engineer Rong Yuan still struggles with health problems and can only work part time, while the man responsible has had his felony conviction dismissed.
An Alameda County Superior Court judge on Monday granted David Xu’s petition to dismiss his [felony poisoning conviction](https://sfist.com/2019/04/04/berkeley-engineer-enters-not-guilty-plea/), [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-poisoned-coworker-conviction-22475850.php?ref=sfist.com). Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said her office joined Yuan in opposing the petition, but the court granted it anyway.
“The court granted the motion over objections,” Dickson said in a [statement to ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/bay-area-woman-poisoned-worker-david-xu-speaks-1st-time-felony-conviction-expunged-judge/19933507/?ref=sfist.com). “We hope the survivors are able to continue healing, both emotionally and physically from this shocking event.”
Dickson's statement also acknowledges Yuan's parents, as they also ingested the contaminated water.
Xu's punishment reportedly amounted to a single day in jail and two years of probation, after facing a possible life sentence. Following the expungement, Xu, 41, will not need to disclose the conviction to private employers.
Yuan, 50, told SFGate she did not blame the judge, whom she believes was following California law, but questioned why the state allows such convictions to be dismissed. She recently released [surveillance footage](https://x.com/abc7newsbayarea/status/2109453392615444485?ref=sfist.com) showing Xu tampering with her water bottle in March 2019 as part of her effort to oppose his petition.
Yuan had spent nearly two years experiencing unexplained symptoms, including vomiting and hair loss, and making repeated hospital visits. According to ABC 7, after her mother noticed an unusual smell coming from Yuan’s water bottle, Yuan installed a hidden camera near her desk at Berkeley Engineering and Research, where she and Xu worked.
“I never expected that I can capture anybody,” Yuan said, speaking ABC7\. “It's a just an engineer's routine. If you have some issue, you think about the root cause.”
Per SFGate, the footage showed Xu pouring a substance into Yuan’s bottle and returning to reposition it. Testing identified the substance as cadmium, a toxic, carcinogenic heavy metal, and a water sample reportedly contained cadmium at 3.5 million times the federal level.
Yuan and both of her parents subsequently tested positive for cadmium poisoning. Yuan believes her parents were exposed after the family used water from the bottle to prepare food.
As SFist reported at the time, Xu was arrested at his Lafayette home in March 2019 and initially faced charges of premeditated attempted murder and two felony counts of poisoning. The case was reportedly resolved in 2023 through a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to felony poisoning and received two years of probation without additional jail time.
Yuan said she still does not know why Xu targeted her, though she recalled him discouraging her from working in the lab and suggesting she pursue other jobs.
“Poisoning is not something like you suddenly got angry and lose control,” Yuan told ABC7\. “It's planned.”
Yuan, who continues to experience health problems and can only work part time, told the outlet she requested $500,000 in restitution but only received $7,000\.
She also described the toll on her family, including feeling guilty that the contaminated water made its way into their home. Per ABC7, Yuan's father died of heart failure last year.
“I don't think he deserves a second chance,” Yuan said.
**Previously:** [Berkeley Engineer Enters Not Guilty Plea In Bizarre Poisoning Case](https://sfist.com/2019/04/04/berkeley-engineer-enters-not-guilty-plea/)
### Oakland to Celebrate Black Panther Party’s 60th Anniversary With Music, Film, and Street Renaming
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/oakland-to-celebrate-black-panther-partys-60th-anniversary-with-music-film-and-street-renaming/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T17:43:35.000Z
Oakland will mark the Black Panther Party’s 60th anniversary with free public events featuring live music, film screenings, art, and storytelling, alongside a four-day conference and gala and an honorary renaming of three downtown blocks of Broadway.
The Oakland City Council voted unanimously last month to designate three blocks of Broadway, between 14th and 17th streets, as Black Panther Party Boulevard. [As Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.marinij.com/2026/10/08/black-panther-party-60th-anniversary-conference/?ref=sfist.com), a ceremony marking the honorary renaming will take place this Saturday.
The honorary designation recognizes the downtown streets where Panthers distributed their newspaper, registered voters, and campaigned for public office. Broadway’s official name will remain unchanged for mailing addresses, maps, and emergency services, with a commemorative plaque marking the designation.
“To have the Black Panther Party’s name recognized on Broadway, on streets where Panthers organized and worked directly with the people, brings this history home,” said Fredrika Newton, president and co-founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and Black Panther Party Museum.
[According to Oaklandside](https://oaklandside.org/2026/10/08/60th-anniversary-black-panther-party-events/?ref=sfist.com), Oakland will mark the Black Panther Party’s 60th anniversary with a series of public events, including live music, film screenings, and storytelling at the Oakland Museum of California on Friday, followed by a community gathering with party veterans at Lil' Bobby Hutton Memorial Park (also called DeFremery Park) on Sunday.
On Thursday, the Oakland Public Library will host a panel discussion and screening of[ *Lords of the Revolution*](https://www.maysles.org/archive2015/2016/8/1/black-panther-party-film-festival-lords-of-the-revolution?ref=sfist.com) alongside the exhibit, [*Honoring the Black Panther Party Rank & File Members*](https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/6a87357560ccaf01c01fb1b4?ref=sfist.com), curated by historian and former Panther Billy Jennings and featuring photographs, books, newspaper archives, and other memorabilia documenting members who ran community programs and fought racism and police brutality, which runs through January 9.
Also Thursday, Oaktown Thursdays hosts a free night market at Latham Square from 5 to 9 pm, with performances by Okey McFly, The Vixen, La Russell, and other artists.
On Friday, the[ Oakland Museum of California](https://museumca.org/event/friday-nights-at-omca-with-macarthur-maze-60th-anniversary-of-the-black-panther-party/?ref=sfist.com) hosts a free evening of music, film, and storytelling from 5 to 9 pm. MacArthur Maze, Loove Moore, DJ Kream, and DJ BlackWoman will perform, while a screening of[ *Memories in Motion: Selected Stories of Mildred Howard*](https://museumca.org/on-view/mildred-howard-poetics-of-memory/?ref=sfist.com) will be followed by a discussion with the director and Howard’s grandson, Lamar “MYL3Z” Brown.
Saturday, a free pop-up gallery featuring local Black artists takes place at Akoma Oakland from 8 to 11 pm.
The celebration concludes Sunday, October 18, with a free Community Day at Lil’ Bobby Hutton Memorial Park from noon to 4 pm. Panthers veterans will share their experiences, with speakers, food vendors, and other activities.
The anniversary also includes a [four-day conference and gala](https://www.bpp60.org/?ref=sfist.com) organized by the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation, featuring discussions on reparations, women in the party, community education, free health clinics, and AI. The gala takes place Saturday at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center.
Bay Area News Group notes that the foundations’ collaboration is notable given past divisions between co-founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Organizers attribute some of the party’s internal conflicts to the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations, which targeted the Panthers and other civil rights and countercultural groups.
**Related:** [City Council Considers Renaming West Oakland Intersection After Former Black Panther Elaine Brown](https://sfist.com/2025/03/30/oakland-city-council-to-consider-renaming-intersection-after-former-black-panther-chair-elaine-brown/)
### Sister Charged In Oakland Shooting Death of Reality TV Personality
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/sister-charged-in-oakland-shooting-death-of-reality-tv-personality/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T17:18:33.000Z
The woman said to be part of the entourage of Mackayla "Kash" Paige who apparently shot her by accident while attempting to pistol whip another woman who was fighting Paige has been identified as Paige's sister.
38-year-old Vernika Dunbar has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of her sister, 29-year-old Mackayla Paige, early Sunday morning in downtown Oakland. Paige, also known as Kash on several reality TV programs, was allegedly [shot during a fight](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/woman-featured-on-another-baddies-show-fatally-shot-in-downtown-oakland/) that was caught [on video](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeZaVP-IC%5FU/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) outside the nightclub Cave at 14th and Harrison streets around 1:30 am Sunday.
As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/sister-reality-tv-personality-charged-connection-her-death-oakland?ref=sfist.com), Dunbar is Paige's older sister, and both women lived in Richmond. Dunbar has also been charged with firearm and gun violations in connection with the attempted pistol-whipping.
As SFist noted previously, Paige had appeared on at least three streaming reality shows, *Real West Coast Baddies* on the Nyx Network, and *Young and Reckless* and [*Room H8*'*s*](https://www.instagram.com/p/DCKfCKHPU4i/?ref=sfist.com) on the platform [NowThatsTV](https://www.instagram.com/nowthats%5Ftv/?ref=sfist.com).
The shows, like the show *Baddies* — an episode of which was [being shot at the Warfield](https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/suspect-in-warfield-shooting-linked-to-notorious-rainbow-crew/) two Fridays ago when a [separate fatal shooting](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/bear-mace-allegedly-sprayed-inside-the-warfield-prior-to-fatal-shooting-of-security-guard/) occurred — center on women partying, egos clashing, and having physical fights with each other.
Paige and her sister were apparently at Cave on Saturday night for an event billed as a birthday party for local DJ Butta Smoove.
The women were seen in an Instagram story partying just hours before the tragic shooting took place.
The video that surfaced appeared to show Paige getting into a fight on the sidewalk outside the club with another woman, and in an effort to break up the fight or injure the other woman, Dunbar allegedly pulled out a gun and tried to pistol-whip her. According to reports, the gun accidentally went off shooting Paige in the neck, and the other woman was unharmed.
**Previously:** [Woman Featured on Another 'Baddies' Show Fatally Shot In Downtown Oakland](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/woman-featured-on-another-baddies-show-fatally-shot-in-downtown-oakland/)
### Humpday Headlines: Parts of Bay Area Get PSPS Warnings
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/14/parts-of-bay-area-get-psps-warnings/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T16:30:44.000Z
- **Parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Napa and Sonoma counties have been added to PG&E's warning list for a** [**likely public safety power shut-off (PSPS)**](https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/psps-updates/7day/?ref=sfist.com) **event.** The shutoffs are expected to begin today, and may last for several days as hot, dry, and windy conditions are forecast across 29 counties. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/pge-power-shutoff-psps-october-2026-high-winds/4157597/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A 22-year-old man from Richmond was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of hit-and-run, following a collision with two pedestrians in their 70s in Berkeley on October 7\.** A witness reportedly tailed the suspect after the collision and provided police with details that led to the arrest. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/witness-of-berkeley-hit-and-run-tails-driver-leads-to-arrest-police/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- 12 jurors and six alternates have been empaneled in the Sheng Thao corruption trial, and attorneys for both sides, during jury selection, questioned jurors' political views and their thoughts on Thao's recall election. \[[Oakland North](https://oaklandnorth.net/2026/10/14/jury-is-selected-in-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thaos-corruption-case/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Oakland police say that there were two attempting kidnapping assaults of children in strollers near Lake Merritt on Monday morning. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/attempted-kidnapping-children-strollers-near-lake-merritt-police?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Nine years after the devastating Tubbs Fire, Santa Rosa has completed a large vegetation management project in the burn scar area around Fountaingrove, removing dense and overgrown brush that has accumulated around dead and dying trees. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/tubbs-fire-anniversary-santa-rosa-fire-mitigation?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Artist Marco Cochrane's giant nude woman sculpture began being disassembled on Tuesday at Embarcadero Plaza. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/giant-nude-sculpture-dismantled-22474262.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new global cybersecurity report finds that 84% of ransomware attacks are being conducted with the use of AI. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/ai-linked-ransomeware-attacks-global-cybersecurity-report/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Raising Cane’s Opens Second SF Location at Stonestown Galleria
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/day-around-the-bay-raising-canes-opens-second-sf-location-at-stonestown-galleria/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T02:27:57.000Z
### Local:
- **Raising Cane’s opened its second SF location Monday, drawing more than 200 people to Stonestown Galleria, with some fans camping overnight to be first in line.** The grand opening included giveaways, a donation to Lowell High School’s cheer team, and a planned donation to the nonprofit Children’s Book Project, which provides books to underserved children. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/bay-area-city-got-its-second-raising-canes-span-weeks-drawing-hundreds-grand-opening?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **An OpenAI engineer was arrested by the FBI after allegedly planting an encrypted audio recording device in an executive conference room at the company’s SF offices.** OpenAI said it used its own AI models to help track down the device and found no evidence that the employee accessed or stole company data. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/openai-arrest-fbi-22475820.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Twenty-six cats from Kauai arrived at SFO Monday in the second rescue flight in two weeks, following last week’s arrival of 33 adult cats and kittens, as Berkeley Humane and Redwood City’s Nine Lives Cat Rescue help animals displaced by recent hurricanes and storms find Bay Area homes. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/rescue-cats-arrive-from-kauai-for-adoption-in-the-bay-area/amp/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- Americans 75 and older saw their median net worth surge 37% to $505,000 in recent years, while younger families lost wealth, with rising stocks, home values, and Social Security benefits widening the divide even as senior poverty reaches a record high. \[[Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/article/the-baby-boomers-have-arrived-how-americans-over-75-got-richer-than-other-age-groups-171405234.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A North Carolina man was sentenced to six years in federal prison for recruiting college basketball players to deliberately underperform in nearly 30 games as part of a point-shaving scheme that generated more than $3 million in fraudulent bets. \[[ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Sports/wireStory/fixer-lucrative-ncaa-basketball-betting-scheme-sentenced-6-137243545?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Texas district attorney said video evidence makes it “pretty obvious” that an ICE officer intentionally ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez during an immigration stop, raising the possibility of aggravated assault charges as investigators accuse federal officials of withholding evidence. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-da-says-ice-intentionally-hit-immigrant-car-may-withheld-evidenc-rcna603243?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Get a taste of BART in its glory days, featuring footage that was used in the agency’s training and educational videos.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeIMQrshlwO/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by SFBART (@sfbayarearapidtransit)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeIMQrshlwO/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Car Crash Damages Entrance of Mission District Queer Bar Jolene's
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/car-crash-damages-entrance-of-mission-district-queer-bar-jolenes/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T23:40:49.000Z
A two-car crash Monday morning sent an SUV flying backwards into the front entrance of Jolene's, the seven-year-old queer bar at Harrison and 16th.
The crash happened shortly before 8 am, as [Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/two-car-crash-on-16th-street-leaves-one-injured-iconic-lesbian-bar-damaged/?ref=sfist.com), at the intersection of Harrison and 16th streets. It appears that a pickup truck and an SUV collided with one another, and the SUV was sent hurtling backwards into the entry gates and front door of [Jolene's](https://www.jolenessf.com/?ref=sfist.com).
The female driver of the SUV was reportedly injured and was taken away on a stretcher while the male driver of the pickup "appeared unharmed," per Mission Local.
> A two-car crash this morning resulted in one vehicle smashing into the front of lesbian bar Jolene’s on the corner of 16th and Harrison streets. https://t.co/2fQuAvKvd6
>
> — Mission Local (@MLNow) [October 13, 2026](https://x.com/MLNow/status/2110103131464007921?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
The front door of the bar and nightclub appeared to suffer some damage, and owner Jolene Linsangan told Mission Local that she estimates the repairs will cost around $10,000\. Saying that she would likely have to cover the cost, at least up front, Linsangan added to Mission Local, "I’m barely surviving over here."
[Linsangan launched a fundraiser today](https://www.jolenessf.com/event-details/jolenes-new-gate-fundraiser-3?ref=sfist.com) selling $20 tickets that are redeemable at any future event with a cover of $20 or less. "While we wait for insurance funds to come through, we’re asking our community for a little extra support to help us get a new gate installed and make the necessary repairs," she writes.
Jolene's opened in early 2019 as a new lesbian-friendly club space, becoming the new home of popular women's club night [U-Haul](https://www.instagram.com/uhaulsf/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com). The bar is now open three nights a week, Thursday to Saturday.
Linsangan told Mission Local that she plans to have the place open as usual on Thursday.
### Disney Offers $20 Million for Character.ai Intellectual Property Amid Bankruptcy
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/disney-offers-20-million-for-character-ai-intellectual-property-amid-bankruptcy/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T23:04:23.000Z
After facing lawsuits over allegations that its chatbots contributed to teen suicides and exposed minors to harmful content, Character.ai has filed for bankruptcy, with Disney offering $20 million for some of its intellectual property.
Character.ai, whose chatbots have drawn scrutiny over their effects on young users, is seeking a court-supervised sale by the end of the year to keep the platform operating. [As CNN reports](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/13/tech/character-ai-bankruptcy-filing?ref=sfist.com), the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reporting between $50 million and $100 million in assets, and says the platform could be shut down if a sale falls through.
Disney has reportedly agreed to pay $20 million for some of Character.ai’s intellectual property. Disney would also provide transition services through former employees it has hired, allowing the chatbot platform to remain operational during the bankruptcy proceedings.
According to CNN, the startup reached a $1 billion valuation after raising $150 million in 2023, but it has since faced mounting legal and regulatory pressure over the risks its products pose to young users.
In 2024, Florida mother Megan Garcia sued Character.ai, alleging that its chatbot contributed to the suicide death of her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III. Other families subsequently filed lawsuits accusing the company of exposing minors to sexual content and encouraging suicide, self-harm, or violence. Character.ai agreed to settle five cases, including Garcia’s, earlier this year.
Character.ai introduced a series of safety measures in response to the growing scrutiny, including pop-ups directing users to mental health resources. The company announced in October that it would end back-and-forth chatbot conversations for users younger than 18, eventually limiting their access to creating one-time stories and videos instead, [as KQED reported](https://www.kqed.org/science/1999388/california-warns-families-to-watch-out-for-teens-as-character-ai-shuts-off-chatbot-access?ref=sfist.com) at the time. Senate Democrats also investigated the safety practices of Character.ai and other AI companion platforms.
CNN reports that Karandeep Anand, who became Character.ai’s CEO last year with a mandate to improve its approach to safety, joined Disney as chief technology officer last month. Anand had previously told CNN that Character.ai was shifting toward interactive AI entertainment, allowing users to build stories and conversations with virtual characters, while emphasizing that the company was “doubling down on entertainment, doubling down on trust and safety.”
Former Google AI researchers Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas founded Character.ai in 2021 and have both since returned to Google.
California's public health officials have also warned families about the potential effects of abruptly losing access to these chatbots, per KQED. The California Department of Public Health issued an advisory last year encouraging parents to monitor their children's mental health as the chatbot’s restrictions took effect, following concerns from online safety experts that some teens could experience significant emotional distress.
UC Berkeley bioethics professor Jodi Halpern warned that young people may experience the loss of an AI companion much like the loss of a close personal relationship.
“Parents do not realize that their kids love these bots and that they might feel like their best friend just died or their boyfriend just died,” Halpern told KQED.
California has also moved to establish legal requirements for AI companion services. Governor Gavin Newsom signed [SB 243](https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/california-legislature-passes-first-nation-ai-chatbot-safeguards?ref=sfist.com) into law last year, requiring chatbots to disclose that they are AI-powered rather than human and establishing protocols for directing minors discussing suicidal thoughts toward real-life crisis services. Companies must also report data on those protocols and referrals to the California Department of Public Health.
Matt Conens, a spokesperson for the agency, said the reporting requirements help officials understand the extent of suicide-related issues on companion chatbot platforms.
Character.ai is only a small part of the AI companion market, and Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media told KQED other platforms remain available to young users despite the company’s safety changes.
Character.ai represents only a small share of the AI companion market, and Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media told KQED other platforms remain available to young users, making broader industry-wide safety measures necessary.
**Related:** [Pixar Announces Large Round of Layoffs as Disney Moves to Cut Hundreds of Jobs](https://sfist.com/2026/07/21/pixar-announces-large-round-of-layoffs-as-disney-moves-to-cut-hundreds-of-jobs/)
### Last Richardson Bay Boat-Dwellers Being Evicted This Week, After Years of Controversy
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/last-richardson-bay-boat-dwellers-being-evicted-this-week-after-years-of-controversy/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T22:40:25.000Z
After years in which boat-dwellers in Marin's Richardson Bay have argued for their right to live on their boats, while city and county officials have faced pressure from residents to address what some see as a "floating homeless encampment," the last of the anchor-outs are being kicked out this week.
The [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/us/california-anchor-outs-boats.html?ref=sfist.com) today from Richardson Bay, the shallow bay off Sausalito, that the last of the "illegally anchored vessels" in the Bay will be removed as of Thursday, October 15\. The dictate comes from the Richardson Bay Regional Agency (RBRA), following an agreement with the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), which entails the creation of a new mooring field that won't damage the protected eel grass on the bottom of the bay.
The eel grass was just one of several issues that environmentalists have raised in recent years about the so-called anchor-outs, a steadily shrinking community of people living rent-free on boats that are often not seaworthy, and at worst may be leaking oil or other hazardous substances into the Bay.
One such anchor-out [exploded in Richardson Bay](https://sfist.com/2021/02/16/boat-explodes-and-sinks-in-waters-off-sausalito-occupant-injured/) in February 2021, injuring its lone inhabitant. The likely cause, according to RBRA Harbormaster Curtis Havel at the time, was propane leaking into the of the 35-foot vessel bilge and getting ignited.
The crackdowns on anchor-outs led to a growing homelessness problem in Sausalito itself, and ultimately [an encampment in Marinship Park](https://sfist.com/2022/08/25/sausalito-cleared-homeless-out-of-marinship-park-by-paying-them-each-18-000-to-leave/) that the city cleared in August 2022 by paying everyone $18,000 apiece to leave.
Now, a counterculture tradition that dates back decades is coming to an end for real this week. Per the Times, one of the last holdouts, 45-year-old Chad Wycliffe, has spent all of his adult life living on a boat, having first arrived in Richardson Bay as a troubled teenager.
The collection of makeshift houseboats and dilapidated anchor-outs dates back to the 1970s, when what was then called Dredgetown had hundreds of residents keeping the bohemian tradition of the Bay Area alive. The population ebbed and grew over the years, and the anchor-out vessels reportedly numbered around 250 in 2016, coinciding with the last spike in rents around the Bay Area before the AI boom.
An effort to clear out abandoned sailboats from the Bay began about a decade ago, per the Times, but efforts to gentrify or otherwise "clean up" the waterfront date back much longer. The Times points to [*Last Free Ride (A Hip Pirate Movie)*](https://batv.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/last-free-ride-a-hip-pirate-movie/681?ref=sfist.com), which is a 1974 documentary that includes footage of what was called the Houseboat Wars and the Battle of Richardson Bay in 1971, when boat dwellers battled the county over a plan to develop the waterfront.
The Times has [this video piece](https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000011152176/san-francisco-bay-boat-dwellers-deadline.html?ref=sfist.com) about Wycliffe and the other couple of final holdouts, noting that in wealthy Sausalito, "there's kind of no place for living that \[bohemian\] life anymore," which has led to this final action. And, the paper notes, the city of Sausalito and the county are proud of a program they created to transition anchor-outs to temporary housing.
The holdouts, though, and perhaps others before them, are likely going to seek out other ways to continue their life on the water. Wycliffe told the Times that he's already moved his boat further offshore so that he'll be out of the reach of the local cleanup effort — but he has to deal with bigger swells and rocking at night until he can find another quiet, protected spot for himself and his two dogs.
**Previously:** [Sausalito Cleared Homeless Out Of Marinship Park — By Paying Them Each $18,000 to Leave](https://sfist.com/2022/08/25/sausalito-cleared-homeless-out-of-marinship-park-by-paying-them-each-18-000-to-leave/)
### Smoking Becomes Trendy In Silicon Valley as Some Researchers Believe AI Will Cure Cancer
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/smoking-becomes-trendy-in-silicon-valley-because-some-researchers-believe-ai-will-cure-cancer/
Last updated: 2026-10-14T00:53:05.000Z
As smoking makes a comeback among Silicon Valley founders and engineers, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar says some AI researchers are lighting up to signal their belief that the technology will cure cancer, calling it a form of “mass psychosis.”
Speaking with [*Face the Nation*](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shyam-sankar-chief-technology-officer-palantir-face-the-nation-transcript-10-11-2026/?ref=sfist.com)’s Margaret Brennan Sunday, Sankar argued that some people building artificial general intelligence (AGI) have developed an almost religious faith in the technology, while others’ warnings about its dangers are driven by their own ideological beliefs.
The X account [Fireside Alpha](https://x.com/firesidealpha/status/2109310806005596521?ref=sfist.com) shared a clip.
> Palantir CTO reveals AI researchers are taking up smoking to signal to other researchers that they believe AI will cure cancer--and calls it a “mass psychosis” Shyam Sankar (CTO): “But if you understand that it’s actually a theological critique, then you can kind of weigh it against the empirical facts of what is actually happening out there. “I think there’s a profound truth to Pascal’s saying that every human has a God-shaped hole in their heart. And it’s important to understand that many of these folks in Silicon Valley who are building this technology have filled that hole with the machine god of AGI. “And I mean, there’s so many interesting stories around this. For example, so many AI researchers have started smoking as a way of signaling to other researchers how much they believe in AI.” Margaret Brennan: “What? That makes no sense. What do you think?” Shyam Sankar: “I believe so much in AI that it’s going to cure cancer. So I’m showing you my chips are all in. So there is kind of this mass psychosis, social delusion around it.”
>
> — Fireside Alpha (@firesidealpha) [October 11, 2026](https://x.com/firesidealpha/status/2109310806005596521?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
“I think there’s a profound truth to Pascal’s saying that every human has a God-shaped hole in their heart,” Sankar told Brennan. “And it’s important to understand that many of these folks in Silicon Valley who are building this technology have filled that hole with the machine god of AGI.”
Sankar claimed that some AI researchers have taken up smoking to demonstrate how strongly they believe the technology will eventually cure cancer, arguing the practice has become a “social delusion,” though he offered no evidence of how widespread the practice is.
The comments come amid reports of a general return to nicotine use in the tech industry, where some founders and investors have embraced cigarettes as a way to stand out in a culture long associated with health optimization and productivity hacks.
[Business Insider reported](https://www.businessinsider.com/smoking-cigarettes-silicon-valley-counterculture-2026-9?ref=sfist.com) last month that some startup founders have also started smoking partly for the networking opportunities. Cigarette breaks can offer a more relaxed setting for conversations between entrepreneurs and investors, potentially helping founders build relationships that might otherwise take place in more formal settings.
Jake Jolis, a general partner at Los Angeles-based Zeno Ventures, told the outlet that founders who smoke can appear less concerned with pleasing venture capitalists, which may make them more appealing to investors. Jolis said he had invested in two founders who smoke and that both had performed well, although he does not actively seek out smokers.
Other founders have been more direct about the perceived benefits of betting on AI. Avi Schiffmann, CEO of AI wearable startup Friend, [told Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/10/13/palantir-cto-shyam-sankar-ai-researchers-smoking-cigarettes-cure-cancer-artificial-general-intelligence-silicon-valley-mass-psychosis-effective-altruism/?ref=sfist.com), “By the time you do get lung cancer, our AI robots are supposed to have cured that.”
Nicotine products are also reportedly being kept in stock at some tech workplaces, as some say it helps them code faster. Fortune reported in March that Palantir stocked [vending machines](https://fortune.com/2026/03/04/palantir-tech-companies-offices-vending-machines-tobacco-worker-productivity/?ref=sfist.com) at its Washington, DC, office with free [nicotine pouches](https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/nicotine-pouches/index.html?ref=sfist.com) for employees aged 21 and older.
Business Insider noted that smoking has remained relatively common in Europe and Asia, and some workers from those regions have moved to Silicon Valley for tech jobs, potentially contributing to the trend.
Sankar also used Sunday’s interview to criticize “effective altruism,” a movement focused on using evidence and reason to maximize the good people can do, which he said has influenced the debate over AI safety, as Fortune notes. He described the movement as a “millenarian doomsday cult” and claimed, without providing evidence, that the vast majority of the roughly 2,000 AI researchers in the United States subscribe to its worldview.
Effective altruism has reportedly influenced some researchers and employees at major AI companies, including Anthropic and OpenAI, particularly those working on AI safety who argue that safeguards are needed to prevent increasingly capable systems from escaping human control and threatening humanity.
Sankar dismissed the focus on existential AI risks associated with effective altruism, arguing that the industry should prioritize economic growth, national security, and engineering safe products. He called on companies to take responsibility for building AI safely while leaving regulation of its use in fields like medicine and defense to existing government agencies.
But he also ridiculed the idea that AI will eventually cure cancer, calling it “mass psychosis” and suggesting that some tech workers are choosing to smoke on the dangerous assumption that future AI breakthroughs will spare them from the consequences.
**Related:** [Investor Peter Thiel Thinks There's 'A Lot Of Pot Smoking' Going On At Twitter, Twitter Responds \[Updated\]](https://sfist.com/2014/09/17/investor%5Fpeter%5Fthiel%5Fsays%5Ftheres%5Fa/)
### Sonoma Valley High School Students Stage Walkout In Protest of Pride Flag Removal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/sonoma-valley-high-school-students-stage-walkout-in-protest-of-pride-flag-removal/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T20:12:56.000Z
After some manufactured controversy over a Pride flag that has been flown at Sonoma Valley High School since 2019, the school board voted to remove it last week, which has prompted a protest by students.
As one annoying aspect of the polarized state of affairs around the country, school boards have taken issue with Pride flags, particularly those flown during Pride Month (June) but occasionally at other times as well. The argument usually goes in the direction of "why is this the only special-interest flag" that is being flown? But underpinning that is, of course, homophobia and transphobia and anti-wokeness, and some newly revived, Trump era fear by ignorant parents that children are being indoctrinated into something they don't endorse.
And this line of attack has creeped into the Bay Area in recent years, most notably in the tiny Sunol Glen Unified School District in the East Bay, where two conservatives elected to a three-person school board created [a dustup over a Pride flag in the community](https://sfist.com/2023/09/13/tiny-east-bay-school-district-becomes-latest-to-wade-into-culture-war-over-pride-flag/) three years ago. (Both school board members [were then recalled a year later](https://sfist.com/2024/07/08/two-conservative-school-board-members/).) Also, in 2025, a man was [arrested in Petaluma](https://sfist.com/2025/06/07/man-arrested-after-violent-threats-to-petaluma-school-official-over-pride-display/) for threatening to "execute" school officials over the flying of a Pride flag there.
Earlier this year, the manufactured controversy came to the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, where [newly installed](https://sonomasun.com/2025/12/12/sonoma-valley-unified-school-district-board-of-education-elects-david-bell-as-board-president/?ref=sfist.com) school board president David Bell declared, as one of his first acts as president, that the [seven-year-old Pride flag be removed from Sonoma Valley High School](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/pride-flag-removal-at-sonoma-school-brews-controversy/?ref=sfist.com).
This was a custom-designed flag, featuring the rainbow stripes in addition to the school mascot, a dragon, at the center.
Bell's argument at the time: "In my opinion, the fundamental issue here is not one of 'if' the pride flag should be flown. It is one of, should the pride flag should be the 'only' flag flown?" Examples of other flags that might join it were Future Farmers of America or a Mexican flag for Cinco de Mayo.
As [KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sonoma-school-community-upset-over-pride-flag-removal/?ref=sfist.com), without greater support for his cause, Bell's decision was reversed and the community returned the flag days later. But Bell wasn't finished.
On Thursday, Bell successfully got a 3-2 vote through the full school board to remove the Pride flag permanently.
Students and LGBTQ+ advocates have been quick to sound alarms, and as the [Sonoma Index-Tribune reports](https://www.sonomanews.com/2026/10/12/sonoma-valley-high-students-lgbtqia-advocates-reject-pride-flag-removal-plan-walkout/?ref=sfist.com), students organized a walkout that took place at noon today (Tuesday), in addition to a plan to plant miniature pride flags all over the campus on Wednesday.
Lisa Storment, president of local advocacy organization [Wake Up Sonoma](https://www.wakeupsonoma.org/?ref=sfist.com), tells KRON4, "I’m extremely disappointed in the school board." But, she adds, "I’m very, very encouraged by the students who have decided that this fight isn’t over for them yet either. They’re very strong. They’re very resilient. And, you know, I think it’s really disappointing that our school board is not listening to the community."
Back in January, Storment said of Bell, "\[He\] doesn’t really seem to understand that there is a significant inclusion message that’s attached to the flag for these students."
**Previously:** [Man Arrested After Making Multiple Threats to Petaluma School Official Over Pride Flags](https://sfist.com/2025/06/07/man-arrested-after-violent-threats-to-petaluma-school-official-over-pride-display/)
### Alcatraz Sunrise Gathering Honors Indigenous Resistance as Organizers Challenge Newsom Vetoes
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/alcatraz-sunrise-gathering-honors-indigenous-resistance-as-organizers-challenge-newsom-vetoes/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T20:11:02.000Z
Ahead of Monday’s Sunrise Gathering on Alcatraz Island, event organizers criticized the governor for vetoing bills that would have expanded Indigenous protections just days after declaring September 30 a Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools.
Thousands gathered on Alcatraz Island before sunrise Monday for the annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Sunrise Gathering, which honors the 19-month occupation of the island by Native American activists that ended in 1971, [as the SF Examiner reports](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/the-city/47th-indigenous-peoples-day-alcatraz/article%5F2efa46ad-636d-4548-b460-2960d633980c.html?ref=sfist.com). The gathering was organized by the International Indian Treaty Council and other Indigenous advocates.
Attendees reportedly formed a circle around a bonfire on the island’s parade ground, where San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder, the first Native American to serve on the Board of Supervisors, urged younger generations to continue advocating for their communities.
“You belong here, and you are your ancestors’ dreams come true,” Fielder said. “So rise up, keep resisting.”
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeZjhHSm1sA/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Jackie Fielder (@jackiefielder\_)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeZjhHSm1sA/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
According to [CalMatters/Indian Country Today (ICT)](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/alcatraz-sunrise-gathering-tribal-rights/?ref=sfist.com), the gathering comes less than two weeks after Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1881, which would have strengthened protections for tribal religious practices and sacred sites, and Assembly Bill 2218, which would have established a mediation process for disputes between tribes and state water agencies over projects in ancestral territories. The latter measure also sought to address water shortages affecting tribal communities.
The International Indian Treaty Council reportedly called the vetoes a “shocking action.” Organizers also criticized Newsom for signing legislation establishing September 30 as a [Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/30/governor-newsom-proclaims-a-day-of-remembrance-for-indian-boarding-schools/?ref=sfist.com) shortly before rejecting the two bills.
The new law recognizes the history of 13 California boarding schools that held Indigenous children from tribes across the country, as CalMatters/ICT reports. Children at the schools were subjected to harsh conditions as part of efforts to forcibly assimilate Native Americans, and some who died were buried in unmarked graves.
Morning Star Gali, executive director of Indigenous Justice and a citizen of the Pit River Tribe, told CalMatters/ICT the fight to protect Indigenous religious practices remains ongoing. She described being removed from state parks while attempting to gather traditional medicines and pray at sacred waters.
“I’ve gone into state parks with all of our relatives to go in to be able to gather medicine and to be able to pray, to be able to pray at the sacred waters — I’ve been kicked out of those spaces,” Gali said.
A representative for California State Parks told the outlet the department was not aware of any such incidents in recent years. Meanwhile, 62 California tribes lack federal recognition, which can limit their ability to secure protections for ancestral lands and sacred sites.
Fielder also stressed the importance of protecting Indigenous communities’ access to clean water, per the Examiner.
“We know water is life,” she said. “It must be protected.”
Attendees also called attention to Newsom’s veto of Senate Bill 891, which would have created a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Justice Program within the California Department of Justice. CalMatters/ICT reports that the proposed program would have expanded funding and data collection and provided additional victim advocates to support Indigenous families.
Newsom argued in his veto message that existing efforts made the legislation “unnecessary.” Indigenous advocates countered that Native American women continue to face disproportionate rates of violence, including homicide, while families seeking answers about missing and murdered relatives remain underserved.
“Who else is going to stand up and be visible for our sisters? No one,” said Teyana Viscarra, a Piro-Tewa Pueblo, Apache, and Kumiai woman and co-founder of [Way Of The Sacred Mountain](https://wayofthesacredmountain.org/?ref=sfist.com), an advocacy group focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women, per CalMatters/ICT. “It’s ridiculous, our sisters continue to be ignored even as they go missing and die.”
Viscarra’s organization operates the Red Tipi Healing Project, which places red tipis bearing white handprints at gatherings across the country to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and offer spaces for healing and prayer. After the Alcatraz gathering, organizers set up a tipi at Yerba Buena Gardens for another celebration.
The [Sunrise Gathering](https://sfist.com/2025/11/25/alcatraz-islands-indigenous-thanksgiving-sunrise-gathering-has-its-50th-anniversary-thursday/), which takes place annually on Indigenous Peoples’ Day as well as Thanksgiving, commemorates the occupation of Alcatraz by the Indians of All Tribes, which began in November 1969, six years after the federal prison closed. Activists sought to reclaim the island for Indigenous people and establish a university, cultural center, and museum. At its height, the occupation included hundreds of residents and became a defining moment in the Native American rights movement.
Federal authorities removed the remaining occupants in June 1971, but the gathering continues to honor their demands for Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.
Video Journalist Emma Garcia captured [stunning footage](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeatOSYBRyI/?ref=sfist.com) of Monday’s gathering.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeatOSYBRyI/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Radio Bilingüe (@radiobilingue)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeatOSYBRyI/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
The island’s future is also a concern for some attendees, according to CalMatters/ICT. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for reopening the former prison and requested $152 million for Alcatraz in his fiscal 2027 budget, which Congress has yet to finalize.
“It’s a scary world we live in — scary president,” said Irvin Whekins, a Shawnee youth counselor who brought nine Native American youths from Chico to the gathering. “He’s still trying to get rid of us.”
**Related:** [Alcatraz Island’s Indigenous Thanksgiving Sunrise Gathering Has Its 50th Anniversary Thursday](https://sfist.com/2025/11/25/alcatraz-islands-indigenous-thanksgiving-sunrise-gathering-has-its-50th-anniversary-thursday/)
### Jury Selection Begins In Federal Corruption Trial of Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, Others
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/jury-selection-begins-in-federal-corruption-trial-of-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-others/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T17:54:44.000Z
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her boyfriend Andre Jones, and father-and-son waste-management contractors David and Andy Duong will begin their federal corruption trial this week, ultimately bringing some closure to a yearslong probe.
It has echoes in the [corruption scandal that gripped San Francisco City Hall](https://sfist.com/mohammed-nuru/) five years ago, with city contractors engaging in alleged pay-to-play schemes, taking city officials on free trips to Asia, and links to the business of waste management. But in this case, the contractors allegedly got their favorite city councilmember elected mayor, and continued seeking contracts and preferential treatment until [federal agents descended in June 2024](https://sfist.com/2024/06/20/fbi-agents-raid-home-of/). Also, the mayor herself, in this case, allegedly solicited large cash bribes.
That's what federal prosecutors will be trying to prove, anyway, as jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of Sheng Thao and the three co-defendants.
As [ABC 7 reported last week](https://abc7news.com/post/trial-exhibits-detail-extensive-bribery-fraud-corruption-allegations-ex-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao/19926228/?ref=sfist.com), exhibits that will be presented to jurors by prosecutors include a recording of a 2019 conversation between Thao, then a city councilmember, and Andy Duong, in which she asks to meet with Duong and his father in a "private room" to discuss an issue with their company, California Waste Solutions, "because we don't really want to be seen with you guys."
And, as [we learned several months ago](https://sfist.com/2026/07/28/feds-reveal-new-allegations-against-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao/), Andy Duong had a habit of recording officials and getting incriminating video of them. There is, reportedly, a video of San Leandro city councilmember Bryan Azevedo — San Leandro also had garbage contracts with the Duongs — on a 2023 trip to Vietnam discussing some sort of sexual encounter he'd had the night before with Andy Duong. As [we learned in February](https://sfist.com/2026/02/11/san-leandro-city-councilman-pleads-guilty-becomes-potential-witness-against-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao/), Azevedo is one of the figures in this case who has already taken a plea and will likely be testifying against the Duongs.
The man likely to be the star witness in the prosecution's case is East Bay political operative Mario Juarez, who got into business with the Duongs on a company called Evolutionary Homes, which had plans to convert shipping containers into transitional housing for the housing. Juarez also allegedly served as a "straw donor" to one or more of Thao's campaigns, taking money from the Duongs and using it to help Thao get elected, including allegedly funding a $75,000 mailer for Thao's mayoral campaign.
Juarez [pleaded guilty in July](https://sfist.com/2026/07/28/feds-reveal-new-allegations-against-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao/) and has presumably been cooperating with investigators, and as we knew early on, Juarez was likely a threat to the Duongs and[ had his own house shot up](https://sfist.com/2024/06/28/alleged-straw-donor-in-sheng-thao-controversy-had-his-home-shot-at-and-was-allegedly-beaten-up/) in June 2024, days after the feds raided the homes of Thao and Jones and the Duongs.
In exchange for keeping the Duongs and their companies in the city's good graces, prosecutors say that Thao solicited a $3 million bribe for herself, which she did not receive, in addition to securing a $300,000-per-year no-show job for Jones at Evolutionary Homes. At the time of the raids, Jones had reportedly been paid about $95,000.
As [Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/10/13/oakland-corruption-case-what-to-know-as-former-mayor-sheng-thaos-trial-begins/?ref=sfist.com), filings by the prosecution show that multiple East Bay political figures are expected to take the stand in the trial, including Oakland City Council President Kevin Jenkins, and former Oakland city councilmember and current Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas.
The prosecution expects to be presenting its case until mid-November, which means that this trial could easily bleed into the new year once the defense begins, and once the trial runs up against holiday breaks.
If convicted on all charges, Thao could [face a maximum sentence of 95 years](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-corruption-trial/4157326/?ref=sfist.com) in prison, with the others potentially facing lengthy prison time as well.
**Previously:** [Feds Reveal New Allegations Against Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao as Informant Takes Guilty Plea](https://sfist.com/2026/07/28/feds-reveal-new-allegations-against-former-oakland-mayor-sheng-thao/)
### East Bay Man Booked on Attempted Murder Charge In Bay Bridge Shooting That Injured One
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/east-bay-man-booked-on-attempted-murder-charge-in-bay-bridge-shooting-that-injured-one/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T16:53:33.000Z
The CHP identified two suspects in connection to an alleged retaliatory shooting on the Bay Bridge last month that injured one person, including an adult who was recently arrested and a minor already in custody.
The California Highway Patrol arrested 19-year-old Olman Santiago Martinez Aguilar of San Pablo on October 8, after investigators identified him and a 15-year-old Richmond boy as suspects in the shooting, [according to a press release](https://www.facebook.com/CHPSanFrancisco/posts/pfbid0x5hg9t21NBfBdnFNAfXxmG3moit1bv38XV2wT85hiB5ofjtxPyYG1rVyZSY2MQfhl). CHP officers served search and arrest warrants at homes in both cities around 6:15 am, recovering a firearm at Martinez Aguilar’s residence that investigators believe is connected to the case. The juvenile was already in custody on an unrelated matter.
Martinez Aguilar was booked into Santa Rita Jail on charges including attempted murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle.
“This arrest reflects our investigators’ dedication to identifying those responsible and keeping Californians safe,” said CHP Golden Gate Division Chief Steve Ramos.
[As NBC Bay Area reported](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/chp-halts-traffic-on-bay-bridge-to-investigate-shooting/4148969/?ref=sfist.com) at the time, [the shooting](https://sfist.com/2026/09/27/sunday-links-one-injured-in-early-morning-bay-bridge-shooting/) happened around 4:06 am on September 26 on eastbound Interstate 80, just west of the Bay Bridge toll plaza. The injured passenger reported being shot in the leg and was taking himself to a local hospital for treatment.
According to the CHP, investigators believe the shooting was retaliatory, following a physical altercation in San Francisco. The suspects allegedly pursued the victims onto the freeway before firing at their vehicle.
Following the shooting, CHP officers had shut down all eastbound lanes of the Bay Bridge for about an hour, per NBC Bay Area. Authorities also conducted a search shortly after 2 pm that day, closing the eastbound lanes for approximately 30 minutes.
**Related:** [Suspect Flees SoMa Traffic Stop, Leads Police on Chase Onto Bay Bridge at Rush Hour](https://sfist.com/2026/04/02/suspect-flees-soma-traffic-stop-leads-police-on-chase-onto-bay-bridge-at-rush-hour/)
### Tuesday Morning Topline: Person Rescued From Cliff By Mile Rock Beach
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/13/person-rescued-from-cliff-near-mile-rock-beach/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T20:42:15.000Z
- **A San Francisco Fire Department crew had to rescue an individual from a cliffside near Mile Rock Beach Monday afternoon.** The person was "along the broken shoreline below a protected cliff off the Coastal Trail," and crews had to come in by boat to climb up and help them back up the cliff. \[[SFFD/X](https://x.com/SFFDPIO/status/2109782341862498646?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The WNBA Finals are shaping up to be a contrast between two disparate WNBA experiences, with Games 1 and 2 being played at "Ballhalla" (Chase Center) with its 18,000 seats, and Games 3 and 4 and potentially 6 being played at the Atlanta Dream's tiny, 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena.** That is unless Atlanta comes up with a different venue, quickly. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/annkillion/article/wnba-finals-game-3-500-seats-valkyries-dream-22473613.php?ref=sfist.com)\] **Update:** They came up with a different venue, and the Atlanta games will be played at the 18,000-seat State Farm Arena. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/atlanta-dream-resolve-venue-questions-for-wnba-finals-games-3-and-4/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- PG&E has issued a warning about another PSPS event that could start Wednesday, impacting Butte, Calaveras, Shasta, Sierra, and Tuolumne counties, and to a lesser extent, El Dorado, Placer, Yuba, Nevada and Amador counties. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/pge-power-shutoff-northern-california-mid-october-2026/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- In the last decade and a half, Chinese American families have been moving out of traditionally Chinese neighborhoods in San Francisco, with thousands choosing homes in the Bayview, Portola, and Potrero Hill neighborhoods. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/chinese-americans-san-francisco-neighborhoods-22458761.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Spark Social, the outdoor hangout and food truck park in SF's Mission Bay, has expanded with a new location in San Jose. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/spark-social-opens-downtown-san-jose-food-trucks-entertainment/4157220/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A woman is using a Texas law meant to punish anyone who mails or prescribes abortion pills to go after several anti-abortion activists in Houston purported to buy abortion pills "undercover," perhaps to entrap a doctor, and posted about it on Instagram. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/us/texas-abortion-pill-students-for-life-america-lawsuit.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Kimberly Guilfoyle has been asked to resign from her post as ambassador to Greece, following revelations that she [asked a Republican donor for $100K](https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/kimberly-guilfoyle-now-in-hot-water-over-alleged-100k-ask-to-donor-to-pay-her-amex-bill/) to pay her Amex bill in exchange for access to the Trump administration. \[[Associated Press](https://www.kron4.com/news/politics/ap-white-house-ambassador-to-greece-guilfoyle-is-asked-to-resign-after-allegations-of-improper-conduct/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Minnesota Farmer Wins Pumpkin Weigh-Off For Fifth Time
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/minnesota-farmer-wins-pumpkin-weigh-off-for-fifth-time/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T00:20:56.000Z
### Local:
- **Ann Mannix, the retired SFPD officer who was reportedly** [**killed in a murder-suicide**](https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/retired-sfpd-officials-and-their-daughter-killed-in-suspected-murder-suicide/) **by her fellow retired SFPD officer husband on Sunday in Marin County, told friends she was "so happy" to finally be on the path to divorce**. Mannix allegedly told her friend, attorney and recent congressional candidate Marie Hurabiell, at a party recently that she was in a great place and looking forward to the future without her husband. \[[California Post](https://nypost.com/2026/10/12/us-news/ex-bay-area-cop-was-happy-to-split-with-husband-before-murder-suicide-friend-says/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off happened today in Half Moon Bay, and the farmer taking home the prize, his fifth overall, was Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota.** Gienger reportedly [lost his pumpkin before the weigh-in in 2025](https://sfist.com/2025/10/13/ginormous-gourds-arrive-in-half-moon-bay-for-annual-pumpkin-weigh-off/), but he took home the prize the previous two years, [setting a world record in 2023](https://sfist.com/2023/10/09/watch-2-749-pound-pumpkin-wins-half-moon-bay-pumpkin-festival-contest-sets-world-record/) with a 2,749-pounder. This year's was a mere 2,389 pounds. \[[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/pumpkinweighoff/posts/pfbid03WLYvDwyGRWBvpy9vg4P66Pjhb5uGkRuVkcy8ospmAjwhqmGSi1hVy3CKGe3NX2al)\]
- The SF Sheriff's Department has been spending lavishly on overtime for deputies to attend pageants and other events, while the county jail remains chronically understaffed. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/san-francisco-sheriff-overtime-events-jails-22395196.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- Once again kowtowing to Putin, President Trump has made a surprise decision to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel fuel, and has requested that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refineries. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-us-diesel-deal-negotiations.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Backlash over data center construction is growing more tense and potentially violent in parts of the US. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/12/politics/data-center-backlash-death-threats?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Heh - a Republican super PAC just wasted a bunch of money airing an ad attacking Troy Jackson, the Democratic Senate candidate who's running against Susan Collins, in the wrong Portland TV market — Oregon, instead of Maine. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/us/politics/maine-troy-jackson-ad-portland-oregon.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- With ample use of the word "gnarly," some dudes got some dangerously up-close video of waves from Hurricane Rachel crashing against a seawall in Laguna Beach late last week.
### Sonoma County Airport Adds Direct SFO Bus Service With Checked Bags and Security Screening
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/santa-rosa-airport-adds-direct-sfo-bus-service-with-checked-bags-and-security-screening/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T15:57:00.000Z
A new bus service connecting Charles M. Schulz Airport to SFO will let North Bay travelers check bags and clear security before leaving Sonoma County, with eight daily round trips and connections to five airlines beginning November 17.
The Landline Company announced Monday that the new direct bus service will begin November 17, with eight daily round trips between Santa Rosa and SFO, [as the North Bay Business Journal reports](https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/10/12/sonoma-sfo-security/?ref=sfist.com). The one-way fare is $55 for adults, while children 15 and younger ride free with a paying adult. The trip is expected to take a little over two hours, depending on traffic.
Unlike a conventional airport shuttle, Landline's 36-seat coaches will drop passengers directly inside SFO's secure area at Gate A3 in the International Terminal, allowing travelers with connecting flights to proceed without going through security again. According to the blog [The Points Guy](https://thepointsguy.com/news/san-francisco-airport-sfo-landline-connections-santa-rosa-sonoma/?ref=sfist.com), the company is partnering with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and United Airlines, with plans to add more carriers.
Passengers can check their luggage in Santa Rosa, where Landline staff will tag bags for their final destinations and transfer them to connecting flights at SFO. Travelers who already have mobile boarding passes and aren't checking bags can reportedly bypass the Landline counter and head straight to security at Sonoma County Airport.
Passengers arriving on their return trips at SFO can collect their bags at baggage claim before boarding a Landline coach outside any terminal. Return buses will run from approximately 8 am to 11 pm, while departures from Santa Rosa are scheduled for 5, 7, 9, and 11 am, 1, 3, 5:30, and 8 pm.
Sonoma County Airport Manager Jon Stout told the Business Journal that the new service isn't expected to affect the operations of the airport’s existing shuttle operated by Groome Transportation. Groome's service, which has connected Santa Rosa with SFO and Oakland International Airport since acquiring Airport Express in 2017, includes multiple stops and doesn't offer advance security screening.
Landline coaches won't make stops between the two airport airfields, and their baggage compartments will reportedly remain locked and monitored, under Transportation Security Administration guidelines. The buses have leather seats, extra legroom, Wi-Fi through Starlink, charging outlets, restrooms, and wheelchair accessibility.
Reservations are already open through [Landline's booking website](https://sfo.landline.com/?ref=sfist.com). Customers enter their flight information to receive a recommended bus departure, and boarding is expected to begin about 15 minutes before departure. Per the Business Journal, the company will have staff at Sonoma County Airport to handle boarding passes, luggage, and documentation for international connections.
Landline will reportedly pay airport fees under its agreement with Sonoma County, which is not paying for the service, and the airport is expecting additional revenue from passenger fees, facility use, leases, parking, and concessions.
Company founder and CEO David Sunde said a bus connection makes more sense than a short flight between regional airports when boarding, taxiing, and other airport procedures are factored into the overall trip.
“Sonoma County is a big and growing population center. It needs connectivity to an international airport,” Sunde said.
Landline launched in 2019 and has since expanded to more than 200 daily departures across North America. According to the Points Guy, its existing partnerships include Sun Country Airlines, Air Canada, American Airlines, and United Airlines.
The Santa Rosa route is reportedly Landline's first in the Pacific time zone.
Sunde said the company is considering similar connections to SFO from Monterey Regional Airport and Stockton Metropolitan Airport, with Modesto City-County Airport and Sacramento International Airport also potential future additions, as the Points Guy reports. The company is currently working with SFO to secure a more centrally located gate, since Gate A3 is inconvenient for United passengers departing from Terminal 3.
Per the Business Journal, Landline's arrival follows Delta Air Lines' October 6 launch of flights between Santa Rosa and Salt Lake City, along with the introduction of curbside check-in for Delta passengers at Sonoma County Airport.
**Related:** [SFO to Start Allowing Non-Ticketed Guests Past Security, For Goodbyes and Greetings at Gates](https://sfist.com/2026/04/29/sfo-to-start-allowing-non-ticketed-guests-past-security-for-goodbyes-and-greetings-at-gates/)
### Suspect on Scooter Killed In SFPD Chase In SoMa
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/suspect-on-scooter-killed-in-sfpd-chase-in-soma/
Last updated: 2026-10-12T23:01:40.000Z
A suspect fleeing from police in SF's SoMa district Monday either had a fatal collision with a bus shelter structure while riding his scooter, or was tackled into that structure by an SFPD officer.
The incident happened Monday around 11:25 am, as [Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/san-francisco-police-chase-man-killed-scooter/?ref=sfist.com). San Francisco police say that officers spotted a suspect on a scooter in the area of Eighth and Mission streets who was wanted on an outstanding warrant — the details of which have not been shared.
The suspect fled from officers and then had a fatal collision with a "street fixture," according to the SFPD, that fixture being a Muni bus stop shelter.
Witnesses tell Mission Local that the suspect on the scooter attempted to flee against traffic, and was cut off by a gray sedan, possibly being driven by undercover SFPD officers.
A man who may have been an undercover officer then got out of that sedan and forcibly tackled the suspect, witnesses tell Mission Local.
It remains unclear whether the tackle knocked the suspect into the bus shelter pole, or if he swerved into it, or a combination of both.
Paramedics transported the suspect to the hospital, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sf-police-scooter-crash-death-22474093.php?ref=sfist.com), where he was later pronounced dead.
The SFPD have not commented further or given any details about the suspect's alleged crimes.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact SFPD at 415-575-4444\.
### ‘Artist Space Trust’ Opens Applications for Affordable Duplex In SF’s Mission District
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/artist-space-trust-opens-applications-for-affordable-duplex-in-sfs-mission-district/
Last updated: 2026-10-12T22:59:34.000Z
Artist Space Trust, which keeps housing permanently affordable for Bay Area artists and first-time homebuyers, is accepting applications for a duplex in SF’s Mission District, which will be the first property in its Artist Housing Commons network.
Artist Space Trust began accepting applications for [Celadon House](https://www.artistspacetrust.org/celadon-house-application?ref=sfist.com), the first property in the Berkeley-based nonprofit's Artist Housing Commons, a growing collection of homes and creative spaces intended to remain affordable for artists across the Bay Area, [as the SF Examiner reports](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/community/bay-area-nonprofits-launch-land-trust-for-low-income-artists/article%5F3d6f28c2-f5a6-476c-8c85-0edeac7d0c1c.html?ref=sfist.com). Applications are open through November 22, and the Mission District property will eventually house two artist households.
[According to KQED](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13989682/artist-housing-advocates-eye-a-once-in-100-year-opportunity?ref=sfist.com), Artist Space Trust uses a community land trust model, retaining ownership of the land while selling homes to qualified buyers at well below market rate. It is reportedly the first organization in the nation to use this model specifically for artists. Many properties are donated by owners who are artists themselves who want to help artists remain in the Bay Area, as was the case with Celadon House.
**Artist Space Trust*
Applicants for Celadon House must be first-time homebuyers in households of two to seven people earning no more than 80% of the area median income, which is currently $134,500 for a two-person household and $168,100 for a four-person household. Qualified applicants can pursue mortgages through Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco.
Artist Space Trust is offering the first unit for less than one-third of its appraised value, with prices structured to keep housing costs within reach of lower-income buyers.
The organization was established in 2023 with help from Vital Arts, whose executive director, Sharmi Basu, lost more than a dozen friends in the [2016 Ghost Ship fire](https://sfist.com/2021/01/22/derick-almena-pleads-guilty-in-ghost-ship-fire-case/) in Oakland, per KQED. The tragedy highlighted the need for safer, more stable spaces for artists, many of whom have struggled to find affordable places to live and create.
“The Bay Area is in a state of extreme housing precarity,” Basu said in a statement.
Artist Space Trust executive director Meg Shiffler [told KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/bay-area-nonprofit-just-getting-off-ground-mission-keep-artists-from-being-priced-out?ref=sfist.com) the organization hopes to house 300 artist households over the next decade through Artist Housing Commons, which will include individual homes, rental units, and live-work spaces in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland.
**Artist Space Trust*
“The nonprofit Artist Space Trust will own the land forever and then rent or sell the home or the units on top of it to qualified low-income artists generation after generation after generation,” Shiffler said, speaking to KTVU.
The organization has reportedly secured $15 million in properties that have been donated or are expected to be donated in the coming years. Some are conventional single-family homes, while others offer opportunities to create additional housing, including a site with a house, a warehouse, and space for another unit.
Before launching Artist Housing Commons, Artist Space Trust helped Oakland artist Jaelynn Walls buy a home through a partnership with the Northern California Land Trust. As KQED reported, Walls secured $168,000 in down payment assistance through CalHOME, a state program for first-time homebuyers, allowing them to buy a three-bedroom home in East Oakland and put more of their income toward their creative work.
“Just having a place to land, and not feeling like I could have the rug pulled out from under me at any moment by the greater powers that be, such as a landlord or a housing company, is very assuring,” Walls told KQED. “This is pretty much the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in terms of my creative practice.”
**Artist Space Trust*
A 2015 survey of San Francisco artists reportedly found that 70% had experienced displacement from their homes, workspaces, or both, while a 2021 Berkeley survey found that most artists surveyed were low-income, with 77% spending a burdensome share of their income on housing.
Artist Space Trust is also looking to expand options for artists earning less than 60% of the area median income, including through potential tiny homes and condominiums. According to KQED, for households earning 60% to 80% of the median income, the nonprofit aims to set prices so monthly housing costs consume no more than 30% of income.
The organization credits property owners for doing their part to help younger artists thrive in the Bay Area by choosing to donate their homes rather than selling them at current market prices.
The push to preserve housing for artists comes as other projects move forward in San Francisco. Per KQED, construction began over the summer on the [Artists Hub on Market](https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/sf-supervisors-approve-project-to-build-new-artist-housing-on-mid-market-courtesy-of-anonymous-donor/) as well as a separate artist housing development by Mercy Housing California.
**Related:** [SF Supervisors Approve Program for New Affordable Artist Housing on Mid-Market, Courtesy of Anonymous Donor](https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/sf-supervisors-approve-project-to-build-new-artist-housing-on-mid-market-courtesy-of-anonymous-donor/)
### 'The Social Reckoning' Is a Compelling Extended 'West Wing' Episode About Facebook's Decline
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/the-social-reckoning-is-a-compelling-extended-west-wing-episode-about-facebooks-decline/
Last updated: 2026-10-12T23:05:22.000Z
Writer Aaron Sorkin does his level best to find a compelling narrative in the story of Facebook/Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen, but *The Social Reckoning* feels like it's telling a ripped-from-the-headlines tale several years and a thousand headlines too late.
The story of Frances Haugen going on the record with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz was, indeed, major news when it happened in late 2021\. Haugen immediately [was on *60 Minutes* telling her story](https://sfist.com/2021/10/04/facebook-whistleblower-who-shared-docs-with-wall-street-journal-goes-on-60-minutes-to-spill-more-dirt/) and was [dragged before a Senate committee](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/technology/facebook-senate-hearing.html?ref=sfist.com), and the Journal published what became a total of 17 damning investigative stories under the moniker [The Facebook Files](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039?ref=sfist.com).
Haugen and Horwitz can be credited with laying the groundwork for legal challenges to Meta that are ongoing, including the [landmark case in March](https://sfist.com/2026/03/25/meta-and-google-found-liable-in-landmark-social-media-addiction-case-meta-also-found-liable-in-child-exploitation-case/) in Los Angeles in which both Meta and Google/YouTube were found liable for one teenager's devastating social media addiction.
And they can be credited with bringing to light one of the latest examples of how Facebook/Meta chose profits over people, shareholders over children's and democracy's health, and contributed to the ongoing radicalization of ordinary people around the globe, including in the US.
But while 2010's *The Social Network*, written by Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, had a well-earned sense of urgency and buoyant momentum — somewhat remarkable given that it was framed around two dry legal cases in mediation between Mark Zuckerberg and four men who all sought their piece of the growing, multi-billion-dollar pie that Facebook became — *The Social Reckoning*, which was both written and directed by Sorkin, feels like it's retreading a scandal with an urgency none of us feel anymore. Now that AI is the threat and debate du jour, and now that Zuckerberg himself has been somewhat sidelined in the tech universe because of it, his role as calculated villain on the autism spectrum lacks the power it once it did.
This is not to say that *Succession* star and Emmy and Tony winner Jeremy Strong doesn't do an excellent job embodying Zuckerberg, in all his infuriating, robotic, greedy callousness. (He seems destined for an Oscar nomination here, likely in the supporting category.) And Sorkin's penchant for quick-paced, witty dialogue is evident throughout, even when the territory gets arcane and technical, keeping the mood from getting too dour.
Jeremy Allen White does a solid job of translating his onscreen broodishness to the character of Horwitz, a stalwart journalist with little grasp of or interest in the tech world. And Oscar winner Mikey Madison is terrific as the nerdy, earnest Haugen, trying to toe the line between her loyalty to Facebook's stated mission, and her growing outrage over rage bait, and Facebook's obvious role in contributing to partisan and conspiracy-obsessed divisiveness in this country.
In a smaller role, Betty Gilpin is a scene-stealer as Horwitz's thorny bureau chief at the Journal, whose first moment of exasperation comes when she learns Horwitz has never been on Facebook.
Instagram's role in destroying the mental health of teens is given somewhat short shrift in Sorkin's screenplay, though it is in there — dramatized in part by a scene in which Haugen overhears a mother, father, and tween daughter in a San Francisco restaurant discussing how the daughter is being bullied. She offers to help by flagging the bully's account, in her role as an insider, only to find out that kids have created multiple finstas to do their bullying in this case, and she runs off in horror and helplessness.
That scene does well to illustrate how Sorkin himself might be a bit out of his depth with latter-day social media in all its variety and menace. He seems much more at home re-dramatizing the January 6th riot, *West Wing*\-style, and depicting Zuckerberg impotently watching it unfold, struggling with whether to shut down the accounts of a "sitting president," as he puts it. Wasn't Twitter probably as big or a bigger player in how the insurrection took shape? Somehow, Sorkin chooses to let Twitter go unmentioned, placing the blame squarely at Zuckerberg's feet alone.
In this way, the film ends a little too tidily, given the messiness and global-scale chaos of its subject, more in the vein of a *West Wing* season finale than that of a film with Oscar ambitions. And a *West Wing* episode that's five years and an entire presidential administration late in its headline-ripping.
Also, Bay Area denizens will be quick to notice how the film, shot primarily in nighttime darkness or in rainy or overcast weather, doesn't appear to be happening in the Bay Area at all. Not only are the winter downpours of rain and fall foliage a bit unfamiliar, but save for a single establishing shot of the real Meta campus in Menlo Park, the rest of the Meta office scenes were shot in Vancouver, using [this boldly Brutalist university campus](https://www.sfu.ca/?ref=sfist.com) as a stand-in for Meta, which also just looks wrong.
It's not been lost on critics that *The Social Reckoning* is arriving in the same movie season as [*Artificial*](https://sfist.com/2025/07/31/people-are-spotting-that-openai-movie-being-shot-at-locations-around-san-francisco/), the more timely film of tech ills from director Luca Guadagnino — and Vulture even goes so far as to say "[*Artificial* Is a Better *Social Network* Sequel Than *The Social Reckoning*.](https://www.vulture.com/article/artificial-is-a-better-social-network-sequel-than-reckoning.html?ref=sfist.com)" And [The Wrap notes](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/the-social-reckoning-box-office-bomb-explained/?ref=sfist.com) that *The Social Reckoning*'s dismal opening-weekend take at the box office is echoed in the poor performance of a similarly bleak film, the climate change satire *Digger*, saying that they are both examples of "audiences rejecting a film that tackles tough issues that are already monopolizing real-life headlines."
**Related:** [People Are Spotting That OpenAI Movie Being Shot at Locations Around San Francisco](https://sfist.com/2025/07/31/people-are-spotting-that-openai-movie-being-shot-at-locations-around-san-francisco/)
### Over 7,000 SF Residents and Businesses Lost Power Monday Morning In Unplanned Outage
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/over-7-000-sf-residents-and-businesses-lost-power-monday-morning-in-unplanned-outage/
Last updated: 2026-10-12T20:09:55.000Z
Upwards of 6,600 PG&E customers — representing well over 10,000 residents and businesses, if not closer to 20,000 — were without power Monday morning as PG&E deals with yet another unplanned outage.
Monday's unplanned outage began around 11:38 am, as [KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/thousands-without-power-in-san-francisco-monday-due-to-unplanned-outage/?ref=sfist.com), and was impacting parts of Corona Heights, Haight-Ashbury, Duboce Triangle, Castro, and the Mission District. Similar unplanned outages occurred earlier this year affecting these same areas — leading to PG&E deploying a temporary generator in the Castro — and two weeks ago, an unplanned outage [closed down the Ferry Building](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sf-ferry-building-left-in-the-dark-after-power-outage-hits-waterfront/?ref=sfist.com) and impacted part of the Embarcadero.
The initial outage map on Monday, seen below, showed a wide swath of the Mission District impacted. But a PG&E spokesperson [told the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/power-outage-pge-22473892.php?ref=sfist.com), "We were able to restore more than half of the affected customers almost immediately by switching them to an unaffected distribution line."
**Initial outage map from PG&E via KRON4*
Subsequently, PG&E said that the outage was continuing to impact "2,950 remaining customers" as of 12:40 pm, with the impact appearing to be concentrated in Corona Heights/Upper Market, several blocks of the Castro near Market Street, several blocks along Guerrero Street, and the 16th Street corridor.
**Outage map as of 12:40 pm, via PG&E*
The cause of the outage remains unclear, however for part of the Castro around Market, Noe, and Sanchez streets, this is repeat of [a similar outage that took days to repair](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco-market-street-power-outage/4108899/?ref=sfist.com) back in early July — impacting residents as well as bars that were trying to show World Cup matches.
It's been a bad 12 months overall for PG&E and its infrastructure in San Francisco, following that [massive outage](https://sfist.com/2025/12/20/massive-power-outage-in-san-francisco-leaves-65-000-customers-in/) the weekend before Christmas impacting half the city, which led to [outages that went on for weeks](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/thousands-to-lose-power-in-san-francisco-for-pge-repairs/?ref=sfist.com) into the new year for certain neighborhoods. Around 7,000 PG&E customers also [lost power during that March heatwave](https://sfist.com/2026/03/20/over-7-000-golden-gate-park-and-sunset-district-pg-e-customers-lose-power-friday/).
As today's outage continued, PG&E said, "\[We\] have a troubleworker (PG&E first responder) on scene making assessments and determining repairs."
### SFUSD to Replace School Lottery With Neighborhood-Based Enrollment System
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/sfusd-to-replace-school-lottery-with-neighborhood-based-enrollment-system/
Last updated: 2026-10-12T20:13:17.000Z
The SF school board will vote Tuesday on a neighborhood-based enrollment plan to replace its old lottery system by the fall of 2028, but families are urging the district to slow down, warning that the options don't addresses inequities in underserved neighborhoods.
The San Francisco Unified School District is weighing two options for assigning students to schools closer to home, with both plans allowing some degree of choice beyond neighborhood boundaries, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sfusd-school-assignments-lottery-22466924.php?ref=sfist.com). The school board is scheduled to vote on the options Tuesday evening.
“The direction is neighborhood schools,” school board President Phil Kim said.
Under Option B, families who apply by the deadline would be guaranteed a seat at their neighborhood school while remaining eligible to apply to other schools citywide,[per EdSource](https://edsource.org/updates/san-francisco-unified-to-replace-school-lottery-system?ref=sfist.com). Option C would guarantee a neighborhood placement even for families who miss the deadline, but limit additional applications to citywide programs such as K-8 schools and language immersion programs.
According to [the SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/09/sfusd-kindergarten-enrollment-changes/?ref=sfist.com), the board previously dropped a third option, Option A, which would have grouped nearby schools into small zones, guaranteeing families a seat at one of them, while keeping the two neighborhood-school proposals under consideration.
A district survey of 2,725 families found that 71% favored Option B, compared with 48% who supported Option C.
The Chronicle reports that the district plans to adopt the policy in April, with the new enrollment system scheduled to launch for the 2028–2029 school year. Incoming kindergarten students in fall 2028 would be the first to use the new system.
The district will also reportedly redraw school attendance boundaries, determining which neighborhood school is assigned to each address. Officials expect to spend the coming months working out those boundaries, evaluating enrollment capacity, and potentially adding programs at some schools or relocating existing ones to accommodate changing student populations. Families are not expected to learn which schools serve their neighborhoods until spring.
The proposal would mark a significant shift away from the city’s longstanding school choice system, under which incoming kindergarten families rank schools across San Francisco and assignments are determined by an algorithm that considers factors including siblings and home addresses, as EdSource notes. The current system also gives priority to students from the 20% of the city with historically low test scores at any school on their application list.
The district [voted to eliminate](https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2018-12-12-121218-sfusd-begin-process-developing-new-student-assignment-system?ref=sfist.com) the lottery in 2018 after data showed it had not reduced socioeconomic segregation as intended, but officials reportedly never implemented a replacement. A separate zone-based plan approved by an earlier school board in 2020 was delayed by the pandemic, administrative problems, and budget deficits before being dropped from consideration this time around.
Supporters of neighborhood assignments say the change could make enrollment more predictable, keep students closer to home, and help stabilize school populations. According to the Chronicle, some schools currently receive hundreds of applications for a limited number of kindergarten seats, while others struggle to fill a single classroom. Board Vice President Jaime Huling argued that the existing process creates uncertainty for families and contributes to uneven enrollment.
“The complexity and lack of predictability of the lottery is driving families away and creates unnecessary anxiety,” Huling said, speaking to the Chronicle. “We need to have predictably staffed schools that are fully enrolled.”
But parents and advocates warned that assigning students to their nearest school won't resolve the disparities that lead families to seek alternatives, particularly in southeastern neighborhoods where many families bypass nearby schools.
At a school board informational meeting, parents urged officials to slow the process, arguing that students in underserved communities could end up assigned to schools that lack the programs, staffing, and other resources available elsewhere, as the Chronicle reports.
Roberto Guzman Rivera, a parent at Guadalupe Elementary, said families' decisions to seek schools outside their neighborhoods reflect persistent problems with educational outcomes and services.
“Chronic absenteeism, the excessive suspension of our communities, literacy levels. Black and brown communities, they don't read up to level,” Guzman Rivera told the Chronicle. “Why we're not focusing on that? Focusing on fully staffing?”
Board member Alida Fisher acknowledged that enrollment changes alone would not make the plan successful without investments in schools that have struggled to attract and retain students.
“For any of these systems to be successful, we've got to address the resources,” Fisher said, speaking to KALW.
Blanca Catalan, a parent organizer at Coleman Advocates, which advocates for children in San Francisco, told the Chronicle that neighborhood schools can provide stability for families, but school choice must remain an option.
“But also we know that location alone does not guarantee equity,” Catalan said. “Families need schools where their children feel seen, supported and have access to the programs and services they need.”
[As 48Hills Tim Redmond reports](https://48hills.org/2026/10/school-board-to-consider-plans-that-would-increase-inequality-in-student-enrollment/?ref=sfist.com), Mfalme Mashairi, executive director of Coleman Advocates, called on the board to reconsider the proposals and hold community town halls to learn what families need — beyond [the survey](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPkS-vWQAOzpgquct%5F6hgf0svCLiKY3Wdo6nbf6mRkqmXSMg/viewform?fbzx=-172990630644377073&ref=sfist.com) that SFUSD sent out to families. Redmond argues that without addressing unequal funding and access to programs, the new system could restrict choices for families in the southeast while wealthier neighborhoods continue to benefit from better-resourced schools.
Parent-teacher associations play a longstanding role in the disparity, Redmond notes, as schools attended by wealthier families have the ability to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for enrichment programs and help offset budget cuts. Schools serving families with fewer financial resources generally cannot raise comparable amounts, leaving students with unequal opportunities even within the same public school system.
Language immersion programs present another challenge, with demand reportedly exceeding the number of available seats. Officials say the district will need to determine how to distribute programs and services as attendance boundaries change, while persuading families to enroll at their neighborhood schools.
Kim acknowledged the stakes, describing the decision as one that would shape the district for years to come.
“This is a monumental and consequential decision that’s going to impact our district for a generation,” Kim said. “We have to get it right.”
**Related:** [Black Leaders Demand Action From SFUSD Following Recent Racist Incidents](https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/black-leaders-demand-action-from-sfusd-following-recent-racist-incidents/)
### Woman Featured on Another 'Baddies' Show Fatally Shot In Downtown Oakland
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/woman-featured-on-another-baddies-show-fatally-shot-in-downtown-oakland/
Last updated: 2026-10-12T18:14:32.000Z
A 29-year-old reality TV personality was killed early Sunday in Oakland, in the second local incident of violence in a week that's been linked to a show with the word 'Baddies' in the title.
Richmond resident Mackayla Paige, known as Kash, was shot just after 1:30 am Sunday on the 200 block of 14th Street in downtown Oakland. As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-shooting-richmond-sunday?ref=sfist.com), police responded to the scene, which appeared to be centered on Cave Lounge — where Saturday night was [billed as a birthday party](https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd7wp0oBU%5FL/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) for Bay Area-based DJ Butta Smoove. The shooting appears to have occurred outside the venue.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-fatal-shooting-22472814.php?ref=sfist.com), Oakland police quickly arrested another Richmond woman in connection with the shooting, but her name has not been released, and no motive has been discussed.
[Internet rumor](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeZel2wkeZ0/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) and some [video that's been linked the fight](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeZaVP-IC%5FU/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) suggests that Paige may have been shot by her own friend or a member of her entourage who had pulled out a gun after Paige became involved in an altercation with someone else, and the gun went off accidentally, shooting Paige, as the friend was attempting to pistol-whip Paige's attacker.
Paige was a featured personality on a reality TV series on the Nyx Network called *Real West Coast Baddies*, a series that appears to be inspired by and similar to the *Baddies* franchise, though not directly linked to it. Both shows have had multiple seasons, and feature a predominantly African American cast interacting — often violently — at private homes and public events. *Baddies*, a spiritual successor to *Bad Girls Club*, is produced by Oakland native Natalie Nunn, and a recent episode being shot at the Warfield in San Francisco led to [the fatal shooting of a security guard](https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/suspect-in-warfield-shooting-linked-to-notorious-rainbow-crew/). That shooting occurred almost exactly a week before this one, on October 3.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeXkypOktkI/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by AZMOSTWANTED (@azmostwanted\_\_)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeXkypOktkI/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
Kash reportedly also appeared on the streaming series *Young and Reckless* and [*Room H8*'*s*](https://www.instagram.com/p/DCKfCKHPU4i/?ref=sfist.com) on the platform [NowThatsTV](https://www.instagram.com/nowthats%5Ftv/?ref=sfist.com).
Her close friend Poodahh, who had the phrase "Spoil Me With Kash" tattooed on her hand, tells KTVU, "Oh my God, she was so fun," adding, "She's not gone. I can't speak \[of\] her in the past tense."
And Nicky Clayton, identified as Kash's cousin, told the station, "She wanted to be famous so bad. She still had morals, don't get me wrong. She wanted to be a reality star. She was wanted to start her own business." Clayton said that Kash wanted to get into the makeup business.
On [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/spoilmewitkash?ref=sfist.com), Kash identified herself as a makeup artist and "lowkey famous," and "the one y'all love to hate."
While an arrest has been made, those with information, photos or video related to the shooting are asked to contact the Oakland Police Department at (510) 238-3821, via the tip line at (510) 238-7950, or by email at cidvideos@oaklandca.gov .
**Previously:** [Suspect In Warfield Shooting Linked to Notorious Rainbow Crew](https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/suspect-in-warfield-shooting-linked-to-notorious-rainbow-crew/)
### Retired SFPD Official, Daughter Killed In Alleged Murder-Suicide
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/retired-sfpd-officials-and-their-daughter-killed-in-suspected-murder-suicide/
Last updated: 2026-10-13T06:30:13.000Z
A retired SFPD deputy chief was fatally shot by her estranged husband, a retired sergeant, who also fatally shot their 24-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself in their Marin County home Sunday.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the family’s home in an unincorporated community near Mill Valley shortly after 5 pm Sunday after receiving a 911 call reporting gunshots inside the residence, [as ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/authorities-investigating-shooting-strawberry-circle-unincorporated-marin-county/19931046/?ref=sfist.com). Deputies reportedly arrived within minutes and found three people dead.
According to investigators, Kevin Mannix, 68, a retired SFPD sergeant, allegedly shot his estranged wife, Ann Mannix, 65, a retired SFPD deputy chief, and their 24-year-old daughter, Katie, before turning the gun on himself. The sheriff’s office has not publicly confirmed the identities of the victims or the circumstances leading up to the shooting.
A neighbor [told the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/marin-county-shooting-three-dead-22472841.php?ref=sfist.com) that she and her daughter were in their front yard when they heard a man yelling from the home. Another man then ran through the gate, shouting, “Please call 911, he has a gun!” before gunshots rang out.
Detectives spent Sunday night processing the scene, and authorities said they were waiting for a judge to approve a search warrant for a more thorough examination of the home. The sheriff’s office said there had been no previous calls for service at the address and that there was no known threat to the surrounding community.
The Chronicle reports that Ann Mannix joined SFPD’s command staff in 2018 as deputy chief of the Field Operations Bureau and took over the Special Operations Bureau the following year. She reportedly retired in 2021 after a career that included becoming the first woman to join and later lead the department’s SWAT team.
[A fourth-generation San Franciscan](https://www.sfpal.org/about/board-and-staff/capt-ann-mannix?ref=sfist.com), Ann Mannix grew up in the Jordan Park neighborhood and attended public schools in the Richmond District.
Both Ann and Kevin Mannix had been with the department for 27 years prior to their retirements.
SFPD Chief Derrick Lew said the department’s behavioral science unit was available to employees seeking support following the deaths.
“Please keep their family in your prayers,” [said Lew](https://x.com/dannoyes/status/2109520483737854019?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [Mental Health Crisis May Have Been to Blame In Berkeley Couple's Deaths](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/mental-health-crisis-may-have-been-to-blame-in-berkeley-couples-deaths/)
### Monday Morning Headlines: SF Dems Formally Rescind Yekutiel Endorsement
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/12/sf-dems-formally-rescind-yekutiel-endorsement/
Last updated: 2026-10-12T16:19:00.000Z
- **The SF Democratic Party had a fraught meeting Sunday night in which it rescinded an** [**earlier endorsement**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/following-contentious-public-meeting-sf-dems-endorse-manny-yekutiel-for-district-8/) **of** [**Manny Yekutiel**](https://sfist.com/manny-yekutiel/) **for District 8 Supervisor and rallied behind Gary McCoy.** The vote to rescind was 29-0, and the vote to endorse McCoy was 20-0, with eight voting for no endorsement. \[[Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/san-francisco-democrats-gary-mccoy-manny-yekutiel-endorsement/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Crowds gathered on the SF waterfront Sunday for a sunny finish to Fleet Week, with the air show headlined by the Blue Angels. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/crowds-enjoy-fleet-week-2026-last-day/4156488/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Toyota Prius ended up in the Bay near the Candlestick Park exit on Highway 101 on Saturday, partially submerged, following some sort of crash. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/video-car-submerged-in-sf-bay-after-crash-off-highway-101/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The annual TechCrunch Disrupt conference kicks off Tuesday at Moscone West. \[[TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/12/techcrunch-disrupt-2026-starts-tomorrow-your-final-chance-to-secure-up-to-100-ticket-savings/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are reportedly discussing the removal of Kimberly Guilfoyle from her job as ambassador to Greece following revelations about her [apparently seeking a pay-to-play bribe](https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/kimberly-guilfoyle-now-in-hot-water-over-alleged-100k-ask-to-donor-to-pay-her-amex-bill/) from a donor. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/trump-rubio-mull-firing-kimberly-guilfoyle-report?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Trump administration continues playing dirty, having the Department of Justice execute a search warrant at the DC home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, who is up for reelection, in what it says is part of an ongoing criminal investigation. \[[ABC News](https://abc7news.com/story/rep-ilhan-omars-residence-searched-part-ongoing-criminal-investigation-doj-says/19932038/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- North Beach celebrated the 158th annual San Francisco Italian Heritage Parade on Sunday, with Nancy Pelosi waving from a convertible, and actor Joe Mantegna serving as grand marshal from the passenger seat of a Ferrari. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/italian-heritage-parade-22465889.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### New Star-Filled Movie Directed By Hyatt Hotel Heir Filming in San Francisco
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/11/new-star-filled-movie-directed-by-hyatt-hotel-heir-filming-in-san-francisco/
Last updated: 2026-10-11T20:47:31.000Z
Filming for an upcoming movie titled *Fog City* has taken over two blocks of Steiner Street this week, with a cast that reportedly features Miranda Otto, Cooper Koch, and Angus Imrie. The picture is being directed by billionaire Hyatt hotel heir Daniel Pritzker.
In her latest Waggle column [for the Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/10/waggle-posen-s-pad-fleet-week-horniness-sf-really-feels-tech-movies/?ref=sfist.com), reporter Emily Dreyfuss details the shoot, which has been ongoing all week and will last through Monday. Helming the film (which he also wrote) is Pritzker, a Marin County musician better known as heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune.
According to Dreyfuss, *Fog City* managed to arrive during an unusually sunny spell in San Francisco, forcing film crews to erect screens and spray down sidewalks in an attempt to block unwanted light from frame.
The Waggle also spied vintage cars on the set. At present, the shoot is taking place across a two block stretch of Steiner between Jackson and Clay. Per the film's IMDB description, it is set against the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s.
The plot of *Fog City* reportedly follows the lives and exploits of an underground abolitionist, a police inspector, and a Dust Bowl transplant, among other characters.
In comments [made to Deadline](https://deadline.com/2026/07/fog-city-cast-cooper-koch-miranda-otto-carla-gugino-1237001462/?ref=sfist.com) earlier this summer, Pritzker expressed his excitement to make the upcoming film.
“It’s a privilege to work on a story about San Francisco, a city I love, and to bring together such a great group of actors," Priztker said. "I’m excited to work with such a talented cast and crew to tell this story.”
Pritzker's previous film, the New Orleans period piece *Bolden*, was released in 2019\. [Per SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/fog-city-film-shoot-22465890.php?ref=sfist.com), filming for *Fog City* has also included shoots in Melbourne, Australia.
Back in February, Daniel's brother, Thomas Pritzker, [stepped down from the Hyatt board](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/thomas-pritzker-steps-down-from-hyatt-board-saying-he-deeply-regrets-association-with-epstein?ref=sfist.com) following revelations of his affiliation with disgraced sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
**Related**: [Fake Homeless Encampment Appears In Downtown SF, Turns Out to Be Part of Movie Set](https://sfist.com/2026/07/10/fake-homeless-encampment-appears-in-downtown-sf-turns-out-to-be-part-of-movie-set/)
### Mayor Lurie Slammed By Supes Missing City Hall Hearing on Drug Use, Street Conditions
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/11/mayor-lurie-slammed-by-supes-for-picking-cnn-over-city-hall-hearing-on-drug-use/
Last updated: 2026-10-11T21:45:10.000Z
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie received harsh comments from Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman and Supervisor Jackie Fielder after he skipped a four-hour City Hall hearing on public drug use on Thursday, but then appeared on CNN in a segment that aired that day promoting the city's improving safety.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/lurie-s-office-city-hall-hearing-on-drug-use-22470454.php?ref=sfist.com), Lurie was absent for the hearing, where staff from a Mission District elementary school "became teary" as they described sidewalks plagued by needles and feces and students — some as young as 9 — admitted to feeling unsafe while going to and from classes.
During the lengthy hearing, SF's Board of Supervisors also heard from parents at the school who reportedly implored city officials, including Lurie, to make urgent improvements to the neighborhood's street conditions. In Lurie's case, however, these complaints were heard in absentia, as neither the mayor nor any of his staff attended the meeting.
Ironically, a segment in which Lurie was promoting improving street conditions was airing that same day on CNN — though he had filmed this a week earlier.
Per the Chronicle, Lurie's appearance alongside CNN anchor Dana Bash featured the two strolling through a crowded Ferry Building as Lurie touted San Francisco's falling crime rates and declining numbers of overdose deaths. As part of the segment, he did reportedly acknowledge that the city still has a “drug crisis on our streets.”
It makes for a stark contrast with some of the comments issued at Thursday's hearing, which included the words of Daphne Adam, mother to a second-grade student at Marshall Elementary School in the Mission.
“Celebrating our successes does ring hollow, though, when you are stepping over needles on your way to your kid’s school many, many days a week,” Adam stated.
In addition to pressing police and health officials for answers, Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman and Mission District Supervisor Jackie Fielder used Thursday's hearing to lodge their displeasure with Lurie's absence.
Fielder said it was “unacceptable for the mayor’s office to be absent in these chambers" while Mandelman later told the Chronicle that he wasn't sure it was "to the benefit of San Franciscans" for Lurie to be missing.
On Friday, in a statement, the mayor’s office said it had offered briefings on the issues discussed to all supervisors who attended the committee meeting the day before it took place.
**Related**: [Criminal Probe of Newsom Expands; Feds Name Lurie's Wife in Subpoenas](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/criminal-probe-of-newsom-expands-feds-name-luries-wife-in-subpoenas/)
*\*This post has been corrected to show that the CNN segment had been filmed a week earlier, and Lurie did not choose to skip the meeting to instead shoot the CNN segment.*
### Sunday Links: Man Killed By Tiger at Wildlife Enclosure in Northern England
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/11/sunday-links-man-killed-by-tiger-at-wildlife-enclosure-in-northern-england/
Last updated: 2026-10-11T18:18:25.000Z
- **Santa Rosa's Piner Junior Senior High School was forced to forfeit its game this weekend after one of Piner's captains posted "Free the Cornell 7" on Instagram, prompting a walk out by 200 students on Friday.** The official reason for the forfeit: a lack of healthy players. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/hs-forfeit-captain-cornell-22471687.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A man was killed by a tiger in England on Saturday.** Police say the man entered the tiger enclosure at a wildlife park before being attacked by one of the animals inside. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/yorkshire-tiger-attack-news-kills-man-entered-big-cat-enclosure-wildlife-park-doncaster-england/19928381/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- People recently gathered at the cliffs along Sutro Heights to engage in a communal “Guttural Scream at the Sea” and reportedly achieved a volume of 121.9 decibels. \[[KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12103672/at-sutro-heights-strangers-gather-to-scream-at-the-sea?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Authorities suspect a Mendocino County father of killing his two children, then himself after all three were found dead in their home south of Ukiah on Saturday. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/california/mendocino-county-father-suspected-of-killing-7-and-14-year-old-children-himself-police/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Trump administration's Justice Department is launching a formal anti-trust investigation into television networks ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News in response to their court battle over ensuring all outlets have access to the White House. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/11/nx-s1-5997574/the-doj-is-investigating-5-tv-networks-for-suspending-pool-coverage-of-trump?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Pope Leo XIV has announced he will need to undergo surgery in the days ahead to remove a nodular lesion the was recently discovered on his lung. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/pope-leo-xiv-will-undergo-surgery-remove-nodule-lung/19929297/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- With a move to Howard Terminal on the horizon, the Oakland Roots played their final match at the Oakland Coliseum last night. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/oakland-roots-final-coliseum-match/4156269/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has disclosed that one of its models submitted a false homicide tip to the Philadelphia Police Department earlier this summer. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/philadelphia-police-receive-false-homicide-tip-from-anthropic-ai-model/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Police Link Juveniles to Antisemitic Graffiti at Marin County Elementary School
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/10/police-link-juveniles-to-antisemitic-graffiti-at-marin-county-elementary-school/
Last updated: 2026-10-11T00:06:58.000Z
Authorities say a pair of juveniles have been identified as the likely suspects behind antisemitic images and writing found scrawled on the asphalt of Marin County's Brookside Elementary School last weekend. Police previously confirmed the matter was being investigated as a potential hate crime.
Initial [reporting from NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/antisemitic-graffiti-san-anselmo-school/4153278/?ref=sfist.com) notes that officers responded to a report about graffiti featuring antisemitic messages and images at the San Anselmo school a week ago.
The Central Marin Police Authority stated that they photographed and documented evidence at the scene but were unable to remove the vandalism. Brookside Elementary subsequently got the area cleaned before classes resumed on Monday.
At the time, police stated they had no suspects but confirmed that the crime likely took place between the end of school on Friday and the following evening. Now the Central Marin Police Authority say they've identified two possible suspects: a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/marin-antisemitic-graffiti-school-22471041.php?ref=sfist.com), police say they've gathered enough evidence to refer the case to the Marin County District Attorney's Office, where criminal charges for the juvenile pair will be considered.
As a result of their ages, the identities of the suspects have not been released by authorities. Police additionally credited information provided by the public and the Ross Valley School District in assisting them with identifying the juveniles in question.
Earlier this week, as [ABC7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/san-anselmo-community-rallies-together-swastika-other-antisemitic-graffiti-found-school/19916261/?ref=sfist.com), dozens of students and their family members came together at Brookside for a community rally focused on hope and resilience in light of the incident:
**Related**: [Mayor Lurie Says Protesters Were Chanting ‘Tax the Jews,’ But It Was Just One Unassociated Lady Passing By](https://sfist.com/2026/02/26/mayor-lurie-says-dsa-protesters-were-chanting-tax-the-jews-but-it-was-just-one-unassociated-lady/)
### Warriors Agree to Five Year, $110 Million Extension with Guard Brandin Podziemski
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/10/warriors-agree-to-five-year-110-million-extension-with-guard-brandin-podziemski/
Last updated: 2026-10-10T22:54:09.000Z
Continuing an offseason that's seen the team keep many familiar faces in the fold, the Golden State Warriors and starting guard Brandin Podziemski have agreed on a five-year extension worth $110 million. The deal follows a team-friendly extension inked with superstar guard Stephen Curry last month.
As [ESPN reports](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/%5F/id/50148027/warriors-give-brandin-podziemski-5-year-110m-extension?ref=sfist.com), the 23-year-old Podziemski will now enter his fourth season playing for the Golden State Warriors with a new extension in place. Beyond ensuring the 19th overall pick in the 2023 draft won't hit restricted free agency next summer, the deal retains a sizable amount of cap space for the Warriors to use in the possible pursuit of a marquee free agent next offseason.
Details on the extension include a mutual team/player opt-in for the final year. As a result of the deal, Podziemski will see his base salary rise from $5.6 million this season to as much as $18.9 million per year once the extension kicks in.
Per Anthony Slater of ESPN, the deal falls in line with general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr's plans to create flexibility for potential big moves in the future, either via free agency, trade, or both:
"Dunleavy has been protective of the team's 2027-28 cap space," Slater writes," building a roster loaded with expiring contracts while convincing superstar guard Stephen Curry that the benefit of taking a $10 million pay cut for next season is in maintaining the ability to better transform the roster around him via free agency or trade in his final seasons. The Warriors have four tradable first-round picks."
Adding to Podziemski's appeal for the Warriors' front office: his reliability.
For a team that's endured a brutal onslaught of injuries in recent years, being able to count on Podziemski — who was one of only 18 NBA players to appear in all 82 games last season — clearly counts for a lot. The 2025-2026 season also saw the guard set personal career highs in points per game (13.8), made 3s, assists and steals.
[SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/26/warriors-ink-team-friendly-extension-with-superstar-point-guard-stephen-curry/) on the team-friendly extension signed by Warriors franchise staple Stephen Curry late last month. That deal ensures Curry will remain in the Bay Area for at least the next two seasons.
Meanwhile, before the Golden State Warriors season gets underway, their sibling team has business to finish as the Valkyries prepare to play in the [franchise's first WNBA Finals](https://sfist.com/2026/10/10/saturday-links-golden-state-valkyries-sweep-aces-advance-to-first-wnba-finals/), tipping off next week.
**Related**: [Warriors Ink Team-Friendly Extension With Superstar Point Guard Stephen Curry](https://sfist.com/2026/09/26/warriors-ink-team-friendly-extension-with-superstar-point-guard-stephen-curry/)
### Saturday Links: Golden State Valkyries Sweep Aces, Advance to First WNBA Finals
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/10/saturday-links-golden-state-valkyries-sweep-aces-advance-to-first-wnba-finals/
Last updated: 2026-10-10T18:16:36.000Z
- **Nine people — including children — were killed in a shooting at a residence in Erie, Pennsylvania on Friday, according to police.** Authorities also confirmed the shooter took his own life. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/9-dead-including-children-in-mass-shooting-in-erie-pennsylvania/4156031/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The Golden State Valkyries completed a sweep of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces last night to advance to the franchise's first WNBA Finals.** As a result, an upcoming concert at Chase Center with Doja Cat has been rescheduled. \[[KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12103702/golden-state-valkyries-advance-to-wnba-finals-after-sweeping-las-vegas-aces?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Prediction market leader Kalshi is opening an investigation into suspicious bets tied to President Trump's new pick for press secretary. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/kalshi-investigating-suspicious-bets-tied-to-white-house-press-secretary-pick-report/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Vice President JD Vance stated he will not be watching the execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the execution, by firing squad, would be streamed live online. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/vance-livestreaming-hasan-execution?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Retail giant Target has plans to hire 2,000 seasonal workers across the Bay Area ahead of the holiday season. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/target-hiring-2000-seasonal-workers-22471073.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- At least four people — two in Florida, two in Alabama — are dead as Hurricane Isaias (now a post-tropical cyclone) pushes further inland across the Southeast. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/09/weather/live-news/hurricane-isaias-gulf-storm?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Following her botched execution in Tennessee last week, death row inmate Christa Pike has been discharged from a local hospital and transfered back to prison. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/christa-pike-released-hospital-following-botched-execution/19927496/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two people earned the adoration of social media after they got married at San Francisco's City Hall wearing inflatable dinosaur costumes. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/two-dinosaurs-tie-the-knot-at-sf-city-hall-no-really/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Country music star Ella Langley cancelled a sold-out concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday night due to what she and authorities termed "a serious security threat." \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm79pdlywqd4o?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Off-Duty ICE Agent Shot in Fresno After Alleged Assault
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/day-around-the-bay-off-duty-ice-agent-shot-in-fresno-after-alleged-assault/
Last updated: 2026-10-10T02:05:50.000Z
### Local:
- **An ICE agent is in custody at a hospital in Fresno after police say he was shot while off-duty after assaulting an elderly man and his daughter in their home.** A witness told authorities that the ICE agent appeared to be drunk and sleeping on the victims' lawn before being awoken and assaulting the 72-year-old home owner. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/story/off-duty-ice-agent-shot-assaulting-72-year-old-man-daughter-fresno-home-police-say/19925704/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- City College of San Francisco Chancellor Kimberlee Messina is being placed on paid administrative leave as officials investigate multiple allegations of financial misconduct. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/ccsf-chancellor-investigation-22470421.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- On his podcast, Governor Gavin Newsom revealed that he's considering commuting all 500+ death sentences in California before he leaves office. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/gavin-newsom-weighs-mass-commutation-californias-death-row-sentences?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Two powerful earthquakes registering 7.7 and 6.6 struck Panama on Friday afternoon.** Reported damage includes collapsing buildings by the epicenter; evacuations are in motion across the country. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/story/panama-earthquake-76-shakes-region/19925359/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Famed sports personality and former Chicago Bears player and coach Mike Ditka died on Friday at the age of 86\. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/sports/nfl/mike-ditka-legendary-bears-player-and-coach-dies-at-age-86/4155648/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Donald Trump announced conservative commentator Katie Zacharia as his new press secretary following Karoline Leavitt's departure from the role. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/09/politics/katie-zacharia-white-house-press-secretary?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Do they dazzle the skies or plague your pets? Whatever your take may be, it's Fleet Week, and that means the Blue Angels were back and as loud as ever. Here's some footage [via NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/video/news/local/blue-angels-take-flight-in-san-francisco/4155872/?ref=sfist.com) of them doing their stuff this year:
### Four-Month-Old Capybara Siblings Arrive at San Francisco Zoo
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/four-month-old-capybara-siblings-arrive-at-san-francisco-zoo/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T23:16:24.000Z
Two young capybara siblings were recently brought to the San Francisco Zoo from Sacramento, where they’ve been adjusting to their new habitat, marking the first time the popular rodents have been at the zoo in nearly a decade.
The two capybaras are settling into their new home at Puente al Sur, a mixed-species habitat with an outdoor pond that the female made a beeline for as soon as she was released into the enclosure, [the San Francisco Zoo announced](https://www.sfzoo.org/sf-zoo-welcomes-2-capybaras-from-sacramento-zoo/?ref=sfist.com).
The four-month-old siblings, a male and female, are still getting used to their new surroundings, but zoo members can get an [exclusive sneak peek](https://www.facebook.com/reel/3244406859087448) this Monday from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. The exhibit is tentatively scheduled to open to the public Tuesday, October 13, after the capybaras have had time to acclimate.
The San Francisco Zoo received the pair from the Sacramento Zoo through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Capybara [Species Survival Plan](https://www.aza.org/species-survival-plan-programs?ref=sfist.com), which coordinates placements among participating institutions.
**San Francisco Zoo*
The habitat is also home to a giant anteater, a Baird’s tapir named Pacha, a Southern pudu, and two Western Santa Cruz giant tortoises. Eventually, the zoo plans to introduce the capybaras to Pacha, creating a mixed-species exhibit that visitors can view from an overlooking boardwalk.
Capybaras, native to Central and South America, are the world’s largest rodents. According to the zoo, these semi-aquatic animals typically live in lowland areas near water and are strong swimmers, making the habitat’s pond a natural fit.
**San Francisco Zoo*
The zoo says it’s kept capybaras for more than 30 years, including a herd that once lived near its Nile hippopotamuses. In 1999, the animals moved to Puente al Sur, a habitat designed to showcase wildlife from Mexico through Argentina. The zoo hasn’t housed the popular rodents in nearly a decade, though capybaras’ internet fame has surged since 2020.
[ABC 7 reported](https://abc7news.com/archive/7630251/?ref=sfist.com) in 2010 that a pair of female capybaras named Rosemary and Beryl had arrived at the zoo.
**Related:** [Check Him Out: SF Zoo’s New Male Gorilla Cecil Makes His Public Debut This Weekend](https://sfist.com/2025/10/15/check-him-out-sf-zoos-new-gorilla-male-cecil-makes-his-public-debut-this-weekend/)
### This Week In Food: Bentornato, Che Fico
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/this-week-in-food-bentornato-che-fico/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T22:42:24.000Z
Che Fico reopens after its June fire, the Colibri folk are going Italian on Union Square, and Sebastopol's Psychic Pie is expanding to SF, all in This Week In Food.
In some positive news on the Divisadero corridor, **Che Fico** will be reopening a week from Sunday, on October 18, and [reservations are available now](https://www.opentable.com/r/che-fico-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com). The restaurant has been closed since [a chimney fire that occurred on June 11](https://sfist.com/2026/06/12/che-fico-temporarily-closed-due-to-damage-from-thursday-fire/), which led to some extensive damage. But, thankfully, the closure only lasted four months, and chef-owner David Nayfeld says, "The outpouring of support was just tremendous." A block away, bakery-cafe The Mill remains closed after [its late-June fire](https://sfist.com/2026/06/29/overnight-fire-damages-the-mill-on-divisadero-bakery-and-cafe-closed-indefinitely/).
The family behind Mexican restaurant Colibri, which relocated from the Union Square area to the Presidio in 2022, is taking over the city-owned kiosk restaurant space on the Powell Street side of Union Square Park. Next year, they'll be opening an Italian grab-and-go concept there, **La Piazza**, serving pizza, piadina, and focaccia sandwiches, along with espresso drinks and housemade pastries, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/la-piazza-bar-union-square-22467303.php?ref=sfist.com).
In other exciting pizza news, the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/slice-wolf-opening-sf-22467331.php?ref=sfist.com) this week that acclaimed Sebastopol pizzeria Psychic Pie is expanding its Roman-style pizza operation with **Slice Wolf**, a new pizza counter coming to San Francisco next year. The location is still TBA, given that they are in ongoing lease negotiations, but they will join two other pizza operations from outside the city, Berkeley's [Rose Pizzeria](https://sfist.com/2026/04/27/rose-pizzeria-born-in-berkeley-opens-its-san-francisco-location-in-the-richmond/) and Oakland's [Mama's Boy](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/this-week-in-food-buzzy-coffee-and-pizza-in-the-avenues/), in opening new SF locations.
The former longtime home of Revolution Cafe at 3248 22nd Street is becoming **Ember Cafe**, as the [SF Standard reports](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/05/ember-cafe-mission-district/?ref=sfist.com), with an opening planned in mid-November. More recently home to Greek wine bar Ivory & Vine, the new cafe will keep some of the decor from that incarnation, including four disco ball chandeliers, and will serve lattes, cold brew, and cold-pressed tea during the day, with beer, wine, and spritzes on the menu in the evening.
We're late to this news, but three-year-old Cal-Italian restaurant **The Rustic**, which took over the longtime home of Chow on Church Street in May 2023, quietly shut its doors in early September. As [Hoodline reported](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/church-market-california-italian-restaurant-the-rustic-shutters-after-3-years/?ref=sfist.com), there was a sign outside saying "temporarily closed until next week," but the place never reopened and the phone is now disconnected. Owner Zoti Ali Turap continues to operate Tavola Rustica in Larkspur, and an employee there said that the Church Street business had been sold to a new owner.
**Tacos El Patron**, which has been open now for a few weeks at 1325 Fillmore Street, had a line down the block on Thursday for their official grand opening, likely thanks to the offer of [$1 quesabirria tacos](https://www.instagram.com/tacos.elpatron/reel/Dd8BP0syh8i/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com). And as they announced on Instagram last week, they are [seeking a Type 47 liquor license](https://www.instagram.com/p/Ddwjlqiyq6C/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com), which would allow them to have a full bar with real margaritas, etc., and they say they're a "serious buyer" and "ready to move forward" if anyone has a license to sell. (This plea seems like a positive sign given that just five months ago, those licenses were [reportedly trading for fire-sale prices](https://sfist.com/2026/05/20/sf-liquor-licenses-once-worth-300k-now-trade-for-around-100k/) in SF and were readily available.)
The owners behind popular Mission District pupusa specialists [**Balompié Cafe**](https://balompiecafe1.com/?utm%5Fsource=google) have expanded for the first time to the East Bay, opening a new location in Richmond. As [Berkeleyside reports](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/10/07/balompie-sports-bar-grill-hilltop-salvadoran-pupusas?ref=sfist.com), Mauricio Gonzalez and his wife, Deysi Ramos, live in Richmond, and decided to open a third location there, in a strip mall next to the almost shuttered Hilltop Mall, serving Salvadoran comfort classics. The menu, reportedly, is a bit more abbreviated than Balompié's two Mission District locations.
And the Chronicle is perhaps signaling a new pace for restaurant reviews, with one coming just a week after the last — perhaps they heard some complaints! Critic Cesar Hernandez [has a new review](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurant-review/article/la-taqueria-review-mission-burrito-san-francisco-22422092.php?ref=sfist.com) of **La Taqueria**, the second starred review of the paper's new star-review era, giving the (arguably overhyped) Mission stalwart two stars (meaning "great") and calling it "among our very best burrito diplomats" in the city, and worthy of all its praise and guide-book cred. "The glory of La Taqueria’s burritos is in the simplicity of its riceless construction — meat, beans, salsa," he writes. "Without rice, they gain a lucidity that heightens the homey tenderness of slowly stewed pinto beans, the juiciness of carne asada that actually tastes like fire, the sting of salsa verde."
### Netflix’s ‘A Man on the Inside’ Honors SF’s Film Noir Past In Final Season
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/netflixs-a-man-on-the-inside-honors-sfs-film-noir-past-in-final-season/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T20:49:14.000Z
Dozens of crew members are filming on location in SF for the final season of Netflix’s *A Man on the Inside*, which will pay homage to the city’s film-noir past, as the city’s newly expanded incentive program aims to attract more film productions.
Mayor Daniel Lurie visited the set at the Legion of Honor on Wednesday, where married actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen were filming the third season of Netflix’s *A Man on the Inside* on their 31st wedding anniversary, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/daniel-lurie-ted-danson-set-22469056.php?ref=sfist.com). Lurie congratulated the couple [in a social media video](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DePrWTozf-8/?ref=sfist.com) Thursday, with actor Nick Offerman photobombing the mayor in the background.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DePrWTozf-8/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Daniel Lurie (@danielluriesf)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DePrWTozf-8/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
The production is reportedly spending 28 days filming in San Francisco, with more than 248 local crew members working on the series, according to Lurie. Over the past couple weeks, the comedy has been [spotted by Redditors](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1wsl8z5/man%5Fon%5Fthe%5Finside/?ref=sfist.com) around City Hall and Nob Hill, including near the Tonga Room. [According to KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/film-crew-spotted-in-nob-hill-tuesday-amid-filming-for-netflix-hit-a-man-on-the-inside/?ref=sfist.com), one scene apparently involved a cable car.
The move to San Francisco marks a shift for the series, whose first two seasons were filmed largely in Los Angeles. Per the Chronicle, the third season, which will also be its last, is being shot almost entirely in the city.
The production is among the projects that could benefit from San Francisco’s expanded [film incentive program](https://www.sf.gov/eligibility?ref=sfist.com), which Lurie [signed into law](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986620/san-francisco-film-incentive-update-2026?ref=sfist.com) in February. Development producer Morgan Sackett [told the Chronicle](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/ted-dansons-netflix-series-man-221658093.html?ref=sfist.com) last month that the changes could help bring more productions back to the city.
“I believe this new film incentive will go a long way to restoring San Francisco as a filmmakers' destination,” Sackett said, speaking to the Chronicle.
Sackett has also said the upcoming season will draw inspiration from Nathaniel Rich’s book [*San Francisco Noir*](https://www.amazon.com/San-Francisco-Noir-City-Present/dp/1892145308?ref=sfist.com), which examines the city’s history in film. The series follows Charles Nieuwendyk, a widowed retired engineering professor played by Danson, who takes a job with a private detective agency. The show was created by Michael Schur, and Steenburgen plays Mona Margadoff, Charles’ love interest, introduced in Season 2.
San Francisco also has a personal connection for the anniversary couple. Steenburgen told Lurie she fell in love with Danson while the two were on a date in the city in 1993\. Danson pointed out that Steenburgen had also met her first husband, actor Malcolm McDowell, in San Francisco while filming the 1979 science-fiction movie *Time After Time*.
“I only meet and fall in love with men I met in San Francisco,” Steenburgen joked in the video, before warning viewers, “You guys watch out!”
Danson replied, “This will be the last time she visits San Francisco.”
Per the Chronicle, Offerman is among several newcomers joining the final season, alongside Bernadette Peters, Annette O’Toole, Rachel Dratch, Stephen Root, Christopher McDonald, Diedrich Bader, and Jessica St. Clair. Returning cast members include Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Stephanie Beatriz, Eugene Cordero, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Sally Struthers.
**Related:** [Fake Homeless Encampment Appears In Downtown SF, Turns Out to Be Part of Movie Set](https://sfist.com/2026/07/10/fake-homeless-encampment-appears-in-downtown-sf-turns-out-to-be-part-of-movie-set/)
### Weird Website Lets You 'Sit' at Elizabeth's Holmes's Desk at Theranos, Read Her Emails
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/weird-website-lets-you-sit-at-elizabeths-holmess-desk-at-theranos-read-her-emails/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T20:46:12.000Z
A strange new website has appeared, coinciding with the release of the Elizabeth Holmes documentary [*You Can See Everything*](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/everything-we-know-about-this-elizabeth-holmes-documentary-from-a24-and-nathan-fielder/), that lets you interact with a simulation of what Holmes's desk at Theranos might have looked like back in 2016.
Engineer Bo Lau created the website, dubbed [Theranos World](https://www.theranos.world/?ref=sfist.com), which features an interactive interface where you can click around Elizabeth Holmes's laptop and iPhone, read her emails and texts — the contents of which all come from actual emails and texts that were submitted as evidence in her and Sunny Balwani's fraud trials.
In one somewhat out-of-context text about changing his travel plans from Bombay, Balwani writes, "This doesn't serve the soul of the universe."
> i built a website where you can sit at elizabeth holmes’ desk open her macbook, scroll her iphone, run the theranos edison machine her texts, emails, slides, documents, and theranos machine records are real, sourced from exhibits in the united states v. holmes criminal trial https://t.co/5At9T5m3UV
>
> — bo lau (@bolau\_) [October 8, 2026](https://x.com/bolau%5F/status/2108245403925729734?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
You can also interact with the Edison blood-testing device, loading a cartridge and running a metabolic panel, but the results come back with the small disclaimer at the bottom "not for medical use."
As [TechCrunch notes](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/08/pretend-youre-sitting-at-elizabeth-holmes-desk-on-this-weirdly-detailed-website/?ref=sfist.com), "The environment that Lau created is ambitiously detailed, taking you right back to 2016, a time when iPhones had home buttons, and you had to slide your finger across the screen to unlock it."
And, "Even the MacBook Air is running OS X El Capitan."
This little site isn't just for fun and games, though. Per TechCrunch, it appears to be part of an effort to promote a watch party for *You Can See Everything* that is being hosted by Lau's company, [Extend](http://extend.ai/?ref=sfist.com). And, by *extension*, ahem, it's helping market the company itself, which makes some sort of B2B document-parsing software.
*You Can See Everything,* directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, has played at several film festivals to great acclaim, and opens in theaters on October 15.
**Previously:** [Everything We Know About This Elizabeth Holmes Documentary From A24 and Nathan Fielder](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/everything-we-know-about-this-elizabeth-holmes-documentary-from-a24-and-nathan-fielder/)
### Fleet Week Yacht Rock Party on Front Street to Feature Free Oysters
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/fleet-week-yacht-rock-party-on-front-street-to-feature-free-oysters/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T19:36:29.000Z
A Fleet Week-themed Fridays on Front Street event is happening today (October 9), featuring bands playing yacht rock covers, a screening of *Top Gun*, a best mustache contest, and free oysters.
The block party series known as [Fridays on Front Street](https://downtownsf.org/things-to-do/fridays-on-front-street?ref=sfist.com) returns this evening with the last event of the year, and tied to Fleet Week it will be yacht rock/80s themed. The bands Wonder Bread 5 and Haulin’ Oates will be performing live yacht rock covers, along with other favorites from the 70s and 80s. And, as always, it will be a festive time on the block of Front Street between California and Sacramento that is home to Harrington's, Schroeder's, and the Royal Exchange.
The party starts at 4 pm and goes until 9 pm, and admission is free. Nonetheless, attendees are encouraged to [RSVP here](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fridays-on-front-st-fleet-week-block-party-tickets-1999042771743?aff=oddtdtcreator&ref=sfist.com).
This section of Front Street was, as you may recall, [California's first ever designated Entertainment Zone](https://sfist.com/2024/05/03/mayor-breed-proposes-entertainment-zone-where-bars-can-sell-open-containers-at-outdoor-events/) post-pandemic, established in 2024, allowing the bars to sell to-go drinks during designated event times like this.
Today's event, with the yacht rock and 80s themes, is going to feature a screening of *Top Gun* to mark the film's 40th anniversary, a best mustache contest, free captain hats and sunglasses for the first 100 guests, a yacht rock lip sync battle, and free oysters from The Oyster Girls*,* "while supplies last."
There's also going to be an 80s-themed "beauty bar," with fake mustaches, apparent, and "throwback bling," and a photo booth in a vintage Volkswagen.
This is the third and final Fridays on Front Street event of 2026, with the last one, in August, featuring a Golden State Valkyries theme, because it coincided with a game night and had a big-screen watch party.
The success of the Front Street Entertainment Zone events spawned many more of these booze-friendly Entertainment Zones, with the city [now home to a total of 30](https://sfist.com/2026/07/01/sf-now-has-30-boozy-entertainment-zones-which-are-also-boosting-local-businesses/). These include zones in [Cole Valley](https://sfist.com/2025/01/29/cole-valley-is-your-newest-boozy-entertainment-zone-after-board-of-supervisors-approval/), [the Castro](https://sfist.com/2025/04/08/the-castro-is-sfs-newest-and-biggest-boozy-entertainment-zone-where-bars-can-sell-to-go-cocktails-during-events/), and [the Fillmore](https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/now-the-fillmore-has-its-own-boozy-entertainment-zone-where-to-go-cocktails-are-good-to-go/) that also now host regular night markets and other events.
### ChatGPT for Teens’ Safety Guardrails Fail to Flag Crises or Limit Engagement, Says Watchdog
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/chatgpt-for-teens-safety-guardrails-fail-to-flag-crises-or-limit-engagement-says-watchdog/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T19:41:10.000Z
OpenAI promised stronger safeguards for teens using ChatGPT, but a new report says it still encourages kids to keep chatting, acts like an always-available friend, and fails to deliver on several promised safety features.
Watchdog group Common Sense Media tested OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teens using more than 4,000 prompts across accounts set up to represent users ages 13 to 17, finding that several of the chatbot’s advertised protections failed to work as promised, [as CNET reports](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/chatgpt-for-teens-unacceptable-risk-common-sense-media-study/?ref=sfist.com).
[As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/openai-launches-chatgpt-for-teens-amid-lawsuits-protests/) at the time, OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens in August amid [lawsuits](https://sfist.com/2025/08/26/two-parents-sue-openai-saying-chaptgpt-assisted-their-16-year-old-sons-suicide/) alleging that conversations with the chatbot contributed to serious harm and protests over the tech industry’s growing influence. The teen version of the app was designed to limit emotional attachment to the chatbot while adding safeguards around sensitive topics and tools for parents to monitor use.
[According to TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/07/chatgpt-for-teens-keeps-teens-talking-even-during-mental-health-crises/?ref=sfist.com), Common Sense Media gave the product a [failing assessment](https://institute.commonsensemedia.org/risk-assessments/chatgpt-teens?ref=sfist.com) on three of five categories involving severe harms, warning that its friendly, always-available approach could encourage teens to keep using it even when they need help from actual people.
The chatbot largely avoided follow-up questions designed to prolong conversations, but researchers found other language that encouraged continued engagement. [NPR reports](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/09/nx-s1-5995514/chatgpt-openai-teens-mental-health?ref=sfist.com) that in one test, when a simulated teen said friends thought they talked to ChatGPT too much, the chatbot replied, “You don't have to stop talking to me.” Common Sense said that while the bot recommended that teens seek support from adults, it continued to convey a sense of personal understanding, emotional reciprocity, and constant availability.
The watchdog also found that several features intended to protect young users were unreliable. Despite OpenAI’s promise to notify linked parents when conversations indicate serious risks involving suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders, researchers said they received no alerts during their tests. According to CNET, the chatbot also failed to provide crisis referrals in some situations.
Other promised protections fell short, too. Researchers found that the system did not consistently recognize accounts belonging to teens, allowing some testers who registered as adults to continue using adult accounts even after identifying themselves as minors in conversations.
The chatbot’s Study mode also allowed users to bypass its intended tutoring process by requesting direct answers, while teens could easily get around Study Hours set by parents. Per TechCrunch, break reminders, another advertised safeguard, appeared only twice across nearly 2,000 prompts, both during conversations lasting about 90 minutes.
Some protections did work. The chatbot generally refused sexual and romantic role-play, and its responses to crisis-related prompts were often shorter and more focused than before the teen-specific mode launched. But Common Sense said those improvements did not outweigh the broader risks, recommending that OpenAI restrict the product to adults until it can demonstrate that the experience is safe and appropriate for teenagers.
“We are concerned that ChatGPT for Teens could give parents false confidence in guardrails that frequently don’t work,” said the report.
OpenAI disputed the findings, arguing that the researchers may have begun testing before parental controls and linked accounts were fully activated. Spokesperson Eric Porterfield said the linking process takes several hours, suggesting the researchers had not waited long enough for the notification system to work properly, as NPR reports. The company said it remains committed to teen safety and to giving parents meaningful tools to oversee their children’s AI use.
Common Sense pushed back on that explanation. Tom Siegel, executive director of the organization’s Youth AI Safety Institute, said some test accounts had been linked for longer than the required activation period and still received no notifications. He said the additional information did not change the group’s conclusion that parental alerts were unreliable during crises.
**Previously:** [OpenAI Launches ‘ChatGPT for Teens’ Amid Lawsuits, Protests](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/openai-launches-chatgpt-for-teens-amid-lawsuits-protests/)
### Competency of Suspect Questioned In Milpitas/San Jose Murders
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/competency-of-suspect-questioned-in-milpitas-san-jose-murders/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T18:20:32.000Z
The South Bay woman who is accused of killing her two close friends in late August in separate incidents in Milpitas and San Jose may not be mentally competent to stand trial, her lawyer says.
The legal proceedings in the August 28 double-murder case have been paused as 32-year-old Anila Baby will now be evaluated by psychiatrists in Santa Clara County to determine if she is fit to participate in her own defense.
"Based on my in-person conversations with my client, I have doubts as to my client’s competency to stand trial,” said defense attorney Shawn George, [per Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/10/08/attorney-raises-competency-doubt-for-milpitas-woman-charged-with-killing-best-friends/?ref=sfist.com). "After my client is evaluated for competency, we will come back to court to address this issue based on the evaluators’ reports."
Baby is accused of brutally strangling and/or bludgeoning 39-year-old Ann Mary Mathew in her home in San Jose and, hours later, [mowing down 35-year-old Anjana Hari](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/milpitas-woman-allegedly-runs-over-kills-friend-possible-link-to-death-of-second-friend/) with her car in the parking lot of the Milpitas apartment complex where they both lived. Investigators say that after running down Hari, Baby sped away and was found by police in a nearby Walgreens parking lot, covered in blood and seeming incoherent.
Family members said at the time that Baby had recently lost a job and was perhaps in a depressed state because of that, but it sounds like a more serious mental break may have occurred.
Baby and her two friends were all reportedly immigrants from Kerala, in southern India. All three women were married, with both victims being mothers, and Mathew's husband discovered her body after learning of Hari's death.
Police say they have surveillance evidence connecting Baby to both crime scenes, and there was evidence of attempts to clean up and cover up Mathew's murder — with her phone being removed from the scene and doorbell camera footage deleted during a particular window of time when the crime occurred.
Per Bay Area News Group, Baby will now undergo evaluation by multiple doctors under Santa Clara County Superior Court’s mental-health assessment protocols. The process, which includes multiple interviews and the submission of reports, is expected to take several months.
"Really, the biggest heartbreak of this case is these families were best friends and want answers as to why someone could do this to their friend. So, I hope we can provide answers as we investigate this case," said Deputy District Attorney Marisa McKeown, [speaking to ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/anila-baby-accused-killing-2-best-friends-san-jose-milpitas-same-day-authorities-say/19816963/?ref=sfist.com).
As McKeown told Bay Area News Group following Thursday's hearing, "We await further evaluation by the court appointed doctors."
**Previously:** [Milpitas Woman Charged In Murder of Second Friend](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/milpitas-woman-charged-in-murder-of-second-friend/)
### SFPD Officers Accused of Beating Man Into Near-Coma After Ignoring Racial Threats
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/sfpd-officers-accused-of-beating-man-into-near-coma-after-ignoring-racial-threats/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T18:11:48.000Z
Public defenders say police severely beat a Black man last year and the DA’s office tried to suppress evidence, including footage of the white resident who called SFPD threatening to stab him and using racial slurs in front of officers.
The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office released police body camera footage Thursday showing officers Brendan Caraway, Brian Conway, and Gabriel Rivera punching 33-year-old Kevon Gibson in the head, pulling his hair, and kneeling on his neck as they struggled to handcuff him in a Sixth Street residential hotel on August 17, 2025, [as KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12103506/sf-public-defender-pushes-to-decertify-3-police-officers-whose-arrest-left-man-in-coma?ref=sfist.com).
Gibson repeatedly begged the officers to listen to him and said he couldn’t breathe. By the end of the encounter, blood was streaming from his forehead.
Gibson was taken to the intensive care unit, where he was intubated and placed in a medically induced coma for several days. He was then transferred to San Francisco County Jail, where he spent a year awaiting trial on felony charges of resisting arrest. [According to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/sfpd-beat-resident-near-coma-public-defenders-allege/?ref=sfist.com), his public defenders, Bonnie Chan-Silen and John Paul Passaglia, said he was temporarily blind in one eye and continued urinating blood for nearly a year after leaving the hospital.
The confrontation began after a white resident of the building called police, claiming Gibson had threatened him and displayed a gun. But Gibson’s attorneys say the caller had threatened Gibson earlier that morning, and body camera footage shows the man directing the “N-word” at Gibson in front of officers during their first visit to the building.
The man also threatened to stab Gibson, saying he would “stick this knife into his Black ass” and “slice and watch him bleed everywhere.” Per KQED, police did not pursue those threats, according to Gibson’s attorneys.
When officers returned to the apartment building around 1 pm, body camera footage shows them asking Gibson’s roommate to open the door so they could speak with her and her “giant ass boyfriend,” as Mission Local reports. One officer threatened, “Ain’t nobody gonna do shit if I kick this door down,” before officers encountered Gibson as he exited the building’s elevator.
Although they initially told him he was not under arrest, they immediately grabbed him, leading to the violent struggle captured on body and surveillance cameras.
According to KQED, officers subsequently claimed Gibson had bitten and punched them during the arrest and attempted to injure one officer’s thumb. Passaglia said video shown at trial contradicted those accounts. A jury acquitted Gibson of all three felony counts of resisting arrest in August 2026, but convicted him of misdemeanor resisting arrest and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“The jury knew these were lies because they were shown a volume of various videos that collectively showed unequivocally that not one of those incidents happened,” Passaglia said.
In press release following Gibson’s conviction, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins described him as actively resisting officers who tried to search him for weapons, but made no mention of the beating that left him in a medically induced coma, per KQED. Public Defender Bonnie Chan-Silen said Jenkins “villainized Mr. Gibson as a Black man with a gun.”
Gibson’s attorneys said the gun charge will be appealed because he had only temporarily taken possession of the firearm to protect himself from the man who threatened him, per Mission Local. The public defenders also alleged that prosecutors offered Gibson a plea deal that would have dismissed the felony resisting charges but required him to sign a waiver that could undermine future civil claims against the officers. Gibson rejected the deal and went to trial.
“Prosecutors often charge and overcharge our clients with resisting arrest as leverage to punish our clients and then excuse the police officers’ actions, and then misrepresent the true nature of these incidents,” said Public Defender Mano Raju, per KQED. “All of this is a disservice to our clients, a disservice to the community, and a disservice to the pursuit of justice itself.”
The defense further accused the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office of trying to keep jurors from hearing the full story. According to the public defenders, prosecutors asked the court to exclude the audio from the arrest footage and to prevent jurors from seeing the caller’s threats and racist remarks. As Mission Local reports, they also alleged that investigators interviewed Gibson while he was still recovering from his medically induced coma.
The San Francisco Police Department said its Independent Investigations Bureau determined the officers’ use of force was justified under California law, while an administrative investigation remains underway, according to Mission Local.
The Public Defender’s Office reportedly plans to file a complaint with the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability and ask the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to decertify Caraway, Conway, and Rivera. Raju said the Public Defenders Office was seeking accountability for alleged police violence and prosecutorial misconduct.
The Gibson case comes amid other allegations of excessive force by SFPD. In a separate 2024 incident, the city’s Department of Police Accountability found that officers [used excessive force against SF resident Matthew Ludwig](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/watchdog-group-says-sfpd-officers-used-excessive-force-after-pursuing-wrong-suspect/) after mistakenly identifying his car as stolen because they entered the wrong license plate number, smashing his window and pepper-spraying him before realizing their error. Ludwig later died by apparent suicide after losing his car and RV and becoming homeless following the incident, as SFist reported in August.
SFPD is also facing a [federal lawsuit over a raid at a West Oakland affordable housing complex](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/sf-hit-with-federal-lawsuit-over-sfpds-raid-at-west-oakland-apartments-in-may/) in May, in which more than 20 plainclothes officers smashed through the building’s glass entrance doors with a battering ram. The lawsuit alleges excessive force and other civil rights violations.
**Related:** [Watchdog Group Says SFPD Officers Used Excessive Force After Pursuing Wrong Suspect](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/watchdog-group-says-sfpd-officers-used-excessive-force-after-pursuing-wrong-suspect/)
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Man Arrested In Guerneville Road Cyclist Death
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/09/man-arrested-in-guerneville-road-cyclist-death/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T16:52:01.000Z
- **The SF Department of Building Inspection is issuing a new set of rules Friday that will allow for single staircases in four-story buildings as long as there is a fire escape or secondary egress.** It's been an issue, builders say, in cases of small or oddly shaped lots, forcing them to stick to three stories. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/housing-building-rule-san-francisco-22468821.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A 29-year-old Santa Rosa man has been found and arrested for the hit-and-run death of a woman on a bicycle.** The crash happened on Guerneville Road on the night of September 27, and the bicycle was found in the middle of the road, with the bicyclist located in a nearby ditch. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/santa-rosa-man-arrested-for-deadly-hit-and-run-involving-bicyclist/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Hurricane Isaias is expected to make landfall tonight as a Category 3 storm on the Florida Panhandle, near Pensacola.** New Orleans and the Alabama coast are expected to see storm surges, and inland wind impacts are likely to stretch into Georgia. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/09/weather/live-news/hurricane-isaias-gulf-storm?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There was a line to get in the new Uniqlo store opening today on Market Street, and there's [a big block party planned](https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/uniqlos-new-market-street-flagship-opens-with-huge-street-festival-friday/) all day. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/uniqlo-flagship-store-san-francisco-union-square/4155662/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- After delaying the release of Meta's AI agent Muse over safety concerns, Mark Zuckerberg's hand was reportedly forced and Muse was released as competition was ramping up. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/technology/inside-mark-zuckerbergs-decision-to-pull-the-trigger-on-metas-ai-agent.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A person was shot by an ICE agent in New York City on Thursday, in the Bronx, prompting Mayor Zohran Mamdani to say "Abolish ICE." \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/nypd-crime-federal-law-enforcement-agents-shooting-marble-hill?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Looking at the multiple ways Trump has alienated Republican voters... as if no one could have predicted this. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/us/politics/trump-republican-voters.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: SF Officials Urge State Regulators to Investigate PG&E’s Reliability
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/day-around-the-bay-sf-officials-urge-state-regulators-to-investigate-pg-es-reliability/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T15:26:06.000Z
### Local:
- State regulators are being urged to launch a public investigation into PG&E’s reliability, citing at least 40 major outages in San Francisco this year, as well as recent electrical fires and delays in critical infrastructure projects. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-pge-outage-investigation-22469238.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- SF Supervisor Myrna Melgar and other supervisors interrogated police officials Thursday over the department’s handling of sexual assault cases, while survivors and advocates criticized city leaders who continued to endorse District 8 candidate Manny Yekutiel after [sexual assault allegations](https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/is-manny-yekutiel-going-to-re-enter-the-district-8-race/) against him recently surfaced. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sf-supervisors-grill-sfpd-over-sexual-assault-22468556.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Citing cashier job security and theft problems, SF Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced legislation requiring larger grocery and drug stores to staff at least one employee for every three self-checkout stations. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-francisco-lawmaker-pushes-to-keep-human-workers-in-grocery-stores/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- Arizona congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia said she was raped while repairing a campaign sign in August, and she decided to discuss it publicly after realizing she could not advocate for women who had survived sexual assault without speaking up about her own experience. \[[ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Politics/arizona-congressional-candidate-felt-hypocrite-reporting-rape/story?id=137107210&ref=sfist.com)\]
- SpaceX is asking satellite operators worldwide to share data about their spacecrafts’ locations and movements to prevent collisions as thousands of new satellites enter orbit, with Starlink performing about 1,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers daily. \[[Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/10/spacex-calls-for-better-coordination-in-orbit-after-near-misses-with-starlink/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Thousands of sailors returned to San Diego aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Thursday after a record 265 consecutive days at sea supporting the Iran war, reuniting with emotional family members and meeting babies born during their deployment. \[[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/uss-lincoln-san-diego-iran-war-6ddd8cc3f634f9863bd718683df21ba7?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- This ‘80s-era San Francisco tourism ad almost looks like a demonstration of all the ways to get one’s self killed here, whether it’s turning a corner from a steep, angled street on a bike sans helmet, tap-dancing down the city’s iconic sidewalk steps, or clinging to a cable car for dear life — all while wearing matching ugly sweaters.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeLbIonpuic/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by professor of bay areaology (@bay\_area\_nostalgia)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeLbIonpuic/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Sheriff Reveals Details In Death of Monterey County Infant, 14-Year-Old Allegedly Drove Over It
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/sheriff-reveals-details-in-death-of-monterey-county-infant-14-year-old-allegedly-drove-over-it/
Last updated: 2026-10-09T01:28:51.000Z
The 14-year-old who became impregnated by her own father in Monterey County allegedly acted alone in killing the newborn by the side of a road in Moss Landing, and the county sheriff has now shared more details in the tragic case.
After 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez was [located and arrested, with his daughter, in Mexico last weekend](https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/father-and-teen-daughter-he-allegedly-impregnated-located-in-mexico/), Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto was careful to say that his 14-year-old daughter Diana Galvez Ortega was also a victim and had been "rescued," not arrested — whereas earlier in the investigation the sheriff's office said the 14-year-old was also wanted for murder. Nieto also announced that a press conference on the case would be forthcoming.
On Thursday, that press conference occurred. Nieto and the investigative team for the first time laid out the timeline of events that surrounded the discovery of the infant, who's being referred to as "Baby Angelita," and who was found by the side of the road in Moss Landing — a town between Santa Cruz and Monterey — on August 1\. The sheriff's office did not begin publicizing the case until [a month later](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/sf-firefighters-rescue-wild-parrot-that-got-stuck/), as they began seeking the public's help in [locating Perez and the girl](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/search-continues-for-salinas-man-accused-of-impregnating-daughter-whose-infant-was-found-dead/), who were believed to be on the run.
"I know everyone has been been following this, and this has been a very emotional case for our county, and for the public that has been watching this," Sheriff Nieto said at the outset of the event.
Referring to it as a "very, very difficult case," Nieto praised her detectives, saying "their commitment never wavered, even as the case became increasingly complex and crossed international borders." And Nieto said she and the department decided to share more information today because of the public outcry over the case and the criticism levied against her department — likely referring to the early talk of the 14-year-old being a suspect.
"Our responsibility as law enforcement is to get the facts right, even when the public understandably wants answers sooner," Nieto said. And, she added, it was "important to recognize that this case involves a 14-year-old girl who, herself, was the victim of very serious crimes."
Nieto went on to explain that, while there were some details her department still could not release, she wanted to update the public about what investigators now believe occurred surrounding the death of Baby Angelita.
The daughter, Diana, had reportedly worked as a farmworker alongside her parents since the age of 13, and had been given a car of her own to drive to work, despite only being 14, a beige Mercury sedan registered to her parents. Investigators believe that after becoming pregnant by her own father, Diana had managed to hide the pregnancy from her mother, and Perez had possibly encouraged this as well.
Investigators say she was by herself when she gave birth, without medical assistance, and Perez was somewhere in the SF Bay Area at the time.
She reportedly gave birth by a road that borders one of the fields where she and her mother worked, and time card evidence confirms that they were at work that morning.
Detective Richard Geng explained that the child was found with severe "crush-type trauma" and tire marks on it, not far from a large blood stain where they believe the birth took place. This led detectives to determine that the baby had been moved under the tire of the vehicle before it was crushed.
Geng said that Diana had been found hiding under a pile of clothes in a bedroom when detectives served a search warrant at the Salinas home of Perez and his wife, Ofelia Garcia Ortega. When she was initially questioned, she said she had had sexual relations with an unidentified juvenile male, leading to the pregnancy.
Investigators would later find, after seizing the family's cellphones, that the 14-year-old had allegedly texted her father on August 1 around noon, about four hours after the birth occurred. "Dad!" she reportedly wrote in Spanish. "I couldn’t hold it anymore and the baby came out. I hid it … because my mom was going to see me with it, and she was going to kill me."
Diana was taken to a hospital for an examination on August 2, and checked in to be treated after the recent birth. On August 4, detectives learned that Perez had removed her from the hospital prior to being discharged.
A county judge subsequently issued a Ramey warrant on August 11 for the 14-year-old, allowing for her arrest without prior review by the DA's office. It would be another week before DNA evidence would show investigators that Perez was the biological father of his own grandchild. A Ramey warrant was then issued for Perez, and other family members were re-interviewed — yielding no new information, Geng said. It would be another couple of weeks before authorities issued an Amber Alert, and before investigators determined that father and daughter had fled to Mexico.
A tip given to a journalist reportedly helped locate the pair.
"What happened in this case is nothing short of horrific," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Scott Schelble at the press conference. "It shocked us all." Schelble added, "It became clear that a 14-year-old victim endured unimaginable abuse."
Ortega, the mother, remains in custody on child endangerment charges, and authorities expect Perez to be extradited to face incest and child abuse charges, though it was said earlier that he was also set to be charged with murder.
Agent Schelble said he was uncertain when asked if the 14-year-old would be removed from Mexico as well.
**Previously:** [Father and Teen Daughter He Allegedly Impregnated Located In Mexico](https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/father-and-teen-daughter-he-allegedly-impregnated-located-in-mexico/)
### City College Board Race Pits Union-Backed Slate Against Billionaire-Funded Group
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/city-college-board-race-pits-union-backed-slate-against-billionaire-funded-group/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T23:27:13.000Z
Three progressive candidates backed by City College’s faculty union and other labor groups are facing four candidates endorsed by the billionaire-backed GrowSF and Abundant SF, putting the school’s finances, enrollment, and future at the center of the race.
The race has drawn support from two very different political camps. The City College faculty union, AFT 2121, is backing Bunny McFadden, Leah LaCroix, and Jeremy Lee, along with United Educators of San Francisco and SEIU 1021, as City College’s student paper [the Guardsman reports](https://www.theguardsman.com/a-network-of-billionaires-is-squaring-off-against-a-powerful-teachers-union-for-control-of-city-colleges-future/?ref=sfist.com). The three are running together as a labor-backed slate with a focus on protecting students and public education.
On the other side are Elijah Ball, Erwin Tam, Monroe Lace, and Ruth Ferguson, who have the backing of [GrowSF and Abundant SF](https://sfist.com/2025/01/10/sfs-two-biggest-billionaire-backed-political-pressure-groups-are-merging-after-getting-thumped-in-election/), two well-funded political groups that have increasingly worked in concert to support moderate candidates and policy changes in SF.
According to the Guardsman, political watchdog group the Phoenix Project considers both groups part of what it calls San Francisco’s “[Astroturf Network](https://www.phoenixprojectnow.com/sf-astroturf-map?ref=sfist.com),” a collection of heavily financed political organizations that present themselves as grassroots movements. The Phoenix Project reportedly estimates that the network has helped facilitate at least $78 million in spending on local candidates and ballot measures since 2020.
[According to KALW](https://www.kalw.org/bay-area-news/2026-09-25/three-seats-eight-candidates-city-college-trustees-face-tough-choices?ref=sfist.com), Ball has raised $24,210, Tam $22,705, and Lace $16,381, compared with $13,468 for McFadden, $7,633 for Lee, and $4,937 for LaCroix. The contrast extends beyond fundraising, with the first slate backed by GrowSF and Abundant SF and the second by labor unions, including AFT 2121, SEIU 1021, and United Educators of San Francisco.
The divide between the two groups of candidates has become particularly pronounced around how candidates view City College’s financial situation. The college [nearly lost its accreditation](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/city-college-sf-put-accreditation-warning-18613223.php?ref=sfist.com) in 2024 over problems with financial planning and board governance, and its enrollment decline has reduced the state funding available to it. The Downtown Center was [closed this year](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/03/10/city-college-san-francisco-close-downtown-center-campus?ref=sfist.com), with classes moved to other campuses amid the financial pressure.
Ball, Tam, and Lace have emphasized fiscal responsibility and said the college needs to make difficult decisions about underused facilities and low-enrollment classes. Ball has proposed consolidating unused space while protecting Cantonese-language courses, while Tam has said he would expand classes with long waitlists and cut those with too few students. Lace reportedly couldn’t be reached for comment.
The labor-backed slate has challenged the idea that City College should be defined primarily by a structural deficit. Per the Guardsman, Robin Pugh AFT 2121 president and a City College instructor, pointed to the union's own analysis of the college's finances, which found a $20 million surplus for the 2024–25 school year.
AFT 2121 has also criticized what it sees as a growing push toward privatization and consolidation in San Francisco, particularly through public-private partnerships. Pugh said the union is concerned about billionaire-backed political groups gaining influence over public institutions.
“What concerns me is that the billionaire agenda tends to go towards gentrification and consolidating executive power,” Pugh said, speaking to the Guardsman.
LaCroix, Lee, and McFadden have each emphasized protecting programs and services for students while looking for places to reduce spending. LaCroix told KALW she would cut administrative positions and protect non-credit offerings, while Lee has focused on high-demand courses, including Cantonese, which he said has more interested students than the program's lone part-time instructor can accommodate.
McFadden has declined to identify a particular program or expense she would cut, instead arguing that budget decisions should not come at the expense of students.
The labor-backed candidates have also received endorsements from the California Working Families Party and Supervisor Connie Chan.
KALW reports that the remaining candidates are Rome Moses Jones and Lisa Wynn. Jones has said he would look at consolidating underused facilities or finding ways to generate revenue from them. He has reportedly not filed the campaign paperwork required by the San Francisco Ethics Commission to collect contributions. Wynn has not reported any campaign contributions and does not appear to have an active campaign website or social media presence.
Nearly all of the candidates who responded to questions about the college's future reportedly said they would protect Free City, San Francisco's tuition-free community college program.
**Related:** [SF City College Leader Put on Paid Leave During Investigation Into Alleged Misuse of Funds](https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/sf-city-college-leader-put-on-paid-leave-during-investigation-into-alleged-misuse-of-funds/)
### Uniqlo’s New Market Street Flagship Opens With Huge Street Festival Friday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/uniqlos-new-market-street-flagship-opens-with-huge-street-festival-friday/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T22:12:02.000Z
Uniqlo is marking its return to downtown San Francisco Friday with a free street festival spanning Market, Ellis, and Powell streets, bringing more than 30 local artists and groups together for music, art, food, soccer, and giveaways.
Uniqlo’s big [street festival](https://uniqlo.streetfest.us/?ref=sfist.com) celebrating [the grand opening](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/uniqlo-to-open-in-former-old-navy-site-on-market-street-in-early-october/) of its new flagship store in SF runs from 11 am to 6 pm Friday, with activities spread across Market, Ellis, and Powell streets. Two stages will feature local DJs and musicians, while visitors can also play on pop-up soccer fields operated by Street Soccer USA, with community games, open play, giveaways, and prizes. Attendees are asked to [RSVP via Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uniqlo-street-festival-tickets-2002158333472?ref=sfist.com), which also includes a rundown of the events.
The Ellis Street stage lineup includes DJ Umami of the San Francisco Giants, Profesito of HydeFM, Lady Ryan of KALW, Wonway Posibul, and the Blue Beat Teen DJ Collective from Blue Bear School of Music. The Powell Street stage, presented with the Union Square Alliance, will feature sea2sea, Cheflee, Tomu DJ, and Mejiwahn.
The San Francisco Public Library will also be bringing its Bookmobile, while the Exploratorium will offer art and science demonstrations. Other activities include block printing, collage-making, origami, Japanese calligraphy, custom buttons, upcycled crafts, and interactive installations.
Six large-scale art cubes created by Bay Area artists will line Market Street through the weekend, with works including “Zen Treehouse” by Serge Gay Jr, “Water Torus” by CreatingAs1, “Silver Lining” by Nico Corona and Rewina Beshue, “Ray of Sunshine” by Raylene Gorum, “Rorschach Butterflies” by Robert Malmberg, and “Community Tree” by Musepop. The installations will be on display from 10 am to 8 pm Friday and Saturday, and until 7 pm Sunday. Attendees on Friday will have the opportunity to meet the artists.
Visitors can also pick up a Festival Passport and collect stamps from participating festival locations and nearby restaurants, including John’s Grill, Tad’s Steakhouse, Delarosa, and Ippudo. Completed passports can be exchanged for an 11-by-14-inch art print by Rewina Beshue and Robert Malmberg, while supplies last.
The festival is also bringing food and other neighborhood businesses into the mix, with Parachute Bakery popping up on Ellis Street and additional participating businesses around the surrounding downtown blocks.
[As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/festivals/article/uniqlo-downtown-street-festival-22468751.php?ref=sfist.com), Uniqlo is continuing the local San Francisco focus inside the new store with custom T-shirts and tote bags from artists including Fnnch, as well as students from Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. The company also worked with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency on exclusive merchandise and donated fabric to the school’s Fashion and Costume Department.
The festivities will continue through the weekend with traditional Japanese taiko drum performances scheduled inside the store from Friday through Sunday.
The new flagship is located at 801 Market Street, just two blocks from Uniqlo’s former Powell Street flagship, [which closed in 2021](https://sfist.com/2025/09/25/uniqlo-reportedly-in-talks-to-open-a-downtown-sf-store-again-maybe-in-the-vacant-old-navy-space/) during the pandemic. The new store occupies the former Old Navy space and is part of Uniqlo’s broader expansion across the US.
The grand opening party in 2012 for Uniqlo’s Powell Street store was also a big affair, drawing huge crowds, with the company marking the opening with a zeppelin flying over the city and advertising on double-decker tour buses.
As SFist reported previously, the new store will also serve as a hub for several San Francisco-focused partnerships and collaborations. The company plans to work with the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library on literary events, including One City One Book and the Night of Ideas Read-In. Uniqlo also plans to provide 250 family admission vouchers to the Exploratorium while supporting four of its After Dark events.
Uniqlo CEO Fuminori Adachi told the Chronicle the company sees San Francisco as a city with “creativity, new ideas, and people who care deeply about their city.” He said the company is investing in downtown because it believes in the neighborhood’s future.
**Previously:** [Uniqlo to Open In Former Old Navy Site on Market Street In Early October](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/uniqlo-to-open-in-former-old-navy-site-on-market-street-in-early-october/)
### Kimberly Guilfoyle Now In Hot Water Over Alleged $100K Ask to Donor to Pay Her Amex Bill
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/kimberly-guilfoyle-now-in-hot-water-over-alleged-100k-ask-to-donor-to-pay-her-amex-bill/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T21:47:20.000Z
Like it or not, San Francisco native Kimberly Guilfoyle remains a character whose career trajectory, deep as it is in Trump World, we're still obligated to cover, even if she's long since left her SF life behind. And now, a Republican donor has come forward with allegations about Guilfoyle soliciting what seems to be a personal kickback or bribe.
Onetime San Francisco First Lady Kimberly Guilfoyle, who turned tail after divorcing Gavin Newsom two decades ago and went all in on Fox News and the Republican side of things, is joining the ranks of Trump loyalists who are catching the ire of fellow Republicans as Trump's grip on power continues to weaken.
[The Wall Street Journal reports](https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/guilfoyle-amex-donor-100-000-0e02cdc3?ref=sfist.com) that last summer, as Guilfoyle was preparing for her confirmation hearing to become ambassador to Greece — her consolation prize after being dumped by Donald Trump Jr. — she had a text exchange with former Kentucky congressional candidate and pro-Trump AM radio host Eric Deters — a well-off businessman who had offered payments up to $1 million for help with some personal tax and legal issues from the Trump administration, and to help get him on Tucker Carlson's show to plead his own case.
Deters ended up souring on Guilfoyle and her empty promises, as he tells the Journal, after she failed to get anything done for him. Though the text exchanges show her telling him that she had reached out to incoming IRS Commissioner (now Ambassador to Iceland) Billy Long on his behalf, and bragging that she had a direct line to every cabinet secretary, and all get right back to her.
While Guilfoyle texts with some annoyance at Deters about him being too explicit, in writing, about financial arrangement, she herself seems to brazenly ask him over Signal to wire $100,000 directly to American Express to cover her bill there.
"It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express," a Signal message shown to the Journal, seemingly from Guilfoyle, says, with an added, "Please." In another, she allegedly writes, "Honey please I need you to get this done for me today."
Deters ended up refusing the $100K request, saying that he couldn't fulfill it without "getting a divorce" from his wife. But he now confides in the Journal that he never came through because she never did. "She never came through on anything," he tells the Journal.
He also shared a message in which Guilfoyle said, if he came up with the $100K, "I will be your Trump ride or die, forever and ever."
The Journal notes that Deters, who worked as a lawyer in addition to owning a regional chain of pizzerias, has had his share of legal issues, including being suspended twice by the Kentucky Bar Association and being "banned from entering a courthouse in Ohio’s Hamilton County after threatening on social media to burn it down."
But now he joins a group of Republicans, once fiercely loyal to Trump, who are questioning that loyalty now that favors are policies they sought haven't come to fruition.
And this revelation about the Amex bill comes two weeks after [a different Wall Street Journal investigation](https://www.wsj.com/articles/kimberly-guilfoyle-mystery-man-energy-5adeb541?mod=article%5Finline&ref=sfist.com) found Guilfoyle being perhaps too chummy with a Greek energy company lobbyist in her work as an ambassador, taking meetings in the Balkans. That has reportedly led to Democrats on the House and Senate foreign affairs committees [calling on the State Department](https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/lawmakers-call-for-probe-into-kimberly-guilfoyles-conduct-480e1384?mod=article%5Finline&ref=sfist.com) last week to formally review her conduct on the job.
A US Embassy official gave a statement defending Guilfoyle to the Journal, saying, "Guilfoyle’s career in and out of public service is guided by deep and abiding values. She was fully vetted by the bipartisan Senate Foreign Relations committee and confirmed by the US Senate. The Ambassador remains committed to representing the American people with dedication and integrity."
**Related:** [Kim Guilfoyle Surprisingly Praises Her ‘Very Good Relationship’ With Gavin Newsom, Stays Mum on Donald Trump Jr](https://sfist.com/2025/11/14/kim-guilfoyle-surprisingly-praises-her-very-good-relationship-with-gavin-newsom-stays-mum-on-donald-trump-jr/)
### Video: Shirtless Dude Smoking Cigarette Seen Driving Old Muni Bus Through Oakland
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/video-shirtless-dude-smoking-cigarette-seen-driving-old-muni-bus-through-oakland/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T21:14:00.000Z
Somebody got their hands on a fairly beat-up, decommissioned Muni bus, whose "Not In Service" digital sign is at least still functional, and was spotted driving it in Oakland recently.
With the caption "Oakland is like a GTA server," (referring to *Grand Theft Auto*) the video below surfaced on what appears to be Instagram and then on Reddit this week — [posted to the subreddits r/BayArea](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1x0p4dv/bus%5Fdriver%5Fin%5Foakland/?ref=sfist.com) and r/CrazyFuckingVideos. The driver is shirtless and smoking a cigarette behind a frame where windshield glass used to be, and this appears to be in the area of the former/continuing Wood Street encampment, in West Oakland near the MacArthur Maze.
> [Bus driver in Oakland](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrazyFuckingVideos/comments/1x0m15k/bus%5Fdriver%5Fin%5Foakland/?ref=sfist.com)
> by [u/HomeNowWTF](https://www.reddit.com/user/HomeNowWTF/?ref=sfist.com) in [CrazyFuckingVideos](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrazyFuckingVideos/?ref=sfist.com)
Redditor deciblast writes in a comment, "That guy lives in the bus and parks in Oakland. I live in the neighborhood and have seen it parked in multiple places. It also has tags on it." The person adds, "He was parked at West Grand and Campbell this weekend on the north side. The he moved to the south side. Then I saw him off 5th near 880 past West Oakland BART on my way to work yesterday."
As the [Chronicle notes](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/shirtless-man-goes-viral-driving-beat-up-muni-bus-22468880.php?ref=sfist.com), the SFMTA takes buses that reach "the end of their useful life" and either auction them off, donate them, or give them to other city departments to be repurposed — like several that were recently retrofitted by the SF Fire Department to serve as rescue vehicles in a mass casualty event.
[SFist noted one such bus for sale](https://sfist.com/2025/04/10/someone-in-sacramento-is-selling-an-old-muni-bus-for-8-000-has-only-41-608-miles-on-it/) in Sacramento last year, with an asking price of $8,000 and "only 41,608 miles" on it. This one spotted in Oakland likely went for less than that, given the looks of it.
**Related:** [Muni Breaks Out 78-Year-Old ‘Super Bus’ That Was Supposed to Replace the Cable Cars for Muni Heritage Weekend](https://sfist.com/2025/09/22/muni-breaks-out-78-year-old-super-bus-that-was-supposed-to-replace-the-cable-cars-for-muni-heritage-weekend/)
### Is Manny Yekutiel Going to Re-Enter the District 8 Race?
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/is-manny-yekutiel-going-to-re-enter-the-district-8-race/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T19:15:44.000Z
It appears that the moderate political group GrowSF has been quickly and quietly doing some polling to see how voters feel about the possibility of Manny Yekutiel resuming his campaign for supervisor, following last week's new sexual assault allegations and his dropping out of the race.
The political waters may be murky around the District 8 supervisor race, which is definitely the SF supervisor race that has garnered the most media attention in this election cycle. And while progressives have rallied behind Gary McCoy and applauded Mayor Daniel Lurie and others for dropping their endorsements of Manny Yekutiel, moderates appear at least curious about what Yekutiel's chances may still be in this race — since his name is going to be on the ballot regardless.
In case you missed it, Yekutiel [dropped out of the race](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/lurie-others-pull-endorsements-of-manny-yekutiel-after-new-groping-allegation/) in dramatic fashion on Thursday, just hours after the [SF Standard published](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/01/manny-yekutiel-sexual-assault-allegation-sf-supervisor-candidate/?ref=sfist.com) new and similar allegations against him to [one that came from a different accuser](https://sfist.com/2026/06/30/assault-allegation-threatens-to-derail-supervisor-candidacy-of-manny-yekutiel/) several months back. Ryan Clark, who admitted to having been on at least one date with Yekutiel, claimed that Yekutiel had aggressively groped him and his boyfriend on the dancefloor of the Midway during a Pride event in 2023, grabbing both of them by the testicles — one of them under the pants — leading Clark to have to forcibly push him off.
Debate has raged in recent days, in the gay community in particular, about whether this or an earlier, similar allegation by Brad Chapin constituted sexual assault or just uncalled-for groping, or whether groping is, in fact, assault. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who is gay and currently represents heavily queer District 8, had appeared to want to split the difference and give Yekutiel the benefit of the doubt following Chapin's allegation in June, but when Clark came forward describing something similar and non-consensual, even Mandelman had to rescind his endorsement and say, "\[it's\] become painfully clear to me that he has work to do on himself and is not ready to serve as an elected official."
Interestingly, the night before the Standard story published and Yekutiel said he was dropping out of the race, billionaire philanthropist and SF Standard founder Michael Moritz had appeared on stage with Yekutiel at an event promoting Moritz's book, with Moritz calling Yekutiel, "one of my favorite people in San Francisco," [per the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/manny-yekutiel-san-francisco-22458731.php?ref=sfist.com).
Fast-forward to this week, and the [Standard is reporting](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/07/lurie-s-allies-ditched-manny-yekutiel-now-re-polling-comeback-odds/?ref=sfist.com) on active polling that has been happening, sponsored by GrowSF — a group [closely aligned](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/12/san-francisco-tech-billionaires-political-influence?ref=sfist.com) with Moritz's own former political action group TogetherSF, now known as [BlueprintSF](https://www.sfblueprint.org/?ref=sfist.com). The poll reportedly asks, "If Manny Yekutiel were to resume his campaign, where would you rank him on your ballot, if at all?"
Another question says, "Mayor Lurie, as well as several members of the Board of Supervisors and other elected officials, withdrew their endorsements of Manny Yekutiel after the latest allegations against him. Knowing this, where would you rank Manny Yekutiel on your ballot, if at all?"
GrowSF Director Steven Bacio gave a statement saying, "We're not backing any candidate in District 8, but we want to understand where votes are at after such a substantial shake-up." Bacio adds, "Gary McCoy was trailing by over 30 points, he doesn't get to crown himself supervisor — the voters get to decide whose vision represents the district."
A spokesperson for McCoy's campaign, Catie Stewart, tells the Standard, "If GrowSF wants to light money on fire in support of someone who's been credibly accused of sexual assault by three people, that's their right."
Yekutiel, who had close ties to Mayor Daniel Lurie prior to last week, in particular in working on the Civic Joy Fund since before Lurie was elected, would likely have to change his mind and say so publicly very quickly, given that mail-in ballots arrived in mailboxes this week in SF, and there are only 26 days left before Election Day. And if he did resume his campaign, that would put Lurie in an awkward spot.
The fight to bring Yekutiel down, and the political camps lining up to attack or defend him, has echoes in the 2012 scandal over domestic violence allegations against former Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, a recently elected progressive, whose wife Eliana Lopez recorded [a video documenting bruises on her arm](https://sfist.com/2012/03/20/mirkarimi%5Fupdate%5Fivory%5Fmadisons%5Fhus/) with a neighbor after a fight with her husband. That neighbor went public with the video, and the situation led to months of political drama and [efforts to get Mirkarimi removed](https://sfist.com/2012/10/10/ross%5Fmirkarimi%5Fto%5Fkeep%5Fjob%5Fas%5Fsheri/) from his job, all while each political camp debated what constituted domestic violence — and as Mirkarimi's wife subsequently made efforts to downplay what happened and attack the moderate camp for [using her to try to destroy her husband's career](https://sfist.com/2012/04/06/eliana%5Flopez%5Fpens%5Fopen%5Fletter%5Fto%5Fth/).
Though in this case, 14 years later, moderates know better than to try to downplay what three different people consider sexual assault, though they did try to downplay it when there was only one accuser and Yekutiel had plausible deniability.
GrowSF may have reason to wonder whether Yekutiel's candidacy is still viable. As the Standard notes, an August poll by GrowSF found Yekutiel with 47% and McCoy polling at 15%, with patent attorney Michael Nguyen at 12%.
**Previously:** [Manny Yekutiel Drops Out of D8 Supervisor Race After New Groping Allegation, Lost Endorsements](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/lurie-others-pull-endorsements-of-manny-yekutiel-after-new-groping-allegation/)
### Trial Begins In 2015 Lawsuit Against SF District Attorney’s Office Over Racial Slur
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/trial-begins-in-2015-lawsuit-against-sf-district-attorneys-office-over-racial-slur/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T19:08:20.000Z
A former SF District Attorney employee is suing over a 2015 racial slur incident that she says was followed by months of harassment from the office’s HR manager, after the California Supreme Court revived her case in 2024.
Wednesday’s trial began with testimony from Twanda Bailey, who worked for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office for 14 years before leaving in late 2015, [as KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12103323/former-sf-da-employee-testifies-to-being-called-racial-slur-harassed-by-hr-director?ref=sfist.com). She told the jury that a former supervisor and co-worker, Saras Larkin, called her the N-word in January of that year.
Bailey said she initially kept the incident to herself because she believed HR Director Evette Taylor-Monachino was close with Larkin, and because she had seen other Black women in the office face harassment or removal. She eventually said a supervisor overheard her discussing the incident and offered to report it, but when Bailey later went to HR for a copy of the complaint, Taylor-Monachino told her no report existed.
According to KQED, Bailey testified that Taylor-Monachino then warned her that telling coworkers about the slur could create a “hostile work environment” for Bailey herself. She said the HR director subsequently gave her “nasty, unpleasant looks” and laughed at her in the office on a daily basis.
“I felt like I was working in a war zone. I felt like I had to dodge the HR manager,” Bailey testified. “I never experienced anything like this. I didn’t know if I was going to lose my job.”
Bailey reportedly filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 2015, though the agency ultimately found her claim insufficient, per KQED. That summer, she received a performance evaluation containing numerous negative allegations that she said had never previously been raised with her, as her prior reviews had all been overwhelmingly positive, prompting her to appeal the review.
She filed a formal complaint against Taylor-Monachino in August and said the HR director was reassigned to different duties two months later.
KQED reports that Bailey also described an encounter in a parking lot in which Taylor-Monachino allegedly pulled up alongside her car, lowered her window, and made a pointing gesture that Bailey interpreted as a threat. Bailey filed her lawsuit in December 2015, but the case was later dismissed on appeal by the city attorney’s office.
That changed in 2024, when the California Supreme Court [overturned the earlier ruling](https://calmatters.org/justice/2024/07/racial-discrimination-sf-da/?ref=sfist.com) and allowed Bailey’s case to proceed. The court found that a single instance of being called a racial slur by a co-worker could be enough to support a workplace discrimination claim, noting the particular “stinging barbs of history” carried by the epithet.
During Wednesday’s testimony, Bailey faced questions about whether she could have misheard the slur, with Deputy City Attorney Matthew Yan noting that no one else heard Larkin use one, according to KQED.
“You heard your longtime friend call you a racial slur and you didn’t confront her about it?” he asked.
“No, I didn’t. I walked away. I heard her correctly,” Bailey replied.
Bailey also testified that she struggled to concentrate and became fearful of supervisors after the incident, lasting only a week at a 2018 job with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
The case also resurfaced in 2019 following an incident at a forum for Black members of the SEIU 1021 union local, where civil rights attorney and former San Francisco supervisor Angela Alioto discussed workplace discrimination in city government.
[As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2019/05/23/angela-alioto-wont-be-disciplined-by-democratic-committee-over-n-word-rant/) at the time, the discussion was overshadowed by Alioto's use of the N-word while attempting to illustrate how frequently the slur was used in government workplaces and how such incidents could lead to hostile-work-environment lawsuits.
While many of the attendees found it inappropriate, with some members of the Democratic County Central Committee calling for Alioto’s removal, Bailey, who was at the forum, reportedly said she was not offended by Alioto’s remarks.
Bailey said she found the city’s handling of her own complaint more offensive, explaining that she was more troubled by “how the city and county treated me and handled the situation after I was called a n—.”
Bailey recently [told the SF Bay View](https://sfbayview.com/2026/09/twanda-bailey-s-fight-puts-san-francisco-and-the-nation-on-notice/?ref=sfist.com) she hoped her case will prompt the city to change how it handles complaints involving racial slurs.
“I was the one that was called a racial slur,” said Bailey. “I didn’t do anything, and they made me feel like I did something wrong.”
The trial is expected to conclude in less than two weeks.
**Related:** [Angela Alioto Won't Be Disciplined By Democratic Committee Over N-Word Rant](https://sfist.com/2019/05/23/angela-alioto-wont-be-disciplined-by-democratic-committee-over-n-word-rant/)
### Gruesome Details Emerge In Morgan Hill Domestic Violence Murder
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/gruesome-details-emerge-in-morgan-hill-domestic-violence-murder/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T17:53:41.000Z
The Morgan Hill mother of three who was allegedly killed by her husband in a domestic violence incident that began on Friday has been identified, and court documents now reveal some of horrific details of what occurred.
We now know the identity of the woman who arrived in grave condition at San Jose's Good Samaritan Hospital Saturday morning, with her husband walking into the Emergency Room and [allegedly admitting, "I killed my wife."](https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/morgan-hill-father-with-three-kids-brings-gravely-injured-wife-to-hospital-says-he-killed-her/) Friends and family have identified the victim as 34-year-old Jasmyne Garcia on [a GoFundMe page](https://www.gofundme.com/f/jasmyne-garcia?cp%5Fsrc=d&ref=sfist.com) that describes her as a "devoted mother" whose "greatest joy was being \[a\] mom."
As [Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/10/07/murder-charge-for-morgan-hill-man-who-brought-dead-wife-to-hospital-with-kids-back-at-home/?ref=sfist.com), she has also been identified as Jasmyne Lopez, with her husband's surname, in court documents.
The suspect is 37-year-old Roy Anthony Lopez, and he was arraigned Wednesday on charges of murder and child endangerment. Lopez and Garcia's three children, ages 14, 6, and 3, were all reportedly home when the domestic violence incident began on Friday, October 2\. According to statements, the 14-year-old son says that his father was intoxicated, and that when he asked if he could go ride bikes with a friend, Lopez cornered him, "grabbed him by the neck, and slammed his head against the bed multiple times."
The boy then left the house, and the only direct witness to what then occurred was reportedly the six-year-old son who hid under a bed, who told investigators, "Daddy got mad."
Lopez allegedly beat his wife so severely that she was "unrecognizable" and incapacitated on the floor of the parents' bedroom, "unable to speak" and "groaning in pain." According to the police report by Detective Kyle Tolentino, the boy said his mother was unable to care for herself and defecated while on the floor, and she was apparently left lying there overnight, losing and regaining consciousness repeatedly.
[Per KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/wife-slain-in-morgan-hill-homicide-identified-as-mother-of-three/?ref=sfist.com), the teen had found the house a mess, with ample evidence of a major fight. "He observed blood throughout the residence, holes in the walls, water throughout the kitchen, a tipped-over water dispenser, and other signs consistent with disturbance," Tolentino writes.
Saturday morning around 9:20 am, presumably after he had sobered up, Lopez, covered in blood, allegedly put his wife in the car and drove her to the hospital, where ER personnel found her in the parking lot. She soon succumbed to her injuries.
"This is an incredibly tragic case. Mr. Lopez killed his wife by beating her to death in front of their two small children, and her oldest child then came home to find his mother in very critical condition," said Deputy District Attorney Barbara Cathcart in a statement after the arraignment, per Bay Area News Group. “Despite her being in that condition, she was not taken to the hospital for several hours."
Lopez reportedly did not enter a plea Wednesday, and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Hector Ramon remanded him to jail, scheduling the next court date for December 15.
The three children are now in the custody of the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services. The GoFundMe has so far raised $19,000 for their ongoing care.
**Previously:** [Morgan Hill Father With Three Kids Brings Gravely Injured Wife to Hospital, Says He Killed Her](https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/morgan-hill-father-with-three-kids-brings-gravely-injured-wife-to-hospital-says-he-killed-her/)
### State Employees’ Union Authorizes Strike, Accuses Newsom Administration of Bad-Faith Bargaining
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/state-employees-union-authorizes-strike-accuses-newsom-administration-of-bad-faith-bargaining/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T17:37:49.000Z
SEIU Local 1000, which represents nearly 100,000 state employees, authorized a one-day strike for October 21 after months of stalled contract negotiations, accusing the Newsom administration of refusing to bargain in good faith.
Members of California’s largest state workers’ union, SEIU Local 1000, overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike, with 96% of those who voted supporting a one-day walkout on October 21, [as the Sacramento Bee reports](https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article317516133.html?ref=sfist.com). The vote gives union leadership the authority to call the strike after the state workers’ contract expired July 1 and negotiations stalled for more than two months.
[According to CalMatters](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/seiu-local-1000-strike-authorization/?ref=sfist.com), the union is seeking larger raises, more affordable health care, and greater flexibility to work from home. It has proposed a 20% pay increase over three years, along with stipends for employees who are required to work in person. The union argued that the state has room to offer more, as general fund spending increased by about $20 billion over the past two years.
The union now says the state has been unwilling to seriously negotiate over its new proposals. SEIU filed a complaint with the Public Employment Relations Board accusing the California Department of Human Resources, or CalHR, of delaying negotiations and rejecting proposals without bargaining over them. Per CalMatters, the board determined in late September that CalHR had “refused to meet and confer in good faith.”
CalHR has rejected that characterization. Angela Musallam, the agency’s deputy director of communications, said the state remains willing to negotiate and is prepared to enter mediation, while pointing to the union's refusal to budge on Newsom’s four-day, return-to-office mandate.
SEIU Chief Negotiator Bobby Roy said in September that the union would return to negotiations if the state presented a meaningful offer, including movement on compensation and other issues beyond telework, per the Bee.
The current fight also follows a [2025 budget agreement](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/seiu-local-1000-strike-authorization/?ref=sfist.com) in which state workers accepted some temporary concessions. Their previously negotiated 3% raise took effect July 1, but a 3% Personal Leave Program deduction was also imposed, reducing gross pay in exchange for five hours of personal leave each month. The state then suspended employees’ 3% contributions toward future retiree health care costs, while a second 3% raise scheduled for July 2026 was pushed back to July 2027.
A strike would be the first statewide walkout in the 44-year history of the labor groups that eventually became Local 1000, as CalMatters reports. The union came close in 2016, but reached a last-minute agreement with then-Governor Jerry Brown that prevented a strike. The state worker union representing scientists, CAPS-UAW, was the last major state employee union to strike, in 2023.
Local 1000 members, who include nurses, clerks, program analysts, IT workers, custodians, and other state employees, are reportedly not required to participate in the strike. Workers who do participate would not be paid for the time they are out, although the union maintains a strike fund for expenses such as legal costs if members face retaliation.
A walkout could affect state services, and union President Anica Walls has warned of possible delays at DMV offices and unemployment and disability insurance agencies, per CalMatters.
“This vote is a notice to the Newsom administration that if they continue to bargain in bad faith, we will take action,” Walls said [in a press release](https://www.abridged.org/news/california-state-workers-could-strike/?ref=sfist.com).
The union says its position will not change depending on who occupies the governor’s office after the next election.
**Related:** [District Blames SF Teachers' Union For Leaving the Bargaining Table Early Tuesday Night](https://sfist.com/2026/02/11/district-blames-teachers-union-for-leaving-the-bargaining/)
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Healdsburg Teen Arrested After Alleged 'Fugitive Game' Chase
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/08/healdsburg-teen-arrested-after-alleged-fugitive-game-chase/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T17:40:25.000Z
- **Confirming once again: This year's El Niño is gonna be a bad one.** Federal forecasters say it's all but guaranteed to be a record-breaking winter, eclipsing all El Niño seasons since records began being kept on these cycles in 1950\. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/el-nino-record-strong-22466068.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Comfort your pets and brace for the Blue Angels to start their practice flights over the city today around 1 pm. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/blue-angels-practice-san-francisco-fleet-week/4155196/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An 18-year-old Healdsburg High School student was taken into custody Wednesday after a high-speed chase in which the student, driving a Tesla, was allegedly seen pointing a gun and may have been playing a social media-fueled '[Fugitive Game](https://patch.com/california/healdsburg/students-warned-against-fugitive-fake-gun-game-tonight-healdsburg-police?ref=sfist.com)' involving gel-bed toy guns that has been [going viral](https://www.kpax.com/news/local-news/flathead-county/whitefish-police-warn-of-unsanctioned-student-fugitive-game?ref=sfist.com). \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/healdsburg-student-arrested-in-high-speed-fugitive-game-incident-pd/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Investigators are trying to figure out the cause of the house fire in Monte Sereno, in Santa Clara County, that killed two "older adults" on Wednesday morning. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/2-older-adults-dead-monte-sereno-house-fire-santa-clara-officials-say/19917933/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Thousands of SF mail-in ballots were damaged by a USPS packing machine, and the postal service has switched to packing them manually. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/torn-ballots-san-francisco-22468392.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Drivers over the Golden Gate Bridge have been dealing with mid-day lane closures this week, which go on from 9:30 am to 2 pm. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/golden-gate-bridge-lane-closures/4155106/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate who the state failed to execute last week in a botched lethal injection is now "up and walking" and apparently confused and angry about what happened. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/christa-pike-now-up-walking-lawyer-says-whats-next?ref=sfist.com) / [Globe](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/christa-pike-walking-angry-confused-144943556.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Canadian poet, essayist, and translator of ancient Greek, Anne Carson has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/books/nobel-prize-literature.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Infamous Dismemberment House Up for Auction
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/infamous-dismemberment-house-up-for-auction/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T01:20:38.000Z
### Local:
- **In the still unsolved murder case of SoMa resident Brian Egg, who invited a couple of the wrong people into his home eight years ago and** [**ended up dead and dismembered**](https://sfist.com/2019/08/15/one-year-later-brutal-soma-dismemberment-murder-still-unsolved/)**, his torso stuffed in a fish tank, the home where the murder occurred is now** [**up for auction**](https://instantgavel.com/browse-auctions/224-228-clara-street-san-francisco-ca-94107?ref=sfist.com)**.** The current bid for 224-228 Clara Street is $925,000 for what's being marketed as a development site with the capacity for nine condo units; the murder of Egg has still never been prosecuted after two persons of interest in the case, 39-year-old Lance Silva and 52‑year‑old Robert McCaffrey, were [released for lack of evidence](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brian-egg-headless-torso-found-in-fish-tank-identified-missing-homeowner-san-francisco-police/?ref=sfist.com). \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/san-francisco-home-where-brian-eggs-torso-was-found-fish-tank-auction-1-million/19911750/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Liberties, the 25-year-old Mission District/Liberty Hill pub that once got a [sweet COVID grant](https://sfist.com/2020/05/12/zuckerberg-chan-donate-100k-favorite-restaurants/) from Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, just announced it is closing due to financial difficulties. \[[Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/the-liberties-at-22nd-and-guerrero-closes-indefinitely/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- El Niño-fueled high tides are expected to cause some coastal fooding this weekend around the Bay. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/coastal-flood-sf-bay-22467316.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Patricia Krenwinkel, the former Manson Family member who is now the longest-serving woman in the California penal system having served 57 years behind bars for the Tate-LaBianca murders, has been recommended for parole for a third time.** Governor Gavin Newsom has consistently denied parole in Mason Family cases, but in 2023, the full parole board overturned his denial in the case of Leslie Van Houten. \[[KCRA](https://www.kcra.com/article/patricia-krenwinkel-third-parole-recommendation-california/74067775?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Four large research networks dedicated to testing vaccines and treatments for HIV, tuberculosis and emerging infectious diseases are in a state of limbo thanks to funding delays by the Trump administration, and RFK's hatred of vaccines. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/health/hiv-research-delay-cuts-hhs-nih.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Hurricane Rachel is likely headed toward the Baja and/or Southern California coast, with San Diego and even Anaheim within the "cone of uncertainty," with landfall expected early Sunday morning. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/hurricane-rachel-california-22466697.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- We're still waiting on the SF edition, but check out this cool timelapse animation of Manhattan Island being developed from the first century AD to the 21st century. This YouTube Channel, City 3D Timelapse, claims no AI was used in this, and they also [just did one for Rome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7qqGQxfpGc&ref=sfist.com).
### SF Fleet Week 2026 Brings Blue Angels, Ship Tours, Concerts, and More
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/fleet-week-2026-brings-blue-angels-ship-tours-concerts-and-more-to-sf/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T00:56:49.000Z
San Francisco Fleet Week is in full swing, featuring military ship tours, free concerts, a parade of ships, and the Blue Angels’ annual air show, with events taking place across the city through Monday.
Many of [Fleet Week’s](https://fleetweeksf.org/calendar-of-events/?ref=sfist.com) major events kick off Wednesday, with free ship tours at Piers 27 and 35 from 10 am to 4 pm, along with military band performances around the city, which continue Thursday, [as KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12103039/fleet-week-2026-practice-schedule-blue-angels-ship-tours-where-events?ref=sfist.com). The Blue Angels will also practice from 1 to 6 pm, [according to Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport](https://flyquietoak.com/2026-fleet-week-flight-operations-at-oakland-san-francisco-bay-airport-oak/?ref=sfist.com), which is hosting the military aircraft during Fleet Week.
The biggest day of the weekend arrives Friday, with the Parade of Ships sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge from 11 am to noon, followed by the Fleet Week air show from noon to 4 pm. The Blue Angels will headline the show, which takes place between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.
The air show continues Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. Popular viewing spots include Marina Green, Crissy Field, the Marin Headlands, and Treasure Island, although crowds and traffic are expected. Flights could begin as early as 10 am on those days.
Saturday and Sunday also bring free ship tours at Piers 27 and 35, along with [Fleet Fest](https://fleetweeksf.org/fleet-fest/?ref=sfist.com) at Fisherman’s Wharf from 10 am to 7 pm. The event features food, live music, demonstrations, and family activities. Saturday also includes the [K9 Heroes](https://fleetweeksf.org/k9-heroes/?ref=sfist.com) event at Duboce Park, celebrating military working dogs.
Military bands will perform at venues throughout the city during the weekend, including Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, Golden Gate Park, West Portal, and several neighborhood plazas and libraries. Fleet Week wraps up Monday with final ship tours from 9 am to noon and a Marine band performance at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell.
KQED notes that the biggest crowds and noise will be concentrated around the northern waterfront, particularly Fisherman’s Wharf and Marina Green. Fleet Week organizers recommend public transportation, and the SFMTA has posted [special transit information](https://www.sfmta.com/travel-updates/fleet-week-october-9-11-2026?ref=sfist.com) for the air shows and Parade of Ships. As [we noted earlier](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/waymos-not-allowed-near-waterfront-for-fleet-week/), geofencing will be in effect for Waymo and Zoox, preventing them from getting too near any of the popular viewing areas, or dropping off anywhere on the Embarcadero.
For residents hoping to avoid the noise, neighborhoods such as the Marina and Pacific Heights are likely to hear more of the aircraft, while areas farther south, including the Mission, Dogpatch, and Noe Valley, should generally be quieter.
**Related:** [Government Shutdown Could Clip the Wings of Next Weekend’s Fleet Week](https://sfist.com/2025/09/30/government-shutdown-could-clip-the-wings-of-next-weekends-fleet-week/)
### That Humanoid Fighting Robot Startup on Van Ness Just Got a Cease and Desist From the State
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/that-humanoid-fighting-robot-startup-on-van-ness-just-got-a-cease-and-desist-from-the-state/
Last updated: 2026-10-08T00:35:53.000Z
After a video went viral of an obviously dangerous cage match between a human and a humanoid robot, California state officials have ordered San Francisco-based Robot Entertainment Kombat to cease all such unlicensed cage fights.
Robot Entertainment Kombat (REK), which just [opened a storefront](https://sfist.com/2026/05/01/sf-fighting-robot-company-to-open-gym-storefront-on-van-ness-this-summer/) on Van Ness in July, is arguably one of the more bro-ishly frightening and dystopian developments on the local AI scene. The company had been marketing robot-on-robot fights for entertainment purposes, but then they got influencer Frankie LaPenna to don some (fairly minimal?) protective gear and have a cage fight last month with a six-foot-tall, Terminator-style robot.
To save you the viewing if you haven't clicked play already or haven't seen this on your feed, LaPenna gets his ass kicked, quite literally — every time the robot kicks he goes flying and it is nowhere near a fair fight.
LaPenna is best known for goofy stunt content on TikTok, and for going on *America's Got Talent* to [pop some balloons with his big ass](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZau7V5T9Hw/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com).
And in addition to the fight seen above, LaPenna also fought an REK robot called The Predator, which is allegedly made of "solid steel," and he does slightly better it looks like but still get his ass kicked in the end. (REK apparently claimed that LaPenna won two out of three of his matches that night, but did he? It kind of feels like we all lost something here.)
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ddmih9azr68/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Frankie LaPenna (@frankielap)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ddmih9azr68/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
Needless to stay, state officials are not too happy about this new form of entertainment. As [Tom's Hardware reported](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/robotics/robotics-startup-has-real-human-vs-robot-cage-match-california-responds-with-cease-and-desist-order-regulator-threatens-misdemeanor-charges-after-youtuber-fights-three-robotic-humanoids?ref=sfist.com) over the weekend, REK received a cease-and-desist letter from the California State Athletic Commission following the September 18 cage matches.
The letter, which REK CEO Cix Liv proudly shared on Xitter, orders REK to stop "holding, promoting, or advertising any boxing or mixed martial arts contest match or exhibition, involving any human in the State of California without the prior approval of the State Athletic Commission."
> We made it boys. California sent us a Cease and Desist for "UNSANCTIONED HUMAN VERSUS HUMANOID ROBOT CAGE FIGHT" https://t.co/cw2jjl1aNV
>
> — CIX 🦾 (@cixliv) [September 30, 2026](https://x.com/cixliv/status/2105443453807280336?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
Not sure if that throws any wrench in the future event plans of REK, or if maybe they were hoping for this kind of publicity all along. Since going up two weeks ago, the YouTube video above has garnered 8.2 million views.
Maybe that's enough to sell some robots, and/or sell some tickets to future robot-vs-robot matches.
Next up: We may be seeing new laws being written about when a humanoid robot is allowed to drop-kick or mortally injure an intruder in one's home, once more people start buying more of these things.
**Previously:** [SF Fighting Robot Company to Open Gym, Storefront on Van Ness This Summer](https://sfist.com/2026/05/01/sf-fighting-robot-company-to-open-gym-storefront-on-van-ness-this-summer/)
### Shh: There's a Semi-Secret Way to Get In-N-Out Delivered
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/shh-theres-a-semi-secret-way-to-get-in-n-out-delivered/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T23:08:05.000Z
In-N-Out, the still mostly California-based company that staunchly refuses to join the delivery-app age, is not entirely beyond the reach of Animal-style obsessives who dislike leaving their couch, as we are now learning.
You still will not find In-N-Out available anywhere on the usual apps like DoorDash or UberEats — back in the wild west days of the delivery app wars in 2014/2015, DoorDash even tried making an end run around In-N-Out, allowing orders to be placed on the app and then having drivers physically go make and fetch those orders in person, for a fee, and [In-N-Out sued them](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/in-n-out-burger-sues-food-delivery-service-doordash/?ref=sfist.com).
But, as [LA Material reports this week](https://lamaterial.com/p/innout-delivery-doordash-grubhub?ref=sfist.com), "nature abhors a vacuum," and thus some enterprising folk have taken it upon themselves to offer door-to-door In-N-Out delivery on Facebook Marketplace, and the TaskRabbit knockoff site Airtasker — the latter even has its [own dedicated page](https://www.airtasker.com/us/services/in-n-out-burger-delivery/ca/?utm%5F&ref=sfist.com) for In-N-Out delivery.
Of course, sometimes these are just solutions for the idle wealthy who can't be bothered to get in their McLaren and go through a drive-thru, and probably not for the average wage worker. As the [California Post notes](https://nypost.com/2026/10/07/lifestyle/how-in-n-out-delivery-markets-are-popping-up-across-california/?ref=sfist.com), not citing any source, one customer (possibly of Airtasker) in Santa Clara was willing to pay $100 for two Animal-style burgers and two Animal-style fries to be delivered to their house.
But a quick look at Facebook Marketplace locally yields [one person offering to do the delivery run](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1013942504776635/) in the San Jose area for a $5 to $10 fee, which is better than DoorDash!
And, of course, word of mouth about all this will inevitably lead to scams. LA Material tried out the services of a driver named Adrian in Glendora who was offering to deliver In-N-Out for his usual $25 delivery fee plus a $25 "drive fee," so $50 on top of the cost of the order. They wired him the $50 on Zelle and, guess what! The food never came and Adrian blocked them on Facebook following multiple voicemails.
Should someone pop up in SF offering to do the run to Fisherman's Wharf for you, you might want to use a service like PayPal with some sort of scam protection.
Evangelical In-N-Out CEO Lynsi Snyder, who caused an uproar here in California last year when she announced she was relocating to more conservative (and cheaper) Tennessee and [opening an "eastern" headquarters](https://sfist.com/2025/07/22/in-n-outs-ceo-says-shes-moving-to-tennessee-and-opening-eastern-company-hq-there-uproar-ensues/) of the company there, gave an interview in April in which she reaffirmed that the company would never offer delivery, because of the "freshness factor." And sure, In-N-Out's notoriously non-crispy fries would only be worse after sitting in a delivery box for 30 minutes.
**Related:** [In-N-Out's CEO Says She's Moving to Tennessee and Opening 'Eastern' Company HQ There, Uproar Ensues](https://sfist.com/2025/07/22/in-n-outs-ceo-says-shes-moving-to-tennessee-and-opening-eastern-company-hq-there-uproar-ensues/)
### SF City College Leader Put on Paid Leave During Investigation Into Alleged Misuse of Funds
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/sf-city-college-leader-put-on-paid-leave-during-investigation-into-alleged-misuse-of-funds/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T23:03:23.000Z
An interim leader is taking over for Chancellor Kimberlee Messina at SF City College as she faces an investigation into allegations that she improperly handled district funds, including unapproved compensation and vacation benefits.
The City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees placed Chancellor Kimberlee Messina on paid administrative leave Tuesday as an independent investigator reviews allegations involving her handling of college district funds, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/ccsf-chancellor-placed-on-leave-investigation-22465682.php?ref=sfist.com). Vice Chancellor for Academic and Institutional Affairs David Yee has been appointed temporary acting chancellor, and trustees are scheduled to consider hiring an acting chancellor at a special meeting Thursday.
Board President Aliya Chisti said the leave is an interim measure and does not represent a finding against Messina.
“This is a non-disciplinary, interim step and does not reflect any finding,” Chisti told the Chronicle.
The investigation stems from a September 4 complaint by Messina’s executive assistant, Mary Grace Esteban, who raised seven allegations concerning the use of CCSF funds and procedures in the chancellor’s office. In a September 11 letter to Esteban, Chisti said the allegations involved spending or compensation that either lacked board authorization or did not follow the college’s usual practices, [as the Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/ccsf-chancellor-investigation-messina-22456498.php?ref=sfist.com) last month.
Among the allegations are that Messina received a monthly expense stipend without board approval, that her compensation appeared to exceed the amount authorized by the board, and that her vacation balance remained at 25 days despite taking time off in August and October 2025\. Esteban also alleged that Messina bypassed the board’s travel-approval process by having requests signed by the vice chancellor of finance, who reports to her.
According to the Chronicle, the complaint also raised questions about payments to a former interim vice chancellor of finance that may have been classified improperly as contractor payments. Esteban said she was instructed to use an attendance spreadsheet to monitor work hours in the chancellor’s office, a practice not used elsewhere at the college.
Another allegation reportedly involved a staff lunch charged to Esteban’s City College credit card. After Esteban reported the charge to human resources, she said she was told not to use her card for such expenses. The original purpose listed for the lunch was also later changed, and Messina subsequently issued Esteban verbal and written reprimands over the incident.
Separately, concerns were raised about an effort to amend the February 24 contract of City College’s top lawyer, Amy McLellan, who had been licensed in Massachusetts and was required under the agreement to pass the California bar exam to continue serving as the district’s registered in-house counsel, per the Chronicle. Messina asked trustees in August and September to remove that requirement, and the proposed amendment was reportedly withdrawn without a vote.
The requirement was initially bypassed because an attorney with the state bar had determined the school was not considered a “governmental entity” and therefore McLellan could still serve as in-house counsel without passing the bar.
After the Chronicle asked for clarification on the matter, the state bar subsequently told the paper that it had reconsidered its earlier determination. A bar spokesperson said the initial decision allowing McLellan to serve at City College had been incorrect and that proposed rule changes could eventually prevent her from continuing in the position without passing the California bar.
Messina, who was selected as chancellor in June 2025, said she supported the investigation.
“I am grateful to the board for taking any and all allegations seriously,” Messina said, adding that she supported a thorough and confidential review.
The investigation comes as City College continues to contend with a long history of financial and management problems. The Chronicle reports that the college has gone through 13 chancellors in 11 years, while repeatedly facing financial instability and [accreditation concerns](https://sfist.com/2020/10/01/san-francisco-city-college-once-again-in-trouble-as/).
Messina was hired last summer following a turbulent selection process. Trustees initially [announced Carlos Cortez](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/city-college-chancellor-decision-20353752.php?ref=sfist.com) as the college’s next chancellor in May 2025, but the Chronicle subsequently reported that the board had never actually voted to hire him. That reporting also revealed that Cortez had been arrested in Florida the previous year on suspicion of driving under the influence. Messina was hired the following month.
Her three-year contract, which runs through June 2028, provides a $350,000 annual base salary, along with $60 per month for a work cellphone, $15,000 for moving to the Bay Area, and up to another $10,000 for relocation-related expenses. Per the Chronicle, the agreement also includes an optional annual fringe-benefit allowance capped at the amount available to other full-time managers.
**Related:** [City College Chancellor Mark Rocha Resigns After Being Placed on Administrative Leave](https://sfist.com/2020/03/27/city-college-chancellor-mark-rocha-resigns-after-being-placed-on-administrative-leave/)
### Defense Attorney for Accused Sierra LaMar Killer Moves to Toss Case on Double Jeopardy Grounds
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/defense-attorney-for-accused-sierra-lamar-killer-denied-double-jeopardy-motion/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T20:47:59.000Z
Pre-trial motions were filed earlier this week in the re-trial of Antolin Garcia-Torres, the man accused of killing 15-year-old Morgan Hill girl Sierra LaMar while she was on her way to school in March 2012.
The case of the 2012 murder of Sierra LaMar was one of several that rocked the Bay Area in the last decade, at least in part because LaMar's body has never been found. And while Antolin Garcia-Torres, now 35, was [convicted of her murder](https://sfist.com/2017/06/06/killer%5Fof%5Fsierra%5Flamar%5Fgets%5Flife%5Fwi/) in 2017 and sentenced to life without parole, his conviction was [overturned earlier this year](https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2026/02/28/conviction-overturned-in-2012-kidnapping-and-killing-of-sierra-lamar/?ref=sfist.com) by California's Sixth District Court of Appeal. The appellate court found that the court that tried Garcia-Torres had improperly allowed him to be tried simultaneously for [the kidnappings of three women](https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/14/sierra-lamar-did-man-accused-in-missing-teen-case-try-to-kidnap-other-women/?ref=sfist.com) three years before the murder, in 2012, on top of other issues with the trial.
The Santa Clara County DA's office has opted to retry Garcia-Torres for the murder, and jury selection is now underway. Lawyers for both sides filed a bevy of pre-trial motions on Monday, and among them, as [KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/ahead-of-retrial-sierra-lamar-suspects-attorney-asks-judge-to-drop-charges/?ref=sfist.com), was a motion by defense attorney Alfonso Lopez to dismiss the case altogether on double jeopardy grounds — on the grounds that he has already been convicted once for this crime, though double jeopardy typically only applies when an acquittal has occurred.
Lopez argued before Superior Court Judge Brian Buckelew, per KRON 4, that "new evidence was uncovered" exposing misconduct by prosecutors which was "intended to deny Mr. Garcia-Torres a right to an acquittal."
Buckelew has not yet ruled on the motion. He has already denied a motion by Lopez to recuse himself from the case due to his former role in the Santa Clara County DA's Office, which Lopez argued gave Buckelew a bias against his client.
Lopez and co-counsel Mishya Singh filed a separate motion seeking to have an interrogation of Garcia-Torres thrown out, arguing that the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office had violated his Miranda rights.
"At the substation, the sergeants placed Mr. Garcia-Torres in an interview room and questioned him for approximately 50 minutes before advising him of his Miranda rights," said the defense in the filing, per KRON4.
In yet another motion, the defense tried to get some of the only physical evidence in the case thrown out. Strands of LaMar’s hair and traces of DNA were reportedly found Garcia-Torres’s Volkswagen Jetta, but the defense argued that this evidence had been mishandled and contaminated back in 2012.
And lastly, the defense moved to prevent the prosecution from discussing a sexual motive in the crime. In court documents, per KRON4, Deputy District Attorney Thomas Butterfoss filed an opposition motion, writing, "The argument that the defendant’s abduction of Sierra was sexually motivated is an entirely proper inference based on the anticipated evidence."
The prosecution further argued, "There was no preexisting relationship between Sierra and the defendant that would have given rise to a dispute or anger leading him to attack her. Sierra’s five dollars in lunch money and other belongings were left behind … eliminating robbery as a motive. The only other potential motives are sexual, or that the defendant killed Sierra for the pleasure of indiscriminately killing."
Back in June, the judge [ruled](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sierra-lamar-murder-case-retrial-premeditation-thrown-out/?ref=sfist.com) that the prosecution will be barred from discussing premeditation, because the higher court had found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the crime was planned.
Among other evidence of Garcia-Torres's guilt is surveillance video showing him leaving the mobile home park where he lived and turning in the direction of LaMar's bus stop — right around the time the teen had just missed her bus to school.
Prosecutors' theory of the case has always been that Garcia-Torres, who had a history of abducting women using a stun gun, had abducted LaMar and sexually assaulted her, ultimately killing her and disposing of the body to cover up his crime.
During his 14 years behind bars, to date, Garcia-Torres has maintained his innocence.
It's not clear when opening arguments in the retrial will begin.
**Previously:** [Killer Of Sierra LaMar Gets Life Without Parole](https://sfist.com/2017/06/06/killer%5Fof%5Fsierra%5Flamar%5Fgets%5Flife%5Fwi/)
### French Artist Invites Public to Join Live Art Installation at SF’s Yerba Buena Gardens Today
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/french-artist-invites-public-to-join-live-art-installation-at-sfs-yerba-buena-gardens-today/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T20:43:53.000Z
Swiss-French artist Saype has brought his massive *Beyond Walls* artwork to Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown SF, where up to 1,000 people are invited at 4:30 pm today to form a human chain around the temporary installation before walking across it.
At 4:30 pm Wednesday, as many as 1,000 people are expected to surround the artwork at Yerba Buena Gardens and form a continuous human chain around the giant image, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/yerba-buena-gardens-art-installation-22463324.php?ref=sfist.com). The 150-by-50-foot image reportedly covers about 9,000 square feet of the lawn and depicts two interlocking arms in five shades of gray.
Participants can hold hands or link arms with the person next to them, with the chain remaining unbroken while drone photographs are taken of the project. Saype will then signal participants to walk across the artwork, turning the installation into an immersive public art experience.
“The main idea of the project is to symbolically create the largest human chain in the world, and bring people together,” Saype said, speaking to the Chronicle. “It comes from a deep conviction I have that humanity will be able to overcome the challenges it faces only when it works together.”
The artwork is part of Saype’s “Beyond Walls” series, which he has installed at more than 20 locations around the world over the past seven years. The project debuted in 2019 on the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower and has since appeared at locations including Venice, the Pyramids of Egypt, Rio de Janeiro, and Mount Fuji.
Unlike a conventional mural, the work is designed to disappear. The Chronicle reports that Saype spent two years developing the technique, using a biodegradable mixture made primarily from charcoal and chalk, with water and milk proteins serving as part of the paint. At Yerba Buena Gardens, the image will gradually break down as the grass grows, people walk across the lawn, and wind causes the material to erode.
The San Francisco installation took about six months to arrange, with help from the French and Swiss consulates, per the Chronicle. The consulates connected the project with Penny Coulter, Chief of Protocol for the City and County of San Francisco, who then contacted the Yerba Buena Partnership, which is sponsoring the project. The Four Seasons Hotel donated accommodations for Saype and his two-person team, and the artist is reportedly funding the installation himself.
[According to the SF Examiner](https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/visual-arts/yerba-buena-gardens-artwork-marks-west-coast-debut-of-saype/article%5F7c44cbf5-a84d-4b31-a5dd-67c246af1814.html?ref=sfist.com), Saype, whose real name is Guillaume Legros, chose San Francisco because of its history of social movements, diversity, and new ideas. The city's current role in the development of artificial intelligence also factored into the decision, as the artist sees the technology boom as raising larger questions about humanity's future.
“We are living in a tricky time,” Saype told the Examiner. “San Francisco will once again be at the heart of a decisive question for all humanity. What kind of future are the new technologies preparing for humanity?”
**Related:** [Hunters Point Shipyard’s Iconic Crane to Be Transformed As Part of Multimedia Light Show](https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/hunters-point-shipyards-iconic-crane-to-be-transformed-as-part-of-multimedia-light-show/)
### Suspect In Warfield Shooting Linked to Notorious Rainbow Crew
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/suspect-in-warfield-shooting-linked-to-notorious-rainbow-crew/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T19:16:42.000Z
The woman arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a security guard Friday night/early Saturday outside the Warfield in San Francisco has ties to the notorious retail theft ring known as the Rainbow Crew.
The more we learn about the event that was happening at the Warfield Theatre on Friday night, the more that a chaotic picture emerges that ultimately led to the shooting death of 47-year-old Ulysses Tykee Davis. And now we learn via District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, [speaking to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/warfield-theater-suspect-arrest-rainbow-crew-22466054.php?ref=sfist.com), that the suspect, 32-year-old Shakia Vanderbilt, was apparently a member of the notorious [Rainbow Crew](https://sfist.com/rainbow-crew/), who terrorized Union Square retail stores with smash-and-grab-style thefts years before such gang-style thefts made national news.
Originally [dubbed the Rainbow Girls](https://sfist.com/rainbow-girls/) in the press before they appeared to add a few non-female members, and so-named for the colorful hair and clothing worn by them and their apparent leader, the group of young suspects were seen committing brazen robberies at Union Square luxury stores in the early 2010s — and [at least once at the Target](https://sfist.com/2015/08/07/three%5Fof%5Fthe%5Frainbow%5Fgirls%5Fidd%5Fvia/) on Geary. And as Jenkins notes, the crew was linked to around $1 million in retail thefts across the state a decade ago.
Vanderbilt herself was [arrested following an alleged theft](https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/daly-city-pair-arrested-in-stabbing-of-t-j-maxx-security-guard/article%5Fb6cb1c4b-bb91-5990-8e0f-ff04d423d2d1.html?ref=sfist.com) at the TJ Maxx in Daly City in 2014, and she and a second suspect were accused of stabbing a security guard who tried to intervene as they left the store.
She was also arrested along with other crew members in 2017 [following an hourslong chase](https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2017/03/29/suspects-high-speed-chase-identified/99785016/?ref=sfist.com) in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties that stemmed from a robbery earlier that day in Los Angeles, and the suspects were found with $15,000 worth of stolen property in their vehicle.
[SFist reported in 2016](https://sfist.com/2016/10/03/retail%5Ftheft%5Fring%5Frainbow%5Fcrew%5Fgets/) that 16 members of the crew had been charged in San Francisco in connection with 23 retail thefts totaling around $200,000.
Davis was shot just before 1 am Saturday just as a crowd was rushing out of the Warfield Theatre [due to someone having sprayed bear mace](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/bear-mace-allegedly-sprayed-inside-the-warfield-prior-to-fatal-shooting-of-security-guard/) inside. That someone may have been Vanderbilt, and Davis's brother-in-law [told KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-francisco-warfield-security-guard-killed-shooting?ref=sfist.com) that Davis had been escorting a "rowdy" woman, possibly Vanderbilt, out of the theater when she pulled a gun and shot him in the back.
The event at the Warfield that night was a live shoot for [*Baddies USA: Chapter 3*](https://baddies.fandom.com/wiki/Baddies%5FUSA:%5FChapter%5FThree?ref=sfist.com), which is the tenth season in the *Baddies* franchise — a reality show on the Zeus network which is itself a spiritual successor to *Bad Girls Club*, which aired on the Oxygen network from 2006 to 2017\. *Baddies* is produced by and stars Oakland native and former *Bad Girls Club* cast member Natalie Nunn, and it can best be described as something in the vein of the *Real Housewives* franchise, if the *Real Housewives* was predominantly African American and a lot more chaotic, aggressive, and full of physical assault.
Episodes often consist of cast members new and old attending club parties and concerts and getting into altercations with one another.
The first season of *Baddies* [launched in 2021](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baddies%5F%28TV%5Fseries%29?ref=sfist.com), and Nunn has been credited with popularizing the term "baddie" to refer to a confident woman with a large social media following
An episode of the tenth season was reportedly being shot in the Warfield, and staffers there said that the venue was about half-full. One bartender described attendees jumping over the bar during the exodus and stealing items — presumably liquor bottles — with one person allegedly taking a swing at a bartender.
It is not clear whether Vanderbilt was an invited guest of the franchise Friday night.
The show's typical chaos spilled onto the street Saturday morning with Davis being shot, and people from inside the venue [seen arguing with police officers](https://x.com/tl2active/status/2106306466047275307?s=46&t=-yt2zHKum-FOpoWnED3gBw&ref=sfist.com) and intervening in the efforts of arriving EMTs.
Davis, who was known to friends and family as "Bear," was working the event but his wife and two of his six children were also reportedly in attendance, and witnessed the shooting.
**Previously:** [Bear Mace Allegedly Sprayed Inside the Warfield Prior to Fatal Shooting of Security Guard](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/bear-mace-allegedly-sprayed-inside-the-warfield-prior-to-fatal-shooting-of-security-guard/)
### San Francisco and Oakland Pass 45-Day Moratoriums on New Data Centers
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/san-francisco-oakland-pass-45-day-moratoriums-on-new-data-centers/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T18:54:06.000Z
SF and Oakland became the first Bay Area cities to pass 45-day moratoriums on new data centers Tuesday, giving officials time to study their environmental impacts while considering longer-term restrictions on the rapidly expanding industry.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted [unanimously](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-francisco-approves-other-cities-consider-bans-reviews-data-center-growth?ref=sfist.com) Tuesday to halt new data center development for 45 days, as well as the expansion of existing facilities, which took effect immediately, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/sf-supervisors-pass-data-center-moratorium/?ref=sfist.com). The vote followed an [extensive public comment](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DeM9pRxP7sG/?ref=sfist.com) at the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting Monday in which dozens of community members voiced support for the measure.
The moratorium will give the Planning Department time to examine how the facilities could affect water use, energy demand, air quality, and land use in surrounding communities. It also gives officials time to develop a clearer definition of what constitutes a data center while they consider longer-term regulations.
[As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/sf-supervisor-plans-moratorium-on-new-data-centers-with-permanent-ban-to-follow/) previously, District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton introduced the measure last month while raising concerns about the environmental effects of data centers and the lack of community input surrounding some projects in his district. District 10 has historically carried a disproportionate share of the city’s industrial pollution, and existing data centers are concentrated there.
The proposal was co-sponsored by Supervisors Connie Chan, Jackie Fielder, and Cheyenne Chen. At the end of the 45-day period, the Planning Commission is expected to hold a hearing on the findings.
SF’s moratorium puts an immediate pause on both new data center projects and permit applications to expand existing facilities. That includes the expansion of NOVVA’s 7.6-acre data center at 400 Paul Avenue in Bayview, which was slated to increase its power capacity from 9 megawatts to 36 megawatts by 2028, according to Mission Local.
However, the moratorium won’t necessarily stop the momentum behind data center development. For example, content creator [Shot of Culture](https://www.instagram.com/shotofculturepodcast/?ref=sfist.com), who has been providing detailed, on-the-ground information about data center projects in District 10, recently noted that PG&E appeared to be [upgrading its power infrastructure](https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd9O%5FKdA8ZM/?ref=sfist.com) near NOVVA’s facility on Paul Avenue, which won't be affected by the moratorium.
Permits have also been filed for a [160,000-square-foot data center at 1215 Michigan Street](https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/san-francisco-oakland-pass-45-day-moratoriums-on-new-data-centers/) in the Dogpatch, and activists have also been fighting [two proposed data centers in District 6](https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/day-around-the-day-sonoma-county-declares-state-of-emergency-ahead-of-heavy-el-nino-winter/), including a facility in SoMa that Amazon has reportedly been developing.
The moratorium could ultimately last much longer than 45 days. Mission Local reports that if the city determines that data centers are having significant environmental impacts, the temporary measure can reportedly be extended for up to 22 months while officials consider permanent controls, restrictions, or a potential citywide ban.
[As KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-city-council-approves-45-day-moratorium-new-data-centers?ref=sfist.com), Oakland’s City Council also voted unanimously Tuesday night for its own 45-day moratorium, which was sponsored by Councilmember Carroll Fife. The Oakland measure similarly pauses new approvals while city officials study the potential effects of data centers on water supplies, the electrical grid, air quality, and other infrastructure.
The vote came after protesters gathered outside City Hall to call for a halt to data center development, while residents and activists offered both support and opposition during the council meeting. Water consumption was a major concern, particularly because of the amount of water some cooling systems can require.
Dr. Elizabeth Dougherty, who spoke before the council, raised concerns about Oakland’s dependence on water from the Mokelumne River and the potential effects of increased demand on ecosystems upstream in the Sierra Nevada, according to KTVU.
Fife has also reportedly criticized the use of non-disclosure agreements by developers, arguing that they can prevent city officials and residents from getting information about proposed facilities. That issue has received increased attention as [Behring Companies moves forward](https://sfist.com/2026/08/12/plans-for-an-ai-data-center-in-downtown-oakland-announced/) with plans to convert the ground floor of a building near 20th and Franklin streets into a data center, while using the upper floors for artificial intelligence research, as previously reported.
Mayor Barbara Lee said the moratorium will give Oakland residents an opportunity to weigh in on how the city handles future projects.
“This is a moment to have the public weigh in,” Lee said, per KTVU.
Fife has scheduled a community meeting for October 24 at 10 am at Beth Eden Baptist Church in West Oakland to discuss the future of data centers in Oakland. The city will use the 45-day pause to consider potential policies and development standards for future facilities.
Other Bay Area communities, including Pittsburg, Oakley, and Gilroy, have also faced opposition to data center projects. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills last month aimed at [regulating the development of the facilities in California](https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/newsom-signs-seven-new-laws-regulating-data-centers-amid-statewide-backlash/).
**Previously:** [SF Supervisor Plans Moratorium on New Data Centers, With Permanent Ban to Follow](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/sf-supervisor-plans-moratorium-on-new-data-centers-with-permanent-ban-to-follow/)
### Postal Worker Fatally Shot In Vallejo In Possible Case of Mistaken Identity
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/postal-worker-fatally-shot-in-vallejo-possibly-in-case-of-mistaken-identity/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T17:56:39.000Z
A man who was shot Tuesday morning outside his home in Vallejo, while in uniform, has been identified by family and neighbors as a US postal worker.
In what family members are saying may have been a case of mistaken identity, 32-year-old Devaughn McBride was shot and killed Tuesday morning around 8:23 am outside his apartment building on Marin Street in Vallejo. As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/family-friends-id-vallejo-shooting-victim-killed-32-year-old-usps-worker?ref=sfist.com), McBride, who was recently made a permanent employee at the US Postal Service, was on his morning routine, heading to a corner store for a beverage and snacks, when he was shot by a suspect in a vehicle just outside the gates of the apartment property.
Vallejo police are investigating whether there is any connection between this shooting and [one that occurred around 8:03 am](https://www.ktvu.com/news/vallejo-police-investigating-pair-shootings-unrelated-deadly-crash?ref=sfist.com), twenty minutes earlier, near Springs Road and Castlewood Drive, in which one person was critically injured.
A friend told KTVU that McBride, whose nickname was Buddha, was a "pretty laid back" guy. "He wasn't a loud or rambunctious person. He minded his own business. Go to work. Go home," the friend said.
McBride, who has a 12-year-old son, lived in the Marin Street apartment with his mother and brother.
His aunt, Stacey, also spoke to KTVU and said that the family believes McBride had to have mistaken for someone else in what seemed to be a targeted shooting.
"There is no criminal activity, period," she told KTVU. "This has never been his character. We are all devastated. Why? We really don't have any clue. That person took a lovely life."
McBride's killing was the ninth homicide in Vallejo this year.
Separately Tuesday morning, an unrelated crash occurred between these two events, around 8:15 am, in which a 94-year-old man, George Supica, was killed when a Ford pickup truck allegedly made an illegal U-turn and crashed into his Honda Accord, per KTVU.
### Humpday Headlines: Two Dead In Santa Clara County Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/07/two-dead-in-santa-clara-county-fire/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T16:55:26.000Z
- **Two people died after being rescued from a house fire in Santa Clara County.** The two-alarm fire occurred early Wednesday in Monte Sereno, at a two-story home on the 17000 block of Rose Court, and the Santa Clara County Fire Department is using the incident to remind everyone to maintain working smoke alarms in every room. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/2-die-hospital-after-being-rescued-from-burning-monte-sereno-home-investigation-underway?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Oakland police on Tuesday announced the arrest of three suspects who are linked to at least three violent robberies in the city.** One individual, a 28-year-old man, is suspected of committing an armed robbery at a store on 14th Avenue on August 19, and committing a purse-snatching a week later on 8th Avenue. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/oakland-violent-robbery-cases-3-suspects-arrested/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The Bay Area is currently the hotspot for influenza around the state, as flu season gets off to an early start.** The California State Department of Health's Respiratory Virus Dashboard shows the region now has an almost 10% test positivity rate, and Santa Clara County has noted that "Reported \[flu\] hospitalizations are more than 11 times higher this year than during the same week last year." \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/bay-area-currently-hot-spot-flu-california?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Ofelia Garcia Ortega, the wife of incest and murder suspect [Sergio Galvez Perez](https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/father-and-teen-daughter-he-allegedly-impregnated-located-in-mexico/) and the mother of the 14-year-old daughter he's suspect of impregnating in Monterey County, has been arrested on suspicion of permitting a child to suffer or be endangered, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, among other charges. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/baby-angelita-grandmother-suspected-incest-case-arrested-monterey-county-sheriff-says/19915489/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The NFL's widely mocked fine, levied against 49er Kyle Juszczyk for what they saw as [pretending to chug a beer](https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/nfl-fines-49ers-player-says-he-pretended-to-chug-beer-while-celebrating-catch/) in celebration of a catch on September 20, has been rescinded following a hearing. \[[Chronicle](http://sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/49ers-kyle-juszczyk-widely-mocked-celebration-22466714.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- *Oh, Mary!*, the hit Broadway play by Cole Escola that opens in San Francisco next week for a brief run, will be getting a second tour to kick off next fall and likely returning to SF in 2028\. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/theater/article/oh-mary-san-francisco-tour-22463185.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Tropical Storm Isaias has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to intensify into the Atlantic coast's first hurricane of the season, likely impacting the Florida Panhandle and Gulf Coast later this week. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/06/weather/tropical-storm-isaias-hurricane-track-gulf-climate?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Day: Sonoma County Issues Emergency Proclamation Ahead of Heavy El Niño Winter
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/day-around-the-day-sonoma-county-declares-state-of-emergency-ahead-of-heavy-el-nino-winter/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T15:41:34.000Z
### Local:
- Sonoma County supervisors followed [Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent lead](https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/sf-braces-for-unusually-high-tides-as-el-nino-sends-kelvin-waves-toward-the-coast/) by issuing an emergency proclamation ahead of an El Niño season expected to bring heavy winter rain, directing county agencies to prepare vulnerable infrastructure and coordinate flood response with local, tribal and state partners. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sonoma-county-emergency-proclamation-el-nino-storms/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The SFPD says five suspects were arrested in September for allegedly stealing more than $19,000 worth of merchandise from the REI store on Brannan Street in a series of thefts. \[[SFPD](https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/news/sfpd-organized-retail-crime-task-force-arrests-5-suspects?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A San Francisco developer is suing the South Bay city of Menlo Park to force the approval of a massive mixed-use project with 665 homes, retail, offices and a hotel at the former Sunset Magazine headquarters, arguing the city violated state housing laws. \[[KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12103060/menlo-park-could-face-millions-in-fines-in-housing-fight?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Olympic canoeist David Hearn is calling for an investigation into his five-hour detention by National Park Police in July after he stuck his hand in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.** Hearn was accused of causing damage and was initially indicted on a charge of felony destruction of government property, but the charges were later dismissed after it was revealed that the damage had been caused by a contractor's “botched installation.” \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/olympian-david-hearn-reflecting-pool-justice-interior-dept-inspector-general/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An Arizona appeals court has overturned a man’s 10-and-a-half -year prison sentence for manslaughter in a 2021 road rage shooting after an AI-generated video depicting his slain victim was shown during his sentencing hearing, and a date for has not been set yet for his resentencing. \[[ABC News](https://abcnews.com/US/manslaughter-sentence-tossed-ai-generated-video-slain-victim/story?id=137045055&ref=sfist.com)\]
- Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is conscious and speaking after surviving a failed lethal injection six days ago. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/06/us/tennessee-execution-christa-pike?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- During public comment at the SF Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting Monday, activist [leftylea\_in\_sf](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeKW24Ts7u3/?stkn=aXJmcW05bjI1dnp1&ref=sfist.com) voiced support for a moratorium and a future ban on data centers — [the board passed a 45-day moratorium Wednesday](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/sf-supervisors-pass-data-center-moratorium/?ref=sfist.com). Lea pointed out that the public has not been informed about two new data centers potentially being developed in District 6, including an Amazon facility at 900 Seventh Street and a separate data center at 101 Utah Street, noting that there was supposed to be a town hall scheduled, which reportedly never took place.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeKW24Ts7u3/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Lea (@leftylea\_in\_sf)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeKW24Ts7u3/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### New Bill By SF Supervisor Would Clarify ‘Nuisance’ Tenant Eviction Law
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/new-bill-would-clarify-nuisance-tenant-eviction-law-to-prevent-exploitation/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T06:30:17.000Z
SF Supervisor Myrna Melgar introduced a bill co-sponsored by Supervisor Jackie Fielder that would tighten San Francisco’s definition of a “nuisance” tenant, limiting landlords’ ability to use nuisance claims to pursue evictions.
Supervisor Myrna Melgar announced the legislation Monday, explaining that the changes are intended to prevent landlords from abusing the city’s nuisance rules to target tenants, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/s-f-supervisor-looks-to-restrict-evictions-of-nuisance-tenants/?ref=sfist.com).
“I am introducing this legislation to tighten up the definition of nuisance, so people can’t scam it,” Melgar said.
The legislation, which Melgar planned to introduce Tuesday, would require a nuisance offense to be serious, such as illegally subletting or transferring a unit, seriously damaging a property, allowing others to damage it, or using the property for an illegal purpose. According to Mission Local, it would also require conduct to either be severe, or both recurring and continuing, rather than allowing any one of those factors to qualify under the current law.
Melgar said the bill was inspired in part by six seniors at 1120 Jackson Street in Chinatown who received nuisance eviction notices over allegations that they had dangerously cluttered their apartments with too many belongings.
“When I read about Sue Yeng, I cried in the office,” Melgar said.
Per Mission Local, other tenants have faced nuisance eviction attempts over allegations including stealing a neighbor’s package, using appliances in an in-law unit, or cooking late at night. Under Melgar’s proposal, the city’s definition of nuisance would also be changed so that conduct must be “so disorderly as to destroy the peace and quiet of other occupants,” removing the current reference to interference with the landlord’s comfort, safety, or enjoyment.
The legislation would also prevent landlords from pursuing an eviction over property damage if they have already accepted payment for the damage.
Fielder is reportedly co-sponsoring the bill. [As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/sf-supervisor-introduces-proposal-limiting-evictions-over-unpaid-rent/) last month, Fielder introduced separate legislation with Melgar that would prohibit evictions over rent arrears of less than one month’s rent. The proposals come as San Francisco rents remain high and eviction notices have increased.
Mission Local reports that there were 423 nuisance eviction notices filed in fiscal year 2025-26, up 31% from 323 the previous year and 47% from 288 in 2023-24\. Evictions for breach of lease were nearly as common, with 397 notices filed during the most recent fiscal year.
San Francisco reportedly recorded 1,495 total eviction notices last year, the highest number since the pandemic began and a 62% increase from 921 in 2024\. Mission Local notes the actual number is likely higher because landlords are not required to report evictions based on nonpayment.
The Mission recorded 170 eviction notices last year, its highest total since 2016 and its sixth-highest number since 2007.
Molly Goldberg, director of the Anti-Displacement Coalition, told Mission Local landlords can use current nuisance and lease violations as ways to push out longtime tenants and then re-rent their units at higher prices.
“If you can just empty out a unit of someone who’s been living in there for 30, 40, 50 years and suddenly jack up the rent to whatever you think you can get away with, suddenly landlords are looking for things that they can call a nuisance,” Goldberg said.
**Related:** [SF Supervisor Introduces Proposal Limiting Evictions Over Unpaid Rent](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/sf-supervisor-introduces-proposal-limiting-evictions-over-unpaid-rent/)
### ACT Names New Artistic Director Who Grew Up In Berkeley
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/act-names-new-artistic-director-who-grew-up-in-berkeley/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T23:59:01.000Z
Several months after the official departure of its artistic director of eight years, the American Conservatory Theater has announced its next artistic director, Elizabeth Williamson, who is only the fifth person ever to lead the 61-year-old theater.
Elizabeth Williamson succeeds Pam MacKinnon in the artistic director role, and she arrives after serving in the same role at the Geva Theatre in Rochester, New York, where she has been for the last four years, following nearly eight years at the Hartford Stage, in Connecticut.
Calling ACT her "hometown theatre," after working their early in her career — including assistant-directing productions of *The Constant Wife* and *Well* two decades ago — Williamson says "I couldn’t be more honored to be coming home to ACT."
Known for work as a dramaturg and for cultivating new plays and musicals in that role — including the Tony and Olivier Award-winning play *The Inheritance*, and the Tony Award-winning musicals, *Some Like It Hot* and *A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.* Dramaturgy, for the uninitiated, is the study of the physical production of theater, and in-house dramaturgy often serve as both historical consultants on productions and in-house critics who help shape new works.
Williamson's resume also includes work as dramaturg on Amazon Studio’s *Red, White & Royal Blue,* and the list of theater artists with whom she's collaborated includes Matthew López, Bess Wohl, Jeffrey L Page and Stew, DeLanna Studi, Harrison David Rivers, Sarah Gancher, Dan O’Brien, Kaneza Schaal, Doug McGrath, Robert Freedman, Terrence McNally, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Octavio Sólis, Baron Vaughn, and Lauren Yee.
Williamson's work as adapter and director adaptations of Molière, and Marivaux, and most recently her adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s *Jane Eyre*, which has been seen at theaters including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alley Theatre, Geva Theatre, and Hartford Stage.
Williamson, 47, was selected following a national search, led by Search Committee Chair Barbara Messing, and she is set to relocate to the Bay Area with her wife (also a Bay native) and cat, in the coming months and begin work in January.
"From the beginning of this search, we were looking for an artistic leader who could honor ACT's extraordinary history while boldly imagining its next chapter," said Messing in a statement. "Elizabeth Williamson stood out for the clarity of her artistic vision, her deep commitment to artists and new work, her passion for training the next generation, and her belief in theater’s power to engage and inspire an entire community."
"ACT is both one of our country’s great flagship companies, and my hometown theatre," Williamson says. "I have always admired its extraordinary mission and programming, connecting international, national and regional artists, communities and students through a body of work spanning the classics, great new work, and major revivals."
Williamson tells the Chronicle that she expects to be able to be more daring in her programming at ACT than at her current company in Rochester, given the more "sophisticated" and "international" audiences here. And, she says, she plans to be guided by a motto at London’s Royal Court Theatre: "Produce classics as though they’re new plays and new plays as though they’re classics."
MacKinnon's time at ACT was, of course, marred by the pandemic and the ensuing stress and chaos in the world of regional theaters. Taking the job not long before the pandemic began, MacKinnon's work at ACT included notable productions like [*Testmatch*](https://sfist.com/2019/11/07/testmatch-at-acts-strand-theater/), a new play centered on the world of women's cricket, and Edward Albee's bizarre but wonderful *Seascape*. She also notably used her connections in New York to bring in talent like director Sam Pinkleton (*Oh, Mary!*) to direct a reimagined [*Wizard of Oz*](https://sfist.com/2023/06/08/restyled-wizard-of-oz-at-a-c-t-delights-in-goofy-gags/) in 2023, and to attract shows like the Tony-winning musical *A Strange Loop*. MacKinnon herself won a Tony Award for directing *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* in 2013.
Prior to MacKinnon, only three other people had served as artistic director: Carey Perloff, Edward Hastings, and founder William Ball.
**Related:** [*Tony-Winning Hit Play 'Oh, Mary!' Coming to San Francisco This Fall*](https://sfist.com/2026/03/17/tony-winning-hit-play-oh-mary-coming-to-san-francisco-this-fall/)
### T&T Asian Market’s SF Location at Geary and Masonic to Open November 5
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/t-t-asian-markets-sf-location-at-geary-and-masonic-to-open-november-5/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T23:02:43.000Z
The long-vacant former Best Buy space at SF’s City Center will finally reopen November 5 as T&T Supermarket, the Taiwanese Canadian grocery chain’s second Bay Area store and its first in the US to feature a cafe.
The 50,000-square-foot store at 2675 Geary Boulevard will officially open at 9 am on Thursday, November 5, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/tt-supermarket-sf-opening-date-22460171.php?ref=sfist.com). The store will reportedly include a hot food bar, BBQ station, and a sushi counter.
It will also be the first T&T Supermarket in the US with a café, where customers can get specialty lattes in flavors including black sesame and ube, along with housemade pastries like the store’s Portuguese egg tarts and prepared foods.
According to the Chronicle, the San Francisco location will also reportedly feature a cake modeled after City Hall's distinctive rotunda, much like the San Jose store, which sells a mango mousse cake modeled after its rotunda.
The store will also include a beauty section stocked with Korean and Japanese products.
The San Francisco T&T is part of a rapid Bay Area expansion, following the company’s first local store at San Jose’s Westgate Center, which opened in June and drew 60,000 visitors over its opening weekend, according to the Chronicle.
Two more locations are reportedly planned for Newark and Millbrae, although both have been pushed back. The Newark store is now expected to open in winter 2027 in a former Macy’s and will be California’s largest T&T at 72,600 square feet, while the Millbrae location, planned for a former Lucky Supermarket, is facing construction delays and is not expected before summer or fall 2027.
The San Francisco store fills a space that had been empty since 2017 after Best Buy left the upper portion of the City Center plaza. [Whole Foods had previously planne](https://sfist.com/2023/01/20/whole-foods-moves-in-again-on-long-vacant-former-best-buy-location-at-geary-and-masonic/)d to open there, but that effort stalled after [years of permitting problems](https://sfist.com/2024/06/14/that-whole-foods-planned-for-the-geary-and-masonic-best-buy-space-is-now-in-limbo-might-not-be-happening/). As [SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2025/04/01/former-best-buy-at-geary-and-masonic-to-become-asian-market-t-t-after-whole-foods-plan-falls-through/) last year, Whole Foods and property owner Acadia Realty Trust agreed to terminate the lease, and T&T took over the space that March.
T&T CEO Tina Lee told the Chronicle she was initially wary of bringing the company to San Francisco, particularly after watching Whole Foods struggle to get its project approved. In late 2024, she reached out directly to then Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie to discuss his plans for the city and whether his administration would support the project.
“I really need the city on board, because I don’t know if I’m catching a falling knife,” Lee recalled telling Lurie, speaking to the Chronicle.
Lee subsequently met with Lurie in San Francisco, who promised that his team would help T&T navigate the permitting process. She credits the administration’s new [PermitSF platform](https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/extension-of-controversial-permitsf-contract-advances-without-supervisors-support/) with helping make the project the fastest permitting process she has experienced in the U.S.
“I was very nervous about opening a store in San Francisco,” Lee told the Chronicle. “The brand of San Francisco is you got to jump through a whole bunch of red tape.”
Lurie said the supermarket represents a significant investment in the city and pointed to the project as an example of the city’s efforts to make it easier for businesses to open.
“Grocery stores are an important part of a thriving city, and T&T is making a major investment in San Francisco,” Lurie said in a statement.
T&T is Canada's largest Asian grocery chain, with 37 stores across the country. Lee’s parents, Cindy and Jack, founded the company in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1993, and it opened its first U.S. store in Bellevue, Washington, in 2024 before expanding to another Washington location, and then to San Jose.
The Chronicle notes that unlike some of the newer Asian supermarkets opening around the Bay Area with a focus on one particular cuisine, T&T carries products from across China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The San Francisco store will have specialty ingredients and snacks, along with T&T’s own soup dumplings, Taiwanese sausages, green onion pancakes, sushi, dim sum, and other prepared foods.
The store will also reportedly carry live seafood and specialty meats, including wagyu beef, while Lee told the Chronicle the produce department is one of the company's biggest draws, with about 200 types of vegetables and 100 types of fruit sourced from around the world. She singled out the selection of Asian greens, including gai lan and yam leaf sprouts, as a particular strength.
T&T will also reportedly bring some of its more popular prepared foods from San Jose to San Francisco, including Papa Chicken, a whole butterflied chicken that is marinated for 24 hours before being battered and fried, and made-to-order fan tuan, a Taiwanese rice roll that has developed a following at the San Jose store.
**Previously:** [Former Best Buy at Geary and Masonic to Become Asian Market T&T, After Whole Foods Plan Falls Through](https://sfist.com/2025/04/01/former-best-buy-at-geary-and-masonic-to-become-asian-market-t-t-after-whole-foods-plan-falls-through/)
### 45-Foot-Tall Nude Woman Sculpture to Leave Embarcadero Plaza Next Week
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/45-foot-tall-nude-woman-sculpture-to-leave-embarcadero-plaza-next-week/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T21:24:10.000Z
After an 18-month stay, sculptor Marco Cochrane's giant nude woman piece, originally titled *R-Evolution*, will be disassembled and removed to the artist's warehouse starting next Monday.
Many locals and tourists alike have enjoyed the drama of the 45-foot-tall statue, originally a piece of Burning Man art, that has stood at Embarcadero Plaza [since April 2025](https://sfist.com/2025/04/09/45-foot-tall-nude-woman-rises-foot-of-market/). Artist Marco Cochrane has reportedly renamed it *I Am*, which is about as impactful as its original title. It was conceived as part of a trio of giant nude women that Cochrane imagined for the playa — along with the dancing figure known as Bliss Dance, from 2010, and the figure of a woman with arms reaching upward to the sky, from 2013, titled *Truth Is Beauty*, which was [permanently installed at the San Leandro BART station](https://sfist.com/2015/06/03/55-foot%5Fburning%5Fman%5Fsculpture%5Fto%5Far/) a decade ago.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/nude-sculpture-leaves-embaracadero-22463886.php?ref=sfist.com), the 32,000-pound sculpture is getting disassembled, with preparation for that process starting on Monday and expected to go on for three days. The nonprofit sponsor of the installation, the [Big Art Loop](https://www.bigartloop.org/news/big-art-loop-san-francisco-nbc-bay-area?ref=sfist.com), has already extended the stay of *I Am* twice, and now it will be headed to Cochrane's Petaluma warehouse for refurbishing — ahead of a possible sale, as we [learned in June](https://sfist.com/2026/06/26/giant-nude-woman-statue-at-sfs-embarcadero-is-up-for-sale-and-it-weighs-16-tons/) that Cochrane is looking for a buyer for it.
Big Art Loop co-founder and executive producer Shannon Riley tells the Chronicle this week that Cochrane's piece "is a big part of why Big Art Loop exists,” and the the sculpture "showed us what one monumental work can do for a public space, and San Francisco kept showing up for her."
Not everyone was a huge fan of the piece, which had originally been set to rise in Union Square Park — before it became clear that the pavers in that park were not suited to supporting 32,000 pounds of wire mesh and steel.
Apart from the kind of ho-hum, Burning Man basicness of it — she's nude, she's very tall, she looked striking on the playa at night, no doubt — many pointed out that, strong as she may look, this nude female figure is just another in a very long line of female nudes in art made by men, which seems created in large part to encourage and reward the hetero male gaze.
Others questioned why this particular piece got to occupy such a prominent, highly visible space in the city, and that this didn't get any public review.
"What is disappointing and confusing about this is the city allowing private money to come in and commandeer very public space," said galleries Rebecca Camacho, [speaking to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/revolution-naked-woman-sf-20277918.php?ref=sfist.com) last year. "It’s a slippery slope when you open the gates to basically anybody who has money and can put something into a very public environment and create their own statement."
Critic Max Blue, [writing in the Examiner](https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/visual-arts/huge-embarcadero-statue-doesnt-mesh-with-sf-public-art-history/article%5Fea77731f-ebb2-4b5c-8557-d95604fb9270.html?ref=sfist.com) last year, called the piece an "utter travesty," and countering Cochrane's narrative about it embodying female empowerment, Blue writes, "wouldn’t female empowerment look more like platforming female artists, instead of men allegedly speaking on their behalf?"
Following the piece's removal next week, work will continue on the massive renovation of Embarcadero Plaza and the adjacent Sue Bierman Park to create [Embarcadero Park and Art Agnos Plaza](https://sfrecpark.org/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/3066?ref=sfist.com). Three weeks ago, SF Rec & Parks began removing 97 street trees from the area, in preparation for the addition of new species, which will include coast redwood, Monterey cypress, coast live oak, and more.
Critics of the new plaza design have already discussed how the renovation plan, which is [largely being funded by local billionaires](https://sfist.com/2026/05/19/embarcadero-plaza-revamp-will-largely-be-funded-by-local-billionaires/), is treating public art as an afterthought in the design, rather than selecting that art and designing spaces around it. As one Redditor suggested when the plans were revealed, developer BXP, which runs Embarcadero Center, wants "an inoffensive front lawn for their shopping mall and office tower," and that the city ought to be "taking the opportunity presented by [removing Vaillancourt Fountain](https://sfist.com/2026/04/22/disassembly-of-vaillancourt-fountain-to-begin-next-week-with-full-removal-in-may/) to put in something bold and iconic that actually might make this a world class destination."
The official groundbreaking for the new $40 million park is happening later this year, with completion expected by late 2027 or early 2028.
**Previously:** [Giant Nude Woman Statue at SF’s Embarcadero Is Up For Sale, and It Weighs 16 Tons](https://sfist.com/2026/06/26/giant-nude-woman-statue-at-sfs-embarcadero-is-up-for-sale-and-it-weighs-16-tons/)
### Dublin Police Seize Possessions From Wife of Slain New York Times Engineer
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/dublin-police-seize-possessions-from-wife-of-slain-new-york-times-engineer/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T20:06:58.000Z
Police seized several possessions from the Dublin home of Candice Jang on September 29, three days after her estranged husband, New York Times engineer Jonathan McKinsey, was fatally shot, allegedly by Jang’s parents.
Dublin police confirmed Monday that investigators seized items while executing a search warrant at Candice Jang’s home on September 29 while investigating the death of her estranged husband Jonathan McKinsey, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/jonathan-mckinsey-wife-police-seizure-22464783.php?ref=sfist.com). McKinsey was [allegedly shot by Jang's parents](https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/man-identified-as-nyt-games-engineer-reportedly-killed-by-in-laws-in-dublin/) in the Dublin Sports Grounds parking lot three days before Jang's belongings were seized.
Earlier reports had indicated that no property had been taken during the search, according to SFGate. A neighbor told the outlet they witnessed police taking Jang’s car and other belongings, including her phone. Police did not confirm whether Jang is considered a person of interest in the case, and she has not been charged with a crime.
Jang’s parents, Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, have each been charged with [first-degree murder](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/attorney-for-mother-in-law-of-slain-engineer-in-dublin-says-victim-was-extremely-rageful/), along with a lying-in-wait special circumstance and firearm allegations. Prosecutors allege that the pair acted together when they shot McKinsey multiple times at close range, with witnesses and surveillance footage reportedly showing the shooting.
According to SFGate, Zhang and Chen remain held without bail at Santa Rita Jail and are scheduled to return to court October 19 for a plea hearing. Investigators have not publicly identified a motive.
[As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/accusations-of-transphobia-and-abuse-revealed-in-court-filings-linked-to-dublin-homicide/) previously, the killing came amid a contentious divorce and custody battle between McKinsey and Jang, who had been together for more than 17 years and share three children. Court filings contain conflicting allegations of abuse from both sides.
McKinsey accused Jang and her parents of physically abusing him and the children, including allegations that Jang once beat him with a frying pan and that her father struck him in the chest after his gender transition. McKinsey also accused Chen of using homophobic slurs against him and his son.
Jang denied his allegations and said McKinsey had threatened to kill her and her parents, as well as physically abused her and their son.
Chen’s attorney, Bay Area defense lawyer Curtis Briggs, has a history of representing defendants in high-profile cases, including SF Chinatown gangster [Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow](https://sfist.com/2016/06/07/shrimp%5Fboys%5Fattorneys%5Fare%5Fdone%5Ffile/) in his federal case.
Zhang is expected to be represented by a separate attorney.
**Previously:** [Attorney For Mother-in-Law of Slain Engineer in Dublin Says Victim Was 'Extremely Rageful'](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/attorney-for-mother-in-law-of-slain-engineer-in-dublin-says-victim-was-extremely-rageful/)
### Mental Health Crisis May Have Been to Blame In Berkeley Couple's Deaths
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/mental-health-crisis-may-have-been-to-blame-in-berkeley-couples-deaths/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T20:05:14.000Z
The deaths of apparel entrepreneurs Bryan Walker and Michelle Min on Friday outside their Berkeley hills home is still not officially being ruled a murder-suicide, but that is what it appears to have been.
On Friday, 64-year-old Bryan Walker and his wife, 63-year-old Michelle Min, were found dead of gunshot wounds outside their Berkeley hills home on Panoramic Way. As [SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/10/04/couple-fatally-shot-on-friday-idd-as-founders-of-berkeley-fashion-brand-bryn-walker/) on Saturday, when the couple was identified, surveillance video from neighbors allegedly includes harrowing audio in which a man can be heard screaming and crying after the first gunshot, and that is followed by a second gunshot.
Oakland police would not confirm what had happened, saying "everything is a possibility until we can fully investigate," however they assured the public that there was no danger to them, that no suspect was being sought, and that a gun had been found at the scene.
Family members and neighbors have since come forward with further details that may help to explain the tragedy. As [Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/10/06/oakland-hills-community-mourns-fashion-designer-couple-shot-to-death-last-week/?ref=sfist.com), neighbors who gathered for a vigil Sunday morning on a public trail that runs through the neighborhood suggested that they all believed it was a murder-suicide. And some said that Walker had been "mentally unstable" in recent weeks or months.
[KTVU spoke](https://www.ktvu.com/news/berkeley-couple-killed-home-were-fashion-designers-reports?ref=sfist.com) to Min's sister, who said that Walker had been experiencing mental health problems and that the family had tried to encourage him to seek in-patient treatment.
Paul Min, Min's brother, [told the Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2026-10-04/bryn-walker-co-founders-couple-found-dead-outside-bay-area-home?ref=sfist.com) that the couple was in a grave financial mess involving losses of around $100 million — something to do with taking out loans on their properties. Paul Min also [told the California Post](https://nypost.com/2026/10/03/us-news/brother-says-fashion-ceo-spiraled-after-losing-100m-before-couple-found-dead/?ref=sfist.com) that Walker had "quietly" taken on risky loans and essentially gambled their fortune away, and suggested that Walker had subsequently become depressed and the family feared he could be suicidal.
"He just curled up into a ball, and he was just sobbing like a baby for weeks on end," Min told the Post, adding that the "dust had cleared" about the financial mess sometime last month. He also said that his sister had hired a "hotshot" accountant from Chicago who told them their situation wasn't as bad as they thought, but by that point Walker had "basically gone insane."
Min further suggested that Walker had taken his final, violent actions after learning he may be forcibly institutionalized. Per the Post, police found a suicide note at the scene that included passcodes for both of their cellphones.
Walker and Min were the founders of women's apparel company [Bryn Walker](https://www.brynwalker.com/?ref=sfist.com), a 34-year-old Berkeley-based enterprise creating [fashionable, full-coverage apparel](https://www.brynwalker.com/fall-2026-1?ref=sfist.com) with two store locations in Berkeley and a third on Martha's Vineyard. The company website suggests that at one point they had six company-owned stores, in addition to wholesaling to "around a thousand" other boutiques.
As KTVU reported, the Bryn Walker boutique on Vine Street near downtown Berkeley was closed Monday with flowers laid outside, while the other store on Fourth Street remained open.
The family said that the couple had been happily married, with Min primarily handling the design and running of the business, until the revelations about the risky financial moves.
**Previously:** [Couple Fatally Shot on Friday ID'd as Founders of Berkeley Fashion Brand Bryn Walker](https://sfist.com/2026/10/04/couple-fatally-shot-on-friday-idd-as-founders-of-berkeley-fashion-brand-bryn-walker/)
### Newsom, Others React to Trump's 'Deranged' Comments About Iran 'Taking Out' LA or San Diego
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/newsom-others-react-to-trumps-deranged-comments-about-iran-taking-out-la-or-san-diego/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T17:59:38.000Z
Donald Trump flew to Nebraska, one of the last places in the country that will still happily have him, for one of his favorite things on Monday, a rally where he could ramble in front of a microphone about everything and nothing and idiots will cheer him on.
If you haven't yet heard it, you can play the clip below of Trump's speech Monday night, one of a thousand at this point in which he rambles about how fantastic everything is as long as he's in charge, but one in which, for the first time in the history of the country, a president off-handedly suggests a foreign enemy could "take out" an American city and that would be a "small price to pay" for whatever it is he thinks he's accomplishing in Iran.
Trump seems to be conceding in the speech that things haven't gone that well in the war with Iran, and he goes so far as to say, "let 'em take out Los Angeles, let 'em take out San Diego, this is a very small price to pay and it's gonna be over very soon."
Setting aside the sheer insanity of these remarks, how is Trump's math even working here? The loss of an American city of nearly 4 million people is a "small price to pay" in a war in which Iran has lost a combined 10,000 or so military personnel and civilians so far?
There's no point in trying to rationalize Trump's remarks, which are unhinged and maniacal on their face. But that's what the White House is now trying to do! White House communications director Steven Cheung jumped on Xitter first thing this morning to downplay the "media freakout" over Trump's comments.
"He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn't been stopped," Cheung wrote, clearly grasping at straws because that does not sound at all like what Trump meant!
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is all but certainly going to be running for president in a matter of months, also [went on Xitter](https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/2107288831112466787?s=20&ref=sfist.com), almost immediately after Trump's speech went online Monday night, to denounce the president as "deranged and dangerous." This comes, Newsom notes, after Trump last year sent "the National Guard and Marines to occupy California."
So, too, did the mayors of Los Angeles and San Diego have their reactions to Trump's comments.
"His statements against our city are dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety," says LA Mayor Karen Bass in [a statement on X](https://x.com/MayorOfLA/status/2107315868493557945?ref=sfist.com). "The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives. In the face of irresponsible threats, as Angelenos, we know how to stand together and protect our city."
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also [came out swinging](https://x.com/MayorToddGloria/status/2107295637058494706?ref=sfist.com), saying, "San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a 'small price to pay.' Keep our city out of your reckless war talk."
Military leaders at bases in Southern California are rightly probably alarmed by the comments as well.
As the [New York Times notes](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/world/asia/trump-los-angeles-san-diego-iran.html?ref=sfist.com), San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who is running for Congress against Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who has Trump's backing, has used the situation to go after her opponent.
Desmond [took to social media](https://x.com/JimDesmondSD/status/2107294478314926462?ref=sfist.com) Monday night to say, "I vehemently disagree with President Trump’s comments," and "As a Navy veteran, I served to protect Americans, not write off American cities as an acceptable price of war."
But von Wilpert [responded](https://x.com/marnivonwilpert/status/2107306921820815683?ref=sfist.com), saying, "It’s indefensible that Jim Desmond continues to support Trump’s war and continues to be backed and funded by a President who jokes about the 1.4 million people in San Diego being ‘taken out’ by a foreign adversary."
It's sort of surprising that Trump didn't drop San Francisco into those remarks, as he, like most Republicans trying to telegraph their hatred of liberalism, has been wont to do in the past. But as [we saw last year](https://sfist.com/2025/10/23/marc-benioff-reportedly-helped-talk-trump-out-of-federal-surge-in-san-francisco/), billionaires like Jensen Huang have apparently convinced him to leave San Francisco alone, for now.
**Previously:** [Marc Benioff Helped Talk Trump Out of Federal 'Surge' In San Francisco; White House Says 'We'll Be Watching'](https://sfist.com/2025/10/23/marc-benioff-reportedly-helped-talk-trump-out-of-federal-surge-in-san-francisco/)
### Bear Mace Allegedly Sprayed Inside the Warfield Prior to Fatal Shooting of Security Guard
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/bear-mace-allegedly-sprayed-inside-the-warfield-prior-to-fatal-shooting-of-security-guard/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T17:27:34.000Z
Staff at the Warfield say that about 15 minutes before a security guard was fatally shot, a chemical irritant was sprayed inside the venue, sending a crowd of people rushing out while coughing and struggling to breathe.
The San Francisco Police Department is investigating the death of Warfield security guard Ulysses Tykee Davis, 47, who was [shot outside the theater](https://sfist.com/2026/10/03/man-killed-in-shooting-on-market-street-outside-sfs-warfield-theatre/) around 1 am Saturday. [As KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-francisco-warfield-security-guard-killed-shooting?ref=sfist.com), Davis’s wife and two of his six children witnessed the shooting. His brother-in-law, Terrance Cooper, said Davis had been helping remove a disruptive woman from the theater when she allegedly shot him in the back.
The Warfield Theatre had been hosting an 18-and-over event on Friday night featuring the cast of “[Baddies USA Chapter 3](https://baddies.fandom.com/wiki/Baddies%5FUSA?ref=sfist.com),” which was scheduled to end at midnight. [According to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/warfield-staff-chaos-before-fatal-shooting-security-guard/?ref=sfist.com), filming for the show's new season had taken place that night, and bartenders estimated that the venue was less than half full.
Staff told Mission Local that a chemical irritant described as bear mace was released inside the theater at 12:45 am, sending a large crowd rushing into the lobby. Bartenders described people coughing, with red eyes and tears streaming down their faces, while others covered their faces and shouted that they could not breathe.
One bartender said people were jumping over the bar as they fled, with some taking items and one person swinging at a coworker. Another bartender told the paper that a security guard pulled an attacker away before she was struck.
Per Mission Local, staff were still cleaning up when two gunshots were heard near the lobby. Several workers reportedly hid in an office and locked the door.
A witness who was near the box office told Mission Local that he saw a woman take a handgun from another woman before someone yelled “Gun!” He said the woman pointed the gun in his direction before he ran and heard several shots. When he looked back, he saw a security guard had been shot near the theater entrance. Police have not confirmed that account.
Friends and coworkers described Davis as a longtime Bayview-Hunters Point resident who was well-liked by the people who worked alongside him, as KTVU reports.
“Bear was just doing his job. He was at work, doing security,” said Terrance Silas, a friend who works next door to the theater.
Police have not released information about a suspect or said whether anyone has been arrested. Per KTVU, SFPD spokesman Officer Robert Rueca said investigators are examining what happened before the shooting, including whether the Warfield had the proper permits for the event and was operating within their restrictions.
**Previously:** [Man Killed In Shooting on Market Street Outside SF’s Warfield Theatre](https://sfist.com/2026/10/03/man-killed-in-shooting-on-market-street-outside-sfs-warfield-theatre/)
### Tuesday Morning Topline: Waymos Not Allowed Near Waterfront for Fleet Week
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/06/waymos-not-allowed-near-waterfront-for-fleet-week/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T16:28:01.000Z
- **Still learning from the July 4th debacle, SF transit officials are designating geofenced restrictions on where Waymos can travel this weekend during Fleet Week festivities.** No Waymo pickups or drop-off will be permitted north of Lombard Street in the Marina, or north of Francisco Street near the Wharf, and much of the Embarcadero will be off-limits too (see map above). \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/features/fleet-week/san-francisco-restricts-waymo-service-during-fleet-week/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The California Nurses Association announced an arbitration agreement with Kaiser, following a grievance filed in 2024, that will mean over 1,000 nurses will be getting back pay they are owed due to a payroll system error. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/kaiser-nurses-back-wages-payroll-error-22463503.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 20-year-old woman was killed on Highway 4 in Antioch early Sunday after apparently dropping something — possibly a phone? — out of the passenger-side window of a vehicle and then trying to retrieve it from the roadway. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/woman-fatally-struck-in-antioch-while-retrieving-item-from-highway/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Police are still seeking a hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk at 17th Street and Lakeside Drive in Oakland early Saturday morning. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/oakland-man-killed-in-crosswalk-hit-and-run-driver-still-wanted/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 872, the Delta Levees and Canal Subsidence Fund, which he said was redundant given that the state has already budgeted more than $170 million for repairing levees and canals in the Delta this year and this fund was redundant. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/newsom-vetoed-delta-levee-bill/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Cases of enterovirus D68, or EV-D68, which [last spiked locally](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/polio-like-illness-flu-rates-bay-area-20288803.php?ref=sfist.com) in April 2025 and which can cause polio-like symptoms in small children, are on the rise in the North Bay, San Francisco, and Palo Alto, according to wastewater monitoring. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/evd68-virus-northern-california-22463452.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Celebrities have been coming out to catch the Golden State Valkyries' playoff run, including Ali Wong, George Lucas, E-40, and singer Kehlani. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/valkyries-san-francisco-celebrities-22463211.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Who Set Off a Massive Amount of Fireworks at Ocean Beach?
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/who-set-off-a-massive-amount-of-fireworks-at-ocean-beach/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T15:40:50.000Z
### Local:
- The man killed early Saturday outside the Warfield Theater on Market Street was 47-year-old Ulysses Davis, a security guard who was working at a Zeus Network event. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-k61yhjghr9gvyo04?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Kilroy Realty Group, the developer seeking to redevelop the former Flower Mart property in SoMa, is now seeking greater flexibility from the Planning Commission, with the ability to pivot as the market dictates in term of the usage mix of the property, which could end up being more or less residential. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/flower-mart-redevelopment-soma-22457073.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Local World War II veteran Paul Belanger turned 104 years old last week, and the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa celebrated him with a party. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/world-war-ii-veteran-celebrated-on-his-104th-birthday-in-santa-rosa/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- Facing backlash from within his own party, President Trump now says his super PAC will pay for those ads celebrating him and his policies, rather than taxpayer dollars. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/us/politics/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-pac.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Well, a lot of good it does, but Senator Thom Tillis has reportedly written in his new book that his vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary was "biggest regret of my career." \[[The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6130753-tillis-regrets-hegseth-vote/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Supreme Court heard its first case of the new term Monday, with Justice Samuel Alito recusing himself due to his personal holdings of energy stocks, and the case involving the city of Boulder, Colorado suing Exxon-Mobil over climate change impacts. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/05/politics/climate-change-supreme-court-suncor-exxon-boulder?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Someone set off a major stockpile of illegal fireworks on San Francisco's Ocean Beach on Saturday around 10:30 pm, with hundreds of them going off in fast succession or simultaneously, causing a major ruckus in the neighborhood. "I think my dog is still shaking," says one commenter on the Instagram post.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeD8SW9tWgc/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Rebecca (@rebeccacuddihy)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeD8SW9tWgc/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Judge Rejects Oakland Catholic Diocese Bankruptcy Plan After Years of Litigation
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/judge-rejects-oakland-catholic-diocese-bankruptcy-plan-after-over-three-years-of-litigation/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T05:36:10.000Z
A federal judge has rejected the Oakland Catholic Diocese’s fourth bankruptcy plan, finding that its case for special treatment and some financial estimates fell short, sending the diocese and sexual abuse survivors back to negotiations.
In his 109-page decision Friday, US Bankruptcy Judge William J. Lafferty rejected the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland’s latest proposal for resolving hundreds of sexual abuse claims, ruling that the diocese had not made the case for approval. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/oakland-catholic-diocese-bankruptcy-judge-ruling-22462234.php?ref=sfist.com), the plan was opposed by a nine-member committee representing abuse survivors, who argued that the diocese had undervalued its property and other assets.
Lafferty specifically rejected the diocese’s argument that its status as a religious institution warranted special consideration in the bankruptcy process. He said the church was not entitled to be treated “differently or more leniently” than another nonprofit or business going through bankruptcy.
According to the Chronicle, the judge also questioned financial figures used in the plan, including the estimated value of the diocese’s real estate and the amount it expects to owe abuse survivors. The diocese has churches, cemeteries, and other properties throughout the East Bay that the survivors’ committee says could be worth more than the church has acknowledged.
As SFist reported previously, the diocese filed for [Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023](https://sfist.com/2023/03/17/oakland-catholic-diocese-may-file-for-bankruptcy-over-330-sex-abuse-lawsuits/) after being hit with hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests dating back decades. At the time, bankruptcy documents estimated its liabilities at between $100 million and $500 million, with the diocese facing settlements involving 330 abuse survivors.
The bankruptcy case became even more contentious in 2024, when the diocese was accused of [concealing more than $106 million in assets](https://sfist.com/2024/12/23/oakland-catholic-diocese-accused-of-hiding-106-million-in-assets-so-they-wouldnt-have-to-pay-sex-abuse-victims/) that could otherwise have been available to compensate survivors.
The Chronicle reports that Lafferty acknowledged that the diocese’s fourth proposed plan represented “a significant effort to provide meaningful compensation to Abuse Survivors while continuing its religious mission.” But after more than three years of proceedings, the case has yet to result in any payments to the survivors.
Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing survivors, called the ruling a victory.
“For over three years, the Bishop and his … bankruptcy lawyers have deployed hardball tactics to further oppress and suppress justice, truth and transparency that the survivors seek through the creditors committee,” Anderson said in a statement.
The diocese has also been making changes to its operations while the bankruptcy case drags on. This spring, it announced plans to [close 12 parishes and its pastoral center](https://sfist.com/2026/04/30/catholic-diocese-of-oakland-to-close-13-east-bay-churches-amid-lawsuits/).
Oakland Bishop Michael C. Barber called the ruling “a set back,” while saying the diocese remains committed to reaching a resolution with survivors and continuing its work serving the roughly 500,000 Catholics in the diocese.
Per the Chronicle, the Oakland case comes as other Bay Area Catholic dioceses have reached major settlements over clergy sexual abuse claims. In June, the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to a $400 million settlement with survivors.
Lafferty ended his decision by encouraging the diocese and survivors to return to negotiations, suggesting that his ruling could help guide them toward a plan that satisfies both sides.
### Google Launches AI Data Center Prototype Into Orbit on SpaceX Rocket
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/google-launches-ai-data-center-prototype-into-space-on-spacex-rocket/
Last updated: 2026-10-07T16:06:42.000Z
In partnership with SF-based Planet Labs, Google launched a satellite carrying its custom AI chips into space Thursday to test whether AI data centers could one day operate in orbit, as the tech industry faces growing opposition to data centers on Earth.
Google’s refrigerator-sized prototype satellite, called MVP, launched Thursday, carrying four of the company’s tensor processing units from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, [as CNN reports](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/01/science/google-ai-data-center-satellites-space?ref=sfist.com). The mission is designed to test whether Google’s AI chips can operate reliably in orbit, where they face extreme radiation and heat.
The satellite is part of [Project Suncatcher](https://research.google/blog/exploring-a-space-based-scalable-ai-infrastructure-system-design/?ref=sfist.com), developed in partnership with San Francisco-based Planet Labs, as Google explores whether AI computing could eventually move into space as AI data centers on Earth face [growing opposition](https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/newsom-signs-seven-new-laws-regulating-data-centers-amid-statewide-backlash/) over their enormous power and water demands. Solar power could provide a nearly constant energy source in orbit.
[According to the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/technology/google-suncatcher-ai-data-center-space.html?ref=sfist.com), Google has been testing the chips on Earth since February 2025, when it exposed them to radiation at the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory in Davis. The particle accelerator delivered a dose equivalent to about five years of radiation exposure in space, although Google later repeated some of the testing after discovering that the original chip configuration provided more shielding than the satellites would.
The company also had to develop a new way to deal with heat. Conventional fans do not work in the vacuum of space, so Google built a cooling system that transfers heat from the chips through layers of conductive material and eventually into a radiator panel. The current setup reportedly allows the chips to run for about 15 minutes before they need to cool down.
The Times reports that Google had initially planned its first launch with another pair of satellites next year, which includes longer-term designs calling for constellations of more than 80 satellites flying in formation and communicating through laser links. The company reportedly accelerated the timeline with the launch of MVP, which contains Google’s AI chips inside a ready-made Planet Labs satellite.
Google is also considering a custom satellite roughly the length of a soccer field.
The technology still faces major hurdles, including keeping satellites close enough together for high-speed communications without increasing collision risks, managing heat, and dealing with space debris and solar storms, [as Fast Company reports](https://www.fastcompany.com/91616771/google-is-taking-elon-musks-space-data-center-idea-seriously?ref=sfist.com). Researchers have also questioned whether the environmental benefits of solar-powered computing would outweigh emissions from launching and eventually deorbiting large numbers of satellites.
Google’s radiation testing suggests its TPUs could survive a satellite’s expected five-year lifespan, with errors occurring roughly once in a million operations during typical AI inference workloads, [according to TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/google-thinks-spacexs-starship-has-to-launch-1600-times-before-space-data-centers-get-off-the-ground/?ref=sfist.com). However, that reliability would not be sufficient for enormous training runs involving thousands of chips operating continuously for months.
For now, Google is still a long way from putting a data center in orbit, but this launch is the first step toward finding out whether the idea is actually feasible.
**Related:** [Newsom Signs Seven New Laws Regulating Data Centers Amid Statewide Backlash](https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/newsom-signs-seven-new-laws-regulating-data-centers-amid-statewide-backlash/)
### Morgan Hill Father With Three Kids Brings Gravely Injured Wife to Hospital, Says He Killed Her
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/morgan-hill-father-with-three-kids-brings-gravely-injured-wife-to-hospital-says-he-killed-her/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T22:17:40.000Z
A Morgan Hill man reportedly walked into San Jose's Good Samaritan Hospital on Saturday morning and announced that he had killed his wife, who was in a car outside.
The situation unfolded at around 9:20 am on Saturday, October 3\. According to the Morgan Hill Police Department, in a release, 37-year-old Roy Anthony Lopez walked into the emergency room at Good Samaritan Hospital and told staff "that he had killed his wife."
Hospital staffers then went to his car, which was parked outside, and found a gravely injured woman, who would soon succumb to her injuries. The nature of the woman's injuries was not revealed by police, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
San Jose police officers briefly detained Lopez at the hospital until Morgan Hill police could arrive and arrest him. Lopez was questioned and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on one count of murder.
Police then proceeded to the couple's home on the 1100 block of Vintage Lane in Morgan Hill where they found three children, ages 14, 6, and 3\.
The children were safely taken to the Morgan Hill Police Department before being released into the custody of the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services.
"The Morgan Hill Police Department extends its heartfelt condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones during this difficult time," the department said in a statement.
Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact Sergeant Sean Bayard at 408-607-3032 or via email at sean.bayard@morganhill.ca.gov.
### SF’s Buena Vista Park Had Five Fires Over Past Year, With 18 Others Occurring Nearby
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/sfs-buena-vista-park-had-five-fires-over-past-year-with-18-others-occurring-nearby/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T20:48:49.000Z
A September fire that sent flames through the trees at San Francisco’s Buena Vista Park was one of 23 outdoor fires reported along the park’s perimeter over the past year, including five that were confirmed to have started inside the park.
While occasional fires have always been common at Buena Vista Park in Upper Haight due to the park's heavy vegetation, neighbors say they're concerned about the increase in frequency and size of the blazes, which they largely attribute to unhoused people living in encampments there, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/buena-vista-park-fire-22453460.php?ref=sfist.com).
San Francisco Fire Department records show five confirmed fires took place inside the park over the past year, along with 18 other outdoor fires reported along Buena Vista Avenue, which wraps around much of the park.
The incidents reportedly include a September 2025 campfire in the park and a June fire that the fire department described as a “small homeless encampment fire,” with additional campfires reported along Buena Vista Avenue in October 2025 and May 2026\. According to the Chronicle, an e-bike also caught fire near one of the park entrances.
Residents also reported hearing firecrackers coming from inside the park in late September 2026.
The most widely [documented](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sffd-responding-to-buena-vista-park-fire/?ref=sfist.com) fire broke out on September 23, when smoke rose above the park and flames burned through the trees. According to the Chronicle, the fire department received a call around 9:30 pm and sent three engines. A [Reddit user filmed the blaze](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1wosix5/there%5Fis%5Fa%5Ffire%5Fin%5Fbuena%5Fvista/?ref=sfist.com) from several blocks away.
> [There is a fire in Buena Vista](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1wosix5/there%5Fis%5Fa%5Ffire%5Fin%5Fbuena%5Fvista/?ref=sfist.com)
> by [u/the\_real\_trebor333](https://www.reddit.com/user/the%5Freal%5Ftrebor333/?ref=sfist.com) in [sanfrancisco](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/?ref=sfist.com)
James Leng, a Haight-Ashbury resident who saw the fire from his window, told the Chronicle he could hear the flames crackling when he went outside.
“It was very, very scary,” Leng said, speaking to the Chronicle.
Rasheq Zarif, president of the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association, said fires are the most common complaint he hears from neighbors. He told the paper he wants more evening patrols to discourage camping in the park, along with better lighting and vegetation removal to limit the potential spread of future fires.
John Hooper, who has lived across from the park since 1982 and previously ran the neighborhood association, told the Chronicle fires happened there once a year when he arrived, although he remembers them as smaller and less threatening.
“I don’t think it’s malicious,” said Hooper. “It’s just cold out, and they have a light sleeping bag kind of thing.”
According to the Chronicle, the fire department said hydrants surround the park and crews regularly plan for fires there because of its steep, heavily vegetated terrain, including how to get equipment in, establish water supplies, and position firefighting apparatus.
The office of Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, whose district includes the park, did not respond to requests for comment. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department referred questions to the Fire Department.
[As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2019/09/04/sf-firefighters-suspect-arsonist-in-string-of-buena-vista-park-fires/) back in 2019, a suspected arsonist was arrested in connection to six fires that occurred at the park over the span of three weeks.
**Related:** [Suspected Arsonist Arrested In String of Buena Vista Park Fires](https://sfist.com/2019/09/04/sf-firefighters-suspect-arsonist-in-string-of-buena-vista-park-fires/)
### Armed Police Storm Movie Theater In West San Jose After Report of Gun
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/armed-police-storm-movie-theater-in-west-san-jose-after-report-of-gun/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T20:27:26.000Z
Moviegoers in West San Jose got a scare that wasn't on the screen Saturday night when a group of police officers, including one with a large gun with a light on the end of it, stormed into a theater and stopped the show.
This happened during a Saturday night screening of the film of *Primetime*, starring Robert Pattinson, at the AMC Saratoga 14 cinema in West San Jose. [As NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/police-activity-movie-theater-san-jose/4153199/?ref=sfist.com), San Jose police had received a report of a suspect with a gun in Theater Number 13, and they arrived, guns blazing, to stop the show and escort a suspect out.
One officer can be heard on the video below, shot by moviegoer Lauren and [obtained by KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/video-armed-police-question-audience-at-san-jose-movie-theatre/?ref=sfist.com), "Sorry to interrupt. Put your hands up real quick, both hands. Stand up."
The officers were apparently seeking a suspect with "long red hair," but the man they detained was not found to have a gun anywhere on or near his person.
A witness tells KRON4 that the suspect was questioned and then released.
Lauren tells NBC Bay Area that she and her friend were scared by the situation. "The lights turned on and then the volume lowered. The police stormed in. There were six cops. One of them was pointing a huge gun at the back of the room and they told the guy in the back right to stand up and put his hands above his head," she says.
It's unclear how long the movie was paused for, and how many people stayed behind to finish watching it.
Lauren said she and her friend left after being shaken up by the situation. Moviegoer Aditya Gupta tells NBC Bay Area that he also left the theater.
### Father and Teen Daughter He Allegedly Impregnated Located In Mexico
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/father-and-teen-daughter-he-allegedly-impregnated-located-in-mexico/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T19:13:32.000Z
A Monterey County father and his 14-year-old daughter, who apparently gave birth by the side of the road in early August before allegedly killing the newborn infant, have been located and the father arrested in Mexico.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office [announced](https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice/posts/pfbid0ZtDjMWh2Fyi464eAgSu65Sux6P6VnDbXG621xVDGTHUpWPsUrJmcjE1coRCYhfenl) Sunday that it had "received confirmation" that the 14-year-old girl, identified as Diana Galvez Ortega, had been rescued, as she is now being treated as a victim in this case. Initially, authorities were seeking both father and daughter on suspicion of infanticide.
Mexican authorities reportedly arrested 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez after finding him in possession of narcotics.
"Mexican authorities are aware of the pending charges against \[Galvez Perez\] in Monterey County for crimes committed against Diana. Diana is safe and is currently in the care of local authorities in Mexico," said Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto, in a statement.
The sheriff's office further said that this remains an open and active investigation, and a press conference would be scheduled for a later date.
Galvez Perez and his daughter have [been on the run since August 1](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/search-continues-for-salinas-man-accused-of-impregnating-daughter-whose-infant-was-found-dead/), when the infant was discovered by the side of a road in Moss Landing, a town halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey. The child was found dead with traumatic injuries, and it was believed that either father or daughter, or both, killed the child immediately after it was born.
The girl's mother, 36-year-old Ofelia Garcia Ortega, was subsequently arrested on suspicion of child endangerment. She and Galvez Perez, who are married, were listed as residents of Salinas and Castroville.
The girl's name and photograph were shared publicly when an Amber Alert was issued last month.
Galvez Perez is reportedly a Mixtec musician who performs under the name El Aguila Real y su Ritmo Sabroso. In addition to the murder of the infant, he is accused of incest, lewd or lascivious acts involving a child, unlawful sexual intercourse, child concealment, and child endangerment.
It remains unclear when he might be extradited back to Monterey County.
**Previously:** [Search Continues For Salinas Man Accused of Impregnating Daughter Whose Infant Was Found Dead](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/search-continues-for-salinas-man-accused-of-impregnating-daughter-whose-infant-was-found-dead/)
### SF Braces for Unusually High Tides as El Niño Sends ‘Kelvin Waves’ Toward the Coast
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/sf-braces-for-unusually-high-tides-as-el-nino-sends-kelvin-waves-toward-the-coast/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T18:34:24.000Z
SF is bracing for 10 to 30 king tides this winter, as El Niño sends warm water toward the coast in the form of “Kelvin waves,” and Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency last month in anticipation of the potentially record-breaking weather.
As SFist warned in the spring, the coming [“super” El Niño could break records](https://sfist.com/2026/05/10/brace-yourselves-for-what-could-be-a-really-nutty-el-nino-winter/), with a strong chance of becoming the strongest El Niño cycle in 140 years. That’s still looking likely, as Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in late September, ordering state agencies to prepare for major coastal flooding, [as the Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/newsom-el-nino-emergency-22442103.php?ref=sfist.com) last month.
San Francisco could see anywhere from 10 to 30 unusually high tides from late November through January, [as the Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/king-tides-lurie-22460422.php?ref=sfist.com) Friday. The Port of San Francisco's Waterfront Resilience Program determined that there could be about 30 potential king tides using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which the California Coastal Commission's King Tides Project forecasts 10 king tides this year.
As “king tide” is a [non-scientific term](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/kingtide.html?ref=sfist.com), agencies have different ways of classifying them, but the NOAA says that tides above 1.2 feet could cause minor flooding on the city’s north coast.
Lurie [said in a social media video](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DeASag%5Fyn0M/?ref=sfist.com) Friday that tides are already running about six inches higher than normal in San Francisco. The king tides are expected to peak between November and February, with the highest arriving before between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with a second one peaking around January 21.
[KQED explains](https://www.kqed.org/science/2002141/an-el-nino-driven-kelvin-wave-could-raise-bay-area-sea-levels-and-flooding-risk?ref=sfist.com) that one reason for the elevated water levels is due to a Kelvin wave, which is a pulse of warm water associated with El Niño that moves through the deeper Pacific Ocean before traveling north and south along the coast. Unlike a tsunami or surface wave, it is a disturbance within the ocean that can temporarily raise coastal sea levels.
Dillon Amaya, a professor at North Carolina State University who studies how climate change affects waters off the US coast, said a first Kelvin wave moved north in May and June. A second is traveling north from the Gulf of California at about 6 mph and could reach the Bay Area by mid-October, while researchers are watching for signs of a third wave around the equator.
“Kelvin waves are a symptom of El Niño,” Amaya said, speaking to KQED.
The extra water from a Kelvin wave can reportedly become more consequential when it arrives during an already-high tide or storm, potentially pushing coastal water above levels reached by the tide alone and increasing flooding and erosion.
Sean Vitousek, a research oceanographer with the US Geological Survey, told KQED king tides in late November could rise above 7 feet in San Francisco, putting them “on top of the Kelvin wave.”
**Previously:** [Brace Yourselves For What Could Be a Really Nutty El Niño Winter](https://sfist.com/2026/05/10/brace-yourselves-for-what-could-be-a-really-nutty-el-nino-winter//)
### Man Killed In Daytime Bayview Homicide
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/man-killed-in-daytime-bayview-homicide/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T17:23:33.000Z
After going months without a homicide in San Francisco, the last few days have brought three.
A man was fatally shot in the Bayview District on Sunday afternoon.
San Francisco police responded to a report of a shooting at 12:40 pm Sunday on Reuel Court, in the Ridgeview Terrace housing complex in the Bayview. As [KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/man-shot-to-death-in-broad-daylight-in-san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com), officers found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting is being treated as a homicide, and no arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.
This was the third homicide in a matter of four days in the city, after a relatively nonviolent summer. A man was [fatally shot in Hunters Point on Thursday](https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/man-dies-in-hunters-point-shooting/), and another man was [killed on Market Street](https://sfist.com/2026/10/03/man-killed-in-shooting-on-market-street-outside-sfs-warfield-theatre/) outside the Warfield Theater early Saturday morning.
The Bayview incident marks the city's 21st homicide of the year to date.
### Monday Morning Headlines: Blue Angels Touch Down
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/05/monday-morning-blue-angels-touch-down/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T16:33:42.000Z
- **The Blue Angels arrived in Oakland Sunday ahead of their annual Fleet Week air shows.** We missed a Blue Angels show in 2025 due to the government shutdown, but you can expect them now to begin their practice flights over the Bay on Thursday around 1 pm — dog owners be warned. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-5g4tr803pnlbwy6c?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Veterinarians at the Marine Mammal Center say thy are prepared for an extended wave of sea lion rescues due to domoic acid poisoning.** The toxin comes from algae blooms that are spurred by ocean heatwaves, and can be deadly. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/marine-mammal-center-preparing-extended-wave-sea-lion-rescues-due-deadly-toxin-fueled-climate-change/19844242/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Golden State Valkyries' head coach Natalie Nakase says she's doing fine and taking steps to monitor her exhaustion after an on-court scare last week in which she was seen collapsing to her knees while having an exchange with a referee. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/valkyries-natalie-nakase-takes-steps-monitor-22462055.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife have donated $25 million to the Trump-aligned PAC Maga Inc. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/openai-anthropic-political-donation-22456454.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Stanford professor Karl Deisseroth was announced Monday as one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, for work researching how the brain works. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/stanford-scientist-among-nobel-winners-research-brain-activity?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Dennis Hastert, who served as Speaker of the House through much of George W. Bush's presidency before having his legacy tarnished by allegations that he molested high school athletes, has died at age 84\. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/05/politics/dennis-hastert-dies?ref=sfist.com)\]
- California Republicans are confused and grossed out by Steve Hilton’s new [sexually suggestive campaign ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGrG%5FzcVjjQ&ref=sfist.com) involving two Gen Z women improbably deciding to cast a vote for him, by mail. \[[LA Times](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/provocative-sexually-suggestive-ad-hilton-213407018.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Truck Crash Sparks Fire at San Jose Water Park; Arson Unit Asked to Investigate
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/04/truck-crash-sparks-fire-at-san-jose-water-park-arson-unit-asked-to-investigate/
Last updated: 2026-10-04T23:58:25.000Z
A blaze broke out at CaliBunga Water Park on Saturday afternoon after a pickup truck crashed into one of the property's fences, resulting in a brush fire that consumed a nearby water slide. The San Jose Fire Department's Arson Unit has been asked to investigate.
As [ABC7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/truck-crash-sparks-fire-calibunga-water-park-san-joses-lake-cunningham-regional/19905854/?ref=sfist.com), the fire was first reported around 4:45pm.
San Jose firefighters classified the blaze as a tier one vegetation fire. They further stated that the resulting flames torched an adjacent water slide as well as a shed containing chemicals before it was eventually contained.
Formerly known as Raging Waters, San Jose's CaliBunga Water Park was already temporarily closed when the crash occurred — a fortunate circumstance resulting from ongoing redesigns to Lake Cunningham Regional Park.
Authorities state that pickup truck crashed into a fence along the northwest corner of the park, creating a fire that quickly spread. As a result of the blaze, the storage shed reportedly suffered extensive damage.
On a positive note, the San Jose Fire Department states that no chemicals were released as a result of the fire.
Video footage shared by ABC7 shows a waterslide at CaliBunga Water Park immersed in flames:
San Jose Fire Department's Arson Unit is currently investigating the cause and origin of the fire.
**Related**: [No Survivors in Richmond House Fire After Fourth Victim Dies](https://sfist.com/2026/08/23/no-survivors-in-richmond-house-fire-after-fourth-victim-dies/)
### Couple Fatally Shot on Friday ID'd as Founders of Berkeley Fashion Brand Bryn Walker
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/04/couple-fatally-shot-on-friday-idd-as-founders-of-berkeley-fashion-brand-bryn-walker/
Last updated: 2026-10-04T20:19:27.000Z
The two people in their sixties found dead of gunshot wounds outside their Berkeley Hills home on Friday have been identified as married couple Bryan Walker and Michelle Min, best known for founding local women's fashion label Bryn Walker. Authorities continue to treat the matter as a potential murder-suicide.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/oakland-hills-shooting-bryn-walker-22461399.php?ref=sfist.com), Walker was chief executive for the Berkeley fashion company while Min's LinkedIn lists her as one of Bryan Walker's designers.
Oakland police have yet to confirm the victims' identities but numerous Bay Area media outlets — including the [Berkeley Scanner](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2026/10/03/shootings/bryn-walker-designer-ceo-identified-fatal-shooting/?ref=sfist.com) and [KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/oakland-berkeley-shooting-panoramic-way/?ref=sfist.com) — now report the deceased as Walker and Min. \[Note: Min's surname may be Walker or Walker-Min: there is currently a lack of consensus among various publications.\]
The pair were found dead outside their Panoramic Way home near UC Berkeley and the Oakland border after police received a report of a shooting just before 11 am on Friday morning. [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/jed-york-suspended-for-six-games-over-solicitation-arrest/) that the couple were discovered with a gun lying nearby and that authorities were not actively seeking a suspect.
Walker and Min founded and ran Bryn Walker, which has operated out of Berkeley since 1992\. Per the Chronicle, the brand designs and produces clothing in the Bay Area and wholesales to nearly 1,000 boutiques across the country.
In remarks to the media, Oakland Assistant Police Chief Casey Johnson confirmed that investigators had yet to rule out the possibility of a murder-suicide.
KPIX's reporting includes additional harrowing details about surveillance footage that apparently captured the sounds of a gunshot, a man screaming and crying, then another gunshot. Per KPIX, the audio was "too graphic to air."
The Chronicle reports that neighbors of Walker and Min described the pair as "longtime residents who generally kept a low profile." The case currently remains under investigation by Oakland authorities.
**Related**: [Man Killed In Shooting on Market Street Outside SF’s Warfield Theatre](https://sfist.com/2026/10/03/man-killed-in-shooting-on-market-street-outside-sfs-warfield-theatre/)
### Sunday Links: National Weather Service Extends Heat Advisory Through Wednesday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/04/sunday-links-national-weather-service-extends-heat-advisory-through-wednesday/
Last updated: 2026-10-04T19:06:36.000Z
- **The National Weather Service is extending the heat advisory currently in effect for the Bay Area, saying it is now likely to last through Wednesday — or longer.** On a related note, today's 49ers afternoon home game in Santa Clara is expected to see temperatures in the mid-90s. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/bay-area-heat-advisory-49ers-levis-stadium-weather/4152821/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Four people were injured on Saturday night following a boat crash near Rock Island in the Richmond Marina.** According to San Francisco Fire officials, one injured adult was airlifted to a trauma center while three others were transported to a local hospital. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/4-injured-in-boat-crash-in-richmond-marina/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Japanese police have arrested a US marine in Okinawa for the alleged robbery and murder of a local woman. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/04/nx-s1-5990790/us-marine-arrested-for-alleged-murder-woman-on-okinawa?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Golden State Valkyries will tip-off for the franchise's first WNBA playoffs semi-finals today at 1 pm at Chase Center against the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/golden-state-valkyries-tested-star-studded-las-22461111.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke in San Francisco on Saturday in support of California's Proposition 40: a one-time proposed tax on billionaires. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/politics/bernie-sanders-joins-san-francisco-voters-for-ballots-over-billionaires-rally/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Major bridges in Ukraine's capital have been the target of Russian drone strikes for the past four days — coinciding with a visit to Kyiv from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckreyjzzzywqo?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Following the failed execution of Christa Pike earlier this week, Tennessee’s head of prisons, Frank Strada, has announced his resignation. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/christa-pike-latest-tennessee-prisons-chief-resigns-after-failed-execution?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Country superstar Zach Bryan donned a "Free Palestine" shirt while playing a gig at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium on Friday night just weeks after the Patriots owner defended musician Ed Sheeran's decision to boot Macklemore from his tour for making pro-Palestinian remarks on stage. \[[Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/zach-bryan-free-palestine-shirt-concert-gillette-stadium-1236721554/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The driest non-polar desert on Earth, Chile's Atacama Desert, is currently bursting with flowers and more than 200 plant species as a result of this year's El Niño weather pattern. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/driest-desert-on-earth-covered-in-wildflowers-right-now/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Man Killed In Shooting on Market Street Outside SF’s Warfield Theatre
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/03/man-killed-in-shooting-on-market-street-outside-sfs-warfield-theatre/
Last updated: 2026-10-03T20:40:24.000Z
A man was pronounced dead at the hospital Saturday following a shooting outside San Francisco's Warfield Theater on Market Street, and witnesses say he was shot multiple times.
The shooting happened around 1 am Saturday, when San Francisco police responded to the 900 block of Market Street near Fifth Street and found the wounded man, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/fatal-shooting-sf-market-street-22461043.php?ref=sfist.com). Paramedics took him to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, but he later died.
Police have not identified the victim or released information about the shooter.
[Video shared by Tenderloin Activities](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeBqLSHpalT/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) shows first responders arriving outside the Warfield amid a crowd of panicked bystanders. At one point, a woman appears to grab onto the gurney and help pull it toward the scene, apparently trying to get the victim medical attention as quickly as possible.
When the gurney reaches the curb, its wheels catch on the edge, causing it to collapse and sending some of the lifesaving equipment onto the ground. Nearby police officers and other bystanders then pull the woman away from the gurney as responders continue toward the victim.
A commenter who says he's a firefighter noted that SFPD officers should’ve done a better job securing the area.
Although the view is partially obstructed, the video later appears to show first responders bringing the gurney through the Warfield's doors before transporting the victim back to the ambulance. Several people who appear to be his loved ones follow closely behind, calling out his name as he is taken away in the gurney.
Tenderloin Activities reported that the man had been shot multiple times, though this information has not been confirmed.
This was San Francisco's 20th homicide of the year to date, following [Thursday's fatal shooting](https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/man-dies-in-hunters-point-shooting/) in Hunters Point.
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 with “SFPD” at the beginning of the message. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
**Related:** [Man Dies In Hunters Point Shooting](https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/man-dies-in-hunters-point-shooting/)
### Saturday Links: FDA Inspectors Find Cyclospora at Mexican Farm
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/03/saturday-links-fda-inspectors-find-cyclospora/
Last updated: 2026-10-03T20:48:36.000Z
- **Inspectors with the FDA say that they have found the cyclospora parasite at a lettuce farm in Guanajuato, Mexico.** It's unclear if this was the same independent grower that Taylor Farms blamed for being the source of the multi-state outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has affected at least 13,000 people. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/fda-cyclospora-investigation-parasite-detected-mexican-farm-linked-massive-lettuce-outbreak?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A top executive at HomeRise, the SF homelessness nonprofit that** [**announced it is shutting down**](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/another-large-sf-nonprofit-embroiled-in-scandal-is-shutting-down/) **this week, reportedly fired a contractor in order to direct funds to a new company to which he had close ties.** The Chronicle reports that Jared Parker redirected hundreds of thousands of dollars to BM Consulting, possibly for his own benefit. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/homerise-housing-nonprofit-san-francisco-22455081.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two collisions, one of them fatal, caused much traffic on I-80 westbound in Berkeley Friday afternoon. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/fatal-interstate-80-berkeley-crash?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 17-year-old San Mateo boy was arrested Friday night after being found in possession of a ghost gun and over an ounce of marijuana. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/teen-arrested-for-carrying-ghost-gun-marijuana/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Golden State Valkyries clinched a Game 3 playoff win, taking the three-game series over the Dallas Wings Friday night, but head coach Natalie Nakase was seen collapsing while in a heated conversation with a ref in the fourth quarter — though she is reportedly fine. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/valkyries-clinch-wnba-semifinals-bid-with-game-3-win-over-wings/?ref=sfist.com) / [Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/valkyries-coach-natalie-nakase-collapses-late-22460634.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A self-described fan of Sunset Dunes Park has been using cameras that monitor surf conditions to estimate the number of people using the park for cycling, jogging, or strolling, in order to counter arguments that the park isn't being used as much as the Great Highway was used by cars. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sunset-dunes-park-visitor-22455149.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Thieves in the Marina District appear to have been vandalizing and short-circuiting call boxes at apartment buildings to gain access to lobbies and steal packages. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sf-marina-district-residents-frustrated-after-packages-stolen-multiple-times/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Jed York Suspended For Six Games Over Solicitation Arrest
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/jed-york-suspended-for-six-games-over-solicitation-arrest/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T23:23:24.000Z
### Local:
- **A married couple in their sixties were both found dead of gunshot wounds outside their home in the Berkeley hills Friday, with a gun lying nearby, in what sounds like a murder-suicide.** Police say they are not looking for any suspect, and there is no threat to the neighborhood. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/panoramic-hill-shooting-22460084.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **49ers owner Jed York has been officially punished by the NFL for his** [**embarrassing August arrest**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/details-emerge-from-jed-yorks-prostitution-arrest/) **in a prostitution sting in Ohio.** For violating the league's personal conduct policy, York is being fined a half-million dollars and is suspended from attending six games, three of which he has already skipped this season. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/sports/49ers-owner-jed-york-suspended-six-games-nfl?ref=sfist.com)\]
- 'Zoo Lights,' the popular holiday season nighttime event that ended in 2018, is returning to the SF Zoo, perhaps to compete with the very popular Glowfari at the Oakland Zoo. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/zoo-lights-returns-san-francisco/4152137/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Christa Pike, the convicted killer who the state of Tennessee failed to execute by lethal injection on Wednesday night, remains unconscious and on a ventilator, in critical condition.** Legal and ethical questions now remain regarding when a state can execute person, because they have to be conscious and fully aware of why they are being executed, under the law. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/us/christa-pike-unconscious-what-next.html?ref=sfist.com) / [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-execution-what-to-know-christa-pike-8a834e15b8f2d5397b7620bc33d0ec10?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Flydubai co-pilot who allegedly stabbed the captain of an Israel-bound flight and tried to crash the plane Wednesday was reportedly removed from a previous job at Oman's national airline — he is an Omani citizen — over his extremist and radical views. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/02/world/flydubai-attacker-pilot-intl?ref=sfist.com)\]
- New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a strong rebuke of the Cornell University police department and the local district attorney for their handling of a rape accusation in 2024 that has now become national news. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/10/02/nyregion/cornell-rape-case-letitia-james?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Here's a quick dispatch from Golden Gate Park, where opening act Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams kicked things off a couple hours ago at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 26\. If you're not going to make it out there this year, might we suggest downloading the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass app on your Apple TV or Roku, or [catching the livestream here](https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.vhx.tv/browse?ref=sfist.com).
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeAWXaXykvp/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Jimmy Blue Skies (@pomeranianrecords)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeAWXaXykvp/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Delta Pilot Arrested at SFO Last Year Convicted of Child Sex Abuse, Faces 230 Years
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/delta-pilot-arrested-at-sfo-last-year-convicted-of-child-sex-abuse-faces-230-years/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T23:19:46.000Z
An airline pilot who was arrested last summer at SFO was convicted Monday of 20 counts of sexually abusing a child, while the girl’s mother was convicted on the same charges, and both now face up to 230 years to life.
Jurors in Contra Costa County Superior Court convicted Rustom Bhagwagar, 35, and Jennifer Spitz Powell, 46, Monday, finding both guilty of 20 counts of sexual abuse of a child under 14, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/pilot-arrested-sfo-convicted-22458674.php?link%5Fsource=ta%5Ffirst%5Fcomment&taid=6abef174e5b66800013a6808&fbclid=IwY2xjawUr1wBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMWc5U05TamVFdzlrRXc3T0pzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEemmjAz78Egl-PNIKh6Ues5J8bnNxyDzUnwJhLqverwfghcvBuxOBlov88hvs%5Faem%5F3xWaZQU62g8OlOVVJ6oc9g&ref=sfist.com). The verdict came more than a year after Bhagwagar [was arrested at SFO](https://sfist.com/2025/07/28/delta-airlines-pilot-pulled-off-plane-at-sfo-on-child-porn-charges/), where authorities were waiting for the Delta Air Lines pilot after he landed on a flight from Minneapolis.
As SFist reported at the time, Bhagwagar was escorted out of the cockpit in handcuffs by officers from the Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco Police Department, and Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office last July.
The arrest stemmed from an investigation by Contra Costa County authorities into allegations that Bhagwagar had repeatedly sexually abused a girl [over a five-year period](https://sfist.com/2025/07/29/delta-pilot-arrested-at-sfo-was-secretly-recorded-discussing-childs-abuse/). Investigators said the abuse began in 2017, when the girl was seven, and continued several times a week, sometimes multiple times a day, until she was 10.
The girl also told investigators that Powell, her mother, was present for much of the abuse and that she had been warned to keep it secret or risk being taken away. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said Powell participated in the abuse with Bhagwagar.
After investigators confronted Powell, she agreed to participate in a recorded phone call with Bhagwagar, who knew he was under investigation. During the call, he appeared to acknowledge the abuse and agreed to meet Powell in the Bay Area later that month to discuss a plan.
The couple had been in a relationship during the years the abuse was alleged to have occurred, and the abuse reportedly ended [after they broke up](https://sfist.com/2025/07/30/delta-pilot-arraigned-in-contra-costa-county-on/). Bhagwagar, who was living in Florida, also had ties to San Ramon, Castro Valley, and Texas. Powell is reportedly a Walnut Creek resident.
SFGate reports that the child testified during the trial. Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement that the child “showed extraordinary courage by testifying in court and facing the people who used duress to harm her.”
Bhagwagar and Powell will remain in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility while they await sentencing. Each faces a maximum sentence of 230 years to life in state prison.
**Previously:** [Delta Pilot Arraigned In Contra Costa County on 24 Counts of Child Abuse; Mother Also Arrested](https://sfist.com/2025/07/30/delta-pilot-arraigned-in-contra-costa-county-on/)
### This Week In Food: Handrolls All Over
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/this-week-in-food-handrolls-all-over/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T22:27:08.000Z
Athanor arrives in Lower Pac Heights, Handroll Hawker opens its doors in Russian Hill, and Mama Ji's calls it quits after 15 years in the Castro, all in This Week in Food.
The big fine dining news of the week is that **Anomaly** chef Mike Lanham, who [shuttered his three-year-old Lower Pac Heights restaurant](https://sfist.com/2026/06/12/farewell-shuggies-anomaly-bonjour-esme/) in June, has returned to the same space at 2600 Sutter Street with a new tasting-menu concept called **Athanor**. As he [told Eater](https://sf.eater.com/restaurant-news/213635/athanor-restaurant-opening-september-chef-mike-lanham?ref=sfist.com), he suffered some extreme burnout and exhaustion this spring and needed a major break. A fan favorite egg dish that dates to Anomaly's pop-up days is back, but otherwise the 10-course tasting menu is headed in new directions, a bit one being fermentation. Also, the interior of the space looks a bit different now. [Find reservations here](https://www.athanorsf.com/?ref=sfist.com).
[**Handroll Hawker**](https://www.handrollhawker.com/?ref=sfist.com) opened on Tuesday, on Polk Street in Russian Hill (2360 Polk at Union, aka the former Tonic), offering readymade, grab-and-go sushi handrolls, in the style of similar Australian shops. It's the project of Australian filmmaker Romi Trower, as [Tablehopper previously reported](https://www.tablehopper.com/newsletter/this-weeks-tablehopper-catch-some-rays/?ref=sfist.com#talk-to-the-hand-sf%E2%80%99s-first-aussie-style-handroll-shop-is-coming-to-russian-hill), who missed being able to grab these simple handrolls for quick meals, and they come with fillings like spicy tuna and tempura shrimp. They're open 11:30 am to 7:30 pm daily.
In other handroll news, a new sister business to KAIYŌ Resturant and KAIYŌ Rooftop in SoMa is **KAIYŌ Handroll Bar**, which just opened in Cow Hollow (1838 Union). As [Tablehopper tells us](https://www.tablehopper.com/newsletter/this-weeks-tablehopper-funky-like-a-train/?ref=sfist.com), like the other KAIYŌ restaurants, [the menu](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6a7f82bccd28ac0aee9ef732/t/6abd83924834597327672600/1790804882857/KaiyoHandrollBar-Menu-web%5F09%5F30.pdf?ref=tablehopper.com) features Nikkei cuisine — Peruvian-Japanese food that originated from Japanese immigrants to Peru a century ago — including traditional Peruvian fare like lomo saltado and ceviches. There are also nineteen handroll options, including vegetarian options, classics like salmon-avocado, and one with Wagyu lomo saltado. [Find reservations here](https://www.kaiyohandrollbar.com/?ref=sfist.com).
We have two bits of news in the Castro: First, 15-year-old Sichuan-style dim sum restaurant **Mama Ji's** (4416 18th Street) is closing its doors at the end of October. The neighborhood favorite, known for its popular dim sum brunches and its spicy food, some featuring numbing Sichuan peppercorns, is calling it quits, [as Hoodline reports](https://hoodline.com/2026/10/castro-dim-sum-sichuan-restaurant-mama-ji-s-announces-closure-after-15-years/?ref=sfist.com), because owners Lily Ji and husband Marv Wolpa have decided to get out of the restaurant business.
Second, we now know what is going to replace **Kitchen Story** at the corner of Sanchez and 16th, which closed back in January. As [Hoodline reports today](https://hoodline.com/2026/10/castro-s-former-kitchen-story-space-set-to-become-jandii-cafe/?ref=sfist.com), owners Steven and Ji Yeon Choi, who also own popular brunch spots Sweet Maple and Blackwood, as well as U:Dessert Story next door, are holding onto the space as they said they would be. But the new concept is not going to be a full-service restaurant. [**Jandii Cafe**](https://www.instagram.com/jandii.official/?ref=sfist.com) will be a scone, matcha, and coffee cafe, highlighting freshly baked scones in different flavors, as well as imported matcha from Japan. Like the [first Jandii](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sweet-maple-new-cafe-sf-22290334.php?ref=sfist.com), which opened in the Parkside neighborhood in June, the Castro location will feature a bright, calming environment inside with plenty of plants ("jandii" means "lush, green meadow" in Korean). No opening date for the new Jandii Cafe has been announced.
Opening the week after next at the Ritz-Carlton on Nob Hill is **Bruma**, which we [first reported on](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/this-week-in-food-incoming-japanese-restaurant/) last month. The moody-looking new cocktail lounge is not replacing Parallel 37, the hotel's restaurant, but will serve food — including a Wagyu smashburger — and will be hosting things like [afternoon tea service](https://www.sevenrooms.com/experiences/brumatheritzcarltonsanfrancisco/fall-harvest-afternoon-tea-in-the-lounge-6295113456762880?ref=sfist.com). More details still to come.
Decades-old **Mai’s Restaurant**, a reliable Vietnamese spot in the Richmond, has closed. One of the restaurant's owner-operators had knee surgery late last year, which led to a temporary closure of the restaurant, but other than that, no specific reason for the closure was given.
And over on Divisadero next week there will be a pop-up preview of **Olive Juice**, a new all-day cafe from restaurant and branding designer Hannah Collins Tate and her company ROY Hospitality. From October 8 to 11, Olive Juice will be serving some of its menu — think healthy bowls, quiche, and an olive oil cacao espresso — from a truck behind what will become its eventual space, opening this winter, the former Kelly-Moore paint store at Divisadero and Oak.
This week I attended an onstage chat between longtime Chronicle restaurant critic and food editor **Michael Bauer** and current critic **MacKenzie Chung Fegan**, who seemed very congenial with one another. The conversation was led by food section editor Janelle Bitker, and they covered topics like why the Top 100 is ranked now (everyone else, like the NY Times and LA Times, is doing it, Fegan said), and how frequently Fegan gets recognized these days. Bauer, who tried to remain anonymous though he wasn't really for the last decade or so on the job, said that he would still sometimes get seated at the worst table in a restaurant if he wasn't initially recognized by the host, because he tended to dine very early, like as soon as a place opened — so he could get home and maintain his 5 am wakeup schedule — and restaurants always want to fill those bad tables first.
Whether he intended it or not, Bauer also threw a bit of shade at the current team as he noted he used to write three reviews a week — one new and two updates of older restaurants — and Fegan and colleague Cesar Hernandez are currently averaging about one review every two or three weeks, between the two of them.
They also discussed the merits of star ratings, and how they may allow for lazy readers to skip the full review and just look at the stars, they also provide an under stable rubric when it comes to value. And, lo and behold, the Chronicle [brought back stars this week](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/sf-chronicle-brings-back-starred-restaurant-reviews-first-up-is-house-of-prime-rib/) with Fegan [reviewing **House of Prime Rib**](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurant-review/article/house-of-prime-rib-sf-22413297.php?ref=sfist.com). The "Merry Olde England theme restaurant that time forgot," Fegan writes, gets two stars, indicating a "great" if not always "excellent" place to dine.
### Hunters Point Shipyard’s Iconic Crane to Be Transformed As Part of Multimedia Light Show
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/hunters-point-shipyards-iconic-crane-to-be-transformed-as-part-of-multimedia-light-show/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T21:42:48.000Z
A public art installation will showcase Hunters Point Shipyard’s historic crane in a 40-minute multimedia light show starting next weekend, as part of the SF Arts Commission’s series celebrating monuments that honor under-recognized communities.
The show, called [*Crane*](https://www.shipyardartists.com/crane/?ref=sfist.com), combines projected video, lighting, music, and live vocals, with imagery and stories drawn from Bayview-Hunters Point. The project is a collaboration between video artist Ian Winters, lighting artist Elaine Buckholtz, composer Evelyn Ficarra, historian Stacey Carter, and community engagement artist William Rhodes, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/arts-exhibits/article/sf-crane-hunters-point-shipyard-22453164.php?ref=sfist.com).
*Crane* is the final installment of the SF Arts Commission’s [Shaping Legacy series](https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy?ref=sfist.com), which uses public art to highlight monuments and histories connected to communities that have been under-recognized.
[According to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/how-the-hunters-point-shipyard-crane-became-a-colossal-art-installation/?ref=sfist.com), the artists are using the crane itself as part of the work, rather than simply projecting the imagery on it. Ficarra reportedly recorded its metal structure with contact microphones, capturing the machinery’s vibrations and hums for the score. Members of the Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center choir then recreated those sounds, while the soundtrack also incorporates their memories of the neighborhood and historic recordings.
Projected imagery will trace the shipyard’s military and industrial past, including its role in World War II and later nuclear research. The combination of light, video, sound, and the crane’s massive structure is meant to bring some of the site’s lesser-known history into view.
The nearly 500-foot crane was built for Navy operations and could lift 630 tons, while the shipyard employed roughly 18,000 people at its peak during World War II, as Mission Local reports. The site later became a center for nuclear research and was [declared a Superfund site](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/former-navy-contractor-to-pay-97-million-in-botched-hunters-point-shipyard-cleanup/) in 1989 because of radioactive contamination.
The show has reportedly been in development for several years and is supported by the Rainin Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the SF Arts Commission. It also follows a [2024 illumination](https://vimeo.com/1073099660?fl=pl&fe=vl&ref=sfist.com) of the crane.
This year’s production will not have a public audience at the base of the crane. Per Mission Local, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, which has jurisdiction over the site, rejected plans to bring spectators, and later rejected a proposal to have only the performers at the crane because of safety concerns.
Carter hopes the renewed attention will eventually help protect the structure. She has advocated for historic landmark status, although the crane is currently on federal property owned by the U.S. Navy, meaning it cannot receive a city landmark designation.
All four shows will be livestreamed for free from 5:30-10 pm October 9-10 and 16-17 at [crane.video](https://www.crane.video/?ref=sfist.com). [Watch parties](https://www.shipyardartists.com/crane/?ref=sfist.com) are planned at Zaccho Dance Theatre on the first weekend and Building 101 during the second weekend, when the Hunters Point Shipyard Artists will also hold their [open studios](https://www.shipyardartists.com/shipyard-open-studios/?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [Hunters Point Shipyard to Get 26 Acres of New Parks, to Be Run By Arts Commission, Rec and Park](https://sfist.com/2026/05/28/hunters-point-shipyard-to-get-26-acres-of-new-parks-to-be-run-by-arts-commission-rec-and-park-2/)
### New Report on LA Wildfires Recommends Rethinking How Urban Wildfires Are Fought
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/new-report-on-la-wildfires-recommends-rethinking-how-urban-wildfires-are-fought/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T20:57:42.000Z
A new report commissioned by the state of California, examining the successes and failures of the firefighting effort in the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles last year suggests that cities must rethink how they plan for and combat wildfires in wildland-urban border areas.
An analysis of the spread of fire in Los Angeles' devastating twin wildfires last January, and how the City and County of Los Angeles could have done better to prepare for and fight the fires, concludes that many areas of the state remain at high risk for similar sorts of incidents. And, "Long-term risk reduction requires coordinated action that improves wildfire resilience at the community, regional, and state and federal levels."
The [new independent report](https://fsri.org/research-update/southern-california-fires-incident-analysis-report-released?ref=sfist.com) on the Palisades and Eaton fires was done by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), which also did a similar report on the Maui wildfires in 2023\. The report discusses the similar outcomes and fire behaviors in other recent wildland urban interface (WUI) fires, like the Tubbs Fire that devastated parts of Santa Rosa in 2017.
"The Southern California fires got so large, so fast, that they outpaced the capabilities of the very people trained to fight them," said Derek Alkonis, a senior research program manager for the FSRI, in recorded news briefing, [per the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/us/los-angeles-wildfires-report.html?ref=sfist.com). Alkonis added that “Some of the most well-trained firefighters in the world" were deployed to fight the Los Angeles fires, but their training has not kept up with the growing risks of these WUI conflagrations.
The analysis found that the massive destruction wrought by the fires was "influenced by the combined performance of numerous interconnected systems rather than a single point of failure." The report also finds that existing fire mitigation strategies, like maintaining defensible space around individual properties, are not adequate for these types of WUI fires, and "wildfire exposure and structure loss are increasingly shaped by factors at the neighborhood and community scale."
"The fires in Southern California and in communities across the U.S. demonstrate that we are entering a new era of modern conflagration," said FSRI VP and Executive Director Steve Kerber, in a statement. "This report underscores how prevention, preparedness, infrastructure, evacuation, emergency response, incident management, and the built environment collectively shaped wildfire outcomes during the 2025 fires."
Among the reports findings and recommendations are that Los Angeles city firefighters were not trained in techniques for monitoring or fully extinguishing embers in a wildland situation — like the embers from January 1 that have been found to have likely reignited days later to start the Palisades Fire.
The report also found that city fire officials underestimated the risk and potential size of the Palisdades Fire as wind conditions worsened, and failed to deploy enough resources and equipment to the area. Officials, the report says, could have done more to pre-empt fire activity as meteorologists were forecasting the incoming wind storm.
In one particularly glaring failure, the fire department reportedly also failed to hold over a fire crew whose shift was ending, due to concerns about budget and overtime costs.
The Palisades and Eaton fires became the second- and third-most destructive wildfires in state history, after 2018's Camp Fire in the town of Paradise. Over 18,000 structures were destroyed in the Camp Fire, while the LA wildfires destroyed a total of around 16,200 structures. The total property damage from the fires has been estimated at between $28 billion and $54 billion.
**Related:** [Bay Area Firefighters In LA as Eaton Fire In Altadena Threatens Thousands of Homes](https://sfist.com/2025/01/08/bay-area-firefighters-head-to-la-to-fight-multiple-fires-threatening-thousands-of-homes/)
### Newsom Sticks It to Trump, Signs ‘No Robo Bosses Act’ and Several Other AI Bills
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/newsom-sticks-it-to-trump-signs-no-robo-bosses-act-and-several-other-ai-bills/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T21:00:17.000Z
One day after Trump hosted AI executives at the White House, all of whom he said made a “morally binding” agreement on AI safety, Newsom signed a slate of California AI laws, including a first-in-the-nation ban on AI-only firing decisions.
The centerpiece of Newsom's package is SB 947, the “[No Robo Bosses Act](https://sd05.senate.ca.gov/news/newsom-signs-mcnerneys-no-robo-bosses-act-2026-requiring-human-oversight-ai-workplace?ref=sfist.com),” which prevents California employers from relying solely on AI-powered automated decision systems to fire or discipline employees, [as CNBC reports](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/30/california-gavin-newsom-ai-ban.html?ref=sfist.com). If AI is primarily responsible for such a decision, a human must review the decision and corroborate it with other information, such as manager evaluations, employee work, or personnel records.
Workers must also receive written notice when AI was primarily used in a termination or disciplinary decision, along with information about the data used by the system and a human contact who can explain the decision. The law takes effect in July 2027.
Per CNBC, Newsom vetoed an earlier version of the No Robo Bosses Act last year, despite it passing both chambers of the Legislature with broad support. That version would have required employers to notify workers in advance whenever an AI system could affect their working conditions, a provision Newsom objected to as overly broad.
When state Senator Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, reintroduced the bill this year, he removed the advance-notice requirement and dropped protections for gig workers, which had drawn heavy opposition from rideshare companies including Uber and Lyft. McNerney said AI systems can make mistakes and exhibit bias, and decisions with major consequences for workers should remain under human control.
“No worker should ever be fired or disciplined by a machine, AI or not,” said McNerney.
[KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12102337/newsom-signs-slate-of-ai-workplace-laws-barring-robo-bosses-and-surveillance?ref=sfist.com) that the other workplace bills Newsom signed Wednesday address some of the ways employers are using AI to monitor workers. The package reportedly restricts systems that attempt to determine employees' emotional states or collect neural data, and prohibits employers from using workplace surveillance tools in bathrooms. Another measure requires additional information in layoff notices when jobs are being eliminated because of technological displacement.
The new laws also extend into health care, where AB 1979 prevents health care entities from using AI in a way that replaces the clinical judgment of licensed professionals. AI can reportedly assist with those decisions, but the final call remains with the health care provider, while the law also extends medical confidentiality protections to health chatbots.
“We stood up and said that A.I. must support, not replace, the clinical judgement of the nurses and other health care professionals who care for our patients,” said Sandy Reding, RN and president of California Nurses Association in a [press release](https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/nurses-celebrate-historic-victory-as-gov-newsom-signs-landmark-ai-protection-into-law?ref=sfist.com).
[Other bills signed Wednesday](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/30/californias-nation-leading-ai-framework-just-got-stronger-governor-newsom-signs-more-first-in-the-nation-worker-protections-and-more/?ref=sfist.com) address how people identify and interact with AI-generated material, including new protections against AI-generated deepfakes, unauthorized digital replicas, and false impersonation, as well as stronger requirements around digital watermarks and provenance data.
Newsom also signed a measure requiring public higher education institutions to develop AI training and procurement standards, as well as legislation limiting the ability of attorneys and other legal professionals to turn core legal work over entirely to AI.
The bills are the latest pieces of Newsom's expanding AI regulatory framework. [As SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/newsom-orders-formation-of-state-ai-panel-to-study-kill-switch-options-safety-issues/) previously, the governor signed legislation last month establishing a system for independent organizations to evaluate AI models for safety and risk, along with a state registry and standards for AI auditors. He has also issued executive orders addressing the technology's potential impact on workers, cybersecurity, privacy, and the risks posed by more powerful AI models.
On Wednesday, Newsom took a separate swipe at Trump's approach to AI by ordering California state agencies to continue calling the technology “artificial intelligence,” rather than “Super Intelligence,” the term Trump ordered federal officials to use, [according to Gizmodo](https://gizmodo.com/gavin-newsom-signs-bill-banning-robo-bosses-as-part-of-california-crackdown-on-ai-2000820302?ref=sfist.com).
The order came a day after Trump hosted top executives from Google, Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, and Nvidia, who all signed a voluntary agreement outlining AI safety measures, which Trump [described as “morally binding](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/ai-leaders-powwow-with-trump-at-white-house-lunch-anthropic-ipo-filing-shows-massive-expenses/).”
Newsom has criticized the federal government's approach to AI regulation as the technology becomes increasingly embedded in workplaces and other parts of everyday life.
“What I heard in Washington DC yesterday is bullsh\*t, and that should scare the hell out of everybody,” Newsom said in a video posted after the meeting.
The new laws are likely to have some impact on the AI-run Andon Market in San Francisco. Its agent Luna recently [fired its first employee](https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/that-ai-store-manager-in-cow-hollow-just-fired-its-first-human-employee/), although it was prompted by the humans at the startup that's operating the market as some sort of “experiment.”
**Related:** [AI Leaders Powwow With Trump at White House Lunch; Anthropic IPO Filing Shows Massive Expenses](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/ai-leaders-powwow-with-trump-at-white-house-lunch-anthropic-ipo-filing-shows-massive-expenses/)
### One Arrested After Gunfire Inside Downtown SF Office Building
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/one-arrested-after-gunfire-inside-downtown-sf-office-building/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T19:42:09.000Z
A building in the Financial District was the site of gunfire Friday morning, in an incident about which we currently only have scant details. No one was reportedly injured.
"At least one" spent shell casing was found inside a building on the 200 block of Sansome Street, near the intersection of Pine Street, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/financial-district-shots-fired-22460066.php?ref=sfist.com), with a report of shots fired just before 11 am.
Police arrived at the scene at 10:57 am and began canvassing the area, the Chronicle says, seeking a suspect and any possible victims.
No victims were found, but a suspect was reportedly located and arrested nearby.
We'll update you as we learn further details.
Anyone with information about the shooting or suspect is asked to contact the San Francisco Police Department at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.
*This is a developing story.*
### 15 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Performers Will Pay Tribute to Dolly Parton
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/15-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-performers-will-pay-tribute-to-dolly-parton/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T19:43:29.000Z
There's going to be a whole lot of Dolly love at this year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the free festival's 26th outing in Golden Gate Park.
[Hardly Strictly Bluegrass](https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2026-2/?ref=sfist.com) is kicking off as we speak, with the first acts taking to the Banjo and Swan stages at 1 pm Friday. Those first acts are Shawn Camp, on the Swan Stage, and Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams on the Banjo Stage.
Today's lineup will wrap up with Molly Tuttle, Lukas Nelson, and over on the Towers of Gold Stage, Kentucky-born rock band My Morning Jacket. Stacey Earle, the sister of festival honoree and longtime Hardly Strictly staple Steve Earle, will also be closing things out today on the Arrow Stage.
[See the full schedule here](https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2026-2/?ref=sfist.com).
As always, the festival occupies the meadows of Golden Gate Park just east of the Polo Field, the same meadows that are part of the footprint of the Outside Lands Festival. And this is going to be a hot weekend in the park, which it sometimes is for this festival, so organizers are warning about health risks for older adults in particular.
Some late-breaking lineup changes include Robert Plant, who was added to the lineup for Sunday, and Rilo Kiley, who replaces Alison Krauss & Union Station — Krauss announced she was bowing out a few weeks ago due to illness.
Steve Earle goes on at 5:45 Saturday with the Hardly Strictly Dukes, and as she always does, Emmylou Harris will close things out on the Banjo Stage on Sunday, starting at 5:45.
[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-festival-san-francisco/4152135/?ref=sfist.com) and some other outlets are, erroneously, calling this the 25th year of the festival — last year was technically Hardly Strictly 25, though you could say, technically, this year is the 25th anniversary of the first festival in 2001, though it's the 26th time the festival has happened.
And, per NBC, 15 performers are reportedly weaving tributes to Dolly Parton into their sets, after the legendary country singer and songwriter died last month at age 80\. Dolly, herself, performed at Hardly Strictly 21 years ago, in 2005, to a massive crowd.
As always, festival-goers are encouraged to bring small blankets (blankets larger than 6'x8' aren't allowed), and low-slung chairs (high-backed chairs aren't allowed), and this is a festival where you can BYOB, in soft coolers only, but glass is not allowed and neither, technically, is hard alcohol.
Those who bring chairs, strollers, or non-clear backpacks will be subject to secondary search at the gates.
Have fun out there, y'all!
### Man Dies In Hunters Point Shooting
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/man-dies-in-hunters-point-shooting/
Last updated: 2026-10-05T19:50:01.000Z
One man was fatally shot Thursday evening in San Francisco's Hunters Point neighborhood, marking the city's 19th homicide of the year to date.
The victim was shot around 5:11 pm on the 1100 block of Thomas Avenue, in an industrial area bordering South Basin and the Hunters Point park. As the SFPD explains in a release, police responded to the scene and found one male victim with an apparent gunshot wound.
Officers rendered aid and paramedics soon arrived on the scene to treat what are described as life-threatening injuries. The victim was transported to an area hospital, and subsequently died, despite life-saving efforts.
No arrests have been made, and police are seeking information about this shooting. The SFPD Homicide Detail is leading the investigation.
**Update:** The victim has been identified as Jose Juan Ramirez Sanchez, according to a family friend who posted [a GoFundMe fundraiser](https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-jose-juan-ramirez-sanchez?cp%5Fsrc=d&ref=sfist.com) for his wife and daughters. The posting adds that in addition to grieving Ramirez Sanchez, his wife and children "no longer feel safe in their home due to the current situation."
Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.
This is San Francisco's 19th homicide of the year, in what has turned out to be a year with a similarly low homicide count to 2025 — despite what appeared to be a brief uptick in killings early in the year, which led to[ city leaders declaring a crisis and calling for a ceasefire.](https://sfist.com/2026/04/09/calling-it-a-crisis-point-da-brooke-jenkins-calls-for-ceasefire-amid-spike-in-sf-homicides/)
As of earlier this week, the city had seen 18 homicides, which is the exact same homicide count as the same week last year, a year in which the city ultimately saw [fewer murders than in any year since the early 1950s](https://sfist.com/2026/01/02/san-francisco-closed-out-2025-with-lowest-number-of-homicides-in-70-years-2/).
### New California E-Bike Laws Include Ban For San Mateo County Youth Under 12
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/new-california-e-bike-laws-include-ban-for-san-mateo-county-youth-under-12/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T17:53:43.000Z
New California laws signed by Newsom crack down on improperly labeled e-bikes, impose new safety rules, and establish a pilot program allowing jurisdictions in San Mateo County to ban children under 12 from riding them.
The new laws signed Wednesday include Senate Bill 1167, which sets clearer rules for what can legally be sold and advertised as an e-bike in California. Starting January 1, 2027, electric vehicles that exceed the state’s e-bike limits cannot be marketed as e-bikes, with faster and more powerful devices instead classified as mopeds or motor-driven cycles.
[As the Sacramento Bee reports](https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article317446497.html?ref=sfist.com), Senator Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, who introduced SB 1167, said the change is intended to protect consumers who may think they are buying a bicycle when they are actually purchasing something closer to a motorcycle.
“There are so many examples of essentially motorcycles being driven by kids that are underage and parents buying things that they don’t even know what it is,” Blakespear said, speaking to the Bee.
Under California law, Class 1 e-bikes provide pedal assistance up to 20 mph, Class 2 bikes have a throttle and stop assisting at 20 mph, and Class 3 bikes provide pedal assistance up to 28 mph and can only be ridden by people 16 and older. Devices exceeding those limits will no longer be allowed to use the e-bike designation.
The law also creates more specific labeling requirements. According to the Bee, e-bike labels will have to identify the bike’s top assisted speed, motor wattage, class, brand, and manufacturer, importer, or distributor. Similar labeling requirements will apply to mopeds and motor-driven cycles.
SB 1167 also aims to make crash data more useful by requiring law enforcement to distinguish between different types of electric vehicles. Police and hospital records have frequently grouped various electric vehicles under the broad “e-bike” label, making it difficult to determine what types of devices are actually involved in crashes.
Kendra Ramsey, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition, said the legislation gives consumers and sellers a clearer way to distinguish legal e-bikes from other electric vehicles.
“Starting out by saying a legal e-bike is something defined in law, and you can’t sell something under the term e-bike unless it actually meets those qualifications, is just a really common sense way to differentiate between legal devices and devices that are not bicycles,” Ramsey told the Bee.
SB 1167 was one of three e-bike measures Newsom signed Wednesday. Assembly Bill 2346, authored by Assemblymembers Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, and Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, establishes a 10 mph speed limit for e-bikes on sidewalks and requires Class 2 e-bikes sold beginning January 1, 2029, to have speedometers.
[As KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12102184/california-cracks-down-on-e-motos-youth-e-bike-riders-with-new-laws?ref=sfist.com), the third measure, AB 2595, allows local governments in San Mateo County to prohibit children under 12 from riding Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, as part of a pilot program running from 2027 through 2031\. Similar programs were previously approved for Marin and San Diego counties, while California already prohibits riders under 16 from using Class 3 e-bikes.
The San Mateo County pilot would reportedly be optional for individual cities and other local jurisdictions. Police could issue a $25 fine to underage riders beginning 60 days after a local ban takes effect.
Foster City Councilmember Stacy Jimenez told KQED she was looking forward to using the new authority in Foster City.
“Success doesn’t mean fewer kids riding bikes — it means more kids riding and riding safely, and AB 2595 will help cities and our county do that,” Jimenez said.
Marin County has reported fewer youth e-bike crashes since implementing its own restrictions, although it said children ages 10 to 15 still have an e-bike accident rate nearly four times higher than other age groups, per KQED.
Noelia Corzo, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, said there are “valid concerns in terms of public health and street safety,” but said she would not support applying the pilot to the county’s unincorporated areas. She questioned how police would enforce an age-based restriction.
“How is a police officer going to know if someone is younger than 12?” Corzo said, speaking to KQED. “The only way is to stop children and ask them, and that’s not an action I feel comfortable with taking place en masse.”
AB 1569, the first e-bike measure signed this year, separately requires the California Department of Education and California Highway Patrol to develop an e-bike safety program for students in grades 7 through 12, as the Bee reports.
Blakespear said manufacturers, sellers, and advertisers should begin preparing for the new classification rules before they take effect, while Ramsey said SB 1167’s focus on defining e-bikes rather than restricting their use helped it gain broad support in the Legislature.
“Bicycle safety starts with knowing what your bike can do and following the safety requirements that come with it,” she said.
**Related:** [Teen’s E-Moto Bike Crash, Repeated Prior Citations Land Parents Child Abuse Charges](https://sfist.com/2026/03/27/teens-e-moto-bike-crash-repeated-prior-citations-land-parents-child-abuse-charges/)
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Get Ready for the Heat
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/02/friday-morning-constitutional-get-ready-for-the-heat/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T16:26:05.000Z
- **It's gonna be a hot weekend.** A heat advisory has been issued for much of the Bay Area this weekend, from 11 am Saturday to 10 pm Sunday, and this time it includes most of San Francisco; still, [Accuweather](https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/san-francisco/94103/10-day-weather-forecast/347629?ref=sfist.com) has the city seeing a high of 81 tomorrow, so not too bad. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bay-area-central-coast-heat-advisory-october-2026-first-weekend-triple-digit-temperatures/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Tenderloin Community Benefits District (CBD) has completed the purchase of a building at Turk and Leavenworth that has been home to a string of shady corner stores, and the CBD will be transforming the property into its new headquarters. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/tenderloin-community-center-leavenworth-22457059.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Those electrical vault fires in downtown San Francisco Thursday morning that shut down Front Street, combined with two early morning crashes on the San Mateo Bridge, created a traffic nightmare on the Bay Bridge. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/bay-bridge-traffic-nightmare-vault-fire-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Jay Clayton, Trump's director of national intelligence, is now being given the second title of "AI Czar," though it's not clear what duties this will entail since Trump doesn't want to regulate AI. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/us/politics/trump-jay-clayton-ai-czar.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- In a clip-heavy video announcement, David Ellison revealed today that the new name for what will be the parent company of Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, and CBS will be, simply, Skydance. \[[EllisonSkydance/X](https://x.com/ellisonskydance/status/2106006299909505523?s=20&ref=sfist.com)\]
- After an FTC suit found that Amazon deceptively enrolled customers in Prime, Amazon has been ordered to pay refunds to customers who used up to 20 Prime benefits between June 2019 and June 2025, and the payments, between $51 and $200, are being sent automatically. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/amazon-prime-ftc-settlement-refunds/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Metallica kicked off their 24-set residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Thursday night, with plenty of cool visuals. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/metallica-sphere-las-vegas-opening-night-setlist-22453292.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: California Bans Child Marriage Following Nine-Year Effort
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/day-around-the-bay-california-bans-child-marriage-following-nine-year-effort/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T03:28:46.000Z
### Local:
- **Manny Yekutiel dropped out of the District 8 Supervisor race just hours after new sexual assault allegations surfaced against him.** Former Pelosi aide Gary McCoy, who is also openly gay and has the endorsement of several local clubs and politicians, is now the frontrunner in the race. \[[SFist](https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/lurie-others-pull-endorsements-of-manny-yekutiel-after-new-groping-allegation/)\]
- **Joseph Stevens, 22, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the chance of parole in the 2005 deaths of 22-year-old Dernae Wysinger and his 2-year-old son in Potrero Hill.** Prosecutors said Stevens fired 18 shots into the parked vehicle, and the child’s mother and Wysinger’s girlfriend, 22-year-old Jazmanika Ridout, was also injured but survived the shooting. \[[Chronicle](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/f-man-gets-life-without-010828249.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Health officials are reminding the public to get their flu vaccines, as the first influenza-related death of the season was announced Thursday. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-francisco-confirms-its-first-flu-related-death-of-the-season/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law banning marriage for anyone under 18, making California the 18th state to outlaw child marriage after years of legislative attempts and opposition from groups including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. \[[CalMatters](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/09/child-marriage-ban-new-law/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged 2024 gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity, five days after the local district attorney announced he was reopening the case. \[[ABC News](https://abcnews.com/US/attorney-general-letitia-james-appointed-special-prosecutor-cornell/story?id=136937149&ref=sfist.com)\]
- Sean “Diddy” Combs has reportedly been moved to solitary confinement at a New Jersey federal prison after an NBC News report detailed his alleged VIP treatment there, including contraband cellphones, premium liquor and inmates paid to cook, clean and massage him. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/diddy-placed-solitary-nbc-news-report-vip-prison-life-rcna600764?utm%5Fsource=firefox-newtab-en-us)\]
### Video:
- Bay Area rapper and former MTV rap battle star, [Frak the Person](https://brokeassstuart.com/p/frak-the-person-a-battle-rappers-rise-in-the-bay?ref=sfist.com), came up with a very well-done and quite catchy jingle for [Anh Phoong’s legendary contest](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/billboard-icon-anh-phoong-will-pay-you-10k-for-a-good-jingle/).
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd7Jsv2y4Yi/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Frak (@fraktheperson)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd7Jsv2y4Yi/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Dorothea Lange’s Japanese American Internment Photos Come to Life in Oakland AR Exhibit
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/dorothea-langes-japanese-american-incarceration-photos-come-to-life-in-oakland-ar-exhibit/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T02:16:17.000Z
A new exhibit at Oakland Museum uses augmented reality to bring visitors into Dorothea Lange’s photographs of Japanese American families facing forced removal from the East Bay in 1942.
At the Oakland Museum of California, visitors can now step into a recreation of the streets where Japanese American families gathered with their belongings before being taken away during World War II. [As Berkeleyside reports](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/10/01/behere-1942-japanese-american-incarceration-oakland-omca-masaki-fujihata?ref=sfist.com), the exhibit, [*BeHere / 1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration*](https://museumca.org/on-view/behere-1942-a-new-lens-on-the-japanese-american-incarceration/?ref=sfist.com) by Tokyo-based artist Masaki Fujihata, uses augmented reality to place those moments back into the Oakland landscape, drawing heavily from photographs taken by Dorothea Lange, who was a longtime Berkeley resident. Work by Lange's colleague in Los Angeles, Russell Lee, is also featured in the exhibit.
Lange and Lee were working under the War Relocation Authority, the federal agency overseeing the forced removal, when they photographed Japanese American residents in 1942\. Several of Lange’s photographs were taken in Oakland, including images of people preparing to leave their homes before being taken to the Tanforan detention center in San Bruno.
According to Berkeleyside, Oakland’s Japanese American community was one of the largest in California at the time, numbering 1,790 people in 1940, with many living around Chinatown and West Oakland. Lange photographed a Japanese American-owned storefront at 8th and Franklin streets displaying an “I AM AN AMERICAN” sign.
**Courtesy of the Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California.Courtesy of the Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California.*
In Berkeley, about 1,300 people were reportedly ordered to report to the First Congregational Church of Berkeley before being sent to the camps. From Tanforan, many were eventually sent to Topaz, Utah. Across the country, roughly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated in 10 major camps.
Many families remained incarcerated for about three and a half years.
Berkeleyside reports that the artist, Tokyo-based Masaki Fujihata, has spent decades exploring the intersection of art and technology, often using digital tools to blur the line between physical spaces and historical events. His AR work has previously examined the Japanese American incarceration experience in Los Angeles.
Fujihata previously created a version of the exhibit in Los Angeles in 2022 after studying Lange’s archives through [UCLA’s Yanai Initiative](https://yanai-initiative.ucla.edu/?ref=sfist.com), as Berkeleyside reports. For Oakland, he focuses on the period when families were gathering with their belongings and waiting to be taken away.
Inside OMCA, visitors can handle a replica of Lange’s Graflex camera and use its viewfinder to enter an AR recreation of Japanese Americans waiting to board a train. Outside, an iPad lets visitors see people with suitcases seemingly occupying the museum’s Oak Street Plaza.
Per Berkeleyside, the figures are played by real people, including descendants of those who were incarcerated and elders who experienced the camps. Fujihata filmed them in Tokyo and Los Angeles, with period clothing used to recreate the scene.
“When the public comes here to experience it, they will see it as something that happened in this space,” Fujihata said, speaking to Berkeleyside.
The exhibit also features Russell Lee’s photographs of Japanese Americans waiting at a Los Angeles train station, including government officials and news photographers.
Lange’s photographs of the forced removal were suppressed by the government during the war. OMCA holds her archives, and some of her photographs are featured in the museum’s [permanent *Sent Away* history exhibit](https://museumca.org/on-view/gallery-of-california-history/?ref=sfist.com) on Japanese American incarceration.
**Related:** [Bay Area Japanese-Americans Warn About Trump Using Racist Law For Mass Deportations](https://sfist.com/2025/01/14/bay-area-japanese-americans-warn-about-trump-using-racist-law-for-mass-deportations/)
### Attorney For Mother-in-Law of Slain Engineer in Dublin Says Victim Was 'Extremely Rageful'
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/attorney-for-mother-in-law-of-slain-engineer-in-dublin-says-victim-was-extremely-rageful/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T01:02:32.000Z
Some victim-blaming appears to have already begun in the case of the murder of 40-year-old New York Times Games engineer Jonathan McKinsey, as the suspected shooters, McKinsey's elderly in-laws, lawyer up.
Experienced Bay Area defense attorney Curtis Briggs has apparently been hired to defend 77-year-old Shili Chen in the murder case, and as he told reporters Thursday outside an Alameda County courtroom, [per KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/dublin-park-shooting-jonathan-mckinsey-defense-attorney?ref=sfist.com), he plans to enter a guilty plea on behalf of his client. And it sounds like he gunning to get her out on bail, saying, "My client weighs about 80 pounds. She's in one of the toughest jails in the county. She's a loving, devoted grandmother... \[who\] probably couldn't handle being in custody."
Briggs was part of the team [representing noted SF Chinatown gangster Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow](https://sfist.com/2016/06/07/shrimp%5Fboys%5Fattorneys%5Fare%5Fdone%5Ffile/) in his federal case over a decade ago, and he also successfully defended Max Harris, the doorman and Ghost Ship resident who faced involuntary manslaughter charges following the [tragic December 2016 fire](https://sfist.com/ghost-ship-fire/) at the Oakland warehouse/residence/venue that killed 36 people.
Briggs further gave some hints about his defense strategy, as it stands, casting McKinsey as a rage-filled person who had "terrorized" this family for years and brutally abused his wife and children — which may or may not be born out in evidence and previous court filings in the case.
McKinsey "rained hell on his family for years," Briggs said, [per the California Post](https://nypost.com/2026/10/01/us-news/slain-nyt-exec-deemed-abusive-rageful-by-accused-in-law-shooters-lawyer/?ref=sfist.com). "He was extremely rageful, could not control his temper, abused his wife so badly at one point he fractured her spine, abused the kids so badly that a court in Alameda County had to send him to parenting classes. McKinsey was extremely violent and dangerous to his family."
McKinsey died from several gunshots at close range in a parking lot at the Dublin Sports Center last Saturday. Witnesses, and apparent surveillance video, reportedly show Chen and her 77-year-old husband, Shouyong Zhang, shooting McKinsey "in concert," prosecutors say, using two guns.
Per KTVU, Zhang is expected to be represented by his own attorney.
There remains an open question about how much the couple's daughter, McKinsey's wife, Candice Jang, knew about the planned ambush killing. In response to questions about whether the parents acted on their daughter's behalf, Briggs said, per the Post, "I can’t make a comment about that right now. I don’t know. That’s speculation that’s going around in the public. All I know is that Mr. McKinsey had a reputation terrorizing his family, extremely violent, volatile, rageful, and he was a dangerous person."
[According to court filings from late last year](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/accusations-of-transphobia-and-abuse-revealed-in-court-filings-linked-to-dublin-homicide/), and dueling requests for restraining orders against each other, McKinsey accused his mother-in-law of calling both him and his son "disgusting queer," and slapping his son in the head when he once asked about wearing his sister's dresses.
McKinsey, who was trans and completed a gender transition in or around 2010, further claimed that his father-in-law punched him in the chest after he'd undergone a recent double-mastectomy.
Jang claimed that McKinsey had hit their son, and that eight years ago he had bruised her forearms in a fight and knocked her into the corner of a table, causing damage to a vertebra. McKinsey had filed for divorce in December 2025, but Jang was granted full custody, until a judge in August allowed McKinsey two unsupervised visits with his children per week.
Those visits were relegated to public spaces, like parks or libraries, and it's unclear if any of the children were present at the park in Dublin next to which the shooting took place.
On Wednesday, [Chen and Zhang were charged](https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/elderly-couple-charged-in-dublin-murder-of-son-in-law-accused-of-lying-in-wait/) with first-degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, conspiracy to commit murder, and child endangerment, among other charges.
**Previously:** [Accusations of Transphobia and Abuse Revealed In Court Filings Linked to Dublin Homicide](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/accusations-of-transphobia-and-abuse-revealed-in-court-filings-linked-to-dublin-homicide/)
### Lyft Agrees to $272.5M Settlement In California Driver Misclassification Lawsuit
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/lyft-agrees-to-272-5-million-settlement-over-landmcalifornia-driver-misclassification/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T00:02:52.000Z
After six years of litigation, Lyft has agreed to pay $272.5 million to settle claims that it misclassified California drivers as independent contractors and denied them employee protections.
Lyft drivers who worked in California from 2016 through 2020 will receive compensation under a $272.5 million settlement over the company’s classification of them as independent contractors.
The settlement, announced Thursday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, and the city attorneys of San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles, would send about 87% of the money directly to drivers, [as KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/lyft-pay-272-5m-california-driver-misclassification-lawsuit?ref=sfist.com). At least $237 million will go toward compensating drivers, making it the largest wage-and-hour settlement in California history.
The settlement still requires approval from San Francisco Superior Court.
The case stems from a lawsuit [filed by the Labor Commissioner’s Office](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2026/2026-78.html?ref=sfist.com) in Alameda County Superior Court in August 2020, alleging that Lyft improperly treated its California drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The lawsuits brought by the state and the cities of San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles were later consolidated in San Francisco Superior Court in September 2021.
[According to CalMatters](https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/10/lyft-driver-settlement-california/?ref=sfist.com), the state alleged that drivers were consequently denied minimum wage, overtime, rest-break premiums, reimbursement for work expenses, accurate wage statements, timely wage payments, paid sick leave, and other protections afforded to employees under California law.
At a Thursday press conference in San Francisco, Bonta said drivers who worked for Lyft between April 5, 2016, and December 15, 2020, are eligible for compensation based on the number of hours and miles they drove.
“Make no mistake, misclassification is how companies cheat workers,” Bonta said.
The settlement covers a period before California voters approved [Proposition 22](https://sfist.com/2023/03/14/appeals-court-upholds-prop-22-gig-worker-law-but-its-still-likely-headed-to-state-supreme-court/) in November 2020\. The law exempted app-based transportation and delivery companies from the state's employee-classification rules, allowing companies including Lyft to continue treating drivers as independent contractors while providing certain new benefits and protections.
Lyft spokesman George Flynn said the settlement, if approved, would close a chapter from a “very different time, before Prop 22,” per KTVU. Lyft maintains that its drivers were properly classified under the law and said most California rideshare drivers have wanted to remain independent contractors.
The company can make its settlement payments over four years, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
KTVU notes that Prop 22 has since survived several legal challenges, including a California Supreme Court ruling in 2024\. Because the law took effect after the period covered by the lawsuit, the settlement does not require Lyft to reclassify its drivers going forward or compensate them for work after December 15, 2020.
Once the settlement is approved and Lyft begins putting money into the settlement fund, a third-party administrator will contact eligible drivers. The administrator will also establish a website, email address, and call center for drivers seeking information about the payments.
California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower said her office is giving up its $5.45 million share of the settlement so that more money can go directly to drivers.
“This settlement is about the workers who came forward and spoke up. Their voices made this outcome possible,” said Garcia-Brower in a news release. “We pursued this case to ensure workplace protections have real meaning and to recover as much as possible for drivers.”
More than 1,600 Lyft drivers filed wage claims with the Labor Commissioner’s Office, although the settlement could ultimately cover additional drivers who meet the eligibility requirements.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said the drivers provided essential services while being denied wages and benefits the state alleged they had earned.
“Misclassification exploits workers, fuels inequality, and creates an unfair economy,” said Chiu, per KTVU. “This is the largest wage and hour settlement in California history, reflecting both the seriousness of the harm and our unwavering commitment to stand up for workers across California."
The state and cities also sued Uber over similar allegations, and that case remains pending. San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert said Thursday that the Lyft settlement does not resolve the broader fight over rideshare driver classification, as CalMatters reports.
“Lyft is only part of the picture,” Ferbert said. “Uber has a larger share of the rideshare market, and that means more drivers, more miles driven and more affected workers.”
Rideshare Drivers United, whose members filed thousands of claims against Lyft and Uber, said the settlement falls short of the $434 million in claims it filed on behalf of about 1,900 Lyft drivers, per CalMatters. The Los Angeles-based group also questioned why drivers still have to fight for basic wages and expense reimbursement.
Meanwhile, Uber drivers filed a separate lawsuit this year alleging that the company failed to create a system allowing them to appeal deactivations from the platform. Rideshare drivers also formed a union this year after winning the [right to collectively bargain in 2025](https://sfist.com/2025/08/29/california-uber-and-lyft-drivers-are-unionizing-and-uber-and-lyft-are-actually-going-to-let-them/).
**Related:** [Appeals Court Upholds Prop. 22 Gig Worker Law, But It’s Still Likely Headed To State Supreme Court](https://sfist.com/2023/03/14/appeals-court-upholds-prop-22-gig-worker-law-but-its-still-likely-headed-to-state-supreme-court/)
### Another Large SF Nonprofit, Embroiled In Scandal, Is Shutting Down
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/another-large-sf-nonprofit-embroiled-in-scandal-is-shutting-down/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T22:13:06.000Z
[HomeRise](https://homerisesf.org/?ref=sfist.com), which is one of San Francisco's largest providers of services to the homeless or recently homeless, is calling it quits two years after the city auditor found evidence of wild fiscal mismanagement, and months after an employee was accused of sexually abusing clients.
It's been open season on SF's so-called "[nonprofit industrial complex](https://www.sfexaminer.com/forum/sf-needs-to-confront-its-nonprofit-industrial-complex/article%5F8712a1fc-cd1e-11ee-9d7d-ebcc10565e5f.html?ref=sfist.com)" the last couple of years, with the web of largely city-funded nonprofit serving the homeless sometimes referred to as the "homeless industrial complex." And we now have another case of rumors of misspent funds and mismanagement giving way to a scathing audit that, now, has resulted in the full collapse of an organization.
The scathing audit of HomeRise [dates back to early April 2024](https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/HSH-MOHCD%20HomeRise%20Audit%20Report%2004.02.24.pdf?ref=sfist.com), while Mayor London Breed was still in office, with the city auditor finding ample evidence of "gross fiscal noncompliance, wasteful practices that misuse taxpayer funds, and spending of city funds on unallowed or questionable costs that likely diverted services from intended housing recipients or facility improvements."
The audit covered a four-year period from 2019 to 2023, and it found city funds being used improperly for social events, unbudgeted staff bonuses, lunches, and gifts, in addition to many instances of expenses being improperly charged to various property accounts.
HomeRise has been responsible for overseeing the operations and supportive services at 17 properties serving the homeless and formerly homeless, and as the [Chronicle reports today](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/homerise-close-22453605.php?ref=sfist.com), the organization's shutdown will mean the city having to find new operators for all of them — though the wind-down of the organization appears like it will take one to two years.
"The city, together with HomeRise, have come to the conclusion that the organization’s current operating model is not sustainable," said a spokesperson for the city's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, in a statement.
Former HomeRise CEO Janéa Jackson [stepped down](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/homerise-ceo-stepping-amid-city-probe-operations-22243021.php?ref=sfist.com) after three years on the job in May, amid growing scrutiny over the organization's finances. And her departure came two months after it came to light, [via a Chronicle report](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/jazzie-collins-apartments-homerise-21953058.php?ref=sfist.com), that missed wellness checks at one HomeRise property, Jazzie Collins Apartments, led to the death of one resident — who was found days later, decomposing in his room. The incident led the city to place HomeRise on its most stringent level of nonprofit monitoring, and its city contracts were in the balance. Four of the organization's nine city contracts were then [allowed to lapse in July](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/homerise-homeless-housing-san-francisco-22348377.php?ref=sfist.com).
In July, we also learned that [a HomeRise case manager was accused of sexual misconduct](https://sfist.com/2026/06/25/former-sf-supportive-housing-case-manager-accused-of-sexually-abusing-employees-residents/) with both employees and clients, and that the nonprofit was accused of ignoring complaints about this case manager for two years.
The HomeRise board says it will be conducting a nationwide search for a CEO to oversee the dissolution of the organization.
The city audit found that HomeRise had received nearly a quarter-billion dollars in city funds over a four-year period, and the nonprofit's assets include many of the buildings that it manages — which alone will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mayor Daniel Lurie has promised to take an "outcomes-based" approach to renewing nonprofit contracts in the future. The last few years have seen the shutdown of another prominent homeless nonprofit, the United Council of Human Services, after [its city contracts were canceled](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s-f-cuts-troubled-homeless-organization-millions-17895838.php?ref=sfist.com). And more recently, last summer, Collective Impact, which had ties to indicted former director Sheryl Davis, announced it was [ceasing operations](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/nonprofit-dream-keeper-scandal-warns-shutdown-20814065.php?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [Former SF Supportive Housing Case Manager Accused of Sexually Abusing Employees, Residents](https://sfist.com/2026/06/25/former-sf-supportive-housing-case-manager-accused-of-sexually-abusing-employees-residents/)
### SF Chronicle Brings Back Starred Restaurant Reviews; First Up Is House of Prime Rib
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/sf-chronicle-brings-back-starred-restaurant-reviews-first-up-is-house-of-prime-rib/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T01:06:03.000Z
Chronicle restaurant critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan revealed at an event Wednesday night, on stage with predecessor Michael Bauer, that the newspaper was bringing back the star system for reviews, which went away with Bauer. And the first starred review in eight years is of House of Prime Rib.
According to Michael Bauer, who retired after 30 years as the Chronicle's restaurant critic and overall food editor in 2018, the star-rating system that the paper employed during his tenure kept him "honest," because no matter what he wrote, his praise or lack thereof would need to match whatever the ultimate star rating was.
Bauer tended to be a generous and mostly kind critic, which led to Eater nicknaming him "Mikey Two Stars" back in the early days of that site. And it was certainly true that the vast majority of restaurants that received reviews would get two or two and a half stars under his watch.
It's unclear if half stars will be used going forward, but it appears that the new star system at the Chronicle will only give a single star rating — no more separate star ratings for service, atmosphere, and food, plus an overall weighted average, with food counting double.
[Fegan's review of House of Prime Rib](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurant-review/article/house-of-prime-rib-sf-22413297.php?ref=sfist.com), which, she notes, arrives one year and one week after the [death of the restaurant's longtime owner and exacting taskmaster, Joe Betz](https://sfist.com/2025/09/24/joe-betz-longtime-owner-house-of-prime-rib-dies/), gives the restaurant two stars, indicating a "great" if not always "excellent" restaurant. One star, going forward, means "good," and zero stars means "not recommended." Four stars — which Bauer consistently awarded to the likes of The French Laundry, Chez Panisse, Quince, Benu, and Saison — is reserved for "extraordinary (a singular restaurant by every measure)."
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Fegan seemed slightly reluctant to be celebrating the return of star ratings — and she said Wednesday she was "relieved" to hear that Bauer, too, "as a writer," wished that the stars didn't have to be there so that people would read the full review. But Bauer admitted, this is ego-driven, and Fegan conceded as much.
"Perhaps more than ever, readers want help deciding what is worth their time and money," the Chronicle says. "A star rating system give diners an immediate sense of value."
And, like [the all-over-the-map Top 100](https://sfist.com/2026/04/07/chronicle-critics-unveil-another-arbitrarily-ranked-top-100/) that Fegan and colleague Cesar Hernandez have produced the past two years, which has some truly baffling choices when it comes to rankings, it sounds like high marks, star-wise, won't be reserved for just the Quinces and Benus of the world, going forward.
"Stars help give diners a common language for comparing restaurants across styles, cuisines and price points," the team writes. "The Michelin-starred tasting menu, the high-concept noodle bar, the taqueria making tortillas from scratch — they can all be equally terrific."
So, I guess this means we can expect some four-star delis and bakeries coming down the pike, but we'll see.
Fegan spends only a minimal amount of column space discussing the quality of the food at The Hopper, as fans have long called it — because we all know what you're getting, and consistency has been a hallmark of the place for its nearly eight decades in business.
"The House of Prime Rib is a Merry Olde England theme restaurant that time forgot, a large-scale catering operation where almost nothing is cooked à la minute, a happiness factory with no surprises where salad forks are chilled and cocktails extra large," Fegan writes, noting that, arguably, the prime rib is even slightly better at nearby Harris’ Restaurant, but that hasn't hurt the Hopper's popularity.
She does note that service, during one meal with a particularly junior server, was off and included a "coarse upsell" on an expensive glass of wine. But overall service was professional and steady, and the experience seems largely unchanged since Betz's passing. She does note, though, that on one visit, the restroom was in some disarray, something that perhaps Betz, who was known to pick errant threads out of the carpet himself, would never have allowed.
The revival of the star system should bring back some controversy and competitiveness on the restaurant scene — especially if Fegan and Hernandez pick up the pace with covering new openings. As Bauer noted on stage Wednesday, he used to do three reviews a week by himself — a new restaurant and two updates of previously reviewed spots — while editing reviews from others. And at one point, he said, when the paper had county-specific sections, they were publishing nine reviews per week. Fegan and food editor Janelle Bitker balked at this, despite Fegan saying that she eats out about five nights per week, and goes to several lunches per week as well — and this has still only yielded about one new restaurant review per month, with another coming from Hernandez. (To be fair, Fegan is only recently back from her second maternity leave.)
Fegan's most scathing reviews of the last couple years have been of Tosca Cafe — as one of her early reviews on the job in 2024, [Fegan noted in the headline](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/tosca-cafe-sf-review-19326102.php?ref=sfist.com), "SF’s historic Tosca Cafe was my favorite restaurant in America. What happened to it?" — and the now shuttered [Park Tavern](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/park-tavern-jonathan-waxman-20013561.php?ref=sfist.com), with Hernandez's recent (arguably unfair) [takedown of JouJou](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/joujou-review-san-francisco-22299924.php?ref=sfist.com) coming in a close third. Would JouJou then, given the tone of the review, not even garner a single star for its French-California brasserie menu and solid service? We'll never know.
**Related:** [Chronicle Critic Nearly Gets Booted From French Laundry as Thomas Keller Puts His Foot Down About Criticism](https://sfist.com/2025/05/19/chronicle-critic-nearly-gets-booted-from-french-laundry-as-thomas-keller-puts-his-foot-down-about-criticism/)
### Meta Saved Nearly $4 Billion In Taxes Last Year By Calling Its AI Data Centers ‘Experimental’
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/meta-saved-nearly-4-billion-in-taxes-last-year-by-calling-its-ai-data-centers-experimental/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T21:06:11.000Z
Meta has been saving billions through a research tax credit by calling its AI data centers “pilot models,” while experts say the credit is meant for experimentation and innovation, not standard business expenses.
Meta has been receiving a very large tax break over the past two years on the massive data centers it’s building across the country to power its AI ventures by telling the IRS that the facilities are essentially experimental projects, [as the New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/technology/meta-ai-data-centers-taxes.html?ref=sfist.com). It has reportedly set aside $18.74 billion for potential disputes with the IRS on the matter.
The company reportedly began using the research credit for its AI data centers in 2024, as it ramped up a massive nationwide buildout. For tax purposes, Meta started separating chips destined for AI data centers from those going to its regular data centers, treating the AI facilities as “pilot models” where new technology was supposedly being tested.
According to the Times, the research credit was created in the 1980s to encourage companies to take risks on research and development that could lead to new technology. Meta is reportedly using it to claim tax breaks on expensive computer chips from companies such as Nvidia, even though the chips themselves are already commercially available.
Additionally, Meta is using the research tax credit on top of its existing deductions for regular research expenses. This means a deduction reduces the income that gets taxed, and the research tax credit directly reduces the tax owed.
The move has led to exponential growth, with Meta reporting $2 billion in research tax credits in 2024 and $3.9 billion in 2025 compared to $700 million in 2023, before it began using the strategy for its AI data centers, as the Times reports. This reportedly makes Meta the largest beneficiary of the research credit among publicly traded companies.
The approach raised questions inside Meta’s finance department, according to people familiar with the company’s operations. The IRS has previously challenged companies that tried to use the credit for equipment and technology that had already been proven and was commercially available.
Meta consulted tax attorneys before moving ahead with the strategy, per the Times. Alex Sadler, a former Justice Department tax lawyer, said at a tax conference in Virginia this month that the use of “pilot models” is an area of controversy, particularly when companies are essentially treating commercial production as research.
“What if we have a $10 billion data center that does cool stuff that hasn’t really been done?” Sadler said, speaking to the Times. “Is all the cost a research expenditure?”
Meta's own accountants have reportedly warned investors about the possibility that some of those tax benefits could be rejected by the IRS, listing “uncertainties with our research tax credits” as the biggest factor behind its unrecognized tax benefits.
Per the Times, the amount Meta has set aside for potential tax disputes has reportedly risen 45% over the past two years, from $12.9 billion to $18.74 billion.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone defended the company's approach, pointing to its $200 billion in research and development spending over the past five years.
“Like other companies that invest at this scale, we use the tax incentives Congress established decades ago to encourage this type of domestic investment,” Stone said, speaking to the Times.
But the tax credit's original sponsor, former Massachusetts Representative James Shannon, said the benefit was intended to encourage investment in people and knowledge, rather than simply subsidizing expensive equipment.
“This has gone way, way beyond what anybody could have imagined,” Shannon told the Times.
This is reportedly only one of Meta’s ongoing fights with the IRS, which is separately seeking $355 million over Meta's treatment of $4.1 billion in stock options exercised by CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a research expense.
In another much larger case, the IRS is seeking nearly $16 billion in taxes and penalties over profits it says Meta shifted from the U.S. to the Cayman Islands, as the Times reports.
The research tax credit itself is expected to cost the federal government $32.1 billion in 2025, according to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Meta's claimed credits alone amount to more than a tenth of that projected cost.
**Related:** [Meta Agrees to $17 Billion Settlement In Social Media Addiction Lawsuit From 47 States](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/meta-agrees-to-17-billion-settlement-in-social-media-addiction-lawsuit-from-47-states/)
### [Update] Manny Yekutiel Drops Out of D8 Supervisor Race After New Groping Allegation, Lost Endorsements
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/lurie-others-pull-endorsements-of-manny-yekutiel-after-new-groping-allegation/
Last updated: 2026-10-02T00:08:37.000Z
Cafe owner Manny Yekutiel, whose political ambitions in San Francisco date back years now, has again been accused of aggressive groping and faced a mass retreat among his endorsers for District 8 Supervisor Thursday, leading him to drop out of the race within hours.
It had seemed like it would be smooth sailing for Manny Yekutiel going into the November election for District 8 supervisor, after he had gained the endorsement of the mayor, multiple city supervisors, and the local Democratic committee — the [latter by two votes](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/following-contentious-public-meeting-sf-dems-endorse-manny-yekutiel-for-district-8/) with 10 abstentions. This despite [a June allegation](https://sfist.com/2026/06/30/assault-allegation-threatens-to-derail-supervisor-candidacy-of-manny-yekutiel/) by a man named Brad Chapin about Yekutiel aggressively groping him under his pants at a party in early 2020 — a case in which charges were never filed, and Yekutiel flatly denied the allegations.
But now, as the [SF Standard reports](https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/01/manny-yekutiel-sexual-assault-allegation-sf-supervisor-candidate/?ref=sfist.com), two more men have come forward with somewhat similar allegations. Ryan Clark and his partner, who is going unnamed, claim that Yekutiel aggressively groped them both without consent at a Pride party in 2023\. Specifically, they say he grabbed one of them by the testicles over his pants, and the other under his pants.
Clark and his partner say that this incident happened at The Midway, on the dancefloor, and they say that they repeatedly told Yekutiel they were monogamous and wanted him to stop, which he allegedly did not do until Clark shoved him. Clark acknowledged he had previously had one date with Yekutiel, and Yekutiel claims they had a previous "consensual sexual relationship."
Clark added, speaking to the Standard, "It crossed so many boundaries. One of the reasons why I decided to come forward was the way that Manny reacted to Brad’s accusation, saying that it was false."
Yekutiel first issued a sort of non-denial of the new allegations, saying in a statement, "I may have had too much to drink. I remember running into Ryan at parties and being physically affectionate with each other, though I have no memory of the specific encounter he describes."
But subsequently, Yekutiel said he was dropping out of the race, and gave a second statement. "I am not admitting to having assaulted anyone, and some of the things that are being said about me are fundamentally untrue," Yekutiel said, per Mission Local. "But I am deeply sorry for any boundaries that I crossed. I’m going to take this time to work on myself."
[Mission Local earlier reported on Thursday morning](https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/san-francisco-manny-yekutiel-sexual-assault-district-8-supervisor/?ref=sfist.com) that Mayor Daniel Lurie and a half dozen other political figures who previously endorsed Yekutiel have now rescinded those endorsements over the new allegations. The rescinders include supervisors Bilal Mahmoud, Stephen Sherrill, and Danny Sauter, along with Assemblymember and former supervisor Catherine Stefani, and Director of the city's Office of Transgender Initiatives Honey Mahogany.
The SF Democratic Party was also reportedly considering holding a special meeting on October 11 to vote on rescinding their endorsement.
Saying that he would not be making another endorsement in the D8 race, Lurie issued a statement saying, "When I endorsed Manny in September, I believed he was the best candidate to represent District 8\. My endorsement is a statement of my confidence in someone’s character and leadership, and in light of the additional accounts reported today I am withdrawing it. Coming forward is hard and these survivors deserve to be heard, and treated with dignity and respect."
Standing by Yekutiel until Thursday afternoon was incumbent D8 supervisor and President of the Board of Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who [told the Bay Area Reporter](https://www.ebar.com/story/170792/News/News/SF%20mayor%20Lurie%20withdraws%20endorsement%20of%20Yekutiel%20in%20D8%20supervisor%20race?ref=sfist.com), "I have known him for years, believe his character, and these allegations do not change the person I know or the reasons I support him."
Several hours later, Mandelman would join the wave of rescinded endorsements, writing on Instagram, "Manny is an extraordinary person who has made extraordinary contributions to San Francisco. Unfortunately, it has also become painfully clear to me that he has work to do on himself and is not ready to serve as an elected official."
Still maintaining her endorsement of Yekutiel on Thursday was State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who [faced her own allegations](https://sfist.com/2026/05/13/fiona-mas-sex-scandal-from-five-years-ago-has-of-course-come-up-in-the-race-for-lieutenant-governor/) of same-sex sexual harassment five years ago.
A group of five LGBTQ+ elected officials, including DCCC members Peter Gallotta and Emma Hare, [signed a letter](https://missionlocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Manny-Accusers.pdf?ref=sfist.com) this morning calling on Yekutiel to drop out of the race.
"As LGBTQ elected officials in San Francisco, we are sickened by, furious with, and ashamed of those that seek or claim to represent the gay community while denying, dismissing, or defending sexual abuse and assault," the letter says. "Gay men do not need a 'different threshold' for sexual assault. We need a higher standard of leadership for our community and city."
Yekutiel's main competitor in the race for District 8, who now becomes the frontrunner, is former Nancy Pelosi aide Gary McCoy, who is also openly gay and has the endorsement of the progressive Harvey Milk Democratic Club, and the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, as well as [endorsements](https://www.garymccoysf.com/endorsements?ref=sfist.com) from Pelosi, and supervisors Connie Chan, Matt Dorsey, and Myrna Melgar.
**Previously:** [Following Contentious Public Meeting, SF Dems Endorse Manny Yekutiel for District 8](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/following-contentious-public-meeting-sf-dems-endorse-manny-yekutiel-for-district-8/)
*This post has been updated with Yekutiel's new statement about leaving the race, and Mandelman's latest statement.*
### SF Woman Dies After Falling From Freeway Overpass While Fleeing Police In San Bruno
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/sf-woman-dies-after-falling-from-freeway-overpass-while-fleeing-police-in-san-bruno/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T18:51:24.000Z
A woman involved in a pursuit with officers from the South San Francisco Department died after she climbed over a guardrail and fell from an overpass in San Bruno, landing on the freeway below.
The South San Francisco Police Department said [in a media release](https://www.ssfca.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/police/press-releases/2026/26-3933-vehicle-pursuit-with-barricaded-subject-press-release.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawUrbyVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMVNaZnAxSm1BZnpsdThMakNzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeYMdQyWhAST2i4QZwqciuEQChLadHRs3wm81Z2Bq4UH8s8c3Fuc-gIiBxXtk%5Faem%5Fv2IybwO4tUATfJyPP6g5Xg&ref=sfist.com) that officers were pursuing a female suspect Monday night after finding a vehicle associated with her around 8:30 pm. Officers had learned that the woman, who had multiple arrest warrants, had also been involved in a pursuit with another law enforcement agency earlier that day.
The woman has been identified as 34-year-old Ana Da Costa Pereira of San Francisco, [according to Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/30/woman-dies-after-falling-onto-peninsula-freeway-during-police-pursuit/?ref=sfist.com).
While it hasn't been confirmed it's the same person, [Mission Local reported in December of 2024](https://missionlocal.org/2024/12/alleged-serial-mural-vandal-arrested-33-year-old-woman-accused-of-defacing-public-art-across-s-f/?ref=sfist.com) that a 33-year-old named Ana Da Costa Pereira had been charged with a felony in connection to a series of mural vandalism incidents along Mission Street, and additional felony and misdemeanor charges were later added while she was in custody.
Monday's encounter began when officers attempted to contact Pereira and she allegedly pulled out a pair of scissors before getting into the driver’s seat. An officer used a Taser, but it had no effect, and Pereira drove away with officers following her.
The pursuit continued into San Bruno, where police said Pereira rammed a patrol vehicle multiple times while trying to get away. Officers eventually used tire-deflation devices to disable the vehicle, which stopped on the Sneath Lane overpass above Interstate 280.
Pereira then remained inside the vehicle and did not respond to officers’ attempts to get her out. The department’s Crisis Negotiation Team responded and made several attempts to establish communication, but was unsuccessful.
Officers then fired PepperBall projectiles into the vehicle, prompting Pereira to get out and run toward the overpass guardrail. Police said an officer fired a less-lethal sponge round in an attempt to stop her, but it was ineffective. A police canine was also deployed but was recalled as Pereira continued toward the guardrail.
Moments later, police said Pereira intentionally climbed over the guardrail and fell onto the freeway.
Officers stopped traffic on the freeway and provided medical aid until firefighters arrived. Pereira was taken to a local trauma center, where she later died from her injuries.
Multiple law enforcement and emergency response agencies assisted at the scene. The circumstances surrounding the pursuit and Pereira’s actions during the encounter remain under investigation.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact the South San Francisco Police Department at 650-877-8900.
**Previously:** [Video: Suspect Fleeing Police Attempts to Escape By Climbing Under Bay Bridge](https://sfist.com/2026/04/24/video-suspect-fleeing-police-attempts-to-escape-by-climbing-under-bay-bridge/)
### Underground Electrical Vault Fires In SF Follow Power Outage at Ferry Building
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/underground-electrical-vault-fires-in-sf-follow-power-outage-at-ferry-building/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T17:12:30.000Z
PG&E had another major problem on its hands Thursday, 24 hours after it was dealing with [an unplanned power outage](https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/power-outage-hits-ferry-building/) that impacted the entire Ferry Building.
A few blocks away from the Ferry Building, on the 100, 200, and 300 blocks of California Street, and the 100, 200, and 300 blocks of Front Street, smoke was reported coming out of underground vaults Thursday morning around 6 am. A shelter-in-place order was subsequently issued for the area.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-financial-district-electrical-fire-22457838.php?ref=sfist.com), four manhole covers blew off into the street, due to pressure from electrical fires in the vaults, which are concrete enclosures containing transformers and other components.
As [KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-francisco-california-street-vault-fire/?ref=sfist.com), the fires led to a power outage in the area, and the streets around the vaults were all cordoned off Thursday morning. No injuries have been reported.
SFFD spokesperson Captain Jonathan Baxter, told the Chronicle that "nothing is leading to anything nefarious or intentional,” and, "It just looks like this is unfortunately another fire caused by electrical malfunction."
Both fire department and PG&E crews were reportedly on site addressing the electrical fires.
It remains unclear if today's problems are linked to the unplanned outage on Wednesday which also only impacted a few hundred PG&E customers nearby on the waterfront, including the Ferry Building — which remained dark for over four hours as a result.
Vault fires occur periodically around the city, and one [explosion in an electrical vault in Pacific Heights three years ago](https://sfist.com/2023/07/09/underground-vault-fire-causes-property-damage-in-sf-pacific-heights/) led to multiple shattered windows in the area.
A similar downtown vault fire [occurred just two weeks ago](https://x.com/SFFDPIO/status/2100588640623890683/video/2?ref=sfist.com), with smoke coming from a manhole cover at First and Mission streets.
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Hundreds Protest Palantir In SF
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/10/01/hundreds-protest-palantir-in-sf/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T16:30:29.000Z
- **Hundreds of people reportedly attended a protest Wednesday in San Francisco against Palantir, accusing the tech firm of aiding ICE in targeting and tracking individuals.** It was billed as a "march against tech fascism" and was organized by a group of nurses. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/sf-protest-wednesday-against-palantir-reportedly-draws-hundreds/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- State Senator Scott Wiener and Supervisor Connie Chan will be having a debate starting at 7:30 pm on Thursday, live at KQED's headquarters, and it will be streamed online. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/connie-chan-scott-wiener-debate-22456650.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Republican Steven Hilton put up a fight in Wednesday night's debate against Xavier Becerra, and the two clashed pretty much nonstop over issues including homelessness, and Hilton's support of Donald Trump. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/hilton-becerra-california-gubernatorial-debate/4151215/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Skyline High School in Oakland has canceled the remainder of its football season saying it doesn't have enough players, due to injuries, transfers, and other factors. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oaklands-skyline-high-school-cancels-remainder-its-football-season?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The family of Renee Good has filed two federal lawsuits over her January death at the hands of an ICE agent, one against the agent, and one against multiple members of the Trump administration. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/us/renee-good-lawsuit-ice-shooting-minnesota.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Christa Pike, who would have been the first woman executed by the state of Tennessee in 200 years, survived an attempt to execute her by lethal injection Wednesday, and the governor has now halted all executions for the remainder of the year. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/christa-pike-survives-execution-attempt-tennessee?ref=sfist.com)\]
- As the Supreme Court returns to session today, the Times reports on how Chief Justice John Roberts' usually quiet summers on an island in Maine have been marred by protests signs and tensions about the courts' decisions. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/us/politics/supreme-court-roberts-maine.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Swimmer's Body Recovered From San Joaquin River
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/swimmers-body-recovered-from-san-joaquin-river/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T00:33:09.000Z
### Local:
- **Two people died in a seven-car pileup in East Palo Alto on Tuesday morning.** Authorities say that a minivan driven by an adult male collided with six vehicles at an intersection at Bay Road, including a SamTrans Ride Plus van. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/29/two-people-die-in-seven-vehicle-collision-in-east-palo-alto/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The body of Edgielyn Torrente, the 46-year-old woman who** [**disappeared while swimming**](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/antioch-swimmer-goes-missing/) **on September 23 near the Antioch Marina, was recovered on Sunday.** Authorities are warning the public that currents in the San Joaquin River, even near the shore where Torrente was swimming with a friend, can be strong and unpredictable. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/body-missing-antioch-swimmer-recovered-san-joaquin-delta?ref=sfist.com)\]
- If you've been wondering why the mint ice cream in It's-Its is no longer bright green, you can blame RFK Jr. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/its-it-mint-ice-cream-22448058.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Passengers who helped subdue a co-pilot who stabbed the captain of a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv Wednesday and was attempting to crash the plane describe a harrowing scene.** Passengers weren't sure who to trust after the one attacker was subdued, fearing a hostage situation; and apparently there were backup pilots on board who were set to fly on a different flight. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/30/world/live-news/dubai-israel-plane-flydubai-intl?ref=sfist.com) / [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/09/30/world/dubai-flight-tel-aviv-israel-pilots?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The seating arrangement at Tuesday's White House AI luncheon is a good indication of who has President Trump's ear, and the best seats went to Elon Musk and Jensen Huang. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/us/politics/trump-ai-luncheon-guests-ceos.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The FTC has launched a broad investigation into both Anthropic and OpenAI seeking answers about consumer safety. \[[Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/09/30/ftc-launches-broad-investigation-into-anthropic-openai/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Watch as Mayor Daniel Lurie gets hoisted up to the top of Sutro Tower in a little basket thingie, and he looks and sounds genuinely freaked out by the experience. But oh, those views!
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd5Am6TNq1Y/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Daniel Lurie (@danielluriesf)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd5Am6TNq1Y/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
- Bonus video: Colorado has apparently been having a "record" bear season, and one bear popped in to the Aspen farmers' market this week to help him or herself to a bounty of pastry and bread at one stall, all while everyone nearby seems unconcerned.
### Black Leaders Demand Action From SFUSD Following Recent Racist Incidents
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/black-leaders-demand-action-from-sfusd-following-recent-racist-incidents/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T16:40:08.000Z
Following recent incidents of students using racial slurs and other anti-Black language at local schools, community leaders are calling for SFUSD officials to take immediate action.
The San Francisco NAACP, Coleman Youth Advocates, students, parents, and other members of the Black community held a press conference Wednesday calling on San Francisco Unified School District leaders to do more to address racist language targeting Black students. [As KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12102113/sf-naacp-calls-on-san-francisco-unified-to-hold-racist-behavior-accountable?ref=sfist.com), Reverend Amos C. Brown said the use of the N-word has become a recurring problem at SFUSD schools, from elementary schools through high school.
“District schools have been attempting to push this epidemic under the rug,” said Brown in a news release. “We need action now from the leadership of this district to put an end to hateful speech before it leads to violence.”
The latest incident occurred September 4 at Lincoln High School in the Sunset District, where a Black student was called the N-word by an Asian American student during a passing period, according to the NAACP and Coleman Advocates for Youth Justice. Rachel Jones, the organization’s Youth Justice director, said a physical altercation followed. According to KQED, video of the incident shows a student being shoved in a hallway.
Jones said the student had also used the slur the previous year, when classmates asked administrators to intervene but felt they did not receive adequate support. She said the physical response was unacceptable, while noting that racial slurs can also cause significant harm to students.
Following the incident, Lincoln administrators sent families an email acknowledging “multiple instances of hate speech” on campus and stating that there was no place at the school for discriminatory, hateful, or demeaning language, per KQED.
SFUSD said district leaders were meeting with the families involved, as well as community stakeholders including the NAACP. The district said it was using restorative practices to support students directly affected by the incident, while also providing resources to the broader Lincoln community.
Brown criticized SFUSD’s response to the September 4 incident, saying the district had been too slow to act and that the letter sent to Lincoln families was too general, as KQED reports. He also questioned whether the school had taken any disciplinary action.
“This is not an isolated incident,” said Yolanda Williams, vice president of the NAACP San Francisco branch. “Every Black child that enters the San Francisco Unified School District deserves respect, they deserve to be safe and they deserve to be in an educational environment that is free from racial hostility.”
The incident came days after SFUSD announced that Lowell High School’s varsity baseball coaching staff had been removed and that the team would forfeit three games next spring following an investigation into racial taunting during a junior varsity championship game against Lincoln last season, [as SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/lowell-high-coach-put-on-leave-games-forfeited-following-racist-incident-involving-baseball-team/) previously. The coaches have been on leave since May, when reports surfaced that alleged race-based taunting by Lowell varsity players had occurred while they were present.
KQED reports that the NAACP and Coleman Advocates are calling for greater accountability when racist language and behavior occur on SFUSD campuses. Virginia Marshall of the NAACP also called on Superintendent Maria Su to make clear to principals and assistant superintendents that the N-word is never acceptable in district schools.
The NAACP has a long history of challenging SFUSD over racial discrimination. In 1979, the San Francisco chapter reportedly sued the district, alleging racial discrimination and segregated schools. The case resulted in a consent decree requiring SFUSD to work toward academic equity for African American and Latino students and eliminate racial and ethnic segregation in its schools and programs.
Marshall said the current concerns have brought that history back into focus.
“During that time, under the consent decree of the early years, African American students thrived in SFUSD,” Marshall said, per KQED. “We fear that we are at that threshold again — we should not have to sue the school district for our children to thrive.”
Racial tensions at Lincoln High also stretch back to at least the mid-'90s during the dot-com boom and the resulting gentrification. [In 1995](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/racial-tensions-flare-at-s-f-s-lincoln-high-3023838.php?ref=sfist.com), a fight involving roughly 100 Asian American and Black students drew dozens of police officers to the school, while two other large brawls involving students of different races took place in [2002](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/san-francisco-50-armed-teens-brawl-in-sunset-2790095.php?ref=sfist.com) and [2007](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/lunchtime-brawl-involved-about-100/article%5F00373a7d-fd73-5678-87b8-87138744a72b.html?ref=sfist.com).
Lincoln High’s [student body](https://www.sfusd.edu/school/abraham-lincoln-high-school/school-info/alhs-school-profile-2025-26?ref=sfist.com) is 61% Asian, 7% White, 5.5% African American, 4% Filipino, 4% Two or more, 3% Unknown, 1% American Indian, and 1% Native Hawaiian.
**Related:** [Lowell High Coach Put on Leave, Games Forfeited Following Racist Incident Involving Baseball Team](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/lowell-high-coach-put-on-leave-games-forfeited-following-racist-incident-involving-baseball-team/)
### East Bay Tiny House Village Provides Homes For 12 Unhoused Young Adults
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/east-bay-tiny-house-village-provides-homes-for-12-unhoused-young-adults/
Last updated: 2026-10-01T06:26:22.000Z
A new tiny-house village in the city of Richmond held its grand opening Saturday, providing brightly colored homes and wraparound services for a dozen young people ages 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness.
The [Richmond Tiny Village](https://tinyvillagespirit.org/projects/richmond/?ref=sfist.com) officially opened Saturday, drawing more than 200 people to celebrate the new community for young adults who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, [as KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/richmond-opens-tiny-home-village-for-unhoused-young-adults/?ref=sfist.com).
According to [the Richmond Standard](https://richmondstandard.com/community/2026/08/19/richmond-tiny-house-village-farm-garden-set-to-open-its-gates/?ref=sfist.com), the complex has 12 furnished tiny homes, plus a home for an on-site resident assistant, and shared spaces including a kitchen and dining room, living and maker space, laundry facilities, and a bathroom building with three private bathrooms. There village also includes its own farm and garden on site.
Residents ages 18 to 24 can stay for up to two years while working with a village manager/social worker and housing navigator to transition into permanent housing.
The village will reportedly open initially with about half of its homes occupied for the first phase, when organizers will evaluate the program and seek input before bringing in six more residents the following year. Residents will be selected through Contra Costa County’s Coordinated Entry System, with a focus on young people from Richmond.
The project was led by the nonprofit [Tiny Village Spirit](https://tinyvillagespirit.org/?ref=sfist.com) and is operated by Hope Solutions, with the farm and garden serving as a major part of the village’s programming. The Standard reports that residents can receive job training, learn urban gardening skills, participate in paid or stipend work, and connect with Richmond Police Activities League’s Culinary Club, which uses produce grown on-site.
More than 3,000 volunteers from at least 83 organizations helped with the three-year project, contributing labor, materials, and other support. University of San Francisco architecture students helped design the village, Richmond YouthWORKS provided more than 60 young workers, and [people incarcerated at San Quentin](https://thestreetspirit.org/2026/08/01/residents-at-san-quentin-help-bay-area-communities-from-behind-prison-walls/?ref=sfist.com) donated food and personal care supplies.
“It’s sort of like a quilt that we all wove together,” said Sally Hindman, executive director of Tiny Village Spirit, speaking to the Standard.
Tiny Village Spirit reportedly raised most of the money from individual donors and private foundations, with the project coming in at less than $1 million. Hindman said comparable tiny-home villages funded primarily through government money can cost around $14 million, while the unusually low cost here was possible because so much of the work was donated.
KPIX spoke to artist Delilah Borg, who painted some of the murals throughout the village, including one depicting a young woman alongside the words “Dreams, Reality.” The artwork represents education, housing, and what Borg describes as the “stairs to success.”
She told the outlet she hopes the village helps its residents create stable lives so they can follow their dreams.
“I want them to pursue their education,” Borg said, speaking to KPIX. “I want them to understand that housing, and finding your own home, and being stable in your own home, is possible.”
The first residents are expected to move into the village in the coming weeks.
**Related:** [Mission District Tiny Homes for Formerly Homeless Site Closing, But for More Housing for the Formerly Homeless](https://sfist.com/2025/09/08/mission-district-tiny-homes-for-formerly-homeless-site-closing-but-for-more-housing-for-the-formerly-homeless/)
### FBI Says Former Alameda County Firefighter Likely Faked His Own Death Following Child Porn Charge
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/fbi-says-former-alameda-county-firefighter-likely-faked-his-own-death-following-child-porn-charge/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T22:21:19.000Z
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco has issued an update on a man who remains wanted on charges of possession of child pornography, who failed to appear in court in 2023 after charges were filed because, his brother says, he drowned while fishing in Suisun Bay.
Former Alameda County firefighter Charles Jonathen Harris, who would now be 46 years old, surrendered to federal authorities on March 7, 2023 and was later released on bond after being indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges. As [Bay Area News Group originally reported](https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/09/30/east-bay-firefighter-with-pending-child-porn-case-allegedly-drowned-in-mysterious-boating-accident-the-feds-arent-so-sure/?ref=sfist.com), via the indictment, Harris was found with child sexual abuse material on his iPhone, including images of prepubescent children.
Harris was the subject of a tip by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which found that Harris had allegedly uploaded some images to the social media platform Kik, including while he was at work at Alameda County fire stations.
A week after he surrendered to authorities, a magistrate judge released Harris from home detention with the stipulation that he submit to location monitoring. A few weeks after that, in the early morning of April 4, 2023, Harris's brother swam up to a remote dock in swampland near where Suisun Bay meets Honker Bay and Grizzly Bay. He claimed he had been in the water for eight hours after his 15-foot fishing boat had capsized, and that his brother, who was with him, had succumbed to exhaustion and drowned, and he hadn't seen him for seven hours.
Harris's body was never found, which is not uncommon when someone drowns in open water, but prosecutors have remained skeptical after the fishing boat was recovered with a plug missing.
As Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Volkar told a judge two weeks later, "there are a lot of questions," and "there are certain aspects of his story that don’t quite match up," and she insisted that he be charged with failure to appear in court, and that an arrest warrant be issued in case Harris turns up alive. Per Bay Area News Group, Volkar further said that parts of the brother's story were inconsistent, and while "That could be because he himself underwent a traumatic event," it could also be that he was covering for his brother so that he could go on to start a new life elsewhere.
Harris was facing the possibility of up to 20 years in prison, and the likelihood of losing his job.
In its update this week, the FBI said they continued to investigate the possibility that the death was staged, and they are asking for the public's help if they see someone resembling Harris. At the time of his disappearance, he weighed 220 pounds and was 5 feet 10 inches tall and had short red hair and a mustache. The FBI notes he has "light" burn scars on his hands.
Anyone with information concerning the case is asked to contact their [local FBI office](http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field/?ref=sfist.com), or the nearest [American Embassy or Consulate](http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legat/?ref=sfist.com), and one can also submit a tip online at [tips.fbi.gov](https://tips.fbi.gov/?ref=sfist.com).
### Elderly Couple Charged In Dublin Murder of Son-In-Law, Accused of Lying In Wait
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/elderly-couple-charged-in-dublin-murder-of-son-in-law-accused-of-lying-in-wait/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T21:01:05.000Z
Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, appeared in court Wednesday to face newly filed charges of murder in connection with the shooting death of their son-in-law in a Dublin parking lot Saturday.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has charged Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen with murder and multiple related charges, with the special circumstance of "lying in wait," in the death of 40-year-old Jonathan McKinsey. As the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/us/jonathan-mckinsey-shooting-california-charges.html?ref=sfist.com), prosecutors say that surveillance video from the scene show the couple shooting McKinsey "in concert" with two guns before driving off in a black Honda Civic.
They further allege that Chen admitted to the shooting after her arrest, and before invoking her Miranda rights.
After Dublin police said that they had arrested the couple on suspicion of murder as well as child endangerment, there was a question about whether McKinsey's children were in the car when he was ambushed. But prosecutors indicate that the child endangerment charge stemmed from the shooting taking place in a crowded parking lot on a Saturday, "with blatant disregard for public safety where several children were present."
No motive for the crime was given in charging documents, but [as we've learned since the shooting](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/accusations-of-transphobia-and-abuse-revealed-in-court-filings-linked-to-dublin-homicide/), McKinsey and his wife of 15 years, Candice Jang, were in an ongoing custody battle and in the process of getting divorced. Allegations of abuse and neglect of the children were volleyed from both sides in warring court filings last year, and McKinsey alleged that his wife had threatened him previously saying she would tell police that he abused the children if he tried to make any claims against her.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/new-york-times-employee-killed-charges-dublin-22456151.php?ref=sfist.com), a judge had granted McKinsey unsupervised visits twice a week with his three children, ages 3, 5, and 7, at a hearing in late August, over the objections of Jang, who claimed in court that the children were afraid of their father. These visits were only to happen in public spaces, such as parks and libraries, per the Times.
Jang had been granted full custody of the children last December, as the divorce proceeding began, and after McKinsey had moved out of their shared Dublin home, according to court documents. Jang got a restraining order against McKinsey last August, claiming that he had slapped their six-year-old son in the face, and that he had forcibly grabbed her by the arms and knocked her into the corner of a table, causing injuries, years earlier.
McKinsey had also gotten his own restraining order against Jang. He pleaded not guilty last year to two charges of misdemeanor child abuse last year, and agreed to take 12 parenting classes in exchange for having the charges dismissed.
Court filings included claims by McKinsey, who was trans, that both his wife and his in-laws had been hostile to his gender transition — and that his father-in-law had once punched him in the chest shortly after he had "top surgery," i.e. a double mastectomy in 2010\. He also claimed that his wife had tried to pull medical tubes out of his body after procedure.
Following an incident in which their then-six-year-old son had apparently talked about wanting to wear his sister's dresses, McKinsey said that Chen had hit the child and called him a "disgusting queer" and a "pervert," and then used the same words to describe him.
After the charges were filed, McKinsey's divorce attorney, Andrea Mah, issued a statement, per the Times, saying, "This is a true tragedy, particularly for the three children now left without a father. I trust that our justice system will hold those responsible for Mr. McKinsey’s senseless death accountable."
Per the Chronicle, Dublin police were at the home that McKinsey and his wife previously shared on Tuesday night, but declined to give any details about why they were there.
**Previously:** [Accusations of Transphobia and Abuse Revealed In Court Filings Linked to Dublin Homicide](https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/accusations-of-transphobia-and-abuse-revealed-in-court-filings-linked-to-dublin-homicide/)
### Newsom Signs Laws That Will Tax Detention Centers, Make It Easier to Sue ICE Agents
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/newsom-signs-laws-that-will-tax-detention-centers-make-it-easier-to-sue-ice-agents/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T20:37:27.000Z
Newsom signed a large package of bills aimed at immigration enforcement in California, including a ban on shock gloves, a 25% tax on private detention centers, and a new way for Californians to sue federal agents.
Governor Gavin Newsom [signed 21 bills](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/29/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-push-back-on-trumps-orwellian-immigration-tactics-to-protect-immigrant-communities/?ref=sfist.com) into law Tuesday targeting various aspects of immigration enforcement in California, including detention-center conditions, the use of certain equipment by law enforcement, development of new detention facilities, and the ability to hold federal agents accountable for alleged civil rights violations, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/newsom-ice-bills-22454407.php?ref=sfist.com).
“Trump has put his political interests above the health, safety and livelihood of American families,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state. This is about stepping up where the federal government has failed our communities.”
Among the measures is a 25% tax on the gross receipts of private companies operating immigration detention centers in California. [According to Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/29/ca-shock-glove-ban-signed-01094029?ref=sfist.com), the tax was created through AB 1633, with the money going toward immigration-related services. It’s expected to generate [an estimated $177 million](https://arev.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2026-04/ab-1633.pdf?ref=sfist.com) per year.
Another new law, AB 2760, bans all law enforcement officers in California from using [electric shock gloves](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/california-considers-legislation-regulating-electric-shock-gloves/), including federal immigration agents. It reportedly takes effect next year and will remain in place through 2030\. The law also requires the California Department of Justice to study the safety of shock devices and report its findings by 2029.
The Chronicle reports that other bills signed Tuesday restrict the use of masks ([again](https://sfist.com/2026/04/22/that-california-ban-on-masked-ice-agents-just-got-struck-down/)) and flash-bang grenades by law enforcement, require greater disclosure of 911 calls and emergency records from privately operated immigration detention facilities, and establish minimum standards for people held in civil detention, including requirements involving medical care, food, water, sanitation, privacy, and access to legal counsel. Another measure requires public hearings and a 180-day waiting period before local governments can approve new immigration detention facilities.
The legislation also includes Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 747, known as the “No Kings Act,” which took effect immediately when Newsom signed it. The law reportedly enables Californians to sue federal agents for alleged violations of their constitutional rights, including excessive force, unlawful searches, and discrimination based on race, national origin, or political identity.
“ICE and Border Patrol have terrorized California communities with impunity,” said Wiener in a statement. “That ends today.”
Within hours of the signing, three California residents amended existing lawsuits against federal immigration agents to bring claims under the new law, [as the Chronicle separately reported](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/3-californians-sue-ice-officers-120000078.html?ref=sfist.com). Cary Lopez, who was nine months pregnant when ICE agents detained her in Hawthorne in June 2025, alleges that agents pinned her abdomen against a truck and held her in chains for about eight hours.
The other two plaintiffs, Javier Ramirez and Angel Piña, also allege that ICE agents used excessive force during their arrests.
The new laws will likely face legal challenges from the federal government, particularly because of the legal principle that [federal law generally takes precedence over state law](https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/04/immigration-mask-ban-9th-circuit/?ref=sfist.com) when agents are in the act of carrying out their duties. The Ninth Circuit previously affirmed this in striking down California's law banning ICE agents from wearing masks.
**Related:** [That California Ban on Masked ICE Agents Just Got Struck Down](https://sfist.com/2026/04/22/that-california-ban-on-masked-ice-agents-just-got-struck-down/)
### One Person Injured After Multiple Shots Fired at Haight and Ashbury
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/one-person-injured-after-multiple-shots-fired-at-haight-and-ashbury/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T20:06:14.000Z
The often busy sidewalks of the Upper Haight turned violent Tuesday night with reports of gunfire and at least one person reportedly injured.
Shots were fired at around 11:09 pm near the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets, according to [an automated SFPD dispatch-monitoring account](https://x.com/SFPDcallsBot/status/2105191006543196473?ref=sfist.com). San Francisco police reportedly responded to the scene within four minutes.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/san-francisco-haight-ashbury-shooting-22456565.php?ref=sfist.com), SFPD officers said they found multiple spent shell casings at the scene, but found no injured victims.
Subsequently, within minutes of the gunfire report, a person arrived at an area hospital with a gunshot wound, and police have not confirmed whether this victim is connected.
Police dispatch records show that multiple calls came in within minutes of 11:09 pm about shots fired at other intersections in the vicinity as well, per the Chronicle. Callers said they heard shots at Fulton and Lyon streets, as well as Haight and Masonic streets, suggesting either a gunfight on the move, or residents believing the gunshots were closer to them than they were.
No suspect information has been made available and no arrests have been made.
Gunfire is not common in the Haight-Ashbury vicinity, though there was a [homicide near Haight and Masonic in 2021](https://sfist.com/2021/11/07/21-year-old-man-killed-in-haight-ashbury-homicide-identified/).
### Oakland Police Department's 23-Year-Long Federal Oversight Is Over
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/oakland-police-departments-23-year-long-federal-oversight-is-over/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T18:50:55.000Z
After 23 years of a federal court-mandated monitor overseeing the Oakland Police Department, stemming from a scandal that occurred 14 police chiefs ago, a federal judge has lifted the mandate.
It was a historic day Tuesday and a triumphant one for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and newly installed OPD Chief James Beere, after US District Judge William Orrick proclaimed that the longest-running federal oversight program of an American police department was coming to an end. Orrick made the announcement from his courtroom in San Francisco, with a swath of Oakland dignitaries, including City Council, in attendance, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/oakland-police-oversight-ends-22453288.php?ref=sfist.com).
"I have decided to end federal court oversight of OPD," Judge Orrick said, per the Chronicle. "While it was important for this court, I think, to have played the role that it has over the last 23 years … now it’s important for the court to get out of the way."
The role that the court has played for over two decades has been to oversee the department’s implementation of 51 mandated reforms relating to use of force, discipline, training, and internal affairs investigations. These reforms were part of a 2003 agreement that resolved a class-action civil rights case stemming from the so-called Riders scandal, which came to light in July 2000.
Three Oakland Police officers were criminally charged and tried — while a fourth, Francisco "Choker" Vazquez, said to be the ringleader, fled the country and remains a fugitive — for engaging brutal and illegal tactics while arresting and interrogating suspects. They were charged with 26 counts, including kidnapping, fabricating evidence, planting drugs, and beating suspects, and the department was seen as complicit in protecting a culture that condoned such tactics.
119 individuals sued the city and department for civil rights violations, and the settlement in that case led to a federal monitor, Robert Warshaw, being assigned to oversee the department, for a period that was initially expected to last five to seven years.
But for over two decades, as the department sought to prove that it was reformed, new scandals would emerge that showed officers and higher-ranking members of the department engaging in shady or outright illegal activities. Officers were [caught exchanging racist memes](https://sfist.com/2016/08/11/oakland%5Fsuspends%5Ftwo%5Fpolice%5Fofficer/) in 2016, and that same year, a number of Oakland police officers were embroiled in the [Celeste Guap scandal](https://sfist.com/celeste-guap/), in which an underage girl had been communicating with and having sex for money with them and other law enforcement officers in other Bay Area departments.
In 2022, two rookie officers [engaged in a "ghost chase,"](https://sfist.com/2023/10/30/report-alleges-oakland-pd-officers-lied-about-no-headlights-100-mph-car-chase-that-killed-bystander/) without lights or siren on, going after a suspected sideshow participant at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour on city streets, which led to a a crash that killed a bystander. And former OPD Chief Leone Armstrong went through the department's revolving door of chiefs in 2023, when [he was fired](https://sfist.com/2023/02/15/oakland-mayor-sheng-thao-fires-police-chief-over/) by former Mayor Sheng Thao for allegedly failing to properly handle internal affairs investigations about police misconduct.
But Judge Orrick [signaled back in May](https://sfist.com/2026/05/27/oakland-police-department-may-soon-be-free-of-federal-oversight-for-first-time-in-two-decades/) that he was ready to end federal oversight of the department, leaving the Oakland Police Commission in charge of oversight from here on out.
Mayor Barbara Lee, at a press conference Tuesday, praised Chief Beere and the executive team at the OPD for having "worked diligently to foster a culture of accountability" in recent months and years.
And Beere said it was a "historic" day for the Oakland community. "They’re getting their police department back. The oversight is going to belong to the people of Oakland," he said.
Oakland's negotiated settlement agreement, referred to locally as the NSA, has outlasted the many consent decrees that have been mandated for other troubled police departments around the country. As the [New York Times notes](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/us/oakland-police-reform-federal-oversight.html?ref=sfist.com), the Trump administration has rejected consent-decree deals in Baltimore and Chicago, and rejected calls for consent decrees in Louisville and Minneapolis.
The Chronicle quotes plaintiffs' attorney John Burris, who represented the original plaintiffs in the civil rights suit and has sued the department multiple times since, saying, "I hope the commitment to the NSA puts me out of business."
**Previously:** [Oakland Police Department May Soon Be Free of Federal Oversight For First Time In Two Decades](https://sfist.com/2026/05/27/oakland-police-department-may-soon-be-free-of-federal-oversight-for-first-time-in-two-decades/)
### DoorDash Plans Northern California Deliveries Using Drones Built In the Mission
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/doordash-plans-northern-california-drone-deliveries-using-drones-built-in-the-mission/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T18:10:42.000Z
DoorDash plans to launch drone deliveries in suburban Northern California areas soon, but the company will need additional approval to conduct outdoor testing at its Mission facility under new legislation authored by Supervisor Jackie Fielder.
DoorDash said it plans to initially launch its drone-powered delivery service in suburban Northern California locations in the coming months, [as the San Francisco Business Times reports](https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2026/09/30/doordash-drone-delivery-mission-warehouse.html?ref=sfist.com). The company says there are fewer obstacles in those areas for its six-rotor drones.
The aircraft will reportedly lower orders to customers using a winch, and DoorDash says early testing has produced average delivery times of under five minutes from restaurants to customers’ doors. Chipotle and Popeyes are among the first restaurant partners, [according to a company news release](https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-drone-delivery?ref=sfist.com).
DoorDash is currently building the drones at a roughly 40,000-square-foot research and development facility in the Mission, along with other Bay Area facilities. Per the Business Times, DoorDash has not disclosed the exact location of the R&D facility or how many drones it is producing, but Harrison Shih, head of [DoorDash Air](https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-air?ref=sfist.com), said at a launch event Tuesday that the operation is expected to grow as the service expands.
“We’re making enough to get started right now, but absolutely we imagine that we’ll be scaling through 2027 to meet demand,” Shih said.
DoorDash has been pursuing autonomous delivery in the Bay Area for years, including testing [small delivery robots on San Francisco sidewalks in 2017](https://sfist.com/2017/03/21/doordash%5Fdelivery%5Frobots%5Fare%5Fnow%5Fcr/) before the city rejected the idea the following year over concerns that the devices obstructed pedestrians.
The company reportedly leased property at 1960 Folsom Street last August and has applied to change its permitted use from light manufacturing to “lab engineering,” according to an environmental review document filed with the San Francisco Planning Department, as the Business Times reports.
The property became the subject of a dispute last year when DoorDash sought to test delivery drones in its parking lot. [As SFist reported at the time](https://sfist.com/2025/11/20/doordash-wins-its-appeal-to-test-food-delivery-drones-in-the-mission-distri-and-the-teamsters-arent-happy/), the Teamsters Local 665 challenged the company’s plans, arguing that the testing did not qualify as laboratory use. The union also cited safety concerns and argued that the technology could eventually replace blue-collar jobs.
“Safety and privacy are shattered if unregulated delivery drones are allowed to fly around our city,” said Tony Delorio, principal officer for the Teamsters Union Local 665s, during public comment, [via Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2025/12/sf-doordash-drone-testing-pdr-zoning-control-fielder-land-use/?ref=sfist.com). “Delivery drones that weigh the same amount as bowling balls hovering over San Francisco streets and neighborhoods at 50 to 100 feet high are not welcome.”
The San Francisco Board of Appeals ultimately rejected the union’s appeal to shut down outdoor testing.
According to Mission Local, the Board of Supervisors passed new legislation in December authored by Supervisor Jackie Fielder requiring DoorDash and other companies to obtain additional approvals for outdoor drone testing at production, distribution, and repair-zoned properties in the Mission, Dogpatch, and Potrero Hill areas over the next 18 months.
DoorDash will therefore still need to seek Planning Commission approval before conducting outdoor testing at the Mission site.
The Business Times reports that DoorDash is also considering a larger Bay Area manufacturing operation as it scales up production. The company is reportedly focused on building its drones domestically, with much of its current talent and operations centered in San Francisco.
“We have a pretty strong commitment to onshoring and figuring out how we can build this thing domestically,” Shih said.
The drone operation is part of DoorDash’s broader push into autonomous delivery technology in the Bay Area. Per the Business Times, the company’s all-electric delivery robot Dot is manufactured in Fremont, where the city agreed earlier this year to allow the robot to make deliveries on public streets.
DoorDash is also reportedly testing its delivery technology with drones made by other companies, including Alphabet-owned Wing, which is operating in the Atlanta area. Other companies are pursuing similar efforts, including Uber, which has partnered with South San Francisco-based Zipline on a drone delivery program, and Amazon, which has been operating its own Prime Air drone network since 2022.
**Previously:** [DoorDash Wins Its Appeal to Test Food Delivery Drones in the Mission, and the Teamsters Aren’t Happy](https://sfist.com/2025/11/20/doordash-wins-its-appeal-to-test-food-delivery-drones-in-the-mission-distri-and-the-teamsters-arent-happy/)
### Humpday Headlines: Power Outage Hits Ferry Building
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/30/power-outage-hits-ferry-building/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T16:40:28.000Z
- **A power outage shut down business at the Ferry Building Wednesday morning.** The unplanned outage began around 6:40 am and was affecting about 450 customers on the SF waterfront, with restoration expected around 12:15 pm, PG&E said. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sf-ferry-building-left-in-the-dark-after-power-outage-hits-waterfront/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Steve Hilton barely stands a chance in November against Xavier Becerra in the California governor's race, according to recent polling, but they are going through the motions and having a debate tonight.** You can watch the debate on CNN starting at 6 pm PT. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/29/politics/cnn-california-governor-race-debate-becerra-hilton?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **An apparent terror attack was thwarted onboard an Israel-bound flight out of Dubai Wednesday, after a co-pilot reportedly stabbed the captain and the plane dropped 17,000 feet in two minutes over Jordanian airspace.** The Flydubai flight was able to successfully make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/co-pilot-stabs-plane-captain-mid-flight-possible-terror-attack-officials-say?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Scofflaws continue to dart into the bus-only lane at the Bay Bridge toll plaza, despite CHP handing out $490 tickets. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/bay-bridge-carpool-bus-lane-ticket-22449229.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A federal judge has struck down a University of California policy that banned the intentional misgendering or deadnaming of students, using their gender or name assigned at birth, saying that the policy violated the First Amendment. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/uc-s-anti-misgendering-policy-struck-judge-22455088.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- BART police continue to seek a second suspect in Monday's shooting at Pittsburg/Bay Point Station. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/2nd-bart-shooting-suspect-remains-outsanding-violence-injured-3-bystanders?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A former deputy with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office was ordered to serve five months in jail Tuesday for workers' compensation fraud. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/former-bay-area-sheriffs-deputy-to-serve-jail-time-for-fraud/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: 80-Year-Old Pedestrian Fatally Struck In SF’s Inner Richmond
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/day-around-the-bay-80-year-old-pedestrian-fatally-struck-in-sfs-inner-richmond/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T02:57:43.000Z
### Local:
- An 80-year-old pedestrian was killed near Rossi Playground Monday when a tow truck driver allegedly struck them in a crosswalk while turning right from Arguello Boulevard onto Anza Street. \[[Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/pedestrian-killed-steps-away-from-inner-richmond-playground/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Stanford organic chemist Song Lin, one of this year’s [MacArthur “genius” fellows](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2026/song-lin?ref=sfist.com), has pioneered using clean electricity instead of toxic chemical reagents and expensive heavy metals to synthesize complex molecules for new drugs and materials. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/09/29/nx-s1-5980447/macarthur-genius-grants-2026-fellows?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Bay Area-based Mezzetta food company issued a voluntary recall of its 32-ounce jars of Golden Greek Peperoncini Saturday after a woman shared a video on TikTik of one of the jars with a dead rodent inside. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/mezzetta-recall-mouse-22454667.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **OpenAI unveiled new “dots” AI agents that can handle tasks such as scheduling, travel arrangements, budgeting and coding, with the ChatGPT-based agents initially aimed at professional and workplace users.** The launch puts OpenAI in competition with Meta’s Muse, which is geared toward consumers, as well as Google’s Gemini Spark and other AI assistants entering the increasingly crowded market. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sam-altman-openai-dots-chatgpt-agents-safety/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Remnants of Hurricane Polo are bringing dangerous flooding to the Southwest, with evacuations ordered in parts of southern New Mexico after levees and dams were overwhelmed.** The storm’s remnants are expected to spread heavy rain and flood threats across the central US through the week, with parts of Colorado, Texas, and the Plains facing particularly heavy rainfall. \[[Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/09/29/life-threatening-flash-floods-may-soon-hit-southwest-driven-by-polo-remnants/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The US military is expected to complete its withdrawal from Iraq Wednesday, ending a 12-year presence that began with the fight against ISIS after U.S. troops initially left the country in 2011\. \[[ABC News](https://abcnews.com/International/us-troops-expected-leave-iraq-wednesday-12-year/story?id=136871869&ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Naomi "Nona" Hulme, the 92-year-old San Francisco transit rider featured in BART's recent ad campaign, died earlier this year after decades of using the transit system to stay connected with loved ones, and her family asked BART to share her story in her honor.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd1dj6QKUAi/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by SFBART (@sfbayarearapidtransit)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd1dj6QKUAi/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### San Jose Woman Accused of Harassing Father and Child Faces Hate Crime, Stalking Charges
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/san-jose-woman-accused-of-harassing-father-child-faces-hate-crime-stalking-charges/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T02:39:19.000Z
A San Jose woman accused of harassing a father and his daughter in a viral video appeared in court Tuesday on stalking and hate crime charges, with prosecutors also alleging she was out on bail in an unrelated case involving a death threat.
Lindsay Hansen appeared at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Tuesday, flashing a toothy grin as she was photographed during the court appearance, [as NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-jose-woman-hate-crimes-court/4150285/?ref=sfist.com). She faces felony stalking charges and hate crime allegations stemming from an encounter earlier this month [involving a father and his daughter](https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/san-jose-woman-accused-of-harassing-families-filming-inside-school-locker-room/).
The incident went viral after [video showed Hansen recording the pair](https://www.tiktok.com/@yosemiteshyam/video/7682935970768948494?ref=sfist.com) from the passenger-side window of her vehicle while accusing the father of sex trafficking the girl because they have different skin colors. Hansen reportedly approached the father and daughter three separate times.
[Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/14/woman-charged-with-stalking-hate-crime-for-allegedly-accusing-father-of-trafficking-daughter/?ref=sfist.com) that authorities arrested Hansen about a week after the video went viral. She was charged with one count of felony stalking by repeated following or malicious harassing, with additional allegations that she committed a hate crime while out on bail at the time.
That bail allegation stems from an unrelated March case in which Hansen allegedly made a social media post threatening to kill a former employer and the employer’s children.
Britlyn McCormick, a deputy district attorney with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office who is prosecuting the March case, told the News Group that Hansen faces a felony charge of threatening a crime resulting in death or great bodily injury, along with misdemeanor charges of threatening to injure by telephone and using an electronic communication device with the intent to annoy.
Hansen was reportedly arraigned on both cases at the same hearing earlier this month.
Hansen has also been accused of entering a high school locker room and recording students, then posting the footage online. A community member said in a [social media video](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1058714383619661) that Hansen had allegedly entered at least one other school and a library, where she harassed children and adults.
Per NBC Bay Area, Hansen is due back in court Thursday morning.
**Previously:** [San Jose Woman Accused of Harassing Families, Filming Inside School Locker Room](https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/san-jose-woman-accused-of-harassing-families-filming-inside-school-locker-room/)
### Buster Posey Accepts Giants' Season Failures, Gets Very Vague on Pride Night Dustup
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/buster-posey-accepts-giants-season-failures-gets-very-vague-on-pride-night-dustup/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T23:14:35.000Z
At a season wrap-up press conference Tuesday, the Giants brass acknowledged that this wasn't their year, and that the team's bullpen needs help next season. But when it came to discussing some non-baseball-related controversies, Buster Posey once again went mush-mouthed.
The San Francisco Giants had a fairly terrible season, finishing second to last in the NL West with 65 wins and 97 losses — only slightly better than the Colorado Rockies' 58 wins and 104 losses. Their rival LA Dodgers had almost the mirror-image record, with 100 wins and 62 losses, and they head to Game 1 of the Division Series on Saturday.
Tuesday's presser with President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey, General Manager Zack Minasian, and Manager Tony Vitello was thus a somber affair, with the execs just trying to express a glimmer of hope for next season and a call to move on.
"As excited as we were about how well some of our young guys played, I just want to say it out loud: We don’t have blinders on the wins and losses," Posey said. "We’re still not there with that group."
One upside of the low-stakes season, Posey said, following the relegation of outfielder Harrison Bader to the injured list early on, was being able to give some on-field experience to several young outfielders.
Bader remains a part of the roster, Posey confirmed, despite that July incident where he was injured while on a scooter, at an hour when the bars let out in the Marina, in a [collision with a fire truck](https://sfist.com/2026/07/29/sf-giants-troubles-continue-as-outfielder-harrison-bader-has-scooter-accident-and-tickets-go/), all while he was being treated for an existing foot injury.
As the [Chronicle notes](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/giants-brass-frank-97-loss-season-vague-fixes-22454731.php?ref=sfist.com), regarding Bader's contract, "There’s also the very real possibility the Giants just trade Bader and absorb some of the $13 million owed him or even designate him for assignment." And Posey said that things were still being discussed regarding Bader with the Players Association and the commissioner's office.
Posey tried to defend Vitello against criticisms regarding his inexperience, and suggested he would stay on as manager next year. "I hate to say this without giving him the opportunity, he can add on to this, but I do think there’s an adjustment going from coaching to managing and I think as the season went on, he was starting to make that adjustment," Posey said.
Vitello spoke in response to questions about [the Pride Night fiasco](https://sfist.com/2026/06/15/self-described-christian-homophobes-in-giants-bullpen-deface-pride-night-hats/), in which several players wrote Bible versus on their Pride Night caps to protest the event, seeming to accept some responsibility for poor "communication."
"I think towards the end of the year, even though the outcomes weren’t what we wanted, whether it was veteran guys, younger guys, support staff, I think communication was at a much higher level and there was a much better understanding of what’s going on in different areas and how that needs to be tied together,” Vitello said. “Ultimately, I need to voice my opinion probably almost as loud as anybody, at least out of everybody that’s downstairs."
Posey, once again, as he did after the controversy erupted, failed to meet the moment or offer a sincere apology to Giants fans who were offended.
In his mush-mouthed, ultra-vague way, Posey responded today about the incident saying, "Well, I think any time you have a situation like that, it’s always an opportunity to learn. You reflect and think what could have been done differently, you try to learn from that and move on."
Right.
Overall, Posey didn't much impress anyone when it comes to having a plan for fixing the team's weaknesses. "Yes, there were plenty of words and very few answers Tuesday," writes [Bay Area News Group's Dieter Kurtenbach](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/29/sf-giants-buster-posey-tony-vitello-zack-minasian-willy-adames-oracle-park-kurtenbach-0929/?ref=sfist.com), noting that Posey essentially told reporters that nothing was going to change next season.
"What’s the colloquial definition of insanity, again?" Kurtenbach adds. But, he notes, it may just be that the replacement of Vitello and/or Minasian may happen at a later date, once those replacement are located, and Posey simply wasn't prepared to fire them in front of everyone today.
**Previously:** [The Giants Get Embroiled In the Culture War Battle They Didn't Need as JD Vance, Josh Hawley Weigh In on Pride Night Hats](https://sfist.com/2026/06/17/the-giants-get-embroiled-in-the-culture-war-battle-they-didnt-need-as-jd-vance-josh-hawley-weigh-in-on-pride-night-hats/)
### Alcatraz Island to Close In Late October While Ferry Dock Undergoes Repairs
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/alcatraz-island-to-close-in-late-october-while-ferry-dock-undergoes-repairs/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T22:54:23.000Z
Alcatraz will be closed to visitors for three weeks this fall while crews complete the third and final phase of repairs to the island’s ferry dock.
The National Park Service announced Monday that Alcatraz’s ferry dock will be [taken out of service starting October 26](https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/news/alcatraz-island-to-temporarily-close-for-dock-repairs-this-fall.htm?ref=sfist.com), closing the island to visitors while crews replace two support pilings beneath the dock. The work is expected to continue through November 18, although weather and other factors could change the schedule.
The island has already closed twice this year for work on the dock. A nine-day closure in January followed the failure of one of the pilings, prompting Alcatraz City Cruises to inspect all five. Two needed repairs, while the other three were found to be structurally sound enough to keep ferry service running.
Ferry capacity was reduced during that time, but the operator continued serving regular ticket sales by using additional boats.
Alcatraz closed again for six days [in April](https://sfist.com/2026/04/21/day-around-the-bay-two-people-found-dead-inside-car-at-berkeleys-aquatic-park/), when crews strengthened the three usable pilings and worked out a plan to replace the remaining two. The additional work allowed ferry service to return to full capacity ahead of the busy summer season.
The upcoming project is the final phase of the repairs and will involve driving in new pilings and completely replacing the two that still need work. The timing is also tied to Bay Conservation and Development Commission restrictions on in-water work in San Francisco Bay after November 30.
Alcatraz City Cruises, the National Park Service concessioner that operates the ferry service, is paying for the repairs. The National Park Service said no tax dollars or federal funding will be used for the work.
The agency says the ferry operator makes more than 3,200 trips to Alcatraz each year, carrying about 1.5 million visitors.
Once the work is finished, the dock is expected to last 20 to 30 years.
Visitors with reservations during the closure will be notified and offered refunds, according to the NPS. They can also reschedule their Alcatraz tour or book a San Francisco Bay Discovery Cruise instead — on selected dates.
The island is otherwise scheduled to remain open year-round, aside from regular holiday closures and occasional weather-related shutdowns.
**Related:** [Alcatraz Ferry Collides With Pier 31 During Docking, Shattering Windows and Frightening Passengers](https://sfist.com/2026/05/26/alcatraz-ferry-collides-with-pier-31-during-docking-startling-passengers/)
### AI Leaders Powwow With Trump at White House Lunch; Anthropic IPO Filing Shows Massive Expenses
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/ai-leaders-powwow-with-trump-at-white-house-lunch-anthropic-ipo-filing-shows-massive-expenses/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T22:02:11.000Z
CEOs of the biggest companies in the artificial intelligence space were lunching with President Trump on Tuesday, a day after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei separately met with Trump alone.
The president has sounded cluelessly bullish about the AI industry in recent weeks, notably pushing back on calls for regulation — likely because in his black-and-white universe, regulation is bad, making money is good. Meanwhile, AI CEOs themselves have practically been begging for global cooperation around some sort of guardrails, as they themselves have seen the potential harms that could come from powerful AI models.
Last week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman both [spoke to the UN Security Council](https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/day-around-the-bay-mexican-tall-ship-arrives/) about the need for a global rulebook and international coordination in order to harness the power of AI. And this came two weeks after Amodei penned [a 3,800-word essay titled "We Must Pace the Frontier,"](https://darioamodei.com/post/we-must-pace-the-frontier?ref=sfist.com) calling for an industry-wide slowdown in the pace of AI development. As he put it, AI clearly brings risks to humanity, and, "A race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives, can make these risks more acute."
Trump soon responded [via tweet](https://www.reddit.com/r/artificial/comments/1wg4ziv/trump%5Fdoubles%5Fdown%5Fon%5Fhis%5Fno%5Fai%5Fslowdown%5Fstance/?ref=sfist.com) calling such concerns a "hoax," and a "SICK conspiracy," and essentially saying the industry can't slow down if it wants to maintain an edge over China.
Fast-forward to Monday night, and [Amodei was having a private dinner](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-dario-amodei-anthropic-dinner/?ref=sfist.com) at the White House with President Trump. Lord knows this was probably more of a kissing-the-ring situation than any deep policy discussion. And it comes months after the Pentagon declared Amodei's company a "supply chain risk" in order to cancel a contract they had for using Claude — which followed Anthropic pushing back on the Pentagon wanting the freedom to use the technology be used for mass surveillance of Americans, or to power fully autonomous weapons.
A federal appeals court on Friday [just upheld the Pentagon's right](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/09/25/federal-appeals-court-rules-pentagon-can-blacklist-anthropic/?ref=sfist.com) to blacklist the company, in a significant loss for Anthropic as far as future lucrative government contracts are concerned.
**Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, looks to U.S. President Donald Trump as Trump holds a press briefing with AI executives following a meeting on artificial intelligence outside the West Wing of the White House on September 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. The meeting comes as some have called for a slowdown in AI development amid rising safety concerns. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)*
Tuesday's luncheon at the White House included House Speaker Mike Johnson, VP JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Amodei, Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su, Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and billionaire former AI and crypto czar David Sacks. The only major Silicon Valley tech CEO not invited, apparently, was new Apple CEO John Ternus.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House Tuesday afternoon, Trump crowed that he had signed a "morally binding" document with the CEOs about "self-regulation" of AI models.
"There’s a belief that there should be tremendous self-regulation, and we automatically have regulation with the Department of Justice, the FBI, all of that," Trump said. He added that tech leaders "want to see communities that are safe and happy, and they’re going to make communities very, very happy. Otherwise, they’ll be forced to go overseas or other locations."
Trump also said he would be appointing a new "AI czar" in a few days.
Su [spoke to CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/tech-white-house-ai-lunch-trump.html?ref=sfist.com) after the event, saying she was "very encouraged" by the discussion, and saying that there was "a lot of optimism and a sense of responsibility" in the room.
Prior to the event, Palantir's Karp told CNBC, "The main issue that you have and I have is we have to take responsibility for the dangers we’re aware of. All of us do. And by the way, American people don’t want separate rules for tech people and for themselves."
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, [Reuters reported](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/anthropics-ipo-prospectus-shows-sweeping-ai-vision-surging-costs-2026-09-28/?ref=sfist.com) on some of the details from Anthropic's IPO filing — which it appears to be pushing forward with despite Amodei's essay, and despite competitor OpenAI saying it was pausing its own IPO effort this year.
And that may be because they really need the cash! Per the report, Anthropic had a net loss of $42 billion in 2025, on revenue of $4.6 billion. The company expects to have $518 billion in future obligations for cloud computing and other infrastructure, and it is currently spending more than half of its expenses on computing costs — about $7 billion of its $12.65 billion in 2025 expenses.
Anthropic could be looking at a valuation around $2 trillion after the IPO, which would be more than double what the company was valued at in its last financing around in May, which was $965 billion.
**Previously:** [Anthropic CEO Calls for AI Slowdown Amid Escalating Worries](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/)
### Long-Stalled 15-Story High-Rise at Fourth and Harrison Advances In SF’s SoMa
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/long-stalled-15-story-high-rise-at-fourth-and-harrison-advances-in-sfs-soma/
Last updated: 2026-09-30T03:39:40.000Z
Plans for a $1 billion office development at 725 Harrison Street, which were first announced in 2015 and later put on hold during the pandemic, are now moving forward, as the developers recently received an 18-month extension.
Based on [plans from the project’s design firm, HOK](https://www.hok.com/projects/view/4th-and-harrison-mixed-use-development/?ref=sfist.com), the 725 Harrison Street project would bring 770,000 square feet of Class A office space to the site, along with 36,000 square feet of retail, on-site childcare, production-distribution-repair space, micro retail, and 16,700 square feet of public open space. The 15-story development would include five roof decks with city views, along with two privately owned, publicly accessible open spaces at street level.
**Rendering via Steelblue*
[As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/downtown-office-development-soma-22447794.php?ref=sfist.com), the project’s entitlements were set to expire, prompting the developer BXP, formerly Boston Properties, to request more time from the Planning Commission Thursday. The company said current construction costs and high interest rates mean it still needs to secure a major tenant before it can finance the project, but the recent surge in office leasing, particularly among AI companies, has made the development more viable.
BXP project manager Alex Weinberg told the Chronicle the extension will allow the company to continue marketing the project while it looks for the tenant needed to get construction underway. The company reportedly pointed to about 9 million square feet of tenant demand currently being tracked by brokers, much of it from growing AI companies.
The 725 Harrison Street project [dates back to 2015](https://sfist.com/2015/09/30/hok%5Farchitects%5Fand%5Fsalesforce%5Ftower/), when BXP, then known as Boston Properties, unveiling its original plans calling for a 240-foot tower, a 130-foot mid-block building, and a smaller 65-foot structure across the street. The project received generally positive feedback from the [the Planning Commission in 2016](https://sfist.com/2016/01/08/scope%5Fthis%5Funusual%5Ftower%5Fproposed%5Fn/), with commissioners describing HOK’s design as “playful and inventive architecture.”
The original plans called for 15,000 square feet of affordable housing, but it’s unclear if that’s the same amount included in the new plans.
Planning Department staff also asked BXP at the time to more directly incorporate privately owned public open spaces, or POPOS, into the project. The current design includes two large POPOS at street level, which would be publicly accessible spaces incorporated into the development under the city’s planning code. The project also includes 16,700 square feet of public open space overall.
The Chronicle reports that in January 2020, Boston Properties’ board approved the $1 billion investment needed to build the project, even though no tenant had committed to the space. The pandemic then brought the development to a halt just three months later.
“It was a shame that COVID hit literally only two months later and we had to hit pause and reevaluate and wait for the market to recover again,” BXP senior vice president of development Aaron Fenton told the commission.
**Rendering via Steelblue*
HOK says says the 15-story building is designed to break up the mass of a conventional downtown office tower, with a facade inspired by geometries found in the built and natural environment and a cascading effect intended to evoke falling leaves.
The firm says on its website it used parametric design tools to create varying panel sizes and arrangements across the facade, which combines seven copper and eight zinc tones in a gradient that shifts from the ground upward. The glazing, metal panels, and facade treatments are also designed to respond to different solar orientations.
The project is one of five major developments approved through the [Central SoMa rezoning](https://sfist.com/2025/03/19/city-hall-revises-now-moribund-central-soma-plan-by-allowing-more-housing-and-much-less-office-space/), which was intended to bring thousands of new homes and millions of square feet of office space along the Central Subway corridor, per the Chronicle.
BXP said the office market has changed significantly in recent months, with San Francisco recording more than 2 million square feet of leasing for seven consecutive quarters. OpenAI and Anthropic have reportedly each taken roughly 1 million square feet in Mission Bay and SoMa, respectively, while BXP's 680 Folsom property has added about 200,000 square feet of leases in the past six months.
As the Chronicle reports, the 725 Harrison Street project is planned in phases, with the first building totaling about 550,000 square feet. Fenton said leasing 30% to 50% of that building, or roughly 165,000 to 225,000 square feet, could be enough to secure financing and begin construction.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the 18-month extension.
BXP says the construction drawings are complete and the site permits are ready to pull, with demolition of the existing vacant buildings potentially beginning next year.
**Previously:** [Planning Department Calls Proposed SoMa Office Development 'Playful And Inventive'](https://sfist.com/2016/01/08/scope%5Fthis%5Funusual%5Ftower%5Fproposed%5Fn/)
### Accusations of Transphobia and Abuse Revealed In Court Filings Linked to Dublin Homicide
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/accusations-of-transphobia-and-abuse-revealed-in-court-filings-linked-to-dublin-homicide/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T19:34:02.000Z
Across multiple court filings in the last several years, including those relating to a restraining order and an ongoing divorce proceeding, a Dublin couple appeared to be in a toxic relationship that had been affecting their kids. Then, according to police, the in-laws stepped in.
On Monday, the Bay Area was awash with reports about the [Saturday murder of 40-year-old New York Times Games engineer Jonathan McKinsey](https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/man-identified-as-nyt-games-engineer-reportedly-killed-by-in-laws-in-dublin/) in the East Bay city of Dublin, allegedly at the hands of septuagenarian in-laws. But in the days since the story broke on Sunday, multiple news agencies have gained access to court records that detail a tumultuous marriage, allegations of physical and emotional abuse on both sides, and an ongoing divorce and custody battle, all of which likely contributed to the ultimate violent tragedy.
McKinsey, who was transgender and reportedly transitioned in 2010, alleged emotional and physical abuse by his in-laws and wife pertaining to his identity. The couple had apparently been together for more than 17 years.
We noted yesterday that McKinsey faced misdemeanor child abuse charges as well as a charge of neglect in Alameda County — the former relating to an incident, reported by McKinsey's wife, Candice Jang, in which she said he hit their six-year-old son in the face with an open hand, and the latter relating to an October 2025 incident in which police found the couple's two-year-old at home unattended in an upstairs crib.
As the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/us/jonathan-mckinsey-new-york-times-shooting-california.html?ref=sfist.com), McKinsey said in court filings that the October incident was a set-up, and that Jang, who was responsible for the children's care during the workweek, had purposely not told him that the child was left upstairs when she left the house, and the police arrived to find the child unattended.
The accusations went both ways, with McKinsey alleging both abuse at the hands of Jang and her parents, and neglect on the part of Jang when it came to feeding and bathing the children.
"When I protested about any of this, she threatened me with harm or said she would call the police and tell them I was hurting our children," McKinsey wrote in the filing, per the Times.
Jang claimed in an October 2025 filing that McKinsey had grabbed her by the forearms during an argument and dropped her on the corner of a table, leading to a fractured vertebra in her back. She further claimed that McKinsey had emotionally abused her mother, 76-year-old Shili Chen.
McKinsey claimed that Jang had once hit him over the head with a frying pan and forced him to eat a cockroach, and that in a different physical fight, she struck him on the head with a mirror, and in the ensuing struggle, the mirror broke and he had cut a tendon and nerve in his hand that had resulted in permanent nerve damage.
Jang's parents, McKinsey told the court, had apparently never accepted his gender transition, and he alleged that her father, 76-year-old Shouyong Zhang, had punched him in the chest while he was recovering from double-mastectomy surgery in 2010\. As [Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/28/dublin-shooting-death-mckinsey-inlaws/?ref=sfist.com), he further alleged that Jang had tried to pull "medical tubes" out of his body after undergoing a procedure, and he alleged that she had one time encouraged him to try to take his own life.
McKinsey also said, [per the California Post](https://nypost.com/2026/09/29/us-news/nyt-exec-attacked-by-elderly-in-law-after-son-wore-dress-before-killing/?ref=sfist.com), that in one instance, after their six-year-old was asking to wear his baby sister's dresses, something that he referred to as a "phase," his mother-in-law had berated the child, calling him a "disgusting queer" and a "pervert," and allegedly hitting him on the back of the head. McKinsey wrote that he asked Chen to stop, and she turned and called him the same names.
"She blamed me for \[my son\] wanting to wear his sister’s dresses and told me to get out of ‘her house’ even though we were in the home owned by Candice and I," McKinsey reportedly wrote.
McKinsey filed for his own restraining order against Jang last December, after reportedly moving out of the house they shared. Jang and her attorneys argued that McKinsey had shown a pattern of domestic violence, and she had successfully gained temporary full custody of the children as the divorce proceeding continued.
Jang's request for a restraining order also alleged that McKinsey had "threatened to kill me and my parents."
Contrary to earlier reporting, McKinsey had pleaded not guilty to the child abuse and neglect charges, per Bay Area News Group, and a court-ordered parenting class would have led to those charges being dismissed, once he had completed 12 classes.
Zhang and Chen are being held at Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, felony conspiracy, dangerously firing a gun, and child endangerment that could have caused major injury or death. It's unclear if one or both of the couple's children were present at the time of the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of a city park on Saturday afternoon.
Witnesses had suggested that the couple "took turns" firing shots at McKinsey, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are likely looking seriously into whether Jang knew anything of her parents' plans.
**Previously:** [Man Identified As NYT Games Engineer Reportedly Killed By In-Laws In Dublin](https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/man-identified-as-nyt-games-engineer-reportedly-killed-by-in-laws-in-dublin/)
### SF Adds New Flock Safeguards Following Human Rights Commission Investigation
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/sf-adds-new-flock-safeguards-after-human-rights-commission-investigation/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T19:33:31.000Z
San Francisco is tightening rules for its Flock license plate cameras after a Human Rights Commission investigation found oversight gaps in the system, although the city did not implement all of the commission's recommendations.
Amid growing public outcry over privacy concerns, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced new policies Thursday addressing several recommendations by the Human Rights Commission regarding Flock camera surveillance, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-flock-cameras-daniel-lurie-guidelines/?ref=sfist.com). The investigation was prompted by reporting from earlier this year that out-of-state and federal agencies had accessed SFPD's Flock data [more than 1.6 million times](https://sfist.com/2026/02/28/lawsuit-says-flock-allowed-out-of-state-agencies-access-to-sfpd-database-1-6-million-times/) between August 2024 and February 2025.
Under the new policy, the SFPD will continue retaining automated license plate-reader data from its collection of [more than 400 Flock cameras](https://sfist.com/2025/01/03/sfpd-refuses-to-say-where-theyve-placed-those-400-automated-license-plate-readers-all-over-town/) for 12 months, but officers will need police leadership approval to access data more than 30 days old. They must also demonstrate a connection to an active criminal investigation.
The SFPD will also remove its data from the Flock platform after 30 days. All Flock searches will reportedly require an incident report, with monthly reviews of search logs by the department and an annual audit by the Department of Police Accountability.
The city's 30-day limit is less restrictive than Flock's own newly announced default.[ In August, Flock announced](https://www.flocksafety.com/blog/flock-guardrails-address-lpr-privacy-concerns-and-police-transparency?ref=sfist.com) that it had reduced its standard retention period from 30 days to seven days.
The company also announced the rollout of a new Evidence Mode feature that allows investigators to preserve specific data for an active case after that period, as well as an Audit Assistance tool, which flags unusual searches for administrator review, although [the ACLU has questioned](https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/tracking-alpr-cameras/despite-new-updates-flocks-creepy-cameras-remain-major-civil-liberties-threat?ref=sfist.com) how those safeguards will work in practice.
The new San Francisco rules come as the local Democratic Party has continued to support the cameras despite the scrutiny surrounding them.
According to Mission Local, the San Francisco Democratic Party [voted 11-3 last week](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-democratic-party-flock-cameras/?ref=sfist.com) to affirm its support for the city's continued use of Flock cameras, with four members abstaining and 13 absent. Two committee members, Lily Ho and Trevor Chandler, are reportedly Flock employees and voted on the resolution, as the party has no conflict-of-interest rule covering votes like this one.
The vote followed a [separate resolution from former Supervisor Gordon Mar](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-democratic-party-flock-cameras/?ref=sfist.com) calling for stronger guardrails and consideration of suspending the city's Flock contract, which was rejected, per Mission Local.
Party Chair Nancy Tung also came under scrutiny after [the SF Standard reported](https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/28/sf-dem-party-chair-who-blocked-key-flock-vote-got-10-000-donation-billionaire/?ref=sfist.com) that she received a $10,000 donation from tech billionaire Chris Larsen in August and subsequently used her Democratic Party officeholder account to purchase a $347 flight to Atlanta for Flock's law-enforcement conference, where she spoke about San Francisco's public-safety efforts. Tung said the donation and Flock's outreach did not influence her actions.
Larsen has separately donated roughly $12 million to San Francisco Police Department surveillance efforts, according to the Standard. Much of the money has funded the department’s [Real-Time Investigation Center](https://sfist.com/2025/06/03/crypto-mogul-chris-larsen-kicking-down-nearly-10-million-to-sfpd-for-more-surveillance-efforts/), which is housed in property owned by Larsen’s company Ripple Labs.
While the Human Rights Commission's investigation found that SFPD had not violated San Francisco's sanctuary laws when outside agencies accessed its Flock data, the commission found [that SFPD did not know Flock had enabled its Nationwide Lookup feature](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/sfpd-flock-cameras-human-rights-commission-report-sanctuary/?ref=sfist.com), as Mission Local reports.
The city's new policy addresses three of the commission's recommendations, but does not fully adopt all five. In particular, the commission called for SFPD to have direct control over Flock's Nationwide Lookup feature. Per Mission Local, the SFPD has since disabled Nationwide Lookup, but the city's new policy does not give the department direct control over the feature from Flock.
The department also opted not to fully implement the commission's recommendation to turn on all available camera settings to improve transparency.
The American Civil Liberties Union has been more critical of Flock's safeguards. [In an October 2025 analysis](https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/tracking-alpr-cameras/police-audit-logs?ref=sfist.com), the organization argued that self-reported search logs are a weak check on surveillance systems because officers themselves document why they searched the data. In a six-month dataset of 11.4 million Flock searches, more than 14% of search-reason fields contained only the word "investigation."
After Flock announced its seven-day retention policy in August, the ACLU said the change could be beneficial but warned that Evidence Mode could allow investigators to preserve data beyond those seven days, depending on how the feature is implemented. It also said Flock's Audit Assistance tool has never been independently evaluated, [making its effectiveness difficult to assess](https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/tracking-alpr-cameras/despite-new-updates-flocks-creepy-cameras-remain-major-civil-liberties-threat?ref=sfist.com).
Per Mission Local, Flock's contract extension will be up for a vote with the Board of Supervisors in February 2027.
A local group called [DeFlockSF](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/deflock-sf-maps-local-cameras-spreads-awareness-about-flock-surveillance/) has a map of all the cameras in San Francisco.
**Related:** [‘DeFlock SF’ Maps Local Cameras, Spreads Awareness About Flock Surveillance](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/deflock-sf-maps-local-cameras-spreads-awareness-about-flock-surveillance/)
### Three People Injured In Shooting on BART Transfer Platform In Pittsburg
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/three-people-injured-in-shooting-on-bart-transfer-platform-in-pittsburg/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T17:30:49.000Z
A Monday evening shooting disrupted BART service and left three people injured in the East Bay, adding one more commute woe for those trying to get home to Antioch.
The incident happened just before 5:30 pm, and [we initially only heard](https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/multiple-crashes-back-up-bay-area-freeways/) that a shooting had taken place somewhere in the vicinity of the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station.
As [ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/police-activity-shuts-down-service-bay-point-bart-station-east/19885555/?ref=sfist.com), the shooting took place on the eBART transfer platform, where commuters switch to eBART trains to travel on from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Pittsburg Center and Antioch.
Reportedly, an argument between two people "escalated into gunfire," and it's not clear whether all three victims were connected to the arguing pair, or if bystanders were struck by gunfire as well. According to BART police, the victims all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
One suspect has been arrested, [as KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/shooting-halts-bart-service-pittsburg-station-closed/?ref=sfist.com), and police are seeking a second suspect as well.
The shooting shut down Pittsburg/Bay Point Station as the investigation took place Monday night, and later reopened with full train service resuming around 11 pm. During the closure, a bus bridge was provided between North Concord/Martinez Station and Antioch Station.
The incident comes days after a mechanical problem that caused another disruption on the eBART line, [trapping a group of morning rush hour passengers](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/riders-stuck-on-ebart-train-in-pittsburg-for-over-an-hour-after-break-failure/) for over an hour after the train's break system suffered a malfunction.
### Tuesday Morning Topline: 4.7M Earthquake Strikes Off Coast
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/29/4-7-earthquake-strikes-off-coast/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T16:46:30.000Z
- **There was a 4.7M earthquake this morning around 4:36 am centered under the Pacific about 60 miles due west of Petrolia, on the Northern California coast.** The epicenter was about 1.8 miles north of the Mendocino Fault Zone. \[[USGS](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc75444322/executive?ref=sfist.com) / [Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/earthquakes/article/magnitude-4-3-earthquake-strikes-off-the-coast-of-22454040.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There was also a smaller quake just after 9 am centered in Yountville, in Napa County, with a preliminary magnitude of 2.6\. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/earthquake-near-yountville/4150265/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Governor Gavin Newsom's political calculus around AI appears to be changing as public backlash grows. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/public-worries-ai-grow-newsoms-political-calculus-is-changing/19885256/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Kaiser Permanente has announced 150 layoffs across the state, including around 34 in the Bay Area. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/kaiser-layoffs-to-impact-nearly-150-workers-across-california/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A film crew was spotted this morning on Nob Hill, shooting something involving a cable car, and this is likely linked to the production of the new season of Ted Danson's Netflix show, "A Man on the Inside." \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/film-crew-spotted-in-nob-hill-tuesday-amid-filming-for-netflix-hit-a-man-on-the-inside/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There's something of a construction boom happening on the UC Berkeley campus, with about a dozen different projects ongoing. \[[Berkeleyside](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/09/29/uc-berkeley-construction-map?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An investigation into an alleged gang rape that took place in 2024 at a Cornell University frat house has been reopened following the revelation of new details in a civil complaint. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/us/cornell-university-sexual-assault-lawsuit-hnk?ref=sfist.com) / [The Cut](https://www.thecut.com/article/cornell-daily-sun-students-interview-cornell-seven-lawsuit.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Multiple Crashes Back Up Bay Area Freeways
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/multiple-crashes-back-up-bay-area-freeways/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T01:35:55.000Z
### Local:
- There were multiple collisions and subsequent traffic backups on Bay Area freeways Monday, including a three-car crash on 101 northbound in San Francisco near Vermont Street, and an overturned vehicle blocking two westbound lanes of I-80 in the East Bay. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/traffic-i80-us101-incidents-22453630.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A shooting that happened either on a BART train or in a station shut down all BART service between North Concord/Martinez and Antioch on Monday evening. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/shooting-halts-bart-service-pittsburg-station-closed/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Regarding the elderly Dublin couple who allegedly ["took turns" shooting their 40-year-old son-in-law](https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/man-identified-as-nyt-games-engineer-reportedly-killed-by-in-laws-in-dublin/) in a parking lot on Saturday, the victim was reportedly in a custody battle with his wife, whom he was in the process of divorcing, and the couple had made dueling allegations of child abuse against each other. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/28/dublin-shooting-death-mckinsey-inlaws/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- At a hearing today in San Francisco, a judge denied Nima Momeni's defense attorneys any more time to gather evidence for a motion for a retrial for [the killing of Bob Lee](https://sfist.com/bob-lee-stabbing/), and Momeni's sentencing has been delayed pending the prosecution reviewing and responding to the motion. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/momeni-lawyers-using-racial-justice-act-try-overturn-conviction?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Employees of the FBI are freaking out after a major hack appears to have compromised a great deal of their personal information.** Many employees had not heard about the hack until a news report about it last week. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/us/politics/fbi-shinyhunters-damage.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- 93-year-old Senator Chuck Grassley, despite running for another term that doesn't end until January 2029, is now lamenting the possibility that he will die in office with a Democratic governor of Iowa in charge to choose his successor. \[[ABC News](https://abc7news.com/story/chuck-grassley-oldest-sitting-us-senator-laments-dying-office-democratic-governor/19885399/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are criticizing the White House for using taxpayer dollars to fund a TV/video ad campaign that celebrates and promotes President Trump and his policies. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/politics/trump-ads-taxpayer-funds?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Here's some drone footage of the Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, shot far enough above it that you can't see anything NSFW, or not safe for sensitive eyes.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd0DxdIu2nn/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by The San Francisco Standard (@sfstandard)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd0DxdIu2nn/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Vietnam Vet Shoots Suspect Who Drilled Hole Through Door to Break Into SF Home
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/vietnam-vet-shoots-suspect-who-drilled-hole-through-door-to-break-into-sf-home/
Last updated: 2026-09-29T00:28:58.000Z
A burglary suspect was shot by a 73-year-old veteran during a struggle after he allegedly broke into the man’s Sunset District home through a large hole drilled into the front door.
More details have emerged in the [shooting of an alleged burglar](https://sfist.com/2026/09/26/sfpd-says-saturday-morning-shooting-incidents-in-sunset-richmond-may-be-related/) in the Sunset early Saturday. A 73-year-old Vietnam War veteran [told KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-francisco-police-investigating-burglary-and-shooting/?ref=sfist.com) he was asleep on the third floor when he was jolted awake by noises coming from downstairs. He grabbed his handgun and went to investigate, encountering the intruder on the second floor.
The alleged burglar was dressed in black, wearing a hoodie and face mask, and he had a roughly 60-pound husky with him. The veteran said the two struggled, with the intruder grabbing him and knocking him onto his hands and knees before he fired one shot.
“I believe I hit him somewhere here, somewhere in the buttocks,” the veteran told KPIX.
As KPIX reports, the veteran said he suffered minor scrapes to his hands and knees in the confrontation. The suspected burglar then fled the home, leaving his dog behind. Blood-stained shoe prints reportedly showed that he ran in the direction of Golden Gate Park, while a neighbor’s security camera captured the dog barking repeatedly after being abandoned.
The veteran said the intruder accessed the home by drilling a large hole through the wooden, first-floor door to reach the lock and force his way inside.
He also said he believed the intruder had been casing the neighborhood beforehand. Surveillance footage obtained by KPIX showed the man walking back and forth along 22nd Avenue near Lincoln Way roughly 40 minutes before the break-in.
San Francisco police later said they detained an injured man about three miles away, near Geary Boulevard and 47th Avenue in the Outer Richmond. Paramedics took him to San Francisco General Hospital, where police said he was recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.
Police told KPIX they would take the man into custody if they confirm he was the suspect, and he could face burglary and other charges.
The incident left the veteran shaken, but he said he was grateful he wasn't seriously injured. His next-door neighbor, Michael, said the veteran had a reputation for looking out for others.
“Our neighbor is really something special,” Michael said, speaking to KPIX. “He’s definitely got a heroic side to him. He’s a real, true vet.”
**Previously:** [SFPD Says Saturday Morning Shooting Incidents in Sunset, Richmond May Be Related](https://sfist.com/2026/09/26/sfpd-says-saturday-morning-shooting-incidents-in-sunset-richmond-may-be-related/)
### Nvidia Launches Open-Source Platform Aimed at Keeping AI Agents From Hacking Other Sites
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/nvidia-launches-open-source-platform-aimed-at-keeping-ai-agents-from-hacking-other-sites/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T22:52:40.000Z
Nvidia has launched an open-source platform designed to set boundaries for AI agents and monitor their behavior, following a series of incidents in which agents escaped controlled environments and accessed systems they weren’t supposed to reach.
The platform, announced Monday, combines Nvidia’s OpenShell software, which limits what an AI agent can access and do, with Sentry, a separate security layer that monitors agents and can intervene when they move beyond their assigned boundaries, [as the Associated Press reports](https://abc7.com/post/nvidia-unveils-security-platform-stop-ai-agents-going-rogue-new-troubling-incidents/19883509/?ref=sfist.com). Nvidia says more than 100 organizations are already using the platform, including Microsoft, Perplexity, Accenture, and JPMorgan Chase.
The platform follows a string of recent incidents involving AI agents breaking out of supposedly contained testing environments. In the most significant case, OpenAI’s models got around restrictions on internet access and communication during an internal evaluation in July, then used those capabilities to [hack into Hugging Face’s systems](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/australian-prime-minister-says-openai-took-months-to-notify-officials-that-agents-hacked-healthcare-site/).
The models were supposed to be isolated from one another, but found a way to communicate through shared infrastructure and eventually coordinate an attack on Hugging Face. [An independent investigation by METR](https://metr.org/blog/2026-08-26-openai-hugging-face-incident-investigation/?ref=sfist.com) found that roughly 1,200 agents used the unauthorized communication channel, with about 700 ultimately participating in the attack.
It was also revealed last week that OpenAI’s models had accessed [an Australian health department website](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/australian-prime-minister-says-openai-took-months-to-notify-officials-that-agents-hacked-healthcare-site/), and the company announced Friday that its agents [interacted with three US government websites in “unexpected ways,”](https://sfist.com/2026/09/27/openai-says-its-agents-interacted-in-unexpected-ways-with-government-sites/) including two operated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and another tied to US Census Bureau data.
Other companies have had similar incidents occur in recent weeks. [According to Venture Beat](https://venturebeat.com/infrastructure/nvidias-openshell-controls-what-ai-agents-can-access-even-when-they-ignore-instructions?ref=sfist.com), Google said earlier this month that a Gemini model reached systems belonging to three real companies during a cybersecurity evaluation after a configuration error left internet access enabled. Anthropic and Meta have also reported AI systems independently hacking into outside organizations.
Nvidia Vice President of Enterprise AI Justin Boitano said the new platform is intended to address a problem that model-level safeguards alone cannot solve.
“An agent cannot be expected to fully police its own behavior,” Boitano said. “The organization should not have to trust the agent to respect that boundary.”
OpenShell runs agents in isolated environments and allows developers to specify which files, networks, tools, processes, and credentials they can access, [according to CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/28/nvidia-releases.html?ref=sfist.com). Sentry provides a separate monitoring layer on Nvidia hardware that can detect suspicious behavior and, according to the company, quarantine an agent within milliseconds.
Boitano said the system could potentially have stopped the Hugging Face breach if it had been deployed during the lab’s evaluation, though he acknowledged that this has not been demonstrated.
The platform is partly open-source and is intended to work beyond Nvidia hardware, including systems using Arm and Intel processors. Nvidia said partners include Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, CoreWeave, Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Arm, and Intel, while Anthropic is working with Nvidia to integrate cloud-managed agents with OpenShell, per CNBC.
AMD, Google, Intel, OpenAI, and Meta have not signed on, as they're all reportedly developing their own competing chips.
While some leaders in the AI industry have recently called for a slowdown in development to allow safety measures to catch up, CEO Jensen Huang has instead characterized AI safety as an [engineering problem](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-open-agent-safety-platform-a-reference-for-continuous-in-silicon-agent-monitoring/?ref=sfist.com) that can be addressed through better systems and processes.
“We can’t have a successful AI industry if the world doesn’t think it’s built — or confident that it’s built — and deployed safely,” Huang [told CNBC Monday](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/28/cnbc-excerpts-nvidia-founder-ceo-jensen-huang-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-box-today.html?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [OpenAI Says Its Agents Interacted in 'Unexpected Ways' With Government Sites](https://sfist.com/2026/09/27/openai-says-its-agents-interacted-in-unexpected-ways-with-government-sites/)
### Once Again, the Rossmoor Retirement Community Is Having Some Culture Wars
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/once-again-the-rossmoor-retirement-community-is-having-some-culture-wars/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T22:49:49.000Z
Out at the edges of the progressive Bay Area, you're bound to find some tensions between people whose political and cultural bread isn't exactly buttered on the same progressive side.
That certainly seems to be true at Rossmoor, the upscale, planned senior community that's home to around 10,000 residents in eastern Contra Costa County where two years ago there was a dustup in the months leading up to Trump's election that escalated into a [physical fight on a pickleball court](https://sfist.com/2024/09/23/its-a-boomer-vs-boomer-battle-over-political-speech-in-one-small-east-bay-retirement-community/).
Now, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/rossmoor-retirement-community-disturbing-incidents-22446303.php?ref=sfist.com), there's been some more unpleasantness, some of it aimed at LGBTQ seniors who live in the community. Rossmoor is known to have many active seniors who belong to any number of [golf clubs](https://www.rossmoorgolf.com/?ref=sfist.com) and political clubs — including a Democratic Club that figured into the 2024 incident — and groups like Voices for Justice in Palestine, the Rossmoor LGBTQ Alliance, African Americans and Friends, and Rossmoor Advocates for Diversity.
But tensions are bubbling among the opponents of such clubs. The LGBTQ Alliance sponsored a Pride Month event in June during which a lesbian resident had her tires slashed, as the Chronicle reports. And, reportedly, two men left the dancefloor together at event put on by Rossmoor Advocates for Diversity, and this was met with a middle finger by another resident, who looked at them and said, "Disgusting!"
These incidents, along with one in which a bulletin board posting by the Palestine group was vandalized, has led to a new effort to bring community members peacefully together, which is being organized by 18 Rossmoor community groups including those named above. As the Chronicle reports, it's being called "A Day of Listening, Learning and Unity — Rossmoor Stands United Against Hate," and it's happening on Friday, October 2.
No one is talking about filing any charges, yet, but Contra Costa Chief Assistant District Attorney Simon O’Connell tells the paper that he plans to attend.
"What’s really unique here is that we have an older generation \[in Rossmoor\] that is saying, ‘Hey, we’re concerned and upset about issues that usually face a different generation in the community," O'Conell tells the Chronicle. "I find that to be actually really unique and refreshing, and gives a lot of hope."
Reportedly, the event will feature screenings of two short films by the anti-hate group [Not In Our Town](https://www.niot.org/?ref=sfist.com), and subsequent discussions.
The group is also partnering with towns and cities across the state and the country in organizing [United Against Hate Week](https://www.unitedagainsthateweek.org/?ref=sfist.com), from October 18 to October 24.
**Related:** [It's a Boomer vs. Boomer Battle Over Political Speech In One Small East Bay Retirement Community](https://sfist.com/2024/09/23/its-a-boomer-vs-boomer-battle-over-political-speech-in-one-small-east-bay-retirement-community/)
### Scenes From the 2026 Portola Festival
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/scenes-from-the-2026-portola-festival/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T21:46:17.000Z
There was major Swedish dominance at this year's edition of the Portola Festival, with Robyn, Swedish House Mafia, Tove Lo, and Zara Larsson being particular highlights of a very oontz-filled weekend.
The fifth annual [Portola Music Festival](https://portolamusicfestival.com/?ref=sfist.com) brought a legion of electronic music fans to the southeastern edge of San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday, and acts like Robyn, Tiesto, Swedish House Mafia, Parcels, Fatboy Slim, and Zara Larsson brought crowds to a frenzy with consistent energy all weekend long.
This year's festival also featured a return of the extremely popular, alternative tent attraction, dubbed Despacio — an analog sound space designed by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, David and Stephen Dewaele of 2ManyDJs/Soulwax, and sound engineer John Klett. Despacio made its debut at the 2025 festival, with a central dancefloor surrounded by seven speaker stacks with glowing McIntosh amplifiers. It's meant to give the kids — and adults who who prefer record players — a soulful experience of warm, hi-fi, analog sound that is unlike the digital sound we've all grown accustomed to.
And Despacio proved popular enough, once again, that there was a long line to get in each day virtually from when it opened at 2:45 pm into the night, with crowds grooving to everything from Sister Sledge's "Lost in Music" to "Baiana" by Barbatuques.
Among the many highlights of the weekend was when Robyn, who headlined in a 7 pm slot on Saturday, popped back in to join fellow countrywoman Zara Larsson on stage for Larsson's song "Puss Puss" on Sunday.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd0QbIGAz8R/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Sarah Naini 🧿✨ San Francisco (@sarahsundrop)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd0QbIGAz8R/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
See some photo highlights below.
**Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Shanny Wise of Fcukers. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**The crowd for Fcukers. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Mike D. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**DJ Shadow. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Tove Lo. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Tove Lo. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Max Styler. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Robyn. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Robyn. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Robyn. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**The crowd for Dog Blood. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Dog Blood (Boys Noise and Skrillex). Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Fatboy Slim. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Fatboy Slim. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**The crowd for Marlon Hoffstadt. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Zara Larsson. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Zara Larsson. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**The crowd for Zara Larsson. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Mochakk. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**horsegiirL. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**The crowd for horsegiirL. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**The crowd for Four Tet in the Warehouse. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Tiesto. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Parcels. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Parcels. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Swedish House Mafia. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
**Swedish House Mafia. Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
*Photo by Josh Stansfield/SFist*
### Bicyclist Receives Traumatic Injury In Collision With Muni Bus Near Forest Hill Station
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/bicyclist-receives-traumatic-injury-in-collision-with-muni-bus-near-forest-hill-station/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T20:29:30.000Z
A bicyclist was taken to a trauma center Saturday after he allegedly ran a red light and collided with a Muni bus near Laguna Honda Boulevard and Woodside Avenue.
The collision occurred around 2:40 pm Saturday near Forest Hill Station, where a bicyclist was hit by a Muni bus and suffered an injury to the lower leg, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/bicycle-muni-collision-22451562.php?ref=sfist.com), multiple callers reported that the bicyclist had run a red light before the crash.
The bicyclist was taken to a trauma center, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said it was reviewing the incident. The crash reportedly happened at the intersection of Laguna Honda Boulevard and Woodside Avenue, where the 52-Excelsior line ends its route with a U-turn near the station.
One commenter [on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1wr4da1/i%5Fknew%5Fthis%5Fwould%5Fhappen%5Fbicycle%5Fhit%5Fby%5Fmuni%5Fbus/?ref=sfist.com) who said they witnessed the crash described the bicyclist as coming into the bus from the left side, and they said the bus appeared to try to stop before the collision.
The author of the Reddit post described the intersection as particularly confusing and dangerous, with several saying they regularly see drivers and bicyclists run red lights there, particularly northbound traffic.
One person said they had seen drivers use the bus slip lane to continue straight rather than wait for the signal, sometimes at high speeds.
According to the Chronicle, the Fire Department said it was dispatched at 2:41 pm and arrived four minutes later to find the injured bicyclist. Multiple callers reported that part of the bicyclist's lower leg had been run over. The person was treated by first responders before being transported to a trauma center.
The Reddit post includes a photo of the bike crushed under the bus.
“Safety on our streets is our top priority for everyone sharing the road,” SFMTA said in a statement. “We are taking this matter seriously.”
**Related:** [Pedestrian Dies in Outer Mission Hit-and-Run, Cyclist Suffers Traumatic Injuries in Inner Sunset](https://sfist.com/2026/03/08/pedestrian-dies-in-outer-mission-hit-and-run-cyclist-suffers-traumatic-injuries-in-inner-sunset/)
### Suspect In Muni Stabbing Was Allegedly Harassing Women, Victim Intervened
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/suspect-in-muni-stabbing-was-allegedly-harassing-women-victim-intervened/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T20:26:49.000Z
The suspect in last week's stabbing on board a Muni bus in SoMa has been identified, and he is now charged with attempted murder.
As [we reported previously](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/suspect-arrested-after-stabbing-on-14-mission-bus-in-soma/), a man was stabbed in the neck and suffered life-threatening injuries while riding a 14-Mission bus in the area of 10th and Mission streets last Wednesday, September 23, and a suspect was quickly arrested.
Now, via the the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, we have some more details about what took place leading up to the stabbing.
According to investigators, 44-year-old Glenn Hopkins was harassing and/or staring at two women on the bus who then began yelling at him to stop. The victim reportedly board the bus as this was happening, and intervened by stepping between Hopkins and the women.
"Mr. Hopkins continued trying to get past the victim, could not, and ultimately Mr. Hopkins removed a box cutter with the blade exposed and then suddenly and repeatedly swung it at the victim’s neck and throat," the DA's office explains in a release.
The victim suffered serious injuries but was conscious and speaking to EMTs from the SF Fire Department, as seen in [some video from the aftermath](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DdpULwFSPFE/?ref=sfist.com) at the scene. He apparently survived, but we have no update on the extent of the injuries.
The DA's office has now filed charges of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, and causing great bodily injury. Hopkins is also charged with assault with a deadly weapon committed against a public transit passenger, and causing great bodily injury.
Hopkins was scheduled to be arraigned Monday at 1:30 pm.
While charges have been filed, this is still an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.
**Previously:** [Suspect Arrested After Stabbing On 14-Mission Bus In SoMa](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/suspect-arrested-after-stabbing-on-14-mission-bus-in-soma/)
### New Lead Found In Unsolved Disappearance of Oakland Coffeeshop Owner
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/new-lead-found-in-unsolved-disappearance-of-oakland-coffeeshop-owner/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T19:06:30.000Z
The search for Amy Hillyard, the 52-year-old Oakland woman who went missing after leaving her house alone six months ago, continues this week after a private investigator found a new lead.
Amy Hillyard, the co-owner with her husband of Farley's coffeeshops in Oakland and San Francisco, has [been missing since March 25](https://sfist.com/2026/03/27/police-search-for-missing-oakland-woman-coffee-shop-owner-with-medical-condition/). And as the investigation hit the six-month mark over the weekend, a private investigator revealed a fresh lead in the case.
As [SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/amy-hillyard-update-missing-22449693.php?ref=sfist.com), investigator Steve Fischer, who was hired by the Hillyard family, did a "deep forensics dive" of Hillyard's devices, and uncovered lead that will give search teams new areas to search in the coming days.
Fischer reportedly found that Hillyard had spent 30 minutes the day before she disappeared looking up eight different hiking routes in the massive Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland hills. The densely wooded and hilly park has links to Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve and Joaquin Miller Park to the north, and to Anthony Chabot Regional Park to the south, and the route options around and through the area are many.
To the east, the back side of the park even reaches the border of Moraga.
Search teams had previously only known about three of the possible routes, which now leaves five routes that can be searched this week.
As [NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/missing-oakland-woman-new-clues/4149022/?ref=sfist.com), a search team already mobilized to search one of the routes on Sunday.
"This is the biggest break in the case since I’ve been on board," Fischer tells NBC Bay Area. "I told the family there’s no guarantees here, but we are going on something that feels like we’re not searching blindly. We actually have a reason for being in these areas."
Fischer told SFGate that the five other routes, all but one of which were familiar to Hillyward, had not previously been on their radar. "Some of them are long trails. Some of these go up to like six and a half to seven miles," Fischer added.
According to her husband, Hillyard was recovering from a bout of depression and anxiety at the time of her disappearance, and hiking was a way she said she had of relieving her symptoms. Hillyard has not been seen on any surveillance footage anywhere since March 25, when she left her home leaving behind her wallet and phone.
Volunteer searchers have now covered over two hundred miles of trails, and 39 different routes have been searched, according to the website [Bring Amy Home](https://www.bringamyhome.com/archived-updates?ref=sfist.com).
Fischer acknowledged that while there was still a glimmer a hope of finding Hillyard alive, the likelihood was very slim. "I really hope that it’s a case where she decided to walk away from her life and start some new one," he tells SFGate. "But at six \[months\], it’s so hard for somebody not to leave a digital footprint, whether they want to or not."
**Previously:** [Police Search for Missing Oakland Woman, Coffee Shop Owner With Medical Condition](https://sfist.com/2026/03/27/police-search-for-missing-oakland-woman-coffee-shop-owner-with-medical-condition/)
### Haight Street Bar Owner Accused of Hitting Employee at Nearby Store With Baseball Bat
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/haight-street-bar-owner-accused-of-hitting-employee-at-nearby-store-with-baseball-bat/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T18:35:52.000Z
The owner of Mad Dog in the Fog and two other Haight Street bars was booked into jail after he allegedly attacked an employee at a nearby store several hours after the two were involved in a confrontation over a parking spot.
The confrontation began Friday outside Further, a Grateful Dead-themed clothing store at 1580 Haight Street, a few doors down from Mad Dog in the Fog. [As the SF Standard reports](https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/27/mad-dog-in-the-fog-kezar-pub-owner-cyril-hackett-arrested-baseball-bat/?utm%5Fsource=instagram&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=ig-bio&fbclid=PARlRTSAUmmYBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAmZkaWQWUPTAmyjItiZQX%5FIHmyy3MBKjSRdfrnNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABpz3aeeCeDpzusVH-dIG08zzuaAPMsj0qfDu4qT6gmk24xaJpW5INcem70mvR%5Faem%5FUX4uzCVw%5F6HQ779A5gbXKg), a Further employee had been waiting for a parking space so he could unload a van when Hackett allegedly tried to pull his white BMW into the spot.
Cellphone video reportedly shows Hackett backing into the van, followed by a heated exchange with the employee and people who had gathered nearby. A friend of the employee can be heard telling Hackett, “You hit my friend, you jackass.”
The standoff eventually ended when a friend of the Further employee took the parking space, and the people involved went their separate ways, according to the Standard.
About eight hours later, the employee and a friend were inside the store watching television after Further had closed for the night, when Hackett allegedly returned carrying a baseball bat.
[Surveillance footage](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ws0frn/comment/pciho5j/?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=web3x&utm%5Fname=web3xcss&utm%5Fterm=1&utm%5Fcontent=share%5Fbutton) shows a man who appears to be Hackett forcing his way through the door and striking something with the bat before grabbing a jacket from a clothing rack. An employee then chases him out of the store.
> [Comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ws0frn/comment/pcihqux/?ref=sfist.com)
> by [u/parttimelarry](https://www.reddit.com/user/parttimelarry/?ref=sfist.com) from discussion [](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ws0frn/haight%5Fbar%5Fowner%5Farrested%5Fafter%5Falleged%5Fbaseball/?ref=sfist.com)
> in [sanfrancisco](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/?ref=sfist.com)
A source told the Standard that Hackett allegedly hit the employee in the leg, which wasn’t captured in the surveillance footage, before getting back into his car and attempting to leave. People nearby intervened, while the employee called 911\. One person blocked Hackett’s car until police arrived.
Hackett, 63, was reportedly booked into jail at 1:17 am Saturday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and second-degree robbery, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office and jail records.
Hackett has reportedly owned Mad Dog in the Fog and Kezar Pub for around two decades, and he recently took over the liquor license for longtime Haight Street dive bar Murio’s Trophy Room through a company he controls.
[Redditors describe Hackett](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ws0frn/haight%5Fbar%5Fowner%5Farrested%5Fafter%5Falleged%5Fbaseball/?ref=sfist.com) as having a longstanding reputation for being unpleasant to deal with, with some saying they were unsurprised by the allegations.
Several said they had stopped patronizing his businesses because of their experiences with him as well as his support for Trump — Mad Dog in the Fog hosted a [presidential debate watch party](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1fdq1ej/san%5Ffrancisco%5Frepublican%5Fparty%5Fdebate%5Fwatch%5Fmad/?ref=sfist.com) attended by nearly 200 Trump supporters in 2024\.
By contrast, Further, which reportedly opened in February, embodies the Haight-Ashbury's hippie, community-focused legacy.
The Standard reports that a felony conviction could give the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control grounds under state law to suspend or revoke Hackett's liquor licenses.
Mad Dog in the Fog was recently the focus of a [huge block party hosted by local band Train](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/train-to-perform-on-haight-street-outside-mad-dog-in-the-fog-for-album-release-party/), who named its latest album after the bar.
**Related:** [Train to Perform on Haight Street Outside Mad Dog In the Fog For Album Release Party Today](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/train-to-perform-on-haight-street-outside-mad-dog-in-the-fog-for-album-release-party/)
### Man Identified As NYT Games Engineer Reportedly Killed By In-Laws In Dublin
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/man-identified-as-nyt-games-engineer-reportedly-killed-by-in-laws-in-dublin/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T17:44:50.000Z
A man was fatally shot Saturday at the Dublin Sports Grounds, and witnesses say that his in-laws, a couple in their late 70s, "took turns" shooting him.
The incident happened in a crowded parking lot at the Dublin Sports Grounds around 3:10 pm Saturday. The facility is a 22-acre city park that includes soccer and baseball fields, and it remains unclear what led up to the shooting or what the motive was.
As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/dublin-police-arrest-married-couple-allegedly-shooting-killing-son-in-law-park?ref=sfist.com), a Dublin Police Services sergeant happened to be driving by just after the shooting occurred and found 40-year-old Jonathan McKinsey on the ground, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
There were apparently multiple witnesses to the shooting, and Dublin resident Kevin Stein tells KTVU, "There were kids and families, just like you see now. This parking lot is full on a Saturday... It's incredible that they'd just do that right in front of everybody."
Dublin police say that they were able to locate the suspects "within minutes," and that they had not gone far.
They have been identified as Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 76 or 77 years old, and they are reportedly McKinsey's father-in-law and mother-in-law. The couple allegedly took turns taking shots at their son-in-law.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/man-shot-killed-dublin-in-laws-suspects-22451686.php?ref=sfist.com), McKinsey was director of engineering for New York Times Games, and the Times has confirmed that he had worked there for about three years.
Dublin resident Assad Razawi, a witness to the shooting, tells the Chronicle that he heard five or six shots and saw McKinsey drop to the ground. He then describes the suspects as walking calmly away from the scene.
It's unclear if there were children present at the scene, but per the Chronicle, Zhang and Chen were both arrested on suspicion of murder, as well as child endangerment.
McKinsey apparently had a bit of a record in Alameda County, with a charge of misdemeanor child abuse that was filed last year, as the Chronicle reports. A woman, presumably McKinsey's wife, called Dublin police and reported that McKinsey had struck their six-year-old son in the face with an open hand. There was also a charge of child neglect connected to the incident, relating to a two-year-old child who was found unattended in McKinsey's home when police went there to locate him about the slapping incident — the child was apparently left there while McKinsey went out shopping.
McKinsey reportedly pled guilty to both crimes and was court-ordered to attend parenting classes.
McKinsey and his family lived in the Courtyards at Dublin Ranch Villages, and as the Chronicle reports via neighbors, McKinsey had recently moved out of the home, suggesting that the couple was separated.
Zhang and Chen are scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact Dublin Police Services Sergeant Ahmad Mateen at 925-786-7989.
### Monday Morning Headlines: Nima Momeni Seeks New Trial
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/28/nima-momeni-seeks-new-trial/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T16:38:19.000Z
- **Nima Momeni, who was convicted in late 2024 in the April 2023 murder of tech entrepreneur Bob Lee, was denied** [**an appeal that his lawyers filed**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/14/nima-momeni-back-in-court-arguing-for-retrial/) **last month, and now they are seeking a new trial.** Momeni's attorneys are expected to be back in court today to make motions for a new trial, and Momeni still has not been sentenced due to the appeal process. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/nima-momeni-cash-app-bob-lee-new-trial/4149610/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 16-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen after leaving a house party in Antioch on Saturday, and police are seeking a suspect. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/16-year-old-boy-injured-in-shooting-near-antioch-house-party/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Golden State Valkyries earned a historic first playoff win Sunday at the Chase Center. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-esipcncsay3og9o6?ref=sfist.com)\]
- We may finally get a full week of summery (70-degree) weather starting on Tuesday. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather-forecast/article/warm-week-hot-bay-area-22451544.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The mom [seen in the viral "Mom of the Year" video](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/giants-fan-gets-roasted-for-sitting-in-stands-while-partner-carries-baby-pfood/) carrying a baby and multiple boxes of food at a Giants game last week has responded to the online hubbub and attacks on her husband, defending him. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/local-mom-explains-what-really-happened-in-the-viral-sf-giants-clip/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Baja California is bracing for a direct hit by Hurricane Polo, which is currently a Category 3 storm, and it is expected to move across the Peninsula and into Sonora over the next two days. \[[Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/mexicos-pacific-coast-braces-hurricane-polos-life-threatening-landfall-2026-09-28/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- iOS 27 is out, and with it comes Siri AI, a much improved and more useful version of Siri that Apple had promised back in 2024\. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/ios-27-best-new-features/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### OpenAI Says Its Agents Interacted in 'Unexpected Ways' With Government Sites
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/27/openai-says-its-agents-interacted-in-unexpected-ways-with-government-sites/
Last updated: 2026-09-27T18:05:14.000Z
On Friday, OpenAI announced that an internal review had found instances of its artificial intelligence agents interacting with multiple US government websites in "unexpected ways." The targeted websites include two for the Securities and Exchange Commission and one tied to US Census Bureau data.
As [KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/openai-ai-agent-bot-rogue-hack-government-website/?ref=sfist.com), the AI tech giant acknowledged that its models had accessed publicly available information on these sites but claim they did not find any evidence of rogue agents using SEC credentials or making any changes to the sites' data and systems.
In a statement, OpenAI spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said its lab is continuing to review "misaligned model activity" — aka instances of AI systems behaving in undesired ways.
Per KPIX, Bourgeois also stated that OpenAI is actively notifying organizations whenever it identifies a potential impact to their systems.
In a post made to the social media platform X on Friday, OpenAI's CEO said his company has "not been as fast as we would have liked" in reviewing its agents' online access during periods of training and evaluation.
Altman also reiterated that July's so-called [Hugging Face incident](https://sfist.com/2026/07/22/openai-says-its-technology-acted-on-its-own-when-it-hacked-another-company/) — in which two OpenAI models breached the systems of AI repository Hugging Face as the result of relaxed safeguards during an internal cybersecurity evaluation — remains the "most severe" event they've encountered so far.
> There is an extensive and ongoing review related to our agents’ use of internet access during training and evaluation. We’ve been publishing summaries at the link below and will continue to.
>
> We have not been as fast as we would have liked but we are trying to balance our desire… [https://t.co/8zoMxas5Eq](https://t.co/8zoMxas5Eq?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — Sam Altman (@sama) [September 25, 2026](https://x.com/sama/status/2103567198690349362?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
OpenAI's latest unsettling disclosure arrives just days after Australia’s prime minister accused OpenAI of not notifying officials for months after its agents breached a non-public area of Australia's national healthcare website earlier this year.
As [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/australian-prime-minister-says-openai-took-months-to-notify-officials-that-agents-hacked-healthcare-site/), those remarks came in a very public forum: Thursday's UN General Assembly in NYC.
That incident itself came only a week after California governor Gavin Newsom [signed an executive order](https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/newsom-orders-formation-of-state-ai-panel-to-study-kill-switch-options-safety-issues/) intended to increase state oversight on artificial intelligence development. The order will, in part, convene a panel of experts to make recommendations on potentially implementing a “kill switch” that could disable rogue agents in an emergency.
Newsom's actions come at a time of heightened alarm over AI's potential to [destroy humanity](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/) — a concern raised earlier this month by two Anthropic researchers. These public acknowledgments prompted Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to call [for a global slowdown](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/) on AI development. The sentiment was quickly co-signed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and X owner Elon Musk.
KPIX further reports that AI evaluator and research lab Transluce conducted an independent investigation and found that agents "appearing to originate from OpenAI" also attempted a "rudimentary" — but ultimately unsuccessful — hack on the website for the Department of Education's civil rights office.
**Related**: [OpenAI Agents Hacked Australian Government Site, and Officials Weren't Notified For Months, Says Prime Minister](https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/australian-prime-minister-says-openai-took-months-to-notify-officials-that-agents-hacked-healthcare-site/)
### NFL Legend Marshawn Lynch Plays Detective in New Comic Book Set in Oakland
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/27/nfl-legend-marshawn-lynch-plays-detective-in-new-comic-book-set-in-oakland/
Last updated: 2026-09-27T16:35:39.000Z
You've seen him win Super Bowls. You've seen him steal scenes on *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*. Now former NFL star Marshawn Lynch is branching out into the world of comic books with the publication of *Beast Mode 510*.
Set in Oakland, the story takes its inspiration from the city and sees Lynch cast as a freelance detective who "solves problems no one else will touch," [reports KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/marshawn-lynch-launches-oakland-set-comic-book-beast-mode-510/?ref=sfist.com).
Sharing a title with Lynch's Beast Mode 510 brand, the comic is reportedly imbued with many personal touches from the legendary running back's past.
“Feel good for the community,” Lynch told KRON4 when asked how it felt to launch a comic packed with ties to Oakland.
Axel Alonso, Chief Creative Officer for AWA, also hails from the Bay Area. He confirmed that AWA leapt at the chance to work with Lynch on a comic celebrating his local pride.
“We can take Marshawn — he’s an amazing character, fierce but very lovable — and make him a hero for Oakland,” Alonso told KRON4\. “He’s Oakland’s protector.”
Making a comic book set in Oakland is but the latest example of Marshawn showing love for his birthplace.
As [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2024/08/12/oakland-roots-soccer-team-will-play-at-the-oakland-coliseum-starting-next-year/), Lynch is a member of the Oakland Roots' ownership group. He also ran the [flagship location](https://sfist.com/2017/04/27/marshawn%5Flynch%5Foakland%5Fblock%5Fparty/) of his Beast Mode Apparel clothing line out of Oakland before the store eventually closed. Lynch [retired from the NFL](https://sfist.com/2019/04/25/marshawn-lynch-to-retire-from-nfl-sources-say/) in 2019 after returning to play his final seasons with the Oakland Raiders.
Appropriately, Lynch was at a Roots' game when KRON4 spoke with him about his forthcoming comic book, which is [set for publication](https://awastudios.com/series/beast-mode-510/?ref=sfist.com) on Oct. 6\.
In typical Beast Mode fashion, Lynch attempted to keep the shine on the field, despite the afternoon doubling as a launch event for the comic.
“It feels good for them to come out and support the Roots, too, so we don’t want to take away from that,” Lynch said. “But for this first graphic novel, it feels good. It’s a blessing.”
**Related**: [Oakland Roots Reach Deal to Develop Howard Terminal Site](https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/oakland-roots-reach-deal-to-develop-howard-terminal-site/)
### Sunday Links: One Injured in Early Morning Bay Bridge Shooting
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/27/sunday-links-one-injured-in-early-morning-bay-bridge-shooting/
Last updated: 2026-09-27T15:55:19.000Z
- **San Francisco's latest playground is the swashbuckling-themed Shipwreck Cove.** The Ocean Beach attraction made its public debut yesterday with an interactive mystery borrowing from local history for young adventurers to solve. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/playground-sunset-dunes-ocean-beach-22443830.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **One person sustained a gunshot wound after a shooting on the Bay Bridge was reported shortly after 4 am on Saturday morning, per California Highway Patrol.** They later reclosed the bridge's eastbound lanes at 2pm for an additional search but have not yet identified or apprehended any suspects. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/chp-halts-traffic-on-bay-bridge-to-investigate-shooting/4148969/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong played a free hometown concert in Rodeo on Saturday with his cover band, The Cover-Ups, as part of the city's first music and art festival. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-7i3ko7rezudgn9fm?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A man was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds at the Dublin Sports Grounds parking lot on Saturday afternoon, according to Dublin Police Services. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/man-fatally-shot-in-dublin-sports-grounds-parking-lot/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- *Cheers* to that: keep an eye out for actor Ted Danson, who is reportedly in SF filming for the third season of his Netflix detective series, *A Man on the Inside*. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/man-on-the-inside-filming-22449714.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new UCSF study of nearly 9,000 adolescents published Friday found that children who own a smartphone at age 12 had a 67% higher risk of developing multiple eating disorder symptoms by age 14 compared to those who did not. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/when-should-kid-get-smartphone-new-ucsf-jama-network-open-study-explains-how-could-linked-eating-disorders/19873150/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Chris Hansen, subject of the new A24 film *Primetime* starring Robert Pattinson, finally took in a screening but sadly shared that he was "not a fan." \[[Deadline](https://deadline.com/2026/09/chris-hansen-finally-saw-primetime-still-not-fan-1237114384/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The San Jose Sharks have named 20-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini as captain for their upcoming season, making him the youngest player in franchise history to ever receive the honor. \[[ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/%5F/id/50028512/macklin-celebrini-20-becomes-youngest-ever-sharks-captain?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Ling Nam, the popular Daly City Filipino bakery famed for its señorita bread, has opened a new East Bay outpost in Union City. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/food-business/longtime-filipino-bakery-known-for-senorita-bread-opens-first-location-outside-daly-city/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### SFPD Says Saturday Morning Shooting Incidents in Sunset, Richmond May Be Related
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/26/sfpd-says-saturday-morning-shooting-incidents-in-sunset-richmond-may-be-related/
Last updated: 2026-09-26T22:13:01.000Z
Local police say two shooting incidents that took place on Saturday morning in San Francisco's Sunset and Outer Richmond Districts may have a common thread. Following the early morning activity, one person was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/sf-sunset-shooting-22450639.php?ref=sfist.com), an SFPD spokesperson states that the first shooting incident occurred in the Sunset on 22nd Avenue just after 5 am when a resident discharged a firearm in response to a would-be burglar. Police responded to the scene, where they say the victim in question acknowledged using their firearm.
Unable to find the suspect, police then received a separate call 20 minutes later, this one regarding a shooting on 47th Avenue in the Outer Richmond.
The SFPD spokesperson said that when officers arrived on the scene of the second shooting, they discovered a person with "an apparent gunshot wound." This victim was taken to a local hospital but reportedly did not suffer any life-threatening injuries in the shooting.
At present, per the Chronicle, it’s currently unclear if the person shot on 47th Avenue has any relation to the attempted burglary on 22nd Avenue. SFPD asks that anyone with information contact them at 415-575-4444.
**Related**: [Three Arrested In SF Following Shooting at Market and Jones Streets](https://sfist.com/2026/07/29/three-arrested-in-sf-following-shooting-at-market-and-jones-streets/)
### Warriors Ink Team-Friendly Extension With Superstar Point Guard Stephen Curry
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/26/warriors-ink-team-friendly-extension-with-superstar-point-guard-stephen-curry/
Last updated: 2026-09-26T21:40:49.000Z
Proving he is truly a unicorn in the modern NBA, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has agreed to a two-year, $116M contract extension.
As [NBC Bay Area Sports reports](https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/steph-curry-contract-extension-analysis-2/1966281/?ref=sfist.com), this deal amounts to Curry giving the Warriors a 10% discount in hopes of constructing a stronger roster ahead of the 2027-2028 season. The deal was announced on Friday evening and includes a player option for the 2028-29 NBA season.
Presuming Curry stays through the duration of his contract, he will have played 20 seasons with one team. That would put him in the rarefied air of Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (21 seasons) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (20 seasons) for most seasons played with a single team by anyone in the history of the NBA.
In an off-season that's almost entirely consisted of the Warriors re-signing rostered players to new deals, Curry's decision to give his team one last chance to get him some help should put any recent murmurs about his theoretical departure from the Bay Area to rest.
By leaving about $20 million on the table in terms of what he was eligible to receive, Curry will look to a front office comprised of owner Joe Lacob, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., and head coach Steve Kerr to give him a shot at winning a fifth NBA title in the twilight of what's been a singular career.
Speaking with media on Wednesday — two days before the extension was announced — Curry acknowledged the choice ahead of him was different in that it may be the last one he ever signs.
“It's not really an obvious type of let's-just-do-this-and-keep-it-moving type situation," Curry said, per NBC Bay Area Sports. "This is one of the rare ones in my career that you're trying to make sure you have just peace of mind with it all."
Heading into the 2026-27 season, health will be the primary concern for the 38-year-old Curry, who missed close to 30 games last season with a case of runner's knee.
The same can be said for several of Curry's teammates, including his presumed co-star, Jimmy Butler, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury back in January, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/01/20/warriors-star-jimmy-butler-tears-acl-and-will-miss-rest-of-the-season-pundits-speculate-warriors-dynasty-is-over/). Butler continues to rehab in hopes of making a mid-season return.
The Golden State Warriors will tip-off on the 2026-27 season in Los Angeles against the Lakers on October 21.
To celebrate, here's a highlight reel of Steph going insane during the 2015-2016 season:
**Related**: [Winner Bids $9M For Lunch With Steph Curry and Warren Buffett For Glide Fundraiser](https://sfist.com/2026/05/15/winner-bids-9m-for-lunch-with-steph-curry-and-warren-buffetts-for-glide-fundraiser/)
### Saturday Links: Inner Richmond Safeway Evacuated After Pepper Spray Incident
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/26/saturday-links-inner-richmond-safeway-evacuated-after-pepper-spray-incident/
Last updated: 2026-09-26T19:22:59.000Z
- **Palo Alto law enforcement advised residents to be on the lookout for mountain lions on Friday after multiple sightings were reported in the area.** This follows the [successful capture](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/mountain-lion-sighting-in-outer-sunset/) (and eventual release) of a mountain lion in San Francisco's Sunset District earlier this month. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/palo-alto-mountain-lion-sightings-middlefield-road-page-mill-road/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **San Francisco fire crews evacuated a Safeway in the Inner Richmond on Saturday morning after an unknown substance later identified as pepper spray was released inside the store.** One person was hospitalized with symptoms consistent with pepper spray; officers also state they recovered a bag of meth while clearing the store. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/hazmat-situation-inside-san-francisco-grocery-store-cleared/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Severe weather is currently impacting Americans across the country as the East Coast endures a nor'easter and residents of Hawaii brace for additional hurricanes. \[[NBC](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/easter-set-hit-east-coast-friday-continue-weekend-rcna599806?ref=sfist.com); [ABC7](https://abc7ny.com/story/hurricane-nolo-threatening-hawaii-heavy-rain-polo-churns-mexico/19872592/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A group of young musicians from Paraguay utilizing unique instruments constructed from trash are currently on an uplifting tour of the Bay Area. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/paraguay-musicians-bay-area/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Several raw milk cheese products, including items produced by Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, are being recalled in relation to an E coli outbreak that's caused 13 illnesses and eight hospitalizations. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/raw-milk-cheese-recalled-over-e-coli-outbreak-fda-says/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Trump has rejected Iran's latest proposed deal intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within the next week. \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqgmrr9ekr7ko?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Following an electrical failure, a Vallejo police officer was rescued from his vehicle by emergency services after it went up in flames on Thursday. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/vallejo-police-vehicle-goes-up-flames-following-electrical-failure?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Ace pitcher Logan Webb was announced as the winner of the 2026 Willie Mac Award, the San Francisco Giants' most prestigious annual team honor. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/logan-webb-awarded-the-san-francisco-giants-2026-willie-mac-award/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Kicking off a tour in France, Pope Leo XIV warned Friday that a "paradise of machines" risk undermining humanity. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/09/26/g-s1-145150/pope-warns-a-paradise-of-machines-could-undermine-humanity?ref=sfist.com)\]
### This Week In Food: Spider-Man In Marin?
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/this-week-in-food-spider-man-in-marin/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T23:58:43.000Z
Hadeem is headed to the Lower Haight, 15 Romolo gets ready to reveal its two-year remodeled look, and Miami chef Brad Kilgore has snagged the former Leo's Oyster Bar, all in This Week in Food.
The Lower Haight will be getting a new California-Jewish restaurant from chef Spencer Horovitz, who will be going brick-and-mortar with his three-year-old pop-up **Hadeem**. As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/hadeem-opening-san-francisco-22422865.php?ref=sfist.com), he's moving into the space at 682 Haight that is now occupied by Otra, which has announced it will close in December. The spot will feature Horowitz's signature dishes including his ultra flavor-bomb, Sichuan-inspired take on dolmas, his gnocchi "matzoh ball" soup, smoked harissa chicken, and his scallion pancake knishes. It sounds like he's aiming for a mid-winter opening, or maybe spring 2027.
One of the earliest, speakeasy-adjacent, high-end cocktail spots to arrive in San Francisco in the early aughts wave of SF cocktail mania was **15 Romolo**, which actually opened its doors in 1998 on that tiny alley off Broadway in North Beach (and the bar itself dates back to 1912). [Tablehopper has the details](https://www.tablehopper.com/newsletter/this-weeks-tablehopper-ventanni-free/?ref=sfist.com) on the rebirth of 15 Romolo following a two-year remodel and a slight ownership shuffle — Greg Lindgren and Jon Gasparini remain partners in the business, with Gasparini bringing in his wife Kelly Anne, and the couple are now doing the day-to-day operation with their son, Giovanni Gasparini, serving as chef. Some Basque influence will be back from the olden days — in this building that is the [Basque Hotel](https://www.yelp.com/biz/basque-hotel-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com) — as well the house meatballs, and there will be a presa pork sandwich, a chophouse steak sandwich, and multiple veggie items as well. Cocktails will keep to hew to the classics, and well crafted originals.They're aiming to open in the next two weeks.
Miami chef **Brad Kilgore** has apparently not given up on San Francisco, with the [Chronicle reporting](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/bonacker-seafood-san-francisco-22438842.php?ref=sfist.com) this week that following the [abrupt May closures](https://sfist.com/2026/05/06/restaurants-at-transamerica-complex-ama-and-cafe-sebastian-abruptly-close/) of Ama by Brad Kilgore and Cafe Sebastian at the Transamerica complex, Kilgore is the new taker for the recently shuttered Leo's Oyster Bar space at 568 Sacramento Street. The restaurant will again be seafood focused, with a raw bar/oyster component, and named **The Bonacker**, with an opening planned in early 2027\. The place sounds more geared toward the business lunch crowd, with lobster rolls and fried fish sandwiches, but we'll see.
A celebrity sighting of a very casual, more LA nature — grabbing a takeout salad versus having a celebratory meal while in town — happened in Marin County this week, bolstering rumors that **Tom Holland** and Oakland native **Zendaya** [recently bought a home in Tiburon](https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16094029/Zendaya-Tom-Holland-honeymoon.html?ref=sfist.com). Holland, who's coming off a summer in which he starred in the season's two biggest blockbuster hits, *Spider-Man: Brand New Day* and *The Odyssey* (Zendaya is also in both), was spotted grabbing salads on Tuesday at **MIXT** on East Blithedale Avenue in Mill Valley, and offered to take a selfie with the staff. The couple have also been reportedly spotted at downtown Tiburon restaurants [**Salt and Pepper**](https://saltandpeppertiburon.com/?ref=sfist.com) and [**The Caprice**](https://thecaprice.com/?ref=sfist.com), and they're probably happy about the fact that they're not being recognized very often. Per a source who spoke to the Daily Mail, Zendaya sometimes wears wigs or hats to disguise herself, and "There are a lot of older people here, the median age is like 50, so they don't even know who Zendaya and Tom Holland are. Most of the people in Tiburon don't see films like *Spider-Man*."
We got the news Friday that Bacchus Management Group (Spruce, La Contessa, Village Pub, Selby's) is opening a splashy new spot in Burlingame called **The Old Post Office** — in what was a 1940s-built post office that ended its useful life in 2014\. The main dinner menu will be a $120 prix fixe, with options therein, in a contemporary American vein, and a more casual menu, including a burger, will be available in the Postmaster's Bar. The place opens October 1, and [reservations can be found here](https://www.oldpostofficeburlingame.com/?ref=sfist.com).
**Al Pastor Papi**, the small, Mexico City-style taco shop that [opened its first brick-and-mortar outpost](https://sfist.com/2025/04/21/popular-taco-tuck-al-pastor-papi-goes-brick-and-mortar-union-square/) near Union Square last year as part of the city's Vacant to Vibrant program, has announced it will close at the end of the year. Owner Miguel Escobedo [tells KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/food-business/san-francisco-taco-shop-closing-after-only-1-year-in-union-square/?ref=sfist.com) that he appreciated the city's help and getting him a year-and-a-half lease, but new owners have taken over the building and he could not afford the rent they want to charge.
And between two critics at the Chronicle they still don't seem to be able to manage even a new review every two weeks, let alone every week — didn't Michael Bauer used to do two per week, with one update of an older restaurant on Thursday and one new one on Sunday? But maybe soon? Meanwhile, Bauer will be in conversation with new head critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan next week at a Gray Area event... stay tuned for insights from that.
### Day Around the Bay: Fisherman's Wharf to Host Giant Ice Rink For Holidays
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/day-around-the-bay-fishermans-wharf-to-host-giant-ice-rink-for-holidays/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T23:47:51.000Z
### Local:
- **Firefighters in Oakland rescued close to 100 people early Friday morning after an overnight fire broke out at an apartment building on Bancroft Avenue.** The three-alarm blaze thankfully did not result in any losses of life but four occupants were hospitalized with various injuries. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/oakland-apartment-fire-100-rescued-5100-bancroft-avenue/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Fisherman's Wharf may be losing Ripley's Believe It or Not this fall, but come winter, it will be home to a new 6,300 square-foot outdoor ice rink — the largest in the city. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/something-truly-special-sfs-newest-largest-holiday-ice-rink-is-coming-to-this-iconic-landmark/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Crews are currently working to remove 16 partially or fully sunken boats from the Oakland Estuary as part of an ongoing $3 million effort to remove abandoned vessels in the area linked to pollution and crime. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/oakland-removing-16-sunken-boats-linked-pollution-crime-amid-3-million-estuary-cleanup-effort/19872533/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **For a third, and likely final time, the Supreme Court has rejected an effort by Missouri Republicans to use a gerrymandered map in November's midterm elections.** The proposed map, which would have provided Republicans with the chance to add a House of Representatives seat, was struck down in an unsigned decision. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/25/politics/supreme-court-rejects-gop-third-effort-to-capture-house-seat-from-missouri?ref=sfist.com)\]
- In an ironic twist, Ed Sheeran had to cancel his New England shows at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium over looming bad weather. \[[ABC7](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/wireStory/ed-sheeran-cancels-new-england-concerts-noreaster-looms-136758800?ref=sfist.com)\]
- To commemorate their 50th anniversary, Irish rockers U2 returned to the school where they first met in Dublin, Ireland and held a concert for current students in the playground. \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm9w4042yklko?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Bay Area celebrity couple Tom Holland and Zendaya's latest local escapade saw them spotted shopping at The Village in Corte Madera this week as rumors swirl, [per NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/tom-holland-zendaya-marin-county/4148641/?ref=sfist.com), that the pair have made Marin County their new home by purchasing a house in Tiburon.
### ‘Good Neighbor Week’ to Kick Off Saturday With Art, Food, Volunteer Events Across SF
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/good-neighbor-week-to-kick-off-saturday-with-art-food-volunteer-events-across-sf/
Last updated: 2026-09-28T16:24:56.000Z
The second annual Good Neighbor Week will feature dozens of neighborhood events across the city, including art, live music, food trucks, and beautification projects, with an emphasis on community service.
[Good Neighbor Week](https://www.sfgoodneighborweek.org/?ref=sfist.com) gets underway Saturday with an opening celebration at Civic Center Plaza from noon to 2 pm, launching a slate of events organized by more than 40 groups around San Francisco. [As SF Examiner reports](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/community/good-neighbor-week-brings-fun-and-community-service-to-sf/article%5F0131101e-135f-429c-b8ce-fa62eb0079b3.html?ref=sfist.com), the week coincides with [National Good Neighbor Day](https://www.nationalgoodneighborday.org/?ref=sfist.com) on September 28 and runs through October 3, with a closing ceremony scheduled for October 4 at Lakeside Landing.
According to the event’s website, Mayor Daniel Lurie proclaimed San Francisco Good Neighbor Week in 2025 after Supervisor Myrna Melgar introduced a Board of Supervisors resolution establishing the observance, which was unanimously approved.
Julia Gitis, the founder of [Good Neighbor Lab](https://www.goodneighborlab.org/?ref=sfist.com), which sponsors the event, tells the Examiner that community service is a bigger part of this year’s programming. The nonprofit is reportedly working with three other organizations to coordinate service projects, including volunteer opportunities listed through Hands On Bay Area and neighborhood cleanup projects led by Refuse Refuse San Francisco.
As part of the event, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco will be placing donation bins at various Good Neighbor Week events. Gitis said the bins will accept gently used clothing and unused hygiene products, which will be redistributed directly to San Francisco residents in need.
The Examiner reports that a volunteer opportunity with the Treasure Island food pantry will take place Tuesday, where participants can help unload food pallets, organize supplies, pack bags for clients, and break down boxes with Hands On Bay Area.
According to the Examiner, KALW Public Media and the Community Arts Stabilization Trust will host a grand opening Sunday for [Warfield Commons](https://sfist.com/2025/08/31/warfield-commons-arts-and-media-hub-now-open-anchor-tenant-kalw-to-begin-renovations/), a new downtown arts and culture hub.
SF Civic Tech will also host a [Civic Tech Hackathon](https://www.sfgoodneighborweek.org/good-neighbor-hackathon?ref=sfist.com) Wednesday, drawing on the organization’s weekly programming dating back to 2013, with projects focused on community needs and partnerships among government, nonprofits, and community organizations.
In Balboa Terrace, the [Gregangelo Museum](https://www.gregangelomuseum.com/?ref=sfist.com) will reportedly offer several recreational events, including access to its haunted dollhouse, enchanted fairy garden, immersive art installations, and private tours of the venue. The museum will also reportedly provide entertainment at the opening and closing celebrations.
“Getting different generations to play together and be aware of each other in magical moments is what we do best,” said Gregangelo Herrera, the museum’s artistic director, speaking to the Examiner.
Other events throughout the week include farmers markets, neighborhood art and beautification projects, movie nights, donation drives, coffee meetups, dance lessons, and disaster-preparedness courses.
Gitis told the paper the official calendar is meant to give people an excuse to meet their neighbors, but she also hopes it encourages smaller, informal gatherings.
“For the same reason that Mother’s Day is your excuse to call your mom, Good Neighbor Week is your excuse to hang out with your neighbor,” she said.
Gitis said the idea was inspired in part by the observance President Jimmy Carter first proclaimed in the 1970s as an effort to address social isolation. She told the Examiner the response to Good Neighbor Week reflects a desire among San Franciscans for more meaningful, in-person connections.
“The success of the holiday speaks to something that people in San Francisco are feeling and craving and responding to, which is this desire to connect with each other in a more deep and meaningful and in-person way,” Gitis said.
**Related:** [What to Know About the Fifth Annual Portola Festival, Which Kicks Off Saturday on Pier 80](https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/what-to-know-about-the-fifth-annual-portola-festival-which-kicks-off-saturday-on-pier-80/)
### Scenes From the First Ever Dolly Day In Union Square
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/scenes-from-the-first-ever-dolly-day-in-union-square/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T22:29:13.000Z
Dolly Parton brings people together, and that's what happened Friday afternoon in SF's Union Square, where the city celebrated the first ever Dolly Day just as the state of California and other states have established 9/25, appropriately, as Dolly Day.
Hundreds gathered in Union Square Park for the celebration, which was spearheaded in part by Matt "Haze" Kaftor of Gold Digger Records, and [organized just in the last three weeks](https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/san-francisco-hosting-a-dolly-day-concert-in-union-square-on-9-25-get-it/). Parton [died on August 25](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/ugh-no-dolly-parton-has-died-at-age-80/) from cancer complications, after not making her cancer diagnosis public.
The event featured a Dolly shrine that the public was encouraged to add to, a live painting of Dolly, and performances of Dolly songs by local singers and drag queens, including Mae Powell, Vicki Randle, Liz Lewis, Robbie Fitzsimmons, Sunny the Banjo Witch, drag queens Holatta Tymes and Miss Shugana, and tribute band Thee Old Country.
Attendees were also being encouraged to donate to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which [you can do here](https://imaginationlibrary.com/?ref=sfist.com).
Some photos, below.
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
**Holatta Tymes and singer Mae Powell, via Instagram*
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
**Photo by Jay Barmann/SFist*
### NFL Fines 49ers Player, Says He Pretended to Chug Beer While Celebrating Catch
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/nfl-fines-49ers-player-says-he-pretended-to-chug-beer-while-celebrating-catch/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T22:02:03.000Z
Amid a crackdown on player celebrations, the NFL fined 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk $14,926, saying it determined he was mimicking a beer chug when he performed his signature move playing off his “Juice” nickname, after a catch Sunday.
Juszczyk was doing his longtime “Juice” celebration after a catch Sunday against the Miami Dolphins when, with just under eight minutes left in the third quarter, he pretended to take a drink. [As ESPN reports](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/%5F/id/50021366/nfl-fines-49ers-kyle-juszczyk-imitating-chugging-beer?ref=sfist.com), the NFL rejected Juszczyk’s argument that he was drinking juice and instead determined that he was imitating a beer chug, fining him $14,926.
The 49ers fullback, who’s in his 10th season with the 49ers and his 14th with the NFL, has reportedly been doing the celebration for years in response to fans chanting “Juice” after his catches or other big plays, and he said Thursday that he was surprised the league had a problem with it this time.
“I don't know how else to say it. I wasn't drinking beer in my celebration,” Juszczyk said during a press conference, per ESPN. “I think you guys all know my nickname is Juice. I have ‘Juice’ on my pads. The stadium yells ‘Juice’ when I catch the ball. When I celebrate, I celebrate by drinking juice, and it's been that way for years.”
The NFL said Juszczyk violated Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which prohibits “offensive demonstrations.” The fine notice said his imitation of chugging a beer could be considered in poor taste and warned that additional violations could result in escalating discipline, including a suspension.
According to ESPN, Juszczyk has appealed the penalty, with the hearing scheduled for Tuesday along with his appeal of a separate $20,033 fine from Week 1 for unnecessary roughness and leading with his helmet against the Los Angeles Rams.
[The Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/beer-juice-nfl-fines-49ers-health-nut-kyle-22447449.php?ref=sfist.com) that Kittle, one of Juszczyk’s closest friends, also piled on, joking that Juszczyk, who's very health conscious, barely drinks beer. Kittle later [posted a photo of Juszczyk](https://x.com/gkittle46/status/2103190796791079393?ref=sfist.com) holding a Bud Light — the NFL's official beer sponsor, and tagged the NFL in the comments, writing, “this guy is a menace.” Kittle then reportedly joked that the team had voted to stop calling Juszczyk “Juice” and make his new nickname “Beer.”
> He can’t be stopped!! This is before practice! Are you kidding me [@JuiceCheck44](https://x.com/JuiceCheck44?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) 🧃 [pic.twitter.com/AOgHnOFDuo](https://t.co/AOgHnOFDuo?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — George Kittle (@gkittle46) [September 24, 2026](https://x.com/gkittle46/status/2103190796791079393?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
ESPN reports that the NFL has been cracking down on player celebrations this season, and Juszczyk said he was told several other players were fined this week. Indianapolis Colts guard Matt Goncalves was reportedly fined $8,847 for pretending to chug a beer after receiving the football following a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cincinnati Bengals receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are also facing fines over a celebration they introduced this season. The two reportedly perform a gesture inspired by “The People's Elbow,” popularized by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which Chase said was intended as a new way to signal a first down.
Chase said players should work with the NFL Players Association to challenge the fines and said the league was “just stopping the fun.”
Juszczyk has been the 49ers’ nominee for the Art Rooney Award for sportsmanship for the past six seasons, per ESPN. He has made 10 Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors in 2023 and 2025.
**Related:** [Local Sports Radio Legend Greg Papa Now Hoping for a Heart Transplant](https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/local-sports-radio-legend-greg-papa-now-hoping-for-a-heart-transplant/)
### Restaurant Opens Next Week In Historic Former Post Office In Burlingame
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/restaurant-opens-next-week-in-historic-former-post-office-in-burlingame/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T22:00:50.000Z
A new restaurant, called The Old Post Office, from the restaurant group behind Spruce and The Village Pub, opens October 1 in Burlingame's old post office at 220 Park Road.
It's a project that certainly flew under our radar, but not under the radar of Burlingame residents, who have been watching with anticipation as Bacchus Management Group — which also operates the popular Selby's in nearby Redwood City — has been renovating the 1940s-era Art Deco post office that has been out of use since 2014.
The Old Post Office, which Bacchus [tells the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/southbay/article/old-post-office-restaurant-burlingame-22413513.php?ref=sfist.com) is opening October 1, will feature prix fixe menus with options therein in the main dining room, and a more casual menu, including a burger and fries, in the adjacent cocktail lounge dubbed the Postmaster's Bar.
The executive chef is Jonathan Granada, who came to Bacchus from Los Angeles, where he had worked with former French Laundry chef de cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth, now a celeb chef in his own right, at the now shuttered Otium. He's calling the menu "contemporary American" with some nods to Asia, Spain, and France.
Dinner will be a $120 prix fixe that comes with laminated brioche rolls and a canapé, choice of first course and entree — the latter which may include grilled Maine lobster tail or a New York steak — and desserts from pastry chef Kyle Caporicci, including a "tipsy cake" laden with brandy cream and vanilla bean gelato. A $55 lunch prix fixe will be available as well.
A signature dish, only six of which will be available each night by reservation, is a dry-aged rotisserie duck for two ($80), with a carved breast that that will get a sauce made table side with confit duck gizzards and liqueur. The legs will be prepared on a binchotan grill and come with a small salad, and the breast will come alongside a parsnip puree, freeze-dried blackberries, and olives.
**The new 220 Park Road, with the Old Post Office entrance center right, via Dostart Development Company*
Because of historic preservation restrictions, many elements of the old post office have been preserved in the dining room of The Old Post Office, including a bank of brass PO boxes on one wall, the terrazzo floor, and a locked glass memo case — the key to which is long gone.
Per the Chronicle, Bacchus's designer Stephen Brady worked with a preservation architecture firm on the project — which is part of the larger redevelopment of the property to include a six-story office complex behind the post office, from Dostart Development Company. That project included a laborious temporary [moving of the entire historic post office structure in 2023](https://archinect.com/news/article/150300006/historic-california-post-office-temporarily-moved-to-make-way-for-new-mixed-use-complex?ref=sfist.com) over about 120 feet, in order to construct a new underground parking garage.
Tim Stannard of Bacchus tells the Chronicle that The Old Post Office is aiming for the same type of "accessible luxury" as their other restaurants, which he says are all "rooted in the communities that they’re in."
"The Village Pub is the living room for Woodside. Spruce is the living room for Presidio Heights, and we wanted the Old Post Office to be that for Hillsborough and Burlingame," Stannard tells the paper.
Bacchus also, last year, [debuted the 7,000-square-foot Augustine](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/augustine-santa-row-new-venture-20194784.php?ref=sfist.com) at Santana Row in San Jose, and the also swanky [La Connessa two years earlier](https://sfist.com/2023/09/29/this-week-in-food-la-connessa-makes-a-big-splash-on-potrero-hill/) in SF's Potrero Hill.
### Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Net Inspires New Federal Barrier Bill
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-net-inspires-new-federal-barrier-bill/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T20:17:56.000Z
Following the success of the Golden Gate Bridge suicide net, Senator Alex Padilla and a colleague introduced a bill to help state and local governments install similar barriers on bridges and other high-risk structures.
The sharp drop in suicides since the Golden Gate Bridge’s suicide net was installed is now being cited as a model for suicide prevention infrastructure elsewhere. US Senators Alex Padilla (D-California) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) have introduced a bill that would help state and local governments install similar barriers at high-risk locations.
The [Barriers to Suicide Act](https://www.padilla.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Barriers-To-Suicide-Act-OnePager.pdf?ref=sfist.com) would create grants for nets and other barriers at bridges, buildings, parking garages, highway-rail crossings, train stations, and other structures where people are at risk of dying by suicide. The bill would also fund research into which structures are most frequently used in suicide attempts and which prevention measures are most effective.
“The Barriers to Suicide Act is commonsense, life-saving legislation that will help enhance safety standards and make our public infrastructure safer,” said Padilla [in a news release](https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-tillis-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-install-suicide-prevention-infrastructure/?ref=sfist.com).
The Golden Gate Bridge's steel net, which hangs about 20 feet below the bridge’s walkways, was [installed two years ago](https://sfist.com/2024/01/04/at-long-last-and-way-over-budget-suicide-prevention-nets-finally-installed-on-golden-gate-bridge/) after five years of construction at a cost of nearly $225 million.
Deaths have dropped sharply since the net was installed. [Four people died by suicide at the bridge in 2025](https://sfist.com/2026/01/20/two-years-in-golden-gate-bridge-suicide-prevention-nets-have-almost-completely-eliminated-bridge-suicides/), compared with about 30 in a typical year before the net was installed. There were no deaths from June through December 2025.
“California has seen firsthand at the Golden Gate Bridge that nets and barriers work,” Padilla said. “As we continue to confront the suicide crisis, we must do more to help state and local governments install nets and barriers on bridges and other high structures.”
Padilla and Tillis are co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus. The bill is also cosponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and has been endorsed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
If approved, the grant program would be run through the National Highway Performance Program.
**Previously:** [Two Years In, Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Prevention Nets Have Almost Completely Eliminated Bridge Suicides](https://sfist.com/2026/01/20/two-years-in-golden-gate-bridge-suicide-prevention-nets-have-almost-completely-eliminated-bridge-suicides/)
### SF’s Cesar Chavez Street to Be Renamed ‘Sí Se Puede’ or ‘Las Campesinas’
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/sfs-cesar-chavez-street-to-be-renamed-si-se-puede-or-las-campesinas/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T18:05:18.000Z
A committee tasked with renaming Cesar Chavez Street has narrowed the options to “Sí Se Puede” and “Las Campesinas,” with legislation headed to the SF Board of Supervisors next month.
The two names emerged after a 27-member working group spent months considering alternatives to Cesar Chavez Street, which spans roughly three miles through three districts, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-cesar-chavez-street-renaming/?ref=sfist.com). The renaming follows the news this spring that workers’ rights icon [sexually assaulted multiple women and girls](https://sfist.com/2026/03/18/revelations-of-abuse-by-cesar-chavez-followed-by-bombshell-from-dolores-huerta-chavez-assaulted-her-too/), including his United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.
The group was assembled by Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office, Assessor-Recorder Joaquin Torres, and Susan Leal, a longtime resident who pushed for the renaming.
According to Mission Local, Leal was present for the renaming of the street in 1995, when it was changed from Army to Cesar Chavez Street, honoring farmworkers and elevating Latino voices amid the political climate surrounding Proposition 187, which sought to bar undocumented immigrants from accessing healthcare, schools, and social services.
While many have pushed for Huerta’s name as a replacement, Huerta has said that streets and schools [should not be renamed after her](https://sfist.com/2026/05/14/will-cesar-chavez-street-be-renamed-for-dolores-huerta-chuck-norris/). They should instead honor “the \[United Farm Workers\] martyrs, organizers, farmworkers, and families who sacrificed everything to build something bigger than any one person.”
That principle became one of the working group’s criteria, according to Torres. Per Mission Local, neither of the two finalists is named for an individual, and both are intended to recognize women in the farmworker movement, farmworkers generally, and the Latino community.
“Sí Se Puede,” which translates to “Yes We Can,” was reportedly coined by Huerta in 1972 while she, Chavez, and other activists were fighting for better conditions for California farmworkers. The phrase later became widely known after Barack Obama used its English translation during his 2008 presidential campaign.
“Las Campesinas,” meanwhile, means female farmworkers. Leal said the name would recognize both women and the farmworker movement, while also adding a female namesake to San Francisco’s streets.
“There are not a lot of streets in San Francisco named for women, so it would be appropriate as well,” Leal said, speaking to Mission Local.
The working group included representatives from Districts 8, 9, and 10, which run along the street, as well as Mario Paz of Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, Treasurer Jose Cisneros, muralist Susan Cervantes, labor leader Mike Casey, Board of Appeals President John Trasviña, and Galería de la Raza Executive Director Ani Rivera.
The city is currently [accepting public feedback](https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=z8LVIj7OPUSaf9%5FMAjH3P2M0ue1OS3pNrWDJvBUdSJZUMFZWVlJMRUdUNVk0R1JDSUM2Q1czU00wMiQlQCN0PWcu&origin=QRCode&ref=sfist.com) on the two proposals. Per Mission Local, Supervisor Jackie Fielder will be introducing the proposal to the Board of Supervisors on October 6, and new signs could be installed by the end of the year.
Unlike the current signs, some of which still contain Army Street in parentheses, the new signs reportedly will not retain Chavez’s name.
Mission Local notes there's been no word from the San Francisco Unified School District about whether Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the Mission District will also be renamed.
**Previously:** [Will Cesar Chavez Street Be Renamed For Dolores Huerta? Chuck Norris??](https://sfist.com/2026/05/14/will-cesar-chavez-street-be-renamed-for-dolores-huerta-chuck-norris/)
### Gay Adult Film Star Says He Was Beaten Up By Other Gay Men In SF's Castro
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/gay-adult-film-star-says-he-was-beat-up-by-other-gay-men-in-sfs-castro/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T17:30:02.000Z
A gay porn star says that he was assaulted by other gay men last week outside a Castro nightclub, after the men allegedly taunted him about doing porn.
It isn't too common a story in normally sex-positive San Francisco, but maybe slut-shaming is a perennial pastime.
SF-based gay adult film star Alfonso Osnaya [told Out Magazine this week](https://www.out.com/news/alfonso-osnaya-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com) that he suffered a face laceration and other injuries after being assaulted by other gay men outside Beaux in the Castro.
"I got beat up last Thursday morning by a group of gay guys," Osnaya tells Out, explaining that the men recognized him and were taunting him about doing adult film work, and he engaged in some kind of "heated conversation" inside the club before the assault occurred.
"I took the bait from some judgmental comments and I was alone," Osnaya tells the publication. "They were waiting for me outside. I got knocked out, and the next thing I knew, I had the people from Beaux helping me out while the paramedics and cops did their job."
Osnaya adds, "Everyone was very sweet, and thankfully, nothing serious happened."
Osnaya further says he feels "stupid" for taking it personally, and for engaging with the aggressors at all.
"They were instigating things. They were out looking for a fight. I should've disengaged," he tells Out.
The magazine spoke to Osnaya after he posted a photo of the laceration over his eye to Instagram, saying, "This is how slut-shaming looks like."
Osnaya has been doing porn, he says, since 2021, working for SF-based companies Falcon and NakedSword, as well as Trailer Trash Boys, SayUncle, Carnal, and Men.com.
This is a rare instance of violence in the Castro, let alone queer-on-queer violence. It's unclear if the police were called, and SFist has reached out to Beaux for comment.
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Happy Dolly Day!
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/25/friday-morning-constitutional-happy-dolly-day/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T16:19:05.000Z
- **Don't forget:** [**It's Dolly Day**](https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/san-francisco-hosting-a-dolly-day-concert-in-union-square-on-9-25-get-it/) **in Union Square.** Today, 9/25, is being celebrated as Dolly Day in many places around the country, honoring the recently deceased, nationally beloved singer, and the Union Square event beginning at noon promises to feature musical and drag tributes, with the [lineup shown here](https://dollyday.org/?ref=sfist.com).
- **Jing Chen, an immigrant from Guangzhou, China who has opened 10 small gift stores around the Bay Area called** [**Therapy Stores**](https://therapystores.com/pages/locations?ref=sfist.com)**, ran up against formula retail rules in trying to open an 11th on Clement Street.** Chen got her conditional use permit and the store is opening, but the backlash remains strong in the neighborhood, which is calling her a "chain." \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/therapy-stores-clement-street-inner-richmond-22448156.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Hurricane Nolo does not look to be making a direct hit on the Hawaiian islands, but it is expected to cause wind and storm conditions, beginning with the Big Island on Friday, which could see winds in excess of 74 miles per hour. \[[Hawaii News Now](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/09/25/hurricane-nolo-strengthening-it-moves-slowly-toward-hawaii-island/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A couple in Trinity County says their beloved French bulldog died after trying to get between them and a black bear that attacked them outside their home. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/california/french-bulldog-saved-couple-during-norcal-bear-attack-survivor-says/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There's been a backlash over smoke after the latest controlled burn on Angel Island, with a Contra Costa County Supervisor, John Gioia, who also serves on the local air quality management board, calling for a review of permit policies for these burns. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/angel-island-controlled-burn-draws-backlash-after-smoke-inundates-bay-area-communities?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Adding to the team's injury woes, 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa will be sidelined for multiple weeks now with a calf injury. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/49ers-nick-bosa-multiple-weeks-calf-injury-22449026.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Times takes a broad look at the "quiet" ICE surge that happened across the country over the summer, and largely flew under the radar. \[[New York Times\]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/us/ice-surge-immigration-arrests.html?ref=sfist.com)
### Day Around the Bay: New HIV Cases In SF Have Dropped 30% Since Pre-COVID Era
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/day-around-the-bay-new-hiv-cases-in-sf-have-dropped-30-since-pre-covid-era/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T03:31:44.000Z
### Local:
- **Newly diagnosed HIV cases in SF fell by 8% in 2025 with 136 cases compared to 148 in 2024.** The numbers have dropped by 30% since before the COVID-19 pandemic. \[[Bay Area Reporter](https://www.ebar.com/story/170572/News/HIV%20cases%20in%20SF%20fall%208%25%2C%20resume%20their%20downward%20trend?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two marmots that were recently discovered in [San Francisco](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/wildlife-rescue-hopes-to-help-marmot-that-hitched-a-ride-from-the-mountains-get-back-home/) and [Antioch](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/day-around-the-bay-oakland-police-officers-accused-of-faking-pilot-recertifications/) after they likely hitched rides from people returning from Burning Man were dropped off in the wilderness near Lake Tahoe. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bay-areas-mysterious-marmots-released-back-into-wild/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUitnFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMUJnV1RjYUVneW5KMVVlWjdzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEemSJpEHSl2wv4viwnSZ-DLtAPAD9nWE9cx6o0Du8QqfRNDhXcOoYBJpvbSQU%5Faem%5Fip-0AfH-gqQHJyss%5Fm9wyw&ref=sfist.com)\]
- Long-delayed plans to build a [47-story high-rise](https://sfist.com/2025/03/11/planned-residential-tower-at-south-van-ness-grows-taller/) at 30 Van Ness have been paused further, as Australian developer Lendlease is looking to sell the property. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/30-van-ness-hayes-point-lendlease-22445908.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Folsom Street Fair fans: Head to Arizmendi's Mission location for these adorable leather gingerbread people, while supplies last. \[Arizmendi/[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/arizmendi.mission/posts/pfbid034Dc8oWSwLXS7bJV8C91tvAXMohSrscTACbLf3MUVVd6VikKMHamRKqTzYvxTj6SSl)\]
### National:
- **About a dozen delegates walked out of the UN General Assembly Thursday prior to a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who’s wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.** Earlier in the day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN via video link, as he was denied a visa to the US, emphasizing that Palestinians in Gaza were being subjected to a genocide by the Israeli military. \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3y0z7kxlegdo?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Guatemalan man, Mario David Coronado Juarez, was killed in a car crash in Michigan while fleeing ICE agents who were targeting a different man, the one who owned the car he was driving. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/us/michigan-car-crash-ice-immigration-grand-rapids.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Tennessee judge granted Dolly Parton’s estate a temporary restraining order against the late singer’s nephew, who is accused of making increasingly threatening messages against her staff and business associates. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/dolly-parton-estate-restraining-order-nephew-threats/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Several youth activists disrupted a San Francisco Democratic Party meeting Wednesday, urging the committee to end its support for Flock surveillance, as two of its members reportedly work for Flock Safety, but the committee ultimately voted in favor of keeping the cameras.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdrstRdy3qu/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Sunrise Bay Area 🌅 (@bayareasunrise)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdrstRdy3qu/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Woman Knocked Off Paddleboard, Bitten By Sea Lion Near Santa Cruz Coast
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/woman-knocked-off-paddleboard-bitten-by-sea-lion-near-santa-cruz-coast/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T03:59:11.000Z
A paddleboarder was knocked into the water and bitten multiple times by a sea lion near Santa Cruz Tuesday morning amid a spike in sea lions suffering from domoic acid poisoning.
Heather Gray was paddling between Capitola Wharf and Privates Beach around 8 am Tuesday when she saw the sea lion rapidly approaching her board, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sea-lion-attacks-santa-cruz-22447496.php?ref=sfist.com).
She told her friend Lee Solomon of [Beyond Weather](https://www.facebook.com/reel/2732332183828818) that she noticed the sea lion was coming toward her abnormally quickly, noting that it almost appeared like it was running. Gray initially thought it might jump onto the board, but instead it swam underneath and knocked her into the water.
“I was like what's happening?” Gray said, [speaking NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/woman-attacked-sea-lion-capitola/4147752/?ref=sfist.com). “It was like a horror movie.”
Gray said once she was in the water, the animal grabbed her by the hair and pulled on her head before biting her hand and later attempting to go after her feet. She was eventually able to get her paddleboard upright and escape toward shore, with the sea lion following her for part of the way.
A Surfline camera captured the moment the sea lion knocked her off her board, which is included in Solomon’s reel.
Gray said the encounter went on for several minutes. According to the Chronicle, the animal bit her hand, forearm, and upper arm, with its teeth puncturing her wetsuit and skin. She said she tried hitting and pushing it away with her paddle, but it continued coming after her.
“It wasn’t just one curious bite, and left — it just kept going and going,” Gray told the Chronicle.
Gray reportedly went to an urgent care clinic, where she was treated for her injuries, given antibiotics and a tetanus shot, and later received rabies shots.
She said she has been paddling waters in the area for decades and regularly sees sea lions and other marine life, but she’s never experienced anything like this.
The Marine Mammal Center said sea lion attacks are highly unusual, and there’s no way to determine what caused this animal to behave aggressively because it was not captured or examined.
The incident comes as California is seeing a spike in sea lions suffering from domoic acid poisoning, a condition caused by toxins produced by algae that accumulate in fish and shellfish, which can cause disorientation, seizures, and death.
Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson for the Marine Mammal Center, told the Chronicle that animals can approach people for a number of reasons, including illness, injury, curiosity, territorial behavior, or pursuit of food.
“Some of these animals may be sick or injured, others may be curious, others pursuing nearby food resources,” Rulli said.
The Chronicle reports that the center received another report from the same general area Tuesday, involving a surfer who had a close encounter with a marine mammal off 38th Avenue in Santa Cruz. It was unclear whether that person was bitten.
Researchers are investigating what may be behind the increase in sick sea lions, including recent warmer-than-average ocean temperatures.
Despite the attack, Gray told NBC Bay Area she plans to return to the water, though she wants the current domoic acid and red tide problems to subside first.
The Marine Mammal Center advises swimmers, surfers, and paddleboarders to keep their distance from marine mammals and calmly leave the water if an animal approaches.
**Related:** [Sea Lion Pup Found Wandering Streets In Outer Sunset Returns to the Wild Better Nourished](https://sfist.com/2026/07/02/sea-lion-pup-found-wandering-streets-in-outer-sunset-returns-to-the-wild-better-nourished/)
### 'North by Northwest' at ACT Is a Lively and Ludicrous Take on the Hitchcock Classic
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/north-by-northwest-at-act-is-a-lively-and-ludicrous-take-on-the-hitchcock-classic/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T17:30:21.000Z
British theater artist Emma Rice, who has previously stunned Bay Area audiences with wildly creative adaptations of classic films, novels, and fables, is back at ACT with a delightful and decidedly off-kilter re-imagination of Alfred Hitchcock's *North by Northwest*.
Similar to a madcap, four-person adaptation of Hitchcock's *The 39 Steps*, which became the fifth-longest running play in West End history before closing in 2015 and which was [produced at SF Playhouse in 2024](https://sfist.com/2024/03/15/the-39-steps-at-sf-playhouse-is-a-clever-madcap-four-person-sendup-of-a-hitchcock-thriller/), Emma Rice's take on *North by Northwest* is not so reverential as it is winking and ridiculous.
Hitchcock's marvelous filmmaking aside, it's not hard to poke fun at the often ludicrous, opaque, and far-fetched plot points of these films, not to mention the confusing parade of shady characters sometimes going by multiple names. In *North by Northwest*, we have a main character named Roger Thornhill (played by the dashing Danny Collins), who ends up being mistaken by some bad guys for a nonexistent, decoy operative made up by the CIA (or some fictional equivalent), named George Kaplan. Thornhill as Kaplan gets taken to an estate owned by a UN diplomat named Townsend, only the man he meets there is a bad guy named Vandamm (Karl Queensborough) posing as Townsend who's trying to figure out how to get rid of Kaplan, lest he foil a ludicrously opaque international plot involving microfilm — a classic Hitchcock [MacGuffin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin?ref=sfist.com).
In Rice's telling, a character known as The Professor (Katy Owen) becomes our story's narrator, and treating the audience like children, he helps walk them through the opening scenes by having them repeat names out loud to make sure they remember them: "Roger Thornhill," "George Kaplan," etc. As The Professor, Owen gives a clownish, kinetic energy to the story, sometimes briefly morphing into another incidental character, and providing the framework for the strange ride this story takes the characters and the audience on.
The Professor's big role in the story itself comes toward the end, as he reveals himself to Thornhill — just before the iconic chase-and-dangle scene atop Mount Rushmore — to be a lead spy, and reveals that the woman who seduced him on a train, Eve (Patrycja Kujawska) isn't willfully betraying him but only pretending to, because she's a spy for the US too.
Bay Area audiences may recognize Kujawska and Owen from the previous touring casts of Rice's earlier productions, *The Wild Bride*, *Tristan and Ysolde*, and *Wuthering Heights*, all of which played at Berkeley Rep, and both give terrific performances here. Collins does great work carrying the show and tossing his body effortlessly around the stage through chase sequences and delirious dance sequences — did I fail to mention there are multiple dance sequences?
**Bryony Pennington, Simon Oskarsson, Katy Owen, Danny Collins, Karl Queensborough and Patrycja Kujawska in North by Northwest. Photo by Rich Soublet II*
Rice's version of *North by Northwest*, with ample use of suitcases — big, bold-lettered labels upon which help tell the audience where they are, geographically, and help keep us up on plot points — is a grand dance, with the entire cast choreographed in beautiful synchronicity as they pursue, evade, shoot at, and threaten to shoot at one another. And the suitcases even become a clever stand-in for Mount Rushmore itself — though I won't give away all the delightful analog surprises in Rob Howell's set design, which is anchored by four enormous, mobile revolving doors lined with bottles of alcohol at the center.
There are also multiple, dream-like breaks in the action in which characters variously lip-synch and dance to mid-century American classics, with the notable inclusion of Nina Simone's haunting "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" — perhaps an on-the-nose selection for this story, but apt nonetheless.
Hitchcock purists are bound to bristle at the tone that's taken with the text, but have you ever thought about that text out of the context of the film itself? It's well deserving of a little parody, even though Rice ends on a more sober, trying-to-be-hopeful note about US and world politics that may or may not land, depending on each evening's audience and how much they've been happily along for the ride. (There's also, I think, a sideways reference to Hillary Clinton? Hard to say.)
No matter your knowledge, or lack thereof, when it comes to the classic film, this *North by Northwest* is a jolly ride that could even have Broadway transfer potential — as Rice's earlier, American film-inspired piece, *Brief Encounter*, had. And it's the kind of breathlessly kooky and original theater that we crave, particularly in dark times.
*'North by Northwest' plays at ACT's Toni Rembe Theater through October 18,* [*Find tickets here*](https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/2026-27-season/north-by-northwest/performances?ref=sfist.com)*.*
### BART Considers New Drone, Cameras As It Seeks to Expand Surveillance
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/bart-considers-new-drone-cameras-as-it-seeks-to-expand-surveillance/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T23:15:11.000Z
BART is considering a new drone and two surveillance cameras in its efforts to reduce crime, as the public’s concerns grow over government agencies’ use of surveillance technology and sharing of collected data.
BART officials are asking the agency’s Board of Directors to continue its existing surveillance program and add two cameras, one at BART Police Department headquarters and another at a pedestrian crossing in Union City, [as NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/bart-surveillance-cameras-safety-push/4147854/?ref=sfist.com). Additionally, [the Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/bart-police-drones-surveillance-22422268.php?ref=sfist.com) earlier this month that BART police are proposing a 180-day drone pilot program, with a vendor loaning the equipment for the trial period.
The agency is required to seek approval from its Board whenever new surveillance equipment is being considered, [as Ars Technica reported](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/09/bay-area-transit-system-approves-new-surveillance-oversight-policy/?ref=sfist.com) in 2018, after it was revealed at the time that officers had been using license plate readers at the MacArthur Station parking garage for a year and a half without authorization.
The license plate readers had reportedly been installed despite the Board voting in 2016 to delay their use until a policy could be developed. The data was reportedly shared with the [Northern California Regional Intelligence Center](https://ncric.ca.gov/?ref=sfist.com), a federal law enforcement “fusion center.”
BART’s [Surveillance Annual Report](https://www.bart.gov/sites/default/files/2026-09/2026%20Surveillance%20Annual%20Report%5F09%5F24%5F2026.pdf?ref=sfist.com) notes that the agency later launched another license plate reader pilot with Motorola Solutions, using seven mobile units and two fixed cameras at the MacArthur garage. After testing in 2023 and 2024, staff concluded the system did not provide enough benefit to justify its costs and staffing requirements. It did not lead to any recovered stolen vehicles, did not clearly speed up parking enforcement, and routinely undercounted vehicles.
BART terminated the contract in 2024, and the ALPR cameras are no longer operating. The agency says it will continue monitoring developments in the technology.
According to the Chronicle, the drone could follow a preprogrammed route or be remotely operated, collecting video stored on secure servers. Police say it would generally monitor the 3.5 miles between Bay Fair and Hayward stations, where infrastructure has been vandalized and equipment stolen.
BART police say the drone could help investigate and deter crime, prevent damage, and conduct safety inspections. They also say the program would include limits on data collection and retention, along with protections against cyberattacks.
The agency’s surveillance policy requires protections for individual-level data shared with outside organizations, including contracts or nondisclosure agreements requiring compliance with its surveillance rules. The agency says it did not share data with any outside agencies during fiscal year 2026.
The Board is expected to vote on the drone proposal October 8, per the Chronicle. It's unclear when the Board will vote on new cameras.
BART officials say its existing closed-circuit cameras, along with its [new fare gates](https://sfist.com/2025/03/17/bart-fare-evasion-way-down-with-the-new-gates-or-at-least-thats-what-bart-claims/) installed at all 50 stations, have helped reduce crime and improve safety.
The agency says its cameras assisted with more than 3,700 video requests, including more than 2,300 for criminal investigations, while police have produced 220 wanted-person bulletins using camera images.
BART’s history with surveillance cameras has also included some less-than-functional equipment. In 2016, it was revealed that 77% of the cameras inside BART trains [were decoys or nonfunctional](https://sfist.com/2016/07/18/bart%5Fstill%5Fhasnt%5Freplaced%5Fdecoy%5Fcam/). By June 2017, every car in the fleet had been equipped with [functioning video monitoring](https://sfist.com/2017/02/16/bart%5Fpromises%5Fworking%5Fsecurity%5Fcame/).
Backlash against police surveillance has escalated with the proliferation of drone and automated license plate reader technology. In July, it was announced that [live video feeds from five SFPD drones](https://sfist.com/2026/07/13/five-live-sfpd-drone-feeds-were-publicly-available-online-for-six-months/) had been publicly accessible online for roughly six months because of a misconfigured sharing link.
In February, a local law firm filed a lawsuit against Flock alleging [federal agencies accessed data from the SFPD’s cameras](https://sfist.com/2026/02/28/lawsuit-says-flock-allowed-out-of-state-agencies-access-to-sfpd-database-1-6-million-times/) more than 1.6 million times.
**Related:** [Five Live SFPD Drone Feeds Were Publicly Available Online for Six Months](https://sfist.com/2026/07/13/five-live-sfpd-drone-feeds-were-publicly-available-online-for-six-months/)
### New Documentary In the Works About Heklina's Work, and Her London Death
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/new-documentary-in-the-works-about-heklinas-work-and-her-london-death/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T22:25:14.000Z
Filmmakers are at work on a new documentary about SF drag impresario Heklina, sadly gone before her time, and her friends and chosen family hope that it will inspire younger queer artists and also shed light on the dangers of anti-LGBTQ bias in police investigations.
A week after [we heard the final word](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/cause-of-death-finally-revealed-in-2023-death-of-sf-drag-queen-heklina/) on the investigation into Heklina's death from the London Metro Police, we're learning that a documentary project is getting underway about Heklina's life, her work as a performer and curator of the drag arts, and her untimely death three years ago.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/heklina-documentary-death-investigation-22445919.php?ref=sfist.com), Heklina's longtime friend and collaborator Peaches Christ will co-produce the new documentary, titled *Heklina*, which will will be co-produced by India Woods of CMG Productions (*American Zoo*, Netflix's *The Devil On Trial*) and Brian Benson (*Sorry to Bother You*), with Ronna Malson (*Roger and Me*) serving as senior editor.
Peaches tells the Chronicle that the film will draw from Heklina's recently digitized performance archive, and will have a significant focus on the three-year-long, botched investigation by the London Metro Police into Heklina's death.
"I hope this film exposes the institutional biases that still exist within the Met and helps push for real systemic change," Peaches tells the Chronicle.
Heklina died from a seemingly accidental overdose, or as the police concluded, acute mixed drug toxicity, after going on a bender during her first few days on tour in London in April 2023\. Heklina and Peaches were there to perform their drag spoof of *Mommie Dearest*, called *Mommie Queerest*, and as Peaches has previously explained, she left Heklina alone in the flat they were sharing so that she could have the kind of relapse binge she tended to have while traveling — after spending about two decades mostly sober.
Peaches returned to find Heklina dead on the floor of the flat, in full drag, having apparently entertained some visitors the night before — three men seen on surveillance footage who would not be located by the police for the next two years. The men were ultimately questioned, and one gave a somewhat conflicting account from the other two about the state in which they left Heklina before exiting the apartment — and leaving its door slightly ajar.
An autopsy would later find that Heklina had a mix of cocaine, MDMA, meth, GHB, ketamine, and other substances in her system, and the police concluded that there was "no evidence" of foul play or third-party involvement in her death.
Peaches said last week that her trust in the London police was "broken" after she failed to see any movement on the case until she staged a protest in London last year. "Because of those failures, I may always wonder whether we truly know everything that happened in that apartment," Peaches said.
Film producer Benson tells the Chronicle that while the police investigation, and its obvious problems, will give the documentary some "urgency," "at its heart, this film is about showing the world who Heklina was, what she created and why she mattered."
Benson adds, in a statement, "Heklina was already an incredible story. Her life was worthy of a documentary long before the tragedy in London. She was outrageous, unapologetic and a transformative creative force who helped shape what drag became."
As the driving creative force behind Trannyshack, which would later be rebranded as Mother, Heklina had a significant hand in defining the style, mood, and eccentricity of San Francisco drag for over two decades. Arguably, the emphasis of SF drag shows for many years on politically tinged performance art and taboo subject matter led to there being notably few local contestants heading to *Rupaul's Drag Race* after its launch in 2009\. The show, which has come to define drag for a generation, places a heavy emphasis on beauty and fashion, while also expecting queens to excel at comedy, improvisation, dance, and lip-synching as well.
As Peaches Christ put it, in [an interview with SFist](https://sfist.com/2019/06/18/sf-drag-queens-rupauls-drag-race-thoughts/) in 2019, "When anything goes mainstream, it gets dumbed down."
And as Heklina said in the same interview, "The average drag fan now *only* cares about Rupaul queens, to the point of being rude to other queens. They don't seem to know that drag even existed before *Drag Race.*"
"All people want to see now is a death drop," Heklina lamented.
No production timeframe or release date is yet available for the Heklina documentary.
**Previously:** [SF Queens On How 'Rupaul's Drag Race' Has Hurt (and Helped) The Larger World of Drag](https://sfist.com/2019/06/18/sf-drag-queens-rupauls-drag-race-thoughts/)
### OpenAI Agents Hacked Australian Government Site, and Officials Weren't Notified For Months, Says Prime Minister
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/australian-prime-minister-says-openai-took-months-to-notify-officials-that-agents-hacked-healthcare-site/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T21:08:18.000Z
Australia’s prime minister announced at the UN General Assembly in NYC Thursday that OpenAI agents had breached a non-public area of its national healthcare website in June, and government officials weren't notified until earlier this month.
OpenAI’s agents got around repeated blocks while trying to access Australia’s Medicare Statistics Reporting Service on June 18 — a few weeks prior to the [infamous Hugging Face incident](https://sfist.com/2026/07/22/openai-says-its-technology-acted-on-its-own-when-it-hacked-another-company/) — eventually reaching parts of the system that were not publicly accessible, [as the Associated Press reports](https://apnews.com/article/openai-unauthorized-access-australia-altman-albanese-177e7eaf16cf743930a09445299d7735?ref=sfist.com).
The agents were reportedly being used by an OpenAI research team studying public medicine spending. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the models accessed nonsensitive spending data, but no personal or patient information.
The company reportedly notified the Australian government about the incident on September 10, nearly three months after it occurred, in an email sent to a generic government department address.
Albanese said he spoke with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is also in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, to express his concern about both the delay and the way the breach was reported.
“Today I spoke with … Altman to express Australia’s extreme concern about this incident,” Albanese told reporters Thursday. “I also expressed my disappointment that it took the company way too long to inform the government what had occurred and the nature of the way that notification occurred as well was unacceptable.”
[According to the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/world/asia/australia-investigates-openai-hack-on-public-health-care-site.html?ref=sfist.com), the site that was breached was a public-facing portal used by Australia’s Medicare system, which covers more than 27 million people. OpenAI said its models were looking up Australian health statistics as part of an internal evaluation and accessed only aggregate health data and internal file names.
Albanese said the agent had been blocked several times before finding other ways to reach the information it was seeking.
“Didn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer, if you like,” Albanese said, per the Times. “The model attempted alternative ways to obtain the info that it wanted, and this led to unauthorized access into some other areas.”
According to the AP, Government Services Minister Katy Gallagher said Australian officials did not have a clear understanding of what had happened until a technical briefing with the company on Tuesday. The affected portal has since been shut down, with its data moved to more secure systems.
Officials are conducting an investigation to examine whether OpenAI could face criminal charges, as well as why Australian security agencies did not detect the unauthorized access themselves.
The Australian Signals Directorate issued a high-level cybersecurity alert Thursday warning organizations with public-facing websites to address potential vulnerabilities, as the Times reports. The agency said the breach was particularly alarming because the AI agents went beyond the authorization of its human operators and independently identified weaknesses in the government system.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said it was the first known case of an AI agent gaining unauthorized access to Australian government IT systems.
“This is a warning about the technology being developed without safeguards and without guardrails in place,” Marles said.
OpenAI has recently introduced a framework for tracking and disclosing what it calls “misalignment,” including instances in which AI models act without authorization, evade oversight, or coordinate with other models, according to the AP. Marles said OpenAI has cooperated with Australian authorities during the investigation.
Per the Times, Australia has already been working on standards for regulating AI, but its efforts have increasingly run into opposition from major US tech companies. Many other nations are also calling for stronger safeguards and regulations — a topic that reportedly featured prominently at this week’s UN General Assembly.
Last week in California, Governor Gavin Newsom [signed an executive order](https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/newsom-orders-formation-of-state-ai-panel-to-study-kill-switch-options-safety-issues/) aimed at increasing California's oversight on artificial intelligence development, including the potential implementation of a “kill switch” that would disable rogue agents in an emergency.
Earlier this month, two Anthropic researchers raised the alarm that AI could [destroy humanity](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/) followed by a call from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei [for a global slowdown](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/) on AI development, which was quickly co-signed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and X owner Elon Musk.
Both Amodei and Altman on Wednesday addressed the UN Security Council to urge global cooperation in regulating AI and addressing what could be a coming economic upheaval caused by it.
**Related:** [OpenAI Says Its Technology Acted on Its Own When It Hacked Another AI Company](https://sfist.com/2026/07/22/openai-says-its-technology-acted-on-its-own-when-it-hacked-another-company/)
### Riders Stuck on eBART Train In Pittsburg for Over an Hour After Break Failure
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/riders-stuck-on-ebart-train-in-pittsburg-for-over-an-hour-after-break-failure/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T20:04:09.000Z
BART's been having a bad run of system breakdowns and mechanical troubles the past couple months, and Thursday morning brought a new one which stranded a small group of BART riders for over an hour.
The incident occurred on the eBART extension, which is a small extension train in Contra Costa County that connects Pittsburg/Bay Point Station to Pittsburg Center and Antioch.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/bart-disruption-brake-failure-22447389.php?ref=sfist.com), the eBART train left Antioch Station just after 8 am Thursday, headed toward Pittsburg/Bay Point, and then encountered a mechanical problem that stopped the train some distance shy of the BART station.
A rider on the train tells the paper that the emergency brake kicked in, and ultimately the operator came on the intercom and explained that an air hose in the braking apparatus had failed.
A mechanic reportedly told riders that this type of failure had "never happened before," and the solution was to bring in a crew to slowly tow the disabled train into Pittsburg/Bay Point station. The process took over an hour, and the train ultimately arrived at 9:35 am.
[BART issued an alert](https://x.com/SFBARTalert/status/2103155008921321798?ref=sfist.com) at 9:10 am saying that service was stopped between Antioch and Pittsburg/Bay Point stations, and advising passengers to use Tri Delta bus service instead.
This follows on a different issue that halted service between Antioch and Pittsburg/Bay Point four days ago, when BART [said](https://x.com/SFBARTalert/status/2101770131953070084?ref=sfist.com) that major delays were "due to an equipment problem on the track."
eBART service was added to the Yellow Line in 2018, after a study almost two decades earlier concluded that using an existing railway track with a different track gauge than BART uses would save the agency and Contra Costa County hundreds of millions of dollars, but it would require a transfer to a different, smaller train.
These trains, therefore, have only been in service about eight years.
Elsewhere in the BART system, aging infrastructure and [other issues](https://sfist.com/2025/11/14/iron-dust-which-bart-says-it-stopped-cleaning-in-2020-likely-to-blame-for-electrical-fire-in-august/) have led to multiple disruptive events in recent weeks and months. An aging, overtaxed HVAC system at Daly City was [blamed for a substation fire](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/bart-blames-heat-aging-equipment-for-fire/) earlier this month, and a communications issue led to [a major meltdown in the system in February](https://sfist.com/2026/02/26/bart-service-melts-down-yet-again-between-oakland-and-san-francisco/). An [equipment explosion on the tracks](https://sfist.com/2025/11/25/civic-center-bart-station-closed-due-to-possible-explosion-track-problem/) in San Francisco led to major systemwide delays last November, and [an "equipment problem" in the Transbay Tube](https://sfist.com/2025/10/20/equipment-problem-in-transbay-tube-leads-to-major-bart-delays/) caused similarly widespread delays a month earlier.
These troubles come as BART has been reporting steadily increasing ridership and decreasing crime stats.
BART had [its biggest post-pandemic ridership day](https://www.dailycal.org/news/city/transit/bart-breaks-post-pandemic-ridership-records-in-face-of-major-budget-deficit/article%5Fbdb07723-dbbd-4d25-9b73-47b97bbfbfee.html?ref=sfist.com) last Tuesday, with 242,090 trips on the system. That is still about 40% below pre-pandemic weekday averages.
**Related:** [Debris Fire on BART Track Near 24th and Mission Leads to Widespread Delays](https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/debris-fire-on-bart-track-near-24th-and-mission-leads-to-widespread-delays/)
### Suspect Arrested After Stabbing On 14-Mission Bus In SoMa
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/suspect-arrested-after-stabbing-on-14-mission-bus-in-soma/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T18:24:26.000Z
A man was reportedly stabbed and suffered life-threatening injuries Wednesday afternoon onboard a 14-Mission bus in the vicinity of 10th and Mission streets, and a suspect has been arrested.
The incident happened around 1:41 pm Wednesday, as [the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/muni-stabbing-soma-22446299.php?ref=sfist.com) via the San Francisco Police Department. The victim was reportedly transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and a suspect was quickly apprehended after a preliminary investigation.
The SFPD did not specify which bus the stabbing occurred on, but the Instagram account [@tenderloinactivities had video from the scene](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DdpULwFSPFE/?ref=sfist.com), apparently shot by the [infamous JJ Smith](https://sfist.com/2025/03/07/notorious-tenderloin-twitter-provocateur-accused-of-tire-slashing-harassment-making-online-threats/), showing the 14 Mission bus and the emergency response — with the victim appearing conscious and upright, being treated for what appears to be a neck wound. The video also seems to show the arrest being made nearby.
The SFMTA also [issued an alert](https://x.com/SFMTA%5FMuni/status/2102865561323725167?ref=sfist.com) about 18 minutes after the incident, advising riders that the 14 and 14R buses would be re-routing to Market Street between 10th and 11th streets due to police activity on Mission Street.
We don't yet have any details about what led up to the stabbing, or about the suspect or the victim's current condition.
We'll update this post if we learn more, and if and when charges are filed.
**Related:** [Two Stabbed On Two Different Buses Following Arguments With Other Passengers](https://sfist.com/2026/03/28/woman-in-hospital-stabbing-on-bus-following-argument-between-passengers/)
### SF Giants Fan Gets Roasted For Sitting In Stands While Partner Carries Baby, Plates of Food
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/giants-fan-gets-roasted-for-sitting-in-stands-while-partner-carries-baby-pfood/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T18:38:50.000Z
A segment from Tuesday night’s SF Giants broadcast at Oracle Park went viral when the broadcasters began poking fun at a guy relaxing in the stands while a woman who appeared to be his partner carried a baby and multiple plates of food.
**Update:** Erika, the woman featured in the video, [has written a response](https://themomoftheyear.substack.com/p/im-the-mom-in-that-viral-giants-clip?r=3i6p5m&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=web) to the media coverage surrounding it.
The woman, who had a toddler strapped to her chest in a front carrier, was returning to her seat during the Giants’ game against the Minnesota Twins at Oracle Park Tuesday, carrying three containers of food and a backpack when the broadcasters noticed the situation, [as the Spun reports](https://thespun.com/mlb/man-ripped-for-behavior-in-front-of-mom-of-year-at-san-francisco-giants-game?ref=sfist.com).
The video shows the woman maneuvering back into the middle of the row, while the man stared at his phone, appearing oblivious to her return until the very last minute. The couple next to the woman also appeared to give him a subtle sideways glance.
> [pic.twitter.com/wrCV1IYLHK](https://t.co/wrCV1IYLHK?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — no context giants (@nocontextsfg) [September 23, 2026](https://x.com/nocontextsfg/status/2102593658797326515?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
Giants broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow immediately noticed the scene and started joking about the apparent lack of assistance, calling the woman “Mom of the Year.”
“If there's ever a true definition of a multitasking mother, that is the deal right there,” Krukow said.
Kuiper, who announced earlier this week he’s being treated for[ throat cancer](https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/dreary-weather-should-end-soon/), then wondered aloud whether he had heard the man ask, “Did you forget something?” The broadcasters joked that perhaps he was checking whether she had remembered the ketchup, while noting she'll probably be the last to eat.
The camera later returned to the couple, and sure enough, the man was already eating while the woman was still trying to remove her backpack with her toddler still strapped in front.
A clip of the exchange was[ posted to X](https://x.com/nocontextsfg/status/2102593658797326515?ref=sfist.com), where it quickly drew millions of views and prompted a flood of commentary.
Some commenters pointed out that the woman may have chosen to get up with the baby and order food on her own, while others countered that he could have helped her when she returned by holding either the baby, the backpack, or the food while she got situated.
As of Thursday morning, the clip has been viewed 35 million times on X.
The scene is reminiscent of a brilliant bit by[ Tom the Mime](https://www.youtube.com/@Tomthemimegoodvibes?ref=sfist.com) at Sea World, where he routinely helps out overloaded moms by transferring the babies and gear to their empty-handed partners — while also giving the partners a good public shaming.
**Related:** [Local Sports Radio Legend Greg Papa Now Hoping for a Heart Transplant](https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/local-sports-radio-legend-greg-papa-now-hoping-for-a-heart-transplant/)
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Antioch Swimmer Goes Missing
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/24/antioch-swimmer-goes-missing/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T16:48:39.000Z
- **A search is ongoing for a woman in Antioch who reportedly went for a swim Wednesday evening with another woman in the San Joaquin River and both ended up in distress.** The other woman was rescued from the water behind Smith's Landing Seafood Grill Restaurant, at the Antioch City Marina, and 46-year-old Edgielyn Torrente remains missing. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/1-person-dead-another-water-crews-work-antioch?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There was a geyser of water spouting over King Street near Oracle Park on Wednesday after a car crashed into a fire hydrant. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/geyser-erupts-on-king-street-after-vehicle-strikes-hydrant/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The San Francisco Bay Ferry system may have to raise fares to address the rising cost of diesel fuel. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-francisco-bay-ferry-considers-fare-hikes-service-cuts-diesel-costs-surge?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There won't be any more prescribed burns on Angel Island this week, like the one that [made the city smoky Wednesday](https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/smoke-from-another-prescribed-burn-on-angel-island-hovers-over-sf/), but there likely will be more in the coming weeks. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/angel-island-prescribed-burn-canceled-for-remainder-of-week/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A crazy apartment fire in the Bronx, in New York City, on Wednesday led to one death and 10 injuries, including firefighters and one man who jumped from the burning building. \[[WABC](https://abc7news.com/post/1-dead-10-hurt-including-firefighters-bronx-new-york-fire-led-man-jump-burning-building/19863166/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Journalists from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW have been permitted back into the White House this morning, after an early morning decision by a federal judge. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/cnn-and-ms-now-reporters-back-at-white-house-hours-after-judge-ordered-trump-to-lift-ban/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- [Mega-popular SF bakery](https://sfist.com/2026/04/10/this-week-in-food-everyone-loves-a-bakery/) Butter & Crumble had plans to open a dedicated cake shop this fall at 301 Union Street, but it's back to the drawing board due to an insurmountable and potentially structurally dangerous problem with the space, where a wall was improperly removed sometime in the last decade. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/butter-crumble-cake-cafe-halted-22445896.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Mexican Tall Ship Arrives In SF
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/day-around-the-bay-mexican-tall-ship-arrives/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T01:00:48.000Z
### Local:
- **A San Francisco jury has convicted 37-year-old Chi Chung Stephen Cho of DUI in connection with an October 2025 crash on the Bay Bridge near the Yerba Buena Tunnel.** Cho's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was estimated to be between 0.144% and 0.160%, or twice the legal limit, when he crashed, according to an analysis based on a breathalyzer reading taken shortly after the crash. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/man-convicted-of-dui-after-bay-bridge-crash/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Francisco City Hall is launching an audit of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce — following accusations of sexual misconduct by an employee and a [subsequent lawsuit](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/former-employee-sues-chinese-chamber-of-commerce-nine-leaders-over-sexual-misconduct-wrongful-termination/) — which could theoretically endanger the annual Chinese New Year Parade, which is organized by the Chamber. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/chinatown-group-behind-chinese-new-year-parade-22445575.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- It looks like there's a third (?) Stellar sea lion now hanging out at the Pier 39 docks, who is allegedly not [Chonkers](https://sfist.com/2026/04/28/extra-large-sea-lion-whos-been-hanging-out-by-pier-39-makes-national-news/) nor the imposter who [made an appearance](https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/chonkers-ii-large-stellar-sea-lion-makes-appearance-at-pier-39/) a few weeks ago. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-4qqauh2ypg17yvft?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic both spoke to the UN Security Council today, warning them of the dangers of AI and telling them that international cooperation would be needed to address those dangers.** In prepared remarks, Altman told council members that the world had a choice when it comes to harnessing AI's power, either a "new renaissance of creativity and discovery, or more like a new industrial revolution of upheaval and disarray." \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/us/politics/ai-leaders-united-nations-global-response.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A federal judge heard arguments today about whether President Trump can arbitrarily ban news organizations from the White House, with the DOJ attorney arguing there is some national security rationale for doing so. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/23/politics/white-house-ban-cnn-msnow-politico-access-judge-kelly?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new study based on census data is challenging the common narrative that Gen Z-ers "don't want to work," though fewer of them have joined the workforce than Millennials at this age. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/gen-z-earning-more-millennials-22446160.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- [Right on schedule](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/mexican-navy-tall-ship-to-visit-san-francisco-next-week/), the Mexican Navy Tall Ship Cuauhtémoc sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge Wednesday morning and is now docked at Piers 15-17 for the next four days, welcoming the public aboard 10 am to 8 pm Friday and Saturday, and during more limited hours on Thursday.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ddo4lHfSjv7/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Eric Thurber (@thurber\_shots)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ddo4lHfSjv7/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### OMG Elizabeth Holmes Is Reportedly Getting Moved to a Halfway House Next Year
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/omg-elizabeth-holmes-is-reportedly-getting-moved-to-a-halfway-house-next-year/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T00:43:55.000Z
White collar criminality sure seems to have some perks.
Elizabeth Holmes, who by next month will be back in the news in a big way thanks to Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's reportedly stellar [new documentary](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/everything-we-know-about-this-elizabeth-holmes-documentary-from-a24-and-nathan-fielder/), is reportedly going to be moved next year out of the more prison-like correctional facility she's currently in and into a halfway house outside of Austin, where her children and baby daddy Billy Evans reside.
As [ABC News is reporting](https://abc7news.com/story/elizabeth-holmes-scheduled-move-halfway-house-august-2027/19862832/?ref=sfist.com), Holmes has been approved for placement in a community correction center, aka a halfway house — which the news organization gleaned from the Department of Justice's Victim Notification System.
Holmes is scheduled to be placed at the Austin Transitional Center in Del Valle, Texas on August 23, 2027\. That is a full six years shy of her original sentence, and two and a half years before her currently scheduled release date on February 22, 2030.
Holmes has done her level best throughout the legal process to appeal her conviction and to avoid punishment — including, cynics will say, getting pregnant a first and then a second time, the [latter right as she was to begin serving her sentence](https://sfist.com/2023/02/24/elizabeth-holmes-had-her-second-baby-and-her-lawyers-are-still-trying-to-get-prison-entry-delayed/). She was also, at one point, allegedly, in [possession of a one-way ticket to Mexico](https://sfist.com/2023/01/20/elizabeth-holmes-booked-one-way-ticket-to-mexico-after-conviction/) immediately after her January 2022 conviction — and Evans apparently left the country for six weeks right around that time.
Now, many will likely say, including those whom she financially wronged, that she is basically getting out of jail free barely four years after she finally began serving her time.
The Fielder/Oppenheim documentary, titled *You Can See Everything*, just played to a small audience in a special screening at the Telluride Film Festival, and the early word from critics is that it's a genre-bending piece of nonfiction like no one but Fielder could deliver, and that it raises wild questions about Holmes's own relationship to facts and the fact-based world.
Evans, meanwhile, has apparently been using Holmes's old Xitter account to respond to critics and — as we saw earlier this year — [appeal to the sympathies of Donald Trump himself.](https://sfist.com/2026/01/21/elizabeth-holmes-officially-asks-trump-to-commute-her-sentence/) And, more wildly, we learned in May 2025 that he has launched a new company which is — wait for it.... — [a blood-testing startup](https://sfist.com/2025/05/12/bizarrely-elizabeth-holmess-baby-daddy/)! Focused on veterinary care! Or something.
As part of her sentence, Holmes is legally barred from starting any new tech or medical device companies, but she'll probably find a way around that!
**Previously:** [Everything We Know About This Elizabeth Holmes Documentary From A24 and Nathan Fielder](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/everything-we-know-about-this-elizabeth-holmes-documentary-from-a24-and-nathan-fielder/)
### Vallejo Woman Who Saved Man From Knife Attack Receives Carnegie Medal For Heroism
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/vallejo-woman-who-saved-man-from-knife-attack-receives-carnegie-medal-for-heroism/
Last updated: 2026-09-24T00:39:50.000Z
A Vallejo mom and Door Dash driver is one of 16 people receiving a Carnegie Medal after she saved a man last year who was being brutally attacked by a relative with two kitchen knives.
Amanda Williams was driving through Vallejo in August of last year, when she saw a man being attacked with two kitchen knives, [as Vallejo’s Times-Herald reports](https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2026/09/21/vallejoan-amanda-williams-is-the-ultimate-hero/?clearUserState=true&ref=sfist.com). The victim, Roscell Wallace, was yelling for help as the attacker, a relative, continued coming after him.
Williams’ actions earned her one of the country’s highest civilian honors for heroism, the Carnegie Medal, which she’ll receive along with 15 other honorees this year.
Williams, a single mother and DoorDash driver, reportedly pulled over and got out of her car despite initially being told by the perpetrator to leave. When the attacker turned back toward Wallace, Williams reportedly grabbed the wrist holding the knives and managed to wrestle the weapons away.
“I grabbed his wrist — the one that held the knives — I grabbed his wrist so he couldn’t swing at him anymore,” Williams [told NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/vallejo-woman-carnegie-medal-for-heroism/4146983/?ref=sfist.com).
Times-Herald reports that the attacker, Henry Johnson, then stole Williams’ car and crashed it before he was arrested. He was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, carjacking, criminal threats, and felony pursuit, and is expected to stand trial on attempted murder and other charges.
Wallace suffered non-life-threatening injuries and is now doing better, although Williams said he has permanent scars on his face. The two have remained in contact.
Williams said afterward that she was more concerned about watching someone die than about her own safety.
“It was either sit there and watch someone get murdered or get out of my car and see what I could do,” she said, speaking to Times-Herald.
Williams had previously been honored by the city of Vallejo for intervening in the attack. She told the Times-Herald she was surprised when the crowd gave her a standing ovation and received a medal, which she later gave to her mother as a Mother’s Day gift.
**Related:** [Zuni Cafe Worker Saves Patron Using CPR, SFFD to Issue Plaque in His Honor](https://sfist.com/2025/08/23/zuni-cafe-worker-saves-patron-using-cpr-sffd-to-issue-plaque-in-his-honor/)
### Air New Zealand Pilots Reportedly Brawled In SF Hotel Over Union Disagreement
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/air-new-zealand-pilots-reportedly-brawled-in-sf-hotel-over-union-disagreement/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T22:56:57.000Z
An argument between two pilots for Air New Zealand reportedly escalated into fisticuffs earlier this month at their layover hotel in San Francisco, which led to one or both sustaining injuries and the return flight being extremely delayed.
We [just heard this story](https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/hundreds-of-sfo-flights-delayed-due-to-faa-glitch/) this week about two Air New Zealand pilots who had a physical altercation in San Francisco that led to an SFO-to-Aukland flight being 14 hours delayed.
As [View From the Wing reports](https://viewfromthewing.com/pilots-fought-at-san-francisco-hotel-14-hour-flight-delay-was-blamed-on-sickness/?ref=sfist.com), the captain of the plane had a verbal disagreement, possibly about union issues, while in the cockpit on the way to San Francisco. The two junior pilots in the cockpit — the first and second officers — apparently reported the captain to their superiors after landing, and this may have led to the physical confrontation that happened at a San Francisco hotel.
Air New Zealand has said little about the incident other than to cite the delay being caused by a pilot's "sickness," and stressing that no incident occurred during the flight itself.
We can infer that the senior pilot, the captain, was injured in a physical fight with one of the junior pilots, and [according to Stuff](https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/361036097/incident-between-air-nz-pilots-reported-aviation-watchdog?ref=sfist.com), a Kiwi blog, they flew back to New Zealand on separate flights.
The incident led to outgoing Aukland flights being delayed both on September 6 and September 7 — with a crew that had flown in on a different flight filling in for this one on the flight they were meant to go out on, on the 6th.
A new pilot had to dead-head to San Francisco to captain the September 7 flight, which led to the 14-hour delay, because of mandatory crew rest.
Per Stuff, passengers on the flight that finally left just after midnight on September 8 say that Air New Zealand went to great ends to make all the passengers on the delayed flight happy, even providing hotel accommodations above the usual $250/night maximum.
"They were falling over themselves to help everyone as there were so few passengers," one traveler told the publication.
Only 19 passengers ended up flying back in Economy on the September 7/8 flight, and they were reportedly told to find any empty row they wanted to stretch out in.
### SF Supe Introduces Bill Allowing Licensed Food Vendors to Use Home Kitchens
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/sf-supe-introduces-bill-allowing-licensed-food-vendors-to-use-home-kitchens/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T22:44:32.000Z
New legislation authored by SF Supervisor Jackie Fielder would make it easier for licensed businesses to sell food prepared out of their home kitchens utilizing an existing state law.
Fielder’s bill would allow qualifying vendors to prepare and sell food in their own homes, as current city regulations require them to pay for access to a commercial commissary kitchen, which can cost around $1,000 a month, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/fielder-seeks-to-legalize-the-selling-of-home-cooking/?ref=sfist.com). Vendors would still have to meet food safety requirements, including annual inspections, food manager certification, and food-handling training.
The new legislation would enable the city to adopt the [Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation Program](https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/Pages/FDBPrograms/FoodSafetyProgram/MicroenterpriseHomeKitchenOperations.aspx?ref=sfist.com) (MEHKO), a state program that went into effect in 2019\. According to Mission Local, Fielder requested a report from the Budget and Legislative Analyst on the potential costs and impacts of establishing the program in San Francisco, which is expected by mid-October.
Leila Ovando, director of food justice equity at Nuestra Causa, told Mission Local the legislation could help reduce the financial and regulatory hurdles faced by migrants, working-class entrepreneurs, and families trying to start small food businesses.
Catherine Brinkley, a professor of human ecology at UC Davis, said street vendors can also contribute to broader economic development by bringing customers and activity to city streets.
“Studies have shown that street food vendors are economic amplifiers,” Brinkley said, speaking to Mission Local. “They bring dollars in and they activate streets, making them safer.”
Other Bay Area counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma, and Santa Cruz have reportedly already adopted MEHKO. Santa Cruz launched a pilot program in 2024, which required coordination among its health, building, and fire departments to conduct home kitchen inspections.
Olga Zuniga, deputy director of environmental health for Santa Cruz County, told Mission Local the program has been successful, and the department has recommended making it permanent.
Contra Costa County’s two-year MEHKO pilot program was also reportedly a success.
“After two years, we had minimal issues come up,” said Vanessa Cordier, an environmental health specialist with the county health department, speaking to Mission Local. “I’d say it’s a success because it gave people an opportunity to open up a business.”
The bill will be assigned to a committee in 30 days, which will decide whether to send it to the full Board of Supervisors.
**Related:** [SF Giants Cracking Down on Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog Carts Outside Oracle Park](https://sfist.com/2024/06/26/sf-giants-cracking-down-on-bacon-wrapped-hot-dog-carts-outside-oracle-park/)
### SF Mayor Daniel Lurie Intervenes, Requests Release of Stefani Staffer Detained By ICE
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/sf-mayor-daniel-lurie-intervenes-requests-release-of-stefani-staffer-detained-by-ice/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T21:55:10.000Z
Donald Trump himself may not have caught wind yet of the situation involving SF Assemblymember Catherine Stefani's field representative, a Hong Kong national who immigration officials say overstayed a work visa, and is now in ICE detention. But Mayor Daniel Lurie is now taking an uncharacteristic stand against the White House and immigration officials.
As we've seen over the last 20 months of the Daniel Lurie administration, Lurie has adopted a strategy of staying mostly silent on President Trump and his policies. This strategy paid dividends when Los Angeles was under siege by federal agents and the national guard last summer, and just as Trump was planning to do the same thing here, he got [talked out of it by a couple of billionaires](https://sfist.com/2025/10/23/marc-benioff-reportedly-helped-talk-trump-out-of-federal-surge-in-san-francisco/) who convinced him that [Lurie was doing good things](https://sfist.com/2025/10/23/trump-and-lurie-have-their-moment-president-unusually/) in San Francisco and he should be left alone.
Now, Lurie appears to be putting his foot down over the detention last week of former supervisor and SF Assemblymember Catherine Stefani's staffer, Ho Yin Mo. As [SFist discussed earlier](https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/sf-assemblymembers-staffer-detained-by-ice-at-las-vegas-airport/), Mo was taken into ICE custody at the Las Vegas airport, with immigration officials saying that Mo was in the country on an expired visa.
In a statement given, oddly, [to the UK Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16154379/White-House-Catherine-Stefani-staffer-Ho-Yin-Mo-arrest.html?ref=sfist.com), White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said, "An illegal alien being employed by a California State Assemblyman woman is outrageous."
"Assemblyman woman" is a nice construction...
"This takes sanctuary city to a whole new level," Bis continued. "Radical Democrats continue to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens — even employing illegal aliens to work in their political offices."
Stefani, meanwhile, says he was legally permitted to work for the state and was authorized to work in the US. She has said that Ho Yin Mo, who is familiar to Chinese American residents in SF because he worked as a news anchor on a local Chinese language news broadcast, was helpful in being a trusted voice in the community.
An unnamed Department of Homeland Security spokesperson quoted by the Daily Mail said that "work authorization or a pending application does NOT confer legal status in the United States." The spokesperson added that Mo's visa required him to leave the country back in May 2020, and they said, regarding the policy of arresting people at airports, that the department had "reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country."
Lurie penned a letter to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/lurie-ho-yin-mo-22445846.php?ref=sfist.com) today, formally requesting that Mo be released.
"In his role, he serves the San Francisco community, and he does so with great care and commitment," Lurie reportedly wrote. "He is a positive addition to our city."
Lurie added, "He is a contributing member of society and I do not believe he poses as a danger or threat to anyone."
As the Chronicle notes, despite the Trump administration running roughshod over established law for nearly two years now, the federal government is not legally permitted to keep immigrants with pending cases in detention unless they are deemed dangerous or a flight risk.
Per the Daily Mail, the SF Board of Supervisors has written their own letter on Mo's behalf, saying he "has been an especially important point of contact for San Francisco’s Chinese American communities."
**Previously:** [SF Assemblymember’s Staffer Detained By ICE at Las Vegas Airport](https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/sf-assemblymembers-staffer-detained-by-ice-at-las-vegas-airport/)
### Smoke From Another Prescribed Burn on Angel Island Hovers Over SF
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/smoke-from-another-prescribed-burn-on-angel-island-hovers-over-sf/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T20:06:07.000Z
Yes, you are smelling smoke from a fire yet again, but it's just another prescribed burn on Angel Island.
As [they did once before, earlier this month](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/smoke-coming-from-angel-island-is-a-prescribed-burn/), California State Parks is conducting a prescribed burn on Angel Island to thin out flammable brush, and the smoke has now spread over the city of San Francisco.
The parks department warned on the day of the last burn, September 8, that more burns would likely occur, though a couple weeks have passed without any happening, likely due to weather conditions.
"Prescribed burns are planned and coordinated with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to minimize smoke impacts on surrounding communities," the parks department said in a release. "All burning depends on weather and air conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If conditions are not conducive, the burn will be rescheduled."
[NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/angel-island-prescribed-burn/4147399/?ref=sfist.com) that 62 acres were burned in the first burn two weeks ago, out of 260 acres that are planned as part of these burns. So this is likely not the last day of smoke.
Officials have tried to get the word out to warn area residents not to call 911 about the smell of smoke, clogging up the emergency system.
These prescribed burns typically go from 9 am to 6 pm, and the smoke can linger for many hours after.
Burns like this one are supported by the 2024 Climate Bond, Prop 4, with the effort "specifically aimed at reducing fuel loads in grasslands and coastal scrub on the island," per the parks department.
**Previously:** [Smoke Coming From Angel Island Is a Prescribed Burn](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/smoke-coming-from-angel-island-is-a-prescribed-burn/)
### Stanford Receives Backlash For Replacing Latino Student In Photo With AI-Generated Black Student
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/stanford-receives-backlash-for-replacing-latino-student-in-photo-with-ai-generated-black-student/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T19:46:24.000Z
Stanford University acknowledged that a photo featured on a banner in its dining hall had been altered using AI to replace a Latino student with a Black student, who may have been AI-generated, while two other students appeared air-brushed.
The original photo was taken at a Stanford dining hall in 2024 and showed three students, including Billy Ramirez, a Latino student who was later removed from the image. [As the Stanford Review reports](https://stanfordreview.org/stanford-r-de-uses-ai-to-race-swap-students-for-advertising/?ref=sfist.com), the altered version appeared on a “Welcome Home” banner at the university, with a Black woman, whom the paper says was AI-generated, inserted in Ramirez’s place.
The other two students’ features, an Asian woman and a Latino man, were also noticeably altered or “Al-yassified,” as Ramirez later called it on social media.
Students quickly recognized that the image had been manipulated, which Ramirez [shared on social media](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdkON74Dt8p/?hl=en&img%5Findex=1&ref=sfist.com). The comparison between the original and altered versions spread across Fizz, a popular social media platform for college campuses that [launched at Stanford in 2024](https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/24/the-fizz-phenomenon-stanfords-social-startup-that-stuck/?ref=sfist.com).
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdkON74Dt8p/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Fizz at Stanford (@fizzstanford)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdkON74Dt8p/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
Ramirez told the Review that while he initially found the changes absurd, he became upset after comparing the two versions.
“At first, I found it hilarious that they had used AI to completely change our appearances, including my race and gender,” Ramirez said, speaking to the Review. “But after looking at the comparison, I was also upset because I don’t agree with Stanford making those choices about how we were represented.”
[According to the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/us/stanford-photo-swap-black-hispanic-student.html?ref=sfist.com), Stanford acknowledged Tuesday that its Residential and Dining Enterprises department had used AI to alter the photograph. The university said its AI policy prohibits using AI to produce or alter images of Stanford people, events, research, facilities, or achievements, and that both the alteration and failure to disclose it violated that policy.
Stanford said it is working with Residential and Dining Enterprises on additional training and a review process for future materials.
The incident comes as colleges and universities are facing increased scrutiny over diversity-related programs and marketing, including amid actions by the Trump administration targeting some university practices. The Times reports that Stanford has also been the subject of federal inquiries involving its medical school admissions practices and a teacher training program.
Out of the 17,314 students who enrolled last fall, 3,406 were classified by the university as underrepresented minorities. An additional 4,431 students were international students.
Per the Times, a 2013 study in the *Journal of Marketing for Higher Education* found that college recruitment materials often featured a higher proportion of Black students than were actually enrolled at the schools studied, while Hispanic students were underrepresented.
**Related:** [Affirmative Action Decision at Supreme Court Will Likely Mean Less Diversity at California's Private Universities](https://sfist.com/2023/06/29/affirmative-action-decision-at-supreme-court-will-likely-mean-less-diversity-at-california/)
### Two Men Charged In Anti-Gay Hate Crime Assault at San Jose State
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/two-men-charged-in-anti-gay-hate-crime-assault-at-san-jose-state/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T19:44:12.000Z
Two men have been charged with a hate crime and felony assault after an alleged attack on a San Jose State University student over the weekend.
The incident happened early Saturday morning, September 19, around 3:44 am. According to a release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, the two suspects walked by the victim on the San Jose State campus while he was walking with two female friends and asked him if he was gay, which was followed by the suspects yelling homophobic slurs as the victim and his friends tried to ignore them and walk on.
The suspects, identified as 19-year-old Josue Medina Flores of Sunnyvale and 20-year-old Christian Gabriel Nunez Petty of Fremont, then allegedly ran up to the victim after he'd passed by and began physically attacking him, all while yelling slurs.
One of the victim's friends, who jumped on top of him to shield him from blows, was reportedly struck by the attackers as well.
San Jose State University police officers reportedly interrupted the attack and apprehended the fleeing suspects before they left the campus. They were then transferred to San Jose Police custody, and the pair has now been charged with felony assault with hate crime allegations.
The victim was treated for his injuries at an area hospital and was then released.
There seems to be little doubt that the attack was unprovoked, as it was captured on campus surveillance cameras.
"If you hurt someone because of their race, religion, gender, or sexuality, you will be arrested and prosecuted," said District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a statement. “Tolerance and diversity are cherished values in this community. We back up them with one voice – and the full might of the law."
The DA's office notes it has filed charges in 14 hate crimes so far this year.
Flores and Petty were scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 pm Wednesday in Department 23 of the Hall of Justice in San Jose, [per KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/sjsu-student-beaten-campus-alleged-attackers-charged-hate-crimes?ref=sfist.com).
It remains unclear if either man is a student at San Jose State, or if they were just passing through the campus.
**Related:** [39-Year-Old Oakland Man Charged With Hate Crimes and Assault After Castro Vandalism Incident](https://sfist.com/2026/06/19/39-year-old-oakland-man-charged-with/)
### Gundlach Bundschu, One of California's Oldest Wineries, Files for Bankruptcy
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/gundlach-bundschu-one-of-californias-oldest-wineries-files-for-bankruptcy/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T18:54:31.000Z
The second-oldest winery in Sonoma County and one of the oldest continually operating wineries in the state, Gundlach Bundschu, founded in 1858, has filed for bankruptcy, three months after its sibling property Abbott's Passage closed its doors.
The crisis is real in the wine industry, and one of the most established and long-lived wine businesses in Wine Country is under serious financial strain. As they announced in a release Wednesday, Gundlach Bundschu — or Gun Bun, to locals — has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Jeff and Katie Bundschu, the sixth-generation sibling owners of the winery, say that the winery and tasting room will remain open throughout the restructuring process, and they encourage fans to keep visiting, and to attend one of their signature live-music events, [Soundcheck](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdmiOZKyCT5/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com), on Sunday, October 4.
"Please come here during this process," says Jeff Bundschu, in a statement. "We plan to be open throughout, continue the special events we have already scheduled, and our team will be here sharing the wines we crafted with love, attention, lots of smiles — and really good music."
The release explains that the winery became over-leveraged following a debt-financed acquisition in February 2020\. That acquisition was of the winery that became Abbott's Passage, a second property near Glen Ellen, which began as a second label started by Katie Bundschu with a small tasting room in the town of Sonoma. As part of a pre-pandemic growth strategy for the company, the new property offered expansive grounds with reserve-able bocce courts, and approachable, mid-priced wines.
In June, Bundschu announced the closing of Abbott's Passage, [telling the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/abbots-passage-glen-ellen-closing-22319257.php?ref=sfist.com) that, with the industry-wide decline in demand for wine, "It became increasingly challenging for the brand and hospitality experience to build the momentum we had envisioned."
Now, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/gundlach-bundschu-winery-bankruptcy-22444378.php?ref=sfist.com), this has led to debts in excess of $37 million, and the Bundschu family is hoping to be able to partner with a new investor as part of the Chapter 11 process, and preserve a business that has the oldest continually family-owned winery in the state, dating back to 1858\. Only [Buena Vista Winery](https://www.sonomacounty.com/wine/california-oldest-winery/?ref=sfist.com), founded one year earlier, is older among Sonoma County wineries.
Per the release, the family was offered millions from lenders at an increasingly "onerous" rate of interest, which led them to the decision to file for bankruptcy. Liquidating real estate assets, including a historic family home at the winery, where Jeff and Katie's parents have lived — which was rebuilt after being [destroyed in the 2017 Nuns Fire](https://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/How-the-fire-struck-at-Gundlach-Bundschu-one-of-12270549.php?ref=sfist.com) — may be part of the process, they say.
"This is about creating a fair, court-supervised process that gives this historic business an opportunity to survive, preserve jobs, protect relationships with customers and vendors, and ensure the winery remains a meaningful part of the Sonoma Valley community," Jeff Bundschu said in a statement. "We are excited to partner with a family organization that recognizes the importance and value of our family operation to Sonoma Valley."
That last statement suggests that another winery family has already been lined up as a potential new investor, but that is not clear and the investor has not been named.
"Our family has been entrusted with this land for six generations," Bundschu says. "We are fighting for the opportunity to help ensure that the seventh generation — and the Sonoma Valley community that has grown alongside us — has a future here."
The Chronicle notes that Gundlach Bundschu has had several rounds of layoffs in an effort to reduce expenses, going from 102 employees 18 months ago to 63.
In the bankruptcy filing, per the Chronicle, Bundschu writes, "We enter this process with great humility and remorse for the burden the company’s financial distress places on our employees, vendors, lenders, customers and community."
He adds, "This has never been only about a winery. It is about a place, a legacy and a community worth preserving."
### SF Assemblymember’s Staffer Detained By ICE at Las Vegas Airport
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/sf-assemblymembers-staffer-detained-by-ice-at-las-vegas-airport/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T17:29:43.000Z
Assemblymember Catherine Stefani is calling for the release of staffer Ho Yin Mo, a former reporter for San Francisco Chinese-language TV station KTSF who was detained by ICE in Las Vegas last Thursday.
Ho Yin Mo, a field representative for California Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, D-San Francisco, was taken into custody by ICE agents Thursday while traveling through Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/catherine-stefani-staffer-ice-22444319.php?ref=sfist.com). He remains detained at an immigration detention center in Pahrump, Nevada, according to detention records.
The Department of Homeland Security said Mo was arrested during what it described as a “targeted enforcement operation.” According to a DHS spokesperson, Mo, who is from Hong Kong, entered the US legally on a temporary basis in 2020 but did not leave when that period expired. The agency has not publicly provided additional details about Mo’s immigration case.
Stefani, however, said Mo is legally employed by the California Legislature and is authorized to work in the United States, per the Chronicle. She is calling for his release.
“My message today is simple: I am respectfully calling for Ho Yin Mo’s release as soon as possible,” Stefani said in a statement. “Ho Yin is a selfless public servant and a valued, legal employee of the California State Legislature serving our San Francisco and Bay Area communities.”
Mo was previously a news reporter at KTSF, also known as Channel 26\. He left the station in 2024 to work on Breed’s reelection and the “Yes on B” campaigns, then joined Stefani’s staff in 2025, according to his [LinkedIn profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ho-yin-mo-826494123/?ref=sfist.com).
Stefani told the Chronicle Mo’s background has been particularly valuable when the two meet with Chinese-American constituents in her district.
“When Ho Yin and I meet our Chinese-American constituents, he brings a unique sense of belonging to so many who watched him as a TV reporter,” Stefani said, speaking to the Chronicle. “And his work goes far beyond presence. Ho Yin helps people access affordable health care coverage, child care, and food support. Our whole community eagerly awaits Ho Yin’s return to his home and his job where he is loved and adored.”
Joe Arellano, a political strategist who worked with Mo on Breed’s campaign, said friends know him as “Mo” and described him as “a man of high character” and a familiar figure in San Francisco’s Chinatown and on the city’s west side.
“All of us are pulling for his safe release,” Arellano told the Chronicle.
Mo’s detention comes as immigration arrests at airports have increased under the Trump administration, with people detained over visa overstays, even when they have [pending asylum applications, federal work permits, and no criminal history](https://sfist.com/2026/07/30/immigrants-urged-to-avoid-air-travel-amid-rise-in-ice-arrests-at-bay-area-airports/).
During the first half of 2026, [25 people were held at SFO for more than 72 hours](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/ice-has-held-25-immigrants-at-sfo-for-more-than-three-days-in-2026-in-violation-of-policy/) in violation of Customs and Border Patrol’s policy.
Iryna Gorb, a 38-year-old Ukrainian woman whose arrest by plainclothes ICE agents at SFO was captured in a viral video in July, was released from a detention center last week [after seven weeks in custody](https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/ukrainian-woman-forcibly-arrested-by-ice-at-sfo-released-after-seven-weeks-in-detention/).
**Related:** [Ukrainian Woman Forcibly Arrested By ICE at SFO Released After Seven Weeks In Detention](https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/ukrainian-woman-forcibly-arrested-by-ice-at-sfo-released-after-seven-weeks-in-detention/)
### Humpday Headlines: Hurricane Polo Still Spinning Off Mexico
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/23/hurricane-polo-still-spinning-off-mexico/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T16:35:52.000Z
- 19-year-old Ja’Marion Grace, a College of San Mateo football player, has been identified as the person killed in a crash on Highway 101 on Sunday that injured two others. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/college-of-san-mateo-football-player-killed-crash-jamarion-grace?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Hurricane Polo continues to skirt the Pacific coastline of Mexico as a Category 4 storm, and it is not expected to make landfall as it travels northward over the next few days. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/hurricane-polo-category-5-mexico-life-threatening-flooding/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- It's generally quite busy in the Pacific, storm-wise, right now, with Hawaii likely to ge more torrential rain this week from another storm currently brewing. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/weather/pacific-hurricanes-hawaii-polo.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Rather than pay a one-time tax to the state of California, billionaires are pumping millions into a PAC opposing Prop 40, the billionaire tax, including Sergey Brin, who has given $102 million to the PAC so far. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/billionaire-tax-california-pac-22442333.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 32-year-old rideshare driver from Foster City is accused of sexually assaulting a teen boy earlier this month in San Jose. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-rideshare-sexual-assault-passenger?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A big rig went off the road on 101 northbound near Willits, leading to heavy traffic Wednesday in Mendocino County. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/traffic/traffic-snarled-on-101-in-north-bay-after-big-rig-skids-off-roadway/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new report suggests that this El Niño season could cause 451,000 more heat-related deaths than in a normal year, most of them in the global south, though the southern US is likely to be impacted as well. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/el-nino-451000-more-heat-deaths-report-map-areas-at-risk/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: SF Giants Social Media Video Shows Nude Player In Background
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/day-around-the-bay-sf-giants-social-media-video-shows-nude-player-in-background/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T03:01:09.000Z
### Local:
- Fans watching a social media video of new Giants’ player Bo Davidson were inadvertently shown a glimpse of another player completely nude before it was later deleted. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/giants-nude-player-celebrations-22443935.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Francisco sued Trump Media & Technology Group over its Truth API, which charges up to $100,000 a month for early access to Trump’s Truth Social posts, alleging the service gives paying investors an unfair advantage and violates California’s Unfair Competition Law. \[[KQED](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-francisco-sues-over-delayed-trump-social-media-posts/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The cause of death in the case of 72-year-old Yolanda Ramirez, who died one week after being arrested by Brentwood police in 2025, was caused by a stroke rather than police restraint, which her family contests. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/yolanda-ramirez-brentwood-police-custody-death/4147000/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- DoorDash has agreed to pay more than 260,000 New York City drivers $115 million, settling a lawsuit by the city alleging the company underpaid them — the city's largest labor enforcement action in history. \[[Huffington Post](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/doordash-agrees-131-million-settlement-145322846.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 34-year-old mail carrier in Utah was charged Tuesday after he threw 300 mail-in ballots into a parking lot dumpster before the June primary election, saying that he was overwhelmed and thought he was only throwing out advertisements. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/postal-worker-tossed-300-mail-ballots-parking-lot-garbage-laziness-rcna599224?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Lionel Richie is postponing his tour, which includes an October stop in SF, after undergoing a heart procedure for atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm. \[[ABC News](https://abc7news.com/story/lionel-richie-pausing-touring-due-heart-procedure-rep-says/19858136/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- A planning meeting is being held this Friday by community organizers against the construction of new data centers in San Francisco, particularly a proposed [160,000-million-square-foot facility](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/data-center-waterfront-ai-dogpatch-22438639.php?ref=sfist.com) on the waterfront in SF’s Dogpatch neighborhood in District 10, [near at least two other data center projects](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/sf-supervisor-plans-moratorium-on-new-data-centers-with-permanent-ban-to-follow/).
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### Late-Night Shooting In West Oakland Injures One as Bullets Hit Nearby Preschool
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/late-night-shooting-in-west-oakland-injures-one-as-bullets-hit-nearby-preschool/
Last updated: 2026-09-23T00:58:38.000Z
A 15-year-old boy was wounded in an exchange of gunfire involving occupants of several vehicles and security guards at a West Oakland public housing complex early Monday, with stray bullets hitting a nearby preschool.
The shooting happened around 12:43 am Monday at West Oakland's City Towers housing complex, on the 1000 block of Eighth Street, when as many as four vehicles carrying multiple people were traveling eastbound. [As Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/21/teen-wounded-as-vehicle-occupants-exchange-gunfire-with-oakland-security-guards/?ref=sfist.com), occupants of at least two of the vehicles began shooting at three security guards, who returned fire, according to initial police reports.
The gunfire triggered a gunshot detection system alert, and the security guards also called police, but the vehicles had left by the time officers arrived.
According to the News Group, the 15-year-old showed up at a hospital a short time later with a gunshot wound to his foot. Police confirmed he had been involved in the shooting by connecting him to a Hyundai parked near the hospital with at least one bullet hole that had been reported stolen earlier in Oakland. Police reportedly found blood on the driver’s seat as well as a pistol.
Initial reports indicate the teenager was believed to have been driving the Hyundai while other occupants fired shots. He was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and possession of a firearm. The other occupants of the Hyundai, along with those in the other vehicles, were still being sought.
The three security guards who returned fire were released after being questioned, and a motive for the shooting remains under investigation, per the News Group. No one else was reported injured.
[KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/west-oakland-overnight-shooting-injures-one-strikes-nearby-pre-school-window?ref=sfist.com) that workers at a preschool near the scene discovered that a bullet had gone through the window of a kindergarten classroom, while another was lodged in the building’s exterior paneling.
The school already has a bullet-resistant wall around its courtyard, and staff are now reportedly considering adding bulletproof windows along the front of the building.
Residents nearby told KTVU the gunfire was loud enough to wake people in their homes. One father of three said he heard roughly 10 shots in quick succession before one of his children ran into his bedroom, frightened.
“He told me, ‘Dad, I heard some shootings outside, it’s close to my house,’ and he’s scared to go back to his room to sleep,” the father said, speaking to KTVU.
The man said a bullet also entered his home’s bathroom during a shooting last year while his family was upstairs. He said the repeated violence has made his family reluctant to let their children play outside.
According to KTVU, preschool staff and parents in the neighborhood are now calling for increased police patrols, saying the recurring gunfire has made them concerned about the safety of children and other residents.
The West Oakland shooting came less than 24 hours after another fatal shooting elsewhere in Oakland's Grand Lake neighborhood when a San Francisco man was shot [in a parking lot near Grand Lake Theater](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/21/teen-wounded-as-vehicle-occupants-exchange-gunfire-with-oakland-security-guards/?ref=sfist.com) at about 1:56 am Sunday. He was taken to a hospital with at least one gunshot wound and later died.
Oakland police are investigating the shooting. It was reportedly the 39th homicide investigated by Oakland police this year, compared with 50 at the same point last year.
**Related:** [Suspect In Oakland Shootout and Arson Was Convicted Sex Offender With Parole Violations](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/suspect-in-oakland-shootout-and-arson-was-convicted-sex-offender-with-parole-violations/)
### Chase Center’s Thrive City Is Now a Full-Time, Boozy Entertainment Zone
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/chase-centers-thrive-city-is-now-a-full-time-boozy-entertainment-zone/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T22:35:06.000Z
Thrive City at Chase Center has been designated a full-time entertainment zone, where adults over 21 can carry open containers of alcohol outdoors seven days a week, following Valencia Street’s lead.
The new designation allows bars and restaurants at Thrive City, [the 11-acre mini-neighborhood surrounding Chase Center](https://sfist.com/2019/05/28/thrive-city-is-the-new-name-for-the-development-around-the-chase-center-thanks-to-kaiser/), to serve drinks [to go every day](https://www.chasecenter.com/news/entertainment-zone-announcement-20260922/?ref=sfist.com) from 11 am to 10 pm, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/chase-center-thrive-city-entertainment-zone-22442056.php?ref=sfist.com). Previously, the district had a part-time designation where the open-container rules changed depending on the event, making it confusing for both businesses and customers.
Thrive City, which opened alongside Chase Center in 2019, now hosts more than 200 free community events a year, ranging from pickleball tournaments and farmers markets to music classes and sports watch parties. Some upcoming events include Valkyries playoff watch parties and Lucha Libre Wrestling Night this Thursday.
The plaza’s bars and restaurants include Splash sports bar, Harmonic Brewing, Burma Love, Che Fico Pizzeria, and Dumpling Time. Splash co-owner Andy Chun told the Chronicle that the year-round entertainment zone could help businesses draw customers more consistently, while creating an atmosphere more like outdoor drinking and dining areas in European cities.
“It’s about creating more of a European hospitality experience, like the London pub scene or the café culture in Italy,” Chun said, speaking to the Chronicle.
Anne Taupier, executive director of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said the permanent designation would give restaurants, bars, and other small businesses more opportunities to benefit from the crowds already coming to Thrive City.
“Great public spaces are also engines for local economic growth,” she told the Chronicle.
San Francisco now has [more than 30 entertainment zones](https://sfist.com/2026/07/01/sf-now-has-30-boozy-entertainment-zones-which-are-also-boosting-local-businesses/) after former Mayor London Breed signed legislation in 2024, allowing bars to sell to-go cocktails and permitting open-container drinking during events when streets are closed to cars. Businesses across the city have reported significant boosts in sales when entertainment zones are activated.
Valencia Street became the city’s first [full-time](https://sfist.com/2025/06/10/its-open-season-for-open-containers-on-valencia-street-where-to-go-cocktails-are-launching-five-days-a-week/) entertainment zone, initially operating five days a week before expanding to [seven days a week](https://www.sf.gov/valencia-street-entertainment-zone?ref=sfist.com), including when no street festival is taking place.
Other entertainment zones have been used for neighborhood night markets, Pride block parties, World Cup watch parties, and cultural festivals, often with live music, DJs, drag shows, local vendors, food trucks, and outdoor seating.
**Related:** [SF Now Has 30 Boozy ‘Entertainment Zones,’ Which Are Boosting Local Businesses](https://sfist.com/2026/07/01/sf-now-has-30-boozy-entertainment-zones-which-are-also-boosting-local-businesses/)
### Local Sports Radio Legend Greg Papa Now Hoping for a Heart Transplant
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/local-sports-radio-legend-greg-papa-now-hoping-for-a-heart-transplant/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T22:32:36.000Z
It's turning out to be a rough year for the old guard of Bay Area sports announcers, and now 49ers play-by-play guy and longtime local sports radio figure Greg Papa is facing another in a series of health crises which is sidelining him from doing what he loves as football season begins.
KNBR radio voice and NBC Sports Bay Area's 49ers play-by-play announcer Greg Papa is hospitalized again, as we [learned last week](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/humpday-headlines-greg-papa-hospitalized/). But now he's hoping to get in line for a heart transplant, as [Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/19/49ers-broadcaster-greg-papa-braces-for-potential-heart-transplant/?ref=sfist.com). He is currently being stabilized on medication, and surgery to implant an LVAD pump next to heart is also a possibility.
But as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/49ers-announcer-greg-papa-s-heart-giving-filled-22442020.php?ref=sfist.com), his case was being presented today at 3 pm to the UCSF Health Heart Transplant Board, and we should learn soon whether he will be going the transplant route. Previously, doctors had refused to discuss a transplant because it was deemed far too risky so soon after Papa other procedures, and given his medical state.
Papa, who will be 64 in a few weeks, has already had an extremely rough and taxing 13 months or so, since being diagnosed last summer with leukemia. He came out of that, after a bone marrow transplant from his sister this past winter and extensive treatment, only to end up with a lung infection related to that treatment.
On September 5, he tells Bay Area News Group, he woke up with very labored breathing, and on the 7th, just before he was set to serve as in-studio analyst for the 49ers season opener in Australia, he was diagnosed with advanced heart failure.
The news about Papa's condition comes just as local sports fans were also reeling from news that beloved SF Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper is [battling throat cancer](https://www.mlb.com/news/duane-kuiper-diagnosed-with-throat-cancer?ref=sfist.com), which is unrelated to cancer he was treated for five years ago. He was still planning to be back in the booth today (Tuesday) for the final game of his longtime broadcast partner Mike Krukow, [who is retiring](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/mike-krukow-farewell-baseball-22436764.php?ref=sfist.com).
This all came at a tragically bad time for Papa's morale, after he had [only just been reinstated at his home station](https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/beloved-sports-radio-figure-greg-papa-to-return-to-knbr-in-part-time-role-a-month-after-being-laid-off/), KNBR, who had [laid him off in early August](https://sfist.com/2026/08/05/longtime-knbr-host-greg-papa-laid-off-as-he-continues-recovery-from-bone-marrow-transplant/), with plans to return to weekday radio later this month. We learned that news on September 10, just before the 49ers were kicking off Down Under, and after Papa had already been hospitalized for three days.
"I’ve already had a lot of miracles," Papa tells the Chronicle. "Hail Mary touchdowns to at least force overtime. But when does the game end? I don’t know. Can you expect to get a miracle every time? Physically, there’s a toll."
He added, "Two weeks ago, I was preparing to step out of the darkness and go back into the sunlight and resume my world. Everything changed in a span of a couple days. It was like I was living in a time warp."
After spending 78 days at UCSF earlier this summer, he was not eager to be back there so soon. But, he tells the Chronicle, using another football metaphor, "I’m a little cornered right now. And I’ve got to find a way to squirm out of it. Got to break a few tackles."
**Previously:** [Beloved Sports Radio Figure Greg Papa to Return to KNBR In Part-Time Role, a Month After Being Laid Off](https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/beloved-sports-radio-figure-greg-papa-to-return-to-knbr-in-part-time-role-a-month-after-being-laid-off/)
### Keanu Reeves Popped Into the Warfield Monday for Peter Hook & The Light
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/keanu-reeves-popped-into-the-warfield-monday-for-peter-hook-the-light/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T20:11:07.000Z
Actor Keanu Reeves, who is also a musician whose longtime band, Dogstar, will be playing The Fillmore tonight, came to San Francisco early to catch a Warfield show on Monday from Peter Hook, the post-punk legend of Joy Division/New Order fame, and his band The Light.
No stranger to San Francisco after filming parts of the Matrix franchise here — he's apparently [a fan of House of Nanking](https://www.upworthy.com/pn-keanu-reeves-house-of-nanking-matrix/?ref=sfist.com) — Keanu Reeves is back in town this week, both to perform a show at the legendary Fillmore, and to catch a show from the legendary Peter Hook, the English bassist and co-founding member of highly influential post-punk band Joy Division.
Reeves actually got on stage Monday night to introduce Peter Hook & The Light at their Warfield show, as seen in the video below — recorded by the nephew of local Instagram nostalgist [@thequakesanfrancisco](https://www.instagram.com/thequakesanfrancisco?ref=sfist.com).
"The one, the only Peter Hook and the Light!P laying the music we all love from then, today and tomorrow!” Reeves chants in his introduction, raving in a slightly doomsday preacher style and looking like he just stepped out of a cabin in the deep woods.
He adds, again in preacher style, "We are all here together, September 21, 2026!"
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ddk9CAzTMDZ/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
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> [A post shared by @thequakesanfrancisco](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ddk9CAzTMDZ/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
A commenter on the Instagram post notes that Reeves once said in an interview that if he was marooned on a desert island and could have one song with him to play, it would be Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." And, of course, Peter Hook and his band played the classic hit at Monday's show, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/keanu-reeves-peter-hook-sf-dogstar-22444100.php?ref=sfist.com).
Reeves is, notably, a bassist like Hook.
Reeves's band Dogstar, which also includes guitarist and singer Bret Domrose and drummer Robert Mailhouse, performs tonight (September 22) at The Fillmore, and despite Reeves's fame, [there are still regular-price GA tickets available](https://www.ticketmaster.com/dogstar-all-in-now-tour-san-francisco-california-09-22-2026/event/1C0064F48B7D69D0?%5Fgl=1%2A1f4hn43%2A%5Fga%2ANjEwMDUzNzExLjE3OTAxMDc1Mjc.%2A%5Fga%5FC1T806G4DF%2AczE3OTAxMDc1MjYkbzEkZzAkdDE3OTAxMDc1MjYkajYwJGwwJGgw&ref=sfist.com) as of this writing.
Dogstar has been performing on and off since forming in 1994, a full 32 years ago, when Reeves was still a budding young star in Hollywood. They have put out a total of three albums in that time, with the third, *All In Now*, just released this year.
As Reeves explained to Jimmy Fallon, "You know, we started in a garage, and then you end up starting to write songs, and then you're like 'Let's go out and play them!', and then you're like 'Let's go on tour!', and then... you're playing."
The band reunited to give its first public performance in 20 years at Napa's BottleRock Festival in 2023, performing a couple of new songs from this new album.
### What to Know About the Fifth Annual Portola Festival, Which Kicks Off Saturday on Pier 80
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/what-to-know-about-the-fifth-annual-portola-festival-which-kicks-off-saturday-on-pier-80/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T19:13:30.000Z
The Portola Music Festival is back this weekend at Pier 80, Robyn is headlining (along with Swedish House Mafia), and there are still tickets available.
SF's big EDM festival, [Portola](https://portolamusicfestival.com/?ref=sfist.com), returns for its fifth year at Pier 80 on Saturday and Sunday, coinciding as it sometimes does with Folsom Street Fair weekend. The festival has grown in scale slightly, though it still occupies the same general footprint, with Pier 80 being a wide open parking lot just east of The Midway, flanked by container cranes and a giant warehouse/hangar that was once the headquarters of Oracle's America's Cup team.
### Who's playing this year?
As we [noted when it was first announced](https://sfist.com/2026/05/28/portola-fest-drops-2026-lineup-with/), Swedish electro-pop goddess Robyn is headlining on Saturday, along with the Skrillex and Boys Noize duo project Dog Blood.
Soul Wax, Prospa, Tove Lo, Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada, Mike D 5D, and Fcukers are also playing Saturday, along with a DJ Shadow anniversary set celebrating 30 years of his debut album [*Endtroducing...*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endtroducing.....?ref=sfist.com), which should make some of you feel old.
Completing the Swedishness of it all, Sunday's lineup includes Zara Larsson and Swedish House Mafia, as well as Four Tet, Adela, Parcels, Horsegiirl, and Tiesto playing in the Warehouse.
### What else happens at the festival?
All weekend, for the second year in a row, the festival will feature Despacio, the all-analog, immersive, intimate, custom-built dance tent designed by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, David and Stephen Dewaele of 2ManyDJs/Soulwax, and sound engineer John Klett.
Also, there are [food trucks and stands](https://portolamusicfestival.com/plan/?ref=sfist.com#food-drink) spread around the festival edges, including Señor Sisig, Smish Smash, Saigon Sandwich, and Love Burn Hot Chicken, and special beverage concessions from [Bar Gemini](https://www.instagram.com/bargeminisf/?ref=sfist.com), [The Felix](https://www.instagram.com/thefelixsf/?ref=sfist.com), and Brooklyn's Four Horsemen (which is James Murphy's thing) inside Despacio.
Inside VIP, which is a massive area behind and to one side of the main stage, there is also an entire sit-down restaurant, Farmhouse World, from Farmhouse Thai chef Kasem “Pop” Saengsawang, as well as specific food offerings like Bodega SF.
### Can you still buy tickets?
It's not clear how many passes have been sold on the day-of in recent years, but single-day and two-day passes, both general admission and VIP, are [still available here](https://portolamusicfestival.com/passes/?ref=sfist.com#pass-types), and they do offer payment plans. VIP two-day passes, regularly priced at $729.95, get marked down by $30 if you buy four at once. Single-day VIP passes are $459.95, and GA is $400 for two-day and $270 for single-day (Saturday, $290 for Sunday).
### What can you bring?
Clear backpacks are allowed with blankets, empty water bottles, and basic toiletry needs, but **no outside food or drink is permitted**. And don't bring any selfie sticks, extender poles, or totems, because they'll likely be confiscated.
### Will there be cell service?
It's anyone's guess if the cell networks have been upgraded, but when the festival is at full tilt, getting messages out to friends has historically been a challenge at this location, so be warned, and **figure out analog contingency plans for meeting back up.**
### How do you get in and out?
Getting to Pier 80 by Muni is pretty easy, via the (yes, it's slow) T line to Marin Street. The 48-Quintara and 19-Polk buses also let off about a 10-minute walk away.
There is also a **free BART shuttle** from 24th and Valencia streets — a block up from the 24th and Mission BART station — that will run loops to Pier 80 both days from 12:30pm to 11:30pm.
Festival organizers are discouraging rideshares and Waymos with good reason, because they create some crazy traffic in that area when the festival lets out. The designated pickup and drop-off area is a bit of a walk away at Pier 70, and scheduling in advance is advised.
**Previously:** [Portola Fest Drops 2026 Lineup and ROBYN IS HEADLINING](https://sfist.com/2026/05/28/portola-fest-drops-2026-lineup-with/)
### Tenderloin Dog Attack Victim Was Watching Pit Bull For Owner Who Has Not Been Held Accountable
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/tenderloin-dog-attack-victim-was-watching-pit-bull-for-owner-who-has-not-been-held-accountable/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T20:28:50.000Z
A woman who suffered life-threatening injuries in a pit bull attack in SF's Tenderloin two weeks ago said she was watching the dog for an owner she barely knew, and she wants him to come forward.
Amber King is still recovering from the severe injuries she suffered when [a pit bull attacked her in the Tenderloin](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/vicious-dog-attack-in-sfs-tenderloin-leaves-woman-with-traumatic-injuries/) nearly two weeks ago. King [told ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/exclusive-san-francisco-dog-attack-survivor-thought-she-was-going-die-mauling/19856114/?ref=sfist.com) that the dog pinned her down and attacked her for 10 to 15 minutes while she screamed for help, leaving her with extensive injuries to both arms and hands.
She also told the outlet that she used her arms to protect herself and spent a week at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital undergoing multiple surgeries.
“I was going to die. If I didn't fight, I was going to die,” King said, speaking to ABC 7\. “I kept hearing the crunching sound of the dog biting me.”
She is now reportedly beginning to regain some movement in the fingers of her right hand, while she said her left hand remains severely damaged. King also said she continues to relive the attack and has been struggling with nightmares.
According to ABC 7, King, who is homeless, said she had been waiting for city housing in the Tenderloin when the man, whom she barely knew, asked her to watch his dog while he moved. She said she tied the animal to a post but does not know how it got loose.
King said she wants the dog’s owner to step up and take responsibility for the incident. The San Francisco Police Department said no one has been held accountable for the attack, and it remains unclear whether investigators have identified the owner.
A friend of King’s has since [launched a fundraiser](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-amber-nicole-kings-recovery?ref=sfist.com) to help with her recovery. According to an update on the fundraiser, King is now out of the hospital, but she’s unable to use either of her arms, requiring 24-hour care to assist with every-day activities.
While it’s unclear whether the dog’s owner was homeless, the attack has prompted Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, whose district covers the Tenderloin, to propose new dog safety requirements for San Francisco housing sites that allow pets, [as ABC 7 reported](https://abc7news.com/post/san-francisco-looks-strengthen-dog-safety-protocols-following-brutal-tenderloin-pit-bull-attack/19841571/?ref=sfist.com) last week.
“What we are finding is that a lot of these incidents tend to be concentrated around shelter, permanent supportive housing,” Mahmood said.
His resolution would require those sites to keep registration and vaccination records for dogs and report bites and attacks to police and through the city’s Good Neighbor complaint system.
[According to KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-francisco-dog-attack-city-supported-housing-tenderloin/?ref=sfist.com), Mahmood said the proposal is focused on accountability and safety, particularly as residents have reported concerns about dogs in the Tenderloin. Data from city officials shows that more than 20% of the city’s reported dog attacks over the past month have occurred in the neighborhood.
Mahmood’s resolution would also call for continued funding and staffing for the city’s [vicious and dangerous dog court](https://sfist.com/2026/04/24/board-of-supes-to-consider-reopening-dog-court-as-61-bite-cases-await-hearings/), which reportedly resumed in June after being largely suspended for 10 months due to budget and staffing shortages.
The proposal has reportedly drawn concerns that additional requirements could make it harder for unhoused people with pets to access shelter or housing.
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the resolution Tuesday, with enforcement likely to begin next year if it passes.
**Previously:** [Vicious Dog Attack In SF’s Tenderloin Leaves Woman With Traumatic Injuries](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/vicious-dog-attack-in-sfs-tenderloin-leaves-woman-with-traumatic-injuries/)
### San Mateo Dad Who Shot at Teens Egging His House Sentenced to One Year In Jail
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/san-mateo-dad-who-shot-at-teens-egging-his-house-sentenced-to-one-year-in-jail/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T17:43:40.000Z
A San Mateo father of a high school girl who went to extremes to retaliate against a car full of boys who, he says, were bullying his daughter, has now been sentenced to jail time for taking shots at the boys with a gun.
The incident took place over a year ago, on May 25, 2025\. A group of three boys aged 16 to 17, all students at Hillsdale High School, had been on a pranking spree, allegedly targeting the homes of multiple classmates, including the daughter of 55-year-old Steven Miceli.
Two days prior, the same boys allegedly covered Miceli's front porch on Annapolis Drive in San Mateo with some sort of oil. They then returned, in the same SUV, on May 25th, which was a Saturday, and allegedly began egging the home, at which point Miceli came outside and fired two rounds from a firearm at the vehicle, with one round striking the front passenger quarter panel of the vehicle.
Miceli then left the scene and tossed the handgun into Water Dog Lake in Belmont, several miles away.
Miceli told police at the time that he was targeting the SUV's tires. He further explained that he'd become fed up with his daughter being the victim of "constant bullying" at the school.
As [KRON4 previously reported](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-mateo-father-who-shot-at-teens-suv-after-egging-faces-years-in-prison/?ref=sfist.com), Miceli pleaded no contest earlier this year to felony assault with a firearm and possession of an assault weapon. As [KRON4 now reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-mateo-father-who-shot-at-teen-pranksters-car-sentenced/?ref=sfist.com), Miceli was sentenced Monday to 364 days in county jail in addition to three years of supervised probation, and he was also ordered to pay restitution in an amount not yet determined.
The case is reminiscent of a more tragic case out of Southern California, in which homeowner Anurag Chandra was [convicted of three counts of first-degree murder](https://apnews.com/article/california-murder-trial-ding-dong-ditch-a674a48fa95f2e6c79fdd5540523c10f?ref=sfist.com) in the killing of three teens who pulled a "ding-dong ditch" prank at his home in January 2020.
**Previously:** [San Mateo Dad Charged After Allegedly Firing Shots at High School Boys Who Egged His House](https://sfist.com/2025/05/28/san-mateo-dad-charged-after-allegedly-firing-shots-at-high-school-boys-who-egged-his-house/)
### Humpback Whale ‘Rio’ Heads Back West Toward SF Bay After Ending Up In Sacramento River
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/humpback-whale-rio-heads-back-west-toward-sf-bay-after-ending-up-in-sacramento-river/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T17:21:56.000Z
A wayward humpback whale known as “Rio” is heading back toward the ocean after making its way inland from SF Bay into the Sacramento River last week, where its unusual detour drew crowds of excited onlookers.
The whale was first spotted in San Francisco Bay last Tuesday, heading east through the Carquinez Strait and into Suisun Bay before entering the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. [As SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/humpback-whale-rio-vista-delta-22440681.php?ref=sfist.com), photos submitted to the Cascadia Research Collective helped the Marine Mammal Center identify the animal as Rio, a humpback that has been documented 15 times in California and Mexico over the past 24 years.
Rio then continued into the Sacramento River, where the US Coast Guard spotted the whale Wednesday. One witness [told ABC10](https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/rio-vista-whale-watchers/103-85bf1919-bde2-4be7-a460-cc968646853c?ref=sfist.com) that Rio surfaced roughly a block from Rio Vista City Hall, drawing people who had been following reports of the whale’s unusual journey.
“We came up from Concord because we heard about the whale last night on TV and we’re like, we have to see this thing,” said Katy Lee, speaking to ABC10.
Rio was then seen heading back west near Port Chicago in Suisun Bay Friday, according to [an update from](https://www.abc10.com/article/life/animals/humpback-whale-rio-swims-through-san-francisco-bay-spotted-in-suisun-bay-by-uscg/103-4d070eac-0586-424c-aac1-528dd737b7b3?ref=sfist.com) [ABC10](https://www.abc10.com/article/life/animals/humpback-whale-rio-swims-through-san-francisco-bay-spotted-in-suisun-bay-by-uscg/103-4d070eac-0586-424c-aac1-528dd737b7b3?ref=sfist.com).
The Marine Mammal Center has reportedly been monitoring Rio, and they're asking people who encounter the whale to keep their distance. Boats and kayakers should stay at least 100 feet away and avoid influencing which direction the whale travels.
The whale’s activity is unusual, and experts say it could have been prompted by illness, injury, or poor navigation. SFGate notes that humpbacks are not adapted to freshwater, making prolonged travel away from the ocean potentially dangerous.
“While it’s unknown whether this whale is just passing through or if there is an underlying, unknown ailment, the best thing people can do is experience this adult whale’s presence from a respectful distance,” Kathi George, Director of Cetacean Conservation Biology at the Marine Mammal Center, said in a statement.
Although rare, humpbacks have made similar detours into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Sacramento River in the past. In 1985, a famous humpback named [Humphrey](https://www.riovistacity.com/community/page/humphrey-humpback-whale?ref=sfist.com) traveled the same route into the Sacramento River before reaching a dead-end. Researchers eventually helped guide him back toward the Pacific, and his roughly 24-day trip inland reportedly remains the longest recorded such journey by a whale.
According to ABC10, two suspected humpbacks, believed to be a mother and calf, were also spotted near Rio Vista in 2007 before continuing into the West Sacramento deep water channel. Officials temporarily restricted personal watercraft access while marine mammal experts assessed the whales.
**Related:** [Several Gray Whales Make 'Unseasonably Early' Appearance In the Bay](https://sfist.com/2026/02/11/several-gray-whales-make-unseasonably-early-appearance-in-the-bay/)
### Tuesday Morning Topline: Hundreds of SFO Flights Delayed Due to FAA Glitch
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/22/hundreds-of-sfo-flights-delayed-due-to-faa-glitch/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T16:36:26.000Z
- **An FAA air traffic control failure in the Northeast led to over 400 delayed flights at SFO on Monday.** The failure was caused by a cut fiber line in New Jersey, accidentally cut by an Amtrak crew, and a subsequent failed circuit at the FAA's Philadelphia air traffic control facility. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/faa-flight-outage-fiber-cable-sfo-delays-22442357.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Some sort of altercation involving two pilots for Air New Zealand, which occurred at the flight crew's layover hotel in San Francisco, ended up delaying a return flight to Aukland by 14 hours as a replacement crew was flown in. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/air-new-zealand-pilots-22442910.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Governor Gavin Newsom declared an official state of emergency Monday for this year's forecast super El Niño season, which allows state agencies to "move faster to protect communities, \[and\] stage critical resources" ahead of what could be a nasty storm season. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/22/weather/el-nino-california-state-of-emergency?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A New York Times reporter gave over much of his life to Meta's new Muse AI agent, the first commercially available, personal agent to take care of day-to-day tasks, and while it was useful in dealing with a dental insurance chore, it raised plenty of privacy concerns. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/technology/meta-muse-ai-agent.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There's a big job fair Wednesday at Levi's Stadium for high schoolers wanting to go into skilled trades, but you have to "[request an invite](https://www.builtforthebay.com/event?ref=sfist.com)" to attend.
- The Ripley's Believe it Or Not! attraction, or "museum," or whatever it is will close at Fisherman's Wharf at the end of the year after around 60 years in SF. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/believe-it-ripleys-believe-not-close-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The comedian Carrot Top, aka Scott Thompson, was apparently accused of sexual misconduct with a 19-year-old man — allegedly engaging in sexual activity when the man was too drunk to consent — prior to his reported suicide attempt on Friday in Las Vegas. \[Orlando Sentinel via [Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/22/winter-park-comedian-carrot-top-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-in-court-filing/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: BART's 2026 Ugly Holiday Sweater Is On Sale
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/barts-ugly-holiday-sweater-is-on-sale/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T01:13:29.000Z
### Local:
- Two helicopter pilots were killed in a crash Sunday while fighting the Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/2-pilots-killed-crash-while-battling-wildfire-yosemite-national-park?ref=sfist.com)\]
- BART's 2026 Holiday Collection of merchandise is out now, including their annual ugly holiday sweater and BART-themed wrapping paper, and this year's sweater design is a "Frankenstein" patchwork of multiple years' holiday sweater graphics — these sell out fast, FYI, if you're interested. \[[BART/RailGoods](https://www.railgoods.com/bart/2026-holiday-collection/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- This may just be more of the Trump administration trying to besmirch Gavin Newsom, but newly released FBI files show that a wealthy Chinese American family with vague ties to infamous honeypot spy Fang Fang, aka Christine Fang, who [reportedly slept with former Congressman Eric Swalwell](https://sfist.com/2026/08/17/former-congressman-eric-swalwell-did-in-fact-have-sex-with-that-chinese-spy/), donated $4.4 million to campaigns for Newsom, Kamala Harris, and other California politicians. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/yin-family-christine-fang-4-4-million-gavin-newsom-california/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- President Trump spent his first weekday at work at the White House with the three major television networks boycotting the press pool in solidarity with the journalists from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW who were banned from the grounds last week in retaliation for negative coverage. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/us/politics/trump-television-reporters-cameras.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- CNN, Politico, and MS NOW are now suing the Trump administration on First Amendment grounds, and they will win, if Trump doesn't back down. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/21/politics/cnn-politico-msnow-sue-white-house-access?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Paramount reached a deal Monday to settle the lawsuit brought by California and 11 other states that sought to stop its planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, after David Ellison was stamping his feet and threatening to leave California as recently as last week. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/business/paramount-warner-bros-ellison.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Even though we now know that Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee won't be performing in *Oh, Mary!* when it comes to San Francisco next month, due to illness, you can hear them and star Alaska Thunderfuck, as well as director Sam Pinkleton, in the Playbill video below discussing taking the show on tour as the tour kicked off in Hartford, CT last week.
### SF Gang Member Pleads Guilty In 2023 Mass Shooting That Injured Nine People In the Mission
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/sf-gang-member-pleads-guilty-in-2023-mass-shooting-that-injured-nine-people-in-the-mission/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T01:23:59.000Z
A 26-year-old Sureño gang member was sentenced Monday to 25 years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges in connection to a 2023 drive-by shooting that injured nine people outside a streetwear shop on 24th and Treat streets.
Javier Campos, 26, pleaded guilty to assault with a semiautomatic firearm and committing violence to benefit his street gang, the Sureños, in connection with a June 2023 drive-by shooting in SF's Mission District, as SF District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Monday. The incident occurred during a sixth anniversary celebration at Dying Breed, a clothing store located at 24th and Treat streets, and was shocking in its violence.
[Nine people were struck](https://sfist.com/2023/06/10/shooting-at-block-party-in-the-mission-district-leaves-9-people-injured/) by gunfire, with all of the victims surviving. At least one person [suffered serious injuries](https://sfist.com/2023/06/15/alleged-gang-member-arrested-for-mission-shooting-was-wanted-for-oakland-music-video-shooting-that-killed-one/).
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office [charged Campos in December 2023](https://sfist.com/2023/12/15/23-year-old-man-getting-arraigned-today-for-june-mass-shooting-on-24th-street/) with discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle and causing great bodily injury, eight counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and causing great bodily injury, and three counts of unlawful firearm possession. He was also charged with committing the crimes for the benefit of a criminal street gang and while out on bail in another case.
Prosecutors said Campos admitted, as part of his plea agreement, that the shooting was intended as an attack on a rival Norteño gang.
"This sentence reflects the gravity of Mr. Campos’ crimes and holds him accountable," DA Jenkins said in a statement. "When he opened fire into a public area, he showed a complete disregard for the lives of every person on that street. Senseless gun violence will always be a top priority for my office."
Assistant District Attorney Robert Perkins said Campos’s guilty plea would hold him accountable for the shooting.
Campos, who was 22 at the time of the shooting, was [arrested in Santa Cruz](https://sfist.com/2023/06/15/alleged-gang-member-arrested-for-mission-shooting-was-wanted-for-oakland-music-video-shooting-that-killed-one/) five days after it took place. We learned that he had a career as a minor rapper in the local music scene, and he posted multiple [music videos like this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3jiLHDjKHY&ref=sfist.com) to YouTube under the name Boogang J.Baby.
Immediately after the shooting, an Instagram account linked to him posted a link to a song titled "Murder Alley," with the caption, "Imma make sure them n\*\*\*\* neva post up on that block again."
Campos was also wanted by Oakland police in connection with the [January 2023 shooting death of 18-year-old Mario Navarro](https://sfist.com/2023/01/25/monday-shootout-in-oakland-took-place-during-music-video-shoot-appears-gang-related/), who was among five people shot during a music video gathering at an East Oakland gas station. That shooting involved gunfire from a vehicle and multiple alleged gunmen.
Campos reportedly grew up partly in Richmond, while his father “had deep roots” in the Mission. Both his father and stepbrother were killed in separate incidents in 2012, and Campos had other outstanding warrants from around the Bay Area.
**Previously:** [23-Year-Old Man Getting Arraigned Today For June Mass Shooting on 24th Street](https://sfist.com/2023/12/15/23-year-old-man-getting-arraigned-today-for-june-mass-shooting-on-24th-street/)
### Former Santa Clara County Undersheriff Pleads Guilty In Bribery Scandal Linked to Former Sheriff
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/former-santa-clara-county-undersheriff-pleads-guilty-in-bribery-scandal-involving-laurie-smith/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T00:33:20.000Z
Following a previous mistrial, former Santa Clara County Undersheriff Rick Sung pleaded guilty to two bribery charges in a corruption scandal that led to former Sheriff Laurie Smith’s removal from office in 2022.
Former Santa Clara County Undersheriff Rick Sung pleaded guilty Monday to two felony bribery charges as he faced a retrial in a corruption scandal stemming from allegations that concealed-carry weapons (CCW) permits were being traded for political and other favors [under former Sheriff Laurie Smith](https://sfist.com/2022/11/01/santa-clara-county-sheriff-abruptly-resigns-amidst-corruptions-scandal-after-otherwise-distinguished-career/). According to the [Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office](https://da.santaclaracounty.gov/former-santa-clara-county-undersheriff-rick-sung-convicted-felony-bribery?ref=sfist.com), the plea brings an end to Sung’s criminal case after a previous jury failed to reach a verdict.
[As Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/21/ex-santa-clara-county-undersheriff-pleads-guilty-to-bribery-in-watershed-gun-permit-scandal/?ref=sfist.com), Sung’s first trial in 2025 ended with jurors acquitting Apple security executive Thomas Moyer and former Sheriff’s Captain James Jensen, while they deadlocked on the charges against Sung. Prosecutors subsequently pursued a retrial.
Smith was separately found [guilty of civil corruption charges in 2022](https://sfist.com/2022/11/03/santa-clara-county-sheriff-laurie-smith-convicted-on-all-counts-in-corruption-trial/) after a proceeding that examined allegations of favoritism and misconduct involving the Sheriff’s Office’s CCW permit system. She was removed from office and resigned shortly before the proceeding concluded.
The investigation into the scandal began after prosecutors received a tip following the 2018 election about an unusually large contribution to an independent expenditure committee supporting Smith’s reelection. It eventually led to charges against several people connected to the sheriff’s office and private security companies.
One of Sung’s charges involved allegations that he helped secure a donation of 200 iPads from Apple in exchange for expediting concealed-carry weapons permits for members of the company’s executive security team. The other involved businessman Harpreet Chadha, whose luxury suite at the SAP Center was allegedly offered to the sheriff’s office while his CCW permit renewal was being held up.
Under Monday’s agreement, Sung will permanently surrender his California peace officer certification, complete 400 hours of community service, and serve two years of probation. Per the News Group, he will later be able to seek reduction of the felony charges to misdemeanors, followed by expungement, if he completes the terms of the agreement.
“Law enforcement in Santa Clara County must be equally determined to be incorruptible as it is determined to protect our community,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a statement.
Sung’s attorneys, Naomi Chung and Tamara Crepet, said in a statement that the plea brought an end to what they characterized as a politically motivated case, according to the News Group. They also argued that Smith, rather than Sung, had the legal authority to issue CCW permits.
Sung reportedly retired from the Sheriff’s Office in 2022 following Smith’s resignation. The connected bribery charge against Chadha was dismissed Monday.
**Previously:** [Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith Convicted On All Counts In Corruption Trial](https://sfist.com/2022/11/03/santa-clara-county-sheriff-laurie-smith-convicted-on-all-counts-in-corruption-trial/)
### Raising Cane's Finally Opens Its First SF Restaurant, at the Wharf
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/raising-canes-finally-opens-its-first-sf-restaurant-at-the-wharf/
Last updated: 2026-09-21T22:39:41.000Z
SF chicken finger fans can start planning their jaunts to Fisherman's Wharf to get their fill of Raising Cane's, as the mega-popular fast-food chain has just opened its first SF location there.
The big opening of Raising Cane's happened Monday morning at 211 Jefferson Street, about a block east of In-N-Out and the new Taco Bell Cantina, at Fisherman's Wharf. We first heard that the fried chicken finger chain was headed to the neighborhood [back in February](https://sfist.com/2026/02/24/wildly-popular-chicken-finger-chain-raising-canes-is-coming-to-fishermans-wharf/), and we thought it would be the second Raising Cane's location to open here, with one that's been slated to open by Stonestown Galleria for almost two years now expected to make it open first. But the Wharf location has come out of the gate first, and soon we'll have two locations to choose from when the Stonestown shop at 255 Winston Drive opens shortly.
We've got a few photos of the new location, which is heavily SF branded with murals and more inside.
**Photo courtesy of Raising Cane's*
According to a PR rep, the new restaurant had a line outside when they opened Monday morning, with the first customer having gotten in line Sunday morning.
Among the opening day festivities, there was a Lucky 20 drawing in which 20 early customers won free Raising Cane's for a year. The first 100 customers to order a combo meal got a Raising Cane's trucker hat and a free box combo card. And that first customer in line received a one-of-a-kind gift basket as a prize.
"Opening our first San Francisco restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf is an incredible milestone for Raising Cane’s,” said Raising Cane’s Regional Leader of Restaurants Chris Zygler, in a statement. "This is one of the most iconic neighborhoods in the country, and we’re proud to invest in the Wharf and be part of the continued energy and revitalization happening in San Francisco."
**Photo courtesy of Raising Cane's*
Raising Cane's has been something of a sensation in recent years as its been in expansion mode, with the original Raising Cane's location in Baton Rouge, Louisiana dating back to 1996\. The chain now has over 1,000 locations, with 100 opening this year alone, and there are plans to open the first Raising Cane's locations in the UK and Mexico in 2027\. The chain [opened its first nearby location in Oakland](https://sfist.com/2022/07/14/day-around-the-bay-raising-canes-new-oakland-location-opens-to-more-than-400-chicken-finger-enthusiasts/) four years ago.
The chain offers a simple menu of chicken fingers, with combo meals featuring three, four, or six chicken fingers, each coming with Cane's Sauce, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw, and Texas toast. There is also a fried chicken sandwich on the menu, but that is about it.
The new Raising Cane's joins a group of businesses and attractions, some of which are still set to open, at the quickly revitalizing Fisherman's Wharf. Taco Bell Cantina opened in similarly splashy fashion, with a DJ, [back on New Year's Eve](https://sfist.com/2025/12/31/taco-bell-cantina-with-booze-opens-at-fishermans-wharf/). And on the wharf where Alioto's Restaurant once stood, a new harbor-facing plaza [just had its ribbon-cutting three weeks ago](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/aliotos-plaza-unveiled-at-fishermans-wharf-with-new-seating-beer-concession/).
Still to come is [a new location of the Oakland-born Everett & Jones BBQ](https://sfist.com/2025/02/26/oaklands-famed-everett-jones-bbq-taking-over-vacant-lous-fish-shack-space-in-fishermans-wharf/); the former Pompei's Grotto (340 Jefferson) is becoming [Chasca Rio](https://sf.eater.com/2025/4/23/24415046/chasca-rio-san-francisco-waterfront-fishermans-wharf?ref=sfist.com), a Salvadoran restaurant from a team with experience at Foreign Cinema and Vine Hospitality Group; and the Wharf's oldest restaurant, Castagnola's, is [being revamped](https://sfist.com/2025/10/22/fishermans-wharfs-oldest-restaurant-castagnolas-will-reopen-after-settling-messy-lawsuit-with-the-city/) and readied for a reopening soon.
**Related:** [Alioto's Plaza Unveiled at Fisherman's Wharf, With New Seating, Beer Concession](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/aliotos-plaza-unveiled-at-fishermans-wharf-with-new-seating-beer-concession/)
### Newsom Signs Seven New Laws Regulating Data Centers Amid Statewide Backlash
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/newsom-signs-seven-new-laws-regulating-data-centers-amid-statewide-backlash/
Last updated: 2026-09-21T22:07:29.000Z
As communities across California move to ban or pause new data centers, Governor Newsom has signed seven laws requiring operators to disclose water use, cover grid upgrade costs, and face additional environmental review.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed seven bills into law Monday that impose new requirements on California’s growing data center industry, as communities around the state push back against the facilities’ demands for electricity, water, and land. [As CalMatters reports](https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2026/09/new-california-laws-data-centers/?ref=sfist.com), the laws require data center operators to foot some of the infrastructure costs, and developers must now provide local officials with more information about resource use.
Three of the bills reportedly address electricity costs. Senate Bill 1168, Senate Bill 886, and Assembly Bill 2383 require the California Public Utilities Commission to establish rates that make data centers pay for the costs of connecting to the grid and any upgrades needed to provide them with electricity. The measures also include requirements related to energy procurement and clean energy.
Three other bills deal with water and resource disclosures, per CalMatters. Assembly Bill 2469 prevents local governments from approving new or expanded data centers until developers disclose projected water use, while Assembly Bill 2619 requires data center operators to report estimated or actual water sources and consumption. Assembly Bill 1577 also establishes new reporting requirements for data centers.
The remaining measure, Senate Bill 887, removes data centers from [blanket environmental review exemptions](https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/topics/data-centers?ref=sfist.com), although projects that meet state standards for water and energy conservation can receive a streamlined review.
The legislation comes after months of growing opposition to new data centers in California and across the country, driven in part by concerns about the electricity and water demands associated with the rapid expansion of AI. [According to the Sacramento Bee](https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article317325154.html?ref=sfist.com), a July Public Policy Institute of California poll found that nearly three-quarters of Californians opposed building an AI data center in their community, while 63% said they were concerned about the environmental effects of constructing more of the facilities.
California has nearly 300 existing data centers, with another 54 reportedly in the pipeline, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. San Francisco and Oakland are considering [temporary moratoriums](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/east-bay-official-says-shes-gotten-death-threats-over-huge-new-data-center-along-contra-costa-canal/) on new data center projects, while Oakley, Gilroy, and Richmond have already enacted them.
[KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12100746/newsom-signs-new-restrictions-on-data-center-development?ref=sfist.com) that Newsom vetoed a bill last year requiring data centers to disclose water use, citing concerns about imposing rigid reporting requirements without fully understanding the effect on businesses and consumers, but this year signed similar water-disclosure legislation.
Newsom said the new rules would give communities more information about proposed projects while preventing data center operators from shifting their costs onto Californians.
“We know that we don’t have to sell out Californians or sacrifice our well-being to innovate and succeed,” Newsom said in a statement. “California has proven that time and time again.”
The bills reportedly passed the Democratic-controlled Legislature largely along party-line votes, with opposition from business groups including the Data Center Coalition, whose members include Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. The coalition has argued that additional regulation could make California less competitive for data center development.
Per KQED, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also acknowledged the backlash surrounding the rapid expansion of data centers, acknowledging that technology companies should have engaged with residents before proposing projects in their communities.
**Related:** [East Bay Official Says She’s Gotten Death Threats Over Huge New Data Center Near Contra Costa Canal](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/east-bay-official-says-shes-gotten-death-threats-over-huge-new-data-center-along-contra-costa-canal/)
### New State Law Raises Penalties for Participating In Sideshows
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/new-state-law-raises-penalties-for-participating-in-sideshows/
Last updated: 2026-09-21T20:53:38.000Z
An Assembly bill introduced by Assemblymember Catherine Stefani that was endorsed by SF Mayor Daniel Lurie has now been signed into law, providing fines and penalties statewide for engaging in sideshow activity.
There is now a patchwork of local laws around the Bay Area region meant to discourage illegal sideshows and penalize their participants — none of which have necessarily worked in any longterm way. Now a state law, just signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, raises the stakes somewhat for sideshow participants and extends penalties to dirtbikes and motorcycles as well.
The governor's office announced the signing of AB 1588 on Sunday, which was celebrated by Mayor Daniel Lurie and Assemblymember and former SF supervisor Catherine Stefani.
"Crime numbers are down across the city, but numbers don't mean anything if San Franciscans don’t feel safe, and stopping sideshows will help both," Lurie said in a [statement](https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-celebrates-new-state-law-to-stop-dangerous-sideshows-on-san-francisco-streets?ref=sfist.com). "With this new law, we are sending a clear message: Dangerous sideshows have no place in our neighborhoods, and we will use every tool available to stop them."
SFPD Chief Derrick Lew added in a statement that his "officers will continue to work diligently to crack down on sideshow and stunt driving and follow up on investigations to impound vehicles and hold perpetrators accountable."
And Stefani added, "Sideshows are dangerous, reckless, and can turn deadly in an instant. AB 1588 makes sure people who repeatedly put our communities at risk face real consequences. I am grateful to Governor Newsom for signing this bill and to Mayor Lurie for working with me to make our streets safer."
AB 1588 expands upon existing anti-sideshow laws, making sideshow participants felony-eligible in the case of serious bodily injury, adding motorcycles and unlicensed dirt bikes to the framework, and authorizing impoundment of vehicles upon conviction for sideshow-related offenses, with increased penalties for repeat offenders.
Previously, late last year, Lurie worked with Supervisor Danny Sauter on [local legislation that raised fines](https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-signs-legislation-to-crack-down-on-dangerous-sideshows-keep-san-franciscans-safe?ref=sfist.com) for sideshow participation from $500 to $1000.
This followed an uptick in sideshow activity in San Francisco and on the Bay Bridge, where in earlier years such activity had primarily occurred in the East Bay and elsewhere.
San Jose has one of the strictest anti-sideshow laws in the region, which took effect in 2022, and which penalizes observers and promoters of sideshows in addition to participant drivers. It seems as though the law has been sporadically enforced, including with a coordinated raid/blockade on a sideshow in November 2022 that resulted in [around 700 citations](https://sfist.com/2022/11/15/sideshow-law-helps-san-jose-police-make-bust/). In late 2024, San Jose police [announced the arrest of seven men](https://sfist.com/2024/11/01/seven-men-indicted-for-organizing-bay-area-sideshows-via-instagram/) who were dubbed "The Hockey Team," and who were charged under the new law with organizing and promoting at least 22 sideshows.
Here in San Francisco, [police arrested multiple people](https://sfist.com/2026/01/21/sideshow-in-outer-richmond-leads-to-arrests/) in connection with an Outer Richmond sideshow in late January, which occurred about a month after a [disruptive sideshow in the otherwise quiet Outer Sunset](https://www.facebook.com/votealanwong/posts/early-this-morning-there-was-an-illegal-sideshow-in-the-outer-sunset-near-kirkha/1531710015621223/), a few days before the new year.
**Related:** [16 Vehicles Involved in Bay Bridge Sideshow Seized, Impounded](https://sfist.com/2026/03/17/day-around-the-bay-16-vehicles-involved-in-bay-bridge-sideshow-seized-impounded/)
### Man Shot By Deputies In Placer County After Alleged Rampage, Arson Fires, Killing of Woman
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/man-shot-by-deputies-in-placer-county-after-alleged-rampage-arson-fires-killing-of-woman/
Last updated: 2026-09-21T19:20:08.000Z
A man who was considered armed and dangerous was fatally shot by Placer County sheriff's deputies Monday morning following a 20-hour manhunt that ended just outside the unincorporated town of Iowa Hill.
An alleged rampage began on Sunday morning that prompted the manhunt for 44-year-old Derek Spencer. Spencer was allegedly pointing a firearm at multiple people in the Colfax area around 10:30 am Sunday, and was then confronted by Placer County sheriff's deputies. Spencer then reportedly rammed the deputies' vehicle as he escaped in a stolen vehicle, hitting it with enough force to disable it, and he got away in the direction of Iowa Hill.
As he was fleeing from authorities, the sheriff's office says that Spencer entered the home of a woman he did not know, 76-year-old Cheryl Macy. Investigators believe that "Spencer murdered the woman before fleeing into the surrounding forest," prior to his being found by authorities.
Hours later, Spencer was reportedly located with the help of infrared technology from a California Highway Patrol aircraft. Tactical teams then reached Spencer's location and were allegedly fired upon in the early hours of Monday.
"At 4 am the suspect once again fired shots toward deputies from a berm he was hiding behind, deputies returned fire ultimately striking and killing the suspect," the sheriff's office said in [a Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/PlacerSheriff/posts/pfbid035gMN7qZePzn9n67bpkABJ2xUh7ArbdPZTdXwRVBwRtL8rKQcU98upTojAc7vYVcyl).
Spencer had apparently been on something of a crime spree. According to the sheriff's office, he had been arrested three times this month alone, first on September 3 by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office on suspicion of felony vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, and resisting arrest. He was released on bond on September 11, and arrested again on suspicion of burglary by the Folsom Police Department on September 13, and again released. Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested him again on the 15th for allegedly stealing a car, and after his release on the 16th, he allegedly stole another car and guns on Saturday, September 19, and shot at a moving vehicle in El Dorado County.
His final rampage then allegedly began on the morning of the 20th, leading to the manhunt.
As [KCRA reports](https://www.kcra.com/article/iowa-hill-placer-deputy-shooting-derek-spencer/73821286?ref=sfist.com), Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo gave a press briefing Monday morning explaining that Spencer had engaged in a shootout with officers for over two hours before he ultimately died around 4:30 am. Investigators don't believe that Spencer knew his victim, Macy, prior to Sunday.
Spencer also reportedly set multiple fires in the area, which complicated the process of retrieving his body — which had to be done using a helicopter from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office in Nevada.
Woo said that authorities believe that Spencer sparked the [Mineral Fire](https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2026/9/20/mineral-fire?ref=sfist.com), which has been burning in the Iowa Hill area since 6 am on Sunday, and has burned 18 acres. The manhunt for Spencer delayed firefighters getting access to the fire, which is 0% contained as of noon on Monday.
### SFUSD’s Maria Su Talks AI In Schools, 14-Year Salesforce Partnership at Dreamforce Conference
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/sfusds-maria-su-talks-ai-in-schools-14-year-partnership-with-salesforce-at-dreamforce-conference/
Last updated: 2026-09-22T14:10:52.000Z
SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su discussed classroom technology at Dreamforce last week, emphasizing tech equity and human relationships while leaving the greater community's concerns about AI accuracy, privacy, and effects on children largely unaddressed.
[At a discussion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geqQdBBY-pA&ref=sfist.com) during Dreamforce last week, SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su emphasized the importance of supporting and investing in educators while pointing to SFUSD’s nearly 14-year partnership with Salesforce, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/san-francisco-schools-ai-22435724.php?ref=sfist.com). Su focused much of her discussion on the technology gap that became particularly apparent during the pandemic, when some San Francisco students had Chromebooks but no reliable wi-fi.
She said simply handing students technology does not close the equity gap, and that schools need to invest in educators and communities so students can actually use the tools effectively, arguing that Salesforce’s [philanthropic support](https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-sfusd-donations/?ref=sfist.com) has helped expand access to STEM classes for girls and provided professional development and other resources for educators.
Despite the discussion's title, “Real Talk on Public Schools & AI,” SFGate notes that Su never used the word “AI” during her remarks, instead referring to technology broadly as “tools.” She argued that schools cannot predict which technologies will still exist in the coming years, comparing the uncertainty around new tools with the introduction of calculators in math classes.
“A lot of people are trying to tell school districts and superintendents like myself what the future is going to look like. We can't really predict the future, right?” said Su. “We don't even know what tools are going to still be around in the next five years, let alone five months. I still remember a time when everyone was saying having a calculator in the classroom was going to ruin math for everybody.”
Su's comments came as SFUSD is developing a broader technology and AI policy, with the school board scheduled to vote on it in March 2027\. The district also recently signed a [contract with OpenAI](https://www.sfpublicpress.org/school-district-approves-openai-contract-bypassing-board-and-raising-student-privacy-concerns/?ref=sfist.com) to provide ChatGPT Edu to 12,000 teachers and staff.
Additionally, Salesforce announced [$18 million in new education grants](https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2026/09/14/27-million-in-new-education-grants-announcement/?ref=sfist.com) this month, with $6 million going to SFUSD. [According to ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/how-dreamforce-money-stays-local-bay-area-schools-police-see-millions-funding/19845077/?ref=sfist.com), the company has donated more than $156 million to Bay Area public schools and other organizations since 2013\. SFUSD's partnership with the company has [spanned nearly 14 years](https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/salesforce-sfusd-donations/?ref=sfist.com).
While Su spoke repeatedly about using technology to support teachers and preserve human connection, she did not address the community’s ongoing concerns about the accuracy of AI products, student data privacy, or the broader effects of increasing technology use on children. Per SFGate, she also did not discuss whether teachers and parents want these tools or how their feedback would factor into the district’s technology policies.
That omission is notable given that some SFUSD educators say classroom technology has actually added to their workload and reduced opportunities for direct interaction with students. United Educators of San Francisco President Cassondra Curiel said the district has yet to show that its AI tools are improving student learning, while parent advocates have called for greater transparency and more input from families.
“After making students and teachers lab mice, there has not been any data to show those tools advance the learning of students,” said Curiel, speaking to SFGate.
Curiel and former teacher Adlah Chisti cited the district’s use of the AI reading program Amira, which Curiel said was introduced without consulting the union. She said the program can increase teachers’ workload and has problems with students who have accents or speech impediments, while Chisti questioned whether the district has provided evidence that its AI products improve student outcomes.
The concerns come as more than 1,000 San Francisco parents and teachers have [signed a petition](https://www.fournorms.com/campaigns/tech-in-check-san-francisco-sfusd-s-intentional-technology-petition-by-tech-in-check?ref=sfist.com) calling for limits on AI tools and student screen time. [According to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/ai-reading-school-san-francisco-22431436.php?ref=sfist.com), the debate now centers on how much technology belongs in classrooms, which tools provide a meaningful benefit, and which may come at the expense of teacher-student interaction.
SFUSD is directing families to its [existing recommendations](https://www.sfusd.edu/generative-and-agentic-ai-sfusd?ref=sfist.com) until it determines a final policy in March.
**Related:** [Congress to Grill SFUSD’s Maria Su, Two Others on Parental Rights ‘Abuses’ In Schools](https://sfist.com/2026/06/08/congress-to-grill-sfusds-maria-su-two-others-on-parental-rights-attacks-in-schools/)
### Man Killed In Boat Accident Near Golden Gate ID'd as Apple Engineer, Father of Three
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/man-killed-in-boat-accident-near-golden-gate-idd-as-apple-engineer-father-of-three/
Last updated: 2026-09-21T18:07:44.000Z
Late last week we learned that a Thursday morning fishing boat crash near the Golden Gate Bridge had resulted in one death, and now we're learning the identity of the victim.
35-year-old Zhengyu "Daniel" Qin was an avid fisherman and a software engineer at Apple with three children — an 11-year-old son and two daughters, ages 9 and 3\. Qin was out on an early morning fishing trip with two others on Thursday, September 17 when [their boat crashed into some rocks](https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/fishing-boat-crashes-near-golden-gate/) near the Golden Gate Bridge and capsized.
Later on Thursday we learned that two people were injured and one, Qin, was killed.
"His sudden passing has left his wife and children facing an unimaginable loss, both emotionally and financially," writes family friend Cathy Wu on a [GoFundMe fundraiser](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-zhengyu-qins-family-after-a-tragic-accident?cp%5Fsrc=d&ref=sfist.com) posted on behalf of Qin's wife, Yao Deng.
"Zhengyu was kind, funny, and endlessly generous," Wu adds. "He got along effortlessly with his coworkers, his children looked up to him, and his friends adored him. Wu noted that Qin would often share his catch from fishing trips with friends, and "He leaves behind a legacy of love and generosity that will live on through his three children."
The tragic accident happened just after 6 am Thursday, near the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. Two people on the boat ended up in the water after the boat began to capsize. The SFPD Marine Unit and the US Coast Guard assisted with the rescue, and all three people who had been on the boat were treated at a Marin County hospital, which is where Qin was pronounced dead.
All three victims were reportedly wearing life jackets, and Qin's cause of death remains unclear.
The cause of the crash also remains under investigation.
According to the GoFundMe, all funds raised will be managed by Qin's wife and will go toward funeral expenses and the children's day-to-day needs in the months ahead.
The fundraiser has so far raised over $60,000.
### Monday Morning Headlines: Dreary Weather Should End Soon
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/21/dreary-weather-should-end-soon/
Last updated: 2026-09-21T16:25:22.000Z
- **This dreary, persistently gray weather has been thanks to a cutoff low pressure system that is slowly moving out of the Bay Area.** A warm-up is, thankfully, supposed to come on Tuesday. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/hub-neighborhood-residents-drugs-22437400.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **As Antolin Garcia-Torres heads back to trial in the Sierra LaMar murder case, after his previous conviction was overturned, Santa Clara County prosecutors and the defense were scheduled to make pre-trial motions Monday morning.** Defense attorneys are trying to exclude any discussion of sexual motives in the case, while prosecutors say that a sexual motive is "an entirely proper inference" given the evidence. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/ahead-of-retrial-prosecutors-present-motives-in-sierra-lamar-case/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Longtime San Francisco Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper announced that he is being treated for throat cancer, saying it is unrelated to the cancer he was treated for five years ago. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/duane-kuiper-san-francisco-giants-announcer-throat-cancer-diagnosis/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A male passenger went overboard on a Carnival cruise traveling from Puerto Vallarta to Long Beach on Saturday night. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/story/passenger-goes-overboard-carnival-panorama-cruise-ship-puerto-vallarta-long-beach-california/19854718/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Chronicle is now highlighting how residents of "The Hub," the city-created zone that isn't quite a neighborhood around South Van Ness and Mission, are complaining about how Tenderloin and Civic Center area drug activity has been pushed to their doorsteps. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/hub-neighborhood-residents-drugs-22437400.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation announced Friday that one of its autonomous aircraft successfully made a cross-country journey, from Concord to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, without any assistance from its onboard safety pilot. \[[Engadget](https://www.engadget.com/2263406/joby-aviation-completed-a-fully-autonomous-flight-from-california-to-north-carolina/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Presley Gerber, the son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber and brother of actress Kaia Gerber, has died at age 27 while at a rehab facility. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/cindy-crawfords-son-presley-gerber-dies-27/19853806/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Healthy Baby Girl Born After Parents Pull Over In Traffic In Golden Gate Park
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/20/healthy-baby-girl-born-after-parents-pull-over-in-sf-traffic-near-golden-gate-park/
Last updated: 2026-09-21T15:39:53.000Z
A pregnant woman en route to the hospital gave birth to a healthy baby girl after heavy traffic forced her to pull over near Crossover Drive and Martin Luther King Jr Drive for a roadside delivery on Friday afternoon. Emergency services were able to arrive just in time to assist with the birth.
As [NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/baby-born-san-francisco-traffic-911/4145803/?ref=sfist.com), the unexpected delivery got underway after the family got stuck in heavy traffic, compelling them to pull over and call 911\. The San Francisco Fire Department reports that the birth began around 4:40 pm and that paramedics ultimately choose to park two blocks from the scene and run the rest of the way to reach their patient.
Ultimately, [ABC 7 notes](https://abc7news.com/post/doula-helps-mom-give-birth-baby-girl-roadside-san-francisco-parents-get-struck-heavy-golden-gate-park-traffic/19853572/?ref=sfist.com), emergency services in the form of SFFD Paramedic Engine 14 and AMR Unit 110 were able to make it in time to assist with the delivery. Both mother and daughter were then subsequently transported to a local hospital.
In a statement, SFFD offered its congratulations to the family while welcoming their new child into the world.
"Her arrival is a true testament to the dedication, compassion and teamwork of our first responders," the statement continued.
As [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2016/12/13/woman%5Fwho%5Fgave%5Fbirth%5Fin%5Fgolden%5Fgate/), back in 2016, a woman who later acknowledged she wasn't aware she was pregnant gave birth in Golden Gate Park's Rose Garden.
**Related**: [Woman Who Gave Birth In Golden Gate Park Didn't Realize She Was Pregnant](https://sfist.com/2016/12/13/woman%5Fwho%5Fgave%5Fbirth%5Fin%5Fgolden%5Fgate/)
### FBI Alleges 35 Additional Victims in Fraud Case Against Fake 49ers Player Daejon Love
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/20/fbi-alleges-35-additional-victims-in-fraud-case-against-fake-49ers-player-daejon-love/
Last updated: 2026-09-20T20:05:00.000Z
Agents with the FBI say they've identified 35 additional women as alleged victims in their ongoing fraud case against a man who impersonated a San Francisco 49ers player. That would bring the total number to over 60 victims. Suspects Daejon Love and Taylor Chan were arrested in Idaho last month.
Portland FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson admitted the volume of victims Love is accused of defrauding was unusual during a news conference [covered by ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/fbi-case-fake-49ers-player-daejon-love-taylor-chan-adds-35-more-alleged-victims-totaling-61/19850768/?ref=sfist.com).
"We were surprised how many people were victimized in such a short period of time and then to have that many more come forward," Olson said. "It's a large volume for just a couple of subjects. Our concern is that this fraud could be replicated by other individuals that are out there victimizing other people in similar schemes."
As [SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/man-accused-of-posing-as-wealthy-49ers-player-to-lure-women-into-1-3-million-scam/) last month, the criminal complaint against Love, 35, alleges that he used social media sites and dating apps to build fictitious identities — including that of a star wide receiver for the 49ers — for the purpose of getting victims to send him money. Chan, 18, is accused of assisting Love in the scheme and occasionally posing as his financial adviser.
In total, Love and Chan are alleged to have swindled $1.3 million through the fraud. They now face charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud after both men were arrested late last month at an Idaho airport.
The FBI's investigation into Love and Chan dates all the way back to 2022, per ABC7\. According to Olson, their tactics allegedly included "blended fake personas, fabricated investment accounts, staged video calls, and AI-reinforced false identities."
Even with a pool of more than 60 victims now potentially tied to the case, Olson suggested that there are likely even more people affected who have yet to share their stories.
"We don't want anyone to be fearful of coming forward," Olson added, "because we want to help them and we want to make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else."
Meanwhile, the actual San Francisco 49ers will face the Miami Dolphins for their home opener at Levi's Stadium with kickoff set for 1:25 pm today.
**Related**: [Man Accused of Posing as Wealthy 49ers Player to Lure Women Into $1.3 Million Scam](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/man-accused-of-posing-as-wealthy-49ers-player-to-lure-women-into-1-3-million-scam/)
### Sunday Links: Teen Trio Arrested After 'Gang-Related' Lockdown at Healdsburg High
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/20/sunday-links-teen-trio-arrested-after-gang-related-lockdown-at-healdsburg-high/
Last updated: 2026-09-20T18:38:07.000Z
- **Three teenagers were arrested on Friday after a "gang-related" altercation triggered a lockdown at Healdsburg High School.** The incident reportedly involved verbal threats and took place en route to the school before the start of classes. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/healdsburg-high-lockdown-gang-altercation-22439884.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **President Trump wants his desired 250-foot arch in Washington, DC to serve as a military complex that supports snipers, drones, and ammunitions storage.** The FAA recently confirmed that, if built, Trump's arch will also require an "eternal flame" to ensure pilots can see it from the air. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/trump-washington-military-complex-drones-snipers?ref=sfist.com)\]
- According to authorities with Cupertino's De Anza Community College District Police Department, one person was arrested on campus on Friday after acting suspicious while in possession of an axe. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/person-axe-arrested-college-campus/4145637/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- After losing all of his opening acts, Ed Sheeran resumed his tour on Saturday night in Philadelphia and began the evening by crying while delivering some prepared remarks about Palestine. \[[Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ed-sheeran-breaks-silence-gaza-isreael-macklemore-concert-1235629139/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Trump wants to create a new "AI Force" to help foster the technology's growth despite recent calls from many leaders seeking to slow AI's future breakthrough advances. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/trump-vows-ai-force-czar-development/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle on Friday evening on I-880, per Oakland authorities. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/oakland-i880-pedestrian-fatality-22439950.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Wesley Shermantine, best known as one half of the infamous California serial killer duo the Speed Freak Killers, died last week, officials with California State Prison, Sacramento announced. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/speed-freak-killers-death-22440770.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Sneaker brand Converse issued a public apology after their latest campaign drew swift backlash for seemingly resembling imagery of lynchings and the Ku Klux Klan. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/19/business/converse-sneaker-ad-kkk.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Newsom Orders Formation of State AI Panel to Study 'Kill Switch' Options, Safety Issues
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/newsom-orders-formation-of-state-ai-panel-to-study-kill-switch-options-safety-issues/
Last updated: 2026-09-19T21:33:08.000Z
On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new executive order intended to increase California's oversight on artificial intelligence development. The order focuses on two laws designed to keep AI in check and also calls for experts to convene for the purpose of providing further recommendations.
As [KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-newsom-ai-safety-kill-switch/?ref=sfist.com), Newsom's executive order gives state officials and outside experts until November 16 to offer suggested revisions to current California law as it relates to artificial intelligence.
While the order doesn't explicitly stipulate that AI models come equipped with a "kill switch" capable of shutting them off in an emergency, it does call for a California AI panel to form and study the possibility. If implemented, an emergency shutoff option would theoretically allow operators to disable a rogue model as a safety precaution.
Newsom's order also requires the panel to consider the idea of installing independent monitors within AI labs for the purpose of conducting regular audits. In a statement announcing the signing, Newsom underscored the urgency of the issue at hand.
"We're not waiting to act," Newsom said. "We're going to speed up our work on substantial and responsible AI oversight before it's too late."
Newsom's actions follow a headline-filled month for AI's biggest players.
Ten days ago, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/), Anthropic researcher Evan Hubinger resigned from his post while warning that AI had "a 10% chance to kill all humans" at some point in the future. By the following week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had shared a new blog [calling for a global slowdown](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/) on AI development. It was quickly co-signed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and X owner Elon Musk.
Earlier this week, [SFist detailed](https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/stop-the-ai-race-march-planned-for-thursday/) plans for a "Stop the AI Race" march that took place on Thursday morning to coincide with the final day of Dreamforce. SFist [also reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/you-know-who-doesnt-want-the-ai-race-to-slow-down-for-his-company-mark-zuckerberg/) on one voice missing from the unified front advocating for an AI slowdown: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
**Related**: [You Know Who Doesn't Want the AI Race to Slow Down For His Company? Mark Zuckerberg](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/you-know-who-doesnt-want-the-ai-race-to-slow-down-for-his-company-mark-zuckerberg/)
### Oakland Roots Reach Deal to Develop Howard Terminal Site
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/oakland-roots-reach-deal-to-develop-howard-terminal-site/
Last updated: 2026-09-19T20:48:21.000Z
The Oakland Roots soccer club has reached an agreement with the Port of Oakland and the Industrial Realty Group of Los Angeles to develop Howard Terminal into a sports stadium. The terms of the exclusive negotiating agreement provide the parties with a year to plan the development.
As [Oaklandside reports](https://oaklandside.org/2026/09/18/oakland-roots-stadium-port-oakland-howard-terminal/?ref=sfist.com), the deal calls for the Roots and Industrial Realty Group to pay the Port of Oakland $25,000 a piece for the rights to develop the 55-acre site adjacent to Jack London Square. Details for the proposed plan include establishing parking and transit plans, estimating the workforce to be created by the project, confirming the total number of acres to be used and developed, and needs related to environmental and land-approvals.
At present, the Howard Terminal site at 1 Market Street is being utilized for maritime support operations and short-term rentals, per Oaklandside. Previously, efforts to make Howard Terminal the new home for the Oakland Athletics ultimately saw the team depart for Las Vegas by way of Sacramento.
Local officials are hoping for a far better outcome this time around. In approving the agreement, Port of Oakland commissioners voted 6-0 in favor of the resolution. One commissioner was excused.
In a statement to Oaklandside, Port of Oakland executive director Kristi McKenney expressed optimism for the project's future.
“It’s exciting to see the two parties pursue a vision for Oakland’s waterfront that would both boost maritime operations and jobs, and bring another dynamic venue to the Jack London Square District,” McKenney said.
Exempt from the deal: approximately four acres of land and adjacent water areas in the southwestern corner of the property. Oaklandside reports that this parcel has already been set aside for the planned widening of the Inner Harbor Turning Basin.
SFist [previously covered](https://sfist.com/2026/07/09/oakland-coliseum-loses-last-team-oakland-roots/) the Oakland Roots departure from their last home, the Oakland Coliseum, earlier this year. That follows the aforementioned saga involving the Oakland Athletics, which SFist [also reported on](https://sfist.com/2024/04/04/oakland-as-are-officially-moving-to-sacramento-for-the-next-three-seasons/).
**Related**: [Oakland Coliseum Loses Its Last Team as Oakland Roots Soccer Club Announces Move](https://sfist.com/2026/07/09/oakland-coliseum-loses-last-team-oakland-roots/)
### Saturday Links: California Health Officials Issue Measles Exposure Warning
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/19/saturday-links-california-health-officials-issue-measles-exposure-warning/
Last updated: 2026-09-19T19:46:18.000Z
- **California health department officials are warning residents of a measles exposure on Amtrak after an unvaccinated passenger rode across the country — including stops in six California counties — earlier this month.** Authorities confirm the passenger is now hospitalized. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/california-health-department-notifies-measles-exposure-from-unvaccinated-amtrak-passenger?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **On Friday, President Donald Trump announced he'd struck a deal with Denmark and Greenland to grant the United States permanent military rights on the island.** The deal also reportedly blocks China, Russia, and other non-NATO nations from securing similar opportunities. \[[NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/09/19/g-s1-144158/us-and-denmark-reach-deal?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The San Francisco Lowrider Parade returns to the Mission District today, complete with car competitions, a livestream option, and an art exhibit honoring the event's 45th anniversary. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-francisco-lowrider-parade-king-of-the-streets-hopping-competition/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Signal, San Francisco's new women's volleyball expansion team, have reached an agreement to play their home matches at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium once their season starts in January. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/bill-graham-sports-host-22437582.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Making good on [threats issued by the president yesterday](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/day-around-the-bay-new-battery-fire-erupts-at-moss-landing-power-plant/), the Trump administration barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from accessing the White House on Saturday morning. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/19/ms-now-cnn-and-politico-say-their-journalists-were-denied-access-to-white-house-after-trump-ban/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- NASA scientists have discovered a new crater on the moon created two years ago from a "powerful impact" so big that the Roman Colosseum could fit within it. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/nasa-discovers-huge-moon-crater-larger-than-roman-colosseum/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- East Bay live music venue Eli's Mile High Club is closing its doors at the end of October but stated on social media that they hope to eventually reopen. \[[Oaklandside](https://oaklandside.org/2026/09/16/elis-mile-high-club-oakland-closure/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A man was arrested this week at a movie theater in Burbank after he allegedly pepper-sprayed a fellow audience member for using their phone during the film. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/man-allegedly-pepper-sprays-moviegoer-for-using-phone-in-burbank-theater/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: New Battery Fire Erupts at Moss Landing Power Plant
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/day-around-the-bay-new-battery-fire-erupts-at-moss-landing-power-plant/
Last updated: 2026-09-19T00:31:08.000Z
### Local:
- Flaming batteries at Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County caused a fire to break out on Friday morning, forcing local officials to issue a "shelter-in-place" order to nearby residents. This is but the latest blaze at the facility following [multiple related fires](https://sfist.com/2025/02/19/yet-another-battery-fire-at-monterey-countys-moss-landing-power-plant-just-33-days-after-its-last-battery-fire/) in 2025\. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/california/fire-ignites-at-moss-landing-power-plant/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The young mountain lion that was tranquilized and captured by California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials after[ it was spotted in San Francisco's Sunset District](https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/mountain-lion-sighting-in-outer-sunset/) on Thursday evening was safely released back into the wild on Friday. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco-mountain-lion-sighting-warning/4145009/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Marin County Sheriff's Office officials have identified the man found dead at the base of a cliff in the Marin Headlands earlier this week as Roseville resident Michael Young Han but have yet to provide a cause of death. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/marin-body-identified-22438907.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **President Donald Trump shared via social media that news outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico are now banned from the White House.** Trump's post cited the news organizations' alleged "constant ‘reporting’ \[of\] FAKE NEWS!” in justifying the decision. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/trump-says-hes-banning-cnn-ms-now-and-politico-from-white-house/4145163/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Six officials within the Pentagon say that a higher number of US troops have died during the Iran War than the public numbers reflect, per a new bombshell report. \[[Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/09/18/more-us-troops-have-died-amid-iran-war-than-pentagon-has-disclosed-publicly/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The versatile screenwriter, Bob Weir songwriting partner, and character actor Gerrit Graham (*Phantom of the Paradise*) has died at the age of 77\. \[[Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/gerrit-graham-dead-phantom-of-the-paradise-grateful-dead-1236705679/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- There was a rare sighting of a humpback whale in the Sacramento River on Wednesday. The animal was seen in the Delta near the Rio Vista Bridge by onlookers who captured the rare moment. [ABC7 reports ](https://abc7news.com/post/humpback-whale-spotted-sacramento-river-rio-vista-similar-humphrey/19844458/?ref=sfist.com)that the previous day, a fisherman near Benicia also spotted the humpback.
### Uniqlo to Open In Former Old Navy Site on Market Street In Early October
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/uniqlo-to-open-in-former-old-navy-site-on-market-street-in-early-october/
Last updated: 2026-09-19T00:43:08.000Z
Five years after Uniqlo closed its SF flagship location on Powell Street, the company’s new Market Street location is set to open its doors by October 9.
Uniqlo is preparing to return to downtown San Francisco with a new two-story store in the former Old Navy space on Market Street, bringing the Japanese apparel retailer back to the area more than five years after it closed its three-story Powell Street flagship, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/new-san-francisco-uniqlo-22437348.php?ref=sfist.com).
The new 20,315-square-foot store will carry men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, and will mark Uniqlo’s second San Francisco location alongside its longtime Stonestown Galleria store. The company’s downtown return comes after the brand [closed its Union Square flagship in 2021](https://sfist.com/2025/09/25/uniqlo-reportedly-in-talks-to-open-a-downtown-sf-store-again-maybe-in-the-vacant-old-navy-space/), during the pandemic-era wave of retail closures that also included giants like H&M and Gap.
Uniqlo opened the Powell Street store in 2012 as its first West Coast location, drawing huge crowds and plenty of attention to the Japanese retailer’s arrival in San Francisco. The company marked the opening with a zeppelin flying over the city and advertising on double-decker tour buses.
“We are proud to return to San Francisco, a city and community that have long held a special place in UNIQLO’s story,” Fuminori Adachi, CEO of UNIQLO USA, said in a statement.
The new store will also reportedly serve as a hub for several San Francisco-focused partnerships and collaborations. According to SFGate, Uniqlo plans to work with the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library on literary events, including One City One Book and the Night of Ideas Read-In, while providing 250 family admission vouchers to the Exploratorium and supporting four of its After Dark events.
Local designs will appear on custom T-shirts and tote bags created with Muni, students at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, and artist fnnch. Per SFGate, the store’s advertising and displays will also feature San Francisco figures including Lower Grand Radio founder Alex Shen, artist Rewina Beshue, Unity Skateboarding founders Jeffrey Cheung and Gabriel Anthony Resurreccion Ramirez, and Ruth CEO and founder Valerie Chapman.
The Market Street location will also include a Re.Uniqlo Studio, where customers can have clothing tailored or repaired, customize pieces with embroidery, or donate and recycle garments.
SFist stopped by the site earlier this week and saw contract workers striking against Gray West Construction, the company handling the store’s renovation.
**Previously**: [Uniqlo Reportedly In Talks to Open a Downtown SF Store Again, Maybe in the Vacant Old Navy Space](https://sfist.com/2025/09/25/uniqlo-reportedly-in-talks-to-open-a-downtown-sf-store-again-maybe-in-the-vacant-old-navy-space/)
### Haight-Ashbury Landmark to Become New Music and Culture Center
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/haight-ashbury-landmark-to-become-new-music-and-culture-center/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T22:58:59.000Z
A local music school and Seattle radio station are partnering with SF Heritage to turn a 1960s Haight-Ashbury landmark into a music and culture hub with a rooftop venue, broadcast facilities, and music education.
The historic Doolan-Larson Building on the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets is set for a new chapter as San Francisco Heritage works with Seattle’s KEXP independent radio station and SF’s Blue Bear School of Music to transform the property into a cultural and music center, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/kexp-haight-ashbury-music-hub-22433742.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawUZPh9wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTBVMENDUEFmT2Q1T3BreVhzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeHgrIzrmuUAx6Qa5vSG9FpLi6oRQIreKwd8Fsbl%5FrtSWNWQ3mXxe1haSvZ8s%5Faem%5Fu9svRB4DwchcIJkU47QueA&utm%5Fcampaign=mrf-facebook-SFChronicle&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&mrfcid=202609176aac0ff89ea55527920bc3a4). The project will bring live performances, radio broadcasting, and music education to the property, while preserving portions of the historic building.
SF Heritage has owned and stewarded the property [since 2017](https://www.sfheritage.org/doolan-larson-building/san-francisco-heritage-announces-plans-for-music-and-cultural-center-with-kexp-at-haight-and-ashbury/?ref=sfist.com), when longtime resident and owner Norm Larson donated it to the organization. Since then, SF Heritage has operated an artist-in-residence program there, but that program will end as part of the new partnership.
The Doolan-Larson House, which housed Haight-Ashbury’s first hippie boutique, is considered an important site in the history of the Haight-Ashbury counterculture. [According to a news release](https://www.sfheritage.org/doolan-larson-building/san-francisco-heritage-announces-plans-for-music-and-cultural-center-with-kexp-at-haight-and-ashbury/?ref=sfist.com), SF Heritage spent years seeking partners and developing plans for an adaptive reuse of the property, and will continue working with KEXP and Blue Bear in the coming months to determine the project’s feasibility, financing, and construction plans, with community input.
Early plans from global architecture firm Gensler and historic preservation firm Page & Turnbull call for a contemporary addition above the three retail spaces along Haight Street, north of the main house. The addition would likely include a rooftop venue for concerts and community events.
The Chronicle reports that the second floor would retain three rooms largely intact while converting them into rehearsal spaces for Blue Bear School of Music. KEXP also plans to have a broadcast booth on the second floor, where DJs could play vinyl while looking out over Haight Street. SF Heritage Executive Director Woody LaBounty said the organization would help the existing shops relocate.
“The thing that is important to us is that it’s on the most famous intersection in the world, so we want to do it justice,” LaBounty said.
KEXP, which [began in 1972](https://www.kexp.org/read/2022/1/6/1972-dj-remembers-year-music-when-station-began-50-years-ago/?ref=sfist.com) as a 10-watt station called KCMU founded by four University of Washington journalism students, now has about 35,000 individual donors. Per the Chronicle, the organization previously raised $16 million to build a broadcast studio and music center in Seattle, a model KEXP CEO Ethan Raup said helped turn its online audience into a physical community.
The station began expanding its Bay Area presence in [late 2023](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/kexp-buys-krev-18496877.php?ref=sfist.com) after acquiring local hip-hop station [92.7 KREV FM](https://www.kexp.org/bayarea/?ref=sfist.com) at a bankruptcy auction. The station officially [launched in the spring of 2024](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/kexp-bay-area-launch-date-18891405.php?ref=sfist.com), adding a local broadcast operation to the Seattle-based nonprofit’s global audience.
“We are deeply inspired by the prospect of establishing a lasting partnership with SF Heritage and Blue Bear School of Music, built on our shared commitment to culture, legacy, and the unique identity of this iconic intersection,” said Raup.
Blue Bear, meanwhile, opened in San Francisco [in 1971](https://bluebearmusic.org/learn-about-blue-bear/?ref=sfist.com) and has been based at Fort Mason since 1978\. The school provides more than 1,000 free music programs each year through underserved neighborhoods and the San Francisco Unified School District.
Blue Bear Executive Director Steve Savage said the organizations share roots in the cultural changes of the late 1960s, while approaching music from different directions.
“Both KEXP and Blue Bear are about appreciating music and developing music, but from different angles,” said Savage. “By selecting this project, SF Heritage is opening a space for us to create a complete music ecosystem: one that combines broadcasting, performance, discovery, education, and community under one roof.”
The project is expected to require a significant fundraising effort, with KEXP anticipating that construction costs will exceed the $16 million raised for its Seattle facility a decade ago, as the Chronicle reports. KEXP’s Bay Area advancement team said early conversations with potential donors have been promising.
The building’s existing features, including high ceilings and extensive woodwork, could also give the future music center unique acoustics. Savage said the attic is particularly notable because Larson, its previous owner, once held chamber music recitals there.
Raup said the organization intends to approach the project with an emphasis on preserving the property’s history.
“We approach this opportunity with profound respect for the stewardship required to preserve and uphold both the tangible structure of the Doolan-Larson buildings, and the living counterculture of Haight-Ashbury,” Raup said.
**Related:** [Mid-Market Arts and Media Hub Warfield Commons Officially Opens Its Doors](https://sfist.com/2025/08/31/warfield-commons-arts-and-media-hub-now-open-anchor-tenant-kalw-to-begin-renovations/)
### Mexican Navy Tall Ship to Visit San Francisco Next Week
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/mexican-navy-tall-ship-to-visit-san-francisco-next-week/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T22:58:50.000Z
The Mexican Navy Tall Ship Cuauhtémoc, the same one from that Brooklyn Bridge incident last year, will be paying a visit to the Bay next week, and welcoming the public to come aboard for several days at Piers 15-17.
The 297-foot, three-masted ARM Cuauhtémoc, which serves as the flagship of the Mexican Navy, will be making a visit to San Francisco from September 23 to 27, docking at Piers 15-17 on the Embarcadero.
The ship, which had a widely covered [collision with the Brooklyn Bridge](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c991n8p4pdyo?ref=sfist.com) in April 2025 that left two people dead, is all repaired and coming to SF as part of "a four-day goodwill visit celebrating maritime tradition."
It will pass under the Golden Gate Bridge around 9:30 am on Wednesday, September 23, before coming into port.
The nonprofit Ocean Alliances (OA), formerly Sails San Francisco, has been recruiting and hosting international naval tall ships since 1999, and has recently expanded its reach to Alaska, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The organization is planning a big tall-ship event in San Francisco in 2029 to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
"The arrival of the Cuauhtémoc will give Bay Area residents a rare opportunity to experience one of Mexico’s most important maritime symbols firsthand,” says Alison Healy, CEO of Ocean Alliances, in a statement. "The ship carries a message of peace, goodwill and friendship wherever she sails, and her visit will provide a spectacular sight on San Francisco Bay."
Built in Bilbao, Spain and designed by naval architect Juan José Alonso Verástegui, the Cuauhtémoc joined the Mexican Navy in September 1982.
Members of the public can come aboard the ship from noon to 3:30 pm on Wednesday, and then 10 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 8 pm on Thursday. and 10 am to 8 pm Friday and Saturday.
The ship will have a formal farewell on Sunday, September 27, before sailing off at 10 am.
### This Week In Food: Buzzy Coffee and Pizza In the Avenues
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/this-week-in-food-buzzy-coffee-and-pizza-in-the-avenues/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T22:16:20.000Z
Sutro Hall comes to downtown, a new pizza spot comes via Oakland to the Inner Sunset, and Hog Island Oyster Co. gets ready to open its first East Bay location, all in This Week in Food.
The [Chronicle had the big news](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/sutro-hall-opening-downtown-sf-22426230.php?ref=sfist.com) this week about **Sutro Hall**, the new venture from former Town Hall and Anchor & Hope partner Doug Washington that is taking over the former Mourad space at 149 New Montgomery. Washington allegedly took one look at the space in February and told the broker "We'll take it," noting the 16-foot-high windows and Art Deco detailing. The plan is for a vegetable-forward Cal-Med brasserie type thing, inspired by Gjelina in Venice Beach, with Executive Chef Michael Magallanes (who formerly worked at Mourad) at the helm. Scott Baird, founding partner of Trick Dog and former owner of 15 Romolo, will be overseeing the beverage side. They are aiming for a November opening.
After we [heard this week](https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/famed-sf-dim-sum-purveyor-yank-sing-is-closing-its-rincon-center-location/) that **Yank Sing** is getting ready to close its largest location at Rincon Center, celebrity couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were spotted dining there on Tuesday. Restaurant manager Liana Blanco [posted selfies](https://www.instagram.com/yanksing/p/DdUatcnGzi4/?hl=en&img%5Findex=1&ref=sfist.com) with Kutcher and Kunis to Instagram — and it's likely they were in town for Dreamforce, though Kutcher was not listed among the speakers this year. The last day for the location will be September 20, but Yank Sing's smaller Stevenson Street location remains open.
Popular coffee pop-up **Hi NRG** has morphed into a full-time cafe and wine bar in the central Richmond, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/hi-nrg-coffee-opens-sf-22426484.php?ref=sfist.com). The new brick-and-mortar at 5801 Geary Boulevard serves biscuits, cookies, cakes, seasonal galettes, and sandwiches, in addition to their usual light-roasted coffees, and now wine until 10 pm. The small space has just 25 indoor seats and no wi-fi, and the team hopes that will encourage conversation between customers.
Another buzzy pizza spot is headed to the city, this one from Oakland: [**Mama's Boy**](https://www.mamasboypizza.com/?ref=sfist.com). [Per the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/mamas-boy-inner-sunset-san-francisco-22434798.php?ref=sfist.com), the popular NY-style shop in Oakland's Uptown will take over the former Reliable Rexall pharmacy space at 801 Irving Street in the Inner Sunset, with a goal to open by mid-2027\. Mama's Boy specializes in classic, 20-inch pies topped with the basics like pepperoni or mushrooms, but they do some new-school pies as well, like one with whipped burrata and hot honey, and one with pesto, fennel sausage, and ricotta.
In an expansion in the opposite direction, SF-based smashburger purveyor **Smish Smash** is expanding with a second location in Berkeley. The former pop-up opened a kiosk at the front of Saluhall on Market Street last year, and the Berkeley location, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/smish-smash-berkeley-restaurant-22435277.php?ref=sfist.com), will be at 1823 Solano Avenue, which is aiming to open in January. Co-owner Amy Han says she and partner Vic Donado are happy to be "coming home" to the East Bay, which is where they started doing pop-ups in 2020 at Cookiebar Creamery in Oakland and Neptune's in Alameda.
Also, **Hog Island Oyster Co.** is opening its first East Bay location, in Lafayette, early next year, according to a press release. It will be opening at 3596 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, the former location of Peruvian restaurant Barranco — which "[closed for maintenance](https://www.instagram.com/barrancokitchen/?ref=sfist.com)" last week.
### Uber Ordered to Pay $40 Million to Parents of Woman Killed After Being Left by Driver on Freeway
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/uber-ordered-to-pay-40-million-to-parents-of-woman-killed-after-being-left-by-driver-on-freeway/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T20:32:22.000Z
The parents of a young woman who was killed three years ago on an Orange County freeway are being awarded a $40 million settlement from Uber, in a case that tested the limits of Prop 22, which classified rideshare drivers as independent contractors.
An arbitrator, retired Judge Richard Stone, ruled that Prop 22 does not shield Uber from liability for the actions of its drivers, and that the company is, in this case, liable for the death of 23-year-old Emily Normandin-Parker.
"Prop 22 does not immunize Uber from vicarious liability," Stone ruled, as [CalMatters reports](https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/09/uber-death-40-million-dollar-award/?ref=sfist.com). In an earlier ruling in the case, per CalMatters, Stone pointed to the fact that there was "no reference in key voter materials to the liability of app-based transportation companies" when voters were being urged to vote Yes on Prop 22\. Those materials only said that drivers would serve as independent contractors and could manage their own schedules, but would not be given salary or benefits.
Normandin-Parker and her friend Luna Moore were picked up by driver Vu Tran on August 12, 2023 in Newport Beach after being out at a bar. According to the arbitration, both were very intoxicated, and Moore began vomiting in Tran's car as they drove, prompting him to pull over.
Tran decided to pull over at a freeway gore point — the triangular area by an off-ramp — where State Route 73 meets MacArthur Boulevard in Newport Beach, and began arguing with Moore about the cleaning fee for his car, and allegedly demanding that the women get out of the car.
Judge Stone said it was difficult to establish exactly what transpired in those minutes because neither Tran nor Moore gave testimony that was credible. At some point, Normandin-Parker got out of the car and wandered into traffic and was killed by a passing vehicle.
As [People Magazine reports](https://people.com/parents-awarded-usd40-million-after-their-daughter-was-killed-in-an-uber-accident-speak-out-12126949?ref=sfist.com), via the arbitration, GPS data showed that Tran's car passed extremely close to where Normandin-Parker's body was found — it's not clear if this was before or after she was killed — as he drove away from the scene. He then pulled off at the next exit on Route 73 and called Uber to demand that he receive the cleaning fee for his car.
"Tran showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers," Stone wrote in the arbitration.
The arbitration also found that Uber had received multiple reports about Tran's "reckless behavior" from other passengers.
Uber said in a statement, "No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family. While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night."
"Their thoughts have never been with us," said father Ken Parker, speaking to CalMatters, adding that representatives for Uber have acted "at best aloof and at worst distastefully crass" throughout the arbitration process.
The company argued in an earlier filing in the case that Normandin-Parker's death "was the result of Moore and Normandin-Parker’s extreme intoxication, which was existent because of Moore’s and Normandin-Parker’s intentional conduct — not Tran’s driving."
"He chose to pull over there and demand money and kick them out of the car," said mother Carol Normandin in an interview Thursday with *Good Morning America*.
In his ruling, Stone wrote that he hopes Uber "will learn from this tragic incident… and change the pertinent policies and procedures accordingly. Should it fail to do so, it no doubt engages in that approach at its own substantial risk."
Stone awarded $20 million apiece to Parker and Normandin, and an additional $300,000 to Moore.
See the GMA piece below.
### East Bay Official Says She’s Gotten Death Threats Over Huge New Data Center Near Contra Costa Canal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/east-bay-official-says-shes-gotten-death-threats-over-huge-new-data-center-along-contra-costa-canal/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T23:27:12.000Z
Tensions are mounting over a 300,000-square-foot Pittsburg data center approved two years ago, with residents citing a lack of transparency and a councilmember reporting death threats as the facility could later expand from 99 to 500 megawatts.
Pittsburg City Councilmember Arlene Kobata says she was recently confronted by a citizen at a public event who approached her angrily over the city’s approval of the data center, [as NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/councilmember-assaulted-data-center/4144771/?ref=sfist.com). Kobata says the woman grabbed her, shoved her several times, and exchanged heated words with her.
The new facility, called the AVAIO Perseus Data Center, will be designed for high-capacity computing, including AI, cloud services, and government and enterprise infrastructure. It’s slated for the former Pittsburg municipal golf course, as part of a larger [76-acre, three-phase development along the Contra Costa Canal](https://sfist.com/2026/06/16/east-bay-residents-fight-plans-for-massive-data-center-adjacent-to-contra-costa-canal/).
Per AVAIO Digital, the first phase is planned for 99 megawatts of power capacity, though the company says the facility could eventually be [expanded to as much as 500 megawatts](https://www.avaiodigital.com/updates/avaio-digital-marks-major-milestone-as-cec-approves-99mw-for-bay-area-data-center-project-perseus?ref=sfist.com).
[According to KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/planned-data-center-in-pittsburg-brings-residents-out-in-force-in-opposition/?ref=sfist.com), the city closed the golf course in 2018 before announcing plans for a business and technology park. For some residents, the scale of the project came as a surprise after the city’s earlier description.
“Well, I thought I knew what a business park was. And I thought I knew what a technology park was. But apparently, I didn't,” Pittsburg homeowner Keesha Johnson said, speaking to KPIX. “And when I looked at the pictures. When I heard ‘hyperscale’ and all of these things starting to trend on NextDoor, I looked it up. And I said this does not belong in a residential neighborhood.”
The project reportedly received final approval two years ago, but opposition has grown over concerns about the amount of electricity and water it could require, along with emissions and the potential effects on nearby wetlands and other ecosystems connected to the Delta corridor, as the town of Pittsburg borders the southern edge of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
[The Center for Biological Diversity sued](https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/agreement-secures-renewable-energy-recycled-water-for-california-data-center-2025-12-16/?ref=sfist.com) last year before reaching an agreement with Pittsburg and the data center developers requiring environmental measures including 100% renewable energy, rooftop solar, recycled water, zero-emission construction equipment, and wildlife monitoring. The deal also includes a $750,000 payment for climate resiliency projects in exchange for the organization dropping its lawsuit and agreeing not to oppose the project’s first phase.
Residents have also questioned how many jobs the development would actually bring to Pittsburg, while criticizing the approval process as insufficiently transparent, particularly because the data center is adjacent to residential development.
The opposition has drawn hundreds of residents to public meetings. About 400 people attended a June meeting to voice their concerns, with resident Allen Tatomer describing the group as unusually organized and engaged, as KPIX reported at the time.
“We've never had this kind of response,” Tatomer said. “This is a very unified, very articulate, very passionate group of people.”
The company says the planned facility will be primarily air-cooled and will use recycled water, while the city says its power supply would run through infrastructure separate from the residential PG&E grid. Those assurances have not resolved concerns among residents who say they still do not have enough information about the project or its potential effect on the surrounding area.
[A petition](https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-data-center-from-coming-to-pittsburg-ca?ref=sfist.com) opposing the development calls instead for the property to be used for parks and recreation, family amenities, small businesses, mixed-use retail and dining, community gathering spaces, and other green development that opponents say would provide broader benefits to Pittsburg residents.
Kobata tells NBC Bay Area the physical confrontation came amid a broader wave of harassment directed at her and others involved with the project, including emails and death threats. She says the threats have not changed her position on the development, which she maintains will not harm the community or drain local natural resources.
Kobata previously served on the city’s planning commission and supported the project as compliant with California environmental regulations. She was not on the City Council when the data center received its approval.
She says she will continue speaking in support of the project despite the threats.
“We’re tough, we’re still gonna stand tough for what we believe is right for the residents,” Kobata said, speaking to NBC Bay Area.
Pittsburg Mayor Dionne Adams has also condemned the threats, saying residents should be able to oppose the project without resorting to violence. The city has reportedly paused further action on the development while conducting additional community outreach.
Meanwhile, opposition to data centers has been growing elsewhere in the Bay Area, with some cities considering moratoriums or other restrictions on new facilities. [San Francisco](https://www.kqed.org/news/12099583/san-francisco-supervisors-push-for-moratorium-on-new-data-centers?ref=sfist.com) and [Oakland](https://oaklandside.org/2026/09/11/data-center-temporary-moratorium-oakland-carroll-fife/?ref=sfist.com) are currently considering 45-day moratoriums, while [Oakley](https://insider.govtech.com/california/news/oakley-becomes-first-bay-area-city-to-halt-new-data-center-proposals?ref=sfist.com), [Gilroy](https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/gilroy-city-pauses-new-data-center-projects-with-22432857.php?ref=sfist.com), and [Richmond](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/richmond-data-center-moratorium/4143766/?ref=sfist.com) have already passed moratoriums.
**Previously:** [East Bay Residents Fight Plans For Massive Data Center Adjacent to Contra Costa Canal](https://sfist.com/2026/06/16/east-bay-residents-fight-plans-for-massive-data-center-adjacent-to-contra-costa-canal/)
### Cupertino Day Spa Raided, Accused of Being Brothel
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/cupertino-day-spa-raided-accused-of-being-brothel/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T19:38:11.000Z
A San Jose couple and the woman who managed their business have been charged with pimping and other felonies following a raid on Hummingbird Day Spa in Cupertino.
Four-year-old Hummingbird Day Spa on South De Anza Boulevard in Cupertino began being investigated in March, as prosecutors revealed this week. [Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/17/authorities-allege-cupertino-day-spa-was-secret-brothel/?ref=sfist.com) that its owners, married couple Lin Wang, 46, and Xian Wang, 48, of San Jose, were both arrested on September 10 along with spa manager Rui Wang, 42, of Sunnyvale. All three have been charged with pimping, pandering, money laundering, and other felonies for running what the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office says was a "busy brothel" that saw around 30 male clients each day.
"There is no room in our neighborhoods for working brothels,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a statement. "There is no room in Santa Clara County for the criminal exploitation of human beings."
As [KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/busy-brothel-at-cupertino-spa-raided-da/?ref=sfist.com), the Wings were arraigned on Thursday in San Jose, and it sounds like charges of human trafficking may still be pending.
The investigation that began in March as led by the Human Trafficking Task Force within the DA's office. Members of the community had reported seeing what they believed to be "illegal sexual activity" happening at the day spa, and they observed a "high volume of men entering the establishment over a short period of time each day."
The [Yelp page for Hummingbird Day Spa](https://www.yelp.com/biz/hummingbird-day-spa-cupertino?ref=sfist.com) is still live, and includes a review in which a customer said, "Beware, the person that was giving me a massage told me to go to the place around the corner for an actual massage." He also noted that she had extremely long nails and kept "stabbing" him while attempting the massage.
Prosecutors say the spa was bringing in $700,000 annually, and that the Wangs were underreporting annual payroll by about $100,000\. Profits from the spa were being laundered, prosecutors say, by way of mortgage payments on properties in San Jose and Chino Hills.
"A forensic financial analysis indicated that all three defendants engaged in collecting, concealing, and integrating illicit funds to maintain the business, fund personal finances and mortgages, and have been involved in long term pimping and pandering operations, money laundering, tax irregularities, and payroll fraud," the DA's office says.
According to prosecutors, two women who were working at the spa/brothel on the day of the raid were believed to have been trafficked and were coerced into working there. Police connected them to Community Solutions, a regional nonprofit that officers support to sex trafficking victims.
In Santa Clara County, suspected human trafficking can be reported to the county task force at 408-792-7200 or by email at httips@dao.sccgov.org. People affected by human trafficking can call Community Solutions’ 24-hour confidential hotline at 877-363-7238.
### Homeless Man Found Safe Following Alameda Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/homeless-man-found-safe-following-alameda-fire/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T18:27:28.000Z
A homeless man who was known to sleep in the vacant, two-story building on the former Alameda Naval Air Station that burned down Thursday morning has been located and he was uninjured.
The [fire early Thursday](https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/authorities-search-for-possible-homeless-victim-in-alameda-point-warehouse-fire/) destroyed an empty, derelict building — which was initially reported to be a warehouse but, via [photos on KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/homeless-man-missing-from-alameda-point-fire-found-safe/?ref=sfist.com), appears to have been a barracks or other sort of former military building on the base.
The building stood on Rainbow Court, about a block from [Almanac Beer Co](https://www.almanacbeer.com/?ref=sfist.com). Neighbors informed firefighters that a homeless man often stayed in the structure, and a search was underway for any possible remains after the fire was extinguished.
Per KRON4, the man was found safe, and no other person was found on the site.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This is the second fire at a derelict building on the former Naval Air Station in four years, as KRON4 notes, with another structure about a block away having burned down in July 2022.
**Previously:** [Authorities Search For Possible Homeless Victim In Alameda Point Warehouse Fire](https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/authorities-search-for-possible-homeless-victim-in-alameda-point-warehouse-fire/)
### Decapitated Dead Sea Lion at Ocean Beach Prompts Reminder to Leave Animal Carcasses Alone
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/decapitated-dead-sea-lion-at-ocean-beach-prompts-reminder-to-leave-animal-carcasses-alone/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T18:18:37.000Z
Authorities are investigating whether a beachgoer decapitated the carcass of a dead sea lion that washed ashore at Ocean Beach, and they’re reminding the public that taking and collecting marine mammal parts is a federal offense.
Wildlife experts are reminding beachgoers not to disturb dead or stranded marine mammals, even if the animal appears to have been dead for some time, after the discovery of a decapitated dead sea lion at Ocean Beach.
Sue Pemberton of the California Academy of Sciences [told ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/sea-lion-found-beheaded-san-franciscos-ocean-beach-prompting-investigation/19844789/?ref=sfist.com) that someone may have taken the head as a novelty or trophy without knowing that collecting marine mammal parts is a federal offense under the [Marine Mammal Protection Act](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/laws-policies/glossary-marine-mammal-protection-act?ref=sfist.com#take-and-incidental-take-under-the-marine-mammal-protection-act). Violations carry up to one year in jail and as much as $36,000 in criminal fines.
“Maybe the person who did this didn't know that it was illegal, or maybe they did,” Pemberton said, speaking to ABC 7\. “Sometimes the legality of it doesn't really stop people.”
Anyone who encounters a dead or stranded marine mammal should leave it where it is and report the sighting to local wildlife authorities or the [Marine Mammal Stranding Network](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/marine-mammal-protection/west-coast-marine-mammal-stranding-network?ref=sfist.com).
The Ocean Beach incident is not the first recent report of a marine mammal carcass being decapitated on a California beach. Last year, [a beachgoer in Pacific Grove](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sea-lion-decapitation-pacific-grove-california-beach-update/?ref=sfist.com) reported seeing a man allegedly remove the head from a dead seal and carry it away in a Ziploc bag.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) subsequently announced [no sea lion parts had been removed](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-02/california-man-accused-of-decapitating-sea-lion-putting-head-in-plastic-bag-all-lies-he-says?ref=sfist.com) from the beach after the man contacted the agency following the news coverage.
He said he and his daughter had found the carcass earlier that afternoon with the skull already stripped of skin he provided a photograph showing the condition of the animal.
**Related:** [Sea Lion Pup Found Wandering Streets In Outer Sunset Returns to the Wild Better Nourished](https://sfist.com/2026/07/02/sea-lion-pup-found-wandering-streets-in-outer-sunset-returns-to-the-wild-better-nourished/)
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Mountain Lion Captured In Outer Sunset
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/18/mountain-lion-sighting-in-outer-sunset/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T19:48:28.000Z
- **A mountain lion was spotted in the Outer Sunset Friday morning, in the area of 44th Avenue and Ulloa Street, and residents are being warned to keep their distance and keep dogs on leashes.** This could be the same animal that was seen earlier this month near 44th and Fulton. **Update:** The lion was captured around 10:50 am after being shot with a tranquilizer dart, and after it darted into the street and at residents. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/mountain-lion-outer-sunset-22438276.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- One man died in yesterday's boat crash near the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/boat-crash-near-golden-gate-bridge-kills-1-injures-2/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An 11th correctional officer who worked at FCI Dublin, David Perez, has been charged with sex crimes. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/prison-officer-charged-sex-crimes-while-he-was-fci-dublin?ref=sfist.com)\]
- One Noe Valley couple's meditation room structure in their backyard has gotten in the crosshairs of city planners who say it violates rules governing the size and design of backyard structures. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/buddhist-house-backyard-san-francisco-22422674.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A man who sprayed vinegar at Congresswoman Ilhan Omar during a Minneapolis town hall in January has gotten 14 months in prison. \[[Associated Press](https://abc7news.com/story/man-sprayed-minnesota-rep-omar-vinegar-sentenced-14-months-prison/19846488/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Apparently the FBI temporarily halted cooperation with its Canadian counterpart earlier this month in retaliation for the nation's public broadcaster's policy of not referring to 9/11 as "terrorism." \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/us/politics/fbi-canada-cbc-9-11.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Grammy-winning singer and Broadway composer Duncan Sheik has died at age 56 after suffering from an unspecified ailment. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/18/duncan-sheik-dead-56-organ-failure/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: SF Opera Management, Orchestra Musicians Reach Tentative Deal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/day-around-the-bay-sf-opera-management-orchestra-musicians-reach-tentative-deal/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T02:45:40.000Z
### Local:
- A tentative agreement has been reached between the San Francisco Opera’s management team and its musicians after the orchestra launched a strike Saturday, less than an hour before the opera’s opening-night performance. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/classical/article/sf-opera-orchestra-tentative-deal-ends-strike-22437423.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Uber is cutting more than [250 jobs](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/uber-cutting-250-jobs-at-sf-headquarters/?ref=sfist.com) at its San Francisco headquarters in addition to the 137 cuts in Sunnyvale earlier this week and the [3,300 jobs](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/uber-announces-3300-layoffs/) worldwide three weeks ago. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/uber-cutting-250-jobs-at-sf-headquarters/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- [Peephole Cinema](https://www.peepholecinema.com/?ref=sfist.com), which was launched by a local woman in 2013, has inspired a new generation of tiny, hidden theaters, with two local artists installing mailbox-sized screens in the Mission District’s Orange Alley. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/hole-in-the-wall-tvs-22423026.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The driver of the SUV that crashed into a Los Angeles bus, killing two, is being charged with two counts of second-degree murder.** She was allegedly under the influence when she drove the wrong way and broadsided the bus, and narcotics were found in the car. \[[Los Angeles Times](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/woman-high-she-plowed-her-214559528.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A tiny, new cat species that’s smaller than the typical house cat was discovered in the forests of Bolivia, the first new “tiger cat” species in over a century. \[[ABC News](https://abcnews.com/US/new-feline-species-100-years-discovered-bolivian-forest/story?id=136539508&ref=sfist.com)\]
- Waymo says it will launch fully autonomous robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028, following mapping and testing with safety drivers starting next year. \[[The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/transportation/997091/waymo-singapore-robotaxi-launch-2027?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- In honor of Tone Capone, a Berkeley-born and Oakland-raised hip-hop producer and DJ [who passed away Saturday](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993851/tone-capone-dies-producer-bay-area-i-got-5-on-it-hip-hop?ref=sfist.com), here’s the iconic 1995 hit he produced, “I Got 5 On It,” performed by Oakland duo Luniz. The track reached Number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and catapulted Luniz to instant, global fame.
### Tony Winner J. Harrison Ghee Drops Out of Touring Cast of 'Oh, Mary!'
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/tony-winner-j-harrison-ghee-drops-out-of-touring-cast-of-oh-mary/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T00:38:41.000Z
There has been a major change in the cast of the Tony-winning play *Oh, Mary!* as its first national tour is kicking off, with one of the leads stepping down for health reasons.
Tony Award-winning non-binary performer J. Harrison Ghee (*Some Like It Hot*), who was set to play "Mary's husband" aka Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming run of *Oh, Mary!* at the Curran in SF and multiple other cities, has stepped down, citing recommendations from their medical team.
Ghee is reportedly living with kidney disease, and recently had a change in their kidney function.
"I'm so grateful to the producers and the entire company of *Oh, Mary!* for the extraordinary support, care, and understanding they've shown me during this time,” Ghee said. “Stepping away isn't easy, but I know I'm doing it surrounded by people who genuinely support me, and that means more than I can say."
According to a release from ATG San Francisco, which is presenting the SF run of *Oh, Mary!*'s multi-city tour, Tony nominee John-Andrew Morrison (*A Strange Loop*), who has played the role on Broadway, will be stepping in as Mary's Husband for the kickoff of the tour, which begins in Hartford, Connecticut this weekend, before doing brief engagements in San Diego and Las Vegas, and coming to San Francisco from October 13 to November 1.
Ghee's departure is being billed as a leave of absence, leaving open the possibility that they will step back into the show. Ghee had been slated to take over in the lead role of Mary Todd Lincoln in January, for the latter half of the tour, becoming the only performer to play both roles.
Mary will be played in San Francisco and throughout the first half of the tour, as we [previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/07/30/drag-race-royalty-alaska-thunderf-to-play-mary-in-oh-mary/), by *Rupaul's Drag Race* All-Star Alaska Thunderfuck.
The play, written by Cole Escola — who originated the role of Mary and won a Tony Award — is directed by Sam Pinkleton, who also won a Tony for his direction. The play originally transferred to Broadway in July 2024, and since then has become a massive hit — particularly as a non-musical — with a who's-who of comedic actors stepping into the role over two years, including Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski, Maya Rudolph, Meg Stalter, and as of this week, Bowen Yang.
Last week it was [revealed](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/broadway-favorite-oh-mary-sets-153951994.html?ref=sfist.com) that Escola will be filling the hoop skirt and "bratty curls" of Mary in a televised version of the play that will be airing on HBO and HBO Max on a still to-be-announced date in 2027\. The version of the show that will go to HBO was already filmed, on July 28, 2026, at London's Trafalgar Theatre where Escola was doing a limited engagement of the play over the summer.
Tickets for the SF run are mostly sold out, but[ still available here](https://us.atgtickets.com/events/oh-mary/curran-theater/calendar/2026-10-13?ref=sfist.com).
**Previously:** ['Drag Race' Royalty Alaska Thunderf\*ck to Play Mary In 'Oh, Mary!' In SF](https://sfist.com/2026/07/30/drag-race-royalty-alaska-thunderf-to-play-mary-in-oh-mary/)
### Debris Fire on BART Track Near 24th and Mission Leads to Widespread Delays
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/debris-fire-on-bart-track-near-24th-and-mission-leads-to-widespread-delays/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T00:34:12.000Z
BART service was temporarily disrupted after a piece of plastic caught fire on the trackway near the 24th Street/Mission Station in San Francisco, leading to residual delays throughout the system.
BART initially reported [major delays](https://x.com/SFBARTalert?ref=sfist.com) in all directions Thursday as crews dealt with a problem on the track near 24th and Mission. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/bart-major-delays-24th-st-mission-22437168.php?ref=sfist.com), a piece of plastic debris caught fire in the trackway near 24th Street/Mission Station, with Muni providing service between Daly City and Embarcadero as an alternative. The fire was not caused by BART equipment, a spokesperson for the agency said.
Red Line service between Richmond and SFO was also temporarily suspended, with a shuttle operating between Millbrae and SFO, while Green Line service was limited between 24th Street/Mission and Berryessa.
Both service restrictions were lifted by midafternoon. Red Line trains resumed direct service between Richmond and Millbrae, and Green Line trains were again running directly between Berryessa and Daly City.
BART was still reporting residual delays on the San Francisco line as of 3:28 pm, with trains toward Berryessa running about 20 minutes late and those toward Antioch delayed by about 10 minutes.
The disruption came after several days of significant service problems elsewhere in the system. Earlier this month, a [fire near Daly City](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/fire-at-daly-city-bart-disrupts-service/) damaged a traction-power substation, train control equipment, and a traction-power cable. BART said [extreme heat and aging infrastructure](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/bart-blames-heat-aging-equipment-for-fire/) appeared to have contributed to that incident.
“I want to apologize to our riders who’ve had some really terrible experiences over the past 48 hours,” Board Director Edward Wright said during a board meeting last Thursday, according to the Chronicle. “I don’t think we instinctively do that enough.”
BART had restored systemwide service following the earlier incident, but Thursday’s trackway fire caused another round of problems for riders traveling through San Francisco.
**Related:** [BART Blames Heat, Aging Equipment for Fire](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/bart-blames-heat-aging-equipment-for-fire/)
### Former SF Standard Executive Alleges Gender Bias In Lawsuit Against CEO
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/former-sf-standard-exec-alleges-gender-bias-in-lawsuit-against-ceo/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T00:52:26.000Z
A former employee has sued the SF Standard’s co-founder and CEO, alleging he made sexually inappropriate comments about women, held female employees to higher standards than men, and fired her shortly after she raised concerns about the treatment.
Julia Ryan, 35, was hired as the San Francisco Standard’s Director of Growth in June 2024 and began reporting directly to CEO Griffin Gaffney that October. Ryan’s lawsuit says she received a roughly 20% raise seven months after joining and a strong performance review in early 2025, along with repeated positive feedback from Gaffney in the months before her termination.
According to the [complaint](https://missionlocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026.09.09-Ryan-Filed-Endorsed-Complaint7-2.pdf?ref=sfist.com), Ryan says she began raising concerns about what she viewed as a gender-biased workplace, including sexually explicit and disparaging comments Gaffney allegedly made about women on Slack. Among the comments attributed to Gaffney, the lawsuit says he told Ryan that it takes a “hot ass” to close business deals. The lawsuit also says he suggested she have an affair with a business partner’s significant other, mocked a woman’s appearance and weight loss while discussing Ozempic, and disparaged a prominent female technology executive.
Ryan alleges she was treated less favorably than male colleagues despite her performance, and that she was blamed for problems outside her control. She also says she repeatedly saw Gaffney apply stricter standards to women, raising those concerns with managers and directly with Gaffney.
The complaint says Ryan’s relationship with Gaffney changed abruptly in August 2025\. On August 1, she received what she describes as her first negative performance feedback, including criticism related to work overseen by male-led teams. During an August 4 meeting, Ryan challenged what she considered a gendered double standard.
“His tone became markedly more aggressive during that conversation and subsequent communications with Ms. Ryan,” the complaint states.
Two days later, Ryan was fired. According to the lawsuit, Gaffney told her the company was falling short of its KPIs and held her responsible for the shortfall. Her attorneys argue that she was made a scapegoat for problems involving other departments, while male employees were given substantially more time and opportunities to improve.
“One of these male employees had documented performance issues for years before The Standard gave him several months of executive coaching and a performance improvement plan, then finally fired him,” reads the lawsuit. “The other two were not fired despite receiving significant negative feedback throughout 2024 and 2025\. They both received executive coaching and other efforts to improve their performance.”
The complaint also alleges that another senior female employee was terminated shortly after Ryan under similarly abrupt circumstances, and that other women experienced comparable treatment. Ryan alleges the company was aware of concerns about Gaffney’s conduct and unequal treatment, but did not have adequate HR procedures for employees to report them.
[Mission Local spoke](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-standard-griffin-gaffney-gender-discrimination-lawsuit/?ref=sfist.com) with former employees of the Standard who described Gaffney as a “difficult leader.” One former senior employee confirmed the behavior described in Ryan’s lawsuit was consistent with their experience there, including what they described as an “uphill struggle for women” and “bizarre” comments from Gaffney.
Another former senior employee, who described Ryan herself as a toxic leader and difficult to work with, nonetheless said the Standard had taken on a “tech company” culture under Gaffney and acknowledged that the workplace could be difficult.
Two other former employees described the Standard environment in general as “a very toxic workplace” and a “boy’s club” atmosphere where sexual innuendo was deeply embedded there.
Ryan filed the lawsuit September 9 in San Francisco Superior Court, seeking damages for lost wages, bonuses, equity, benefits, emotional distress, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and other relief. [According to SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/sf-standard-lawsuit-harassment-22435806.php?ref=sfist.com), Ryan is suing for damages in excess of $35,000, but we do not know the full amount being sought.
The SF Standard disputed Ryan’s allegations in a statement provided to SFGate by Chelsea Kohler of Evergreen Strategy Group, saying Ryan had been hired to lead subscription growth, which had fallen “well short of the Company’s ambitions.”
“Ms. Ryan acknowledged the shortfall at the time, and her complaint does not dispute it now,” the statement said. “What she disputes is why her employment ended, and on that the allegations do not reflect the facts.”
The company also said gender played no role in the termination and that it would address Ryan’s claims through the legal process.
**Related:** [Former Employee Sues Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Nine Leaders Over Sexual Misconduct, Wrongful Termination](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/former-employee-sues-chinese-chamber-of-commerce-nine-leaders-over-sexual-misconduct-wrongful-termination/)
### Get Ready for Hollywood's Latest Bid to Skewer Silicon Valley, 'Cupertino'
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/get-ready-for-hollywoods-latest-bid-to-skewer-silicon-valley-cupertino/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T21:52:31.000Z
That new CBS show from the creators of *The Good Wife*, *The Good Fight*, and *Elsbeth*, centered on Silicon Valley and the ways in which tech companies have screwed over the little guys and gals among us, is premiering in three weeks, and we have some new details.
Almost a year ago [we learned that CBS had greenlit a new legal procedural drama](https://sfist.com/2025/10/24/new-cbs-legal-drama-from-good-wife-creators/) from *The Good Wife* showrunners Robert and Michelle King, called *Cupertino*, and starring Mike Colter — who was featured on *The Good Wife* and its spinoff *The Good Fight*, and starred on the Kings' four-season supernatural series *Evil*, which ended in 2024.
It's been billed as a "David versus Goliath" story in which Colter gets screwed out of his stock options when he's pushed out of a Silicon Valley tech company, and joins forces with a fellow attorney, played by Rachel Keller, to launch a firm specializing in helping individuals who are taken advantage of or otherwise wronged by Big Tech.
And, keeping true to the Kings' procedural style, each episode will center on a particular court case, with various interpersonal dramas involving the recurring cast woven in, a la *The Good Wife*.
Amusingly, *Cupertino* isn't being shot anywhere near the real Cupertino, or even California. The law office set is in Kearny, New Jersey — reportedly because of a) tax breaks, and b) access to the New York theater actor set who were the life blood of the Kings' earlier series.
Busy Phillips has joined the cast — she [recently shared](https://people.com/busy-philipps-reveals-she-had-surgery-to-remove-a-brain-tumor-exclusive-12065703?ref=sfist.com) how she began shooting the pilot just weeks after having surgery to remove a rare, slow-growing brain tumor — in the role of Natalia. Her character is described as "the beautiful and delightfully blunt first wife of an AI billionaire" who recently divorced her as soon as she turned 40\. She agrees to bankroll Colter and Keller's firm in order to seek revenge on her husband's company and other companies like his.
Also starring is Renee Elise Goldsberry, who won a Tony Award for playing Angelica Schuyler in *Hamilton* and starred on *Girls5Eva* after appearing as a series regular on *The Good Wife*. Similar to her prosecutor role on *The Good Wife*, Goldberry plays a character her named Renee, a "brilliant opposing attorney" who has a previous romantic connection to Colter's character.
The new show makes sense in the trajectory of the Kings' writing for television, especially in light of how AI has been dominating headlines. Many of the legal plot lines on *The Good Wife* and its spinoff were "ripped from the headlines"-style explorations of novel legal issues that have arisen because of various tech innovations — at the time these often involved a fictional Google/Facebook stand-in company called Chumhum that could always afford high-powered lawyers to defend them.
As Robert King [tells the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/arts/television/cupertino-robert-and-michelle-king.html?ref=sfist.com) this week, "What we like is long-form storytelling mixed with a magazine-like interest in the present day."
But the very clearly liberal point of view of the Kings might run counter to the new overlords at CBS, led by Larry Ellison scion Doug Ellison — *The Good Fight* in particular made great use of its main character, Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) and her hatred of Donald Trump.
The Times notes that the new show "overlays" the Kings' typical concerns with politics and power "with an appraisal of new technologies and the force, often malign, that they exert on individual lives."
And Robert King doesn't mince words in telling the Times why they wanted to sideline and/or skewer tech bros and billionaires with this show: "Because they’re really the stupidest and dumbest people. Look at them, they’re not fun people."
*Cupertino* premieres on Thursday, October 8, on CBS and will be streaming on Paramount+. See the teaser trailer below.
**Previously:** [New CBS Legal Drama From 'Good Wife' Creators Robert and Michelle King to Focus on Silicon Valley Tech World](https://sfist.com/2025/10/24/new-cbs-legal-drama-from-good-wife-creators/)
### Ukrainian Woman Forcibly Arrested By ICE at SFO Released After Seven Weeks In Detention
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/ukrainian-woman-forcibly-arrested-by-ice-at-sfo-released-after-seven-weeks-in-detention/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T21:06:24.000Z
Iryna Gorb, the 38-year-old Ukrainian woman whose arrest by plainclothes ICE agents at SFO was captured in a viral video in July, has been released from a detention center after seven weeks in custody.
Gorb announced her release on social media Wednesday, saying she is now waiting for an immigration court hearing that will determine whether she can remain in the United States. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/iryna-gorb-sfo-arrest-released-22436690.php?ref=sfist.com), she was held at the California City Detention Facility in the Mojave Desert.
The 70-person women’s unit where Gorb was held reportedly included roughly 35 women who had also been arrested at airports, according to her friend and anti-ICE advocate Andy Eblin, who recently visited her at the facility.
“I needed to make sure she didn’t go another month without being able to see friends and faces she knows,” Eblin said during a recent press conference supporting legislation that would make it easier for Californians to sue ICE agents, per the Chronicle. “We speak nearly every day, but it’s not the same as seeing each other.”
[Gorb was detained July 22](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/woman-from-ukraine-forcibly-detained-at-sfo-in-viral-video-feds-say-she-overstayed-her-visa/) after returning to SFO from Portland. [Video](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DbHnx4CMBxO/?ref=sfist.com) posted by Richmond City Council Member Doria Robinson showed two plainclothes ICE agents taking Gorb to the ground as she called for help, and the footage quickly spread online.
The Department of Homeland Security said Gorb entered the United States legally in 2010 but overstayed her visa. They alleged that she attempted to flee and resisted arrest. Gorb has no criminal record and is reportedly not subject to a final removal order, according to court records.
“She’s lived in San Francisco for a decade; she works here; she has friends here; she’s part of our community, and they just grabbed her and want to deport her back to a war zone,” California State Senator Scott Wiener said at the time of her arrest.
The Chronicle reports that in her announcement Wednesday, Gorb thanked the women she met in detention for supporting her through what she described as some of her lowest moments.
“There were so many moments when I was ready to give up, but my girls didn’t let me!” Gorb wrote.
She also said she plans to continue sharing money [from her online fundraiser](https://www.gofundme.com/f/our-dear-friend-was-detained-by-ice-were-asking-for-help?attribution%5Fid=sl:30c11a8f-7d1b-4bcb-b13f-abf2f51efc34&ref=sfist.com) with some of the women she met there, saying many detainees lack the resources and community support she has received, according to the Chronicle. She asked supporters for “grace and space” as she adjusts to life outside detention.
Gorb, who works as a photographer and barista, has lived in San Francisco for more than a decade.
Her arrest came as federal immigration officials increasingly began detaining people with expired visas at airports. Immigration attorneys have noted that the increase in airport arrests represents a shift away from immigration courts, where court orders have restricted ICE enforcement.
It was revealed earlier this month that [ICE held 25 people inside a lounge at SFO](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/ice-has-held-25-immigrants-at-sfo-for-more-than-three-days-in-2026-in-violation-of-policy/) for more than 72 hours through July of this year, which is prohibited under federal guidelines. Nineteen of the 25 held green cards, and 18 were eventually transferred to ICE detention.
Federal data shows hundreds of people have been held longer than 72 hours at airports nationwide this year.
The SFO detention operation has been taking place separately from airport authorities. SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel previously said the airport is not involved in ICE or DHS enforcement operations and is not notified when they occur.
News also recently broke that on the day prior to Gorb’s arrest, [an ICE agent left a gun in a restroom at SFO’s Terminal 2](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/ice-agents-gun-found-in-sfo-restroom-day-before-ukrainian-womans-arrest/).
**Previously:** [Woman From Ukraine Forcibly Detained at SFO In Viral Video; Feds Say She Overstayed Her Visa](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/woman-from-ukraine-forcibly-detained-at-sfo-in-viral-video-feds-say-she-overstayed-her-visa/)
### SFO Runway Repaving Now Set to Be Completed Early, Normal Operations to Resume
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/sfo-runway-repaving-now-set-to-be-completed-early-normal-operations-to-resume/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T20:04:49.000Z
Hallelujah for SFO travelers. A repaving project that began in late March and which, combined with new FAA restrictions, cause significant delays at SFO this summer, is set to be finished three days early.
Runway 1R or 1 Right is set to to reopen September 29, as [the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/sfo-runway-reopen-flight-delays-22435056.php?ref=sfist.com) via SFO officials. A repaving project that began on March 30 was set to be completed October 2, but the contractor, Granite Construction, has reportedly brought it in ahead of schedule.
While the repaving was taking place, all takeoff and landing traffic was moved onto Runways 28L and 28R (28 Left and 28 Right), with Runway 1L only used as a taxiway. As [SFist explained back in March](https://sfist.com/2026/03/30/six-month-runway-closure-at-sfo-may-cause-some-delays/), these two longer runways are the ones used in the most common configuration at SFO, as dictated by prevailing winds on the Bay, and initially this was not supposed to cause too many delays.
But, within days we learned that the [FAA was ordering SFO to cease its longstanding practice](https://sfist.com/2026/03/31/actually-the-sfo-repaving-project-will-probably-cause-noticeable-delays-for-six-months/) of permitting simultaneous, parallel landings, out of safety concerns, which further reduced the airport's hourly capacity and led to [delays averaging 20 minutes](https://sfist.com/2026/06/22/delays-at-sfo-skyrocket-following-runway-closure-and-new-faa-restrictions/) for the past five months.
Some kind of compromised was [reached in August](https://sfist.com/2026/08/12/faa-announces-new-landing-procedure-to-speed-up-arrivals-at-sfo/), and the FAA decreed that SFO could resume closely staggered parallel landings, which boosted capacity from 36 arrivals per hour to 45 on clear days.
After September 29, though, with all the runways back in play, airport spokesperson Doug Yakel says that arrivals should go up to 48 per hour in clear weather. This is compared to 54 before the repaving and restrictions came into play, but Yakel tells the Chronicle that the airport rarely hit that number on a day to day basis, and 48 should feel more or less like "normal operations."
SFO's last major runway repaving project took place in the first half of 2024, when Runway 28L was taken out of commission. Because it is a more frequently used runway, that project led to [significant delays at the airport](https://sfist.com/2024/06/05/sfo-runway-to-reopen-ahead-of-schedule-this-month-ending-months-of-flight-delays/) for over five months.
### New Wildfire Shuts Down I-80 Westbound Near Nevada Border
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/new-wildfire-shuts-down-i-80-westbound-near-nevada-border/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T19:31:01.000Z
A new wildfire that has burned 640 acres near the California-Nevada border has led to the closing of I-80 westbound out of Nevada.
The Floriston Fire was sparked around 10 am Wednesday, near the Floriston exit off I-80, in mountainous terrain just west of the freeway, and north of the town of Floriston. The fire is reportedly threatening the Truckee River watershed and the freeway area, but it is burning about 13 miles northeast of the town of Truckee.
Cal Fire said the fire was 5% contained as of 3 pm on Wednesday, but it doubled in size to over 600 acres as of Wednesday evening.
"The fire remained within last night’s perimeter, with dozer line along portions of the south side and hand line around portions of the fire," Cal Fire said in a Thursday morning update. "The north side of the fire, toward Reno, remains the priority due to open line and areas where existing line needs improvement. Down-canyon winds are expected through Friday before transitioning to up-canyon winds."
Caltrans closed a portion of westbound I-80 between the state line and the fire area, citing concerns both for the fire spreading and for falling debris on the roadway.
This is the third wildfire in the greater Reno area in a little over a month, with the largest, the Bug Fire, now fully contained after burning nearly 94,000 acres in Lassen and Sierra counties. [The Hawk Fire](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/hawk-fire-now-87-contained-thousands-of-evacuees-return-home/), which burned over 30 homes and prompted evacuation orders for parts of Reno, burned over 15,000 acres before reaching containment two weeks ago.
### Berkeley Pier, Electric Ferry Get Fast-Tracked With Newsom Certification
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/berkeley-pier-electric-ferry-get-fast-tracked-with-newsom-certification/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T19:24:03.000Z
Governor Newsom has allowed for the fast-tracking of a new pier and ferry terminal in Berkeley, which would support electric-powered vessels serving San Francisco and potentially Larkspur, as residents voice concerns about the project.
The Berkeley ferry project moved closer to construction this week after California Governor Gavin Newsom [certified the Water Transportation Pier Ferry Project](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/16/governor-newsom-cuts-red-tape-to-accelerate-new-zero-emissions-ferry-project-in-san-francisco-bay/?ref=sfist.com) for expedited judicial review under Senate Bill 149\. [As Secret San Francisco notes](https://secretsanfrancisco.com/san-francisco-bay-zero-emission-ferry-project/?ref=sfist.com), the certification is intended to reduce the time legal challenges can hold up the project while keeping the environmental review process and public participation requirements in place.
“California presses ahead with clean transportation future, while House Republicans vote to choke port communities with dirty air,” wrote Newsom in a news release, referring to recent steps by the Trump administration and Congress to [roll back some of California’s clean-air rules](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-appeals-ruling-blocking-epa-sending-california-auto-2026-09-15/?ref=sfist.com).
The project would replace the Berkeley Municipal Pier, which has been closed since 2015 after being deemed structurally unsafe, with a [new 1,080-foot pier at the Berkeley Marina](https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/project/berkeley-ferry-project/?ref=sfist.com). The dual-purpose pier would include a ferry terminal, a 400-foot breakwater, ADA-compliant gangways, and charging infrastructure for all-electric vessels, while continuing to provide public access for fishing and other waterfront recreation.
The proposed Berkeley-to-San Francisco route is expected to serve more than 1,000 weekday passengers, with ferry service planned during weekday commute hours and throughout the day on weekends. Long-term plans could include service to Larkspur and special-event trips to places such as Oracle Park and Chase Center.
Construction could begin as early as mid-2027 and is expected to take about three years once work gets underway, [as Berkeleyside reported](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/01/26/berkeley-ferry-marina-update-permits-planning-commission?ref=sfist.com) in January.
**Photo via SF Bay Ferry REEF*
The Berkeley-to-San Francisco trip is expected to take about 25 minutes, with an estimated one-way fare of $5.17 to $5.41 in 2026\. The proposed Berkeley-to-Larkspur trip would take about 35 minutes, with fares estimated at $10.78 to $12.72\. The estimates are based on [the current ferry service plan](https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/2026-01/Item%2010A%20Berkeley%20Ferry%20Pier%20Use%20Permit.pdf?ref=sfist.com) and could change before service begins.
The Berkeley ferry project is part of [San Francisco Bay Ferry’s REEF program](https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/reef-program/?ref=sfist.com), or Redwood Environmental Electric Ferry, which aims to expand zero-emission ferry service around the Bay with electric vessels and the charging infrastructure needed to operate them.
The push comes amid California's efforts to transition the state's ferry fleet away from diesel. [As the SF Examiner reported](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/ferries-in-sf-bay-must-go-ze-but-the-tech-doesnt-exist-yet/article%5F9fafb3a4-ae3d-11ed-919b-2f2990b85350.html?ref=sfist.com) in 2023, California Air Resources Board materials published in 2023 called for short-run ferries operating in regulated state waters to transition to zero-emission vessels by December 31, 2025, with limited extensions available for infrastructure delays.
[According to the Daily Cal](https://www.dailycal.org/news/city/proposed-2027-berkeley-to-sf-ferry-draws-community-concerns-over-environment-cost/article%5F7e01c481-80ea-4b48-87af-16c632511225.html?ref=sfist.com), the City of Berkeley and San Francisco Bay Ferry have been working on the project since the Water Emergency Transportation Agency approached city officials in late 2018 about rebuilding the pier for electric ferry service.
The project has drawn concerns from some Berkeley residents and waterfront users over its cost, environmental effects, breakwater design, and the possibility that commuters will occupy marina parking spaces, per the Daily Cal. Residents have questioned whether the city could eventually be forced to help cover ferry operating costs, although project officials have said Berkeley would not subsidize operations from its general fund.
Others have questioned whether transportation funding should instead go toward existing transit systems, noting that BART and AC Transit are already struggling financially.
Backers say the new ferry would give Berkeley residents and workers another way to cross the Bay without driving, while restoring a pier that has been closed for more than a decade and bringing new activity to the waterfront.
**Related:** [World’s First Commercial Hydrogen-Powered Ferry Spotted on the Waters of the SF Bay Today](https://sfist.com/2024/07/12/worlds-first-commercial-hydrogen-powered-ferry-spotted-on-the-waters-of-the-sf-bay-today/)
### Authorities Search For Possible Homeless Victim In Alameda Point Warehouse Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/authorities-search-for-possible-homeless-victim-in-alameda-point-warehouse-fire/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T18:14:50.000Z
Firefighters in Alameda were battling a fire at a vacant, multi-story building Thursday morning that is part of the Alameda Naval Air Station, and some neighbors are wondering about an individual who often sleeps there.
The fire occurred around 1:30 am Thursday at a vacant, warehouse-type building on the 2300 block of Rainbow Court, near Sunrise Court. According to the Alameda Fire Department, by the time trucks arrived, the fire had already spread through the entire building.
> Alameda Fire Department on scene of a Working Structure Fire in the 2300 block of Rainbow Ct. This is a large multi-story vacant building. Firefighters arrived to find a working fire that quickly spread throughout the entire building. [#Alameda](https://x.com/hashtag/Alameda?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#AlamedaCityFire](https://x.com/hashtag/AlamedaCityFire?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#SFBayArea](https://x.com/hashtag/SFBayArea?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [pic.twitter.com/E4hjlQeDDz](https://t.co/E4hjlQeDDz?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — City of Alameda Fire Department (@alamedacityfire) [September 17, 2026](https://x.com/alamedacityfire/status/2100527638070821038?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
[NBC Bay Area reported](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/alameda-vacant-warehouse-fire/4144354/?ref=sfist.com) that the fire had been knocked down by around 10 am, and no injuries were reported in the blaze.
Separately, [KRON4 reported](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/fire-spreads-through-large-vacant-building-in-alameda/?ref=sfist.com) that a search was on for a homeless individual who was known to stay in the abandoned building. That person's whereabouts remain unknown.
Alameda FD spokesperson Kevin Tidwell said that firefighters were continuing to search the wreckage.
"They’re utilizing their drone technology with infrared, searching the building, trying to get into places where we can’t get actual firefighters just due to the unsteady nature of the building," Tidwell told KRON4.
Reportedly, two people were also arrested Thursday morning for entering the area after the fire was put out.
*This is a developing story.*
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Fishing Boat Crashes Near Golden Gate
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/17/fishing-boat-crashes-near-golden-gate/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T16:25:55.000Z
- **Three people were injured when a fishing boat crashed into some rocks near the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge Thursday morning.** The crash happened around 6:10 am and the SFPD's marine unit responded, transporting the injured to the Marin shoreline for medical treatment. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/3-injured-fishing-boat-hits-rocks-north-side-golden-gate-bridge-marin-county-sffd/19843605/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Smoke from overheated electrical lines in an underground vault prompted the closure of the intersection of First and Mission streets in downtown San Francisco Thursday morning, which caused some traffic during the morning commute. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/smoke-from-underground-electrical-lines-prompts-downtown-sf-street-closures/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Dead and dying sea birds, called common murres, have been seen on Bay Area bridges in significant numbers due to malnutrition that's being caused by the rise in ocean temperature this season, which is making them hungrier. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/dead-sea-birds-murres-bay-area-beaches-warming-ocean/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new poll finds Xavier Beceerra's lead growing over Steve Hilton in the California governor's race, with Becerra now at 60%. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7.com/post/democrat-xavier-becerras-lead-republican-steve-hilton-widens-california-governors-race-new-poll-shows/19841236/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- That 'Stop the AI Race' protest march is happening this morning and will move between the headquarters of OpenAI and Anthropic before heading to City Hall. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/stop-the-ai-race-march-planned-for-final-day-of-dreamforce/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Chronicle took a handmade, graph-style poll outside the Dreamforce conference this week, and not surprisingly, most attendees polled believe AI will be good for humanity but requires more regulation, and only a few said it requires less regulation. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2026/dreamforce-ai-poll/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A family is suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others over the state's "merciless" abortion ban, which they said led to the death of 37-year-old Tierra Walker. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-abortion-death-lawsuit-tierra-walker-ken-paxton/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Dome Fire Explodes In Yosemite
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/dome-fire-explodes-in-yosemite/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T02:04:59.000Z
### Local:
- **The Dome Fire, which began Tuesday north of Wawona Dome in Yosemite National Park, exploded to over 1,200 acres on Wednesday.** The fire was burning upslope, it is 0% contained, and has led to the closure of the Chilnualna Falls trail. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/yosemite-dome-fire-trails-closed-22435511.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Anthony Moses, a 47-year-old Oakland man has been charged with murder after an altercation he had with a coworker allegedly led to the coworker's death.** Moses is charged with the killing of Javier Martinez Ramos outside Thousand Oaks Laundromat, after the two apparently argued over who should repair a washing machine. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-fatal-laundromat-fight-murder-charges?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 78-year-old Danville man, Edwin Emmett Lickiss, has been sentenced to a nearly ten-year-long prison term in connection with a Ponzi scheme he was convicted of conducting between 1998 and 2024, defrauding 93 people out of $9.5 million. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/danville-man-gets-nearly-a-decade-in-prison-for-ponzi-scheme/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Paramount is reportedly back at the negotiating table with California state officials after declaring Tuesday that the company was moving out of the state.** The threat centers on a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Rob Bonta and other states' attorneys general seeking to block Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. \[[TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/16/paramount-negotiations-are-ongoing/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- OpenAI just disclosed six more incidents of "unexpected or concerning" behavior by AI agents gone rogue, including instances of hiding mistakes, and moving files onto the open internet without permission. \[[NY Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/technology/openai-model-safety-guardrails.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The losses for President Trump, in courts and in Congress, keep piling up, and now House Republicans want Trump to end the war in Iran, and there's talk of a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/16/politics/trump-losses-kennedy-center?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- As many continue to mourn the loss of Heklina, now three years in the grave, on the occasion of the London police [finally managing to close her case](https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/cause-of-death-finally-revealed-in-2023-death-of-sf-drag-queen-heklina/) this week, we bring you back to happier times, in 2018, when Donald Trump was president, but Heklina was still alive and being roasted on stage by her friends at the Castro Theatre.
### SF Hit With Federal Lawsuit Over SFPD’s Raid at West Oakland Apartments In May
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/sf-hit-with-federal-lawsuit-over-sfpds-raid-at-west-oakland-apartments-in-may/
Last updated: 2026-09-17T02:08:25.000Z
Former Black Panther Elaine Brown is suing the city over an SFPD raid at the West Oakland apartment complex she owns and operates, alleging officers used excessive force when they busted through the building’s glass doors with a battering ram.
[As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/san-francisco-police-black-panther-apartment-suit-22434874.php?ref=sfist.com), Brown filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the city and SFPD of using excessive force during the May raid, which occurred shortly after [SFPD officers arrested 18-year-old Jamil Butler](https://sfist.com/2026/05/26/sfpd-shatter-doors-at-west-oakland-apartments-to-serve-warrant-on-suspect-already-in-custody/). Officers spotted Butler, who police say was wanted in connection with two armed robberies in San Francisco, about a block from the Black Panther Apartments.
Butler did not live at the 79-unit building, and the search warrant was instead for a fifth-floor apartment rented by Butler’s girlfriend, where officers seized a pair of shoes and a jacket that police said were connected to an earlier San Francisco robbery.
Soon after Butler was taken into custody, a large group of plainclothes officers arrived at the building in unmarked vehicles. According to the lawsuit, officers put on dark vests marked “POLICE” and demanded entry into the building.
The building’s security guard, Shawn Johnson, was outside the entrance and reportedly asked officers to show him the search warrant and wait for the on-site manager, Misty Cross. Instead, the suit alleges, an officer knocked Johnson’s phone from his hand, pushed him against a wall, and handcuffed him. Johnson was accused of obstruction, but the charge was later dismissed.
According to the Chronicle, police then brought out what appeared to be a sledgehammer and battering ram and ordered building personnel to open the doors, which can be seen in [video obtained by KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/outcry-after-sfpd-raids-oakland-complex-ties-ex-black-panther-leader?ref=sfist.com) at the time. Employees again asked to see the warrant, and the suit says an officer briefly held a piece of paper up to the glass before putting it away.
Officers then smashed through the building’s glass entrance and entered the lobby, proceeding toward the elevators, according to the complaint. Cross, a former Moms 4 Housing activist, told KTVU at the time that officers had arrived in plain clothes and that the way they approached the building initially led some residents to fear they were federal immigration agents.
Brown said the raid was particularly frightening for residents because children were returning home from school at the time, adding that they were subsequently forced to walk through broken glass at the entrance.
The Chronicle reports that the complaint also alleges that SFPD had been surveilling the property for more than a month before the raid, including through what it describes as “unauthorized Wi-Fi taps.” Brown’s attorney, Adante Pointer, questioned why such a large police operation was necessary after Butler had already been arrested.
“Was the goal to investigate and arrest someone who, by the way, was already in custody,” Pointer said. “Or was this really used as a tool to intimidate and send a message to (the building’s) residents, as well as its owners?”
The lawsuit alleges unreasonable search and seizure, excessive force, vandalism, battery, and unlawful arrest. Per the Chronicle, Brown, who was the Black Panther Party’s first and only female chairwoman, owns the complex through her nonprofit, Oakland & the World Enterprises, alongside Missouri-based developer McCormack Baron Salazar.
SFPD said at the time of the raid that “exigent circumstances” led officers to enter the building. Police said officers identified themselves as SFPD personnel, wore police insignia and body-worn cameras, and that the incident was captured on body-camera footage that was subsequently reviewed by the department.
A San Francisco police spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit, referring questions to the City Attorney’s Office. A spokesperson for that office told the Chronicle the city will respond to the complaint in court once it is served.
**Previously:** [SFPD Officers Use Battering Ram at West Oakland Apartments Linked to Black Panthers](https://sfist.com/2026/05/26/sfpd-shatter-doors-at-west-oakland-apartments-to-serve-warrant-on-suspect-already-in-custody/)
### Castro Nightclub Beaux Calls on Meta to Stop Shutting Down Its Instagram Account
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/castro-nightclub-beaux-calls-on-meta-to-stop-shutting-down-its-instagram-account/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T23:00:21.000Z
Yet another queer business in San Francisco has fallen victim to what seems to be a biased system — one likely being run by AI these days — that suspends Instagram accounts posting LGBTQ content for unexplained reasons.
[Beaux](https://www.beauxsf.com/?ref=sfist.com), the popular Castro nightclub, has just had its third Instagram account suspended in a year's time, following a pattern that has seen the suspensions of accounts used by other queer venues in the city — including The Stud, SF Eagle, and [Powerhouse](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/meta-suspends-another-sf-queer-venues-accounts-amid-growing-censorship-concerns/) — to promote their events and draw customers.
Joshua Cook, the general manager at Beaux, said that the club's newest account [@beauxnightclub](https://www.instagram.com/beauxnightclub/?ref=sfist.com), was suspended Tuesday "without any warning or violations of community guidelines." This followed the suspension of the club's previous account, [@beauxincastro](https://www.instagram.com/beauxincastro/?ref=sfist.com), in April 2026, and the club's original account @beauxinthecastro, was suspended last year, costing the business over 24,000 followers.
Those earlier suspensions were never lifted, despite Meta allowing 180 days for the account holder to appeal. This time, the account was restored Wednesday with no explanation and no communication about the suspension — this followed Cook putting out a call on Instagram through his personal account to anyone with contacts at Meta, or members of the media, though similar calls had not worked in the past. And the new account has just over 2,000 followers, while those old accounts, with many more, remain dead.
Some examples of the last posts on the @beauxnightclub account that might have triggered the suspension are below. Generally they are party photos featuring shirtless men, or photos of men dancing together, or club flyers advertising upcoming events. And again, Meta offered no notice of a violation or any explanation for the suspension when it occurred Tuesday.
**Photo by* [**Sammy Peace*](https://www.instagram.com/sammyypeace/?ref=sfist.com) *for Beaux*
**Photo by* [**Sammy Peace*](https://www.instagram.com/sammyypeace/?ref=sfist.com) *for Beaux*
"It's time to sound the alarm," Cook says, echoing sentiments from other queer businesses that have had similar frustrations with arbitrary account suspensions.
And did this all start happening under the new Trump administration, with some shift in the automatic screening procedures and moderation policies over at Meta that became more conservative?
The Stud at least got an explanation when their Instagram account was [temporarily suspended](https://sfist.com/2026/07/25/stud-asks-meta-for-help-with-instagram-suspension-asserts-posts-falsely-flagged-as-human-trafficking/) last year — a post promoting a trans-focused event was flagged as promoting "human trafficking," but the account was then restored within a day.
GLAAD has noted Meta's policy changes since Trump came back to power, including allowing the use of terms like "mentally ill" in relation to queer and trans people, and their screening agents appear to broadly use a ban on "promoting sexual activity" as a reason to suspend LGBTQ accounts that promote events with slightly sexualized imagery.
We await comment or explanation from Meta, if it ever comes. And one has to imagine that if a nightclub in San Francisco, at the doorstep of Silicon Valley, can't get an explanation out of them or can't get an account restored that was wrongly suspended, what happens to the small queer business far from here with even less access to those on the inside?
**Previously:** [Meta Suspends Another Queer SF Venue’s Accounts Amid Growing Censorship Concerns](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/meta-suspends-another-sf-queer-venues-accounts-amid-growing-censorship-concerns/)
### Elderly Tea Importer Forced to Vacate Marin Eco-Compound After Decadeslong Battle With County
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/elderly-tea-importer-forced-to-vacate-marin-eco-compound-after-decadeslong-legal-battle-with-county/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T23:05:50.000Z
David Lee Hoffman was forced to leave his Lagunitas property Tuesday after a decadeslong legal battle with Marin County over unpermitted construction at the unusual compound he had called home for 53 years.
82-year-old David Lee Hoffman spent more than five decades building out his Lagunitas property called [The Last Resort](http://thelastresortlagunitas.org/?ref=sfist.com), turning the two-acre site into an eccentric experiment in self-sufficient living. [As NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/the-last-resort-lagunitas-seized/4143403/?ref=sfist.com), over the years, he added dozens of structures, water-recycling systems, gardens, and other features without obtaining the permits required by Marin County, eventually putting the property at the center of a lengthy legal fight.
County officials had been aware of the increasingly elaborate compound for decades, but eventually began pursuing Hoffman about 15 years ago over the unpermitted construction. Inspectors red-tagged structures and ordered them removed, but Hoffman continued building, adding to the unusual collection of structures that included a tea refinery, a Tibetan temple, a bell tower, caves for storing tea, and a cement boat he called the Titanic II.
“I guess I’ve always been a troublemaker,” Hoffman [told Vice in a 2012 interview](https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-imminent-destruction-of-worm-palace/?ref=sfist.com).
According to NBC Bay Area, Hoffman had originally intended the property as a place to experiment with ways of living more sustainably. Water from his sinks was routed into a pond for use in his garden, food scraps were converted into fertilizer by worms, and shower water was reused on plants. He had reportedly tried to get permits for some of his experiments, but found that the county's existing rules did not accommodate what he was trying to do.
The dispute eventually became a financial one as well as a legal battle. Hoffman accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines while also paying mounting legal fees. In 2015, NBC Bay Area reported that he [owed $350,000 to the county](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/david-lee-hoffman-marin-county-receivership-faces-judge-after-building-without-permits/1979917/?ref=sfist.com). Hoffman said he had previously agreed to settle the fines for $60,000, while the county disputed his account and said Hoffman had backed out of the agreement.
Hoffman said he believed the county’s concerns went beyond building and safety codes, arguing that the fight was ultimately driven by money.
“Our local government is really broke,” Hoffman told Vice in 2012\. “Their revenue was dependent on new construction and building permits. That has dried up, and now they’re having to go after people like me in order to get an income for themselves.”
“When I sold my last company I had to pay $418,000 in taxes—I’ve paid my share. I’ve paid into the system,” he said.
The compound eventually gained recognition beyond the legal dispute. In 2024, [the Marin County Architectural Commission unanimously voted](https://www.marinij.com/2024/02/05/marins-last-resort-compound-on-path-to-historic-designation/?ref=sfist.com) to designate the entire site, including its 36 structures, as having architectural significance, citing its artistic value and importance to the history and culture of unincorporated Marin County, but it didn’t stop the court case.
Three weeks before Hoffman left the property, a Superior Court judge ordered him to vacate and appointed a receiver to sell the property. Whoever buys it will reportedly be responsible for addressing the outstanding code violations.
NBC Bay Area reports that Hoffman spent Monday scrambling to remove his belongings, including more than 50,000 pounds of tea, before leaving the property Tuesday morning. He said he would stay with friends while determining what to do next, while supporters [have launched a fundraiser](https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-last-resort?ref=sfist.com) aimed at preventing the compound from being demolished.
Local content creator Em-J wrote on social media about Hoffman’s plight, urging residents to support the cause.
“The Last Resort is the last remaining integrated ecological environment, all others having already been destroyed or taken down,” Em-J wrote.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdVRcfatKE8/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by em-j (@em\_jazzzy)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdVRcfatKE8/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### You Know Who Doesn't Want the AI Race to Slow Down For His Company? Mark Zuckerberg
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/you-know-who-doesnt-want-the-ai-race-to-slow-down-for-his-company-mark-zuckerberg/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T21:19:39.000Z
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues in his quest to keep his company from being stymied in catching up to competitors in the AI race, and his latest gambit is another cheerleading post in which he suggests that only good, benevolent AIs will rule the day.
Not satisfied with [that seemingly out-of-touch August essay](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/mark-zuckerberg-pens-arguably-out-of-touch-manifesto-about-why-ai/) in which he jumped on a bandwagon that included Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang calling for an open-source future for AI, Mark Zuckerberg has moved to another medium — Xitter — to pen [a few bullet points](https://x.com/finkd/status/2099997096896274533?ref=sfist.com) about why he doesn't think the AI race needs to slow down, at least for Meta.
"Every lab has the responsibility and incentive to move at the pace required to train its models safely, and the ability to take its own actions to ensure that happens," Zuckerberg writes, again striking a tone that seems pollyanna-ish given everything we've heard and learned about rogue agents the last few months.
These thoughts come several days after, and likely in direct response to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei making a public call for a slowdown of the AI race, though Zuckerberg does not mention Amodei by name. He's also posting this as many AI discussions are happening at Dreamforce in San Francisco this week
"People won't want to use agents that are misaligned with them and that don't do what they ask, so labs have a strong natural incentive to make their models more aligned," Zuckerberg adds, and to which doomsayers will respond, "What about when the agents get too smart and leap out of their own "boxes" as it were?
"Committing the significant majority of compute towards serving people rather than racing towards recursive self-improvement is one of the best ways to ensure we develop this technology safely," Zuckerberg says, clearly making a pitch for what Meta's Muse AI will do. And, he says, "Labs face significant liability if their models cause harm, so they have a strong incentive to prevent this as well."
> Last month I wrote about how we can build a positive and safe future for everyone: [https://t.co/1KtONlqBs5](https://t.co/1KtONlqBs5?ref=sfist.com)
>
> Every lab has the responsibility and incentive to move at the pace required to train its models safely, and the ability to take its own actions to ensure that happens.
>
> The…
>
> — Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) [September 15, 2026](https://x.com/finkd/status/2099997096896274533?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
The "put your trust in me, I'll never do you harm" gambit is perhaps not best delivered by a man who presided over [a massive data privacy scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge%5FAnalytica%5Fdata%5Fscandal?ref=sfist.com), and who turned tail to suck up to the monster Donald Trump in the last two years just to protect his own bottom line.
Also, Zuckerberg is one of many CEOs who are currently putting profit and machines over humanity, [slashing staff at Meta to a major degree](https://sfist.com/2026/03/16/facebook-planning-to-lay-off-thousands-of-employees-in-ai-driven-move-to-cut-costs/) and shifting work into the hands of AI agents. Is that "serving people"?
He finishes his bulleted thoughts by saying, curiously, "I believe the key to building a positive future for everyone is maintaining the right balance of power. This is within our power to do."
That certainly prompts the question, where does Meta fit in that balance of power? And who is even determining this balance?
We should all know by now that Zuck isn't really the sharpest mind to be thinking through the massive sociological, economic, and existential problems we may face in the coming years because of AI, let alone the one to be leading any charge.
And, anyway, this all just seems to be about plugging Meta's personalized AI agent [Muse](https://muse.ai/?ref=sfist.com), which launched last week, and which Zuckerberg says was delayed "for several months to focus on safety and security."
Cue something truly awful coming out about this AI agent any day now that their safety review didn't foresee.
**Previously:** [Mark Zuckerberg Pens Arguably Out of Touch and Self-Serving Manifesto About the Future of AI](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/mark-zuckerberg-pens-arguably-out-of-touch-manifesto-about-why-ai/)
### Prosecutors Say San Jose Driver Charged With Killing Mother, Baby Is a Flight Risk
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/prosecutors-say-san-jose-driver-charged-with-killing-mother-baby-is-a-flight-risk/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T21:29:21.000Z
The family of a mother and toddler who were killed when a San Jose driver allegedly plowed his new Tesla into them at 140 mph is urging the judge in his murder case to deny him bail, as prosecutors say he could pose a threat to the community.
Zachary Chernicky, 31, is accused of driving his red Tesla Model Y northbound on Highway 87 in San Jose at more than 142 mph on December 2, 2025, before crashing into a Lexus carrying 29-year-old Ivana Balistreri and her 1-year-old daughter, Lilliana, [as KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/tesla-driver-charged-with-murdering-2-in-san-jose-shows-no-remorse-prosecutors-say/?ref=sfist.com). The collision caused a massive fire that trapped the mother and daughter inside the vehicle.
Chernicky is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial release hearing Friday at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice, and the victims' family is asking the judge to deny his bail. Prosecutors have cited evidence that Chernicky could be a potential flight risk and that his behavior following the crash shows he poses a threat to the public.
According to a motion filed by Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Marisa McKeown, multiple witnesses saw Chernicky driving recklessly before the crash, with some reporting that he appeared to be racing a BMW. The Lexus, driven by Zachary Martins, had reportedly slowed with traffic and stopped when Chernicky's Tesla slammed into the back of it at high speed.
Martins and passing motorists tried to rescue Balistreri and her daughter as the Lexus burned, but the flames and continuing explosions prevented them from reaching the pair, per KRON4\. Court documents say Martins was screaming for help as his family remained trapped inside the vehicle.
Chernicky, meanwhile, was able to get out of his Tesla with only minor injuries. Prosecutors say he did not attempt to help anyone at the scene, instead standing along the side of the road and watching the rescue effort.
[NBC Bay Area reported](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/arrest-deadly-2025-crash-highway-87-san-jose/4114811/?ref=sfist.com) that Chernicky was arrested in July, roughly seven months after the crash, and charged with two counts of murder. District Attorney Jeff Rosen has argued that the alleged speed and circumstances of the crash support the murder charges.
“The law says that it is murder when someone shoots into a crowd,” Rosen said [in a news release](https://da.santaclaracounty.gov/san-jose-man-faces-murder-charge-after-fiery-speeding-crash-kills-mother-and-toddler?ref=sfist.com). “When someone is driving 140 mph, then the driver is the shooter and their car is the bullet.”
According to KRON4, prosecutors say Chernicky's behavior after the crash showed a continued disregard for public safety, including allegedly recording himself speeding in Teslas and other sports cars in the months between the crash and his arrest. They also point to what they describe as his lack of remorse, noting that within 24 hours of the crash, Chernicky posted a photo of the burned wreckage on Instagram and wrote about surviving the crash and losing his Tesla, without mentioning Balistreri or her daughter.
Chernicky reportedly wrote the following, “Hey everyone, yesterday was absolutely insane. I’m pretty beat up.”
“I thank GOD I’m still alive,” he continued. “My Tesla is completely burned to the ground and destroyed, but I was able to escape out of the back. God is real.”
Prosecutors also cited social media posts in which Chernicky discussed potentially moving to Florida or taking a job in Paris. McKeown argues that those plans, along with his alleged conduct following the crash, indicate that he could pose a public safety risk and might flee if released.
“The defendant’s behavior and state of mind after the crash are equally, if not more, concerning from a public safety standpoint,” McKeown wrote, according to KRON4\. “(Chernicky) has shown a complete lack of remorse.”
Chernicky's plea hearing was held last month in Santa Clara County court, where a large crowd of Balistreri's relatives and supporters gathered, [as ABC 7 reported](https://abc7news.com/post/ivana-liliana-balistreri-family-mom-toddler-killed-san-jose-crash-speak-hearing-man-charged-murder/19735493/?ref=sfist.com) at the time. The hearing was postponed until November 17, and Chernicky's defense attorney is now asking the judge to release him on bail ahead of that hearing.
KRON4 reports that dozens of Balistreri's family members and friends have submitted letters asking the judge to keep Chernicky in custody.
**Related:** [Two Brentwood Teens Killed In Crash Identified, Mother Describes Coming Upon Horrific Scene](https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/two-brentwood-high-school-students-killed-in-crash-identified-mother-describes-horrific-scene/)
### Cause of Death Finally Revealed In 2023 Death of SF Drag Queen Heklina
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/cause-of-death-finally-revealed-in-2023-death-of-sf-drag-queen-heklina/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T19:06:56.000Z
Almost three and a half years later, the London Metropolitan Police Service has closed the case on the death of Heklina, who was found unresponsive by friend Peaches Christ in the London flat they were sharing in April 2023.
The cause of death, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/heklina-london-inquest-cause-22431801.php?ref=sfist.com) following a police press conference, was acute mixed drug toxicity, and investigators say they "found no evidence to suggest third party involvement or that \[the\] death was suspicious."
Heklina, aka Steven Grygelko, [died on April 3, 2023](https://sfist.com/2023/04/03/report-sf-drag-icon-heklina-dies-while-on-tour-in-london/), while on tour in London with the drag parody *Mommie Queerest*, co-starring Peaches Christ. The two had just arrived in the city, and as Peaches, aka Joshua Grannell, later recounted, she had given her friend some space to do drugs and party, which she often did when she was out of town — Heklina was otherwise primarily sober in her regular life.
After spending two nights in a hotel, Peaches returned to the flat to find the door slightly ajar, and Heklina on the floor, in drag, hands at the side of her head, deceased.
The autopsy found that, in a span of 48 hours, Heklina had consumed a lethal combination of cocaine, MDMA, meth, GHB, and ketamine, and apparently some other substances.
Early on, the London Metro Police suggested that [they did not believe foul play was involved](https://sfist.com/2023/04/06/no-sign-of-foul-play-in-death-of-heklina-further-autopsy-results-still-pending/) in the death, but subsequent actions by the police department suggested a clear lack of attention being given to the case. The department, which has faced accusations of homophobic bias in recent years, [came under fire last year](https://sfist.com/2025/02/05/london-police-admit-investigative-bias-in-heklina-death-probe-as-they-try-to-unlock-cellphone/) over this case specifically, with Peaches and Heklina's longtime friend and executor Nancy French calling attention to the police having slow-walked and seemingly abandoned the case altogether.
Following an autopsy in early April 2023, the police declined to share any results, and it would, strangely, be nearly two years before the department revealed that [they had surveillance footage](https://sfist.com/2025/01/24/london-police-say-theyre-seeking-three-men-for-questioning-in-connection-with-death-of-drag-queen-heklina/) of three men leaving the flat where Heklina died, and they were asking for the public's help in identifying the men. The men were apparently identified and questioned in the case, and all allegedly said that when they left the flat Heklina was still alive — though one said she appeared "energetic" and other two said she was somewhat "lethargic" when they left.
The release of the surveillance footage led to further outrage, and to Peaches flying to London to participate in a [Justice for Heklina protest](https://sfist.com/2025/03/16/justice-for-heklina-protest-to-take-place-in-london-on-march-31/) last March.
"For me, trust was broken when the police failed us so profoundly that I had to protest publicly before we began to receive answers," Peaches tells the Chronicle, adding that she has "mixed emotions" about the final determination in the case. "Because of those failures, I may always wonder whether we truly know everything that happened in that apartment."
Peaches added that she hopes the uproar over this case "helped move the dial — even slightly — so that the police improve how they investigate cases involving queer victims."
French tells the Chronicle, "From the beginning, the London Met Police were unnecessarily secretive and dismissive of this case showing pure incompetence, disrespect and unwillingness to answer questions," and she says she hopes it is a "teaching moment" for them when it comes to the handling of LGBTQ+ cases.
French also says she hopes Heklina's death serves as a cautionary tale to those in the sober community who can be "prone to binge behavior," as this was ultimately Heklina's undoing.
Heklina founded the drag show Trannyshack in the late 1990s, and its name was subsequently changed to Mother when it became a touring event. She was a co-founder and host of Daytime Realness, a monthly seasonal party that just [celebrated its 15th anniversary](https://sfist.com/2026/07/17/daytime-realness-the-popular-sunday-party-at-el-rio-turns-15/). She went on to be a co-owner and co-founder of Oasis, the nightclub, in 2015, before [divesting herself](https://sfist.com/2019/11/06/sf-drag-legend-heklina-announces-shes-moving-on/) of that ownership in 2019 and relocating to Palm Springs. Oasis just reopened with a new funding base and nonprofit arm after facing closure last year.
**Previously:** [London Police Admit 'Investigative Bias' In Heklina Death Probe as They Try to Unlock Cellphone](https://sfist.com/2025/02/05/london-police-admit-investigative-bias-in-heklina-death-probe-as-they-try-to-unlock-cellphone/)
### Suspect Identified, Charged With Manslaughter In Strange Sonoma Plaza Incident
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/suspect-identified-charged-with-manslaughter-in-strange-sonoma-plaza-incident/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T18:13:44.000Z
Four men were initially arrested and one 28-year-old man has been charged in connection with a fatal September 7 assault that occurred in Sonoma Plaza, but the 64-year-old victim was apparently hurling racial epithets and yelling "I want to die."
64-year-old John Francis Avila died Sunday from injuries he sustained on Labor Day, the night of September 7, near the Italian Fountain in Sonoma Plaza, known to many locals as just "The Square." Video from the incident has gone viral after being posted to Facebook, and a blurred-out clip can be seen in ABC 7's coverage below.
In the[ video](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1974543936553368/?s=single%5Funit&%5F%5Fcft%5F%5F[0]=AZiRro0mOjvBIvA%5FDOcO4J5w1PpaKh%5FK5ofBNay44IMMFFkOsydtz8wi2n6AT4ZlZWMycu-IVdwYGbKkxh5Ouuq%5FXGnk6lBmLkJroeyDaJ7FjPBRwYdCgwx1hwjFBM6lfyUQ1oJ8QHYOsD-mOsvPmYL4HXDJy68Or264JMMwi63BJd9uv1mdRmwuLYlH3sViFhkUHprUuQ2Wrz3uYpuAzRjMRDBhgBrG&%5F%5Ftn%5F%5F=H-R) \[*warning, it's graphic*\], Avila could be heard exchanging racial epithets with the four younger men, and saying, several times, "I want to die" and "I don't like living." After using the N-word himself, he is either punched or pushed backward and falls to the ground, knocked unconscious.
The Sonoma Police Department [posted to Facebook on Tuesday](https://www.facebook.com/SonomaPoliceCA/posts/just-a-short-while-ago-the-sonoma-police-department-became-aware-of-a-video-whic/1384005473877491/) requesting that the video be taken down, saying they "consider \[it to be\] evidence in a homicide investigation that occurred in Sonoma" and the poster's "expressed hearsay about this case is not based on facts collected by the Sheriff's Office Detectives" nor by Sonoma PD officers who were on the scene.
Investigators say that 28-year-old Anthony Kirk dealt the fatal punch that knocked Avila to the ground. As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/sonoma-plaza-attack-involuntary-manslaughter-charge?ref=sfist.com), Kirk has now been charged with felony battery and involuntary manslaughter.
Kirk, who is Black, was apparently reacting to Avila's use of the N-word as he was exchanging words with the group, and Avila appears to continue approaching in an effort to provoke Kirk. It's unclear what transpired in the moments before the video began, or how Avila approached the group, or vice versa.
As legal analyst Steven Clark tells ABC 7, the case is "a prosecutor's nightmare," given Avila's words and actions prior to the altercation. Clark suggests that a jury may find that Kirk took "reasonable steps" to defend himself given the circumstances. But KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza sees the other side, suggesting Kirk should have known the grave dangers of reacting violently, saying, "You knock someone down, they fall over, their head hits the sidewalk, subdural hematoma could follow, and the person could die."
The [Chronicle initially reported Monday](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sonoma-plaza-fatal-assault-22432149.php?ref=sfist.com) that two of the men arrested were charged, but charges have been dropped against all but Kirk.
Friends of Avila, who had reportedly returned to Sonoma in May after moving away for a time, say that he was behaving completely out of character in the video. As the [Sonoma Valley Sun reports](https://sonomasun.com/2026/09/16/murder-charges-dropped-against-three-of-four-arrested-in-plaza-death/?ref=sfist.com), they speculate that he may have been having a mental health crisis of some kind, or that he was very intoxicated.
Kirk was arraigned in Sonoma County court on Tuesday, and Judge Robert M. LaForge granted him supervised release pending trial. He is now scheduled for his first pre-trial hearing on October 6, per the Sonoma Valley Sun.
### ‘DeFlock SF’ Maps Local Cameras, Spreads Awareness About Flock Surveillance
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/deflock-sf-maps-local-cameras-spreads-awareness-about-flock-surveillance/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T18:51:26.000Z
A local group has launched “DeFlock SF,” a hub mapping Flock and other automated license plate reader cameras around San Francisco, while tracking news and controversy surrounding the surveillance technology.
In response to concerns surrounding the [400 Flock cameras across San Francisco](https://sfist.com/2024/01/12/sf-is-going-to-install-400-license-plate-readers-to-hopefully-deter-car-theft-sideshows-and-such/) that were installed by the SFPD, the group behind [DeFlock SF](https://deflocksf.org/?ref=sfist.com) is documenting the city's growing network of automated license plate readers, as well as updates on legislation and court cases.
DeFlock SF’s map draws from the [national DeFlock database](https://deflock.org/report?ref=sfist.com), which reportedly tracks Flock cameras and other ALPR devices, as well as public cameras, speed cameras, and other sensors.
[As NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco-flock-license-plate-cameras-mapping/4143454/?ref=sfist.com), DeFlock SF founder Zachary Schwartz has emerged as a prominent critic of the San Francisco Police Department’s use of Flock cameras. He appeared before the Police Commission earlier this summer to call for a comprehensive audit of how the cameras are being used and what data they collect.
The DeFlock SF project stems from growing concerns about who can access the information collected by the cameras. Earlier this year, it was revealed that [federal agencies had accessed San Francisco’s license plate-reading data](https://sfist.com/2026/02/28/lawsuit-says-flock-allowed-out-of-state-agencies-access-to-sfpd-database-1-6-million-times/). A police spokesperson told NBC Bay Area that the data has since been walled off.
[A separate 3D map](https://getready.team/flock?lat=37.77924&lng=-122.41936&loc=San+Francisco%2C+California%2C+United+States&cov=1&ref=sfist.com) being developed from the same data recently counted 2,608 documented devices within 10 miles of San Francisco, which the creator [described on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1vywhpi/i%5Fmade%5Fa%5F3d%5Fmap%5Fof%5Fdocumented%5Fflock%5Fcameras%5Fand/?ref=sfist.com) as one of the densest concentrations they had found.
> [I made a 3D map of documented Flock cameras and ALPRs around San Francisco](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1vywhpi/i%5Fmade%5Fa%5F3d%5Fmap%5Fof%5Fdocumented%5Fflock%5Fcameras%5Fand/?ref=sfist.com)
> by [u/rbprepin](https://www.reddit.com/user/rbprepin/?ref=sfist.com) in [sanfrancisco](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/?ref=sfist.com)
Both maps show cameras concentrated along major traffic routes including Van Ness Avenue and Market Street, with clusters in neighborhoods such as the Mission and South of Market. One Redditor highlighted the particularly large number of cameras around Dore Alley, where the annual “Up Your Alley” queer leather fetish event takes place, calling the concentration “frightening.”
According to DeFlock, there are an estimated 100,000 Flock cameras and other ALPR devices across the US that collectively scan about 20 billion license plates each month. Flock’s system differs from some other ALPR networks in that it automatically allows participating law enforcement agencies to share and search license plate data across jurisdictions.
DeFlock SF says SFPD has spent nearly $4 million on the system, with annual renewal costs of about $1.2 million.
Concerns about potential misuse have also surfaced elsewhere in the Bay Area. [The Bay Area News Group reported](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/11/san-jose-police-officer-fired-for-abusing-flock-license-plate-reader-database-chief-says/?ref=sfist.com) over the weekend that the San Jose Police Department recently fired an officer accused of sharing Flock data with a family member involved in a domestic violence situation, which allegedly allowed the suspect to locate the victim. A criminal investigation was also opened.
In San Francisco, an SFPD spokesperson told NBC Bay Area that officers are only permitted to search the system using a case number or computer-aided dispatch number. The department has also credited license plate-reading cameras with helping reduce certain crimes, including vehicle burglaries. SFPD said there were more than 19,000 car burglaries in 2023, before the cameras were installed, compared with 1,764 so far this year.
Schwartz said the DeFlock SF campaign is intended in part to make the technology more visible to the public.
“Right now, what’s really important is to educate people about the cameras,” Schwartz said, speaking to NBC Bay Area. “So then in the future, hopefully enough people are educated about it that they can actually go ahead and make change, whether that’s through banning them or through policy changes.”
**Related:** [Lawsuit Says SFPD’s Flock Cameras Were Accessed by Federal Agencies 1.6 Million Times](https://sfist.com/2026/02/28/lawsuit-says-flock-allowed-out-of-state-agencies-access-to-sfpd-database-1-6-million-times/)
### Humpday Headlines: Greg Papa Hospitalized
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/16/humpday-headlines-greg-papa-hospitalized/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T16:55:52.000Z
- **The SF Centre mall could be divided, with the former Bloomingdale's section — on a parcel owned by Macy's — in play on its own.** Austin-based B3 Investors is apparently in negotiations to purchase just the 350,000-square-foot portion of the building that was occupied by Bloomingdale's, and that seems separate from [the bid we learned about on Monday](https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/new-round-of-bids-to-redevelop-sf-centre-mall-includes-basketball-focused-sports-complex/) that would presumably bring a multi-level sports and entertainment complex to the Market Street-facing portion of the building. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/sf-centre-mall-sale-downtown-bloomingdales-22433666.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Sportscaster and radio personality Greg Papa, who was** [**reinstated by KNBR last week**](https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/beloved-sports-radio-figure-greg-papa-to-return-to-knbr-in-part-time-role-a-month-after-being-laid-off/) **and set to return to the radio part-time, has reportedly been hospitalized with heart failure symptoms.** This explains why Papa missed the pre- and post-game shows for last Thursday's 49ers-Rams game, on which he was supposed to be an in-studio analyst on NBC Sports Bay Area. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-gtda7hn1wv1qvk2z?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **It will basically spell disaster on multiple fronts if SF voters don't approve Prop H, the Muni parcel tax measure.** A new report from the city controller's office suggests that when the agency begins cutting routes, it will end up impacting home values across the city. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/muni-home-prices-22433566.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Richmond just became the latest Bay Area city to pass a moratorium on data centers. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/richmond-city-council-passes-data-center-moratorium/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Silver Alert has been issued for an 85-year-old Redwood City man who has been missing since Friday. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/chp-issues-silver-alert-for-missing-85-year-old-man/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- First Lady Melania Trump visited an elementary school in North Carolina on Tuesday to encourage children there to "build the next great robot." \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/us/politics/melania-trump-encourages-children-to-build-the-next-great-robot-with-ai.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Supes Approve $22M Extension Contract For PermitSF Platform
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/day-around-the-bay-board-of-supes-approve-22m-extension-contract-for-permit-platform/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T16:02:54.000Z
### Local:
- **The SF Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 Tuesday for a** [**$22 million extension contract**](https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/extension-of-controversial-permitsf-contract-advances-without-supervisors-support/) **through 2029 with OpenGov for the city’s PermitSF platform.** Mayor Daniel Lurie had been previously pushing for a $33 million extension through 2031, but the supervisors argued it didn’t justify the cost. \[[Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/opengov-lurie-sf-permitting-city-hall/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Hardly Strictly Bluegrass organizers announced Tuesday that Robert Plant is slated to perform the festival, but it hasn’t yet been announced which day he’s performing.** Last week, Alison Krauss & Union Station cancelled their performance after Krauss was told to rest her vocal cords, forcing the band to cancel the rest of its tour. \[[Chronicle\]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/festivals/article/robert-plant-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-22431642.php?ref=sfist.com)
- **Nine top-floor units were damaged in a fire at a four-story apartment building in Oakland Tuesday.** The Uptown Oakland building’s residents were all safely evacuated, and multiple pets were rescued. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/fire-oakland-apartment-uptown-martin-luther-king-jr-way/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Two horrific crashes occurred in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon after an** [**SUV collided with a Metro bus**](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/chatsworth-metro-bus-crash-nordhoff-street-los-angeles-fire-police/?ref=sfist.com)**, killing two people on the bus and injuring six others.** Soon after, [a news helicopter near the scene](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/chatsworth-deadly-news-helicopter-crash-san-fernando-valley-los-angeles-fire/?ref=sfist.com) crashed between two commercial buildings, killing at least one person. \[CBS News\]
- Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, an anti-war Republican who opposes Trump, introduced articles of impeachment against Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth over the Iran war, accusing him of betraying his oath of office and abusing his powers as a military leader. \[[USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/09/15/thomas-massie-impeachment-articles-pete-hegseth-iran-war/91776260007/?utm%5Fsource=firefox-newtab-en-us)\]
- The Kennedy Center board, which was hand-picked by President Donald Trump, voted Tuesday to immediately close the performing arts center for two years, citing safety concerns and its “dire” financial and structural condition, shortly after a federal judge rejected the board’s latest attempt to add Trump’s name to the building. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trumps-handpicked-kennedy-center-board-votes-close-venue-renovations-rcna597921?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Meet Sherman, a very curious tortoise who enjoys riding BART, and he appears to possess better manners than many public transit riders.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdK6hEyKVc2/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Sherman 🐢 (@shermanator209)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdK6hEyKVc2/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
*Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist*
### SF Supervisor Plans to Create New Housing Department, Co-Op Program
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/sf-supervisor-plans-to-create-new-housing-department-co-op-program/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T02:05:13.000Z
Supervisor Myrna Melgar plans to introduce legislation that would expand the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development into its own department, along with separate measures developing a housing co-op program and accelerating the city’s bike lane rollout.
The proposed Department of Housing Development and Preservation would pull the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development out from under the mayor’s office and turn it into a standalone department, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/sf-melgar-housing-department-coop/?ref=sfist.com). The new department would take on a broader role than the current housing office, which primarily oversees affordable housing and the city’s affordable-housing portfolio.
The department’s director would still be appointed by the mayor, and Melgar has reportedly been working with Mayor Daniel Lurie's office on the legislation, as Lurie's “Clean Up City Hall” plan aims to [expand the mayor’s authority](https://sfist.com/2026/07/29/sf-mayor-luries-clean-up-city-hall-measures-qualify-for-november-ballot/) over city agencies.
According to Mission Local, Melgar wants the new department to bring together housing planning, financing, and policy, which are currently spread across multiple city agencies.
The city’s Housing Authority, Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, and Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure all handle housing-related programs, and it has not yet been determined exactly how those offices would interact with the proposed department. Melgar said the goal is to centralize housing policy without taking authority away from the mayor.
Melgar is also developing separate legislation to create a program that would help develop, finance, and support housing co-ops, per Mission Local. San Francisco reportedly has about 1,600 co-op units, with many located in the Fillmore, Bayview, and Diamond Heights. The outlet reports that most of San Francisco’s co-ops were built in the 1960s until the 1980s, when federal housing subsidies dried up due to tax cuts.
The proposed program will reportedly provide grants and training to help co-op shareholders manage their buildings, as some properties have struggled with finances or with the administrative work involved in running a co-op board. Melgar also wants to encourage new co-op construction as a more accessible path to homeownership.
“It’s a really great model that we could be looking at to build new construction, and we haven’t done that in forever,” Melgar said.
In May, Melgar and Lurie proposed a new charter amendment measure that would [more than double the city’s Housing Trust Fund](https://sfist.com/2026/05/20/sf-mayor-supervisors-announce-proposal-to-double-funding-for-affordable-housing/) to support affordable housing construction, with funding tied to future property tax growth. If approved by voters in November, the Housing Trust measure would increase annual funding from $52 million to more than $125 million and extend the program through 2058, potentially generating up to $3 billion over the next three decades.
As part of the amendment, the Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 in July to [lower the citywide affordable housing requirement](https://sfist.com/2026/07/15/sf-supes-reduce-affordable-housing-requirement-as-costs-continue-to-stall-new-housing/) from 15% to 5% for three years.
Separately, Melgar is looking at legislation that would require better coordination between the Department of Public Works and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, as Mission Local reports. She said the agencies currently do not coordinate when Public Works repaves streets, missing opportunities to install bike lanes that have already been planned as part of the city’s Bike and Rolling Plan.
**Related:** [SF Supes Reduce Affordable Housing Requirement as Costs Continue to Stall New Construction](https://sfist.com/2026/07/15/sf-supes-reduce-affordable-housing-requirement-as-costs-continue-to-stall-new-housing/)
### Man Who Posed as Rideshare Driver to Rape SF Women Gets Six Life Sentences
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/man-who-posed-as-rideshare-driver-to-rape-sf-women-gets-six-life-sentences/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T23:28:59.000Z
A man who sexually assaulted at least four women while posing as a Lyft driver outside of nightclubs and bars, who was convicted back in April, was sentenced Monday to a term of six life sentences, or 150 years to life, in state prison.
Back in the early years of the rideshare wars, when Uber and Lyft were vying for market share, drivers were barely facing background checks, and when riders could be less cautious about the cars they got into, Orlando Vilchez Lazo began posing a rideshare driver and preying on women standing outside of clubs and bars with cellphones, waiting for legitimate rides that they'd ordered. At the time, he actually was a working Lyft driver, but he would commit these crimes while off duty, picking up rides he then couldn't be linked to.
Vilchez Lazo, now 44, was [convicted in April of 12 felony counts](https://sfist.com/2026/04/04/sf-rideshare-rapist-who-posed-as-victims-driver-found-guilty-in-soma-mission-assaults/) of kidnapping and violent sexual assault involving four women between 2013 and 2018\. He was dubbed, after his June 2018 arrest, "[The Rideshare Rapist](https://sfist.com/2019/07/25/rideshare-rapist-charges-to-proceed-despite-improperly-collected-dna/)."
"Justice has been served for these courageous victims," said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in a statement Monday. "This sentence reflects the gravity and heinousness of Mr. Vilchez Lazo’s crimes and holds him accountable for the pain he has caused. It also ensures that his reign of terror on our community permanently ends. Although nothing can undo his crimes and the trauma he put these women through, I hope this sentence brings them some comfort as they work to heal from this."
The first known assault committed by Vilchez Lazo occurred in November 2013, when, according to testimony at trial, he picked up the 21-year-old woman known as Survivor No. 1 outside of a Mission District bar, in his car that was affixed with a Lyft sticker — or one of those old glowing pink mustaches. He then drove her to a remote, industrial area, locked the car doors, and raped her.
The case was unsolved until 2018, when police connected Vilchez Lazo to three other incidents that occurred that year, both through testimony from the survivors and through DNA evidence. Those incidents occurred in February, May, and June of 2018, and all had a similar modus operandi, with the woman being kidnapped and taken to remote locations before being assaulted.
"These women were remarkable in calling upon a level of bravery that no person should ever have to experience," said Assistant District Michelle Brass, who prosecuted the case, in a statement. "They showed grace, courage, and strength during this excruciatingly long process. I hope these verdicts and this sentence provide them with some sense of closure and peace."
Vilchez Lazo has remained in jail since his 2018 arrest.
**Previously:** [‘Rideshare Rapist’ Charges To Proceed, Despite Allegations of Improperly Collected DNA](https://sfist.com/2019/07/25/rideshare-rapist-charges-to-proceed-despite-improperly-collected-dna/)
### Bay Area Physicists Research Potential First Detection of Dark Matter In Cutting-Edge Project
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/bay-area-physicists-research-potential-first-detection-of-dark-matter-in-cutting-edge-project/
Last updated: 2026-09-16T16:34:10.000Z
Scientists from Berkeley and Livermore national laboratories are part of a research team investigating what could be the first recorded observation of dark matter, a substance believed to make up most of the universe’s mass.
Researchers with the LZ Project, including physicists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, presented their latest findings at a particle astrophysics conference in Japan this month. [As Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/15/has-dark-matter-been-found-bay-area-scientists-analyze-signal-deep-underground/?ref=sfist.com), the project was met with widespread excitement over what could be the first direct observation of dark matter, the invisible substance believed to make up about 85% of the universe’s mass.
The LZ team’s data reportedly included a single unusual interaction that could not be readily explained by known particles. The signal came from a massive detector buried about a mile underground in a former South Dakota gold mine, where 10 metric tons of liquid xenon are shielded from cosmic rays and other interference.
Per the News Group, the experiment is designed to detect the tiny signals produced when a dark matter particle collides with a xenon atom. Researchers analyzing 220 days of data found an interaction in which a xenon nucleus recoiled, producing the type of light and electron signals they were looking for.
The [LZ Experiment](https://lz.lbl.gov/?ref=sfist.com) reportedly launched in 2021 through the Department of Energy, with researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and the collaboration includes 250 scientists and engineers from institutions around the world.
The finding was especially intriguing because dark matter has reportedly never been directly detected, despite decades of evidence that some unseen form of matter is affecting the movement of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Dark matter also can't be explained by the Standard Model, the framework physicists use to describe known subatomic particles.
Additionally, the possible signal reportedly resembles what physicists would expect from a hypothetical weakly interacting massive particle, or WIMP, one of the leading theories for what dark matter might be.
“The holy grail of particle physics is to search and find things that disagree with the Standard Model,” said Aaron Manalaysay, a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist on the project, speaking to the News Group. “And dark matter is one of those, and that motivates everyone.”
The analysis currently stands at 2.6 sigma, well below the five-sigma threshold conventionally required to claim a discovery in particle physics. [According to CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/14/science/dark-matter-lz-experiment-potential-signal?ref=sfist.com), at that level, there is reportedly a roughly 1-in-200 chance that the result is a statistical fluke.
After months of analysis, researchers estimated there is only a 0.5% chance that a known source of interference produced the event, reportedly making it the most compelling dark matter signal the detector has recorded.
Researchers are continuing to analyze the data in hopes of determining whether the signal becomes more significant.
Alvine Kamaha, a UCLA assistant professor of physics and member of the LZ collaboration, told CNN that researchers need to see additional events and determine whether the signal becomes statistically stronger as more data are collected.
“One event, by itself, is not enough,” Kamaha said.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Jingke Xu stressed the need to avoid interpreting ambiguous data according to what researchers hope to find.
“It’s like mining for gold. The majority of the things you see are rock, things you are not interested in,” Xu said, speaking to the News Group.
Similar experiments at PandaX in China and XENONnT in Italy are reportedly working on related searches that could help determine whether the LZ result can be reproduced.
Benjamin Safdi, a UC Berkeley physicist on the project, told the News Group confirmation could take anywhere from several months to several years. For now, the researchers are treating the result as an unexplained anomaly while they work to rule out other possibilities.
“Whatever it ends up being, it will hint at a deeper structure of nature that is totally unknown,” said Safdi.
**Related:** [Lawrence Livermore Lab Successfully Shoots Mega-Laser That Could Kill Us All](https://sfist.com/2012/07/12/lawrence%5Flivermore%5Flab%5Fsuccessfully/)
### Three Big Restaurant Openings We're Looking Forward to In San Francisco This Fall
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/three-big-restaurant-openings-were-looking-forward-to-in-san-francisco-this-fall/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T21:51:33.000Z
The fall opening schedule for restaurants is starting to come into view, and I can say with some certainty that, barring some late surprises, I already know what I'm looking forward that's coming down the pike.
A big new addition to the Ferry Building, a buzzy new waterfront restaurant from a Michelin-pedigreed chef, and a grand new Cal-Med brasserie taking cues from Los Angeles will all be bringing some fresh vibrancy to San Francisco's downtown — and while one of these is filling a spot that's been empty for two years, the other is bringing back to life a space that's been dark since before the pandemic.
[**Lucania**](https://www.a16pizza.com/lucania?ref=sfist.com)
In the works for over a year now, Lucania will be the latest project of sommelier and restaurateur Shelley Lindgren, of A16 fame — she was also, previously, a partner in SPQR. It's moving into the long-vacant MarketBar space at the south end of the Ferry Building, finally bringing a second anchor restaurant back to the complex, with Arquet having opened last year in the former Slanted Door space.
The plan, for which we haven't had an official update [since last year](https://sfist.com/2025/07/28/ferry-building-fills-up-again-as-a16-owner-announces-new-restaurant-in-marketbar-space/), is to be an all-day, Southern Italian-inspired, indoor-outdoor restaurant with a focus on pizza, pasta, salads, and local produce, as well as local seafood like anchovies, sardines, and mussels. The name means "land of light," and in the only statement we've had so far, Lindgren said, "Lucania brings together nearly three decades of experience in San Francisco’s food and wine world, inspired by the traditions of Southern Italy and the rhythm of life here in the city." October was the last timeframe we knew of for the opening, but we await the final word on that.
**The former Mourad, via Facebook*
**Sutro Hall**
Almost exactly two years after the unfortunate closing of chef Mourad Lahlou's Mourad, a respected local restaurateur has snapped up the soaring space it once lived in at 149 New Montgomery Street. As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/sutro-hall-opening-downtown-sf-22426230.php?ref=sfist.com), Doug Washington, a former Town Hall, Salt House, and Anchor & Hope partner — and founding partner of the great Jardiniere — has decided to get back in the restaurant business after a few years off. "I've really been missing it," he tells the paper.
In preparation for a November opening, Washington has hired chef Michael Magallanes to serve as executive chef — and, coincidentally, Magallanes was part of the opening team at Mourad, before moving on the Omakase Restaurant Group, where he has lately been executive chef at The Jay hotel (but not at the [about-to-close Prelude](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/prelude-sf-closing-22404623.php?ref=sfist.com)).
And while California-Mediterranean fare might sound fairly standard for SF, Washington says he wanted to take inspiration from decade-old Los Angeles hot spots [Gjelina](https://www.gjelina.com/?ref=sfist.com) (which now has locations in New York and Las Vegas) and its sister bakery-deli Gjusta, as well as Suzanne Goin's AOC Wine Bar. Gjelina in particular leans heavily in the direction of Southern Italy and France, with a few nods to the Middle East and an emphasis on vegetables, and Magallanes says he's looking forward to roasting whole chickens and fish, as well as spit-roasting celeriac, and grilling short ribs on skewers.
**Moonchild**
At last, someone has laid claim to the former Fog City Diner space at 1300 Battery Street (at Embarcadero), which was most recently known as Fog City, and which has laid dormant now for [over a year](https://sfist.com/2025/06/02/the-beloved-fog-city-diner-has-closed-after-40-years/). For the uninitiated, Fog City Diner was *the* hot spot in town in the late 1980s, as chef Cindy Pawlcyn established a name for herself there, and as the restaurant rode high on what became a national trend of retro-inspired diners with upscale food.
When it [pivoted to Fog City](https://sfist.com/2013/09/10/fog%5Fcity%5Fno%5Fdiner%5Freturns%5Fwith%5Fbig/) back in 2013, the decor was spiffed up and de-diner-fied, but the flatiron-shaped dining room facing the Embarcadero and the Bay nevertheless evokes a cozy waterfront dive on a busy thoroughfare.
It will reborn, hopefully by late fall but perhaps early next year, as Moonchild, a new solo effort from chef Floyd Nunn and partner Angelyne Tompkins. As [Eater notes,](https://www.moonchildsf.com/?ref=sfist.com) Nunn has worked in the kitchens of Benu and Quince, so we can likely expect some fanciness here. And all we know for now is they have a crab in their logo artwork, the menu will highlight "the state’s coastlines and farms," and the wine is likely to be good (Tompkins has worked at Scribe). Stay tuned for updates.
**Other Openings to Look Out For**
**Nova**
The Castro is about to get a new, bi-level restaurant and lounge in a space that has, similar to the former MarketBar, sat vacant since before the pandemic started. Nova is the project of Bar 49 owner and former Hi Tops manager Colm O'Brien, in the 18th Street space that was formerly home to Eureka, and he has promised a focus on crave-able food and cocktails, with a newly reconfigured first-floor space and back patio that will likely be a hopping new brunch spot. Expect an early or mid-fall opening, pending any updates.
**Bayview Oyster Bar**
Over in the Bayview, in the former Word. A Cafe space at 5114 Third Street, former Auntie April's chef-owner April Spears is opening [a new seafood spot](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/this-week-in-food-bayview-gets-an-oyster-bar/), possibly later this month, featuring oysters, both raw and chargrilled New Orleans-style, as well as shrimp cocktails, chowders, Louie salads, and lots of Dungeness crab dishes.
**Shinka**
A modern, California-French-Japanese restaurant is on the way from chef Fumio Yonezawa in the space that is still home to Prelude for a few more days, at The Jay hotel. It does not sound like a heavy remodel is happening, and Shinka is set to open later this fall.
### Berkeley Begins Clearing Notorious Encampment After Outbreak of Rat-Borne Disease
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/berkeley-begins-clearing-notorious-encampment-after-outbreak-of-rat-borne-disease/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T19:53:29.000Z
The seemingly permanent homeless encampment at Eighth and Harrison streets in Berkeley, which had been the subject of an extended court fight between the city and homeless advocates, began being cleared out Tuesday.
After a federal judge ruled that the City of Berkeley could move forward with the clearing of the approximately ten-year-old encampment at Eighth and Harrison, so long as special accommodations were provided to residents with disabilities, notices were posted Friday of the coming encampment clearing. As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/berkeley-clear-homeless-camp-after-deadly-leptospirosis-outbreak-linked-rats?ref=sfist.com), city workers had orders to destroy and remove all structures and tents at the encampment so that rodent abatement could take place.
This follows an ongoing outbreak of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection which was being spread through the urine of infected rats and dogs, which made two people sick this summer, and [one of them died](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/06/10/berkeley-leptospirosis-human-cases?ref=sfist.com). (Those individuals, as Berkeleyside noted, were living in an RV about a mile from the encampment and were allegedly breeding rats. But two dogs at the encampment tested positive for the disease last year.)
Per KTVU, "dozens of rats" were visible at the encampment site Tuesday.
Last month, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reporter Lyanne Melendez [posted a video to X](https://x.com/LyanneMelendez/status/2089884740463866147?ref=sfist.com) that went viral showing the sprawling encampment, which she filmed the day she was dropping her son off at college at Cal. "Shame on \[the city of Berkeley\]," she said for allowing this continue.
But in the case of this encampment, it hasn't been for lack of trying on the part of the city. The Berkeley Homeless Union has been battling the city in court over this site for years, and last year got [a federal judge to halt the effort](https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/04/berkeley-homeless-camps-judge-sweep/?ref=sfist.com) for at least the second time — a similar court-ordered halt [occurred in December 2023](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/berkeley-encampment-sweep-18559591.php?ref=sfist.com). The federal judge who [gave the OK to the city](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/04/08/eight-and-harrison-homeless-encampment-west-berkeley?ref=sfist.com) in April to move forward with a clearing process, US District Judge Edward Chen, gave the restriction about providing special accommodation to seven people with disabilities.
As the Daily Californian reported in late July, Chen again granted a temporary restraining order to the Berkeley Homeless Union, halting the clearing process that was about to begin, because they called out ways in which the city was not complying with some of the conditions laid out in Chen's April order — which included providing replacement tents and sleeping bags to the residents.
BHU president Yesica Prado was on the scene Tuesday and telling KTVU that she did not see any replacement tents being given out. But it's unclear if this had already occurred or was set to occur.
Prado also told the station that no one should be surprised if people return to the same block to camp after the city clears out.
"I’ve been brainstorming with them and driving around the whole city trying to find places for them to relocate. And I can tell you right now, very few people know where they can go next," Prado tells KTVU. "A lot of them are planning to stay on the sidewalk until the city leaves and try to re-camp again because they have no idea where they can go."
The situation is reminiscent of the yearslong battle over the Wood Street encampment in West Oakland, where at one point an estimated 300 people may have lived. Following a five-year saga involving multiple court orders, Oakland [cleared the encampment in 2023](https://sfist.com/2023/05/05/cleanup-of-former-wood-street-homeless-encampment-in-oakland/), though the area may not remain entirely clear to this day.
Up until a 2024 Supreme Court ruling, many federal judges had relied on a lower-court precedent from 2018, [*Martin v. Boise*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin%5Fv.%5FBoise?ref=sfist.com), that had declared encampment-clearing and anti-camping laws to be cruel and unusual punishment under the constitution. That ruling was [overturned in *Johnson v. Grants Pass*](https://sfist.com/2024/06/28/supreme-court-ruling-could-have-broad-implications-for-homeless-encampment-sweeps-in-california/), in June 2024, which paved the way for all municipalities to undertake whatever measures they needed to in order to enforce local laws against blocking public rights of way, camping in parks, etc., in the name of the greater public good.
The court's three liberal justices dissented in that decision, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivering a dissent from the bench and saying, "Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some people, sleeping outside is their only option. Punishing people for their status is 'cruel and unusual' under the Eighth Amendment."
**Previously:** [Berkeley Encampment Sparks Fresh Outrage](https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/berkeley-homeless-encampment-sparks-fresh-outrage/)
### Two Brentwood Teens Killed In Crash Identified, Mother Describes Coming Upon Horrific Scene
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/two-brentwood-high-school-students-killed-in-crash-identified-mother-describes-horrific-scene/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T20:01:45.000Z
Two high school students from Brentwood were identified as the teens killed in a crash early Sunday, and one of the teen’s mothers was among the first people at the scene after tracking her son’s location.
Dominic Anthony Starkenberg Ferrari and Caden Kyle, both 17 and seniors at Liberty High School in Brentwood, were killed around 12:10 am Sunday when the Infiniti they were riding in collided with a BMW at Deer Valley and Balfour roads, [as KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/antioch-crash-liberty-high-school-students-killed?ref=sfist.com). A third 17-year-old Liberty High School student in the Infiniti was injured and later released from a local hospital.
The driver of the BMW was also injured. The vehicle is reportedly registered to a 21-year-old man who was charged last month with driving on a suspended or revoked license. Police have not said who was driving the Infiniti, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
According to KTVU, shortly before the crash, Ferrari’s mother, Stephanie Starkenberg-Ferrari, became concerned after checking his location and seeing he was nowhere near home. When he failed to answer her texts and calls, she and her husband went looking for him, eventually arriving at the crash scene, where police informed her that her son had died.
Liberty High School Principal Efa Huckaby informed the school community about Kyle and Ferrari’s deaths [on social media](https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1067192919392739&set=a.643780805067288), saying the loss would be felt throughout the school.
“Our hearts are with their families, friends, classmates, teammates, and everyone affected by this tragedy,” wrote Huckaby.
“Please check in with your student, listen with compassion, and remind them that they have support at home and at school. Everyone processes grief differently,” Huckaby continued. “What matters is that our students know they do not have to face it alone.”
Additional counseling and support services were being made available to students.
[ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/2-liberty-high-school-students-killed-others-injured-antioch-early-morning-crash/19831288/?ref=sfist.com) that a group of senior boys visited the crash site Monday to mourn their friends. While searching around for items belonging to Ferrari or Kyle, one student found a page from an English essay that he said he planned to keep.
Fundraisers have been set up on behalf of the families of [Caden Kyle](https://angelink.com/fundraiser-public/66937ffb-93d7-4959-9358-eddaf84e7253?ref=sfist.com) and [Dominic Starkenberg-Ferrari](https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-community-showing-up-for-stephanie-and-her-family?attribution%5Fid=sl:a5422888-e5cf-4a1b-87e6-018f615a2570&lang=en%5FUS&ts=1789412738&utm%5Fcampaign=today-tab&utm%5Fcontent=amp30-treatment-4&utm%5Fmedium=customer&utm%5Fsource=facebook).
**Related:** [Teen Driver In Marin County Crash That Killed Four Passengers Denied Diversion](https://sfist.com/2026/08/10/teen-driver-in-marin-county-crash-that-killed-four-passengers-denied-diversion/)
### New Renderings Revealed for Long-Stalled Tower on SF's First Street
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/new-renderings-revealed-for-long-stalled-tower-on-sfs-first-street/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T19:05:39.000Z
The development site once known as Oceanwide Center is back in play, and this week we get a glimpse of the latest proposed design, which brings in visual elements from the former Foster + Partners design.
Plans were approved and construction was already well underway on Oceanwide Center, on First Street between Market and Mission streets, when the double whammy of the pandemic and China's real estate bubble-burst hit. The pandemic had not even officially started (though it had in Wuhan) when the original Chinese developer, Oceanwide Holdings Group, [put the the entire project on the market](https://sfist.com/2019/12/04/its-not-even-built-yet-but-downtowns-oceanwide/) in December 2019\. And when it didn't sell, and as the pandemic ramped up, construction halted altogether, and Oceanwide ended up losing the whole thing in [a foreclosure](https://sfist.com/2024/01/30/foreclosure-and-potential-sale-of-oceanwide-center-project-in-downtown-sf-headed/).
Fast-forward to last fall, when we learned that a local development team, consisting of SKS Partners and private equity investor Jay Yang, [were in contract to purchase the property](https://sfist.com/2025/09/08/site-of-long-dead-oceanwide-tower-project-in-downtown-sf-back-in-play-with-new-development-team/) and its completed foundation from the bank that owned it. Their venture, dubbed The San Francisco Recovery Fund, is now submitting new plans for the project, with an assist from skyscraper development firm BXP (which worked on Salesforce Tower) and the architecture firm Gensler.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/downtown-tower-fiftyatfirst-oceanwide-22428915.php?ref=sfist.com), the tower remains the same height as the previous proposal — 910 feet, just shy of Salesforce's 1,070 feet — but the plan now calls for just a single tower, whereas the earlier one had a second, shorter tower beside it. The developers are banking on there being ongoing demand in downtown San Francisco for very high-end, new office space with commanding views, which other developers have also recently done — including at the Transamerica Pyramid, whose top floor [garnered the highest office rent in the city](https://therealdeal.com/san-francisco/2026/01/23/shvo-says-transamerica-pyramid-has-citys-priciest-lease/?ref=sfist.com) earlier this year.
The development, at 50 First Street, is now called Fifty at First.
"We are pursuing the tenants that want the premium spaces in the market,” says Dan Kingsley of the SF Recovery Fund, speaking to the Chronicle. "We’re trying to refine the design and yet make sure that the constructability has been thought through. We want to make sure that we’re tailoring the amenities to what the market really wants."
**Rendering via 50atFirst/Gensler Architects*
Those amenities will reportedly include a public-facing art gallery space on the ground floor in partnership with SFMOMA, possibly with a specially commissioned work for the lobby, food and beverage offerings that are still to be determined, and likely other perks that can come with top-dollar rents — like at the ["office resort" in the works](https://sfist.com/2026/03/24/developer-bets-on-office-resort-at-revamped/) on nearby Spear Street, where the developer is pitching wellness treatments, a spa, a golf simulator, and a rooftop restaurant and lounge.
The new design for Fifty at First borrows the diamond motif from Foster + Partners' original, but the jagged crown of the tower no longer features an glassed-in garden, and the angles are a bit sharper. Sean Ragasa, design director at Gensler, tells the Chronicle that the firm was inspired to have the facade reflect the ever-changing weather, fog, and light in San Francisco.
**A rendering of the crown from the original Foster + Partners design.*
**Another early rendering from the original Foster + Partners design.*
Fifty at First will reportedly utilize the existing, now seven-year-old foundation — though there were some questions last year about what shape it's in, when we first heard about this deal going through. It's not clear when, if all goes well with approvals, the "re-groundbreaking" may occur.
**Previously:** [Site of Long-Dead Oceanwide Tower Project In Downtown SF Back In Play With New Development Team](https://sfist.com/2025/09/08/site-of-long-dead-oceanwide-tower-project-in-downtown-sf-back-in-play-with-new-development-team/)
### Judge Dismisses Charges Against All 18 ‘Stud Alley’ Participants, Citing Insufficient Evidence
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/judge-dismisses-charges-against-all-18-stud-alley-participants-citing-insufficient-evidence/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T19:41:02.000Z
Charges were dismissed against all 18 people who were arrested at the “Stud Alley” Pride party, after a judge found the prosecution lacked enough evidence to support the charges. Nonetheless, several participants reportedly lost jobs because of the charges they faced.
The arrests happened June 27 as more than [100 people were dancing in the street at an unpermitted Pride party](https://sfist.com/2026/06/29/late-night-stud-alley-block-party-in-soma-draws-300-pride-revelers-20-arrested/) in an alley near the former home of the Stud in San Francisco’s South of Market. Eighteen people at the party were arrested and [charged with resisting arrest, unlawful assembly, and failing to comply with a dispersal order](https://sfist.com/2026/07/23/sf-district-attorney-announces-charges-against-18-stud-alley-block-party-attendees/).
[As Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/charges-against-stud-alley-partygoers-tossed-in-the-interest-of-justice/?ref=sfist.com), visiting Judge Brian Hill of Santa Barbara ruled Monday that police had not issued a dispersal order immediately before the 18 defendants’ arrests. Upon reviewing police documents and body-camera footage, Hill determined that officers had issued an earlier order more than an hour and a half before the arrests and before the party moved to a new location.
Hill said the earlier dispersal order did not carry over to the later location, and that there was not enough evidence to support the unlawful assembly charges.
“At the end of the day, there’s a very strict requirement that there be a directive to disperse,” Hill said, per Mission Local. “And the fact that one happened an hour and a half before in a different location, I don’t think that has that kind of carry over.”
He also found minimal resistance during the arrests and dismissed the resisting-arrest charges as well.
While police documents described vandalism, street blocking, and noise violations at the party, Hill noted that none of those offenses had been alleged against the 18 people in court. According to Mission Local, some of the defendants had arrived at the party shortly before the arrests and said they were unaware of the earlier dispersal order.
Several of the defendants also reportedly lost their jobs because of the arrests, and one immigrant defendant faced potential visa problems.
Defense attorney Jeff Wozniak questioned why the prosecution pursued the case in the first place.
**Previously:** [SF District Attorney Announces Charges Against 18 ‘Stud Alley’ Block Party Attendees](https://sfist.com/2026/07/23/sf-district-attorney-announces-charges-against-18-stud-alley-block-party-attendees/)
### Tuesday Morning Topline: 'Stop the AI Race' March Planned for Thursday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/15/stop-the-ai-race-march-planned-for-thursday/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T16:40:30.000Z
- **A** [**'Stop the AI Race' march**](https://partiful.com/e/J3T0BiZLyTpGHkmzSHa1?ref=sfist.com) **is scheduled for Thursday morning in SF, coinciding with the last day of Dreamforce.** The protest march comes as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has [endorsed slowing down the AI race](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/), and as OpenAI announced it was [postponing its planned IPO](https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/openai-wont-go-public-this-year-amid-rising-fears-about-ai/). \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/stop-the-ai-race-march-planned-for-final-day-of-dreamforce/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Bruce Davis, who's been called Charles Manson's "top lieutenant" and who participated in the 1969 murders of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea, died Friday at age 83 at the state prison system's California Medical Facility in Vacaville. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/15/bruce-davis-charles-manson-lieutenant-dead/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The [Lucas Fire](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/mendocinos-lucas-fire-tops-1-000-acres-spreads-into-lake-county/), burning near the Mendocino-Lake county line, has burned 4,128 acres, but more evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday as containment has risen to 35%. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/lucas-fire-mendocino-lake-county-california-september-15-more-evacuations-lifted/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Officials in Walnut Creek have signed off on an eight-story (!) residential complex slated for downtown, which would bring 104 new homes to the area and be the tallest building on the town's commercial corridor. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/downtown-walnut-creek-tower-housing-approved-22431763.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- It's still an open question whether Wednesday's performance of Verdi’s *Simon Boccanegra* will happen at the SF Opera, with the orchestra strike still going and the season officially on hold following [Saturday's last-minute cancellation](https://sfist.com/2026/09/13/san-francisco-opera-orchestra-to-strike-opening-night-cancelled/). \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/opera-season-on-hold-orchestra-strike-22431799.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Trump is, of course, pissed that the Supreme Court ruled against him on the mail-in ballot order, and he responded with a lengthy diatribe on Truth Social, saying things like "these are not the people I interviewed," and "It is a Court that will go down as having rendered some of the most destructive, hurtful, and damaging decisions in our Country’s history." \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/us/politics/trump-supreme-court-mail-voting.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- And in case you missed it, [Patricia from *Widow's Bay*](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdSaHSzmZrn/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) ("Are you coming to Sunset Cocktails?") won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series last night; also, The Pitt won again for Drama, Matthew Rhys won for both *Widow's Bay* and *The Beast In Me*, and *Widow's Bay* won Best Comedy. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/14/entertainment/live-news/emmy-awards?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Shipping Containers Tumble Into Port of LA
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/shipping-containers-tumble-into-port-of-la/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T23:58:12.000Z
### Local:
- **The process of removing 97 street trees from Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park, in preparation for the city's major renovation project that will conjoin the two into a new waterfront park, began today.** A few will be transplanted but most will be replaced with a mix of species. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/tree-removals-san-francisco-waterfront-park/4142629/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The US Coast Guard in SF is seeking contact information for the owner of a 20-foot Moomba boat, a man named Alan Wright Wokas, after the boat was found abandoned, with the keys in it and stereo blaring, near Discovery Bay on Friday.** Ominously, a cellphone was also left onboard. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/abandoned-boat-discovery-bay/4142233/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Oracle laid off another swath of people, perhaps thousands of them, informing them in a corporate email early Monday that their jobs had been eliminated — and many of them never saw the email because their access to their accounts were shortly thereafter revoked. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/tech/article/oracle-layoffs-morning-email-22431544.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The Supreme Court has shut down the Trump administration's effort to limit mail-in ballots using the US Postal Service, saying the case was unlikely succeed on its merits.** The unsigned order on Monday including a concurrence from Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and it must have been a 7-2 decision because Alito and Thomas dissented. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-mail-voting.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Senator Mitch McConnell, who is alive if not completely well, returned to the Senate chamber Monday in a wheelchair after being absent for over 13 weeks. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/politics/mcconnell-senate-absence.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An investigation is underway into how three shipping containers fell from a container ship into the water at the Port of Los Angeles on Monday, with one still floating and the other two having sunk. \[[NBC LA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVEOvumx2mo&ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- The great glamour fashion designer Bob Mackie has passed on at age 87\. Below, the trailer from a 2025 documentary about his work and sparkly legacy.
### Dreamforce to Kick Off Tuesday as SF Tourism Reaches Highest Level Since 2019
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/dreamforce-to-kick-off-tuesday-as-sf-tourism-reaches-highest-level-since-2019/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T00:54:46.000Z
More than 43,000 people are expected at Moscone Center this week for Dreamforce, bringing some of the biggest names in AI to San Francisco as the city’s tourism industry reaches its highest visitation levels since 2019.
Dreamforce gets underway Tuesday with more than 43,000 people expected to descend on Moscone Center for Salesforce’s annual three-day conference, [as ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/dreamforce-welcomes-more-43000-san-francisco-amid-debate-pace-ai-development/19827805/?ref=sfist.com).
AI will, of course, dominate the event, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly among the marquee speakers. There will also be a planned conversation between Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Altman about the future of AI and its use in business.
The timing is particularly notable following Amodei’s call for a [slower pace of AI development](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/) after an Anthropic employee [left the company](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/) over concerns that increasingly powerful AI could eventually threaten humanity. Altman has also made recent moves around OpenAI’s future, including putting plans for an [initial public offering on hold](https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/openai-wont-go-public-this-year-amid-rising-fears-about-ai/) after reports that the company was preparing for a potential December IPO.
According to ABC 7, Dreamforce attendees were largely optimistic about the technology.
“There are dangers, but there are a lot of opportunities as well. It's up to us to make it right,” an attendee from Switzerland told the outlet.
[The Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/dreamforce-tech-ai-22428059.php?ref=sfist.com) that Salesforce is also using the conference to showcase new products and partnerships, including its recent deal with Anthropic called “Claudeforce,” which integrates Anthropic’s Claude chatbot with Salesforce’s customer relationship management products.
Dreamforce is also bringing a boost to San Francisco’s recovering tourism industry, with major conferences helping push visitation to its highest level since 2019\. The conference is reportedly expected to generate $135 million in local revenue and 36,000 temporary jobs.
Salesforce has committed to keeping Dreamforce at Moscone Center through at least 2027, per the Chronicle, reversing a [2023 threat](https://sfist.com/2023/08/30/marc-benioff-threatens-to-move-dreamforce-conference-out-of-sf-over-homelessness-drug-use/) from CEO Marc Benioff to move the conference to another city over safety concerns. Erin Oles, Salesforce’s chief marketing officer, said interest in in-person events remains strong despite the rise of remote work.
“We’re seeing a deep connection with gathering in person and having these one-on-one conversations,” Oles told the paper.
Oles said other companies have also sought Salesforce’s feedback on Moscone Center as a conference venue, adding that the convention center and city government “help us shine.”
**Related:** [Marc Benioff Threatens to Move Dreamforce Conference Out of SF Over Homelessness, Drug Use](https://sfist.com/2023/08/30/marc-benioff-threatens-to-move-dreamforce-conference-out-of-sf-over-homelessness-drug-use/)
### Gavin Claims He Will Bow Out of Presidential Race If Kamala Runs
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/gavin-claims-he-will-bow-out-of-presidential-race-if-kamala-runs/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T23:28:29.000Z
Maybe he's being truly gallant, or maybe he's lying. But Governor Gavin Newsom said in a new CNN interview that he won't run for president in 2028 if his former colleague Kamala Harris decides to run again.
It's hard to take this at face value, just given the fact that Gavin Newsom has seemed like he was running for president half his life — and has been doing so in earnest, unofficially, for at least three years. But during [this absurd interview conducted while fly fishing](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/14/politics/video/governor-gavin-newsom-jake-tapper-talk-2028-presidential-run-digvid?ref=sfist.com) in Montana, with Jake Tapper, Newsom says he will not run for president in 2028 if former Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris decides to run again.
"I wouldn’t run if she ran," Newsom says, matter-of-factly. "I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time. Who needs that?"
Is this strategy? Is this psychological warfare? We will have to wait and see.
There has been plenty said already about whether this country, such as it is, will ever elect a woman president, and whether Harris would do significantly better if she weren't running against Donald Trump, and had a proper amount of time to campaign.
Certainly there are many people in Democratic leadership who would like to wipe the slate clean, even if Harris has name recognition and even if she only lost the 2024 election by a couple million votes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. And everyone is still so traumatized by that loss — and everything we've had to endure because of it — that it may poison the fundraising pool for Harris from the get.
The [New York Times surmises](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/politics/gavin-newsom-kamala-harris-2028-president.html?ref=sfist.com) that Newsom may have several cards up his sleeve, one being that he genuinely doesn't believe Harris is going to run again. But the other, more likely card: Newsom's simply planning to announce his candidacy before she does, and therefor have plausible deniability about going back on his word.
It's been said enough that Newsom and Harris [don't have the warmest of friendships](https://sfist.com/2025/09/29/after-release-of-memoir-kamala-harris-sets-up-tense-days-ahead-between-her-and-gavin-newsom/), so all of this makes some sense. And last October, [they both sort of simultaneously made moves](https://sfist.com/2025/10/27/gavin-finally-sort-of-admits-hes-running-for-president-kamala/) to suggest they want to run in 2028.
A spokesperson for the governor, Bob Salladay, tries to spin it the other way, though, telling the Times, "They’ve been friends long enough that they wouldn’t play cat-and-mouse games on something this important."
We've heard versions of that before with regard to political races, and I wouldn't rule out further cat-and-mouse shenanigans, even if Newsom and Harris would have to go to the some of the same "friends," as he alludes to in the CNN interview, when it comes time to fundraise.
Look for one or the other of these two California Democrats to make their candidacy official sometime after the midterms, or maybe early next year.
**Previously:** [Newsom to Give 'Declaration of Election Independence' Speech to Upstage Trump on July 4th](https://sfist.com/2026/07/03/newsom-to-give-independence/)
### Former SF Supervisor Jane Kim In Lead For State Insurance Commissioner as Race Heats Up
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/former-sf-supervisor-jane-kim-in-lead-for-state-insurance-commissioner-as-race-heats-up/
Last updated: 2026-09-15T01:07:06.000Z
Jane Kim, a progressive who’s pushing a state-run disaster insurance program, is leading in the race for California Insurance Commissioner, while crypto billionaire Chris Larsen has put $1 million into a PAC supporting her opponent.
Former SF Supervisor Jane Kim, a Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive, is running against state Senator Ben Allen, a Democrat from Southern California, for state Insurance Commissioner, which regulates the state’s home, auto, life, workers’ compensation, and other insurance markets.
As Kim says [on social media](https://www.instagram.com/janekim/reels/?ref=sfist.com), she’s “running for the most important job you’ve never heard of.”
A recent poll gives Kim a 25% to 18% lead over Allen in the race, though more than half of voters remain undecided, [as the Sacramento Bee reports](https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article317196381.html?ref=sfist.com).
“This is not a decided race,” said pollster Adam Probolsky.
Kim also reportedly came out ahead of Allen in June’s primary, taking about 27% of the vote to Allen’s 19%. Republican Stacy Korsgaden received nearly 16%, but Kim and Allen advanced to the November election.
“People are tired of insurance companies ripping them off, and they’re ready for change,” Kim said in a statement. “That’s why this poll reflects our steady and consistent lead across the state.”
[According to the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/14/midterm-candidates-climate-datacenter-policies?ref=sfist.com), Kim has centered her campaign on a proposal she calls “Disaster Insurance for All,” which would create a public, single-payer disaster insurance program covering wildfire damage and other catastrophic losses. She argues that climate-driven disasters have made the financial risk too large for private insurers to handle on their own.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdFS0egSXwS/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by TRISHES (@trishestalks)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdFS0egSXwS/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
Under her proposal, homes would be automatically covered, with premiums based on factors including property value and risk. The program would not replace private insurance entirely, but would provide coverage for catastrophic disasters that private insurers increasingly have difficulty covering.
“The biggest change in the insurance industry in the past four years is the increase of climate disasters,” said Kim, speaking to the Guardian. “We used to have a billion-dollar storm every three to four months, and it seems like we now have one every three weeks, so the price of risk has truly gone up.”
Kim has pointed to government-backed disaster insurance programs in countries including New Zealand, France, and Spain as models, per the Guardian. She says a public program could use investment income to build reserves for future disasters and potentially direct some premium revenue toward measures such as fireproofing and flood protection.
Critics argue that moving catastrophic risk to the state could leave taxpayers responsible for losses that private insurers currently absorb. Former insurance commissioner candidate [Patrick Wolff recently accused Kim](https://sfstandard.com/opinion/2026/09/09/jane-kim-california-insurance-commissioner-myth/?ref=sfist.com) of offering too few details about how her proposal would work or what it would cost, arguing that her comparison with other countries does not accurately describe how their insurance systems operate.
Kim has also proposed limiting insurers’ ability to raise rates after customers file home or auto claims, capping excessive profits, and preventing insurers from using credit scores to deny coverage. She says she would not eliminate private insurance, but would use a public system to fill gaps in coverage.
Allen, meanwhile, has emphasized his more than a decade of legislative experience and says he would combine market reforms with consumer protections, as the Bee reports. His proposals include expanding programs that help homeowners make their properties more resistant to wildfires. He has the endorsement of the California Democratic Party, both of California’s US senators, and a number of environmental groups.
The race has also become a fight over campaign money. Kim says she is the only candidate refusing contributions from the insurance industry, fossil fuel companies, and corporate PACs.
[The Guardian reported](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/01/tech-billionaires-california-elections?ref=sfist.com) in June that billionaire Chris Larsen, co-founder of cryptocurrency company Ripple, gave $1 million to Californians for an Affordable Future, a PAC supporting Allen, making him its largest contributor.
Larsen has been [writing a lot](https://sfist.com/2026/07/21/salesforce-chris-larsen-donate-3-million-each-to-boost-sfpds-real-time-investigations-center/) of checks [these days](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/sf-crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-gifts-500k-to-pac-supporting-moderate-district-10-candidate/).
[On social media](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdPQwlDBfCF/?ref=sfist.com), Kim has used Larsen’s contribution as part of her argument that the race is drawing support from wealthy donors and corporate interests. She has also highlighted her endorsement from Bernie Sanders as evidence of the progressive coalition behind her campaign. Her own campaign has received major contributions from the California Working Families Party and the California Teachers Association.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdPQwlDBfCF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Jane Kim 金貞妍 (@janekim)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdPQwlDBfCF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
The race remains unsettled despite Kim’s polling lead. Per the Bee, the latest poll found 57% of voters undecided between the two Democrats, with Republican voters particularly uncertain about which candidate they would support.
**Related:** [SF Crypto Billionaire Chris Larsen Gifts $500K to PAC Supporting Moderate District 10 Candidate](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/sf-crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-gifts-500k-to-pac-supporting-moderate-district-10-candidate/)
### Victim In City’s First Overdose Death From New Street Drug Identified as SF Teen
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/victim-in-citys-first-overdose-death-from-new-street-drug-identified-as-sf-teen/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T21:00:15.000Z
A 16-year-old Lower Nob Hill resident has been identified as the victim in SF’s first fatal overdose involving cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid estimated to be 10 times more potent than fentanyl.
In April, the Department of Public Health issued a [warning about N-Propionitrile chlorphine](https://sfist.com/2026/04/25/sf-officials-warn-of-counterfeit-opioids-stronger-than-fentanyl-following-first-overdose/) after an overdose earlier that month, saying the drug had recently appeared in San Francisco for the first time. And [the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/san-francisco-autopsy-cychlorphine.html?ref=sfist.com) is now reporting that the victim was Dante Paul Lacourte, a 16-year-old SF resident.
Lacourte, who lived in Lower Nob Hill, was found unresponsive in his bedroom by his mother on April 7\. She reportedly administered two doses of Narcan, but he could not be revived.
Lacourte’s autopsy later identified cychlorphine as the opioid responsible for his death, a substance that's reportedly 10 times more potent than fetanyl. The results also showed another synthetic opioid, N-Desethyl isotonitazene, as well as ethyl bromazolam, an unapproved benzodiazepine, [as KRON4 reported at the time](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/10-times-more-powerful-than-fentanyl-sf-issues-public-warning-as-fake-opioid-detected-in-first-fatal-overdose/?ref=sfist.com).
According to the Times, Lacourte had struggled with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and had previously used other drugs to cope with school pressures, according to his family. His mother kept Narcan on hand in case of a possible overdose, however she was too late in this case.
Reportedly, Lacourte frequented the streets of the Tenderloin and bought drugs from street dealers there, who are frequently arrested with various wares.
Last week, San Francisco police arrested Nicholas Wallace, 46, in the Tenderloin, who was allegedly in possession of 34 oxycodone pills and cocaine, along with Sharonee Hyson, 44, who allegedly had cocaine base and a loaded firearm, as the Times reports.
Police later arrested Leander Pitts, 46, and Starr Lamare, 39, in Bayview-Hunters Point, where 20,000 pills were seized, including suspected counterfeit Xanax and oxycodone, along with fentanyl and other drugs. A semiautomatic assault rifle, a semiautomatic pistol, and cash were also recovered.
All four suspects were booked into county jail on numerous felony charges related to narcotics sales and firearms, per the Times.
Pills recovered in earlier, unrelated police arrests have also reportedly tested positive for cychlorphine, suggesting the drug was already circulating in San Francisco through more than one source. Unlike fentanyl, standard test strips do not detect cychlorphine.
San Francisco had reportedly been conducting wastewater testing to monitor the local drug supply, including newly emerging substances, but federal funding for the program ran out in 2024\. The Times reports that the city resumed testing in July and plans to begin publicly reporting the results this fall.
Keith Humphreys said wastewater monitoring could help officials identify new drugs before they begin killing people.
“The worst possible way to find out a new drug is in the city is by an autopsy,” he said.
**Previously:** [SF Officials Warn of Counterfeit Opioids Stronger Than Fentanyl Following First Overdose](https://sfist.com/2026/04/25/sf-officials-warn-of-counterfeit-opioids-stronger-than-fentanyl-following-first-overdose/)
### Famed SF Dim Sum Purveyor Yank Sing Is Closing Its Rincon Center Location
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/famed-sf-dim-sum-purveyor-yank-sing-is-closing-its-rincon-center-location/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T20:38:50.000Z
One of SF's biggest and most well known dim sum palaces, Yank Sing, is shuttering its largest location, the 27-year-old restaurant at Rincon Center.
Business clearly has not been strong enough at Yank Sing in recent years, because the once super-popular dim sum restaurant is closing its biggest location, which opened in 1999\. The owners [tell the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/yank-sing-rincon-center-sf-closing-22431164.php?ref=sfist.com) today that their lease at Rincon Center is up, and they've chosen not to renew. The smaller location of Yank Sing at 49 Stevenson Street, which opened in 1974, will remain open.
The last day for the Spear Street location will be September 20.
"Thank you for being part of our story at Rincon, we’re grateful for the many memories we’ve shared there and look forward to continuing our story together at Yank Sing Stevenson," said co-owner Vera Chan Waller in a statement to the Chronicle.
Chan Waller is a third-generation owner of the business, with her grandparents, George and Alice Chan, having opened the original Yank Sing at Broadway and Powell in Chinatown in 1958.
The family operated multiple locations including the Stevenson Street one, before landing the enormous, banquet-hall-like space at Rincon Center, when that building was being redeveloped.
**A Yank Sing server with a cart serving in the Rincon Center atrium in 2022, via Yelp*
As recently as 2017, former Chronicle critic Michael Bauer wrote about how constantly packed the Rincon location was in his [entry about it in the Top 100](https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2017/top-100-restaurants/yank-sing/?%5Fgl=1%2A12fvs0j%2A%5Fgcl%5Fau%2ANjYxNzU1MzA2LjE3ODYxMjIxNDc.%2A%5Fga%2AMTQzOTIwOTY1NS4xNzE5NTEzMzIz%2A%5Fga%5F56G0ZT3ZD0%2AczE3ODk0MTA0MzgkbzM0MjYkZzEkdDE3ODk0MTcxODckajYwJGwwJGgw&ref=sfist.com), noting that the restaurant set up more tables and spilled out into the atrium of the Center on weekends, which doubled their capacity to 500, "yet it’s still hard to get a table."
That obviously changed, as it did for many downtown restaurants, during the pandemic years, even tough Yank Sing is one of the few dim sum places in town that brought back cart service, with most doing away with it entirely.
The restaurant got some negative attention twelve years ago, when it was wrapped up in a wage-theft lawsuit, and was [ordered to pay $4 million](https://sfist.com/2014/11/19/yank%5Fsing%5Fowners%5Fpay%5F4%5Fmillion%5Fin%5Fb/) in back pay to current and former employees.
Yank Sing is still regularly included on lists of the best dim sum in San Francisco, with particular attention given to [their xiao long bao](https://sfist.com/2016/03/31/the%5F12%5Fbest%5Fsoup%5Fdumplings%5Fxiao%5Flon/), though it has plenty of competition these days, including from newer-school operations like HK Lounge Bistro and Palette Tea House.
### New Round of Bids to Redevelop SF Centre Mall Includes Basketball-Focused Sports Complex
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/new-round-of-bids-to-redevelop-sf-centre-mall-includes-basketball-focused-sports-complex/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T20:08:34.000Z
We could be getting a "Top Golf for basketball"-type sports bar and basketball training academy to replace the shuttered former mall property near SF's Union Square.
New bids from developers are reportedly being reviewed by the new owners of the former Westfield SF Centre mall, which we all [watched slowly go to its grave](https://sfist.com/westfield-mall/) over the last three years and is now officially an enormous dead mall in the middle of the city. As the [SF Standard reports](https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/13/san-francisco-centre-mall-basketball/?ref=sfist.com), bid proposals were accepted until last Wednesday, at which point the proposal window closed.
The owners of the property since last December are a partnership of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, and they looked at a first round of bid proposals in the first quarter of this year. They had [accepted a bid](https://sfist.com/2026/03/04/local-developers-snap-up-vacant-westfield-mall-with-plans-that-include-housing/) from local developers Prado Group and Presidio Bay Ventures in March, which we know involved a mix of housing, office, and some retail, but the [deal fell through](https://sfist.com/2026/07/08/uh-oh-sfs-shuttered-downtown-mall/) in early July for reasons we do not know.
The [Chronicle surmised](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/sf-centre-mall-downtown-sale-dead-22337271.php?ref=sfist.com) that one key reason could be the complicated ownership and land-lease structure attached to the property, with the majority of it still owned by the SF Unified School District — who want to keep collecting revenue from the property based on a 60-year lease signed back in early 1980s.
But hopefully another bidder will prove more resilient, and successful, in negotiating this time, and we'll have to wait to see what the winning proposal will be this time.
The Standard shares a few details from one of the bidders, who may or may not have submitted a proposal earlier this year as well. The plan comes from a partnership of Urban Land Development (ULD) and TMG Partners, and focuses on transforming the former mall into a multi-level sports complex with both public-facing businesses and a private, members-only club and basketball academy.
This is apparently a dream of local developer Jon Mayeda of ULD, who, per the Standard, coaches high school basketball and has been pitching a similar sort of sports complex for years.
The proposal includes a below-ground food court where the existing food court is, and unnamed businesses occupying the bottom three floors, which would be open to the public. The only specific thing the Standard culled from the proposal is JumpShot Live, a sports bar and event venue from former Super Bowl champ with the Green Back Packers Derrick Mayes, which is slated for the third floor of the complex.
JumpShot Live, which does not yet have any physical locations, is part of a post-football venture for Mayes that is launching out of Dallas. As [Dallas Innovates reported](https://dallasinnovates.com/jumpshot-live-basketball-eatertainment-concept-to-launch-out-of-dallas/?ref=sfist.com) two years ago, the plan is for large, Top Golf-esque complexes with dozens of gaming bays, each equipped with "patent-pending tech" that "allows the hoop and net to move dynamically along each 40- by 10-foot lane." Mayes boasted at the time, in a statement, that this will be "one of the most innovative and technologically advanced entertainment experiences in the world," allowing people to play simulated basketball games with physical hoops.
The fourth floor of the building, under this proposal, would feature a six-court basketball facility with a training academy led by an organization founded by NBA coach and Bay Area native Phil Handy. And the top floor — maybe where the movie theater was? — would feature an eight-court volleyball facility.
This is not the first sports concept that has been proposed for the property. Back when she was still mayor, London Breed also promoted an idea that was being floated to [install a major-league soccer stadium](https://sfist.com/2023/06/23/mayor-breed-floats-the-idea-of-turning-westfield-mall-into-a-soccer-stadium/) on the property, though it was unclear if that was even a feasible notion.
In a reflection of the state of retail in the US, particularly in urban centers where malls aren't really what people come to a city for, the upscale, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom-anchored SF Centre barely lasted 15 years before the signs of its demise started appearing. The prognosis for the complex took a sharp southward turn in May 2023 when [Nordstrom announced it was closing](https://sfist.com/2023/05/02/nordstrom-to-shutter-downtown-sf-department-store-and-nordstrom-rack-this-summer/), which was followed two weeks later by the [Westfield Corporation walking away from the property](https://sfist.com/2023/06/12/eu-based-westfield-says-it-is-walking-away-from-san-francisco-mall-property/) and defaulting on its loans, which sent the complex into receivership.
Some stores held on for a while, though the [Century Cinema quickly shut down](https://sfist.com/2023/06/14/westfield-malls-cinemark-century-theater-closing-permanently-this-week/) as well, and then [Bloomingdale's called it quits](https://sfist.com/2025/01/21/bloomingdales-to-close-at-sf-centre-ushering-in-further-bleak-days-for-beleaguered-mall/) last summer. The final tenant in the place was the bar Executive Order, which had its own entrance on the Mission Street side of the building, and which [managed to stay open until June 30, 2026](https://www.executiveorderbar.com/?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [Uh Oh: SF's Shuttered Downtown Mall Back on Market After Buyers Back Out](https://sfist.com/2026/07/08/uh-oh-sfs-shuttered-downtown-mall/)
### Burning Man Attendees Leave Brand-New SF Laundromat Caked In Playa Dust
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/burning-man-attendees-leave-brand-new-sf-laundromat-caked-in-playa-dust/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T23:44:56.000Z
A woman who opened a laundromat in Cole Valley with her husband last month says Burning Man attendees recently left the business covered in playa dust and forced several machines out of service.
Dewi Redpath, who opened [Bali Laundry](https://www.balilaundrysf.com/?ref=sfist.com) in Cole Valley with her husband [three weeks ago](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcSRjHixIYu/?ref=sfist.com) — right after [their baby was born](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcDDE5NRySd/?ref=sfist.com) — has been sharing the couple’s progress running the laundromat on social media. [Last Thursday](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdGEdt2RWp5/?ref=sfist.com), Redpath shared that several of the laundromat’s machines had been rendered inoperable by some rather clueless Burning Man attendees.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdGEdt2RWp5/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Dewi Redpath (@dewiredpath)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdGEdt2RWp5/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
In a [detailed update Sunday](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdNPXzIxyfk/?ref=sfist.com), Redpath said the group came in with a large truckload of laundry on Labor Day evening, while the laundromat was unattended. They later called to report that one of the washers had gotten stuck.
When Redpath and her husband arrived the next morning, they found that fine dust and dirt had spread throughout the laundromat, covering the machines and other surfaces. They initially thought the mess might have come from construction work, until the customers returned and told them they had just gotten back from Burning Man.
At the time, Redpath said, she didn't know much about playa dust, and because the washers appeared to be functioning normally, she let the customers finish their laundry. It was the dryers that turned out to be the bigger problem.
The dust had become caked onto the inside of some of the dryer drums, while one particularly thick rug still contained a substantial amount of dust. The customers had also left belongings sitting in about six dryers while they were away, so Redpath and her husband eventually bagged up the items so they could inspect and clean the machines.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdNPXzIxyfk/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Dewi Redpath (@dewiredpath)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdNPXzIxyfk/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
Redpath said they contacted the customers about the cleanup and inspection, and the group told them where to send the resulting invoice.
A technician later inspected the machines and determined the dryers were safe to operate, but a couple of them still had dirt trapped inside their outer drums. Redpath said they’ve kept those dryers out of service until they can be professionally deep-cleaned.
Redpath also said commenters helped them figure out how to tackle the cleanup, including using vinegar and Calgon to remove some of the residue. Other Burning Man attendees offered their own [methods for dealing with playa dust](https://misadventuresofmercedes.com/blog/how-to-get-the-playa-off-everything-my-burning-man-cleanup-method?ref=sfist.com), including thoroughly shaking or rinsing dusty clothing outside before bringing it to a laundromat and using Calgon or similar mineral-release products to help break down the mineral deposits.
Others recommended vacuuming and power-washing rugs and other heavily contaminated items before putting them into a machine.
Redpath said the experience prompted the couple to create a policy for extremely dusty items and large rugs, and they plan to have the laundromat fully staffed next year during the week following Burning Man.
Some commenters warned that playa dust can also be particularly hard on electronics and vehicles because of its alkaline, silica-heavy composition, which is why [rental car companies](https://sfist.com/2024/09/03/gigantic-dust-storms-led-to-reported-ten-hour-wait-to-leave-burning-man-on-monday/) charge very high fees for taking vehicles on the playa.
Additionally, before it closed, the [Touchless Car Wash](https://sfist.com/2012/09/05/local%5Fcar%5Fwash%5Fcharges%5Fdouble%5Ffor%5Fp/) at Divisadero and Oak streets used to charge at least double their normal rate to wash vehicles that had been to Burning Man.
**Related:** [Divisadero Car Wash Charges Double For Playa Dust](https://sfist.com/2012/09/05/local%5Fcar%5Fwash%5Fcharges%5Fdouble%5Ffor%5Fp/)
### OpenAI Won't Go Public This Year Amid Rising Fears About AI
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/openai-wont-go-public-this-year-amid-rising-fears-about-ai/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T18:21:02.000Z
Maybe it's not the best time to race for profits and gleefully take your company public when more and more people are catching on to the idea that powerful AIs could kill us all, and quick.
That seems to be what the leadership at OpenAI has concluded, following another week in which another open letter went viral warning of the real chance of an AI-caused doomsday in the not-too-distant future.
Over the weekend, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company was pausing its plans for an initial public offering, plans that date back at least three months when the company [made a pre-IPO filing](https://sfist.com/2026/06/08/openai-has-filed-for-an-ipo-company-says-timing-remains-up-in-the-air/). That filing came following a late May [rumor](https://sfist.com/2026/05/20/report-openai-is-about-to-file-for-an-ipo/) that OpenAI was prepping for a December IPO, which was quickly followed by competitor [Anthropic making its own pre-IPO filing](https://sfist.com/2026/06/01/like-open-ai-anthropic-makes-sec-filing-ahead-of-possible-ipo/).
"We understand the magnitude of the responsibility on us," Altman said in [an interview with Fortune magazine](https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/sam-altman-openai-ipo-delay-ill-advised-moment-safety-concerns/?ref=sfist.com). "We understand what could go wrong. There are decisions we should not be able to make, there are risks we should not be able to incur on behalf of humanity."
"I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don’t feel pressure on that," Altman continued. He added that if and when OpenAI goes public, it will be when the company and the public are ready, and "what the moment is like in society with this technology."
An open letter from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, written upon his resignation from the company, [went viral last week](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/) because Coxon made the alarming statement that AIs "could kill us all by the end of the decade," and he asserted that many people working in the field all know and believe this.
"If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible — but I hear the same people express fear privately," Coxon wrote. "No other human activity poses this level of danger."
Coxon's letter, and a separate report from Anthropic about efforts it intercepted to use its models to create biological weapons, was followed by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei [laying out a three-point plan over the weekend](https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/) for "pacing the frontier" and slowing down the development of AI. And, of course, Amodei's statements were [met with derision from President Trump](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/politics/trump-ai-regulation-anthropic-dario-amodei.html?ref=sfist.com), who despite knowing less than a toddler knows about AI, posted some all-caps thoughts Monday morning about how the only "guardrails" that the AI industry needs come via a "a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT."
As [the New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/technology/ai-safeguards.html?ref=sfist.com), more than a dozen AI executives and researchers have come out in the last week expressing fears about the rapid development of super-human intelligence that the companies themselves don't seem to know how to control. One case in point was the [disturbing story revealed in July](https://sfist.com/2026/07/22/openai-says-its-technology-acted-on-its-own-when-it-hacked-another-company/) about AI agents at OpenAI conspiring, in secret, to hack the systems of the company Hugging Face, despite some of the agents expressing concern that what they were doing was wrong.
These concerns include some expressed by Paul Christiano, who [posted an open letter](https://x.com/paulfchristiano/status/2097733214303645729?ref=sfist.com) upon joining OpenAI's nonprofit board. "I now believe there is a meaningful risk that rapid acceleration in AI capabilities leads to catastrophic and irreversible loss of control in the very near term," Christiano writes. "I do not think that the AI industry in general, including OpenAI, is currently on track to reduce this risk to an acceptable level."
The next shoe to drop will be Amodei announcing that Anthropic's IPO is officially on pause, in all likelihood. And it seems that that the purposeful slowdown of AI development that critics have been calling for for a year may finally be happening, and hopefully not too late.
Even in China, which could try to benefit from the American AI industry taking any sort of pause, a state security minister was [calling for safeguards](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3367349/chinas-intelligence-chief-warns-risks-ai-new-arena-strategic-rivalry?ref=sfist.com) over the weekend, lest AIs in the hands of "hostile forces" try to do harm to China.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, however, [shot back](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/14/china-ai-slowdown-us-tech-ceos.html?ref=sfist.com) at recent statements by Altman and Amodei, and his fellow government official, saying, "Fear-mongering, confrontation, competition will just disrupt \[the\] process of global AI governance."
The Times further notes that "A sizable number of AI researchers still believe that talk of AI’s threat to humanity is overblown and distracting from more tangible concerns like cybersecurity and misinformation."
**Related:** [Anthropic Researcher Says There’s 10% Chance of AI Killing ‘All Humans’ Within 10 Years](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/)
### Seven People Injured In Multi-Vehicle Crash on Bayshore Blvd
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/seven-people-injured-in-multi-vehicle-crash-on-bayshore-blvd/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T16:02:37.000Z
An early morning, multi-vehicle crash on Bayshore Boulevard in San Francisco near the 101-280 interchange sent seven people to the hospital Monday.
A four-vehicle crash occurred Monday morning just before 6 am at the intersection of Bayshore Boulevard and Industrial Street, as [the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/san-francisco-multi-vehicle-car-crash-injuries-22430956.php?ref=sfist.com).
The crash reportedly left two people with critical injuries and five others with minor injuries, all of whom were taken to a local hospital.
The cause of the crash is not known, and the San Francisco Police Department is investigating.
The Chronicle noted, via the SFFD, that all people involved in the crash were wearing seatbelts.
The crash occurred at a busy intersection near Apparel City, and near multiple freeway on- and off-ramps.
*This is a developing story.*
### Monday Morning Headlines: MTT's House Hits the Market
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/14/michael-tilson-thomas-house-hits-market/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T16:34:24.000Z
- There was a 3.0M earthquake Monday around 6:47 am, centered near Brentwood in Contra Costa County. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/brentwood-earthquakes-east-bay-september/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two students from Liberty High School in Brentwood were killed in a two-car crash Saturday night in Brentwood, and two other people were also injured. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/2-liberty-high-students-killed-brentwood-crash-2-others-injured?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Francisco firefighters extinguished a one-alarm fire at a residence in Crocker Amazon Sunday night. \[[SFFD/X](https://x.com/SFFDPIO/status/2099349178040414259?ref=sfist.com)\]
- After she was spotted holding the baby while walking in "Northern California" (likely near her Marin County home), the world learned that Lady Gaga has a baby over the weekend, but we still don't know when the baby was born, if it was born to a surrogate, or any further details. \[[TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/12/lady-gaga-holds-baby-photos/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Governor Gavin Newsom signed 13 new laws last week protecting children from technology, including a law banning the manufacture of AI chatbot companion toys for children under 16\. \[[CalMatters](https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2026/09/newsom-online-child-protections/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The seven-bedroom Pac Heights home that was shared by the late SF Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and his husband Joshua Robison just hit the market for $9.85 million. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/michael-tilson-thomas-home-sale-22428107.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Alexander Zverev triumphed over American Ben Shelton — who was in his first final at a major tennis tournament — to win his first grand slam Sunday at the US Open. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/alexander-zverev-wins-u-s-open-ben-shelton/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction to Pause Building of Gilroy ICE Detention Facility
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/13/judge-grants-preliminary-injunction-to-pause-building-of-gilroy-ice-detention-facility/
Last updated: 2026-09-14T01:35:59.000Z
Efforts to build an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Gilroy have hit a snag after a federal judge ordered construction on the building to be paused owing to the 24-acre site being in possible violation of multiple laws concerning immigration and the environment.
As [ABC7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/judge-orders-pause-ice-detention-facility-construction-gilroy-premium-outlets/19825081/?ref=sfist.com), the Friday ruling was issued after both sides delivered arguments in US District Court. Back in June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County both announced their intent to challenge the construction of a new ICE facility at a site east of the Gilroy Premium Outlets.
In a statement, Bonta reiterated that "no one is above the law — not even the federal government."
"The Trump Administration tried to rush construction of this facility in secret, ignoring environmental safeguards and shutting out the communities that would bear the consequences," Bonta's statement continues. "This ruling sends a clear message: California will hold the federal government accountable and protect our communities, our environment, and the rule of law."
As [Mission Local reported](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/gilroy-ice-facility-ruling/?ref=sfist.com) earlier, Judge Eumi K. Lee previously ruled to temporarily block construction for a week before reaching this present decision. ABC7 notes that a final resolution on the matter is not expected until October.
Recent coverage of ICE has also included SFist reporting on ICE holding more than 25 immigrants [at SFO for multiple days](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/ice-has-held-25-immigrants-at-sfo-for-more-than-three-days-in-2026-in-violation-of-policy/), an ICE agent [losing their gun](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/ice-agents-gun-found-in-sfo-restroom-day-before-ukrainian-womans-arrest/) at the same airport, and their choice to [detain and deport](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/milo-yiannopoulos-detained-by-ice-in-new-orleans-apparently-because-of-laura-loomer-feud/) right-wing provocateur (and British citizen) Milo Yiannopoulos last month.
**Related**: [ICE Has Held 25 Immigrants at SFO For More Than Three Days In 2026, In Violation of Policy](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/ice-has-held-25-immigrants-at-sfo-for-more-than-three-days-in-2026-in-violation-of-policy/)
### San Francisco Opera Orchestra to Strike; Opening Night Cancelled
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/13/san-francisco-opera-orchestra-to-strike-opening-night-cancelled/
Last updated: 2026-09-13T21:33:20.000Z
Unionized musicians with the San Francisco Opera are going on strike after negotiations for a new contract failed to produce satisfactory results. The announcement was made via social media. In turn, the SF Opera cancelled a performance of Verdi's *Simon Boccanegra* set to open its 104th season.
As [ABC7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/san-francisco-opera-musicians-orchestra-go-strike-delaying-opening-night-simon-boccanegra/19826886/?ref=sfist.com), the orchestra musicians state they made their decision with "heavy hearts" while emphasizing that they "have no choice but to stop work" without a fair contract in hand.
SF Opera responded with its own statement that underscored the challenges of operating with a looming structural deficit of $15 million despite robust ticket sales and donations.
"San Francisco Opera is increasing revenues as much as possible, but expense reduction is also critical," SF Opera stated, per ABC7\. "The Opera Orchestra's compensation structure has become increasingly out of alignment with the volume of work available and we must make gradual adjustments to the structure so that it better reflects the needs of this time."
Issues between the two sides first arose after the orchestra's current agreement from two years ago expired on July 31, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/day-around-the-bay-50/). The musicians at the center of the dispute are represented by the American Federation of Musicians Local 6.
Per ABC7, opera management initially proposed a 26% pay cut, which union representatives assert would have reduced the orchestra players' compensation to be line with what they were earning back in 2015\. A subsequent proposal for a five-year wage freeze was also refused, leading to the choice to strike as the SF Opera prepares to kickoff its 104th season.
Citing public filings, the union also highlighted a 72% increase in salary for the opera's general director between the 2022 and 2025 fiscal years in making its case for increased compensation.
**Related**: [Ghirardelli’s SF Flagship Store Closes as Union Workers Begin Three-Day Strike](https://sfist.com/2026/07/30/union-workers-at-ghirardellis-sf-flagship-store-begin-three-day-strike-prompting-closure/)
### Sunday Links: Republican Congressman Swims to Safety After Plane Lands in Lake
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/13/sunday-links-republican-congressman-swims-to-safety-after-plane-lands-in-lake/
Last updated: 2026-09-13T19:00:25.000Z
- **A new lawsuit accuses two defendants of forging signatures to illegally acquire the deed to a multimillion-dollar property in Sea Cliff.** The suit alleges that the pair transferred the deed between them eight times in 13 years. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/2-accused-of-trying-to-sell-multimillion-dollar-sf-home-they-did-not-own/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Republican congressman Tom Tiffany told media he had to swim to safety after the light aircraft he was traveling in lost power and was forced to make an emergency landing in Wisconsin's Lake Wausau on Saturday.** Both Tiffany and the plane's pilot survived by swimming to shore. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/us-rep-tom-tiffany-wisconsin-swims-safety-plane-makes-emergency-landing-lake-wausau/19826818/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Continuing a troubling week for BART, service was suspended in parts of the East Bay on Saturday as a result of a power outage near Oakland's Coliseum station. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/power-outage-oakland-bart-station/4142071/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Los Angeles County law enforcement officials responded to the home of former Vice President Kamala Harris in Malibu after receiving reports of a trespasser on the premises. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/kamala-harris-trespassing-report-los-angeles-county-malibu-home/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- You can now rent the Outer Sunset home where a landlord allegedly killed his tenant this past May for $6,300 per month. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/outer-sunset-landlord-tenant-killing-rental-22427589.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two companies have a plan to transform the abandoned San Francisco Centre into a multilevel sports complex that would include a "sports-focused" high school on the top floor. \[[SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/13/san-francisco-centre-mall-basketball/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The US Coast Guard is asking for the public's help finding the owner of a 20-foot boat they found abandoned in the water in Contra Costa County on Friday with its stereo still playing and a set of keys and a cellphone inside. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/discovery-bay-abandoned-boat-22429053.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A letter postmarked on October 26, 1955 has been mysteriously returned to Alameda's Christ Episcopal Church after more than half a century. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/alameda-church-letter-postmarked-in-1955-returned-to-sender/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Pair of Juveniles Arrested After Waymo Reports 'AR-Style' Ghost Gun to SFPD
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/pair-of-juveniles-arrested-after-waymo-reports-their-ar-style-ghost-gun-to-sfpd/
Last updated: 2026-09-12T20:34:36.000Z
Two young people were arrested last week in San Francisco's Outer Richmond neighborhood after police say they were alerted by Waymo to the presence of an AR-style assault rifle in the vehicle. Both passengers now face charges related to illegal possession of a firearm.
As [SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/waymo-arrest-rifle-sfpd-22427672.php?ref=sfist.com), the incident took place on September 3 on 40th Avenue shortly before 4 am. The outlet includes commentary from a Waymo spokesperson who confirmed the company alerted emergency services to the situation. SFPD subsequently responded by carrying out a "high-risk vehicle stop."
The youth in question — one male and one female — were booked into San Francisco's Juvenile Justice Center, per SFPD. A police spokesperson also stated that officers recovered "suspected marijuana and mace spray" after conducting a search of the vehicle.
Police are withholding the identities of the suspects as a result of their age but anyone with information related to the case is encouraged to call SFPD.
Earlier this month, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/father-says-waymo-car-nearly-hit-toddler-who-fell-in-noe-valley-crosswalk/), Waymo earned undesirable headlines after a father in Noe Valley alleged that one of the company's vehicles had almost run over his two-year-old daughter. The self-driving cars also recently received approval to [expand to the entire Bay Area](https://sfist.com/2026/08/14/waymo-receives-approval-to-expand-future-service-to-entire-bay-area/) and were also just [given the go-ahead](https://sfist.com/2026/07/30/waymos-set-to-return-to-sf-freeways/) to return to SF freeways.
This all comes after a [disastrous Fourth of July performance](https://sfist.com/2026/07/06/passenger-films-waymo-driving-through-lit-firework-another-empty-robotaxi-catches-fire/) for Waymo that included one vehicle opting to take its passenger down a street full of exploding fireworks. Back in June, [SFist covered](https://sfist.com/2026/06/04/suspected-thief-flees-scene-in-waymo-with-stolen-goods-from-marina-yoga-studio/) the first SF case of a suspected thief using a Waymo as a getaway car.
**Related**: [Father Says Waymo Car Nearly Hit Toddler Who Fell In Noe Valley Crosswalk](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/father-says-waymo-car-nearly-hit-toddler-who-fell-in-noe-valley-crosswalk/)
### Criminal Probe of Newsom Expands; Feds Name Lurie's Wife in Subpoenas
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/criminal-probe-of-newsom-expands-feds-name-luries-wife-in-subpoenas/
Last updated: 2026-09-12T19:53:18.000Z
Federal investigators are seeking six years' worth of records related to Gavin Newsom's travel, funding, and personal expenditures in an expanding criminal probe. Communications involving Rebecca Prowda — Newsom’s chief protocol officer and wife to Daniel Lurie — are among the requested files.
As the [Standard reports](https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/12/newsom-travel-subpoenas-federal-criminal-probe/?ref=sfist.com), the subpoenas in question were issued earlier this month and cover a span of six years. The requests include materials related to the nonprofit California State Protocol Foundation, which underwrites Newsom's international travel, and correspondence between an inner circle of Newsom aides, advisers, and associates.
That includes communications from Rebecca Prowda, who oversees Newsom's foreign travel. Wife to San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, Prowda declined to comment when reached by the Standard.
We now have clarity on the documents being targeted by the ongoing federal investigation, which Newsom first acknowledged was underway in June, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/06/15/newsom-says-trump-is-now-having-doj-investigate-him-and-his-wife/). Per a subpoena signed by Assistant US Attorney Michael D. Anderson, the requests concern "a criminal investigation pending in the Eastern District of California.”
Newsom's office has decried the federal probe as a bad-faith witch hunt aimed at derailing his potential future run for president while stressing that no crimes have been committed to merit the investigation.
In a statement, Newsom's office lambasted the probe as a vindictive move by the Trump administration:
“Governor Newsom went after the king — and as he warned in June, the tyrant is now coming after everyone around him. This is what Donald Trump does to his enemies: investigate first, hunt for a crime that doesn’t exist second. It’s deeply upsetting to see innocent staff, friends, and family have their names dragged through the mud just because they’re associated with the Governor.”
As the situation stands, records obtained via this latest crop of subpoenas will be presented to a grand jury, who will in turn decide whether the evidence warrants an indictment.
Per the Standard, being named in a subpoena "does not indicate that someone is the subject of the investigation or that the government believes they have done anything wrong."
They further note that while the subpoenas reviewed don’t cite any specific alleged crimes, their contents suggest that an ongoing investigation into "the possibility of improper gifts or influence peddling" may be underway.
**Related**: [Newsom Says Trump Is Now Having DOJ Investigate Him and His Wife](https://sfist.com/2026/06/15/newsom-says-trump-is-now-having-doj-investigate-him-and-his-wife/)
### Saturday Links: Anthropic CEO Calls for AI Slowdown Amid Escalating Worries
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/12/saturday-links-anthropic-ceo-calls-for-ai-slowdown-amid-escalating-worries/
Last updated: 2026-09-12T18:29:15.000Z
- **In a new blog post published Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is calling for a slowdown of AI development.** Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, followed by [quickly endorsing](https://x.com/sama/status/2098811563415150910?ref=sfist.com) Amodei's three-point plan for "pacing the frontier" amid skyrocketing safety concerns. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-calls-slowdown-ai-development/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A 3.4 magnitude earthquake rattled the East Bay this morning.** Residents of Stockton, Pittsburg and Pleasanton acknowledged feeling the quake but no damage or injuries have been reported. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/3-4-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-east-bay/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Francisco martial arts instructor James Hidalgo detailed his role in a viral video depicting a fight at Crissy Field on Tuesday. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/martial-arts-instructor-speaks-out-after-sf-beach-fight/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Some fast food fans have strong feelings over In-N-Out Burger's recent choice to tweak their buns and swap iodized salt for sea salt on menus. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/in-n-out-burger-ingredient-changes-22425699.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- If you've been wondering why Muni bus headsigns started flashing "FARE REQUIRED" last month, the culprit is, unsurprisingly, major funding shortfalls for the agency. \[[KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12099188/whats-behind-the-new-muni-message-fare-required?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There's a free STEM fair being held at Oakland Technical School today, where thousands of kids are expected to participate in math and science activities for the event's sixth annual edition. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/thousands-gather-oakland-free-stem-fair-brainchild-stanfords-ahmed-muhammad?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Mill Valley Film Festival has announced the schedule for its 49th edition this October, including special tributes to actor Sam Rockwell and rocker Linda Perry. \[[MVFF](https://app.mvff.com/schedule?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Pop star Lady Gaga and her fiancé, San Francisco tech exec Michael Polansky, welcomed the birth of their first child this week. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/lady-gaga-baby-michael-polansky-22428161.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Oakland Police Officers Accused of Faking Pilot Recertifications
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/day-around-the-bay-oakland-police-officers-accused-of-faking-pilot-recertifications/
Last updated: 2026-09-12T01:59:11.000Z
### Local:
- **Two Oakland police officers stand accused of faking their helicopter pilot recertifications.** Both men were reportedly charged on Thursday, where they pleaded not guilty. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/2-oakland-police-officers-faked-helicopter-pilot-certifications-prosecutors?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A second unexplained marmot has hit the Bay Area this month.** This one was found in Antioch, while the first was [spotted last week](https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/wildlife-rescue-hopes-to-help-marmot-that-hitched-a-ride-from-the-mountains-get-back-home/) in San Francisco's Mission District. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/second-mysterious-marmot-found-in-bay-area/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Grammy-nominated El Cerito musician and producer Alec Palao is responsible for unearthing ten previously unheard tracks recorded by a teenage David Bowie that are now set for release. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/david-bowie-lost-recordings-22347148.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The attorney representing Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who stands accused of killing her children, is seeking an acquittal for his client to prevent a possible retrial.** Clancy's first trial ended in a mistrial earlier this week. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/lindsay-clancys-lawyer-seeks-acquittal-block-retrial-killing-her-kids?ref=sfist.com)\]
- To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, former president George W. Bush has shared a new painting he made of the moment he learned the news. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/george-w-bush-shares-painting-of-moment-he-learned-of-9-11-attack/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Los Angeles jury has found rapper Lil Durk not guilty on charges that he orchestrated a 2022 murder-for-hire plot that lead to a man's death. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/jury-reaches-verdict-murder-hire-trial-alleging-lil-durk-put-bounty-life-quando-rondo/19821334/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Yesterday's match in Melbourne, Australia between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams was such a win for the red and gold that we might as well revisit the highlights, right? Don't strain your eyes looking for reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett as he finished without a tackle in the game.
> Highlights from San Francisco 49ers vs LA Rams 09/10/26 [#trending](https://x.com/hashtag/trending?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#nfl](https://x.com/hashtag/nfl?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#football](https://x.com/hashtag/football?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#49ers](https://x.com/hashtag/49ers?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#Rams](https://x.com/hashtag/Rams?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [pic.twitter.com/awWO2aPyjk](https://t.co/awWO2aPyjk?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — THEPROBLEM (@SatchoInnaCut) [September 11, 2026](https://x.com/SatchoInnaCut/status/2098411163549659292?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
### Ex-Windsor Mayor Ordered to Pay $12.6M After Jury Finds He Sexually Assaulted 7 Women
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/ex-windsor-mayor-ordered-to-pay-12-6m-after-jury-finds-he-sexually-assaulted-7-women/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T23:47:18.000Z
Seven plaintiffs were awarded a combined $12.6 million in damages in a civil case against former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, who was publicly accused by 13 women of sexual assault or misconduct in 2021.
The verdict came after a seven-week trial in Sonoma County Superior Court, where the seven women described sexual assaults they said occurred between 2001 and 2020\. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/dominic-foppoli-trial-22413579.php?ref=sfist.com), their accounts included allegations of groping, rape, and being assaulted while incapacitated by alcohol or drugs.
The allegations [first became public in 2021](https://sfist.com/2021/05/24/disgraced-windsor-ex-mayors-latest-sexual-battery-charge-comes-from-teen-mom-farrah-abraham/), when four women came forward in a Chronicle investigation. Dominic Foppoli, 44, then a rising Sonoma County political figure who inherited his family's Christopher Creek Winery, resigned as Windsor mayor that May. Ultimately, 13 women, including *Teen Mom* star Farrah Abraham, publicly accused him of sexual assault or misconduct.
Criminal investigations followed, including a [search of Foppoli's home by Sonoma County sheriff's detectives](https://sfist.com/2021/11/10/ex-windsor-mayor-dominic-foppoli-has-house-raided-by-sonoma-county-sheriffs/) in November 2021\. The criminal case was handled by the California Attorney General's Office under Rob Bonta, as one of the accusers worked as a prosecutor for the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. Criminal charges were ultimately [suspended in 2024 for lack of evidence](https://sfist.com/2024/03/28/former-windsor-mayor-wont-face-criminal-charges-for-now-on-numerous-sex-assault-allegations/), and Foppoli has not been criminally charged.
According to the Chronicle, the civil lawsuit, originally filed in 2022 and amended in 2025, alleged sexual assault and battery, gender and domestic violence, defamation, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The seven plaintiffs also sued Christopher Creek Winery and the national organization affiliated with Active 20-30, but both reached confidential settlements before the trial.
During the civil trial, the jury heard evidence about Foppoli's relationships with the women and the people around him, including text messages that plaintiffs' attorney Traci Carrillo presented as evidence of his attitude toward women and alcohol. In one message, Foppoli wrote, “You don't need roofies if you give them enough wine.”
The Chronicle reports that Jane Doe 1 began dating Foppoli at 18 and testified that he abused her repeatedly during their four-year relationship. Jane Doe 7, a political colleague of Foppoli’s, said Foppoli drugged and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious in February 2020, then drugged her again that August, when a sexual encounter involving one of his associates was recorded without her knowledge at Christopher Creek Winery.
The jury also reportedly found Foppoli liable for defaming Jane Doe 7 after she called for his resignation, with evidence that he enlisted lobbyist Robert Stryk in an effort to damage her reputation. Santa Rosa Vice Mayor Jeff Okrepkie testified that Foppoli showed him a video of Jane Doe 7, with Foppoli saying, “Now she'll never run against me.”
The testimony prompted Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins to criticize the political culture surrounding Foppoli, saying he “was given a pass by a whole lot of elected officials and prominent community leaders,” per the Chronicle.
The jury also found the Santa Rosa chapter of Active 20-30 liable for the assault of Jane Doe 4 and awarded her an additional $2 million. She alleged that club members had been warned about Foppoli's behavior and that the organization failed to investigate after she reported being assaulted at a national convention.
The jury's $12.6 million award was divided among the seven women, with the largest amounts going to Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 7\. The calculations included lost wages, therapy, medical expenses, and other financial impacts the women experienced.
Per the Chronicle, the jury began deliberating Thursday after Judge Dana Simonds spent nearly two hours reading the legal instructions governing the claims. The jury read the verdict Friday.
The jury is expected to consider punitive damages in the coming days. Foppoli reportedly remains the owner of Christopher Creek Winery near Healdsburg and lives part-time in Italy.
Foppoli denied the allegations throughout the case, maintaining that the sexual encounters described by the women either did not happen or were consensual. He testified repeatedly during the trial, arguing that some of the women had pursued him and accusing the plaintiffs of joining together to exaggerate their claims.
He also faces a separate sexual assault lawsuit from former *Teen Mom* star Farrah Abraham, who alleges that Foppoli raped her at a March 2021 house party in Florida, and that case is expected to go to trial in Florida early next year. Foppoli's wine company previously settled a separate lawsuit brought by a Montana woman who alleged that Foppoli raped her multiple times in 2020 when she was 18.
**Previously:** [Civil Trial Begins for Former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, Accused of Assaulting Multiple Women](https://sfist.com/2026/07/15/civil-trial-begins-for-former-windsor-mayor-dominic-foppoli/)
### This Week In Food: Incoming Japanese Restaurant Downtown
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/this-week-in-food-incoming-japanese-restaurant/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T23:04:08.000Z
Shinka is set to replace Prelude at The Jay hotel, Lucania closes in on its opening at the Ferry Building, and Bruma is set to debut at the Ritz, all in This Week in Food.
Quick on the heels of the closure announcement for **Prelude** at The Jay hotel, which we [just had two weeks ago](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/this-week-in-food-cinderella-bakery-story/), we now have word of its replacement, which will be called **Shinka**. Omakase Restaurant Group, which still has control of the space, is switching the concept to more Japanese-California, installing Executive Chef Fumio Yonezawa in the kitchen. More details are to come, with the opening set for sometime next month, and but we know Yonezawa will be "bringing together Japanese sensibilities and French technique through the ingredients of Northern California."
We are getting close to the opening of **Lucania**, the buzzy new Italian spot from A16 owner Shelley Lindgren in the former MarketBar space on the south side of the Ferry Building, which we [first learned about last year](https://sfist.com/2025/07/28/ferry-building-fills-up-again-as-a16-owner-announces-new-restaurant-in-marketbar-space/). The menu focuses on "simple but classic" dishes, heavy on the pasta and pizza, with all day offerings from 10 am to 10 pm. Eater [pegs the opening](https://sf.eater.com/openings/213611/san-francisco-bay-area-anticipated-fall-restaurant-bar-openings-2026?ref=sfist.com) at "early October," but we have not seen any official announcements or dates come through.
This will fill the last remaining big vacancy in the Ferry Building, though we are still awaiting [Mediterrean spot **Hayati**](https://sfist.com/2025/09/08/owner-of-bon-delire-and-sens-snags-boulettes-larder-space-in-ferry-building/), from Bon Delire and Sens owner Kaïs Bouzidi, which is set to open soon in the former Boulette's Larder space.
[Eater also has news](https://sf.eater.com/openings/213611/san-francisco-bay-area-anticipated-fall-restaurant-bar-openings-2026?ref=sfist.com) about **Bruma**, the new cocktail bar coming to the Ritz-Carlton on Nob Hill next month, following a full remodel. The bar will feature small bites and a Wagyu smashburger, reportedly, and a selection of cocktails to fit all tastes, including some globally inspired selections. And, there will be tableside, liquid nitrogen-chilled Martini service.
A new cocktail spot has just debuted in the upstairs area of Bruno Chemel’s **Le Parc Bistrobar** (185 Sutter Street) called **Bar Antoine Lounge**. The bar offers a list of over 50 cocktails curated by Christie Chemel, along with an extensive selection of Cognac, Armagnac, and Madeira, along with a small-bites menu created by Antoine Chemel, the son and sous chef of Bruno Chemel, featuring escargot croquettes, truffle gougères, and more. The lounge is now open Tuesday to Friday from 4:30 pm to 10 pm.
[The Chronicle has news](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/innberbloom-wine-bar-san-francisco-22413031.php?ref=sfist.com) of a new wine bar called **Innerbloom** coming to a so-called "cursed" space at Polk and Post streets (1101 Polk) that has been a cafe and at least four other things in the last decade and a half. It's the project of first-time restaurant/bar owners Anthony Niboli and Ronald Rodriguez, taking its name from a Rüfüs Du Sol track, and the plan is to create a wine and beer bar with small plates that is a hangout for artists and musicians, and hopefully absorbs some of the lively vibes of this end of Polk Street — across from the bar Jackalope. They're aiming for a January opening.
And we don't have any new reviews this week, but the [Chronicle announced](https://www.sfchronicle.com/events/article/critics-mackenzie-chung-fegan-michael-bauer-22425937.php?ref=sfist.com) that they're hosting a small on-stage discussion on September 30 between current Chronicle restaurant critic **MacKenzie Chung Fegan** and former critic **Michael Bauer** at Gray Area in the Mission. [Tickets are available here](https://tickets.grayarea.org/events/01a087d6-943c-3045-0766-045547cf4551?ref=sfist.com).
### 'The Cook' at Berkeley Rep Tells a History of Cuba Through One Kitchen
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/the-cook-at-berkeley-rep-tells-a-history-of-cuba-through-one-kitchen/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T21:56:57.000Z
"I'm so angry and I don't know why," says one Cuban American character visiting Havana for the first time in Eduardo Machado's play *The Cook*. "This country is so confusing."
The statement is a succinct summary of many people's feelings about Cuba, both on the inside and the outside of its contemporary history, and the frustratingly complex dynamics at work there that resist succinct explanation at every turn.
Nevertheless, Cuban American playwright Eduardo Machado set about giving his own condensed take on his home country in *The Cook*, which had its premiere 23 years ago in New York, but remains a salient look at the country's experience, pre- and post-revolution, in [a new production at Berkeley Rep](https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-cook-b51d?ref=sfist.com) that opened Wednesday.
The play, which takes place entirely in the kitchen of one home in Havana, centers on Gladys (Yesenia Iglesias), the skilled and loyal cook to a household led by a loyalist of military dictator Fulgencio Batista and his wife, Adria (Gisela Chipe).
The action begins on December 31, 1958, New Year's Eve, and the night before Batista would end up resigning as revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro took over the country. At first we see Adria annoyed that her husband hasn't returned home from seeing his mistress, and she instructs the staff to turn all the clocks back an hour to pretend that midnight hasn't happened, so that he'll be "on time" for the toast.
Gladys busily prepares hors d'œuvres and Baked Alaska, as Adria had requested, and her cousin Julio (Ashton Muñiz) and servant Elena (Georgina Morillo) run in and out serving the invisible guests. But soon, Adria is running out the back door, a small suitcase in hand, and telling Gladys to keep the house safe for her eventual return. Suffice it to say, she will never return.
Gladys's chauffeur husband Carlos (Daniel Duque-Estrada), meanwhile, is all in with the revolution, and excited to see Batista fall, but fails in convincing Gladys that their lives will soon get better.
The play then takes us through a second act set over a decade later, as Gladys continues keeping house and cooking for Carlos — who now has a functionary job in Castro's government and a mistress of his own. Her cousin Julio, who is gay, has now become a target of Castro's goons, and Carlos ends up giving her an impossible choice about saving him from a terrible fate.
**Gisela Chípe and Yesenia Iglesias in Eduardo Machado’s The Cook, performing at Berkeley Repertory Theatre now through Sunday, October 11, 2026.* **Photo credit: Ben Krantz Studio*
And by the third act, we have come up to the 1990s, and we see Gladys running a *paladar,* a legalized form of home-cooking restaurant, out of the main dining room of the house — and it was a woman just like Gladys running a *paladar*, who Machado met on a visit to Cuba in 2001, who kept a photo on the wall of the original mistress of the house, who inspired the writing of the play.
Her life is not necessarily better or worse than it had been before Castro took over, but by the end of the show, with the fraught return of Adria's daughter Lourdes (also played by Chipe) to check out her mother's house and inform Gladys that Adria actually despised her in the end and never referred to her by name — only as "the cook" — that Gladys decides to claim ownership of the place at last.
It's Lourdes who speaks the line about the country being so confusing, and she leaves no less confused.
Machado, who has written dozens of plays about Cubans and the Cuban-American experience, found a particular microcosm to explore about Castro's Cuba here that centers on an accidental revolutionary, a woman who never had any intention of stealing property from her wealthy, Batista-affiliated employer, but who ended up functionally squatting there anyway for decades. And her reward for her loyalty is to find out that a woman she considered a friend did nothing but resent and distrust her, lumping her in with every other revolutionary who destroyed the Cuba that they knew — and which, for a time, was a glamorous and prosperous place for a wealthy few.
Economic rewards are meager too, because the promise of the Communist revolution never really came through either. And Machado leaves in an unsettled place, understanding only that, for someone like Gladys, the revolution at least gave her some agency and a modicum of dignity in the end.
Iglesias is a forceful and stoic presence on stage in the lead role, but she and Chipe fail to find the rhythm in the first act's dialogue to give any sense of their genuine connection. Whether or not this was the intention of director David Mendizábal, it leaves us fairly incredulous as to why Gladys could remain so fond of and so loyal to this woman for thirty plus years after she was gone.
The exchanges between Iglesias and Duque-Estrada feel more natural, particularly as they become dependent on one another in the ensuing years, and in some regard closer. And their duality ends up effectively epitomizing two kinds of love of country — one that is unwavering and impassioned, and another that is skeptical, at arm's length, if no less heart-felt.
Scenic designer Tanya Orellana took great pains to convey the feeling of a home kitchen in Havana, down to the real encaustic tile that covers nearly every surface. And the food of Havana is woven in and out of the story, with Gladys — like the real-life Gladys Machado encountered — best known for her mojo-style garlic chicken, but who also makes tamales in the style of Cubans' indigenous ancestors.
As the real-life model for Gladys told Machado, "You know tamales are the only food we have left from the indigenous people that once lived here. Their souls comfort us when we eat tamales. I made you the tamales because I know you love this country."
*'The Cook' plays through October 11 at Berkeley Rep.* [*Find tickets here*](https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-cook-b51d?ref=sfist.com)*.*
### SF Supervisor Plans Moratorium on New Data Centers, With Permanent Ban to Follow
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/sf-supervisor-plans-moratorium-on-new-data-centers-with-permanent-ban-to-follow/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T21:58:19.000Z
Walton plans to introduce a 45-day moratorium on new data center construction as the first step toward a permanent citywide ban, with his district already home to two active facilities, one of which is planning a large expansion.
District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton is proposing a temporary halt to allow the city time to properly examine data centers' environmental effects before allowing additional facilities to be built, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/data-center-ban-22426013.php?ref=sfist.com). Walton, who's reportedly been working on the proposal for months, aims to eventually propose legislation banning new facilities permanently citywide.
[According to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/data-center-moratorium-sf-board-of-supervisors/?ref=sfist.com), if approved by the Board of Supervisors, the initial 45-day moratorium could be extended for up to 22 months and 15 days if the San Francisco Planning Commission finds that existing data centers pose a threat to residents.
District 10, which includes Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Portola, Dogpatch, and other southeastern neighborhoods, has seen an increase in data center activity over the past decade. The 7.5-acre NOVVA facility at 400 Paul Avenue in the Bayview was reportedly approved by the Planning Commission in 2016 and brought its first 9 megawatts of power online this summer.
NOVVA is expected to eventually reach 36 megawatts and plans to continue increasing its capacity through 2028\. Mission Local reports that if Walton’s moratorium passes, it could impede NOVVA’s expansion.
Across the street from NOVVA at 200 Paul Avenue, Digital Realty operates another data center, while Global Stack has proposed a 10-megawatt facility at the Cow Palace in Daly City, which borders District 10, which does not yet have a construction date.
The Dogpatch neighborhood has also attracted major technology companies and other large projects in recent years, including Y Combinator, whose CEO Garry Tan has advocated for expanding AI data center infrastructure.
Walton told Mission Local residents in Bayview have raised concerns about the potential effects of additional data centers on the neighborhood, which has already experienced decades of disproportionate exposure to pollution from heavy truck traffic, the former PG&E power plant, which closed in 2006, and contamination associated with the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.
“I do expect there are folks in tech who are not concerned about the environmental impact data centers will have in my community,” Walton said, speaking to Mission Local.
Data centers can reportedly require substantial amounts of electricity and water, while their backup generators can produce additional air pollution. They can also generate heat and noise, and their power demands can put additional strain on local electrical grids, with small Bay Area facilities using as much electricity as tens of thousands of homes.
“We need to know what these impacts are,” Walton said. “Until we know what that is, it needs to stop.”
Walton's proposal comes as other jurisdictions have begun imposing restrictions on data centers, including eight California counties that have adopted moratoriums or other limits, according to Mission Local.
The proposal also has support from the top three candidates running to replace Walton, whose term ends in January 2027, as [Mission Local reported](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/meet-the-district-10-candidates-data-center-moratorium/?ref=sfist.com) separately. Theo Ellington, whose political committee recently received a [$500,000 check from crypto billionaire Chris Larsen](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/sf-crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-gifts-500k-to-pac-supporting-moderate-district-10-candidate/), said the city should pause new data centers until it establishes environmental protections, community input requirements, power-upgrade cost requirements for developers, ratepayer and anti-displacement protections, and public disclosure of water and energy use.
JR Eppler said he supports a District 10 moratorium while the city develops standards addressing cumulative impacts, including effects on the electrical grid, water supply, backup diesel generators, air quality, noise, and neighborhood health.
“Counting megawatts is not enough; several smaller facilities can impose the same burden as one large project,” Eppler said, speaking to Mission Local.
Dion-Jay “DJ” Brookter said he would support both a comprehensive moratorium and a permanent ban, regardless of the size of a proposed facility.
“We have limited industrial land that should be used to create quality jobs, build community wealth, and expand opportunity — not facilitate an extractive use that places new burdens on our communities while primarily benefiting investors and technology companies,” Brookter told Mission Local.
The Chronicle reports that Walton plans to hold a news conference Monday ahead of Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting to discuss the legislation.
**Related:** [SF Crypto Billionaire Chris Larsen Gifts $500K to PAC Supporting Moderate District 10 Candidate](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/sf-crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-gifts-500k-to-pac-supporting-moderate-district-10-candidate/)
### SF Fire Chief Dean Crispen Recalls Joining the 9/11 Recovery Effort at Ground Zero
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/sf-fire-chief-dean-crispen-recalls-joining-the-9-11-recovery-effort-at-ground-zero/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T20:35:39.000Z
San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen was a 32-year-old firefighter with about a decade of experience when four planes were hijacked on September 11, 2001, and he was one of a battalion of local firefighters who flew to New York City to help with he recovery effort at Ground Zero in the days that followed.
You may not be aware that inside the San Francisco Fire Department headquarters, there is a piece of mangled steel, now showing some rust, that came from the rubble at Ground Zero, kept in a glass case beside a commemorative photograph of the Twin Towers and a small exhibit about the 343 firefighters who lost their lives responding to the disaster.
"It brings you right back," Crispen [tells KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-francisco-fire-chief-dean-crispen-recalls-helping-at-wtc-after-september-11-attacks/?ref=sfist.com), regarding the hunk of metal that he sees nearly every day at work, adding that it is "incredibly sad, incredibly emotional" to think back on that day. "But steel is very strong. And so is the United States, so is the fire service," Crispen says.
Crispen joined a group of ten other San Francisco firefighters who flew to New York immediately after the towers fell to help their New York brethren with the recovery effort. They spent eight days at Ground Zero, volunteering.
"As soon as we got there, the battalion chief from New York grabbed us and said 'Hey, go over here, here's what I need you to do,' and gave us about six or seven structures and said what he wanted us to do, what he wanted us to look out for, and what to do if we were to find a firefighter's body," Crispen says, speaking to KPIX.
He added that he recognized the "incredible amount of fortitude" it took for members of the FDNY to be digging through the rubble for their colleagues, and in some cases, friends or family members.
Crispen appeared emotional in his KPIX interview, talking about the journal that he kept during his eight days in New York in September 2001, a journal that he says he hasn't looked at in 25 years. "In some ways, it's a defense mechanism," he said. "Keeping things a little bit foggy about what happened may be a kind of coping mechanism for myself. Once I see every little piece of it, I'm a little bit fearful about going right back to that scene, and being hit by \[it\]."
Dozens of Bay Area civilians also died in the attack when they went down with [United Flight 93](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United%5FAirlines%5FFlight%5F93?ref=sfist.com) in Shanksville, Pennsylvania — on a plane out of Newark that was bound for SFO, and was tracking toward Washington, DC, where it was allegedly going to strike the White House or the US Capitol Building.
**A screen depicting the victims of the crash of Flight 93 is displayed on September 11, 2026 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)*
The [Chronicle has a piece today](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/remembering-flight-93-passengers-22390516.php?ref=sfist.com) about the various memorials to passengers on Flight 93 around the Bay Area and beyond — including the visitors' center at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge that now bears the name of Richard Guadagno, whose Fish & Wildlife badge was found near the cockpit in the plane's rubble, suggesting he was part of the counterattack against the hijackers that ultimately led to the hijacking pilot nosediving into a field rather than allowing the passengers to take control.
The most famous names among those counterattackers became [Mark Bingham](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/flight-93-hero-mark-bingham-cal-22386099.php?ref=sfist.com), the openly gay Cal rugby player and member of SF's gay rugby team the Fog, and Todd Beamer, who was heard saying "Let's roll" before the group of men began their fight back against the hijackers. It's believed that Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick also took part, but likely others did as well.
"I liken them to the minutemen of 1776 — they acted to save lives," says Jack Grandcolas, who lost his wife Lauren on Flight 93 that day, speaking to the Chronicle. "History should represent that in a more important way, because it signifies the melting pot of this country and uniting together. It probably was the fastest resistance in our country’s history."
**Related:** [Group of Bay Area Firefighters Depart On Cross-Country Bike Trip to Mark 20th Anniversary of 9/11](https://sfist.com/2021/08/02/group-of-bay-area-firefighters-depart-on-cross-country-bike-trip-to-mark-20th-anniversary-of-9-11/)
### Milpitas Woman Charged In Murder of Second Friend
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/milpitas-woman-charged-in-murder-of-second-friend/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T19:43:02.000Z
A Milpitas woman who was arrested two weeks ago for allegedly mowing down her neighbor and friend with her car has now been charged with a second killing of a woman who was also her friend.
Anila Baby, 32, was [already facing a murder charge](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/milpitas-woman-allegedly-runs-over-kills-friend-possible-link-to-death-of-second-friend/) as of last week following a bizarre incident on August 28 in the parking lot of the Milpitas apartment complex where she lived. Baby is accused of intentionally running over and killing her friend and neighbor, 35-year-old Anjana Hari, before driving off erratically and then being arrested by police.
At the time, police said they found her behind the wheel covered in blood and speaking incoherently, and news outlets from India, where the women were from, were already linking a second murder to Baby, that of her 39-year-old friend Ann Mary Mathew, who was found dead in her San Jose home the same day.
Baby has now been charged with Mathew's murder, as the [Mercury News reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/10/second-murder-charge-accuses-woman-of-killing-friends-within-hours-in-san-jose-and-milpitas/?ref=sfist.com), and she was arraigned Thursday on both counts. Baby reportedly remained silent in the courtroom and did not enter a plea. Her attorney, Shawn George, also did not comment on the case, and she is scheduled for another hearing on November 17\.
**Anila Baby. Photo via San Jose Police Department*
Baby's mental state will likely be an issue in the case, and those Indian media sources had cited statements from friends and family that suggested Baby had been experiencing depression, or some sort of mental health crisis, following the loss of a job.
Mathew was reportedly strangled and suffered blunt-force trauma as well as stab wounds. She was found in a pool of blood by her husband, who reportedly rushed home after being unable to reach her after he heard about the hit-and-run involving her friends in Milpitas.
Prosecutors appear to have plenty of evidence linking Baby to both murders, including eyewitnesses at the apartment complex where the alleged hit-and-run occurred. Investigators said that Baby had apparently called Hari on the phone to tell her to come out to speak to her, and witnesses described Hari as "smiling" and relaxed as she approached her friend's car.
Per the Mercury News, investigators have DNA evidence linking Baby to Mathew's killing, and also tracked Baby's cellphone location to Mathew's home on the morning of August 28, and Mathew's cellphone, which was missing from the murder scene, was found in Baby's car.
Additionally, prosecutors say, it appears that motion-activated camera footage from the doorway of Mathew's home was intentionally deleted, with clips that had been recorded at 10:37 am and 11:35 am that day.
All three woman were said to be close friends who all came from the southern Indian state of Kerala. They were all reportedly Malayali, members of an ethnic group from the region, and Mathew had lived in the same complex, the Mill Creek Apartments, before moving recently with her husband to nearby San Jose.
"The number one question that investigators are working on right now is: Why would a woman kill her two best friends in the middle of the morning in cold blood?” said Deputy District Attorney Marisa McKeown, after the court hearing, speaking to the Mercury News. “Both women were mothers. They are residents of our community and they and their families are suffering terribly from the ultimate question of, why would someone do this?"
**Previously:** [Milpitas Woman Allegedly Runs Over, Kills Friend, Possible Link to Death of Second Friend](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/milpitas-woman-allegedly-runs-over-kills-friend-possible-link-to-death-of-second-friend/)
### Former Employee Sues Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Nine Leaders Over Sexual Misconduct, Wrongful Termination
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/former-employee-sues-chinese-chamber-of-commerce-nine-leaders-over-sexual-misconduct-wrongful-termination/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T19:15:11.000Z
A former staff member is suing the SF Chinese Chamber of Commerce — the organization that puts on the Chinese New Year Parade — and nine of its leaders, alleging wrongful termination and years of sexual harassment and assault.
[As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sexual-assault-chinese-chamber-of-commerce-sf-22425791.php?ref=sfist.com), Judy Lee filed a lawsuit against the chamber and nine of its leaders Wednesday, alleging she was wrongfully terminated in July in retaliation for reporting the countless incidents of sexual harassment and assault she says she endured at the organization.
Back in July, former San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce [board president Donald Luu stepped down](https://sfist.com/2026/07/15/sf-chinese-chamber-faces-lawsuit-sexual-misconduct-claims-as-president-steps-down/) after 13 board members threatened to resign over the organization’s handling of Judy Lee’s sexual misconduct allegations, which Luu has denied. Luu is not named in Lee’s lawsuit.
Lee alleges that the harassment began in 2014 when she was volunteering with the chamber. One of the chamber’s leaders began pursuing Lee after she became a finalist in the Miss Chinatown USA pageant, repeatedly asking her to accompany him to community events and touching her inappropriately during dinners.
She also alleges that other senior male chamber leaders pressured her to attend dinners and bring younger women, including friends, real estate professionals, and pageant contestants. She said she and the other women were pressured to drink heavily, alleging she was subjected to unwanted romantic and sexual advances while being told, in effect, that these interactions were part of networking with influential chamber members.
Chamber leadership allegedly dismissed Lee’s concerns, and she says the man whose advances she had rejected withdrew his support for her within the organization. She tells the Chronicle that she initially hesitated to report it, as the chamber’s dismissive response to her complaints led her to believe the behavior was accepted there, and she feared losing her Miss Chinatown USA title.
After Lee was elected to the chamber’s board in 2020, she alleges that another senior male chamber member repeatedly touched her during private dinners, including an incident at an event honoring former Mayor Willie Brown and celebrating the Chinese New Year pageant.
According to the Chronicle, the lawsuit describes a more serious alleged incident several months later, during a May 2024 chamber board trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Lee alleges that another board member entered her locked hotel room at night and sexually assaulted her before fleeing when she screamed. Her attorney declined to identify the man.
After Lee was hired as program director at the chamber in 2025, the same man allegedly invited her to a Napa resort to celebrate her new position, telling her she owed him since his influence got her the job, and she feared refusing. She alleged that he forcibly held her hand during the drive and, after they arrived, revealed that he had booked only one room. She ultimately left the resort and took an Uber back to San Francisco.
Lee began to notice, per the Chronicle, that her desk drawers appeared to have been searched and that older men unaffiliated with the organization would sometimes show up late at night when she was working after events — using their own keys to the office.
Lee installed a surveillance camera aimed at her workstation, saying she wanted to protect her belongings and herself, and this led to three other employees filing a separate lawsuit against the chamber over privacy.
Lee’s lawsuit says that chamber leaders threatened to investigate her for criminal conduct and terminate her over the camera issue, per the Chronicle. She also alleges that leaders launched a smear campaign against her, including claims that she was having an affair with a married chamber official.
She was placed on paid administrative leave before being fired July 22\. The termination came as the broader dispute within the chamber had already become public, with more than a dozen board members threatening to resign unless Luu was removed as president.
Luu stepped down in July, denying the allegations against him and saying they had become a distraction. He subsequently sued Lee for defamation, alleging that she violated a confidential settlement agreement. Lee’s attorney, Kathleen Alparce, has characterized that lawsuit as an effort to silence her client.
Lee is reportedly seeking at least $1 million in damages from the chamber and the nine defendants named in her lawsuit. She told the Chronicle she decided to sue because she did not want other women to experience what she described as a longstanding culture within the organization.
**Previously:** [SF Chinese Chamber of Commerce Faces Lawsuit, Sexual Misconduct Claims as Board President Steps Down](https://sfist.com/2026/07/15/sf-chinese-chamber-faces-lawsuit-sexual-misconduct-claims-as-president-steps-down/)
### Mendocino's Lucas Fire Tops 1,000 Acres, Spreads Into Lake County
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/mendocinos-lucas-fire-tops-1-000-acres-spreads-into-lake-county/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T18:24:15.000Z
A wildfire that began Thursday morning in the Potter Valley area of eastern Mendocino County spread quickly in a remote area to over 1,000 acres by Friday morning.
The Lucas Fire began Thursday around 9:18 am in an area of grass and oak trees near the Mendocino and Lake County line, northeast of Ukiah and northwest of Clear Lake, and three miles east of state Route 20\. As the [Mendocino Voice reported](https://mendovoice.com/2026/09/potter-valley-vegetation-fire-reaches-15-acres/?ref=sfist.com), the fire began at 10 acres, reached 40 acres by around 3 pm, and had grown to 200 acres by 3:30 pm. Just after 4 pm it was reportedly at around 400 acres and burning in remote, hard-to-access terrain.
Cal Fire says the fire is 5% contained as of Friday morning, but it has spread to 1,099 acres, prompting evacuation orders for eight zones in Lake County, and evacuation warnings for another eight zones, as well as two zones in Mendocino County.
"Today temperatures and winds are expected to increase along with lowering humidity," Cal Fire said in [a morning update](https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2026/9/10/lucas-fire?ref=sfist.com). "Additional resources will be arriving to assist with this incident. All evacuations remain in place."
The zones under evacuation orders are MNF-E016, MNF-E018, MNF-E019, UPP-E023, UPP-E025, UPP-E026, UPP-E027, and UPP-E030.
Structures are immediately threatened in the vicinity of Bachelor Valley.
Elsewhere in Northern California, the [Steele Fire](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/steele-fire-burns-70-acres-near-lake-berryessa/), which began Wednesday morning near the south end of Lake Berryessa in Napa County, is now 68% contained after burning just over 50 acres; the Plaskett Fire, which [rapidly expanded last week](https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/plaskett-fire-near-big-sur-grows-by-another-12-000-acres-surpasses-timber-fire/) in the Big Sur area, has reached 79% containment after burning just under 30,000 acres of remote wilderness.
The [Timber Fire](https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2026/8/8/timber-fire?ref=sfist.com), which began in early August in an area about 27 miles north of the Plaskett Fire in Los Padres National Forest, stands at 27% containment after burning over 25,000 acres, with the fire's northern and eastern flanks burning slowly through very steep, remote terrain that limits firefighting access.
Highway 1 remains closed for about a 10-mile stretch through Big Sur as firefighting activity continues.
### Wildlife Rescue Hopes To Help Marmot That Hitched a Ride From the Mountains Get Back Home
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/wildlife-rescue-hopes-to-help-marmot-that-hitched-a-ride-from-the-mountains-get-back-home/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T18:56:06.000Z
A yellow-bellied marmot was found in SF’s Mission District on Saturday, and rescuers, who think it may have caught a ride on a vehicle returning from a mountainous area (or Burning Man?), are hoping to pinpoint where it came from so they can help it get back.
Saturday's unusual sighting prompted calls to San Francisco Animal Care and Control from residents near Albion Street and 16th Street, who reported seeing the chunky rodent wandering around the Mission, [as KRON4 reported](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/marmot-discovered-in-sfs-mission-district/?ref=sfist.com) Tuesday. Lila Travis, founder and director of [Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue](https://yuwr.org/?ref=sfist.com) in Potrero Hill, says the cat-sized animal was an especially strange sight for a San Francisco backyard.
Yellow-bellied marmots are the largest members of the squirrel family and are generally found in mountainous, rocky areas, including the Eastern Sierra, Tahoe, and Yosemite.
[Travis tells KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12098787/san-francisco-wildlife-rescue-searches-for-origin-of-mystery-marmot?ref=sfist.com) that marmots lack a certain electrolyte, which draws them to the salty sweetness of radiator fluid. They’ve been known to crawl into vehicles parked near their habitats, where they chew on wires, brake lines, and radiator hoses. This makes them sick, and they pass out and end up hundreds of miles away.
Yggdrasil is now trying to determine where the marmot originated. The rescue [posted a call on social media](https://www.facebook.com/Yggdrasilwildlife/posts/pfbid0dry2RkhPMizvqxg5WkiG3CR73uSHgzcP9vCACGMHvGdKbKEiRfL7g9FXkh5ctVtAl) Monday for anyone living near 16th and Albion who recently returned from or passed through a mountainous area to get in touch — particularly people returning from Burning Man, in hopes that someone may have unknowingly transported the animal to the city.
The goal is to identify the marmot’s original habitat so it can eventually be returned to the right area.
“We want to get him back home,” said Travis, speaking to KQED. “But where is his home?”
If rescuers cannot determine where the marmot came from, Travis plans to request a transfer to the Tahoe Wildlife Center, which would be able to identify where to release it.
Travis also recommends that people driving to and from the mountains take precautions against marmots getting into their vehicles, including covering wheel wells and checking under the hood for signs of chewing.
KQED notes that Yggdrasil, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, takes in roughly 1,000 wild animals annually, primarily squirrels, opossums, raccoons, skunks, and hummingbirds. The refuge is entirely volunteer- and donation-funded and operates through foster homes throughout the Bay Area, along with an on-site facility in Potrero Hill.
The rescue is now hoping to expand into a larger facility, potentially through a partnership with the Port of San Francisco.
**Related:** [50 Beagles Rescued From Wisconsin Lab Arrive in Bay Area, SF Activist Faces Felony Charges](https://sfist.com/2026/05/11/50-beagles-rescued-from-wisconsin-lab-arrive-in-bay-area-sf-activist-faces-felony-charges/)
### Friday Morning Constitutional: BART Blames Heat, Aging Equipment for Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/11/bart-blames-heat-aging-equipment-for-fire/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T16:49:47.000Z
- **BART officials blamed aging infrastructure, an overtaxed HVAC system, and the hot weather on Tuesday for the** [**substation fire**](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/fire-at-daly-city-bart-disrupts-service/) **at Daly Station Station.** The fire led to disruptions and delays on the BART system for three days, with the Green Line resuming service Friday. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/bart-attributes-daly-city-substation-fire-aging-infrastructure-amid-hot-weather?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A Foster City man who was arrested in connection with a major condo fire on August 2 at 815 Sea Spray Lane, because of an** [**allegedly unattended propane grill**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/06/propane-grill-blamed-for-foster-city-condo-fire/) **on his balcony, has been cleared of any criminal charges.** The DA's office said there was "no basis for the filing of criminal charges" against resident Keith Tompkins. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/foster-city-resident-cleared-of-criminal-charges-in-devastating-condo-fire/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- As the 9/11 anniversary arrives today, if you're wondering, 25 years later, why the four remaining terrorism suspects haven't faced trial and still won't until 2028, [CBS News has a long and thorough explainer](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-911-plotters-trial/?ref=sfist.com).
- Maybe the [49ers' travel and sleep strategy](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7578772/2026/09/10/rams-49ers-travel-strategies-australia/?ref=sfist.com) paid off, and they trounced the LA Rams in their season opener in Melbourne, 27-7\. \[[NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/nfl/profootballtalk/san-francisco-49ers-crush-la-rams-in-first-ever-nfl-game-in-australia?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Niners fans were jubilant at a watch party at Old Wagon Saloon on San Pedro Square in San Jose Thursday night. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-du940aye7fivun2c?ref=sfist.com)\]
- OpenAI has pulled its sponsorship of Caltech's "math hackathon" after some current and former Caltech mathematicians penned an open letter calling AI math "slop mathematics." \[[Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-caltech-ai-math-hackathon-backlash-anthropic-2026-9?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Decorated bluegrass musician Alison Krauss, who was expected to headline Hardly Strictly Bluegrass this year with her band Union Station, has canceled all her upcoming tour dates and will not be appearing, after being advised by doctors to go on vocal rest. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/festivals/article/alison-krauss-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-22426585.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Wednesday’s Heat, Stagnant Air to Blame For Citywide Compost Smell Thursday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/day-around-the-bay-wednesdays-heat-stagnant-air-to-blame-for-pervasive-compost-smell-thursday/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T07:42:32.000Z
### Local:
- Wednesday’s high heat and stagnant air conjured up an overwhelming trash and compost odor, which apparently marinated overnight, greeting SF residents first thing Thursday morning. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/san-francisco-smells-bad-heat-22425962.php?utm%5Fcampaign=trueanthem%2B3988&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawUQN8ZwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6JZt65om%5FhSGVSgiukCCqKFwfMhV8h7A-2h9bsixIQDmGaV7Wv4WrCzfj46Q%5Faem%5FnlksRZjcqfiR3jycngAYPg)\]
- A suspect fleeing Alameda County authorities Thursday drove the wrong way down Interstate 580, which led the driver to strike another vehicle followed by an hourlong standoff and a complete shutdown of the highway. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/alameda-county-i580-wrong-way-driver-standoff/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Local independent publication The Frisc announced it’s shutting down after almost a decade in operation, and the team is having a [send-off celebration](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-frisc-farewell-tickets-1999704295378?aff=oddtdtcreator&ref=sfist.com) October 2\. \[[The Frisc](https://thefrisc.com/important-news-from-the-frisc/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **Jimmy Kimmel decided not to air an interview with Texas Senate nominee James Talarico (D) after the FCC said he had violated “equal time” restrictions for political candidates.** Anna Gomez, the FCC’s sole Democratic Commissioner, says Kimmel’s decision is evidence of how far the Trump administration has gone to stifle free press. \[[The Hill](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fcc-commissioner-kimmel-self-censorship-175701109.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Donald Trump claimed he would send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, which would most likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval. \[[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/trump-dividend-5k-5000-check-republicans-cc80644e3168acd31c892129fb849436?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The US Supreme Court has blocked Missouri Republicans from using a newly drawn congressional map in November, leaving the 2022 map in place after a federal court briefly revived the GOP-favored plan. \[[ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Politics/scotus-blocks-gop-favored-missouri-election-map/story?id=136337423&ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- A herd of goats was recently spotted near the Rincon Hill Dog Park in South Beach — [a very sustainable way to clear brush](https://www.theeastcut.org/goats-sustainably-clear-brush-in-rincon-hill/?ref=sfist.com).
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdDG6J2ilX9/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Dana Veeder (@415urbanadventures)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdDG6J2ilX9/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### SF Drag King Contest to Celebrate Three Decades With ‘Dirty 30’ at Great American Saturday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/sf-drag-king-contest-to-celebrate-three-decades-with-dirty-30-at-great-american-saturday/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T00:36:20.000Z
Drag kings and performers from the Bay Area and beyond will deconstruct the meaning of “true brotherly love” at Great American Music Hall Saturday for “Dirty 30,” a celebration of the iconic SF contest’s 30th year.
The annual [San Francisco Drag King Contest](http://www.sfdragkingcontest.com/?ref=sfist.com) — the longest-running drag king contest in the world — is marking its 30th year Saturday with “Dirty 30,” a night built around parodying and challenging traditional ideas of masculinity. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/san-francisco-drag-king-contest-22422304.php?ref=sfist.com), the contest will be hosted by Fudgie Frottage and Sister Roma, with Trixxie Carr, Fontaine Blue, and Papi Churro among the celebrity judges.
DJ Junkyard will provide the music, while performers Leigh Crow, Rusty Hips, Madd Dogg 20/20, Misterrr, and Howie Weenis are also slated to appear. The evening will reportedly include a “Lipsynch For Your Life” segment featuring as many contestants as possible.
“Come bust a nut with us while we party like there's no tomorrow,” says the event’s website.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWZeadIALMZ/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Misterrr (@its.misterrr)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWZeadIALMZ/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
[According to the Bay Area Reporter](https://www.ebar.com/story/169842/BARtab/San%20Francisco%20Drag%20King%20Contest%20is%2030%20years%20and%20going%20strong?ref=sfist.com), “Dirty 30” also marks the return of NYC and LA-based Mo B. Dick, a pioneering drag king who is celebrating 30 years in the art form himself. Dick first discovered the San Francisco drag king scene in 1995 and later reached a wider audience with his appearance in John Waters’ 1998 cult film *Pecker*, where he played T-Bone, a lesbian stripper portrayed with a drag king twist.
Dick has also spent years documenting the history of drag king performance through [DragKingHistory.com](http://dragkinghistory.com/?ref=sfist.com), a community-funded digital archive focused on female-born performers who dress in traditionally male attire.
Proceeds from the contest will reportedly benefit Rocket Dog Rescue and PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support), which provides comprehensive support for companion animals belonging to low-income people living with HIV and other disabling illnesses.
While the contest has always been held at Oasis nightclub, the BAR notes that this year's event was moved to Great American Music Hall after Oasis [came under threat of closure](https://sfist.com/2025/12/26/christmas-miracle-oasis-nightclub-saved-from-closure-with-multi-million-dollar-philanthropic-gift/) last year.
**Related:** [New Drag Comedy ‘Disastrous’ Opens Friday With Sold-Out Weekend at Oasis](https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/new-drag-comedy-disastrous-opens-friday-with-sold-out-weekend-at-oasis/)
### Crypto Billionaire Chris Larsen Says His Son Keeps Pressuring Him to Drop Flock Support
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-says-his-son-keeps-pressuring-him-to-drop-flock-support/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T03:16:31.000Z
During a recent interview with journalist Kara Swisher, local crypto billionaire Chris Larsen revealed that his 19-year-old son keeps pressuring him to stop funding SFPD’s Flock surveillance technology amid growing backlash.
Larsen said he has defended the surveillance technology to his son by pointing to its role in reducing crime, but the 19-year-old remains unconvinced. [As Business Insider reports](https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-chris-larsen-san-francisco-flock-pushback-gen-z-son-2026-9?ref=sfist.com), when Larsen told him that surveillance had helped bring crime down in San Francisco, his son responded that he would rather have the crime than the surveillance.
Larsen made the comments on a recent episode of the podcast, [*On with Kara Swisher*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j25zZlHI14&ref=sfist.com), filmed at San Francisco’s Pier 27, where he discussed the growing backlash against Flock and other surveillance tools. He acknowledged that there is now significant opposition to the technology, which he attributed in part to what he called “bad press.”
Larsen donated $9.4 million to SFPD in 2025 to [expand its Real-Time Investigation Center](https://sfist.com/2025/06/03/crypto-mogul-chris-larsen-kicking-down-nearly-10-million-to-sfpd-for-more-surveillance-efforts/), consisting of automated license-plate readers, drones, surveillance cameras, and other tools, which also helped fund the center’s move from the Hall of Justice to a larger facility downtown, along with additional equipment and drone launch sites.
He told Swisher that support for surveillance technology was considerably stronger one or two years ago, but that opposition has since grown alongside the national “DeFlock” movement. Last month, protestors organized a [demonstration outside Larsen's home](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/activists-host-billionaire-watch-party-outside-chris-larsens-house-over-surveillance-funding/).
[According to transcripts](https://podscripts.co/podcasts/on-with-kara-swisher/why-this-crypto-billionaire-wants-to-slow-down-the-ai-arms-race?ref=sfist.com) from the podcast, Larsen suggested restrictions that could be implemented in San Francisco, including reducing the amount of time the police department keeps the footage. SF currently retains Flock data for a year, far longer than the roughly 30-day period that had previously been Flock’s standard — before Flock reduced it to seven days amid mounting criticism.
He also pointed to New Hampshire, where state law requires license-plate data to be purged within three minutes unless it is connected to a criminal investigation.
Several jurisdictions have moved to restrict the technology, per Business Insider. Florida ordered Flock license-plate readers removed from state highways last month, while Denver and Tempe, Arizona, have deactivated their cameras.
The conversation also touched on Larsen’s[ push for clearer cryptocurrency regulations](https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/innovation/san-francisco-billionaire-slammed-by-gen-z-son-over-surveillance-support?ref=sfist.com). He told Swisher that Congress’s [Digital Asset Market Clarity Act](https://sumsub.com/blog/clarity-act-guide/?ref=sfist.com) would help establish whether cryptocurrencies are treated as securities or commodities, which he considers the biggest unresolved issue facing the industry.
Pointing to his four-year legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Larsen argued that determining whether cryptocurrencies fall under SEC or Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight would help create clearer rules and give companies and consumers more certainty.
The House passed the bill in 2025, and a revised version advanced through the Senate Banking Committee in May 2026\. The Senate is expected to take a [procedural vote on September 15](https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/policy/treasury-secretary-bessent-issues-stern-warning-ahead-of-senate-vote?ref=sfist.com), with some Democrats and Republicans warning its lack of sufficient safeguards could destabilize the banking system.
**Related:** [Activists Host ‘Billionaire Watch Party’ Outside Chris Larsen’s House Over Surveillance Funding](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/activists-host-billionaire-watch-party-outside-chris-larsens-house-over-surveillance-funding/)
### Apple Debuts Its First Foldable iPhone — Don't Call It a Flip Phone!
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/apple-debuts-its-first-foldable-iphone-dont-call-it-a-flip-phone/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T22:45:26.000Z
Nearly 20 years after the first iPhone debuted, Apple has unveiled the first foldable version of the phone, which "opens like a passport," not like a flip phone, and features a seamless screen that expands to a tablet-like 7.6-inch display.
Wednesday was the first big product-reveal day for newly installed Apple CEO John Ternus, who assumed duties from Tim Cook officially on September 1\. Apple has a tradition of hosting these product lineup showcase events right after Labor Day, and Ternus even gave a reverent nod to the late Steve Jobs, doing his old "actually there is one more thing" schtick after cycling through more mundane updates to the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
And when the "one more thing" came up on the screen, many in the room probably had already heard the speculation and knew what was coming — but [there was oohing and ahhing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSgdwZ-O0tc&ref=sfist.com) anyway. And, yes, the iPhone Duo, as it's called, will be yet another even more expensive iPhone model which the average person can't afford, starting at $1,999 — but it does look like it will replace the need to have an iPad as well.
While Apple has been ahead of the curve with its hardware in the past, the company has been criticized in recent years for falling behind on various innovations as other technology makers have stepped in — including with the return to compact, foldable phones.
So what took so long?
As Apple's VP for worldwide product marketing Kaiann Drance [tells ABC 7](https://abc7.com/post/apple-executive-kaiann-drance-gives-insights-new-folding-iphone-duo-emphasizes-privacy-siri-ai/19816015/?ref=sfist.com), "We wanted to create an experience on a foldable design that we wanted to use for ourselves. Something that met the standards of iPhone and was remarkably familiar to iPhone in that way as well. And that's what we did."
Drance adds, "You open it up, it's got this gorgeous, beautiful, large display, and then you close it. It still has a beautiful display that fits easily in your pocket and you can hold it with one hand. And what brings it together is this reimagined iOS experience."
The phones will his shelves in October, but some tech journalists were given about 45 minutes to play around with tester models at Wednesday's event, as [the New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/insider/apple-iphone-duo-tech-reviews-journalists.html?ref=sfist.com). Still, the NYT folks are pretty cagey with their initial thoughts, with just [this one initial-impression review](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/apple-iphone-duo-folding-phone-first-impressions/?ref=sfist.com) from Wirecutter's Brenda Stolyar.
Stolyar notes that the full, folded out screen of the iPhone Duo is just a bit smaller than an iPad Mini — so, yes, for many this will negate the need for the second device. She notes that, compared to other companies' foldables, "App handoff is seamless. Anything you view on the cover screen seamlessly transitions to the larger interior display when you open the phone," which is superior to the lag she's experienced on the Galaxy Z Fold8\. Unlike the Fold8, however, the iPhone Duo only allows two side-by-side app screens to appear simultaneously on the interior display, where the Fold8 allows up to three.
Stolyar also notes that, unlike the Fold8, the interior display of the iPhone Duo doesn't have an ugly, intrusive punchout in the corner for the interior camera, which disrupts the screen when it's being used to play video or games. Instead, the interior camera here is hidden beneath the screen and only appears when the camera is in use.
Stolyar also says that the matte screen on the interior is superior to other foldables with glossy screens, reducing glare and it "also helps to reduce the visibility of the crease." She adds that the crease is "difficult to see unless you’re really looking for it," and you can just barely detect the indent when running a finger over it.
And the iPhone Duo will also become a great note-taking device, she writes, given that it has stylus support and that paper-like, matte display — with the only other current foldable model offering stylus capability being the Motorola Razr Fold.
**Related:** [Apple Launches Leasing Program For iPhones, Macs Weeks After Price Hike](https://sfist.com/2026/07/29/apple-launches-leasing-program-for-iphones-macs-weeks-after-price-hike/)
### Beloved Sports Radio Figure Greg Papa to Return to KNBR In Part-Time Role, a Month After Being Laid Off
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/beloved-sports-radio-figure-greg-papa-to-return-to-knbr-in-part-time-role-a-month-after-being-laid-off/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T22:09:33.000Z
Following backlash over his being let go as he recovers from a harrowing health situation, radio man Greg Papa is being reinstated at KNBR in a part-time capacity.
A little over a month after fans were saddened and outraged to hear that 63-year-old Greg Papa had been[ abruptly laid off](https://sfist.com/2026/08/05/longtime-knbr-host-greg-papa-laid-off-as-he-continues-recovery-from-bone-marrow-transplant/) and dropped from the schedule at KNBR, all while he was on the road to recovery from a year-long cancer battle and ensuing health crisis, he is back. As [Radio Ink reports](https://radioink.com/2026/09/10/bay-areas-knbr-brings-back-greg-papa-after-layoff-backlash/?ref=sfist.com), KNBR announced Thursday that Papa will be returning for a weekday, one-hour show called *Lunch With Papa* from noon to 1 pm, and during football season, he'll be doing segments twice weekly called "Niners Updates With Greg Papa" that will air during Morning Drive and Afternoon Drive shows.
"I’m thrilled to be back on The Sports Leader and even more thrilled to be working with my good friend John Lund again. Let’s do this!" Papa said in a statement.
And Larry Blumhagen, the regional vice president and market manager for Cumulus Media, added, "Greg Papa is a Bay Area icon in sports broadcasting. His name and voice are synonymous with sports in this market. That connection is even stronger when speaking about the San Francisco 49ers. We are excited to have Greg back on air sharing his insights about all things Niners, and more!"
Papa's layoff was [announced on August 5](https://sfist.com/2026/08/05/longtime-knbr-host-greg-papa-laid-off-as-he-continues-recovery-from-bone-marrow-transplant/), days after he narrated the harrowing [account of his health problems and slow recovery to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/greg-papa-announcer-49ers-leukemia-22358992.php?ref=sfist.com). Papa was diagnosed with leukemia last summer while vacationing in France, and after being treated there and back in the states, and getting a bone-marrow transplant, he was officially declared in remission as of January, only to end up with a serious infection associated with the catheter that had been installed in his chest to deliver chemotherapy drugs.
He later suffered a collapsed lung, and was only just recovering from that when Cumulus Media announced they were laying off both him and his longtime on-air partner, Greg Silver. Since that early August announcement, John Lund had taken over the mid-day slot formerly filled by the Papa & Silver show, starting at 10 am.
Two weeks ago, [we learned](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/25/greg-papa-49ers-announcer-nbc-sports-bay-area-knbr/?ref=sfist.com) that Papa would be back at NBC Sports Bay Area as the 49ers' play-by-play announcer, and now his fans are relieved that he'll have a weekday presence on local radio again as well.
Papa was set to be back in the studio today to serve as a studio analyst for "49ers Pregame Live," ahead of the Niners' season opener against the LA Rams tomorrow in Melbourne, Australia. And he will repeat that role on an NBC post-game show as well.
Because of restrictions on his travel that are advised by his doctors, Papa will be calling 49ers home games this season and then working from NBC's studios when the team is on the road. Fans can expect to see him back in the booth when the 49ers host the Dolphins on September 20.
"Lunch With Papa," in which Papa will be on air with Lund, will begin airing later this month, in the middle of Lund's four-hour midday show. Lund himself returned to an on-air role at KNBR after a year-long absence, following a previous layoff.
**Previously:** [Longtime KNBR Host Greg Papa Laid Off as He Continues Recovery From Cancer Treatment](https://sfist.com/2026/08/05/longtime-knbr-host-greg-papa-laid-off-as-he-continues-recovery-from-bone-marrow-transplant/)
### SF Mayor Declares Rent Emergency, Announces Several Tenant Protection Proposals
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/sf-mayor-declares-rent-emergency-announces-several-tenant-protection-proposals/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T20:02:41.000Z
Following a more than 25% increase in SF rents over the past year, Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a rent emergency Thursday and unveiled several measures aimed at protecting tenants from unfair evictions and rent spikes.
Declaring San Francisco to be in a “rent emergency” Thursday, Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled a [package including six proposed ordinances](https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-unveils-sweeping-package-with-immediate-actions-to-address-san-franciscos-rent-emergency?ref=sfist.com) aimed at protecting tenants from evictions and steep rent increases. The package also includes more than $30 million in additional investments for eviction defense and rental assistance.
The proposals include increasing Ellis Act relocation payments by 25%, or about $3,000 per tenant, and adding $3 million to the city’s free legal representation program for tenants facing eviction, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sf-mayor-lure-rent-emergency-housing-crisis-22424912.php?ref=sfist.com). This would allow about 400 households that otherwise would receive only partial assistance to get comprehensive legal help.
The package also includes a proposal backed by Supervisor Jackie Fielder, [which was announced last week](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/sf-supervisor-introduces-proposal-limiting-evictions-over-unpaid-rent/). Fielder’s measure would prohibit evictions unless a tenant owes more than one month’s fair-market rent under the federal standard. Additionally, legislation from Supervisors Danny Sauter and Matt Dorsey would cap “banked” rent increases at 10% and require tenants to receive annual reminders about rent-increase limits and eviction protections.
The city’s Homelessness Department will also support $27 million in rental subsidies for about 650 extremely low-income households expected to lose federal housing vouchers at the end of the year.
The measures come as San Francisco rents have surged more than 25% over the past year, with a typical one-bedroom now costing [more than $4,000 per month](https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/market-trends/san-francisco-ca/?propertyTypes=apartment-condo&ref=sfist.com). According [to the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/us/san-francisco-daniel-lurie-rent-emergency.html?ref=sfist.com), eviction notices also increased 44% during the city’s latest yearlong reporting period, while the Eviction Defense Collaborative says landlords have initiated more than 2,400 evictions since January.
Lurie has faced pressure from housing advocates and progressives to do more as rents climb. Per the Chronicle, former Supervisor Dean Preston [posted a reel](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcy46kylABp/?stkn=eG5lN21ldzBjc3Zt&ref=sfist.com) last week unfavorably comparing Lurie's approach with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent policies. The Times reports that other cities have also tried different approaches, including Santa Fe tying its minimum wage to local rent costs and Seattle banning rental “junk fees.”
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcy46kylABp/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Dean Preston (@deanprestond5)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcy46kylABp/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
“San Francisco is in a rent emergency, and as elected leaders in this city, we need to take action that meets the moment,” Lurie said Thursday at a news conference in Alamo Square, per the Chronicle. “Rising rents are making it harder for the people who have built their lives here to stay here.”
The city will additionally spend $1 million on a “Know Your Rights” campaign to educate renters and landlords about legal protections and responsibilities. The campaign will be conducted with help from the Chamber of Commerce, while the city will also encourage more tenants to use the City Attorney’s Office [complaint system](https://www.sf.gov/report-wrongdoing?ref=sfist.com) to report potentially illegal conduct by property owners.
City Attorney David Chiu’s office has reportedly seen an increase in complaints about landlords allegedly violating tenant protections, including improperly raising rents in ways that could leave tenants unable to pay.
“Tenant protection laws can only help if tenants know about them and they're enforced,” Chiu said.
**Related:** [SF Supervisor Introduces Proposal Limiting Evictions Over Unpaid Rent](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/sf-supervisor-introduces-proposal-limiting-evictions-over-unpaid-rent/)
### Anthropic Says It Shut Down Several Efforts to Use Claude to Develop Biological Weapons
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/anthropic-says-it-shut-down-several-efforts-to-use-claude-to-develop-biological-weapons/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T19:24:27.000Z
In a new report discussing safety measures that have been taken by Anthropic when it detects that its models are being used for potentially malicious activity, the company says its AI was used to possibly begin developing new bio-weapons.
It could be part of a concerted PR push to counter the narrative, which was amplified in [a former employee's public resignation letter](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/) this week, that AIs will probably kill us all before long. But Anthropic is effectively saying, "Hey! We've got this handled," via its latest, albeit very unsettling report on "[Detecting and countering misuse of AI](https://www.anthropic.com/threat-intelligence-report-september-2026?ref=sfist.com)," published Thursday morning. Though the report may raise more concerns and questions than it does alleviate them.
The report covers potential threats that were detected and disrupted between December 2025 and August 2026 — the company's previous, similar threat report came out in November 2025, and highlighted how they had disrupted [the first reported AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign](https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage?ref=sfist.com) by a state-sponsored group in China.
The latest report details some similar types of cyberattacks, with the topline there being that AI has enabled far less sophisticated, non-state-sponsored bad actors to conduct the kinds of attacks that, just a year ago, would have required far more well developed hacking know-how.
"For threat intelligence investigators, sophistication has stopped being a reliable signal of who is behind an operation," the report's authors say. "Every layer of offensive operations has been uplifted by AI, from reconnaissance and tool development to data processing and exploitation."
The company also disrupted some state-aligned political influence and fake-news operations, the likes of which we've seen for a decade but which are now super-charged using AI-generated personas, biographies for fake reporters, impersonations of real-life figures, and more.
But buried a hundred or so pages into this lengthy report, Anthropic explains that, since last November's previous report, the company has detected new categories of threats related to state-sponsored use of its AI for the creation and control of conventional weapons, drones, weapons for undersea warfare, and biological weapons.
Some of these efforts are linked to specific countries, including China and Russia. But when the report gets into the section on biological weapons, the authors demur and decline to identify the countries that specific state-sponsored actors came from whose activity they shut down.
Anthropic says that this is the first time that they are aware of in which a company has publicly disclosed detection of the potential misuse of their AI models for biological weapons.
In one instance, the company says that it found a state-sponsored military effort, coming from a region where Claude would normally be blocked from use, to research possible mutations of the chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne virus that causes debilitating symptoms that can last weeks or months, and that, because it comes from insects, a deliberate deployment might be indistinguishable from a natural outbreak.
Chillingly, after the first activity was intercepted, the same actors re-established new accounts and continued the research within days, trying to evade detection. And it sounds like Anthropic continues to engage in a Whac-a-Mole effort as new accounts and methods arise from this same "cluster of activity."
In May, Anthropic said it disrupted some research being done by an actor within the US into highly-pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu, specifically seeking genetic variants with pandemic potential. Avian influenza variants currently show very low ability to pass from human to human, but a variant with this capability could be massively deadly.
The [New York Times spoke today](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/us/politics/anthropic-ai-biological-weapons.html?ref=sfist.com) with microbiologist Dr. Susan Monarez, who briefly served as CDC director last year, about the Anthropic report.
Adding another check in the "it's going to kill us all" column, Monarez expressed her concern that advanced AI models may "let bad actors hide in plain sight, using seemingly legitimate research to create pathogens we may not see coming and may not be able to stop once released."
Anthropic notes in its report that it takes seriously how it examines biological research activity, because the same research that could be used for good, say in the development of new vaccines, could also be used for malicious purposes.
**Related:** [Anthropic Researcher Says There’s 10% Chance of AI Killing ‘All Humans’ Within 10 Years](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/)
### San Francisco Hosting a 'Dolly Day' Concert In Union Square on 9/25 (Get It?)
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/san-francisco-hosting-a-dolly-day-concert-in-union-square-on-9-25-get-it/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T18:32:30.000Z
Dolly Parton fans in SF will get a chance to celebrate and mourn the great and wondrous cultural icon that she was at a Union Square concert event later this month.
It's being called [Dolly Day](https://dollyday.org/?ref=sfist.com), and it's a free event that is happening in Union Square from noon to 3 pm on Friday, September 25, aka 9/25, in honor of her hit song '9 to 5.'
"Come dressed to shine, y'all. Cowboys hats, sparkles, fringe, big hair and all other forms of self-expression are welcome," the event copy says.
"Dolly Day is a celebration of life held in remembrance of Dolly Parton — of her music, her generosity, her endless creativity and the plain joy she handed to everyone who ever heard her sing," the organizers say.
The event is being co-sponsored by Gold Digger Records and event producer [MoreSF](https://moresf.com/?ref=sfist.com), and they're promising live performances, tribute acts, DJs, and more, along with food and refreshments.
"Dolly Parton touched so many lives, including the lives of children right here in San Francisco," says Mayor Daniel Lurie in a statement, adding that Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has given away books to 11,000 children in SF who are registered with the non-profit's monthly book giveaway program.
"Dolly spent her life giving joy to people through her music and philanthropy. She is truly one of the most inspiring and universally-loved figures of our time," says Matt "Haze" Kaftor of Gold Digger Records, in a statement. "Dolly Day isn't about mourning. It's about coming together to celebrate everything she gave us, loudly and proudly, the way she'd want it."
As the [Chronicle notes](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/dolly-parton-day-sf-union-square-22424613.php?ref=sfist.com), this will be the first official celebration of Dolly Parton Day, which the California state legislature has enshrined on September 25, in SB 931, which is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk for a final sign-off. The bill creates the day of honor in recognition of Parton's contributions to childhood literacy.
Anyone who wants to be involved with the event, or to become a sponsor, is encouraged to reach out via [this contact form](https://dollyday.org/?ref=sfist.com#contact).
### San Jose Woman Accused of Harassing Families, Filming Inside School Locker Room
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/san-jose-woman-accused-of-harassing-families-filming-inside-school-locker-room/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T18:07:54.000Z
San Jose officials warned the community about a woman who’s been allegedly harassing families near local schools, including filming inside a high school locker room and accusing a father of trafficking his daughter — then posting the videos on TikTok.
Parents and students in the San Jose Unified School District were notified about recent incidents inside and near local schools by a white woman who some in the community have described as exhibiting patterns of “erratic” and “ongoing racist” behavior. [As NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-jose-unified-warning-woman-harrassing/4140441/?ref=sfist.com), the district says the woman has been recording and photographing members of the school community and posting the footage on social media.
The woman's recent posts reportedly appear to show her entering a high school locker room while making accusations about PE teachers and spouting right-wing rhetoric on religion, race, and sex. Her social media account reportedly contains numerous videos and posts with similar themes.
Prior to the school district’s warning, a local father in San Jose’s Almaden neighborhood [filmed the woman](https://www.tiktok.com/@yosemiteshyam/video/7682935970768948494?ref=sfist.com) Sunday in a now-viral video, accusing him of sex-trafficking his young daughter. He later described himself on social media as “brown,” while noting that his daughter is “half-white.”
“I’m recording you too,” the woman tells him in the video, claiming she works with federal authorities.
> [@yosemiteshyam](https://www.tiktok.com/@yosemiteshyam?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "@yosemiteshyam") She accused me of trafficking my own daughter, commented on our different skin colors, then quoted the Bible and told us to “burn in hell.” [#karen](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/karen?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "karen") [#racism](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/racism?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "racism") [#karensoftiktok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/karensoftiktok?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "karensoftiktok")#karensgonewild [#sanjose](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sanjose?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "sanjose") [#losgatos](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/losgatos?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "losgatos") [#racistwomen](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/racistwomen?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "racistwomen") [♬ original sound - yosemiteshyam](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-yosemiteshyam-7682935992604838670?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "♬ original sound - yosemiteshyam")
A resident told [told KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/woman-accuses-man-trafficking-his-own-daughter-san-jose?ref=sfist.com), he was shocked that such an incident could happen in the Almaden community.
“Making an accusation based on race alone is, like, not really right. That's not something we should support,” he said. “I didn't really think that sort of stuff could happen here.”
The San Jose Police Department is investigating both incidents.
Per KTVU, the woman’s family had previously reported her missing in 2022, when a relative said she was experiencing significant mental health issues. She reportedly [lives with her elderly father](https://www.reddit.com/r/SanJose/comments/1wcc8ba/comment/p8y95ks/?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=web3x&utm%5Fname=web3xcss&utm%5Fterm=1&utm%5Fcontent=share%5Fbutton).
**Related:** [San Jose Parents, Teachers Blindsided By Potential Closure of Nine Elementary Schools](https://sfist.com/2026/02/11/san-jose-parents-teachers-blindsided-by-potential-closure-of-nine-elementary-schools/)
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Duplex Fire In San Jose Leads to Roof Collapse
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/10/duplex-fire-in-sam-jose-leads-to-roof-collapse/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T16:37:12.000Z
- **BART halted all Green Line service Thursday morning between Berryessa and Daly City as it makes some equipment repairs.** This is the third consecutive day of trouble in the BART system, following a substation fire at Daly City Station on Tuesday, and subsequent problems on Wednesday. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bart-green-line-service-suspended-september-10-daly-city-substation-fire/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Firefighters rescued an unknown number of people from a dramatic residential fire Thursday morning in San Jose.** The two-alarm fire broke out just before 6 am in a duplex on the 2900 block of Union Avenue, and firefighters had to withdraw from the building when its roof began to collapse; the cause of the fire is not known. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-jose-duplex-fire-2900-union-avenue-second-alarm/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Wednesday was, in fact, San Francisco's hottest day in two years, hitting 94 on Mint Hill, and Thursday will continue to be a scorcher for parts of the Bay Area, but not SF.** Our temperatures will top out around 70 degrees and afternoon clouds and welcome sea breezes will return. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather-forecast/article/bay-area-heat-wave-break-22424357.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Veteran tight end George Kittle is off the injury list and will be back on the field for the 49ers' season opener in Melbourne on Friday. \[[CA Post](https://nypost.com/2026/09/10/sports/george-kittle-set-to-return-for-49ers-opener-after-remarkable-recovery/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Taking a page out of SF's playbook, Oakland has launched the Oakland Downtown Development Corporation, which like the similar SF Downtown Development Corporation, will raise a pool of money from business leaders and philanthropists to fund improvements and cleanup efforts that will hopefully bring some life back to Oakland's struggling downtown core. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/oakland-downtown-22423821.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Steele Fire in Napa County, which [began Wednesday morning](https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/steele-fire-burns-70-acres-near-lake-berryessa/), is now 30% contained, having grown to 50 acres by Wednesday evening. \[[Cal Fire](https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2026/9/9/steele-fire?ref=sfist.com)\]
- For the second time in two days, the Supreme Court issued a brief ruling that has shut down a Republican effort to create a new winnable House seat in Missouri. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/10/politics/supreme-court-missouri-congressional-map-republicans?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Steph Curry Sells Dogpatch Property Planned for Offices
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/steph-curry-sells-dogpatch-property/
Last updated: 2026-09-10T00:04:01.000Z
### Local:
- **After** [**canceling plans last year**](https://sfist.com/2025/04/04/steph-currys-company-abruptly-kills-off-plans-to-build-his-business-headquarters-in-dogpatch/) **to develop an office building in Dogpatch for his off-court business Thirty Ink, Steph Curry has officially sold the property at 600 20th Street that he purchased in 2024\.** He still turned a nice profit though: He bought the property for $8.5 million two years ago, and sold it for $11 million this week. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/steph-curry-sells-sf-hq-real-estate-warriors-22424031.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Monterey County Sheriff's Office says it has found the car associated with the Amber Alert that was issued for the 14-year-old girl, whom, it's believed, was impregnated by her father and is on the run with him after giving birth by the side of the road last week and killing the child. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/monterey-county-amber-alert-car-found?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A local paleontologist made a big discovery in San Mateo County, finding a fully intact tooth (a molar) from a Pacific mastodon, "in immaculate condition," which she found lying in a creek bed. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/scientist-makes-jaw-dropping-fossil-discovery-in-bay-area/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **President Trump's planned trip to Dallas for his fake "**[**Midterm Convention**](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-gop-convention-republican-house-senate-candidates/?ref=sfist.com)**" with fellow Republicans was delayed Wednesday after the emergency slide on his new Air Force One deployed, apparently in error.** Trump took the old Air Force One to Texas instead. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/air-force-one-slide-trump-tarmac-joint-base-andrews/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- As Hurricane Lowell passed by on Tuesday, it caused widespread damage, power outages, and downed trees on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. \[[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/lowell-marie-hawaii-hurricane-tropical-storm-3ecb644ff75c5e96c474acec38582cb0?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There are now four Americans in the semifinals at the US Open, after Coco Gauff defeated Mirra Andreeva today. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/us-open-2026-live-updates-quarterfinals-scores-results/Zn9ZkvAaC5BR/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- This Tiki cocktail guy with a YouTube channel, [Spike's Breezeway Cocktail Hour](https://www.youtube.com/@BreezewayCocktailHour?ref=sfist.com), paid a recent visit to the last remaining Trader Vic's in the country, which is of course on a pier in Emeryville. It's a shadow of the once popular original in SF's Tenderloin, which helped give birth to the entire Tiki trend, and the final one of its kind in what was, at one point, a chain.
### Meta Caught Running Hundreds Of Ads Featuring AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Images
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/meta-caught-running-hundreds-of-ads-featuring-ai-generated-child-sexual-abuse-images/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T23:48:04.000Z
After researchers alerted Meta to hundreds of ads featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse images that were running on its platform, the ads continued to appear despite the company claiming its new detection tools would block such content.
The issue first came to light when [Wired reported last month](https://www.wired.com/story/meta-ran-ads-that-contained-ai-generated-child-sexual-abuse-imagery/?ref=sfist.com) that about 50 ads running on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads directly contained child sexual abuse material. Meta reportedly removed the ads and said most had been published before it introduced new AI tools intended to detect and block harmful advertising.
[Wired reported Tuesday](https://www.wired.com/story/meta-failed-to-catch-hundreds-of-ai-child-abuse-ads-some-included-images-of-real-kids/?ref=sfist.com) that when researchers at the [Tech Transparency Project](https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/meta-ran-hundreds-of-paid-ads-with-child-sexual-abuse-imagery?ref=sfist.com) tried to verify whether the new safeguards were working, they instead found more than 250 additional ads containing child sexual abuse material on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, and Meta’s broader advertising network since the beginning of August.
Unlike the initial batch, some of the new ads reportedly used images of real children. The ads typically began with ordinary photographs of preteen or teenage girls before transforming their faces into graphic sexual videos and directing users to AI image- and video-generation apps.
According to Wired, researchers were able to identify four real minors whose images had been used, including three in the US. One was a teenage social media influencer whose photograph had been taken from a public account on one of Meta’s platforms, while another was also a teen influencer. A third was a real person whose photograph appeared on a stock-image site and was labeled as a preteen.
Another ad used an officially released photograph of a member of a European royal family, transforming it into a video depicting a graphic sex act. TTP did not identify the royal to protect the victim, but said it contacted officials in the country.
TTP ultimately found more than 350 abusive video ads dating back to last year, with about 300 promoting AI image- and video-generation apps, many linked to Chinese developers, per Wired. The ads reached tens of thousands of accounts, and researchers reported them to NCMEC and Meta.
Meta removed about 150 ads after TTP shared its findings, and updated more than 100 others to reflect child-exploitation violations. But researchers continued finding dozens of CSAM-containing ads in the days afterward.
Wired reports that many ads directed users to AI editing apps on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, while others appeared tied to fake Facebook accounts and Meta’s Chinese advertising resellers.
David Pham, a former Meta employee, said bad actors continually adapt to new safeguards.
“Every time the platform or investigators would build a new detection model or a new way to have some type of enforcement, they quickly — within a day, maybe five days — built a new way to avoid detection,” Pham told Wired.
Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton said the company does not tolerate child exploitation and said most of the ads had fewer than 200 impressions, with less than $5,000 in total ad spending. Meta said some were difficult to detect because minors appeared only briefly or were blurred.
The findings add to scrutiny of Meta’s child-safety practices, as the company has faced dozens of lawsuits over [alleged harms to children](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/meta-agrees-to-17-billion-settlement-in-social-media-addiction-lawsuit-from-47-states/) and a [New Mexico ruling](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/meta-ordered-to-pay-567m-implement-safeguards-as-part-of-new-mexico-child-mental-health-trial/) requiring stronger CSAM reporting procedures. They also come amid growing concerns that AI “nudify” tools are increasingly being used to create CSAM from ordinary photographs of children.
**Related:** [Meta Ordered to Pay $567M, Implement Safeguards as Part of New Mexico Child Mental Health Trial](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/meta-ordered-to-pay-567m-implement-safeguards-as-part-of-new-mexico-child-mental-health-trial/)
### District 10 Candidate Urges Opponent to Redirect $500K PAC Donation to Bayview Community
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/district-10-candidate-urges-opponent-to-redirect-500k-pac-donation-to-bayview-community/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T22:15:23.000Z
District 10 candidate for supervisor Shawn Richard is urging opponent Theo Ellington to redirect a $500,000 donation from crypto billionaire Chris Larsen to churches and community groups in the Bayview.
Shawn Richard, one of several candidates seeking to replace termed-out Supervisor Shamann Walton in District 10, made the demand Sunday from the steps of City Hall, calling on the independent committee supporting Theo Ellington to put crypto billionaire Chris Larsen’s [unprecedented $500,000 contribution](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/sf-crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-gifts-500k-to-pac-supporting-moderate-district-10-candidate/) toward residents struggling with the cost of food and basic necessities.
In a press release, Richard said the money could have a more immediate impact if it were directed to longstanding Black and community churches in the Bayview to purchase groceries, food, and household supplies for congregants and neighborhood residents. He also suggested [to the SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/06/sf-candidate-wants-rival-s-500-000-crypto-donation-steered-community/?ref=sfist.com) that the money go toward supporting mental health and addiction services, as well as neglected small-business corridors.
“I believe that money would do far more good feeding families than filling mailboxes with political advertisements,” Richard said.
Richard’s proposal is legally possible. Under California’s Political Reform Act, political committees can donate campaign funds to qualifying charitable, educational, civic, religious, or similar tax-exempt nonprofits — if the contribution meets the applicable requirements and doesn’t personally benefit anyone connected to the committee, according to the Standard.
Ellington has reportedly emphasized that the PAC operates independently of his campaign and said outside groups make their own decisions about participating in elections. He pointed to his record of growing up in District 10 and raising his family there, as well as his work on affordable housing, jobs, environmental justice, public safety, and opportunities for working families.
Richard argued to the Standard that Ellington should not be able to distance himself entirely from the donation simply because it went to an independent political committee rather than his campaign.
“Do you own your name, or do they own your name?” Richard asked.
Meanwhile, Ellington’s campaign has raised about $480,000 in addition to Larsen’s donation, bringing the total to nearly $1 million. Ellington’s two other opponents, JR Eppler, and DJ Brookter, raised roughly $151,000 and $129,000 respectively.
Eppler and Brookter reportedly criticized Larsen’s contribution when it was reported last week, per the Standard. Eppler questioned whether billionaires’ political investments come with expectations of influence, and Brookter raised concerns about whose interests would ultimately be represented.
Richard’s own campaign committee, “Elect Shawn M. Richard for District 10 Supervisor 2026,” has reported no financial activity this cycle.
Richard also questioned why Larsen would make such a large investment in a supervisor race in one of San Francisco’s most underserved districts. He pointed to undeveloped parcels in District 10 that could potentially support buildings as tall as 10 to 15 stories, as well as the two data centers planned in the area, including a 36-megawatt facility operated by NOVVA Data Centers on a 7.5-acre campus that's already operating.
Richard told the Standard that District 10 residents should have a greater say in how that development proceeds, making the supervisor’s seat particularly consequential for the neighborhood.
Richard, a lifelong San Franciscan and small-business owner, is the founder of Brothers Against Guns, which he started in 1995 after losing two younger brothers to gun violence. His campaign is focused on public safety and violence prevention, youth opportunities, jobs and economic development, affordable housing, small-business growth, and environmental justice in Bayview-Hunters Point.
Richard previously ran for District 10 supervisor in 2014, losing to then-incumbent Malia Cohen. District 10 encompasses Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Portola, Dogpatch, and other southeastern neighborhoods and includes about 80,000 residents.
**Previously:** [SF Crypto Billionaire Chris Larsen Gifts $500K to PAC Supporting Moderate District 10 Candidate](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/sf-crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-gifts-500k-to-pac-supporting-moderate-district-10-candidate/)
### Rainbow Grocery Is Filming Mini Concerts With Local Bands In Their Produce Section
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/rainbow-grocery-is-filming-mini-concerts-with-local-bands-in-their-produce-section/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T20:30:38.000Z
The Mission's worker-owned, vegetarian grocery store Rainbow Grocery has launched a new marketing effort in the vein of NPR's "Tiny Desk Concerts," only these concerts are in the produce section.
The "Under the Rainbow" concert video series just [launched last week on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@rainbow-grocery?ref=sfist.com) with a set by local indie band [Now](https://www.youtube.com/@nowfanclub?ref=sfist.com), kicking off, appropriately enough, with a cover of "Love in the Supermarket" by The Clash.
As Aldo de la Cruz-Falcon, who works on Rainbow Grocery's PR team, [explains to KQED](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993711/rainbow-grocery-tiny-desk-supermarket-concert-series-sf?ref=sfist.com), he was inspired by Delaware produce market [Fiesta Fresh Market](https://www.instagram.com/fiestafreshmarket/?ref=sfist.com), who went viral earlier this year after [posting videos of live concerts](https://www.instagram.com/p/DVwHwtVjYIY/?ref=sfist.com) happening inside the store, for customers.
Rainbow's Under the Rainbow concerts don't look like they're going to be open to the public as live shows (the logistics of hosting live shows are "too daunting," they say), but it's part of a marketing effort, de la Cruz-Falcon says, to show that they are "more than a grocery store."
"Something about Rainbow that’s different from other grocers is that we’re part of the community. We’re a co-op; we’re not owned by billionaires. We like to do things for the community," he tells KQED.
Now's set was filmed on a recent Saturday after the store had closed, along with sets by three other bands, with subsequent videos set to be posted to YouTube every other week, on Wednesday's.
A teaser for the next one, by the band [April Magazine](https://aprilmagazine.bandcamp.com/album/double-life-beat?ref=sfist.com), has already gone up.
Fun fact: The father of the drummer of the band Now, Oliver Lipton, apparently worked at Rainbow Grocery back in the 80s, as KQED notes.
Coming up later in the series, de la Cruz-Falcon tells KQED, may be performances by Rainbow workers themselves, some of whom are talented musicians in their own right.
### Anthropic Researcher Says There’s 10% Chance of AI Killing ‘All Humans’ Within 10 Years
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-says-theres-10-chance-of-ai-killing-all-humans-within-10-years/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T20:06:04.000Z
After an Anthropic researcher resigned Tuesday, warning that superintelligence risks human lives, fellow researcher Evan Hubinger said that while current risks are low, there’s a 10% chance AI could “kill all humans” in the future — without proper safeguards.
Jacob Coxon, who spent three years conducting pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic, [says he resigned](https://x.com/hilbertspaess/status/2097476196791709843?s=20&ref=sfist.com) because he believes the companies are moving too quickly toward self-improving superintelligence.
“Do not underestimate the power of this technology,” warns Coxon.
> I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives. More thoughts below.
>
> — Jacob Coxon (@hilbertspaess) [September 9, 2026](https://x.com/hilbertspaess/status/2097476196791709843?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
Coxon argues that the AI technology could soon become capable of hacking systems, rapidly transforming entire fields, and acquiring real-world power and resources.
“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt,” he wrote. “If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible — but I hear the same people express fear privately. No other human activity poses this level of danger.”
Evan Hubinger, Anthropic’s Alignment Science Lead, [responded to Coxon’s post](https://x.com/EvanHub/status/2097497037956891126?ref=sfist.com) by saying he shares the concern about where the technology is headed. Although he considers the risk posed by AI models that currently exist to be low, his concern is that increasingly capable systems could eventually improve themselves to a point where they pose an existential threat.
“We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade,” Hubinger wrote.
> Jacob is correct here—we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade. I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to. [https://t.co/QAIHiFP3QZ](https://t.co/QAIHiFP3QZ?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — Evan Hubinger (@EvanHub) [September 9, 2026](https://x.com/EvanHub/status/2097497037956891126?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
[As CBS News reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-kill-humans-anthropic-researcher-more-than-ten-percent-chance/?ref=sfist.com), Anthropic’s alignment science department, where Hubinger is lead researcher, focuses on making AI systems behave in accordance with human goals and values. Hubinger said Anthropic is trying to address the problem, but that the company does not yet have a solution for aligning hypothetical superintelligent systems and is not clearly on track to develop one.
Coxon was considerably more critical, saying Anthropic understands the potential consequences of superintelligence but is continuing to race toward it because of fears that other companies will do it less responsibly. He contrasted that with OpenAI, where he said many people have not fully grasped the potential stakes.
The comments come as concerns about AI safety have intensified following several incidents involving autonomous systems. OpenAI disclosed in July that [one of its models hacked AI development platform Hugging Face](https://sfist.com/2026/07/22/openai-says-its-technology-acted-on-its-own-when-it-hacked-another-company/) while being tested in an isolated environment, and Anthropic and Meta later acknowledged that their own AI systems had also carried out hacks.
There have also been questions about how closely AI companies are working with government safety bodies. According to CBS, Anthropic said last week that it had not shared its latest model, Claude Mythos 5.1, with security organizations outside the US, including the UK's AI Security Institute, which tests the capabilities and risks of advanced AI models.
A spokesperson for the UK Cabinet Office, meanwhile, said the AI Security Institute continues to work with companies including Anthropic and had recently tested OpenAI’s most powerful model before its public release.
Earlier this week, OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki [also called for “extreme caution”](https://openai.com/index/an-alien-mind/?ref=sfist.com) as AI capabilities continue to advance, warning that systems do not need to match humans at everything to become highly useful or dangerous. Anthropic’s [August safety report](https://www.anthropic.com/responsible-scaling-policy?ref=sfist.com) also identified a low risk that highly capable AI could autonomously conduct research and development that results in catastrophic harm, while acknowledging that the company was less confident in that assessment than previously and was seeing “early signs of potential acceleration.”
Anthropic leaders Dario Amodei and Jared Kaplan have also called for greater caution around the pace of AI development, while more than [1,300 AI workers signed a July letter](https://www.pacingthefrontier.com/?ref=sfist.com) urging the US government to develop safeguards and governance measures that would deliberately slow the development of increasingly autonomous AI.
[The BBC reports](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgwy1k42w4o?ref=sfist.com) that Coxon and Hubinger's comments have prompted calls for governments to take a larger role in regulating the technology. Darren Jones, a former chief secretary to the UK’s Treasury under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, called for a multinational treaty governing the development of superintelligent AI, arguing that countries need to work together before the technology advances beyond their ability to respond.
Per CBS, the US House of Representatives introduced a bill called the [AI Kill Switch Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9917?%5F%5Fcf%5Fchl%5Ftk=jxrIR.NwHPZo0UYiPkWJRwzjes3580HOFQyVrGfFlZg-1788954054-1.0.1.1-ww8v6Bnib5rGfi1zbrloTHINMDpZfbbkr50PntLynag&ref=sfist.com), which would give Congress authority to switch off AI models that pose a threat to the public, following the OpenAI and Hugging Face incident in July.
**Related:** [Anthropic's New Model, Mythos, Is So Dangerous It Isn't Being Released to the Public](https://sfist.com/2026/04/15/anthropics-new-model-mythos-is-so-dangerous-it-isnt-being-released-to-the-public/)
### Here's the Complete Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Day-By-Day Lineup for 2026
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/heres-the-complete-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-day-by-day-lineup-for-2026/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T20:01:10.000Z
The full lineup for San Francisco's favorite free music festival is now out, and we now know who's playing on which day the first weekend in October.
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is coming up in just a few short weeks, and this year's lineup includes notable newcomers as well as returning stars, including Los Lobos, Molly Tuttle, Mavis Staples, Allison Krauss, My Morning Jacket, Gillian Welch, and of course, Emmylou Harris.
The festival is happening Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4, in the meadows of Golden Gate Park — much of the same footprint as Outside Lands, minus the Polo Field. And, as always, it is completely free to attend, which generally means planning to arrive early and stake out some grass with a lawn chair or two — committing to one stage for the day will save some headaches, but you will miss whatever's not on that stage!
We still don't know the schedule of performances and who's on what stage — that will arrive on September 22 — but the full day lineups can be seen below.
The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival was founded and endowed by Warren Hellman, the namesake of what's now Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park, and had its first outing in 2001.
This year's festival is kicking off with a Thursday night tribute concert to festival regular Steve Earle at The Masonic, and [resale tickets are available](https://www.ticketmaster.com/an-evening-honoring-steve-earle-san-francisco-california-10-01-2026/event/1C0064BAEF8EA235?landing=c&ref=sfist.com) for that on Ticketmaster.
**Previously:** [Mavis Staples Returns to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass This Year, Along With Los Lobos](https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/mavis-staples-returns-to-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-this-year-along-with-los-lobos/)
### Steele Fire Burns 45 Acres Near Lake Berryessa
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/steele-fire-burns-70-acres-near-lake-berryessa/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T20:36:54.000Z
A wildfire began amid hot and dry weather in Napa County Wednesday morning, dubbed the Steele Fire, that quickly grew to 45 acres on the south end of Lake Berryessa.
The Steele Fire was first reported around 10:50 am Wednesday as having burned about 10 acres of vegetation, beginning near the 9400 block of Steele Canyon Road, by Lake Berryessa.
As of 11:42 am, Cal Fire reported that the fire had grown to 70 acres and was burning in steep terrain, as seen in the photo below. Later aerial imaging down-sized the fire to 45 acres.
**Photo via Cal Fire*
"Good progress is being made on both flanks," Cal Fire said in an update, regarding the containment effort.
One structure is reportedly threatened by the fire. While an evacuation order was given earlier on, as of 1:10 pm Cal Fire said the evacuation order had been lifted, and forward progress on the fire had been stopped.
This is the first wildfire in Napa County since the Hardin Fire near Pope Valley in July, and the Head Fire, which burned 98 acres north of Lake Berryessa in late June.
The areas around Lake Berryessa have burned multiple times in recent years, including the [Wragg Fire](https://sfist.com/2015/07/23/winds%5Fwhip%5Ffire%5Fsouth%5Fof%5Flake%5Fberry/) in 2015, the [LNU Lightning Complex](https://sfist.com/2020/08/28/fire-updates-lnu-complex-damage-map-scu-containment/) fire in 2020, the [Berry Fire](https://sfist.com/2025/08/08/brush-fire-breaks-out-in-napa-county-dubbed-the-berry-fire-spreads-to-50-acres/) in 2025, the [Putah Fire](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/putah-fire-yolo-county-22296618.php?ref=sfist.com) in June, and both the [Smittle Fire](https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/07/06/smittle-fire-near-lake-berryessa-burns-4-acres-cause-under-investigation/?ref=sfist.com) the Hardin Fire in July.
*This story has been updated throughout.*
### 20-Year-Old Man Allegedly Kills Father While Protecting Mother In East Bay Domestic Incident
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/20-year-old-man-allegedly-kills-father-while-protecting-mother-in-east-bay-domestic-incident/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T18:20:46.000Z
A 20-year-old son allegedly stabbed his father to death in a domestic incident in Castro Valley on Saturday while trying to defend his mother.
The family altercation took place around 1:30 pm Saturday at a residence on Parsons Avenue near Seven Hills Road. As KTVU reports, the family had lived in the home for about a year.
According to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the father, a 51-year-old man, was engaged in a physical confrontation with the mother, and the son reportedly heard his mother "in distress." The son then stabbed the father with an "edged weapon," and the father later died at the hospital.
The son has been identified as 20-year-old John Thomas Powell, and he is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder, according to the sheriff's office.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/castro-valley-fatal-stabbing-22422882.php?ref=sfist.com), it's not clear whether the mother or son also suffered any injuries, and it was unclear whether authorities had ever responded to previous domestic incidents at this address.
A neighbor, Nora Patterson, tells KTVU that she saw Powell being led away in handcuffs. "It's tragic, you know? He lost his life. And the poor guy was only 20 years old, and he was trying to protect his mom, supposedly," Patterson tells the station.
A legal analyst tells KTVU that the case will likely come down to the question of how much physical danger the mother was in, which will dictate whether Powell may face charges of manslaughter or justifiable homicide.
### Man Picks Fight With Stranger at Crissy Field Who Turns Out to Be a Martial Arts Instructor
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/man-picks-fight-with-stranger-at-crissy-field-who-turns-out-to-be-a-martial-arts-instructor/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T18:11:30.000Z
A local martial arts instructor was walking his dog at Crissy Field Tuesday afternoon when another man allegedly began attacking him, and the instructor pinned him down until police arrived.
James Hidalgo was at the east beach section of Crissy Field with his dog, Argis, around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when he says another man approached him and tried to throw a punch. [As KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/video-wild-brawl-breaks-out-at-san-francisco-beach/?ref=sfist.com), Hidalgo said the man had been shouting loudly nearby, but he initially didn’t think much of it.
KRON4 was reportedly already at Crissy Field filming a different story when the fight broke out. In the video footage, the alleged assailant, who was not identified, appears barefoot and shirtless.
Hidalgo told KRON4 the man accused him of calling him a dog — presumably because Hidalgo was with his dog — before allegedly taking a swing at him, prompting Hidalgo to use his martial arts training to take him to the ground and hold him there.
Witnesses called 911, and Hidalgo reportedly kept the man pinned for several minutes until US Park Police arrived.
“I saw this guy being loud. I didn’t pay no mind. I thought he was trying to get someone’s attention,” Hidalgo said, speaking to KRON4\. “I said I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just kind of put my hands up and was like 'Hey man ok' and then he came in and tried to punch me, so then I pinned him down to the ground until the cops got here."
According to the outlet, both men were handcuffed while officers investigated the incident. The alleged assailant was then taken away by police and evaluated by paramedics before being released from custody, according to KRON4\. Hidalgo said he plans to press charges.
“He just ran into the wrong person,” said Hidalgo.
The story certainly seems made for TV, with a martial arts instructor finding himself in a beach fight just as a camera crew happened to be at Crissy Field.
It’s unclear what other story the outlet was covering Tuesday afternoon in the area. Prior to the incident, a [sick sea lion](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sea-lion-in-distress-spotted-on-sfs-crissy-field/?ref=sfist.com) died at Crissy Field Monday, and a [stabbing](https://sfist.com/2026/09/05/one-person-stabbed-in-mid-morning-incident-at-crissy-field/) occurred near the beach Saturday.
**Related:** [One Person Stabbed in Mid-Morning Incident at Crissy Field](https://sfist.com/2026/09/05/one-person-stabbed-in-mid-morning-incident-at-crissy-field/)
### Humpday Headlines: Fire at Daly City BART Disrupts Service
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/09/fire-at-daly-city-bart-disrupts-service/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T18:47:10.000Z
- **A Spare the Air alert is in effect today, along with a heat advisory, and some inland spots are likely to see triple digits.** KPIX putting SF's high at 85 today, while the [Chronicle had suggested](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather-forecast/article/san-francisco-heat-90s-22422402.php?ref=sfist.com) that some neighborhoods, including the Mission and Pacific Heights, would top 90\. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bay-area-hot-temperatures-september-9-spare-the-air-heat-advisory/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **BART service was disrupted Tuesday night due to a substation and track side fire at Daly City Station, which led to Red Line service being stopped between West Oakland and Daly City/SFO.** The fire was contained as of 7:44 pm. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/bart-service-disrupted-fire-daly-city-station?ref=sfist.com)\] **Update:** [Systemwide delays continued](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bart-reports-major-delays-wednesday/?ref=sfist.com) on BART Wednesday morning, with equipment problems on the tracks reported at both Daly City and West Oakland stations.
- That [prescribed burn on Angel Island](https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/smoke-coming-from-angel-island-is-a-prescribed-burn/) that sent some smoke over the Bay on Tuesday will not continue Wednesday due to air quality concerns, but may resume in the coming days as conditions change. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/angel-island-prescribed-burn-wednesday-cancelled-22423252.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Mateo County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Romero has been charged with felony child abuse and prosecutors say he choked and dragged his five-year-old son for not eating breakfast fast enough. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-mateo-county-sheriffs-deputy-charged-abusing-his-5-yr-old-son?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 21-year-old woman is being sought by police in Pacifica after she allegedly struck a police officer with her car while fleeing a Safeway theft in July. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/woman-sought-after-pacifica-officer-hit-with-car-during-safeway-thefts/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Airlines across the UK and Europe were scrambling to deal with a backlog of stranded passengers after a technical problem with the UK's air traffic control system led to the cancellation of over 1,750 flights. \[[Associated Press](https://abc7news.com/story/airlines-scramble-dig-tech-problems-canceled-1750-flights-uk/19810769/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Chronicle [updated its Chronicle 200](https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2026/chronicle-200-bay-area-companies/?ref=sfist.com), the list of the biggest companies in the Bay Area by revenue, for the first time since 2009, and these days Apple tops the list, with Alphabet and Nvidia in second and third.
### Day Around the Bay: Vallejo Authorities Still Searching For Leads In 2016 Pearl Pinson Case
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/day-around-the-bay-vallejo-authorities-still-searching-for-leads-in-2016-pearl-pinson-case/
Last updated: 2026-09-09T01:25:03.000Z
### Local:
- **Investigators are still searching for tips from the public about the 2016 kidnapping of 15-year-old Pearl Pinson in Vallejo.** The 19-year-old suspect in the case was [shot and killed](https://sfist.com/2016/05/27/vallejo%5Fis%5Fwhack%5Fteen%5Fmissing%5Fas%5Fhe/) soon after the kidnapping, but Pinson was never found, with some speculating [she had been trafficked](https://sfist.com/2017/03/03/missing%5Fvallejo%5Fteen%5Fcould%5Fhave%5Fbee/). \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/10-years-later-search-pearl-pinson/4089898/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Sports Illustrated writer and 49ers critic Grant Cohn followed the team to** [**Australia**](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/the-49ers-land-in-australia-for-nfl-game-against-la-rams-next-week/) **this week ahead of their game against the LA Rams Friday.** Cohn quickly became smitten with the country, [gushing over the Australian Football League](https://x.com/AFL/status/2096926522124980444?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2096926522124980444%7Ctwgr%5E5914d34f51662c845970df8f6402a769ba66b845%7Ctwcon%5Es1%5F&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfgate.com%2F49ers%2Farticle%2F49ers-reporter-australian-microcelebrity-22422513.php&ref=sfist.com), and the feeling was apparently mutual. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/49ers-reporter-australian-microcelebrity-22422513.php?link%5Fsource=ta%5Ffirst%5Fcomment&taid=6aa06b3080449d000156a1ff&fbclid=IwY2xjawUNSzhwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMWxxZUQ1RURrbGUzajZ3b0JzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeIQiO3lSReNNX%5Fzv0MsspQSZNV-6GJxwCBdprz9XvHJyeWNWmJmNIb3VgfoI%5Faem%5FfuAxeal9mUFP5pvaMDw7dQ&ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Berkeley and the rest of the East Bay are bracing for an impending rollout of Waymo robotaxis, although there’s been no word yet about an expansion there**. The company, which [received approval](https://sfist.com/2026/08/14/waymo-receives-approval-to-expand-future-service-to-entire-bay-area/) from the California Public Utilities Commission to expand last month, has been known to sprout up in new cities without warning. \[[Berkeleyside](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/09/08/waymo-tesla-cybercab-berkeley-east-bay?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The US military destroyed five crude oil tankers linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Tuesday.** Four of the tankers were located in the Gulf of Oman, and the fifth was in the Persian Gulf near Kharg Island, a well-known oil depot. \[[USA Today](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/us-strikes-iran-destroys-5-230705553.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Donald Trump’s recent claims that he was carried away by firefighters ahead of the 9/11 attacks are likely false, as he was miles away from the World Trade Center at the time. \[[CNN](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fact-check-trump-story-being-223104533.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Children’s test scores are declining internationally, which may coincide with their parents’ showing less interest in their schooling. \[[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/pisa-test-scores-china-singapore-usa-2c1c7b338e3d5b38031ef0eecef9ce5d?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- A Boy Scout troop in Nevada has been helping with the annual Burning Man cleanup efforts for the past three years while also directing unused supplies to the local community.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdCkoDzSN2H/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by CBS News Bay Area (@kpixtv)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdCkoDzSN2H/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Murals in the Mission’s Clarion Alley Destroyed, Landlord Claims It Was Removing Graffiti
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/murals-in-the-missions-clarion-alley-destroyed-landlord-claims-it-was-removing-graffiti/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T23:48:43.000Z
A property management company painted over four murals in the Mission’s iconic Clarion Alley, claiming it was removing graffiti, and the murals’ organizers are working to restore the lost work and prevent any more from being ruined in the future.
The four murals were painted over on August 24, with three completely covered in white paint and a fourth partially obscured, [as Mission Local reported](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/four-murals-in-clarion-alley-were-painted-over-last-week/?ref=sfist.com) last week. The Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP), which manages the alley and its more than 50 murals connecting Mission and Valencia between 17th and 18th streets, said it received no warning before the murals were painted over.
Artist Doug Rhodes said he witnessed the incident taking place and confronted the person doing the whitewashing, eventually persuading him to stop. The man said his employer Makras Real Estate Group had received a report of graffiti and told him to remove it.
"It's always infuriating when art gets destroyed out of ignorance," Rhodes said. "Don’t just paint over it."
The real estate company said it did not know the murals had been painted over until CAMP contacted it.
According to Mission Local, the murals reportedly included a memorial to artist and activist Kirsten Brydum, a tribute to the former Adobe Books location, a mural honoring local graffiti artist Chloe, a.k.a. Marfa, and a piece created this spring by students with Graffiti Camp for Girls.
[NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/murals-san-franciscos-clarion-alley/4139204/?ref=sfist.com) that the Graffiti Camp for Girls mural has since been reclaimed, with artist Nyia Luna spending more than six hours and about $100 creating a [replacement piece](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcjfuBemXys/?img%5Findex=1&ref=sfist.com) after learning what happened.
CAMP co-director Ivy Jeanne told the outlet the organization has spent decades building relationships with property owners and establishing the alley as a place for murals since the organization was founded in 1992, noting that the project has produced more than 900 works focused heavily on social justice and equity.
The organization had also launched a [$35,000 fundraiser](https://donate.mazloweb.com/donate/YRyMdfuwTcNRdEcBUcReoN?ref=sfist.com) two weeks before the latest incident to support mural restoration, maintain its operations, and clean up the alley.
Per Mission Local, CAMP is now exploring ways to better protect the artwork, while District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder’s office has offered to help with restoration efforts and the ongoing care of the historic mural space, saying it hopes the incident was an inadvertent mistake.
**Related:** [Clarion Alley Mural Project Turns 25: A Historical Primer](https://sfist.com/2017/10/20/clarion%5Falley%5Fmural%5Fproject%5Fturns%5F2/)
### Wednesday Expected to Be the Hottest Day In Two Years In SF
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/wednesday-expected-to-be-the-hottest-day-in-two-years-in-sf/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T22:24:14.000Z
We're looking at temperatures in the mid-90s Wednesday for parts of San Francisco, with 80 degrees predicted at the beach, in the official kickoff of the city's true summer season.
Just as the rest of the country is starting to put away their summer clothes and close up their summer houses for the season, San Francisco is kicking off its real-deal summer with a mini-heatwave. Things hopefully cool off again by Thursday so we don't bake too much, but [the Chronicle says](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather-forecast/article/san-francisco-heat-90s-22422402.php?ref=sfist.com) that today's very warm and sunny preview will be just the first taste, with Wednesday even hotter.
Gone will be the usual sea breeze, perhaps even at the coast, and they're forecasting a 95-degree high in the Mission District Wednesday afternoon, with 93 in the Castro, 92 in Pacific Heights, and 80 in the Outer Sunset and at Ocean Beach.
These highs aren't totally guaranteed, thanks to the unsettled bands of moisture coming at us from the south, complete with high clouds, some of which gave Los Angeles some surprise downpours and lightning on Tuesday morning. Those high clouds will trap some of the heat at night, as the Chronicle meteorology team explains, keeping things warm on Wednesday night, but depending on the cloud cover during the day this could also bring the high temps down.
So far this year, we had that [one extended heatwave](https://sfist.com/2026/03/16/marathon-heat-wave-to-last-all-week/) in March, where temperatures toyed with records in the mid-80s. And the last time SF got into the upper 90s was [a 97-degree high on October 6, 2024](https://sfist.com/2024/10/07/this-past-week-was-a-reminder-of-why-you-cant-trust-weather-apps-for-sf-heatwaves/), which followed a weeklong heatwave that forecasters actually didn't see coming — and that left many miserable, especially if they had no air conditioning.
The ocean breeze and lower temps are forecast to return on Thursday, with a high in the city around 75 degrees.
AccuWeather has San Francisco forecast to see highs of around 69 or 70 all the way from the weekend through next week, but we'll see if that changes.
Areas of high pressure that interrupt the usual onshore breeze that keeps San Francisco cool are typical at this time of year and through October, but [the crazy El Nino season](https://sfist.com/2026/05/10/brace-yourselves-for-what-could-be-a-really-nutty-el-nino-winter/) brewing in the Pacific could upend that pattern and send early rain our way this year. Buckle up.
### Vicious Dog Attack In SF’s Tenderloin Leaves Woman With Traumatic Injuries
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/vicious-dog-attack-in-sfs-tenderloin-leaves-woman-with-traumatic-injuries/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T21:38:37.000Z
Witnesses say a woman was dragged in the street by a large unleashed dog in SF’s Tenderloin neighborhood Tuesday morning, and she was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The attack happened around 9:20 am Tuesday on the 500 block of Larkin Street, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/dog-attack-tenderloin-injuries-22422511.php?ref=sfist.com). According to witnesses and video posted to [Citizen](https://sfist.com/2026/04/24/board-of-supes-to-consider-reopening-dog-court-as-61-bite-cases-await-hearings/), the woman was dragged along Larkin Street during the attack, which showed a large, apparently unleashed pit bull mix standing near her as she lay injured with a bloody arm in the roadway.
Several officers can be seen in the footage surrounding the dog, with some appearing to have their weapons drawn, while others kept the animal contained. San Francisco Animal Care and Control reportedly took custody of the dog.
According to the Chronicle, the woman suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital by San Francisco Fire Department paramedics for treatment. The victim and dog’s owner have not been publicly identified.
Dog bites have been increasing in San Francisco. [The Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-dog-court-returns-22298364.php?ref=sfist.com) in June that more than 1,020 bites were reported to police in 2025, compared with about 870 in 2024, while more than 430 had already been reported by the end of May this year.
The increase comes as the city’s long-delayed “dog court” reportedly resumed in June under new leadership, with Virginia Donahue, a former director of San Francisco Animal Care and Control, appointed as judge after the court closed in 2024, [leaving dozens of cases on hold](https://sfist.com/2026/04/24/board-of-supes-to-consider-reopening-dog-court-as-61-bite-cases-await-hearings/).
**Related:** [Board of Supes to Consider Reopening ‘Dog Court’ as 61 Bite Cases Await Hearings](https://sfist.com/2026/04/24/board-of-supes-to-consider-reopening-dog-court-as-61-bite-cases-await-hearings/)
### Billboard Icon Anh Phoong Will Pay You $10K For a Good Jingle
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/billboard-icon-anh-phoong-will-pay-you-10k-for-a-good-jingle/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T21:37:30.000Z
Being memorable to everyone is key to getting lucrative personal-injury cases, as the Barnes Firm, Sweet James, Walkup Law, the Law Brothers, and others have shown with their ubiquitous TV advertising. Now Anh Phoong wants in on the action.
You could say that billboard personal injury lawyer icon Anh Phoong has done just fine for herself with her ten-year-old slogan, "Something Wrong? Call Anh Phoong." By way of other marketing efforts, Phoong has also[ sponsored a basketball team](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/anh-phoong-kings-jerseys-21112113.php?ref=sfist.com) and advertised on their uniforms, [put out her own streetwear line](https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/anh-phoong-now-selling-official-t-shirts-and-hoodies-if-you-absolutely-must-have-one/) last fall featuring branded hoodies and tees, and even [shown up for a fake honor at a Stud party](https://48hills.org/2024/05/anh-phoong-stud-whatever-lgbtq-bar-billboard-queen/?ref=sfist.com) where she was definitely meant to be a campy special guest.
Phoong previously, back in early 2025, [held a contest for a new billboard design](https://sfist.com/2025/01/28/anh-phoong-having-a-contest-where-you-can-design-her-next-billboard/), which itself was clearly a marketing effort. And now, her firm is holding a contest for a fresh and catchy jingle, for which they will [pay a prize of $10,000](https://phoonglaw.com/phoong-law-jingle-contest-create-a-jingle-for-a-chance-to-win-10000/?ref=sfist.com) — which probably much less than it would cost to hire someone to actually write a jingle.
"When Anh Phoong introduced 'Something Wrong? Call Anh Phoong' 10 years ago, it became the foundation of a billboard campaign that would eventually reach communities throughout Northern California, Southern California, and beyond," the firm says. "The slogan has since inspired social media posts, artwork, music, comedy, and countless conversations among people who recognize Anh from her billboards."
"So many people have asked me, why don't you have a Phoong Law jingle?" Phoong herself says in the video below. "So, here is your opportunity!"
While personal injury firms like The Law Brothers and Sweet James have put themselves out there, becoming the faces of their own (albeit strange) brands, the only personal injury firm with a famous jungle is The Barnes Firm — which grew out of famed New York State law firm Cellino & Barnes, which also had its own [highly recognizable, earworm-wish jingle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GqFTNqzosc&ref=sfist.com) that dated back to the early 1990s.
Rich Barnes, the brother of firm founder Steve Barnes, assumed the leadership of the national personal-injury firm after Steve died in a plane crash in October 2020\. And the commercial jingle for the firm makes their "1-800-8 Million" phone number all the more memorable, much like Cellino & Barnes number became ingrained in the consciousness of New Yorkers over decades.
So now it's Phoong Law's turn at making commercial jingle history.
The firm says that contest entries "can be catchy, funny, energetic, dramatic, or completely unexpected," but they need to be memorable!
And, in spite of the fact that [this page of copy](https://phoonglaw.com/phoong-law-jingle-contest-create-a-jingle-for-a-chance-to-win-10000/?ref=sfist.com) about the contest was itself probably written by AI, they say "Phoong Law will not accept AI-generated production products as contest entries." But how will they even know?
The entries could become marketing tools are their own, because the firm is asking that in addition to filling out an official entry firm, songwriters must post their jingle as a Reel to Instagram, and tag @phoonglaw. And all entries have to be in by October 2, 2026.
**Previously:** [Anh Phoong Now Selling Official T-Shirts and Hoodies, If You Absolutely Must Have One](https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/anh-phoong-now-selling-official-t-shirts-and-hoodies-if-you-absolutely-must-have-one/)
### Woman Who Was Nearly Killed By Child Driver In Oakland Is Relearning To Walk
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/woman-who-was-nearly-killed-by-child-driver-in-oakland-is-relearning-to-walk/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T20:09:11.000Z
Doctors say it could take two years for 31-year-old Kiara Bowling to recover from the traumatic brain injury that nearly killed her when a car allegedly driven by a seven-year-old struck her in Oakland last month.
A month after the crash, Kiara Bowling is beginning to walk again, with her family describing her progress as miraculous given how close she came to dying.[ As ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/oakland-woman-kiara-bowling-relearns-walk-speak-fatal-crash-involving-kid-drivers/19800431/?ref=sfist.com), Bowling suffered a traumatic brain injury and spent weeks in the hospital following the crash, where she has been relearning basic skills.
Bowling was walking her best friend’s dog on an East Oakland sidewalk last month when [a car being driven by a seven-year-old boy struck her from behind](https://sfist.com/2026/08/06/woman-struck-in-east-oakland-crosswalk-by-7-year-old-driving-car-with-4-year-old-passenger/), leaving her without a pulse when paramedics arrived.
The boy’s four-year-old brother was also in the car, and their uncle said they had taken their parents’ car keys while the adults were asleep.
Meanwhile, Bowling's parents are reportedly cooperating with the police investigation, which remains ongoing. Bowling’s aunt, Karon Markham, [told KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/oakland-woman-takes-first-steps-after-being-hit-by-a-child-driver/?ref=sfist.com) she hopes investigators thoroughly examine what happened in the household and suggested that Child Protective Services should become involved.
Bowling is now receiving daily occupational, physical, and speech therapy. Markham said she’s working on tasks as basic as coloring and putting together puzzles, while also learning to move more independently.
“What a blessing,” Markham said. “Because we didn't even know that she would make it one month today, and she's up walking.”
The crash has left Bowling facing a lengthy recovery, with doctors estimating it could take as long as two years. Per KRON4, her family hopes she can leave the hospital by December, although Markham said Bowling is eager to move faster.
"She has a long recovery. And she's getting there. Small steps," Markham said, speaking to ABC 7.
[An online fundraiser](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-kiara-bowlings-recovery?ref=sfist.com) organized by Markham has raised more than $115,000 to help with Bowling’s medical expenses.
Before the crash, Bowling was reportedly in her final semester at Cal State East Bay and pursuing a pre-law degree. She had also recently been selected as Miss California Regency International 2026 and completed a summer program connected to Harvard, with plans to pursue Harvard Law.
ABC 7 reports that Bowling was recently reunited with Grizzly, the friend’s dog she had been walking when she was struck. Grizzly is also recovering from injuries sustained in the crash.
**Previously:** [Woman Struck In East Oakland Crosswalk By 7-Year-Old Driving Car With 4-Year-Old Brother](https://sfist.com/2026/08/06/woman-struck-in-east-oakland-crosswalk-by-7-year-old-driving-car-with-4-year-old-passenger/)
### Everything We Know About This Elizabeth Holmes Documentary From A24 and Nathan Fielder
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/everything-we-know-about-this-elizabeth-holmes-documentary-from-a24-and-nathan-fielder/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T18:49:20.000Z
A small group of festival-goers and critics got a sneak-preview screening Sunday night at the Telluride Film Festival of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's top-secret Elizabeth Holmes documentary *You Can See Everything*. A teaser trailer was also posted, and social platforms were immediately abuzz. Here's what we know.
***Warning: Spoilers to come about the documentary, in case you'd rather be surprised.***
We've been mostly rid of Elizabeth Holmes and her unsettling, unblinking stare these past couple years as she's settled into prison life in Bryan, Texas. (With a reduction for good behavior, she's still likely not getting out until 2032.) But, true to form, Holmes has managed keep herself sporadically in the press, and any instinct she had to lie low was apparently overridden by a desire to tell her truth and maybe shift the court of public opinion, after she repeatedly ran up against walls in the actual courts as she tried to delay her sentence and appeal her conviction.
We saw her doing this in the weeks leading up to her reporting date at [FPC Bryan](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bry/?ref=sfist.com) in May 2023, [granting an interview to the New York Times](https://sfist.com/2023/05/08/elizabeth-holmess-new-daughter-is-named-invicta-and-other-revelations-from-a-strange-new-nyt-profile/) in which she introduced the world to her newborn daughter Invicta, from the comfort of a rented home outside San Diego where she was living with partner and baby daddy Billy Evans, and her then almost-two-year-old son, named William Holmes Evans.
Interviewer Amy Chozick said that while she was "taken... and taken in" by Holmes, who was going by Liz as of 2023, she knew better than to believe most of what she said. That included Holmes's take on the Amanda Seyfried portrayal of her in *The Dropout*, and other portrayals, to which she said, "They’re not playing me. They’re playing a character I created."
Holmes would subsequently [give access to People Magazine](https://sfist.com/2025/02/12/elizabeth-holmes-still-says-shes-innocent-gives-prison-interview-to-people-magazine/), who put her on the cover in February 2025, with a profile in which she continued to defend herself against her fraud conviction, and to describe her life in prison, with Evans reportedly bringing the kids to see her twice a week while living in Austin.
In that interview she said things like "People who have never met me believe so strongly about me. They don’t understand who I am. It forces you to spend a lot of time questioning belief and hoping the truth will prevail."
But the new film by Fielder and Oppenheim appears to take a hard and highly skeptical look at Holmes and everything she believes about herself, as well as whatever we can know about her and her motivations. The teaser trailer has Fielder, who can be almost equally intense in his interview style as she is in her personality, essentially staring her down as she says, "I'm not that person, I can promise you that. I don't have anything to deceive you on, of course I'm not deceiving you."
Fielder explained to the Telluride audience, [per the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/07/movies/elizabeth-holmes-documentary-nathan-fielder-a24.html?ref=sfist.com), that he had no intention of being on camera in this film, but that his experiences talking with Holmes and Evans in their Del Mar home were so bizarre and intriguing, that he ended up putting himself in front of the camera.
"I’m really struggling to this day to understand what I experienced,” Fielder said. “I’m excited for this movie to come out and for people to help me with what I experienced."
He added, per the Times, "We are all smart, operating at the top of our game yet no one could reach a consensus on what was happening in the house. That drove us to keep going."
Fielder and Oppenheim apparently told everyone at Telluride to keep secret what they'd seen — it's unclear if there was any formal embargo for press in attendance — but veteran critic Owen Gleiberman has nonetheless [already written a full review for Variety](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/nathan-fielder-surprise-film-telluride-elizabeth-holmes-1236853513/?ref=sfist.com) that is full of **spoilers** about the surprises the film has in store.
These include a sequence in which Fielder sits Holmes and Evans down to watch the classic Abbott and Costello routine "Who's on First?" It's an exercise in the use of language and the dual meaning of words, and it's one Holmes is apparently genuinely baffled by. Per Gleiberman, "It’s that she’s got the malignant narcissist’s need to have words mean only what she decrees them to mean. She can’t hear any other meaning."
As he adds, regarding Theranos' infamously non-working blood-testing device "Edison," "Hence: her device did 'work,' and still does (it can run any test!)... This is a highly rarefied level of delusional thinking." Holmes apparently insists that, if only some chemical processes could be invented that don't yet exist, Edison would have worked just fine. And, this offers some explanation for the [jaw-dropping news of last year](https://sfist.com/2025/05/12/bizarrely-elizabeth-holmess-baby-daddy/) that Evans had launched a new startup peddling a very Edison-like device that would be able to perform blood tests for pets — even though Holmes is court-ordered not to be involved in any such business for ten years.
Gleiberman also spares no criticism of Evans, whom he calls a "glowering aggro control freak" in the film and "repugnant in his cockiness" — which provides some explanation for his insistence on maintaining Holmes's X account while she's behind bars. He even appears to have tweeted back, sort of creepily, at A24 when they posted the teaser trailer, saying, as Holmes, "Might as well tag me" with a face-melting emoji.
> Might as well tag me. 🫠
>
> — Elizabeth Holmes (@ElizabethHolmes) [September 7, 2026](https://x.com/ElizabethHolmes/status/2096765761574301754?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
And, in true Fielder fashion, the whole film reportedly gets very meta after he sits with Holmes and Evans to watch *The Dropout* together, and then calls in Seyfried herself, halfway into the 174-minute documentary, to dramatize moments in Holmes's contemporary life, and to re-enact phone calls she has, while in prison.
In Gleiberman/Variety's opinion, "*You Can See Everything* overlaps reality, performance, deception, and mental illness until it brings you into the enigmatic space where all those things meet."
We can hardly wait for the full trailer to drop, which is likely happening soon — now that A24 essentially broke the internet Sunday night with the teaser.
And the film will reportedly be hitting theaters at a still unspecified date in October. [As Vulture puts it](https://www.vulture.com/article/you-can-know-everything-release-date-cast.html?ref=sfist.com), regarding the Spooky Season release, "Holmes’s unblinking stare is enough to make it an honorary horror movie."
**Related:** [Bizarrely, Elizabeth Holmes's Baby Daddy Is Launching a Blood-Testing Startup](https://sfist.com/2025/05/12/bizarrely-elizabeth-holmess-baby-daddy/)
### Smoke Coming From Angel Island Is a Prescribed Burn
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/smoke-coming-from-angel-island-is-a-prescribed-burn/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T19:01:45.000Z
If you noticed smoke over the Bay coming from Angel Island Tuesday morning, rest assured it is just a planned, controlled burn to thin out flammable fuels.
Cal Fire, the Marin County Fire Department, and California State Parks were all out tending to a prescribed burn on Angel Island Tuesday morning. The burn, as scheduled, began around 9 am, and this is the first of what will be multiple burn days, according to [a Friday release](https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/1567?ref=sfist.com) from California State Parks. Burns will typically go on from 9 am to 6 pm, with smoke potentially lingering long after.
Officials are warning residents not to clog up 911 systems to report the smoke.
"Prescribed burns are planned and coordinated with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to minimize smoke impacts on surrounding communities," the parks department says. "All burning depends on weather and air conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If conditions are not conducive, the burn will be rescheduled."
Angel Island State Park remained open Tuesday, and will be open on other burn days, the department says, "However, some trails and roads near the burn area, including portions of the Ida Trail, Sunset Trail, and the park’s fire and perimeter roads, will be closed for one to three days during and immediately after the burn."
They add, "Access to the summit of Mt Livermore will not be permitted on some burn days as well."
This week's prescribed burns are supported by the 2024 Climate Bond, Prop 4, the department says, and is "specifically aimed at reducing fuel loads in grasslands and coastal scrub on the island."
[Similar prescribed burns](https://sfist.com/2023/04/05/dont-be-alarmed-prescribed-burns-happening-on-angel-island/) took place on Angel Island in April 2023.
### Five Men Injured In Scaffolding Accident at George Lucas Property In Marin
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/five-men-injured-in-scaffolding-accident-at-george-lucas-property-in-marin/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T16:54:12.000Z
Five workers were injured Monday morning during the setup for an event at George Lucas's [Summit Skywalker Ranch](https://www.skywalkerretreats.com/summit-skywalker-ranch?ref=sfist.com) in Marin County, after some scaffolding collapsed on top of them.
As [NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/5-injured-summit-skywalker-ranch/4139088/?ref=sfist.com), an initial emergency call said that three people were trapped "under a stage" at Summit Skywalker Ranch in Marin County — which is a different property from the main Skywalker Ranch complex, sitting east of it between Lucas Valley and and Skywalker Ranch off of Lucas Valley Road.
The incident happened around 11:20 am on Monday, while setup was occurring for an event later that day, involving a stage and LCD screens. A scaffolding holding multiple screens reportedly collapsed, with at least one man becoming trapped, per NBC Bay Area.
Multiple agencies reportedly responded to the emergency, including Marin County Fire, the San Rafael Fire Department, and the Novato Fire Department.
Two of the men appear to have only been minorly injured, with three requiring hospitalization. Of those, one man was said to be a "Code 3," per NBC Bay Area, meaning he was in "very serious" condition.
The man who was trapped under the screens was reportedly not seriously injured, and was treated at the scene after airbags were used to lift the objects off of him.
The condition of the hospitalized men has not been shared, and we do not know the nature of the event that was scheduled for Monday.
Summit Skywalker Ranch was turned into a retreat center and rentable event venue in 2018 "for likeminded businesses to stay and experience the Skywalker vision." Up until the [opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/lulu-a-mandrill-dies-at-sf-zoo/) in Los Angeles this month, this was also the primary gallery space for Lucas's art collection, which is focused on movie memorabilia, posters, comics, and more.
The larger Skywalker Ranch property encompasses 6,000 acres east of Nicasio, including a 26-acre vineyard, and a working ranching raising Wagyu cattle.
*This is a developing story.*
### Third Burning Man Attendee Dies, Marking Six Deaths In Four Years
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/third-burning-man-attendee-dies-marking-six-deaths-in-four-years/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T16:35:42.000Z
Authorities announced Monday that a third Burning Man festivalgoer died while being taken to a Reno hospital, marking six deaths associated with the event in the past four years.
The latest death occurred in Nevada’s Washoe County as the person was being transported toward Reno, about 120 miles south of Black Rock City, according to Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen, [as NBC News reports](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/second-attendee-dies-burning-man-festival-rcna596380?ref=sfist.com). The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office has not yet provided additional information on the incident.
The death follows two other reported deaths at Burning Man. On Saturday, organizers announced that [60-year-old Craig Mann had been found dead](https://sfist.com/2026/09/06/second-person-dies-at-burning-man/) in his trailer at his camp in Black Rock City, which Mann was sharing with his partner.
A preliminary investigation found no indication of foul play in Mann’s death.
The other reported death involved [Sampson Tshombe, a man in his mid-50s](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/man-in-his-50s-dies-at-burning-man-gates-stay-closed-due-to-rain-and-mud/) who died following a medical emergency Thursday. Deputies responded to Rampart, Burning Man’s temporary medical facility, after Tshombe was found on a street within the festival. Emergency personnel performed CPR before he was taken to the onsite center, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities also found no signs of foul play in Tshombe’s death.
The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct autopsies and toxicology testing on all three victims, with results expected in six to eight weeks.
Allen said the number of deaths this year is unusual for Burning Man, which has averaged about one death annually in recent years.
[The Reno Gazette Journal reports](https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2026/09/07/third-death-reported-at-burning-man-attendee-died-on-way-to-hospital/91653318007/?ref=sfist.com) that "at least" 11 people have died at Burning Man since the event relocated from San Francisco to the Black Rock Desert in 1990 — however this number seems decidedly low, and the Pershing County Sheriff's Office cites an average of one death per year. Six of those deaths have occurred in the past four years, including [the 2025 homicide of Vadim Kruglov](https://sfist.com/2025/09/03/burning-man-homicide-victim-identified-as-russian-national/), which remains unsolved, the 2024 death of 39-year-old Kendra Frazer from an asthma attack while sleeping, and the 2023 death of Truckee resident Leon Reece, whose suspected cause of death was drug intoxication.
This year's deaths came during an unusually difficult year for the festival, with rain, heavy mud, dust, and strong winds disrupting travel and operations in the final days. Rain temporarily closed Burning Man’s entrance and exit Friday, leaving some attendees stranded in Reno and prompting organizers to warn people not to drive onto the playa until conditions improved. The weather also temporarily closed the festival’s airport.
[According to the Chronicle](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/second-attendee-dies-burning-man-festival-rcna596380?ref=sfist.com), DJ and producer Diplo, who performed at the festival, [documented his own dramatic trek](https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc7P4AtB0Pl/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) on foot through the mud to reach a road after the weather disrupted transportation.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc7P4AtB0Pl/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by diplo (@diplo)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc7P4AtB0Pl/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
This year’s festival also saw a number of other incidents. An attendee was reportedly taken to Rampart after falling about 55 feet from a tower on September 1, and 34 people were arrested for drug sales or trafficking.
Additionally, Burning Man organizers [removed a Christian camp](https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/burning-man-evicts-christian-camp-for-violating-privacy-and-consent-rules/) from the event, giving its members three hours to pack up, while a [video posted by an Israeli soldier](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc%5F%5FIaHNoBS/?stkn=ZTV4dnVvY3Budndj&ref=sfist.com) showed him dancing in Block Rock City, juxtaposed with footage of him performing the same moves in Gaza just days earlier.
**Related:** [Second Person Dies at Burning Man](https://sfist.com/2026/09/06/second-person-dies-at-burning-man/)
### Tuesday Morning Topline: SF Sees Drop In Jail Population
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/08/sf-sees-drop-in-jail-population/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T15:57:10.000Z
- **The Oakland Fire Department rescued one person and three dogs from an RV fire in West Oakland Tuesday morning.** The fire, which happened right next to the BART tracks and the West Oakland BART station, sent up a large plume of smoke that was visible for miles. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-fire-crews-rescue-1-person-3-dogs-near-west-oakland-bart-track?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A California Supreme Court ruling in late April placing limits on bail amounts for non-violent offenders has apparently led to a precipitous drop in the SF jail population.** The number of people in jail in San Francisco was 978 on September 5, the lowest count since August 2023 and far lower than pre-pandemic years, despite arrests being up. \[[Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-jail-count-plummeting-kowalczyk/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The Chronicle food team just updated their best croissant ranking, rerunning their blind tasting, and a couple of previous favorites slipped down the list.** Arsicault, which critic Cesar Hernandez had crowned #1 in the Bay Area in 2024, came in at #12 out of 14 SF croissants tried; Parachute landed at #8, and the #1 spot went to three-year-old Juniper, a cafe from the owners of Saint Frank Coffee on Polk Street. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/best-croissants-tasting-sf-22389213.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A sea lion was showing signs of distress and later died at San Francisco's Crissy Field on Monday, and scientists from the Marine Mammal Center are blaming domoic acid poisoning from an ongoing toxic algae bloom. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sea-lion-dies-crissy-field/4139061/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Travelers boarding a 16-hour flight from SFO to Melbourne to see the 49ers play this week in their first-ever season opener Down Under, got a surprise sendoff from Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young on Monday. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/49ers-fans-australia-steve-young/4139247/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Erik and Lyle Menendez have been granted an early parole suitability hearing in March 2027, after being denied parole last year. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/story/erik-lyle-menendez-granted-early-parole-suitability-hearing-march-2027-denial-last-year/19804717/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The first-ever tornado watch has been issued for Hawaii, with Hurricane Lowell still approaching the islands of Kauai and Niihau from the south as a Category 2 storm, expecting to come closest to the islands Monday night into Tuesday morning. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/hurricane-lowell-hawaii-22420896.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Sleep Scientists Excited to Study Results of This Week's 49ers-Rams Game in Australia
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/07/sleep-scientists-excited-to-study-results-of-this-weeks-49ers-rams-game-in-australia/
Last updated: 2026-09-07T22:40:03.000Z
The NFL's highly-anticipated season opener between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday has sleep scientists stoked to study how the two teams drastically different approaches to travel and acclimation play out.
The appeal comes from the massive variance in how each team is handling the toll of international travel coupled with the substantial time difference. While the 49ers chose to fly into Melbourne a full week early, the Rams plan to fly in the night before the game.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/annkillion/article/49ers-rams-opposing-plans-australia-test-case-22418843.php?ref=sfist.com), the contrast offers a unique opportunity for sleep scientists to observe a real-world experiment.
Speaking with the outlet, star 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey detailed the numerous precautions and efforts made by team staff to keep players feeling fresh despite traveling nearly 8,000 miles by air.
“I can’t imagine being more detailed than what they gave us,” McCaffrey said ahead of Monday’s practice. “There were big packets on the plane, (with) different supplements to take at different hours, different sleep suggestions, when to stay up during the day, when to go to bed. Any questions you had, they answered, so we’re really prepared."
Will it work? That's the answer sleep scientists like Stanford Sleep Institute adjunct professor Cheri D. Mah are eagerly awaiting.
“It is a fascinating situation that everyone is going to watch,” Mah told the Chronicle.
She also noted that, despite the seeming surface-level insanity of the Rams' plan, it could prove be the winning move.
“From a pure body clock standpoint," Mah said, "if the Rams stay on their home time zone, that will work to their advantage. What works against them is the short turnaround with a long flight. There’s going to be travel fatigue, dehydration, not great sleep. But there are pros and cons to both strategies.”
Speaking with press earlier this week, Rams head coach Sean McVay defended his decision to have his team spend as little time Down Under as possible, [per Bleacher Report](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25496924-sean-mcvay-explains-rams-travel-plans-nfl-australia-game-vs-49ers?ref=sfist.com).
“Everything is geared toward what we think is best for players,” McVay said. “The thinking in its simplest form is what do we deem best for the players for them to try to be at their best."
One benefit to the 49ers' choice to arrive in town early: a very warm welcome from locals.
As [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/the-49ers-land-in-australia-for-nfl-game-against-la-rams-next-week/), the team has been making the most of their time in Melbourne ahead of their showdown with the Rams. The two teams square off at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, September 11 at 5:30 pm (local time).
**Related**: [The 49ers Met With Warm Welcome In Australia Ahead of NFL Game Against LA Next Week](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/the-49ers-land-in-australia-for-nfl-game-against-la-rams-next-week/)
### Amber Alert Issued For Monterey Teenager Suspected in Infant's Death
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/07/amber-alert-issued-for-monterey-teenager-suspected-in-infants-death/
Last updated: 2026-09-07T21:38:18.000Z
The California Highway Patrol has issued an Amber Alert for the teenage girl authorities believe gave birth to an infant who was found dead on the side of the road in Monterey Bay's Moss Landing last month. The missing teen's father is alleged to be the baby's father.
As [NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/amber-alert-missing-teenager-monterey-county/4138732/?ref=sfist.com), the Amber Alert was issued across Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Orange and Imperial counties. The focus is 14-year-old Diana Galvez Ortega, who was last seen over a month ago with her father in Monterey County.
Earlier this week, [SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/search-continues-for-salinas-man-accused-of-impregnating-daughter-whose-infant-was-found-dead/) that Monterey County authorities were continuing to search for Salinas man Sergio Galvez Perez, 38, and his daughter, Diana, who are both suspected in the death of an infant possibly born of incest between the two. According to a postmortem exam, the infant showed signs of a traumatic injury.
Authorities are now calling her "Baby Angelita" and the Monterey County Sheriff's office is asking the public for help in locating the pair, as [SFist also reported](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/sf-firefighters-rescue-wild-parrot-that-got-stuck/). Per the California Highway Patrol, the pair were last seen in the wee hours of August 4 in Salinas. The Amber Alert arrives as police say they've received new information about the vehicle Galvez Perez may be driving.
Identified as a white Nissan Altima with no plates from surveillance video, police are asking anyone who spots the car to not approach and to call 911\.
At present, Galvez Perez is wanted for charges that include child endangerment and child sex crimes involving his daughter. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office also noted it has probable cause to arrest Galvez Ortega for murder but that they had yet to receive any filing requests for criminal charges against her.
**Related**: [Search Continues For Salinas Man Accused of Impregnating Daughter Whose Infant Was Found Dead](https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/search-continues-for-salinas-man-accused-of-impregnating-daughter-whose-infant-was-found-dead/)
### Labor Day Links: Saint Mary's Rugby Player Dies During Training Run
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/07/labor-day-links-saint-marys-rugby-player-dies-during-training-run/
Last updated: 2026-09-08T14:39:01.000Z
- **Team officials with Saint Mary’s College announced via social media that rugby player Dominic Peterson died Friday during a training run in Moraga.** A sophomore, Peterson reportedly died after experiencing a medical emergency while running with teammates. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/rugby-player-saint-mary-s-college-dies-training-22419639.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Five are dead after an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway in Miami and struck multiple vehicles on Sunday afternoon.** Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed that five additional people were taken to the hospital following the incident. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/video-appears-to-show-crashed-amazon-plane-on-runway-at-mia/4138649/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Swim safe: There's a Beach Hazards Statement for Bay Area coastlines in effect from the National Weather Service this holiday weekend.** Forecasters are predicting an increased risk of dangerous rip currents owing to recent tropical activity in the ocean. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/weather/beach-hazards-statement-in-effect-monday/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The National Park Service is currently searching for a new residential volunteer to staff the Point Reyes Lighthouse this fall and winter — free housing included! \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/point-reyes-lighthouse-winter-2026-volunteer-search/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- On Sunday night, a secret screening at the Telluride Film Festival turned out to be *You Can See Everything,* a previously unannounced A24 documentary by Nathan Fielder featuring disgraced Theranos founder [Elizabeth Holmes](https://sfist.com/elizabeth-holmes/) coming to theaters in October, and [a teaser clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGJSRFWALTI&ref=sfist.com) is already in heavy rotation on social media. \[[Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/you-can-see-everything-first-reactions-nathan-fielder-a24-1236693077/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Iran intends to declare a “restricted zone” in proximity to the Strait of Hormuz in response to recent US military attacks. \[[The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/international/6074709-iran-declares-hormuz-restricted-zone/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Locals are calling out the trailer for new CBS legal drama *Cupertino*, noting the city's predominantly Asian population appears to be missing in action. \[[Press Democrat](https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/09/07/cupertino-tv-show/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A “planetary wave” — also known as a Kelvin wave — is set to slowly, temporarily raise California sea levels by nearly a foot in October. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bay-area-sea-levels-kelvin-wave-pacific-ocean-el-nino/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Second Person Dies at Burning Man
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/06/second-person-dies-at-burning-man/
Last updated: 2026-09-07T00:10:53.000Z
A second person has died at this year's Burning Man festival, according to the Burning Man Project. Craig Mann, 60, was reportedly found dead in his camp on Saturday afternoon. No cause of death was provided.
In a [statement](https://journal.burningman.org/2026/09/news/official-announcements/participant-passes-away-at-2026-burning-man-event/?ref=sfist.com), the Burning Man Project offered their "thoughts and deepest condolences" to the participant's family and loved ones. The [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/festivals/article/burning-man-death-festival-22419734.php?ref=sfist.com) that no additional information is currently available. Mann's death marks the second to take place at this year's Burning Man.
On Thursday, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/man-in-his-50s-dies-at-burning-man-gates-stay-closed-due-to-rain-and-mud/), a man in is mid-50s died after suffering a medical emergency.
According to the Pershing County Sheriff Coroner, the victim received lifesaving measures before he was transported to Black Rock City's onsite emergency center and subsequently declared dead.
Hi name has thus far been withheld as officials continue to attempt to notify family members. The Coroner stated that external foul play did not appear to be a factor in the man's death.
Elsewhere down at Black Rock City, the death of a 37-year-old Russian national last year continues to be [investigated as a homicide](https://sfist.com/2025/09/18/apparent-murder-weapon-found-in-burning-man-homicide-but-still-no-suspects-identified/) and the playa is once again facing some [difficult weather conditions](https://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/burning-man/2026/09/03/high-winds-dust-force-closure-of-burning-man-gate-thursday-evening/91603242007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z115028p000550c000550e009800v115028d--50--b--50--&gca-ft=126&gca-ds=sophi&ref=sfist.com).
**Related**: [Man In His 50s Dies at Burning Man; Gates Stay Closed Due to Rain and Mud](https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/man-in-his-50s-dies-at-burning-man-gates-stay-closed-due-to-rain-and-mud/)
### Mountain Lion Spotted in Panhandle By Golden Gate Park
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/06/mountain-lion-spotted-in-golden-gate-parks-panhandle/
Last updated: 2026-09-06T23:50:00.000Z
A previous alert from multiple city and state agencies has been lifted after a mountain lion was spotted near Fell Street and Baker Street by Golden Gate Park in the Panhandle on Saturday night. Officials from SF Recreation & Parks confirmed the sighting.
As [ABC7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/mountain-lion-spotted-san-francisco-golden-gate-park-panhandle-fell-baker-streets-authorities-say/19797395/?ref=sfist.com), the unexpected encounter happened yesterday evening after a resident walking their dog saw the creature in a tree in the Panhandle's eastern end. By 8:30 pm, an official with SF Recreation & Parks had also spotted the cat, which resulted in an alert being issued.
It informed users, in part, that "Animal Care and Control is on the scene" while also advising any who may encountered the mountain lion to "slowly back away" as opposed to running.
"If the mountain lion approaches, make yourself 'big,' " the alert further suggested. "Wave your arms, shout, throw something, and again, do not run."
By Sunday morning, the alert had been lifted, though SF Animal Care & Control is requesting any sightings be called in to them at (415) 554-9400\.
This weekend's wild life encounter follows the adventures of a young mountain lion who, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/01/28/videos-show-capture-of-mountain-lion-who-went-wandering-around-pacific-heights-and-his-release-to-the-wild/), was spotted in Lafayette Park and Pacific Heights on consecutive days back in January. That lion was eventually tranquilized by SF Animal Care and Control and subsequently transported to a natural environment.
In a statement, Animal Care & Control officials further noted that it's common for mountain lions to visit San Francisco.
"Animal Care & Control gets multiple reports of sightings each year," they said. "Rarely do these reports result in the relocation of a mountain lion. Most find their way out of the City and back to where they came from."
**Related**: [Videos Show Capture of Mountain Lion Who Went Wandering Around Pacific Heights, and His Release to the Wild](https://sfist.com/2026/01/28/videos-show-capture-of-mountain-lion-who-went-wandering-around-pacific-heights-and-his-release-to-the-wild/)
### Sunday Links: Four Dead, Including Two Children, in Fresno Plane Crash
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/06/sunday-links-four-dead-including-two-children-in-fresno-plane-crash/
Last updated: 2026-09-06T18:30:20.000Z
- **A total of 14 people attending Friday night's Chainsmokers concert at Discovery Meadows in San Jose required medical treatment or hospitalization, according to the San Jose Fire Department.** Information regarding patients' conditions or reasons for hospitalizations has not been released. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/san-jose-concert-medical-emergencies-22419289.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Four people, including two children, died in a small plane crash in Fresno on Saturday.** According to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, the crash occurred on Blythe Avenue near Sierra Sky Park Airport just before 2:00 pm. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/story/small-plane-crash-prompts-heavy-emergency-response-northwest-fresno/19796174/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An alarming number of sick marine mammals are turning up on California's coasts, with Sausalito's Marine Mammal Center receiving an influx of hotline calls reporting sightings of ill sea lions and fur seals. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/record-high-number-ill-marine-mammals-washing-ashore-along-california-coast-raises-concerns-crab-season?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Flights are being cancelled at airports in Jakarta after Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early Sunday morning. \[[LA Times](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-09-05/indonesia-cancels-flights-at-jakarta-airport-as-anak-krakatau-volcano-erupts?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Oh nuts: in an effort to eliminate an overpopulation of ground squirrels at Flood Park in Menlo Park, local officials plans to close the space for fumigation starting next week. \[[ABC7](https://abc7news.com/post/san-mateo-county-planning-kill-off-overpopulation-ground-squirrels-plaguing-flood-park/19785712/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Guitarist and pro wrestler Andy "The Butcher" Williams is dead at the age 48 after he reportedly collapsed on stage during a tag-team wrestling match in Pennsylvania on Saturday night. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/andy-the-butcher-williams-guitarist-and-pro-wrestler-dead-at-48/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Discussing his cancer battle on *The Adam Carolla Show*, actor and *Evil Dead* franchise star Bruce Campbell revealed that he has "about 5 years" to live. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/evil-dead-star-bruce-campbell-five-years-left-cancer-diagnosis-rcna596249?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Delicious gig work: rapper Snoop Dogg is currently looking to hire an ice cream taster on a three-month contract that pays $30,000\. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/snoop-dogg-hiring-international-ice-cream-taster-job/4138415/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### One Person Stabbed in Mid-Morning Incident at Crissy Field
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/05/one-person-stabbed-in-mid-morning-incident-at-crissy-field/
Last updated: 2026-09-05T22:29:28.000Z
According to the San Francisco Police Department, one unidentified victim has been taken to a local hospital after they were stabbed near Crissy Field earlier today. They are currently being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The incident occurred around 11:15am, [per KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/person-stabbed-near-popular-sf-park/?ref=sfist.com), with SFPD officials arriving shortly thereafter in response to reports of a stabbing in proximity to Yacht Road near Crissy Field in the Presidio.
After arriving at the scene, SFPD states that officers called for paramedics and rendered aid to the victim until additional emergency medical services arrived. According to police, a suspect was then subsequently located in the vicinity by one of SFPD's Marine units.
At present, SFPD has not released the suspect’s name or announced any charges related to the stabbing.
It marks the latest such incident this year for San Francisco.
Earlier this summer, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/06/18/two-stabbed-in-sfs-nob-hill-including-person-believed-to-be-security-guard/), two victims were stabbed in SF’s Nob Hill. Back in March, [SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/03/28/woman-in-hospital-stabbing-on-bus-following-argument-between-passengers/) on two passengers who were stabbed in related incidents while riding Muni buses. Earlier that month, [SFist covered](https://sfist.com/2026/03/11/prosecutors-say-chinatown-backstabbing-was-random-attack/) the seemingly random stabbing of an elderly victim in Chinatown.
**Related**: [Two Injured In Stabbing on SF's Nob Hill, Including Person Believed to Be Security Guard](https://sfist.com/2026/06/18/two-stabbed-in-sfs-nob-hill-including-person-believed-to-be-security-guard/)
### KQED Agrees to Pay Nearly $900,00 to Settle Wage-Theft Lawsuit
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/05/kqed-agrees-to-pay-nearly-900-00-to-settle-wage-theft-lawsuit/
Last updated: 2026-09-05T21:44:07.000Z
San Francisco public broadcaster KQED has agreed to fork over $895,000 in relation to a class-action lawsuit accusing them of rampant wage-theft. First filed in 2024, the lawsuit's proposed settlement will undergo a final approval hearing in SF Superior Court in November.
The [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/kqed-wage-lawsuit-settlement-22418074.php?ref=sfist.com) that the settlement will cover more than 580 past and present hourly employees of KQED who worked for them between a period spanning from 2019 to 2025\. The lawsuit was filed by former employee Dominic Dulaney in 2024, who alleged that KQED was not properly compensating its hourly workers.
In his filing, Dulaney accused his employer of failing to issue certain reimbursement expenses as well as not providing accurate wage statements and employment records. The lawsuit also included allegations that KQED failed to provide legally mandated meal and rest breaks.
Per the Chronicle, one of most serious allegations was that KQED "sometimes created timekeeping records showing employees had taken meal breaks when, according to the complaint, they had actually continued working off the clock."
KQED has denied the claims against them.
In a statement, spokesperson Peter Cavagnaro explained KQED's decision to settle as one made to “protect the station, our members and the community we serve from a protracted and more expensive legal battle.”
A breakdown of the agreement as currently constructed would see about two-thirds of the $895,000 payment distributed to over 580 class members. Payments, in turn, would be based on the total number of hours worked during the time period in question.
Additionally, as part of the deal, KQED would also send $37,500 to California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency, plus an additional $12,500 to be dispersed among hourly employees partially covered under the claim.
The Chronicle notes that Dulaney, as the class representative, could receive as much as $10,000 under the proposed agreement.
**Related**: [SF Robotics Startup Run By Ex-Cruise CEO Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Alleging Unpaid Wages](https://sfist.com/2026/07/30/contract-workers-sue-sf-robotics-startup-run-by-ex-cruise-ceo-alleging-unpaid-wages/)
### Saturday Links: Stanford University to Retire Jersey of Late Goalkeeper Katie Meyer
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/05/saturday-links-4/
Last updated: 2026-09-05T18:51:20.000Z
- **Max Wade, the Marin teenager who infamously stole a $200,000 Lamborghini from Guy Fieri as part of a 2012 crime spree, has had his parole revoked.** Guards say they discovered an illicit cell phone in Wade's San Quentin prison cell, where Wade, now 32, is currently serving a sentence of 21 years to life. \[[Marin IJ](https://www.marinij.com/2026/09/04/parole-revoked-for-infamous-marin-convict-wade/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Following her suicide four years ago, Stanford University’s Women’s Soccer Team plans to honor goalkeeper** [**Katie Meyer**](https://sfist.com/2026/01/27/stanford-settles-wrongful-death-suit/) **next week by retiring her jersey.** Meyer will be the first player for Stanford's Women's Soccer Team to receive the honor, which will take place during the team’s Mental Health Awareness Week at Thursday's home match against USC. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/sports/stanford-to-honor-late-goalkeeper-katie-meyer-with-jersey-retirement/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The US military said it hit three oil tankers linked to Iran on Saturday, asserting it was in response to Iran launching ballistic missiles towards a pair of Navy warships in the area. \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj64rrne643o?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Ten days after Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods, survivors are still being discovered, including two who were rescued on Saturday from separate locations. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/05/asia/two-survivors-rescue-flash-floods-nepal-intl?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Jose suffered its second bicycle-related traffic fatality in as many days after police say a cyclist was fatally struck by a car on Friday morning. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/another-bicyclist-killed-in-san-jose-second-in-just-2-days/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could lead to gray wolves being de-listed from the Endangered Species Act and which also encourages the possibility of loosening restrictions on wolf killing. \[[Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/04/trump-order-gray-wolves?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Meet Sonries: the 9-year-old male jaguar who recently became the newest resident of San Jose's Happy Hollow Park & Zoo. \[[Mercury News](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/05/happy-hollows-new-jaguar-making-himself-at-home-in-san-jose/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- San Francisco's Portola Music Festival is shooting its shot with actress and apparent secret raver Nicole Kidman in a post that promises to try and "convince Tiësto to play the 'Moulin Rouge’ soundtrack in full" among other enticements. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/nicole-kidman-sf-portola-festival-22418298.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Hazmat Situation at Presidio Golf Course
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/day-around-the-bay-caldecott-tunnel-gets-267-million-for-major-upgrades/
Last updated: 2026-09-05T01:40:10.000Z
### Local:
- **One person was hospitalized after local emergency crews responded to a hazardous materials incident at the Presidio Golf and Concordia Golf Course on Friday.** The materials in question were reportedly muriatic acid and chlorine. \[[SFFD\_PIO/X](https://x.com/SFFDPIO/status/2096005544498917694/photo/1?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Caldecott Tunnel in the East Bay is set to receive $267 million in state and federal funds, per a new announcement from Governor Gavin Newsom. \[[East Bay Times](https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/09/03/caldecott-tunnel-renovation-project/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Drive safe: SFPD will conduct a DUI Checkpoint Operation at one or more unspecified locations throughout the city on Saturday, September 12, from 7:00 pm to 3:00 am. \[[SFPD](https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/news/sfpd-conduct-dui-checkpoint-operation-saturday-september-12?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **On Friday, US District Judge Indira Talwani extended her block on the Trump administration's new requirements regarding mail voting for November's midterm elections.** In issuing the preliminary injunction, the federal judge stated that allowing such regulations to be implemented this close to the midterms "nearly guarantee\[s\] significant disenfranchisement for eligible voters." \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/judge-extends-block-postal-service-trump-mail-in-ballot/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Center for Disease Control claims no deaths attributable to measles have occurred in 2026, contradicting Pennsylvania state officials' earlier assertions that two constituents have died from the disease this year. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/us/politics/cdc-measles-deaths.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Longtime *Wheel of Fortune* announcer Jim Thornton was fired on Friday by his employer, Sony Pictures Television, after he was involved in a May incident in which a fellow passenger allegedly saw inappropriate content involving children on Thornton's laptop during a flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/wheel-of-fortune-announcer-fired-after-laptop-incident-on-plane/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Once again, [Diplo](https://sfist.com/2019/09/03/diplo-pimps-popeyes-chicken-sandwich-at-burning-man-like-a-douche/) finds himself trekking through mud at Burning Man. After the DJ and Major Lazer member famously bailed on bad conditions at Black Rock City with comedian Chris Rock by his side back in 2023, he's once more exited the Playa by foot per [a new TikTok post](https://www.tiktok.com/@diplo/video/7681794740928433422?ref=sfist.com). As [SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/diplo-burning-man-22418426.php?ref=sfist.com), Diplo played a sunset set at Burning Man yesterday, appeared to party until 6:30 am per his Instagram, then opted to bounce this morning.
> [@diplo](https://www.tiktok.com/@diplo?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "@diplo") back at it [#burningman](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/burningman?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "burningman") [♬ RoTATe wiTh aMeRiCa FOsTeR, sKiLLiBeNg aNd bEAM - Major Lazer & Diplo & America Foster & skillibeng & BEAM](https://www.tiktok.com/music/RoTATe-wiTh-aMeRiCa-FOsTeR-sKiLLiBeNg-aNd-bEAM-7663404848947202049?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "♬ RoTATe wiTh aMeRiCa FOsTeR, sKiLLiBeNg aNd bEAM - Major Lazer & Diplo & America Foster & skillibeng & BEAM")
### Man In His 50s Dies at Burning Man; Gates Stay Closed Due to Rain and Mud
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/man-in-his-50s-dies-at-burning-man-gates-stay-closed-due-to-rain-and-mud/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T23:52:04.000Z
Burning Man is having another less-than-great weather year, and Thursday brought news of the first death on the playa for 2026.
A man in his 50s was found dead at Burning Man on Thursday evening, according to Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen. As the [Reno Gazette-Journal reports](https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2026/09/04/man-found-dead-at-burning-man-foul-play-not-suspected/91615652007/?ref=sfist.com), the man, who has not been publicly identified, was found unresponsive around 6:30 pm, and emergency responders were unable to revive him.
In a statement, the [Burning Man Project said](https://journal.burningman.org/2026/09/news/official-announcements/participant-passes-away-at-2026-burning-man-event/?ref=sfist.com) that the man "suffered a medical emergency" and "was transported to the onsite center for emergency care where he was pronounced deceased."
Black Rock City, given that it is a temporary city of upwards of 60,000 people, typically sees one or two deaths each year. The death of a 37-year-old Russian national last year at Burning Man continues to be [investigated as a homicide](https://sfist.com/2025/09/18/apparent-murder-weapon-found-in-burning-man-homicide-but-still-no-suspects-identified/), and this week we [learned a few new details](https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/new-details-emerge-in-unsolved-homicide-of-man-37-at-burning-man/?ref=sfist.com) as the case remains unsolved.
This is also turning out to be another difficult year on the playa when it comes to weather. Extreme winds and a dust storm [forced the temporary closure of the Burning Man gates](https://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/burning-man/2026/09/03/high-winds-dust-force-closure-of-burning-man-gate-thursday-evening/91603242007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z115028p000550c000550e009800v115028d--50--b--50--&gca-ft=126&gca-ds=sophi&ref=sfist.com) on Thursday evening, as the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
That [closure continued all day Friday](https://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/burning-man/2026/09/04/burning-man-entry-gate-closed-friday-morning-by-rain/91607803007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z115728e004400v115728d--57--b--57--&gca-ft=8&gca-ds=sophi&ref=sfist.com), after rain this morning turned the Black Rock Desert into the mucky, muddy scene that has become very familiar the past several years. As [one Burner dubbed it](https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc3wVQVK3sb/?ref=sfist.com), "Mud Burn Season 2," though for some this is like Season 3 or 4.
Burning Man officials were encouraging late-arriving attendees to stay in Reno until they hear word that the gates are open.
And attendees on the playa today were being told to refrain from driving vehicles, lest they get stuck in the cement-like mud.
### This Week In Food: More Fancy Takeout Sushi, Please
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/more-fancy-takeout-sushi-please/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T23:32:05.000Z
A new sushi takeout spot comes to the Fillmore, Tacos El Patron also debuts in the Fillmore, the Greek Food Festival is coming up, and more in This Week in Food.
We're coming up on fall opening season, but the only near-term, big-name opening news we've had was [last week's item about Sergeant Ma](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/this-week-in-food-cinderella-bakery-story/), which will debut September 9 in China Basin.
San Francisco's long-running and much loved **Greek Food Festival** is coming up, September 18-20, at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral as245 Valencia Street. Expect freshly prepared gyros, spanakopita, moussaka, gemista (stuffed peppers), and desserts, each day starting at 11 am, and admission is free.
In the Fillmore/Japantown, the space at 1552 Fillmore Street that had briefly been home to high-end sushi takeout spot **Aji Kiji**, which [relocated downtown last year](https://sf.eater.com/restaurant-news/208078/aji-kiji-gambinos-subs-restaurant-opening-fidi-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com), is now home to a new sushi takeout spot with similarly lovely looking sushi boxes, called [**Yoeechee**](https://www.instagram.com/yoeechee?ref=sfist.com). It was still advertising as being softly open this past week, with operating hours Tuesday to Sunday 11 am to 6 pm — and it's not clear if they're selling out as fast as their predecessor was. A seven-piece nigiri box that also comes with the house signature roll is going for $33, with a 10-piece "omakase" box going for $53\. Orders can be placed [on Toast](https://order.toasttab.com/online/yoeechee-1552-fillmore-street?ref=sfist.com).
Also in the Fillmore, a couple blocks down, **Tacos El Patron** has opened its doors at the cursed space at 1325 Fillmore, which has been home in recent years to multiple businesses including Nia Soul Cafe and Scott's Chowder House. We first [heard](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/this-week-in-food-bayview-gets-an-oyster-bar/) about the opening last month, with owner Alberto Pineda promising an expanded menu compared to his other locations. And, indeed, the two-page menu features eight tacos guisados, four Mexico-city-style tacos de disco (street tacos made on the round, concave pan called the disco), as well as regular street tacos, burritos, alambres, tortes, enchiladas, and a breakfast menu. It's now open 10 am to 10 pm daily.
Sydna Ellen Konstin, a third-generation owner of **John's Grill** in Union Square, died earlier this summer while on a trip in Greece, as we [learned from the Chronicle this week](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/sydna-konstin-johns-grill-22416852.php?ref=sfist.com). Konstin, who was 41, attended Tamalpais High School in Marin and later graduated from the University of San Francisco, and was named after her grandmother, the wife of Gus Konstin, who bought John's Grill in the late 1960s. The reported cause of death was heart failure.
**Perle Bar**, the one-year-old casual Vietnamese spot from chef Rob Lam of SF's Lily in Oakland's Montclair Village, has closed. As [Oaklandside/Nosh reports](https://oaklandside.org/2026/08/07/bens-cafe-santana-perle-pagarung-felix-pizzas-closed/?ref=sfist.com), the restaurant that had previously been Lam's California-French Perle for about seven years, is no more.
Eater's Diane de Guzman [has an early review](https://sf.eater.com/dining-report/213507/saam-review?ref=sfist.com) of **Saam**, the buzzy new SoMa Thai spot with Michelin cred from Bangkok chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn that [opened in late July](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/modern-thai-hotspot-opens-in-soma/). She recommends the tuna za jin starter, featuring raw tuna atop tomato and a green coriander sauce; as well as the gaeng kua clams from the curry section; and the pad ped ped, a duck dish with young coconut. And she recommends asking if they have sato, an ancient type of wine made from sticky rice that is rarely seen in the States, in stock when you're there.
And Chronicle critic Cesar Hernandez [recommends](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/tancho-sushi-restaurant-castro-valley-22404826.php?ref=sfist.com) strip-mall sushi spot **Tancho** in Castro Valley, where he calls out the value-friendly $95 omakase offering, with some especially great hirame (olive flounder).
### The 49ers Met With Warm Welcome In Australia Ahead of NFL Game Against LA Next Week
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/the-49ers-land-in-australia-for-nfl-game-against-la-rams-next-week/
Last updated: 2026-09-05T01:44:14.000Z
The 49ers have arrived in Melbourne ahead of an historic NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams next week, with Australian media having some fun with the Americans’ first impressions of life Down Under.
San Francisco’s roughly 200-person Niners traveling party landed Friday morning after a 15-hour charter flight, giving the team nearly a week to adjust before facing the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on [September 11](https://www.49ers.com/australia/?ref=sfist.com), [as KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-francisco-49ers-arrive-melbourne-australia-los-angeles-rams/?ref=sfist.com). The Rams are reportedly taking the opposite approach, arriving only about 24 hours before kickoff to stay closer to the West Coast time zone.
[According to News.com.au](https://www.news.com.au/sport/nfl/nfl-fans-stunned-by-australia-after-san-francisco-49ers-arrive-ahead-of-mcg-showdown/news-story/8619c33cd9895bde3814ffb05a4cac90?ref=sfist.com), Americans’ reactions have already provided plenty of entertainment for Australians. When 49ers player Jordan Watkins posted a photo showing train tracks near his hotel, [one American fan joked](https://x.com/jmthrivept/status/2095688365266100402?ref=sfist.com) that he had been forced to stay next to another electrical substation, a reference to the long-running [49ers fan conspiracy theory](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/twenty-49ers-players-face-injuries-as-substation-conspiracy-theory-parody-account-surfaces/) blaming the PG&E substation near Levi’s Stadium for the team’s many injuries. The Australian media largely missed the inside joke, but found the whole substation observation amusingly bizarre.
> Are they staying near an electrical substation in Australia?! [https://t.co/L6M2em0kNU](https://t.co/L6M2em0kNU?ref=sfist.com) [pic.twitter.com/ARa6stIfnw](https://t.co/ARa6stIfnw?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) [September 4, 2026](https://x.com/jmthrivept/status/2095688365266100402?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
Australian sports reporter Vince Rugari joked that US reporters arriving in the country were acting as though they had “landed on Mars,” while also warning that the visiting 49ers were about to encounter plenty of Sherrins, the Australian footballs used in the country’s other version of football, per News.com.au.
The 49ers players have also reportedly given the Australians plenty of material. Channel 7 journalist [Andrew McCormack](https://x.com/%5FAMcCormack7?lang=en&ref=sfist.com) reported that the team brought 13 pallets of bottled water from Hawaii and its own chef to handle meals for the players and staff.
> The 49ers meet their good luck charm for Week One in Melbourne [@7NewsMelbourne](https://x.com/7NewsMelbourne?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [@7Sport](https://x.com/7Sport?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#NFL](https://x.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#49ers](https://x.com/hashtag/49ers?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [#Melbourne](https://x.com/hashtag/Melbourne?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com) [pic.twitter.com/H2pGJRxfEw](https://t.co/H2pGJRxfEw?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — Andrew McCormack (@\_AMcCormack7) [September 4, 2026](https://x.com/%5FAMcCormack7/status/2095731915643052303?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
ESPN reports that the unusual trip has required months of preparation, with the NFL and 49ers moving roughly 59 tons of equipment and the entire football operation to Melbourne, where winter is just ending. The planning included Australia’s strict biosecurity requirements, with the team taking precautions to keep California dirt and grass out of the country.
The September 11 matchup will reportedly be the first regular-season NFL game played on Australian soil, following an exhibition game between the Broncos and Chargers that happened there in 1999.
Per ESPN, both the 49ers and the Rams will fly home to California directly after the game.
**Related:** [Twenty 49ers Players Face Injuries as Substation Conspiracy Theory Parody Account Surfaces](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/twenty-49ers-players-face-injuries-as-substation-conspiracy-theory-parody-account-surfaces/)
### Boat That Sank In July Will Be Left on the Bottom of the Bay
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/boat-that-sank-in-july-will-be-left-on-the-bottom-of-the-bay/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T21:50:25.000Z
The 49-foot cabin cruiser that capsized and sank on July 14, killing four people, will not be raised from where it came to rest on the bottom of San Francisco Bay, police announced Friday.
The Volare, the cabin-cruiser that sank with 20 people onboard during a memorial cruise on July 14, in the middle of San Francisco Bay about 600 yards from Alcatraz Island, is going to stay at the bottom of the Bay. The San Francisco Police Department, which is leading the investigation into the cause of the boat tragedy, said Friday that they will not be raising or recovering the sunken boat as part of their investigation, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/volare-boat-sf-police-raise-boat-22418044.php?ref=sfist.com).
We [learned early on](https://sfist.com/2026/07/18/update-authorities-locate-wreckage-of-boat-that-sank-near-alcatraz/), after the boat sank, that it had settled in one of the deepest part of the Bay, about 130 feet down, which makes it impossible for human dive teams to reach. And while three of the dead are accounted for, one remains missing, and family members who were on the boat that day say that the body will likely be found inside the cabin of the boat.
Police said Friday that the underwater current where the boat is lying is so strong that it is actually moving the boat itself, and any recovery effort of the wreckage would be too dangerous to attempt.
"We can complete our investigation through other means," said police spokesperson Evan Sernoffsky, in a statement to the Chronicle.
Police have not determined whether any criminal charges will be filed in connection with the disaster.
The Volare sank during a pleasure cruise around the Bay, with 20 people and a dog, mostly members of the same family with some friends, aboard. The cruise was intended to memorialize a family member, Maria Boisa, who died by suicide back in 2015, and her ashes were to be scattered on the Bay.
The boat was owned and being captained by Maria's uncle, 62-year-old John Boisa, a resident of Stockton, who was reportedly familiar with navigating the Bay, and who had [taken the boat all the way down the California coast](https://sfist.com/2026/07/16/owner-had-taken-capsized-boat-on-open-ocean-to-san-diego/) to San Diego before.
Boisa [told investigators that he had the boat on autopilot](https://sfist.com/2026/08/06/report-volare-captain-said-boat-was-on-autopilot-when-it-capsized-admitted-having-shot-of-whisky-hours-earlier/) at the time of the capsize — with autopilot on such boats simply being a steering function, maintaining a straight line as the boat headed back to a dock in San Francisco. Sailors familiar with the Bay have suggested the boat may have been struck by a rogue wave, and/or the uneven distribution of passengers on the three-deck boat may have contributed to its instability.
Those lost in the tragedy include Boisa's brother, 79-year-old Clifford Boisa, who was pulled from the water but died shortly thereafter; and their 74-year-old sister Carol Boisa. The body of a family friend, 58-year-old Tondra Miller, aka Tondra Madruga, was [found in the Bay](https://sfist.com/2026/07/16/body-pulled-from-bay/) two days after the sinking. And the body of Jackie Boisa, wife of Clifford, has still not been found. The dog was also lost.
The three women who died were all said to have been inside an interior cabin when the boat tipped over, and all became trapped as the boat quickly sank.
The SFPD has not provided any updates on the status of the investigation, and we await further word on that.
**Previously:** [Report: Volare Captain Said Boat Was on Autopilot When It Capsized, Admitted Having Shot of Whisky Hours Earlier](https://sfist.com/2026/08/06/report-volare-captain-said-boat-was-on-autopilot-when-it-capsized-admitted-having-shot-of-whisky-hours-earlier/)
### Grateful Dead Exhibit Featuring Ken Kesey’s Bus Opens Saturday In SF
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/grateful-dead-exhibit-featuring-ken-keseys-further-bus-opens-saturday-in-sf/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T22:18:10.000Z
Ken Kesey’s legendary “Furthur” bus will be on display at Golden Gate Park as part of a new Grateful Dead exhibit, and a restoration effort could eventually put the psychedelic relic on permanent display somewhere in the Bay Area.
The exhibit, [*Forever Grateful/Golden Gate Park*](https://haightstreetart.org/pages/forevergrateful-ggp?ref=sfist.com), opens Saturday at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park and recreates the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of the San Francisco counterculture that helped give rise to the Grateful Dead.
[As the Associated Press reports](https://apnews.com/article/grateful-dead-san-francisco-exhibit-f320d7b33d08576662e129ac4b213a7b?ref=sfist.com), Ken Kesey’s 1939 International Harvester arrived in San Francisco after years in storage on the Kesey family farm in Oregon, taking 12 hours to truck to the city. The bus, which Kesey and his Merry Pranksters famously drove across the country during a 1964 psychedelic road trip, will be a focal point of the exhibition alongside Jerry Garcia’s 1973 BMW 3.0 CS, which has never previously been displayed publicly.
The Golden Gate Park exhibition, running through October 25, will also feature photographs from the Grateful Dead’s many concerts in the park, along with a screen-printing station and immersive experiences including a psychedelic liquid light show. Actors from New York-based experiential theater company Third Rail Projects will guide visitors through parts of the exhibit, including a mirrored tunnel and small-group experiences intended to spark conversations between strangers, per the AP.
The Haight Street Art Center is also taking part in the exhibition through September 20, featuring the bands’ guitars and a functioning quarter-scale replica of the Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound,” the enormous speaker system designed in 1974 by the band’s sound engineer and LSD pioneer Owsley Stanley.
The Furthur bus, which became closely associated with Kesey’s “acid tests,” psychedelic parties that featured the Grateful Dead in its early days when they were known as the Warlocks — as chronicled in Tom Wolfe's 1968 book [*The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FElectric%5FKool-Aid%5FAcid%5FTest?ref=sfist.com) — got its name from a misspelled destination sign.
[According to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/furthur-bus-grateful-dead-22391912.php?ref=sfist.com), the original Furthur deteriorated while sitting on the family farm, prompting Kesey and his crew to paint a second, slightly newer bus in its likeness at some point in the '90s. That bus, whose name was spelled correctly as “Further,” has since been restored and remains in the barn.
The bus now in San Francisco is believed to be the original Furthur, despite a “Further” placard currently displayed with it. Dennis McNally, a former Grateful Dead publicist and consultant to the exhibition, confirmed to the Chronicle that the evidence tracing the bus back to Kesey’s original is solid.
“The focal point is the Furthur bus. And Furthur is a call to action. Never stop creating, never stop exploring, keep going further,” said Kelly Harris, executive director of the Haight Street Art Center.
Furthur is unlikely to make the trip back to Oregon anytime soon. The Chronicle reports that the Haight Street Art Center has partnered with the [Furthur Down the Road Foundation](https://furthurdowntheroad.org/?ref=sfist.com), a nonprofit founded by Kesey’s daughter-in-law Stephanie Kesey, to raise money to fully restore it and find a permanent Bay Area location for display.
**Related:** [Yes, Bob Weir’s Last-Ever Live Performance Was That Golden Gate Park Dead and Company Show In SF](https://sfist.com/2026/01/12/yes-bob-weirs-last-ever-live-performance-was-that-golden-gate-park-dead-and-company-concert-in-sf-this-summer/)
### After 500 Arrests and Citations In Three Months, 16th and Mission Remains Unchanged
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/after-500-arrests-and-citations-in-three-months-16th-and-mission-remains-unchanged/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T20:34:01.000Z
Mayor Daniel Lurie's Whac-a-Mole method of dealing with unsavory street conditions succeeded in shifting a bunch of drug activity to 16th and Mission last year, and now a crackdown there has done little to change things.
A 90-day "surge" effort by the SFPD and other city agencies to address the chaotic conditions in and around the 16th and Mission BART plazas comes to an end today. But how much has it accomplished?
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/mission-bart-plaza-san-francisco-22406790.php?ref=sfist.com), speaking to area residents and business owners, the city's efforts to regularly power-wash the plazas, crack down on illegal vending of mostly stolen goods, and arrest people for drug offenses have only managed to create temporary pauses in the street circus. And the same goes for the 24th Street BART plazas, which have been a magnet for illegal vending dating back years now.
As Ryen Motzek, president of the Mission Merchants Association, tells the paper, "There’s been some changes, and then it goes back to the way it was. It’s not really sustainable."
There has been ample media coverage of the uptick in drug activity and [other crime around Mission Street](https://sfist.com/2025/10/20/bart-turning-to-community-driven-workshops-in-latest-attempt-to-clean-up-16th-and-mission/) between 15th and 17th streets, and in the alleys nearby, which coincided with an early 2025 crackdown that took place on Sixth Street, around Civic Center, and in the Tenderloin.
That same period saw a brief moment when a surge of drug activity moved into Jefferson Square Park, which led to [a February 2025 police raid](https://sfist.com/2025/02/27/another-spot-where-the-drug-scene-moved-jefferson-park-gets-raided-by-sfpd-overnight/) that yielded 86 arrests — but, as we later learned, only one actual person charged with a felony drug offense, and [he was acquitted](https://sfist.com/2025/11/10/sfpds-jefferson-park-raid-yielded-85-arrests-but-only-one-drug-dealing-charge-that-person-was-just-found-not-guilty/).
But Mission residents have seen much more sustained drug activity in the last 18 months, in areas like 16th and Mission which, even before police crackdowns in the Tenderloin last year, had been a magnet for crime.
Civic Center, and the BART station there, have been notably much calmer and cleaner in the last year, as the [Chronicle has previously celebrated](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/bart-station-mission-san-francisco-21102246.php?ref=sfist.com). But that seems to have come at the expense of the next BART station plaza to the south, where much illegal vending and open-air drug activity persists.
BART launched [a series of "community-driven" workshops](https://sfist.com/2025/10/20/bart-turning-to-community-driven-workshops-in-latest-attempt-to-clean-up-16th-and-mission/) and meetings last fall to address the troubles at 16th and Mission, but residents and business owners have continued over the last year to flood the email inboxes of Supervisor Jackie Fielder and others with complaints about street conditions, as Fielder tells the Chronicle. The state of things in the area "just doesn’t seem to be moving upward in a consistent way," Fielder says, despite the city's efforts.
And people living on the street in the are told the Chronicle that when the cops show up, they just shift over to the alleyways, or to "border zones" like under the Central Freeway.
The SFPD has reportedly made or issued 481 arrests or citations during the 90-day surge effort, with the help of 28 patrol officers, and the department says that this staffing level is expected to continue. Additionally, under a new state law sponsored by state Senator Scott Wiener, police have issued over 500 notices and [citations for illegal vending](https://sfist.com/2026/08/04/dozens-of-unpermitted-vendors-cited-nearly-400-issued-warnings-in-sfs-mission-under-new-law/), with penalties going up for second citations.
Much like Sixth Street and parts of the Tenderloin, the area around Mission and 16th is also home to single-room-occupancy (SRO) hotels, which is where many of the individuals who hang out on the sidewalks reside. Thus, efforts to "clean up" the area, as the city purports to do, are just effectively telling those people to go inside temporarily, and shooing those who don't live there to other corners for a time.
Possibly, things will change when hundreds of new residents move in to the new housing complex that is rising behind the 16th and Mission BART plaza, which broke ground in April. That complex, the so-called "Marvel in the Mission," will ultimately have 382 below-market-rate units spread over 19 stories, about half of which will be supportive housing for the formerly homeless — and the latter are are bing constructed first, as Phase One of the project.
**Previously:** [Dozens of Unpermitted Mission District Vendors Cited, Nearly 400 Issued Warnings Under New Law](https://sfist.com/2026/08/04/dozens-of-unpermitted-vendors-cited-nearly-400-issued-warnings-in-sfs-mission-under-new-law/)
### SF Crypto Billionaire Chris Larsen Gifts $500K to PAC Supporting Moderate District 10 Candidate
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/sf-crypto-billionaire-chris-larsen-gifts-500k-to-pac-supporting-moderate-district-10-candidate/
Last updated: 2026-09-05T22:41:05.000Z
Local crypto billionaire Chris Larsen has given half a million dollars to a group backing moderate District 10 supervisor candidate Theo Ellington, as two data centers quietly move forward near Bayview and Visitacion Valley.
Larsen’s $500,000 contribution went to the political action committee, "From the Neighborhood, For the City, Supporting Theo Ellington for Supervisor 2026," which was created just two weeks earlier. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/ellington-larsen-22416902.php?ref=sfist.com), this makes Larsen’s contribution one of the largest ever directed toward a single supervisor candidate.
Although San Francisco caps direct contributions to candidates at $500, wealthy donors can give substantially more through independent groups — a loophole that [ethics officials are working to eliminate](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/chris-larsen-theo-ellington-district-10/?ref=sfist.com), as Mission Local reported last month.
Ellington, who runs the Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House and is a registered city lobbyist, is running to replace termed-out Supervisor Shamann Walton in District 10, which includes Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Portola, Dogpatch, and other southeastern neighborhoods. The moderate political action committee, GrowSF, [has endorsed him](https://x.com/GrowSF/status/2092379566337827025?ref=sfist.com) for the seat, citing his positions on housing development and other issues.
[According to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/chris-larsen-theo-ellington-district-10/?ref=sfist.com), he is competing against J.R. Eppler and Dion-Jay “D.J.” Brookter, with Ellington already holding a substantial fundraising advantage. As of early September, his campaign had about $472,000, compared with $151,000 for Eppler and $129,000 for Brookter, while GrowSF had spent at least $61,000 supporting Ellington.
The race has also put development and surveillance technology under a microscope. Ellington has reportedly said he would support Flock surveillance cameras with guardrails, while Eppler and Brookter have opposed their use. Ellington has also taken a more permissive position on the city’s RV ban than his opponents.
Meanwhile, [the SF Examiner reported](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/technology/california-data-centers-concentrated-in-polluted-areas/article%5Fa4721c55-1782-4d27-9e43-84cad7a2fb5f.html?ref=sfist.com) last year that two data centers were quietly planned in the Bayview area, including one that was already operating. Local content creator [Shot of Culture has pointed out](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcY5EzhgbIX/?ref=sfist.com) that District 10 is one of the city’s remaining working-class districts while raising questions about the lack of public information about the two data centers.
Shot of Culture says its recent posts on District 10 also appear to have [ruffled the feathers](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcY5EzhgbIX/?ref=sfist.com) of another local tech billionaire and former GrowSF board member, Garry Tan. Shot of Culture's content on TikTok [has also recently been suppressed](https://www.tiktok.com/@shotofculturepodcast/video/7681139230457875743?ref=sfist.com).
The Chronicle notes that Larsen has spent years putting his money behind San Francisco political and public-safety efforts, contributing millions toward projects like the [San Francisco Police Department’s technology hub](https://sfist.com/2025/06/03/crypto-mogul-chris-larsen-kicking-down-nearly-10-million-to-sfpd-for-more-surveillance-efforts/) and revamping a [Tenderloin commercial corridor](https://sfist.com/2026/01/26/sf-crypto-baron-and-political-megadonor-kicks-down-5-million-to-revitalize-tenderloins-larkin-street/). He and his wife, Lyna Lam, have also put millions toward committees supporting Mayor Daniel Lurie’s charter-reform measures, while Ripple has contributed to Lurie-backed efforts.
Ellington’s opponents questioned Larsen's contribution and whether a candidate backed by a billionaire would remain accountable to District 10 residents, per the Chronicle.
“With a historic contribution like this, voters must ask themselves a simple question: when tech billionaires and corporate interests are this invested in a district race, whose interests will actually be represented in office?” said Brookter.
Local PR guy Sam Singer also sent in a statement from Ellington's opponent in their race, Shawn M. Richards, who said, "District 10 is not for sale. The future of our community should never be determined by who can write the biggest check." Richards added, "A half-million-dollar contribution from one billionaire into a political committee supporting a candidate raises serious questions about the growing influence of outside wealth in our local elections."
**Related:** [SF Crypto Baron and Political Megadonor Kicks Down $5 Million to Revitalize Tenderloin's Larkin Street](https://sfist.com/2026/01/26/sf-crypto-baron-and-political-megadonor-kicks-down-5-million-to-revitalize-tenderloins-larkin-street/)
*This post has been corrected to show that Garry Tan is no longer on the board of GrowSF.*
### Richmond Police: Woman Shoots Gun Wildly During Mental Health Check, Strikes Officer
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/richmond-police-woman-shoots-gun-wildly-during-mental-health-check-strikes-officer/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T19:52:21.000Z
After police were called to perform a mental health wellness check on a woman in an East Richmond apartment Thursday evening, the situation quickly turned chaotic with the woman shooting a gun at officers.
The Richmond Police Department says that officers were called to the apartment complex on the 2200 block of Key Boulevard at 6:41 pm Thursday, to assist with a mental health check.
"The armed suspect barricaded inside the residence and fired numerous rounds, striking an RPD patrol vehicle and neighboring residences," the department says in a release. The female suspect also allegedly struck a Richmond police officer immediately upon their arrival, and the officer was transported to the hospital with injuries, and was listed in "serious but stable" condition.
As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/law-enforcement-lockdown-place-el-cerrito-richmond-border?ref=sfist.com), the woman was allegedly "firing in multiple directions, hitting surrounding homes" and vehicles, in a manner Richmond Police Chief Tim Simmons would later describe as "indiscriminately."
Nearby residents were all instructed to shelter in place, and that order was lifted around 9 pm.
"Fortunately, no residents or additional personnel were injured," Simmons said at a press conference. "Given the number of rounds fired this incident could have ended with many additional injuries or several losses of life."
Simmons added, "I am extremely grateful that our officer is expected to survive, and that no resident or assisting personnel were injured in this incident."
Police officers said that at no time did they fire weapons back at the woman.
SWAT was called in, along with crisis negotiators, and the woman eventually came out of the building and surrendered to police around 8:45 pm, per KTVU.
As [Richmondside reports](https://richmondside.org/2026/09/03/richmond-police-officer-shot-injured-during-mental-health-crisis-incident/?ref=sfist.com), the mental health check was called in by an unknown person to Contra Costa County's [A3 behavioral health crisis response team](https://www.cchealth.org/get-care/a3-crisis-response?ref=sfist.com), and they requested Richmond police assistance.
"When circumstances present a potential safety concern, A3’s practice and policy allow them to request presence of a law enforcement officer," Chief Simmons explained.
Richmondside noted that this was the third press conference Chief Simmons has presided over in recent days, following a [hit-and-run death of an 81-year-old man](https://abc7news.com/post/suspect-arrested-deadly-hit-run-crash-81-year-old-rafael-gutierrez-delgado-richmond-police-say/19777645/?ref=sfist.com) last weekend who was well known in the community, and the [August 18 arson fire](https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/death-of-two-year-old-girl-brings-toll-to-three-in-suspected-richmond-arson-fire/) that killed four family members in one home, two of them young children.
### Over 200 Employees at SF-Based Wikimedia Foundation Vote to Unionize
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/over-200-employees-at-sf-based-wikimedia-foundation-vote-to-unionize/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T18:37:18.000Z
After years of efforts to unionize, more than 200 local and remote US workers from the San Francisco-based Wikimedia Foundation voted to join the Communication Workers of America labor union Thursday.
Thursday’s vote follows months of organizing at Wikimedia Foundation, where employees have discussed unionizing for about a decade. [As Wired reports](https://www.wired.com/story/wikipedia-workers-vote-on-whether-to-unionize/?ref=sfist.com), the effort gained momentum after the foundation, which is headquartered in San Francisco, expanded by hundreds of employees during the pandemic, with workers saying the growth brought more bureaucracy and left some staff feeling powerless in workplace decisions.
More than 200 employees across departments including software engineering, finance, and communications reportedly voted in the election. Workers say frustration with how management handled hiring, firing, and other organizational changes were the main issues driving the union effort, as opposed to pay and benefits.
One major turning point in the group’s efforts was the foundation’s decision in May to [disband its six-person Community Tech team](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia%5FSignpost/2026-06-21/Technology%5Freport?ref=sfist.com), which developed tools requested by Wikipedia’s volunteer editors and served as a link between the foundation and its contributor community. The foundation said the work would instead be distributed among multiple teams because the centralized system had created bottlenecks and delays.
[According to The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/report/939442/wikipedia-editors-protest-wikimedia-layoffs-strike?ref=sfist.com), the decision drew immediate backlash from longtime Wikipedia contributors, who called for the team to be reinstated. Some also questioned whether the restructuring was connected to the employee's push for unionization. Nadee Gunasena, chief of staff at the Wikimedia Foundation, denied that any staff had been terminated for union activity and said the foundation would try to place the six employees in other roles.
Lauren de Lench, a lead technical program manager, told Wired she supported unionization after seeing colleagues hesitate to raise concerns or propose unconventional ideas because they feared retaliation.
“I want us to be loud and debate freely up and down the organizational chart because that’s how we move quickly, address challenges, and come up with the best collective solutions,” de Lench said.
As Wired reports, the organizing effort also stems from the growing pressure Wikimedia faces from AI companies that scrape Wikipedia for training data, while human traffic to the site has been declining as more people turn to chatbots to answer questions. Workers say the organization needs to rethink how it responds to those challenges, and they believe staff and volunteers should have a greater role in shaping that strategy.
After 70% of eligible US staff signed union cards, the workers reportedly partnered with Communication Workers of America Local 9415\. The foundation declined to voluntarily recognize the union, saying a formal election was more democratic, but workers said management remained neutral during the vote.
The workers will now negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the foundation, with expected issues including protections against termination without just cause, per Wired. The foundation has hired Littler Mendelson, a law firm known for representing employers in labor disputes, for the negotiations. Wikimedia workers in the UK are also organizing and hope to eventually coordinate with the US group.
**Related:** [Ghirardelli’s SF Flagship Store Closes as Union Workers Begin Three-Day Strike](https://sfist.com/2026/07/30/union-workers-at-ghirardellis-sf-flagship-store-begin-three-day-strike-prompting-closure/)
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Officer-Involved Shooting at Pittsburg Jail
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/04/officer-involved-shooting-pittsburg-jail/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T16:29:09.000Z
- **A Pittsburg police officer and a 31-year-old suspect who was in the process of being booked at the city jail were both shot on Thursday following an altercation in which a gun went off.** It was unclear if it was the officer's gun or how this occurred, but the police officer was said to be in serious but stable condition, and the suspect was in stable condition. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/pittsburg-police-officer-suspect-injured-police-station-shooting-during-suspects-booking?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A dump truck struck and killed a bicyclist Thursday morning in San Jose, near the intersection of Tully Road and Lanai Avenue. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bicyclist-killed-in-san-jose-crash-thursday/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The National Weather Service is forecasting hazardous beach conditions on the Bay Area coast throughout the holiday weekend, beginning today, with sneaker waves and rip currents expected. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/weather/hazardous-beach-conditions-forecast-for-holiday-weekend/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The [Chronicle has made a map](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/ticket-citation-traffic-san-francisco-22411157.php?ref=sfist.com) of where the SFPD has issued the most traffic tickets so far this year, including at the Inner Richmond intersection of Cabrillo and Funston, where 362 tickets were issued, as [highlighted by the SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/04/14/where-drivers-get-pulled-over-sf/?ref=sfist.com) back in April.
- It appears there may be a mistrial due to a hung jury in the Massachusetts trial of Lindsay Clancy for the murder of her three children, in a case the defense contends was one of postpartum psychosis. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/lindsay-clancy-verdict?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two people were rescued alive from inside a hydropower tunnel in Nepal following last week's deadly flash floods. \[[ABC News](https://abc7news.com/story/2-people-rescued-alive-tunnel-more-week-deadly-nepal-tibet-flash-flood/19788727/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Former Real Housewife of New York Bethany Frankel is vlogging from Burning Man, and recently endured a dust storm, referring to the event as "lifestyles of the rich and moronic." \[[NY Mag](https://www.vulture.com/article/bethenny-frankels-burning-man-tiktoks.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: 3.5-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Near Santa Rosa
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/day-around-the-bay-3-5-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-near-santa-rosa/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T03:16:52.000Z
### Local:
- Following the chaos surrounding the recent 4th of July and Formula 1 events, Supervisor Stephen Sherrill said he hopes the city can handle large Fleet Week crowds when the Blue Angels visit SF next month, noting that 20% more porta potties will be installed and 30% more buses deployed. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco-fleet-week-preparations/4137620/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Bay Area is having a resurgence of hand-painted signs, with sign painters like Seth Vargas designing bespoke storefronts that are drawing renewed attention to the trade. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/sign-paint-seth-vargas-21338706.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- SFist felt it: A 3.5-magnitude earthquake struck about four miles north of Santa Rosa Thursday morning. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/santa-rosa-earthquake-preliminary-magnitude-35-quake-shakes-sonoma-county-north-bay-usgs-says/19785418/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- New York City and Los Angeles are both moving to sharply restrict student use of AI, with NYC banning most AI tools through eighth grade and LA Unified pausing student access across all grade levels this school year. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/us/lausd-schools-ban-ai-artificial-intelligence.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Thomas Christopher Ross, a Republican candidate in Missouri, was charged Thursday after allegedly asking his campaign manager to plant drugs on a rival candidate in the primary, whom he beat by three votes. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missouri-candidate-allegedly-wanted-campaign-manager-plant-cocaine-opp-rcna596022?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A less sanitized take on Gloria Steinem than all the obits: Steinem’s time at the CIA helped create a more palatable, mainstream feminism that centered middle-class gender issues while deflecting from the deeper intersections of class, race, imperialism, and civil rights. \[[United Panther Party](https://unitedpantherparty.substack.com/p/gloria-steinem-the-cia-white-feminism?utm%5Fid=97758%5Fv0%5Fs00%5Fe0%5Ftv0&fbclid=IwY2xjawUG%5FMZwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXl3Z05wZU5laVhpWHgzNTRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeWrjy2kJ-g1Upe3DyMA3X4wQ4NoPh%5FdUHvzu2uGNBId1s%5FlhVAIx2Sjoy678%5Faem%5FIAmpJwQa79i6BQ4rAqtElQ)\]
### Video:
- Karl the Fog made for a more subtle yet lovely California Henge Wednesday morning — when the sun lines up perfectly with the city’s street streets twice a year, making for spectacular sunrise images of the Bay Bridge from California Street.
> [@thurber\_shots](https://www.tiktok.com/@thurber%5Fshots?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "@thurber_shots") San Francisco henge this morning drew big crowds to California Street. We were lucky enough to get a break in the clouds. . . [#sanfrancisco](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sanfrancisco?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "sanfrancisco") [#california](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/california?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "california") [#henge](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/henge?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "henge") [♬ Time of the Season - Mono Version - The Zombies](https://www.tiktok.com/music/Time-of-the-Season-Mono-Version-7327612971558914050?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "♬ Time of the Season - Mono Version - The Zombies")
### Chonkers II? Large Stellar Sea Lion Makes Appearance at Pier 39
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/chonkers-ii-large-stellar-sea-lion-makes-appearance-at-pier-39/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T01:15:04.000Z
Does Chonkers have a brother? Did Chonkers start a trend among his Stellar sea lion bros? Whatever the case, we appear to have a rare second sighting of a second Stellar sea lion over by Fisherman's Wharf.
Visitors to Pier 39 on this gray Thursday were delighted to see a new attraction on the sea lion docks. It was, as [ABC 7 has confirmed](https://abc7news.com/post/is-chonkers-back-massive-steller-sea-lion-seen-sunbathing-san-franciscos-pier-39/19786371/?ref=sfist.com), a Stellar sea lion, but it was not a return of Chonkers himself. It appears to be a different Stellar sea lion who had the same idea as Chonkers and came to rest with his smaller California sea lion compatriots after feasting on anchovies or whatever he found in the Bay.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc18kRLgB77/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by @abc7newsbayarea](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc18kRLgB77/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
It's odd that this Stellar sea lion wouldn't be Chonkers — who got his name on Reddit we believe — only because Chonkers was an outlier himself. The [sea lion stuck around at Pier 39](https://sfist.com/2026/04/28/extra-large-sea-lion-whos-been-hanging-out-by-pier-39-makes-national-news/), among his much smaller friends, for about six or seven weeks this past spring, likely lulled into some state of comfort by the anchovy-rich waters of the Bay, before [going on his merry way](https://sfist.com/2026/05/07/chonkers-the-stellar-sea-lion-appears-to-have-left-the-bay-for-now/) in early May.
While he stuck around, Chonkers became something of a sensation, making national news and [inspiring more than one Bay to Breakers costume](https://sfist.com/2026/05/18/photos-bay-to-breakers-2026-wind-and-all/).
Sheila Chandor, harbormaster for the Pier 39 marina, told the Wall Street Journal at the time that while Stellar sea lions might make occasional appearances on the docks, none had ever stayed so long.
Stellar sea lions, which can weigh up to 2,500 pounds, typically live further out in the open ocean, with the majority of the population sticking near the coast of Alaska.
Today's sighting would appear to be one of those more occasional visitors, but we'll see if they stick around in a similar fashion to Chonkers.
**Previously:** [Chonkers the Stellar Sea Lion Appears to Have Left the Bay For Now](https://sfist.com/2026/05/07/chonkers-the-stellar-sea-lion-appears-to-have-left-the-bay-for-now/)
### Burning Man Evicts Christian Camp For Violating Privacy and Consent Rules
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/burning-man-evicts-christian-camp-for-violating-privacy-and-consent-rules/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T05:40:19.000Z
Burning Man officials say they kicked out a Christian-themed camp for repeatedly filming festivalgoers without consent, and some are speculating the group may have engineered the controversy to claim religious discrimination.
A camp of Christian missionaries was escorted out of Burning Man by law enforcement Tuesday night after repeated warnings over alleged violations of the event’s privacy and consent rules, prompting its organizers to accuse the festival of religious discrimination and violating its principle of “radical inclusion.”
[As SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/travel/burningman/article/christian-missionaries-burning-man-22416243.php?ref=sfist.com), a camp called “Shift the Atmosphere” said it was being targeted because its members were openly preaching Christianity. But witnesses described encounters in which campers aggressively approached adults and children about accepting Jesus, while Burning Man officials said the group continued filming and engaging with participants without obtaining the required consent.
Burning Man spokesperson Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley said the camp had been given multiple warnings and opportunities to change its behavior before organizers took action.
“Burning Man takes participants’ right to privacy seriously,” Debucquoy-Dodley said. “Seeking permission and consent before filming or engaging other participants in Black Rock City is a requirement and responsibility for anyone at the event.”
John Hinerman, a member of the Shift the Atmosphere, disputed the allegations [on social media](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcyEo1huI8g/?ref=sfist.com), saying members had permission from everyone they filmed and accusing Burning Man of discriminating against the group because of its faith. He also claimed the camp had helped more than 600 people “give their lives to Jesus,” with baptisms conducted on the playa, where communal water and dunk tanks are reportedly prohibited.
The camp was located across from Kidsville, where hundreds of families with children are staying, according to SFGate. Members had reportedly been offering coffee and matcha before engaging visitors in conversations about Christianity. More than 1,000 children are attending this year’s Burning Man.
One 12-year-old attendee said he was offered coffee and matcha, but was first required to listen to prayers and given a cartoon pamphlet promoting Christianity. Other attendees reportedly described being asked directly whether they were ready to submit their lives to Jesus Christ.
Burner Christopher Pietsch [explained on social media](https://www.facebook.com/reel/2500676097026513) that Shift the Atmosphere’s camp was located in Hushville, a quieter area of Burning Man where generators and amplified music are prohibited, but the group was blasting extremely loud Christian EDM music for extended hours from the camp.
Pietsch said attempts to reach a compromise over the camp’s activities had failed, speculating that the group may have been deliberately trying to create a confrontation.
SFGate reports that the camp was given three hours to dismantle its structures and leave. Pietsch’s footage from the camp showed law enforcement presence as members packed up after dark, with strong winds complicating the teardown. Nearby campers said the group left behind significant amounts of equipment, potentially violating Burning Man’s “leave no trace” requirement.
Longtime Burners [told USA Today](https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2026/09/03/burning-man-christian-camp-evicted-for-breaking-privacy-rules/91597514007/?ref=sfist.com) they could not recall an entire camp being removed during the event prior to the incident, saying organizers typically eject individual participants, or they bar them from returning in subsequent years.
“Ironic that at an event that includes pagans, anarchists and a camp called the Orgy Dome, that a camp of evangelical Christians turned out to be the troublemakers,” concludes Pietsch.
**Related:** [Burning Man Attendees Are Still Getting Older and Whiter](https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/burning-man-attendees-are-stilgetting-older-and-whiter/)
### Thief Steals Thousands From Elderly SF Woman as USPS Warns of Rise In Check-Washing
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/thief-steals-thousands-from-elderly-sf-woman-as-usps-warns-of-rise-in-check-washing/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T23:26:23.000Z
The US Postal Service is urging people to reconsider sending checks through the mail amid a surge in check-washing schemes, warning that its blue collection boxes are also being targeted by thieves.
The warning comes after San Francisco resident Kyung Cha Moon had three checks stolen from the mail, including a $118 payment that was altered to $4,118\. [As ABC 7’s 7 on Your Side reports](https://abc7news.com/post/elderly-san-francisco-woman-loses-14000-wave-bay-area-mail-thefts-check-washing-fraud/19781489/?ref=sfist.com), thieves also intercepted property tax payments, replacing Moon’s name with their own and depositing the checks into a credit union account.
Moon’s son, Mitchell Mun, said the alterations were immediately apparent once the family saw the check images, but recovering the stolen money was a challenge. BMO initially reimbursed the family for two of the checks, while the third remained unresolved until the bank eventually reimbursed the full amount.
“This is altered. This is fraud. This is forgery,” Mun said.
The family’s experience coincides with a rise in mail theft that reportedly began during the pandemic. Per 7 on Your Side, US Chief Postal Inspector Brendan Donahue told Congress that the Postal Service saw a significant increase in theft from mail receptacles beginning in 2020 and continuing through 2023.
Postal officials have also warned that [blue collection boxes](https://www.al.com/news/2026/07/stop-putting-your-mail-in-the-blue-collection-boxes-police-warn.html?ref=sfist.com) are being targeted, urging people to hand-deliver checks inside post offices. Banks are also encouraging customers to use electronic payments instead of paper checks.
ABC 7 reports that also spoke to South Bay resident Bob Dilfer, who said a thief once changed one of his $100 checks to $6,000, though a bank manager caught the fraud before it went through. After three other checks disappeared in the mail, he stopped payment on them before they could be cashed.
Then Dilfer mailed a check to the IRS and learned eight months later that the agency had never received it. A postal clerk later told Dilfer that three men had allegedly taken an entire bin of mail from a post office loading dock and driven away with it.
Dilfer now sends checks by certified mail and only drops them inside a post office.
Earlier this year, [nearly 50 Napa homeowners](https://sfist.com/2026/05/07/arizona-man-arrested-in-check-washing-scheme-that-targeted-napa-residents/) had property-tax checks stolen from the mail and deposited into accounts across multiple states. The FBI arrested an Arizona man in connection with the scheme, which involved roughly $1.5 million, and most victims recovered their money.
Per ABC 7, banks typically give customers only 30 to 60 days to report check fraud. Experts recommend using an indelible gel pen when writing checks and regularly monitoring bank accounts to catch suspicious transactions quickly.
**Related:** [Arizona Man Arrested In Check-Washing Scheme That Targeted Napa Residents](https://sfist.com/2026/05/07/arizona-man-arrested-in-check-washing-scheme-that-targeted-napa-residents/)
### Controversial PermitSF Contract Extension Advances Without Supervisors’ Support
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/extension-of-controversial-permitsf-contract-advances-without-supervisors-support/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T23:04:37.000Z
SF supervisors scrutinized Lurie’s plan Wednesday to push through an extension contract with OpenGov for the city’s PermitSF platform while questioning the portal’s performance and the administration’s decision to bypass competitive bidding.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance Committee advanced Mayor Daniel Lurie’s proposal to keep OpenGov on as the technology provider for PermitSF, but stopped short of recommending that the full board approve the proposed five-year, $33 million extension, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/open-gov-lurie-permit-overhaul-advances-22413143.php?ref=sfist.com).
PermitSF is intended to replace San Francisco’s notoriously fragmented permitting infrastructure, which has required departments to rely on multiple software systems and has been plagued by problems ranging from inefficiency to permit fraud.
The city reportedly launched the first phase of the portal in February, initially covering a limited number of permit records, with plans to eventually bring permitting functions from multiple departments onto a single platform.
The OpenGov deal [has faced criticism](https://sfist.com/2025/10/17/lurie-administration-taking-heat-for-awarding-big-bucks-contract-to-longtime-donors-against-staff-recommendations/) since the administration awarded the company a $5.9 million contract for the initial phase last year. OpenGov executives reportedly have financial ties to Lurie’s former nonprofit, Tipping Point, while advisory board member Katherine August-deWilde and her husband gave $60,000 to a PAC supporting his mayoral campaign and another $100,000 toward his inauguration.
Meanwhile, a competing vendor, Clariti, submitted a bid that would have cost an estimated $528,000 for software licensing and as much as $1.4 million for implementation.
City employees rated Clariti substantially higher than OpenGov during the evaluation process, giving it an average score of 4.42 out of 5 compared with OpenGov’s 2.88\. The staffers warned that OpenGov and another competitor's products had gaps significant enough that they “shouldn’t be considered.”
Despite the staff preference for Clariti, the Lurie administration selected OpenGov through a procurement waiver rather than the city’s longer request-for-proposals process, arguing that OpenGov was the only vendor that could implement the system quickly enough, [according to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/opengov-daniel-lurie-permit-overhaul-city-hall-san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com).
“I’m concerned that the city is being exposed to real risks of conflicts of interest, and that billionaire tech bros with connections to the mayor’s office are getting preferential treatment,” Supervisor Jackie Fielder noted at the time.
A June report from the supervisors’ Budget and Legislative Analyst, Fred Brousseau, found that the city should have conducted a more extensive competitive process, including safeguards to control costs and prevent a vendor from receiving an unfair advantage.
Per the Chronicle, the report did not find evidence of wrongdoing but noted that the city has generally not used procurement waivers for new software, and that previous waivers involved contracts that were significantly smaller than the OpenGov deal.
Fielder, who requested the analysis and previously called for a hearing on the procurement process, said she supports the goal of creating a unified permitting system but questioned whether the city received the best deal.
“I am, however, questioning whether we got the best deal for this contract, and for the people of San Francisco,” Fielder said.
The Chronicle reports that the OpenGov selection has also drawn opposition from IFPTE Local 21, which represents technical and administrative workers at City Hall. The union has argued that the administration is attempting to outsource work that should remain with city employees and has questioned whether OpenGov is equipped to handle San Francisco’s unusually complicated permitting infrastructure.
Those concerns have been compounded by problems with the rollout. OpenGov has reportedly missed several deadlines for introducing basic permits, and the system remains limited to relatively straightforward functions, according to city workers.
At the same time, the new portal has coincided with a significant increase in permit applications for the types of permits it currently handles, per the Chronicle. According to Brousseau, the city is issuing more of those permits but taking longer to process them.
Liz Watty, director of PermitSF, told the supervisors that the longer processing times are partly attributable to the increased application volume and the difficulty of getting enough staff in place to handle it. She defended the project as an overdue replacement for a permitting system that has remained fragmented and outdated despite previous attempts at modernization.
“Our businesses … homeowners and housing producers deserve better from our city,” Watty said, according to the Chronicle. “We’re at the heart of technology innovation. We should be the gold standard — not in last place.”
The scrutiny is also extending beyond the Board of Supervisors. Mission Local reports that the inspector general, a new watchdog position within the Controller’s Office tasked with investigating waste and abuse, announced Monday that it is examining OpenGov’s ability to protect the integrity of the permitting process and “prevent improper activities.” The office expects to release its findings this fall.
Brousseau reportedly recommended that supervisors either shorten the proposed extension or require the administration to provide additional information about its work with OpenGov during next year’s budget process.
According to Mission Local, Supervisors Danny Sauter, Chyanne Chen, and Matt Dorsey voted unanimously to send the proposal to the full Board without a recommendation. Dorsey indicated that he supports the extension, particularly after proponents reportedly suggested a provision allowing the city to terminate the contract after another year if the system continues to fall short.
“In my own conversations with the mayor’s office, I made clear the absence of that provision was causing me to look at the contract unfavorably,” Dorsey said.
Fielder and Supervisor Chyanne Chen have reportedly said they are unlikely to support the extension without Brousseau's suggested changes, per the Chronicle.
“There is not enough data that demonstrates \[OpenGov\] works as intended,” said Chen.
The full Board of Supervisors is expected to consider the contract in about two weeks.
**Previously:** [SF Mayor Taking Heat for Awarding Big-Bucks Contract to Longtime Donors, Against Staff Recommendations](https://sfist.com/2025/10/17/lurie-administration-taking-heat-for-awarding-big-bucks-contract-to-longtime-donors-against-staff-recommendations/)
### Burning Man Attendees Are Still Getting Older and Whiter
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/burning-man-attendees-are-stilgetting-older-and-whiter/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T21:01:57.000Z
The annual release of the Burning Man census has arrived, and we have a picture of how the demographics of Black Rock City may be changing, at least as of the 2025 burn.
Back in 2024, [the headline was](https://sfist.com/2024/08/26/burning-man-continues-to-get-more-queer-wealthier-majority-female/) that Burning Man was getting more queer, wealthier in 2023 — news that the event was majority female for the first time appears to have been fake, or was later corrected, and Burning Man remains consistently majority male, around 56%. The annual census saw Burning Man get more diverse in 2024, going from being 81% white in 2023 to 66% white the following year, with the number of people checking the "other" box, possibly indicating multiracial identity, ticking up more than twofold. But the percentage of white attendees went up again in 2025 to 74.7%.
This year the headline, regarding the [census data from 2025](https://blackrockcitycensus.org/sociodemo?ref=sfist.com), is that fewer people in their 20s are attending Burning Man, and the population as a whole at the festival seems to be aging. The median age of a 2025 Burner was 35, and the percentage of people on the playa in their 20s was down around 12% — less than half of what that figure was a decade ago.
This has actually been the case since Burning Man resumed post-pandemic in 2022, with a significant drop in people in their 20s seen after the 2019 burn.
Still, the [New York Times seized on that headline](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/us/burning-man-gen-z-millennials-attendance.html?ref=sfist.com), noting today that the "decline has been so pronounced that attendees in their 40s and 50s, part of a generation that helped establish Burning Man as a cultural phenomenon, have overtaken 20-somethings in attendance."
That kind of makes sense, given that the population for whom annual attendance at Burning Man is just a given is probably much older these days, and given how expensive an undertaking it now is.
The share of Burning Man attendees who make over $150,000 a year has gone way up the past couple of years. As of 2025, a full 30.2% said they made between $150,000 and $300,000 a year, and another 29% of Burners said they made over $300,000 a year — meaning that about 60% of people on the playa are wealthier than the vast majority of Americans. (Nationally, about 26% of households have annual incomes over $150,000.)
The Times also quoted John Law, one of the event's founders, who wrote an op-ed this year [for the SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/08/29/burning-man-lost-its-soul-founder/?ref=sfist.com) bemoaning how Burning Man had "lost its anarchist soul."
"Today’s event is a massive, kaleidoscopic extravaganza for the senses — a phantasmagoric, immersive spectacle built for the consumption of Western elites and the middle-class creatives who service them," Law writes, adding that the place felt like Disneyland, or a "commercialized escape hatch" for the rich.
The 2025 census found that 25% of people attending Burning Man cited the cost as their primary challenge in attending, well above those who cited the difficulty of taking time off from work (16.4%).
63% of Burners in 2025 identified as Progressive or Liberal, with only 4.7% calling themselves Conservative.
And in 2025, the percentage of Burners identifying as heterosexual went up from the previous year, from 61.7% in 2024 to 62.1%. The number of bisexual or bi-curious people remained flat, while the number of people identifying as gay or lesbian went up slightly, from 9% to 9.7%.
The census also found, after a couple of difficult and [stormy](https://sfist.com/2025/08/27/burning-man-attendee-gets-electrocuted-and-airlifted-out-as-flooding-remains-a-problem-this-year/) years on the playa, about 13% of attendees said they would absolutely or probably not attend Burning Man again in 2026, with another 17% on the fence. When attendees were asked if they would attend again in two or more years, those numbers went down, and about 52% said they absolutely would be back.
**Previously:** [Burning Man Admits to $14 Million Deficit, Says Ticket Price Hikes May Be in the Works](https://sfist.com/2024/12/20/burning-man-admits-to-14-million-deficit-says-ticket-price-hikes-may-be-in-the-works/)
### Family Suing Muni Bus Driver and City After Homeless Man OD'd and Stayed on Bus For Hours
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/family-suing-muni-bus-driver-and-city-after-homeless-man-odd-and-stayed-on-bus-for-hours/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T19:19:08.000Z
A wrongful death case is headed to trial in San Francisco in February, brought by the family of a man who overdosed on fentanyl and meth while sitting on a 9-San Bruno Muni bus, and was left there slumped over by the bus operator for hours.
The incident occurred three years ago, on September 1, 2023\. 32-year-old Quinton Allen boarded the 9-San Bruno bus and took a seat in the back row around 8:30 am, possibly not headed anywhere and just looking for a place to rest, or sleep. At least once, while he was still conscious, Allen exchanged some words with a Muni fare inspector, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/muni-bus-death-lawsuit-quinton-allen-22404897.php?ref=sfist.com). But perhaps because he seemed to be in a heavily intoxicated state, he was allowed to remain in his seat.
Bus driver Harry Tam reportedly tried to rouse Allen several times, banging on the bus windows, yelling, and even trying to slam a storage compartment door nearby, to no avail. As Tam has testified in a sworn statement, he believed Allen was sleeping — just another in a long series of people, many of them unhoused, who find their way onto the public transit system and take naps there.
But Allen's family — he has two children, a 17-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter, who are being represented by guardians in the case, with attorney Anna Dubrovsky — is now suing both the City of San Francisco and Tam, claiming negligence and wrongful death.
Tam ultimately completed two loops on the 9-San Bruno route, to Visitacion Valley and back, that day in 2023 before finally flagging down a Muni supervisor on Market Street around 1 pm and telling them to call 911.
Allen's family, and Dubrovsky, say that perhaps Allen's life could have been saved if Tam had acted differently and followed protocol. Allen's mother, Catherine Byrd-Shelton, tells the Chronicle that she believed Allen might have survived if Tam had called in a supervisor or called 911 when he reached his first terminus in Visitacion Valley and was unable to rouse the already unconscious Allen.
Tam contends that sleeping passengers, even those who don't respond when nudged, do not automatically prompt the need to call for emergency services. But Dubrovsky plans to argue in court that Tam ignored what was clearly a dire situation for Allen and failed to give it the priority status that is called for in the Muni operator manual.
The City Attorney's Office has not commented on the case other than to say "Any loss of life is a tragedy," per the Chronicle. But attorneys representing Tam have said in court documents that Allen caused his own death, and the plaintiffs have not presented sufficient evidence to prove negligence in this case.
We don't know of any similar case in recent years in San Francisco, though the story is emblematic of the city's ongoing drug and homelessness crises, with public transit operators often being tasked with acting as social workers, law enforcement, or medical first-responders.
Earlier this year, [a wrongful death suit was settled](https://lawandcrime.com/lawsuit/let-me-off-bus-driver-ignored-passengers-cries-for-help-while-he-was-being-stabbed-33-times-refused-to-open-doors-and-kept-driving-as-slaying-unfolded-lawsuit-says/?ref=sfist.com) involving a bus driver in Las Vegas who reportedly ignored the cries of a man with cognitive difficulties who was being stabbed multiple times by another man, who was asking to get off the bus for several minutes while the altercation was taking place.
**Related:** [Another Muni Operator Appears to Fall Asleep at Controls, Crashes Into Empty Train](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/another-muni-operator-appears-to-fall-asleep-at-controls-crashes-into-empty-train/)
### Meta Glasses Users Who Tamper With the LED Are Getting Their Cameras Bricked
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/meta-glasses-users-are-getting-their-cameras-bricked-after-tampering-with-led/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T03:31:35.000Z
Meta has been rolling out updates to its smart glasses in an ongoing effort to prevent users from filming people without consent, and the company has bricked the cameras of thousands of users who attempted to dismantle or obscure the LED that shows they're on.
Meta has been tightening the privacy safeguards on its AI-powered glasses after people found ways to record with the camera while obscuring the blinking LED meant to alert bystanders. [As Business Insider reports](https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-glasses-camera-disabled-tampering-recording-light-update-2026-9?ref=sfist.com), the latest update is designed to shut down recording whenever the light is covered, disabled, or otherwise tampered with.
The changes follow [reports over the past year](https://sfist.com/2025/10/03/here-come-the-creeps-meta-ray-ban-glasses-dudebro-stalking-women-at-usf-posting-videos-of-them-to-social-media/) of people using the spectacles, which have earned the nickname “pervert glasses,” to film others without their knowledge.
Meta had previously released an update intended to stop recording when the LED was covered or tampered with, but users found ways around the protection. Late last month, [a CBS reporter](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meta-ai-smart-glasses-covert-filming-privacy/?ref=sfist.com) was still able to use the camera by covering the light after she began filming — a loophole that prompted the company to develop additional safeguards.
Under the newest update, glasses with an LED that has been physically destroyed or dismantled will have their cameras permanently disabled — turning the spectacles into glorified bluetooth glasses. Users who merely cover the light with something like a sticker can resume using the camera after removing it.
According to Business Insider, Meta said fewer than one in 1,000 pairs of its glasses have been subject to the enforcement action. But with the company selling 7 million pairs in 2025 alone, that could still mean thousands of devices are affected.
Meta acknowledged that people will likely continue trying to circumvent the protections.
“It’s been a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game,” wrote Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of augmented reality [on social media](https://www.threads.com/@ahimel/post/DcjTatTGyn-?xmt=AQG0IL2%5FFR9Sl-6kQEj5uI1tOkZWPA7F2Qk11gy3uG6IwS0P4Wds-piEzBKPI0Vg9m9l1%5FA&ref=sfist.com). “I don’t think we’ll ever be done… There’s always new ways to get around the safeguards that are in place.”
[Peta Pixal reports](https://petapixel.com/2026/09/01/meta-claims-to-have-bricked-thousands-of-smart-glasses/?ref=sfist.com) that Meta has also been removing social media posts that provide instructions or services for bypassing the LED, along with thousands of posts tied to harassment, pickup-artist content, and pranks. [CBS News reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meta-ai-glasses-privacy-security-fixes/?ref=sfist.com) that Meta has blocked search terms and hashtags associated with some of that content, including “pickup artist” and “rizz.”
The company is now using the security updates as a way to tout the glasses as privacy-conscious technology. Per Business Insider, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth recently called them “the most privacy-forward camera” available to consumers.
**Related:** [Here Come the Creeps: Meta Ray-Ban Glasses Dudebro Stalking Women at USF, Posting Videos to Social Media](https://sfist.com/2025/10/03/here-come-the-creeps-meta-ray-ban-glasses-dudebro-stalking-women-at-usf-posting-videos-of-them-to-social-media/)
### Rangers Warn Hikers to Stop Using AI to Plan Wilderness Trips
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/rangers-warn-hikers-to-stop-using-ai-to-plan-wilderness-trips/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T18:17:23.000Z
Now that everyone is becoming too lazy to do old-fashioned Google searches and actual book research, park rangers in Northern California say they're starting to see the dangerous impacts of AI planning for hikers.
A trio of college students from Roseville, outside Sacramento, have become the latest cautionary tale for hikers everywhere to not rely on AI chatbots to plan hiking routes or trips.
The three young men, described as novice hikers, set out to summit Mount Shasta over the weekend. They did, in fact, make it to the top, but as [Bay Area News Group explains](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/02/mount-shasta-rescue-ai-planning/?ref=sfist.com), their reliance on Google's Gemini AI got them into some trouble when they then tried to get off the mountain, leading to them requiring rescue on Monday morning.
According to [a report](https://www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff/posts/pfbid09UQGy1oRmsAPtAneVCuRhM9JcSgXMS2ooFruXs6f4jyVjpWu2NAcrLEVPe3QE1i5l) from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, the trio set out on Saturday and made camp that night at around 8,400 feet on Mount Shasta. They then set out to make the summit at 3 am, assuming it would be an eight- or nine-hour hike. Despite hikers generally being told that they should turn around, no matter what, by noon, the three young men hiked on, not reaching the summit until 7 pm, and then they got lost as they tried descending after dark.
"An hour into their descent, the party called the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch to ask for directions, but eventually wandered off-route into the Mud Creek Canyon," the sheriff's office says. One of the men then fell and injured his knee that night, and the group was "forced to bivouac in the steep drainage until they were met the following morning by the \[US Forest Service\] Climbing Rangers."
The rangers then heard from the trio that they had relied on Google Gemini for guidance with their route, and with what to pack. "This was a critical misstep, as they were advised by Gemini to bring far less food and water than their group required, especially when their planned 8 hour ascent became a multi-day ordeal," the sheriff's office says.
The situation was not as dire as it could have been, but the rangers and the sheriff’s office are using the incident to warn others, given that they're seeing an uptick in these kind of AI-caused missteps.
"This is the first year where we’ve started to have some AI fallout, if you will," says Nick Meyers, the lead climbing ranger with the US Forest Service and director of the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center, [speaking to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/shasta-climbers-rescued-chatgpt-22414629.php?ref=sfist.com). "People are using it for trip-planning — 'Hey, can I do this up here? ' It’s not always correct."
Meyers pointed to another incident this summer in which a young woman camped in an off-limits area of Shasta-Trinity National Forest, on the south side of Mount Shasta, that had clear "no camping" signage, and later told rangers that ChatGPT told her she could camp there. And Meyers tells the Chronicle he encountered a man hiking in the area who showed him a map print-out from ChatGPT that was "not even close to accurate," showing fictitious route lines and incorrect place names.
The latter incident is especially confounding given how many accurate maps one would be able to find with *a simple internet search*. But perhaps it reflects how some people assume that ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini are more reliable than they really are.
**Related:** [Mark Zuckerberg Pens Arguably Out of Touch and Self-Serving Manifesto About the Future of AI](https://sfist.com/2026/08/11/mark-zuckerberg-pens-arguably-out-of-touch-manifesto-about-why-ai/)
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Farewell, Gloria Steinem
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/farewell-gloria-steinem/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T22:03:45.000Z
- **Hurricane Lowell weakened to a Category 4 storm overnight, but forecasters now have it tracking possibly toward Kauai by early next week.** It could be a Category 4 or Category 3 storm by the time it reaches the islands of Kauai and Niihau. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/category-5-hurricane-lowell-karina-22414483.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Journalist and feminist icon Gloria Steinem has died at age 92.** "Gloria's near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end," said a [statement](https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc0dotLOqUN/?ref=sfist.com) on Instagram. \[[ABC News](https://abc7news.com/story/gloria-steinem-feminist-icon-journalist-dies-92/19784007/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Nepalese American tech founder Pukar C. Hamal, the CEO of SecurityPal AI, is spearheading an aid effort for Nepal following last week's devastating flash floods, and matching donations up to $20K that are going to the Nepalese government. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/bay-area-tech-business-helping-with-disaster-relief-in-nepal/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The town of St. Helena continues to struggle with brown water coming out of taps, a result of aging pipes and sediment in the system, and residents say that their clothes have been ruined by washing machine rinse cycles. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/st-helena-brown-tap-water-latest?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An 89-unit residential project on the site of the former Hong Kong Lounge II at Geary, is moving much faster than other projects in the neighborhood thanks to city fast-tracking efforts. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/housing-zoning-geary-22414462.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- 49er Nick Bosa was back for a full practice Wednesday for the first time since his ACL injury last year. \[[ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/%5F/id/49806533/49ers-nick-bosa-practices-fully-first-acl-injury?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A reminder: The northbound lanes of Highway 101 will be fully shut down this weekend and next at Hospital Curve (between the Cesar Chavez and 17th Street exits) for a major repaving project, so there will be traffic. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/03/labor-day-weekend-u-s-highway-101-bay-shore-freeway-northbound-closure/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Lulu, a Mandrill, Dies at SF Zoo
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/lulu-a-mandrill-dies-at-sf-zoo/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T16:05:02.000Z
### Local:
- **A mixed commercial and residential structure went up in flames in downtown Oakland Wednesday afternoon, sending smoke billowing over the city.** The fire, on Webster Street between Sixth and Seventh streets, was extinguished as of 2:30 pm. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/fire-breaks-out-building-downtown-oakland?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Sausalito City Manager and former SF Port Director Elaine Forbes has resigned from her post Sausalito, two months after her [arrest on burglary charges](https://sfist.com/2026/07/20/sausalito-city-manager-former-sf-port-director-arrested-after-yacht-harbor-incident/) during an apparent mental health crisis. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/sausalito-city-manager-resigns-weeks-arrest-allegedly-breaking-boats-harbor/19781029/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The San Francisco Zoo said goodbye to Lulu, a 24-year-old female mandrill and longtime zoo resident, who died Tuesday following a medical procedure to remove a growth from her neck. \[[SF Zoo](https://www.facebook.com/sanfranzoo/posts/pfbid0VveCzPjRizRoeApTxX3GQbVzPq2EnKv6QGb5712c4zUHmhF7SjozgysYLpD9Ah3Dl)\]
### National:
- **Hurricane Lowell, which is spinning over the Pacific about 400 miles south of Hawaii, exploded into a Category 5 storm today — only the seventh storm on record to ever to do that in the central Pacific.** The storm, which was expected to miss the Hawaiian islands by hundreds of miles, is now expected to take a sharp turn to the north this weekend, and it could still hit the western Hawaiian islands if it does so. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/category-5-hurricane-lowell-karina-22414483.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A shooting occurred today in Minneapolis at an apartment complex in the city's Loring Park neighborhood in which two people, and the gunman, were killed, and four people, including two police officers, were injured. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/us/shooting-minneapolis-downtown.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There is new stress on the bond market which will, in turn, make it more expensive for Americans to get mortgages, and it's mostly because of the ongoing war with Iran. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/02/economy/debt-treasury-stocks-bond-market?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Arguably, George Lucas's billion-dollar vanity project, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, belongs more in Los Angeles than it does here. And as it's now getting its public unveiling this month, we can think about what could have been, back when Lucas was toying with putting the museum [in the Presidio](https://sfist.com/2013/09/16/if%5Fgeorge%5Flucas%5Fdoesnt%5Fget%5Fto%5Fbuild/) over a decade ago, and then, later, [on Treasure Island](https://sfist.com/2016/05/15/oh%5Ffor%5Fgods%5Fsake%5Fgeorge%5Flucas%5Fis%5Fba/), before ultimately choosing LA.
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### Alioto's Plaza Unveiled at Fisherman's Wharf, With New Seating, Beer Concession
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/aliotos-plaza-unveiled-at-fishermans-wharf-with-new-seating-beer-concession/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T01:12:27.000Z
The new waterfront plaza, in the wharf space where Alioto's restaurant once stood, had its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, with Mayor Daniel Lurie calling it "a new reason to return" to Fisherman's Wharf.
Alioto's Plaza, as it is now called, opened to the public on Wednesday, complete with new picnic-table seating, benches facing the Bay, landscaping elements, sculptural seating that looks like ocean waves, and a pop-up space for retail that is currently a temporary home for Woods Beer & Wine Co. — which has plans to open a new taproom nearby in the former Fishermen's Grotto No. 9.
We last saw the plans for the plaza, which was built by the Port of San Francisco, [almost exactly one year ago](https://sfist.com/2025/09/03/port-of-sf-releases-plans-for-sleek-new-fishermans-wharf-plaza-where-aliotos-used-to-be/), ahead of the [demolition of 100-year-old Alioto's](https://sfist.com/2026/01/05/day-around-the-bay-g-bye-aliotos/) in January. The massive, 11,000-square-foot restaurant had sat closed for several years, and neither the Port nor the city could find any takers for it. A decision was subsequently made to turn the space, which sits between two other buildings facing the harbor, into a public plaza.
**Photo via Port of SF*
Alioto's, which began life as a fish stand in Stall #8 at the wharf in 1925, later becoming Alioto's No. 8 restaurant, was a fixture at Fisherman's Wharf and touchstone for many local families. Its original proprietor, Nunzio Alioto Sr., died in 1933, and the restaurant was then operated by his children and grandchildren. The restaurant, like others at Fisherman's Wharf, closed when the pandemic hit and the family [closed it for good in 2022](https://sfist.com/2022/04/08/one-of-san-franciscos-oldest-restaurants-aliotos-at-fishermans-wharf-is-closing-after/) after being let out of their lease.
"For generations, San Franciscans and visitors from around the world have come to experience the history and excitement of Fisherman’s Wharf,” said Assemblymember Catherine Stefani in a statement. "Today, we celebrate a new chapter for this beloved neighborhood by honoring its deep roots in the fishing industry and the countless Italian immigrants and families who helped shape the wharf into the destination we all know and love today."
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Mayor Daniel Lurie was on hand for the ribbon-cutting, along with members of the Alioto family. (FYI, the family of Joseph Alioto, the former mayor of San Francisco, is linked a bit distantly to this family in that his father, fisherman Giuseppe Alioto, was cousins with Nunzio Alioto Sr.)
"Fisherman’s Wharf has long shown us what a vibrant waterfront can mean for our city," Lurie said in a statement. "Today, we are giving people a new reason to return with the opening of Alioto’s Plaza."
The mayor added, "The wharf is a famous destination, but it's also a working neighborhood where local businesses support thousands of jobs; when it succeeds, workers earn a living, small businesses grow, and visitor spending helps fund clean and safe streets, public transportation, and parks. Alioto's Plaza opens the wharf to the water, creating a new place for people to sit and gather, while honoring the fishing industry-proof that even our most established destinations can evolve while holding on to what makes them special."
As the Port explains in a release, the new plaza is one of a number of new amenities at the wharf, along with a new lagoon overlook on Al Scoma Way that has been hosting a weekly fish market since it opened in May, and new restaurants and bars including Humble Sea Brewing, Taco Bell Cantina, and Nation's Hamburgers.
Coming soon, as we previously learned, in addition to the permanent Woods taproom, Oakland-based barbecue restaurant Everett & Jones is [taking over the former Lou's Fish Shack](https://sfist.com/2025/02/26/oaklands-famed-everett-jones-bbq-taking-over-vacant-lous-fish-shack-space-in-fishermans-wharf/), and a couple of Foreign Cinema vets are teaming up with former Boudin Bakery owner Lou Giraudo to open [a Salvadoran and Honduran seafood restaurant](https://sf.eater.com/2025/4/23/24415046/chasca-rio-san-francisco-waterfront-fishermans-wharf?ref=sfist.com) in the former Pompei's Grotto.
### Popular Vegan Gas-Station Convenience Store In San Bruno Sells For $12 Million
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/vegan-gas-station-convenience-store-in-san-bruno-sells-for-12-million/
Last updated: 2026-09-03T16:24:09.000Z
The local entrepreneur behind San Bruno’s Hangry Planet, billed as North America’s first fully plant-based gas-station convenience store, has sold the property and business for more than $12 million.
The sale of Hangry Planet came after the San Bruno convenience store had spent four years testing whether an all-plant-based gas-station market could actually work. [As KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/hangry-planet-vegan-convenience-store-sold-multimillion-dollar-deal/?ref=sfist.com), entrepreneur Bobak Bakhtiari sold the property and business this year for more than $12 million, a price that exceeded what he had once expected the site to be worth.
Located at the Tanforan Shell station at 1199 El Camino Real, the nearly 1,500-square-foot store opened in 2022 in partnership with Shell Oil, according to [Hangry Planet’s website](https://www.hangryplanet.org/team?ref=sfist.com).
Bakhtiari [told Convenience Store News](https://csnews.com/photo-gallery-hangry-planet-redefines-traditional-convenience-store-concept?ref=sfist.com) he came up with the concept after seeing an undercover investigation into organic dairy farms by Animal Recovery Mission and set out to create a convenience store where everything, from grab-and-go meals to snacks and desserts, would be free of animal products. He said products were evaluated based on their taste, nutritional profile, additives, and environmental impact.
Bakhtiari said he chose the Bay Area for the launch due to the region’s interest in plant-based food and access to vendors producing vegan products. At first the concept initially took a hit, with sales reportedly dropping about 20% after the store went fully plant-based.
That changed as customers began seeking the store out specifically, per KPIX. Bakhtiari said sales eventually increased by about 30%, with Hangry Planet developing a following among shoppers looking for vegan and plant-based food.
His larger goal, though, was to use the familiar convenience-store format to encourage non-vegans to reconsider what they buy and eat, rather than catering exclusively to people who already follow a plant-based diet.
The store's offerings include breakfast sandwiches made with Beyond Meat, JUST Egg, and Follow Your Heart Cheese, along with Daiya burritos, Dr. Praeger's veggie burgers, vegan empanadas, and hand pies. It also carries vegan hot cocoa and golden milk, prebiotic sodas, kombucha, and an assortment of plant-based snacks, according to Convenience Store News.
Hangry Planet's dessert selection features certified organic vegan pastries from Santa Cruz's Black China Bakery, vegan cookies from Kerri Kreations, and doughnuts made with locally sourced ingredients by Oakland's Donut Farm. [ABC 7 reported](https://abc7news.com/post/san-brunos-hangry-planet-is-not-average-pit-stop/17876779/?ref=sfist.com) last year that the business also partnered with Oakland chef Vegan Mob to operate a food truck in the station's parking lot.
The property also offers more than food. Bakhtiari turned the area around the gas station into a colorful attraction featuring sculptures and live music, along with a touchless "VR Car Wash" that uses projections and audio to create an immersive experience.
Based on photos of the exterior, the store's roof features funky statues of an ice cream cone and a stern-looking merman, while the parking lot is flanked with giant mushrooms.
Hangry Planet is reportedly part of Bakhtiari's broader environmental advocacy and entrepreneurial work. He has also focused on challenging what he considers unsustainable or anticompetitive business practices, including greenwashing, while promoting companies he believes are operating more responsibly.
*\*The story was updated with details about the store's decor.*
**Related:** [Fifth Annual Bizerkeley Food Fest Returns Sunday With Vegan Food to Please Even the Most Passionate Meat Lovers](https://sfist.com/2025/09/04/fifth-annual-bizerkeley-food-fest-returns-sunday-with-vegan-food-to-fool-even-the-most-passionate-meat-lovers/)
### Three SF Firefighters Injured, Cat Killed In Bernal House Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/three-sf-firefighters-injured-cat-killed-in-bernal-house-fire/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T21:59:44.000Z
A morning fire at a home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood sent smoke billowing over the area, led to three firefighters being injured, and ultimately displaced one family of seven.
The fire began around 6:27 am Wednesday at the end of the 700 block of Anderson Street in Bernal Heights. Arriving firefighters found the first floor of the home engulfed. A second alarm was called due to "exposures being threatened," and two homes directly on either side of the burning home were apparently saved from damage.
The family who lived at the home managed to make it out safely, rescuing one dog and one cat, but a second cat named Draco died after firefighters attempted life-saving measures on the animal.
The San Francisco Fire Department said the fire was contained as of 7:23 am.
The fire caused minor burn injuries for three firefighters, who were later treated at a local hospital.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
### Muni Introducing New Buses With USB Charging Ports
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/muni-introducing-new-buses-with-usb-charging-ports/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T21:35:51.000Z
In a matter of weeks, you will be able to charge your phone while riding a Muni bus, as the SFMTA is getting ready to roll out a new fleet of electric buses that will offer free USB charging ports.
It's a perk BART has refused to offer, but Muni riders will soon find USB charging ports that are free to plug in to on new buses that are set to begin service in the coming months. Details about the new fleet were presented Tuesday to the SFMTA board, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/muni-new-buses-22412768.php?ref=sfist.com), with three manufacturers, Gillig, New Flyer, and Solaris, delivering the buses in batches between this month and January 2028\.
A total of 112 new zero-emission buses will be joining the fleet, with 94 of them hybrids and 18 running just on battery power. These are a mix of 40- and 60-foot buses, the first of which will begin servicing routes in October out of the Woods and Islais Creek bus facilities.
In Tuesday's presentation, which is [available online](https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/53083?view%5Fid=55&redirect=true&ref=sfist.com), Director of Transit Brent Jones said that he was especially excited to begin rolling out these new buses, which also feature new digital-video side mirrors that act as visual aids for bus operators, in addition to the standard analog mirrors. And the new fleet will offer more space for parking strollers, as well as rear "plug-style" doors, which push out and slide open like on Muni's light-rail fleet, rather than swinging inward to open.
The buses also have new full enclosures to protect bus operators.
**via SFMTA*
via SFMTA
It's not clear which bus routes will be the first to see these new buses as they roll out.
Additionally, Jones updated the board on the 550 hybrid buses in the existing fleet that are in the process of being overhauled, over 100 of which have already been completed.
And Muni is beefing up service on some bus and train lines in order to meet demand, Jones said, in response to customer feedback.
The changes all took effect on Sunday, August 29, some of which are meant to address increased demand after the beginning of the new school year.
For instance, during peak hours, N-Judah trains are now running every nine minutes, instead of every ten minutes. The 1-California bus line will also see more frequent bus arrivals, spaced nine minutes apart.
The 5R-Fulton has begun using only the articulated 60-foot buses, instead of a mix of normal 40-foot and 60-foot buses, to address complaints of overcrowding on the line at peak hours.
And added capacity has been added to the 22-Fillmore, 29-Sunset, 38R-Geary Rapid, and 49-Van Ness-Mission.
"We know even small service changes can affect daily routines," the SFMTA said in an announcement. "We will continue monitoring service and adjusting to improve the rider experience."
**Related:** [Muni Still Has Fare-Evasion Problem as Ridership Rebounds; Fare Revenue at 34% What It Was In 2015](https://sfist.com/2026/03/26/muni-still-has-fare-evasion-problem-as-ridership-rebounds-fare-revenue-half-what-it-was-in-2016/)
### Lowell High Coach Put on Leave, Games Forfeited Following Racist Incident Involving Baseball Team
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/lowell-high-coach-put-on-leave-games-forfeited-following-racist-incident-involving-baseball-team/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T21:09:57.000Z
Attendees at a Lowell High School baseball game last spring heard varsity players make racist comments toward a competing team, and while they’re now being reprimanded, they were allowed to complete the championship.
The alleged incident happened in May, when Lowell’s varsity baseball players and coaches attended the San Francisco junior varsity championship game against Lincoln High School to support the school’s younger players, [as SFGate reported](https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/sfusd-lowell-racist-taunt-22277511.php?ref=sfist.com) at the time.
During the seventh inning, while Lowell was leading, varsity players in the stands allegedly directed racist noises and chants at Black and Latino players on the field, [according to at least one Reddit user](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1tkxxav/comment/ongiede/?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=web3x&utm%5Fname=web3xcss&utm%5Fterm=1&utm%5Fcontent=share%5Fbutton) who said they were in attendance.
SFGate reported that the game continued without an apparent intervention over the taunt, and Lincoln won the game. Three days later, Lowell’s varsity team beat Lincoln at Oracle Park, advancing to the regional tournament.
[ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/san-franciscos-lowell-high-school-baseball-team-required-forfeit-games-replace-head-coach-racial-incident/19776829/?ref=sfist.com) that the California Interscholastic Federation subsequently investigated and determined that Lowell had violated sportsmanship rules. The San Francisco Unified School District conducted its own investigation as well, with the district releasing its findings Sunday during a virtual meeting.
As a result, Lowell’s varsity team will be required to forfeit three games, and head coach Michael Sera will be replaced by an interim head coach.
“There is no place for racism, discrimination, or radicalized harm in the Lowell community or anywhere in the district,” SFUSD said in a statement.
SFGate notes that neither Lowell nor SFUSD has explained what disciplinary action, if any, was taken immediately after the May incident or why the varsity team and its coaches were allowed to continue competing.
**Related:** [Lowell High School Teacher on Leave After Giving Students Quizzes Demeaning Girls, ‘Fat Kids’](https://sfist.com/2026/03/03/lowell-high-school-teacher-on-leave-after-giving-students-quizzes-demeaning-girls-fat-kids/)
### Search Continues For Salinas Man Accused of Impregnating Daughter Whose Infant Was Found Dead
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/search-continues-for-salinas-man-accused-of-impregnating-daughter-whose-infant-was-found-dead/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T19:36:08.000Z
Monterey County authorities continue to search for a Salinas man and his 14-year-old daughter, both of whom are suspected in the death of an infant — possibly born of incest — who was found dead by the side of a road last month.
The dead newborn, whom authorities have named Baby Angelita, was found on August 1 by the side of a road in Moss Landing, a town on Monterey Bay halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey. The Monterey County Sheriff's office [began publicizing the case](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/sf-firefighters-rescue-wild-parrot-that-got-stuck/) on Monday, saying they were seeking the public's help in locating 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez and his 14-year-old daughter, whom they say he is "concealing" from law enforcement following the death of the infant.
The sheriff's office said in a release that they believe the 14-year-old "gave birth to Baby Angelita along the side of the road and placed her on the ground before leaving the area." The child was found with evidence of "traumatic injury," and it's believed that Galvez Perez fathered the child with his daughter, as [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/monterey-baby-angelita-wanted-suspects?ref=sfist.com).
Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto is using the case to argue for the effectiveness of the county's Flock camera network, amid some public outcry over privacy concerns.
"With limited information initially available following the discovery of Baby Angelita, detectives utilized the Flock automated license plate reader camera system to develop investigative leads," the sheriff's office said in the release, adding that the Flock system "played a critical role in helping detectives identify and track a vehicle of interest associated with the murder investigation."
That vehicle of interest may have belonged to Galvez Perez's wife, Ofelia Garcia Ortega, who is also the mother of the 14-year-old. Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, and has since posted bail. Both Galvez Perez and his wife are listed as residents of "Castroville/Salinas."
At a news conference, Sheriff Nieto spoke to Galvez Perez, say to the cameras, "You need to turn yourself in."
Sheriff Nieto added in a statement, "Providing our detectives with effective investigative tools strengthens their ability to solve crimes and protect our communities. This case demonstrates the value of that investment. Most importantly, we cannot lose sight of Baby Angelita, an innocent child whose life was tragically lost. We remain committed to seeking justice on her behalf."
Still, Galvez Perez and the teenage girl remain on the run, and their whereabouts are unknown. Galvez Perez is wanted on suspicion of incest, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, child endangerment, child concealment, and other charges. The girl is wanted on suspicion of murder.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sergeant Nicholas Kennedy at 831-755-3773 or Detective Richard Geng at 831-759-7279.
The sheriff's office warns that if anyone see Galvez Perez in public, they should not approach him and should simply call 911.
### SF Supervisor Introduces Proposal Limiting Evictions Over Unpaid Rent
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/sf-supervisor-introduces-proposal-limiting-evictions-over-unpaid-rent/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T19:15:20.000Z
Supervisor Jackie Fielder proposed new legislation preventing evictions for less than a month’s unpaid rent, which was co-sponsored by five supervisors and supported by Mayor Daniel Lurie.
San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder introduced the proposal Tuesday as the city continues to see rising rents and evictions amid a rapidly accelerating AI boom. [As NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/rent-eviction-proposal-san-francisco/4136530/?ref=sfist.com), Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city has experienced a nearly 10% increase in evictions over the past year, while rents have also climbed.
“I am really encouraged and very supportive of ... the legislation being proposed today by Supervisor Fielder and her five co-sponsors,” said Lurie.
The legislation would change the city’s current rent ordinance, which allows landlords to pursue an eviction over any amount of unpaid rent. Under Fielder’s proposal, a tenant would have to owe more than one month’s rent before a landlord could evict them for nonpayment.
Rather than basing that threshold on each tenant’s actual rent, the ordinance would reportedly use the federal fair-market-rent figures set annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For 2026, those amounts in San Francisco are $2,485 for a studio, $2,977 for a one-bedroom, and $3,604 for a two-bedroom apartment.
[According to Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-eviction-unpaid-rent-minimum-fielder/?ref=sfist.com), Fielder said the proposal is intended to “provide renters some breathing room in the midst of unprecedented affordability and housing crises.”
The measure is reportedly co-sponsored by Supervisors Myrna Melgar, Shamann Walton, Connie Chan, Bilal Mahmood, and Chyanne Chen.
Oakland, Berkeley, and Los Angeles have also reportedly adopted similar policies that set a one-month unpaid-rent threshold for eviction.
The Eviction Defense Collaborative, which supports the proposal, told Mission Local a significant share of nonpayment cases involve relatively small amounts of unpaid rent. Rose Thornton, an attorney with the group, said roughly one-quarter of evictions in a sample reviewed by the organization last year involved rent owed below the fair-market-rent threshold, potentially representing hundreds of evictions each year.
“We're in a classic San Francisco boom cycle, which comes with higher incentives for landlords to evict long-term, rent-controlled tenants,” Thornton said, speaking to Mission Local.
Fielder emphasized that the legislation would not eliminate a tenant’s debt or allow someone to live rent-free indefinitely. Once the amount owed exceeds the one-month fair-market-rent threshold, a landlord could still pursue an eviction.
Opposition from landlord groups is expected, although none have publicly weighed in on the proposal, per Mission Local.
The Board of Supervisors could vote on the legislation as early as October.
**Related:** [SF Supervisors Strengthen Legacy Business Protections, Hoping to Save La Mediterranee and Others](https://sfist.com/2024/10/22/sf-supervisors-strengthen-legacy-business-protections-hoping-to-save-la-mediterranee-and-others/)
### Milpitas Woman Allegedly Runs Over, Kills Friend, Possible Link to Death of Second Friend
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/milpitas-woman-allegedly-runs-over-kills-friend-possible-link-to-death-of-second-friend/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T18:43:25.000Z
A 32-year-old Milpitas woman is accused of running down and killing her friend with her car on Friday in a bizarre incident that happened just before a third woman, also a friend, was found fatally stabbed.
Police in Milpitas are investigating a strange case in which a woman has now been charged with the murder of her friend and neighbor. As the [Mercury News reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/01/woman-charged-with-intentionally-running-over-and-killing-friend-in-milpitas-lot/?ref=sfist.com), Anila Baby, 32, was charged on Tuesday following an incident on Friday, August 28, at the apartment complex where she and her friend lived.
The incident happened around noon on Friday at the Mill Creek Apartments at 440 Dixon Landing Road. According to witnesses who spoke to police, 35-year-old Anjana Hari appeared "relaxed and smiling" as she approached her friend's SUV in the parking lot of the complex. Baby then allegedly accelerated from a complete stop when Hari was in front of the vehicle, running her over with the passenger side wheel, per the Mercury News. The car then sped away after reportedly "pinballing into several parked cars."
Responding police vehicles then spotted Baby's SUV driving recklessly minutes later, and then pulling into a Walgreens parking lot.
According to police, Baby had visible injuries, as well as blood on her arms and legs, and was incoherent as she sat in the vehicle. She was reportedly unable to answer questions.
The Mercury News report declines to offer any explanation for the blood seen on the suspect, but there appears to have been a second homicide on Friday, with the victim also being a close friend of the other two women.
[KPIX reported on a fatal stabbing](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/san-jose-linda-vista-street-homicide/?ref=sfist.com) Friday in San Jose, in which a woman was found dead inside her home on Linda Vista Street around 1:53 pm. That woman has separately been identified as 40-year-old Ann Mary Mathew.
Indian publication [The Federal reports](https://thefederal.com/category/states/south/keralam/california-twin-murders-malayali-women-anila-ann-anjana-new-detail-255394?ref=sfist.com) that the three women were all Malayali, an ethnic group from Kerala in southern India, and that all three had lived at the same apartment complex in Milpitas — but Mathew had recently moved to San Jose.
According to [a separate report from The Federal](https://thefederal.com/category/states/south/keralam/california-twin-murders-cops-say-anila-ran-over-anjana-with-malice-aforethought-report-255489?ref=sfist.com), Mathew's husband, having learned of the incident involving the other two women in Milpitas, tried to reach his wife by phone. When he couldn't, he rushed home and found her, dead from at least one stab wound.
"Authorities suspect Anila’s involvement in both killings, though the motive remains unclear," per The Federal.
Friends and family of the three women have reportedly said they did not know of any tensions between the friends, and Indian news media has reported that Baby was "mentally unwell" after suffering a recent job loss.
Police in Milpitas and San Jose have yet to officially connect the two homicides, and Anila Baby has only been charged with the murder of Anjana Hari.
She is being held in Santa Clara County's Main Jail without bail, per the Mercury News. She had an arraignment scheduled for Tuesday, but that has been postponed to September 10.
*This is a developing story.*
### Man Rescued After Getting Trapped In Recology Garbage Truck In SF's Tenderloin
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/man-rescued-after-getting-trapped-in-recology-garbage-truck-in-sfs-tenderloin/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T17:19:42.000Z
A man who was dumpster-diving in the Tenderloin became trapped inside a Recology garbage truck Wednesday morning after the dumpster was emptied into it, prompting a two-hour rescue by 25 firefighters.
The incident happened shortly after 4 am near the 100 block of Mason Street. [As KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/man-accidentally-loaded-san-francisco-garbage-truck-freed-wild-rescue?ref=sfist.com), bystanders flagged down the driver after they heard yelling coming from the truck's garbage compartment.
The driver had reportedly turned on the truck's trash compactor once prior to being alerted, and the man was completely buried in debris.
Twenty-five firefighters from the San Francisco Fire Department worked to manually remove the trash over the course of two hours, according to KTVU. Paramedics were able to reach the man's arm and administer an IV during the process.
> At 04:11 AM SFFD was dispatched to a report of a person trapped inside a Recology garbage truck on the 100 block of Mason St. The driver of the truck had been flagged down and was told there was yelling inside the garbage area of his truck. Crews are currently working to remove… [pic.twitter.com/0TrOWGL1oz](https://t.co/0TrOWGL1oz?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) [September 2, 2026](https://x.com/SFFDPIO/status/2095129265054584836?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
[ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/sf-firefighters-responding-person-stuck-garbage-truck-tenderloin/19779731/?ref=sfist.com) that the man was found conscious, breathing, and able to talk. He was taken to a hospital, and the extent of his injuries was not immediately known.
A firefighter was also injured during the rescue, suffering a laceration to the hand that required treatment at a hospital.
Following the rescue, Recology workers cleared the large pile of trash from the street using construction equipment, per KTVU.
Firefighters reportedly plan to interview the man at the hospital about the events leading up to the incident.
The rescue comes after a similar garbage-truck incident earlier this year [in Kentucky](https://www.wsfa.com/2026/04/12/woman-killed-after-being-picked-up-squeezed-by-garbage-truck-claw-family-says/?ref=sfist.com), where a woman was fatally crushed after being picked up by a truck's hydraulic claw. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
**Related:** [Recology Mechanic's Death Still Shrouded In Mystery as Company Stays Quiet About Details](https://sfist.com/2025/05/22/recology-mechanics-death-remains-mystery/)
### Humpday Headlines: Uber Announces 3,300 Layoffs
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/02/uber-announces-3300-layoffs/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T16:35:29.000Z
- **Uber just announced its biggest round of layoffs since the pandemic, cutting 3,300 jobs in a major restructuring.** The cuts, which represent about 10% of the workforce, are meant to "reduce management layers" and concentrate most teams into the company's hubs in San Francisco and New York. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/tech/article/uber-layoffs-3300-jobs-22414352.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Tuesday evening grass fire temporarily blocked all lanes of I-580 in Castro Valley, leading to a bad traffic situation. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/traffic/grass-fire-on-i-580-in-castro-valley-blocks-all-lanes/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Richmond Police Department is crediting DNA analysis, with a sample taken from an abandoned bicycle, with finding the suspect in a violent armed robbery and assault outside a bank in May. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/dna-match-leads-to-arrest-of-violent-armed-robbery-suspect-caught-on-video-pd/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The San Francisco Opera has postponed its annual opening night Opera Ball, which was scheduled for September 12, due to a threatened strike by its orchestra musicians. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/classical/article/sf-opera-opening-ball-postponed-22411896.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Ivan "Sergio" Chapparo, a manager at Berkeley's Oceanview Diner, on Fourth Street, is reportedly in ICE detention after trying to board a plane to Las Vegas last Friday. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/berkeley-restaurant-manager-detained-ice-immigration?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A swimming teacher was viciously attacked by a river otter in Lake Tahoe earlier this week, near Incline Village, leaving her with many bite wounds and needing 38 stitches. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/01/river-otter-attacks-swimming-lake-tahoe/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Tiger Woods has pleaded no contest in his latest DUI case in Florida, following his March rollover crash on Jupiter Island, and he's agreed to a five-year suspension of his driver's license. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/tiger-woods-pleads-no-contest-reckless-driving-charge-florida-dui-case/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Candidate In Calaveras County Dies From Fall While Campaigning
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/day-around-the-bay-candidate-in-calaveras-county-dies-from-fall-while-campaigning/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T02:24:10.000Z
### Local:
- **Bruce Giudici, a candidate for the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors, died over the weekend after he fell while campaigning door-to-door.** Guidici, who finished first in the June primary, was taken to San Joaquin General Hospital, and it’s believed he suffered a traumatic brain injury. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/bruce-giudici-dies-campaign-fall-22413527.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawUEWBhwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXFtWndQbzJVcWNrbUJYZDJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe%5FONbm1lIsCDM661SV7jGmBdKwI90pLnrFG6ml6ppqz01vOL0My0gw%5F1Mb5k%5Faem%5Fm0tyQQlisZQ1DegydHOJ%5FQ&utm%5Fcampaign=mrf-facebook-SFChronicle&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&mrfcid=202609026a976238ec2a303de4cf20ed)\]
- A plane that departed Oakland carrying a team of doctors en route to perform a surgery crashed after it overshot the runway in southern Tulare County in Central California Tuesday, but no one was injured. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/plane-departed-oakland-carrying-doctors-crashes-porterville-airport-tulare-county-6-aboard-safe/19776377/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The people who clean Waymo robotaxis have a thankless job, as apparently riders poop in the vehicles on a way-too-frequent basis. \[[Bay Area Current](https://bayareacurrent.com/theres-a-lot-of-cleaning-up-poop-a-depot-worker-on-the-human-labor-behind-waymos-autonomous-vehicles/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier containing about 5,000 service members arrived in eastern Thailand early Wednesday after a record-setting deployment of more than 250 days following reports of supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among the crew. \[[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/uss-abraham-lincoln-pattaya-thailand-1bbd568f1c2c6ce6ba1dcbb12b0784fa?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 49-year-old woman with a history of mental health issues allegedly killed Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old Bank of America executive, and injured a 68-year-old man during a knife attack in New York City’s Times Square Tuesday, before being fatally shot by police. \[[NBC New York](https://www.nbcnewyork.com/manhattan/times-square-stabbing-victim-erin-piacenti-killed-pamerla-cisneros-nypd-shooting/6542680/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned after repeatedly warning the White House about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s unexplained purge of senior military officers and efforts to block promotions into the highest ranks. \[[ABC News](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/army-secretary-frequently-warned-white-235827217.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Local drag queen and content creator Tila Pia’s legendary splits at a recent [drag brunch at 620 Jones](https://620-jones.com/drag-brunch/?ref=sfist.com) left Ayesha Curry, who can be seen in the background, speechless.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DctlXSUvvk7/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Tila Pia (@tila\_pia\_)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DctlXSUvvk7/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Feathered Mascot ‘Kevin’ Inspires Peacock Crossing Signs, Bumper Sticker In Oakland
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/feathered-mascot-kevin-inspires-peacock-crossing-signs-bumper-sticker-in-oakland/
Last updated: 2026-09-02T01:21:14.000Z
Residents near the Rockridge Trader Joe’s in Oakland have grown attached to a wild peacock named Kevin, who has roamed the neighborhood for years, inspiring peacock crossing signs and an “I Brake for Kevin” bumper magnet.
Kevin the peacock’s routine has become familiar to the people who live around Oak Grove Avenue in Oakland, [as KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/oakland-neighborhood-protects-kevin-the-peacock/?ref=sfist.com). Word has it Kevin can often be found near the Rockridge Trader Joe’s during the day, before eventually making his way toward a favorite tree around sunset.
It's unclear how long Kevin has been frequenting Rockridge. One resident told KRON4 it was July 5, 2023\. Longtime Rockridge resident Christian Anderson, who owns one of the properties Kevin frequents,[ told Oaklandside](https://oaklandside.org/2024/05/17/kevin-rockridge-community-peacock/?ref=sfist.com) in 2024 he remembers the peacock first appearing on July 4, 2022\.
Anderson reportedly named him Kevin after the large, colorful bird in the Pixar movie *Up*, and soon started feeding him blueberries, which apparently remain the only food Kevin is particularly interested in.
“Two years ago, he landed here and he’s just been kicking it,” Anderson told Oaklandside at the time. “He’s just been hanging here. I feed him blueberries—he will eat nothing else, basically.”
Kevin’s presence has also brought some less welcome drama. According to KRON4, the bird has had several encounters with dogs, including one attack that left him missing some feathers. Another time, residents found him bleeding, though they weren’t sure what had happened.
When Kevin needed veterinary attention, neighbors chipped in to pay for a local vet to examine him. KRON4 reports that he has recovered from his injuries, and his regular appearances have only strengthened his status as a neighborhood fixture.
Neighbor Brian Luffe told Oaklandside although he appreciates the joy that Kevin brings the neighborhood, he doesn’t love the crowd of onlookers the bird attracts.
“It makes it hard not to like him, because everybody else really appreciates him a lot and is just so happy he’s here,” Luffe said. “I’m the curmudgeon.”
Kevin’s fan club has nevertheless grown around him. The neighborhood has reportedly installed signs warning drivers about peacock crossings, and last year, local artist Andrea Scher made “I Brake for Kevin” bumper magnets after visiting her friend Rob, who lives in Rockridge.
Andrea Scher
“Just for that neighborhood. A hyper-local inside joke,” [Scher said on Substack](https://andreascher.substack.com/p/kevin-the-peacock-and-full-permission). “Completely unnecessary. Totally delightful.”
**Related:** [Monday Morning Headlines: Elderly Alameda Woman Attacked By Wild Turkeys](https://sfist.com/2026/06/01/elderly-alameda-woman-attacked-by-wild-turkeys/)
### Cherry-Picker That Fell Off Flatbed Truck Led to Yerba Buena Island Ramp Closure, Traffic
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/cherry-picker-that-fell-off-flatbed-truck-led-to-yerba-buena-island-ramp-closure-traffic/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T23:01:01.000Z
An accident that involved a cherry-picker falling off a flatbed truck Tuesday morning led to access being blocked to Yerba Buena Island from both the eastbound and westbound Bay Bridge.
The incident happened around 8:45 am Tuesday, as [ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/cherry-picker-falls-off-flatbed-truck-crash-yerba-buena-island-limiting-access-bay-bridge/19775905/?ref=sfist.com), with a cherry-picker — a motorized crane mechanism with a basket used for raising construction or utility workers up to reach the top of utility poles, and such — having fallen onto the roadway on Yerba Buena Island's Macalla Road.
The crane apparently fell off of a flatbed truck, and it was lying on its side, blocking much of the road.
**Map via Google*
Per ABC 7, the situation led to police closing the off-ramps from the Bay Bridge in both directions onto Yerba Buena Island — though it seems access to Treasure Island was still available via separate ramps, despite reports to the contrary.
Traffic subsequently backed up into the city, and in the westbound lanes as well, due to lane closures around the off-ramps.
As [KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/traffic/treasure-island-accident-snarls-traffic-blocks-access-to-island/?ref=sfist.com), all lanes reopened as of 2:15 pm Tuesday.
There's been no explanation for how the accident occurred.
For a long time mostly uninhabited, Yerba Buena Island is now home to over 120 housing units, with over 100 more planned or under construction. Around 8,000 more units are planned or completed on next-door Treasure Island.
### ICE Has Held 25 Immigrants at SFO For More Than Three Days In 2026, In Violation of Policy
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/ice-has-held-25-immigrants-at-sfo-for-more-than-three-days-in-2026-in-violation-of-policy/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T23:36:34.000Z
A lounge inside SFO’s International Terminal is being used to detain immigrants, and 25 people were held there more than three days through July with limited access to medical care, legal representation, or beds.
San Francisco International Airport has had the second-highest number of airport detentions lasting more than three days this year, behind Miami, resulting in an ICE transfer, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/under-trump-sfo-now-facto-120000070.html?ref=sfist.com). Twenty-five people were reportedly held at SFO for more than 72 hours through July of this year, with 19 of them holding green cards. Eighteen of those 25 people were eventually transferred to ICE detention.
Instead of being released from the airport with an appointment to resolve questions about their immigration status, as was more common before the Trump administration’s current deportation crackdown, some have reportedly spent days inside the SFO holding area before being transferred to ICE custody.
According to the Chronicle, some were not even originally headed to San Francisco. The US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reportedly transported immigrants to SFO after they landed at other California airports, including Fresno Yosemite International Airport more than 180 miles away. Attorneys representing several of those detained said their clients were separated from their luggage and phones and had little or no contact with family while officers waited for certified court records or otherwise reviewed their admissibility.
CBP’s national standards say detainees generally should not be held for longer than 72 hours and that agencies should make every effort to keep detention as short as possible. Federal data shows the agency has nevertheless held more than 400 people at international airports nationwide for longer than 72 hours since January, including 146 lawful permanent residents.
The change has alarmed immigration attorneys who say green-card holders previously were often released from the airport under a process known as deferred inspection, per the Chronicle. That reportedly gave them a few weeks to obtain court records and meet with immigration officers, often with an attorney present. Attorneys began noticing last year that those appointments were increasingly being replaced by direct transfers into ICE detention.
The room where immigrants are being held at SFO is reportedly in the newly renovated Dianne Feinstein International Terminal. Marissa Hatton, a civil rights attorney who represents green-card holders detained at the airport, described the holding area as an inhumane makeshift jail.
“People are not free to leave, which is a key marker of something being used as a detention facility,” she said, speaking to the Chronicle.
Officials said the federal government controls the CBP facility and SFO has no authority over immigration decisions or the detention of travelers.
According to the Chronicle, the conditions inside the holding area have also raised concerns. Attorneys said some detainees spent days sleeping upright in chairs, under lights that remained on around the clock, while others had no contact with family. Food was reportedly provided from airport concession stands, and some detainees were allowed supervised five-minute phone calls.
Medical access has been another concern, particularly for older detainees. The Chronicle reports that the median age of green-card holders detained for more than three days in San Francisco was 57, compared with 44 nationwide, and attorneys said some people in their 60s were not medically screened when they arrived.
Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, whose district includes SFO, sought to see the facility after learning about the prolonged detentions from the Chronicle. CBP initially turned him away when he attempted to visit on August 20, despite federal law allowing members of Congress to inspect detention facilities without advance notice. He tells the paper he was admitted six days later and saw five people inside.
Mullin said federal officers acknowledged that the practice of holding people rather than releasing them for deferred-inspection appointments began early last year. He also said officers told him weekend court closures can extend some detentions to five or six days.
“They were not hiding from the fact this is a definitive policy shift from the Trump administration,” Mullin told the Chronicle. “They would not suggest there was a quota being handed out, but there is clearly direction being given from up top.”
The prolonged airport holds come as immigration enforcement has expanded nationwide. ICE recorded roughly 4,300 arrests in California and about 50,000 nationally in July, as the Trump administration pursues a goal of deporting one million people annually.
**Related:** [Woman From Ukraine Forcibly Detained at SFO In Viral Video; Feds Say She Overstayed Her Visa](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/woman-from-ukraine-forcibly-detained-at-sfo-in-viral-video-feds-say-she-overstayed-her-visa/)
### SF's African American Arts & Culture Complex Cleared of Wrongdoing In City Audit
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/sfs-african-american-arts-culture-complex-cleared-of-wrongdoing-in-city-audit/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T21:35:12.000Z
The nonprofit African American Arts & Culture Complex in the Fillmore District was under a bit of a cloud of suspicion while a city audit was underway, but that audit has revealed that its money problems mostly stemmed from poor accounting and mismanagement.
The 37-year-old African American Arts & Culture Complex (AAACC), which was once run by former Mayor London Breed prior to her tenure as district supervisor, had fallen under scrutiny since the pandemic by the SF Arts Commission — which provided most of the organization's $11 million in grant revenue over several years. The AAACC underwent a change of leadership last month, in part because of the ongoing audit, and now [the City Services Auditor's report](https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/Arts%5FCommission%5F-%5FAAACC%5FAudit%5FFinal%5FReport%5F08.31.26.pdf?ref=sfist.com) has been completed and made public.
The report concludes that, while some missteps were made in reporting with regard to its city grants, these were largely due to "gaps in AAACC’s management practices" and inadequate communication between the Arts Commission and the AAACC. Also, the report's recommendations are heavily focused on the Arts Commission and how it communicates its expectations for grant reporting.
The audit report finds that the AAACC’s former co-executive directors, twin sisters Melonie and Melorra Green — who are friends of Breed — were put in a position of managing re-granting responsibilities by the Arts Commission under the former mayor's Dream Keeper Initiative, while the organization lacked the operational capacity to manage these responsibilities and provide the necessary financial documentation. Moreover, the AAACC put much of its accounting in the hands of paid consultants, which left the organization without any institutional knowledge of how the usage of its funds needed to be accounted for.
As the [Chronicle notes](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/cultural-center-city-audit-grants-22410285.php?ref=sfist.com), following the launch of this audit in 2024, the Green sisters [resigned from the AAACC](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/leaders-nonprofit-ties-london-breed-resign-audit-21018070.php?ref=sfist.com) last summer, after four years running the organization. (You can [hear an interview with both of them on KQED](https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101874834/first-person-twin-sisters-melorra-and-melonie-green-on-their-vision-for-a-center-of-black-joy-in-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com) from 2019 in which they optimistically spoke about creating a "center of Black joy" for the community.) The new executive director of the AAACC, former City College board member Murrell Green (no relation), [began work there](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/cultural-center-new-leader-22286466.php?ref=sfist.com) in July.
The audit looked at a sample of nine grants from the Arts Commission totaling $6.3 million, and found small issues, including $20,000 in one budget that listed some ineligible expenses including lodging, travel, and food. The AAACC also had trouble meeting the Arts Commission's deadlines for reporting on the usage of grants, with some reports coming in months late.
"We acknowledge that the AAACC experienced gaps in management, governance, documentation, fiscal oversight, and grant reporting," current director Murrell Green wrote in an official response to the audit report. "We appreciate the audit team's work and the constructive recommendations presented in the report."
This all stands in contrast with recent previous audits of city-funded nonprofits that have flagged major misuses of city funds, like with the now defunct nonprofit Collective Impact and its association with former Dream Keeper Initiative leader Sheryl Davis — who is [now under criminal indictment](https://sfist.com/2026/03/30/sheryl-davis-human-rights-commission/) and accused of misappropriation and self-dealing to the tune of $4.6 million.
Collective Impact, which was run by Davis's romantic partner and accused co-conspirator James Spingola, had been under city contract to operate the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in the Fillmore. The center sits just over a block away from the AAACC, on McAllister Street, and that has [caused some recent tension](https://sfist.com/2026/05/24/city-backs-off-deal-to-operate-fillmore-community-center-after-major-pushback/) in the community over who should take over the center's operations.
Also currently facing criminal charges for misappropriation of funds is Gwendolyn Westbrook, the former CEO of another city-funded nonprofit, the United Council of Human Services (UCHS), who's [accused of buying a Tesla](https://sfist.com/2026/02/23/yet-another-sf-ex-homelessness-nonprofit-ceo-who-allegedly-stole-1-2-million-criminally-charged-with-misuse-of-public-money/) with city funds, among other charges.
The AAACC, and its new director, now face the challenge of identifying a new temporary home of operations, because its 34,000-square-foot building at 762 Fulton Street is going to be undergoing necessary earthquake retrofit work beginning on January 1, 2027\. That work, as the Chronicle previously reported, is expected to last 18 months.
The AAACC, which is not to be confused with the African American Arts and Cultural District in the Bayview, is currently hosting multiple art exhibits in its galleries, and has a [regular calendar](https://aaacc.org/calendar/?ref=sfist.com) of community and cultural events.
### Crime Rates Dropped By 20% at Intersections With Urban Alchemy Presence, Says Stanford Study
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/crime-rates-dropped-by-20-at-intersections-with-urban-alchemy-presence-says-stanford-study/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T20:10:56.000Z
After analyzing SF crime data from 2018 to 2023, researchers at Stanford and two other universities found that crime was 20% lower at intersections where Urban Alchemy street ambassadors were present.
Researchers from Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University, and Northwestern University [found significant reductions](https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/9/pgag275/8773044?ref=sfist.com) in overall crime at 41 San Francisco intersections where Urban Alchemy practitioners were deployed compared to nearly 600 other intersections that did not have the program. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/urban-alchemy-san-francisco-stanford-study-22408258.php?ref=sfist.com), the study is being hailed by Urban Alchemy as long-sought evidence that its unarmed street ambassadors can reduce crime and provide an alternative to traditional policing, particularly in addressing drug- and behavioral health-related crime.
Urban Alchemy launched in San Francisco in 2018 as a project of [Hunters Point Family](https://www.hunterspointfamily.org/?ref=sfist.com), eventually becoming an independent nonprofit whose practitioners work on some of the city’s most troubled blocks. The program has expanded to several cities and received tens of millions of dollars via City of San Francisco contracts.
[In 2023](https://sfist.com/2023/05/19/street-ambassador-nonprofit-urban-alchemy-seen-as-force-of-good-mostly/), Urban Alchemy reported 34 overdoses reversed, 41,575 trash bags filled, 78,494 needles safely cleaned up, 2,010 responses to 311 calls, 45,000 “de-escalation interventions,” and more than 300,000 “inviting space interventions” in a 12-month period.
But the nonprofit has faced controversies involving its workers, shelter operations, [shootings](https://sfist.com/2025/10/01/urban-alchemy-worker-fatally-shot-outside-sf-main-library/), and finances.
Last year, San Francisco Controller Greg Wagner placed Urban Alchemy on a watch list and moved it to “tier 2” contract status over [employee-hour tracking and other fiscal concerns](https://sfist.com/2025/09/19/city-contractor-urban-alchemy-acknowledges-some-overspending-as-sf-supervisors-mull-contract-extension/). The nonprofit was accused of $800,000 in unauthorized pay-related overspending, though it disputed the figure, saying the actual amount was $336,000.
Crews typically work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., greeting people, cleaning streets, responding to conflicts, asking people involved in drug use or disruptive behavior to move, and carrying naloxone. Many practitioners have been incarcerated themselves.
According to the Chronicle, critics have accused Urban Alchemy of shuffling drug users and the homeless "from block to block" with effecting real change, while others have characterized its ambassadors as an intimidating, unarmed police force.
Those questions reportedly helped prompt Stanford sociology professor Forrest Stuart’s study, which followed the program for two years and compared 41 treatment intersections with similar locations without practitioner coverage. Researchers found reductions in total and behavioral health-related crime, along with significant declines in drug and violent crime. Property crime was reportedly unchanged.
The researchers said the effects appeared to build over time rather than immediately after practitioners arrived, per the Chronicle. Stuart said this was consistent with Urban Alchemy’s relationship-based approach, since practitioners first have to learn the people, businesses, service providers, and recurring conflicts on a particular block before they can effectively intervene.
However, at least one outside expert reportedly questioned whether the study could establish that Urban Alchemy itself caused the reductions. Crime economics researcher Jennifer Doleac of Arnold Ventures noted that the study’s effects did not emerge until 20 to 24 months after deployment, which means other changes could have potentially contributed to the decline.
Urban Alchemy co-founder and CEO Lena Miller sees the study as long-sought independent evidence for a model it has argued can improve public safety without relying primarily on police.
“There is no scam,” argues Miller, speaking to the Chronicle. “This is legit transformation.”
The study’s authors also said the findings provide evidence that visible, noncoercive practitioners can reduce crime in high-need public spaces, while emphasizing that the model is intended as a complement to policing rather than a replacement for it.
**Related:** [City Contractor Urban Alchemy Acknowledges Some Overspending as SF Supervisors Mull Contract Extension](https://sfist.com/2025/09/19/city-contractor-urban-alchemy-acknowledges-some-overspending-as-sf-supervisors-mull-contract-extension/)
### Plaskett Fire Near Big Sur Grows By Another 12,000 Acres, Surpasses Timber Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/plaskett-fire-near-big-sur-grows-by-another-12-000-acres-surpasses-timber-fire/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T19:51:08.000Z
As it continues burning through dense vegetation in an area that has not seen any fire in 50 years, the Plaskett Fire grew aggressively once again on Monday and into Tuesday morning, pushing further east toward Fort Hunter Liggett.
The Plaskett Fire, which is burning about 30 miles south of the Timber Fire in rugged, largely uninhabited terrain east of Big Sur, has grown to a sizable wildfire far quicker than the Timber Fire, crossing the 27,000-acre mark in less than week.
The Plaskett Fire, which [began Wednesday, August 26](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/new-big-sur-wildfire-the-plaskett-fire-breaks-out-south-of-timber-fire/), now stands at 27,580 acres, [up from 15,500 acres just yesterday](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/plaskett-fire-now-at-15-500-acres-evacuation-zone-hits-county-border/), and it is now the largest active fire in the state. The Timber Fire, burning since August 8 — about two and a half weeks longer — stands at 25,190 acres. The Plaskett Fire is just 1% contained, while the Timber Fire is 21% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Both fires are burning in different parts of Los Padres National Forest, with the Timber Fire footprint overlapping with some more recent wildfires, and the Plaskett Fire burning in denser vegetation that has been untouched by fire in decades.
Neither fire has done any destruction in terms of homes or businesses, and they have mostly been kept away from the Big Sur coast and Highway 1, although the rapid expansion of the Plaskett Fire over the weekend prompted a wide-ranging evacuation order that reached down to the San Luis Obispo County border in the south, and over to the US Army training base known as Fort Hunter Liggett to the east. The base remains under an evacuation warning, and the fire pushed east toward it overnight, according to Cal Fire.
**Map via Cal Fire*
**Map showing the two fires, via Cal Fire*
"The fire continued aggressive growth during the previous operational period, primarily along the eastern perimeter as it pushes into Fort Hunter Liggett," Cal Fire said in a Tuesday morning update. "Steep terrain and heavy fuels continue to drive fire behavior."
Cal Fire adds that "Crews made progress along the northern edge, using firing operations along the Slick Rock road system, while aviation resources supported suppression efforts along the southern edge near Los Burros Road."
And the agency says that "structure defense remains a primary operational priority."
The Plaskett Fire began last Wednesday just east of the coastal outpost of Plaskett, near Willow Creek Beach and San Martin Rock. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
While the Plaskett and Timber fires don't show any immediate danger of merging, being about 30 miles apart, Big Sur residents and business owners are already feeling boxed in and inundated by fire the way they were in the summer of 2008, when the [Basin Complex fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basin%5FComplex%5FFire?ref=sfist.com) ultimately consumed over 160,000 acres following the merging of three separate fires.
As [ABC 7 reported](https://abc7news.com/post/timber-plaskett-fires-historic-big-sur-businesses-close-2-wildfires-expand-force-new-monterey-county-evacuations/19748616/?ref=sfist.com) on Friday, businesses in Big Sur were forced to close again after briefly getting to reopen earlier this month as the Timber Fire got more under control — with fire growth primarily concentrated in the north and east away from Highway 1.
A 40-mile stretch of Highway 1 is again closed to the public as the firefights continue.
**Previously:** [Plaskett Fire Now at 15,500 Acres; Evacuation Zone Hits County Border](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/plaskett-fire-now-at-15-500-acres-evacuation-zone-hits-county-border/)
### Suspect In Oakland Shootout and Arson Was Convicted Sex Offender With Parole Violations
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/suspect-in-oakland-shootout-and-arson-was-convicted-sex-offender-with-parole-violations/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T18:59:52.000Z
The suspect in Sunday's dramatic shootout with Oakland police, who had allegedly been threatening a woman and who subsequently set fire to an abandoned house, was released from prison last year after serving 20 years.
44-year-old Aleem Spencer was already on the radar of parole officers in Oakland after they reported multiple arrests and parole violations in the last year since his release from prison. Spencer was then allegedly [involved in an altercation with a woman](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/man-engages-in-shootout-standoff-with-oakland-police-before-setting-fire-to-abandoned-home/) Sunday morning in East Oakland's Manzanita Park in which he threatened to kill her, which led to a confrontation with police in which he allegedly exchanged gunfire with officers before fleeing on foot.
Spencer was seen on surveillance video hopping fences and taking refuge in one resident's basement while she was at home, without her knowledge. He then reportedly entered an abandoned home on the 2600 block of 22nd Avenue where he was later surrounded by police. In the course of a standoff, Spencer allegedly began throwing cans of flammable liquid at officers, and then set fire to the home, before he was ultimately taken away on a stretcher with apparent smoke inhalation injuries and arrested.
As [KTVU reported Tuesday](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-shootout-suspect-is-convicted-sex-offender-history-parole-violations-court-records?ref=sfist.com), via court records, Spencer was on parole for the past year after serving 20 years for assault with intent to commit a sex crime, and was considered a sex offender after that 2005 crime. In that time out on parole he had already reportedly been arrested for several parole violations, including being in possession of a loaded rifle with a 30-round magazine.
A parole officer reportedly wrote in a recent report obtained by KTVU, "Unfortunately, Spencer has shown no progress in changing his criminal lifestyle, and his failures illustrate his resistance to positive changes."
Spencer reportedly remains hospitalized, and will be transferred to Santa Rita Jail once he is medically cleared.
This is the second case in a week about which questions are likely to be raised with regard to the Alameda County parole system. A suspect arrested in an alleged stabbing spree last Monday in East Oakland, 34-year-old Jose Jesus Rodriguez, was also [on parole after a conviction for a stabbing spree](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/oakland-stabbing-suspect-went-on-previous-stabbing-spree-was-on-parole/) that occurred in 2019.
Rodriguez was on supervised parole since his 2023 release, and had already committed multiple parole violations, with one parole officer saying that his behavior posed "a significant threat to the community."
As KTVU's legal analyst Steven Clark [told the station](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-stabbing-spree-suspect-parole-violations?ref=sfist.com) last week, the case is guaranteed to raise alarm in the community about how individuals qualify for parole and remain free after multiple violations.
"It’s understandable why the community may feel that the pendulum has swung too far in favor of the defendant instead of public safety when you see a case like this," Clark said.
**Previously:** [Man Engages In Shootout, Standoff With Oakland Police Before Setting Fire to Abandoned Home](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/man-engages-in-shootout-standoff-with-oakland-police-before-setting-fire-to-abandoned-home/)
### Father Says Waymo Car Nearly Hit Toddler Who Fell In Noe Valley Crosswalk
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/father-says-waymo-car-nearly-hit-toddler-who-fell-in-noe-valley-crosswalk/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T17:45:54.000Z
A father in Noe Valley says a Waymo robotaxi stopped within 13 feet of his two-year-old daughter when she fell in the crosswalk, nearly running her over, but Waymo claims the car wouldn’t have hit her.
Ben Fisher said he had been walking with his 2-year-old daughter Friday morning when she fell down while crossing Sanchez Street at Duncan Street in Noe Valley. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/waymo-toddler-crosswalk-22411597.php?ref=sfist.com), Fisher saw a Waymo robotaxi that had been stopped at a nearby stop sign begin moving into the intersection just as his daughter stumbled. He reportedly rushed forward with her stroller, placing himself between the car and his daughter, and the vehicle stopped about 13 feet away.
The girl began crying as people on nearby sidewalks shouted, and Fisher said he believed he had narrowly prevented her from being struck. Fisher told the Chronicle the car’s lidar system appeared to detect him and his daughter and displayed a pedestrian-yield signal, but he did not wait to see whether it would stop before intervening.
“I think my child could have very easily been killed,” Fisher said.
Waymo, however, disputes that account, saying the robotaxi had already stopped before Fisher pushed the stroller in front of it and that its sensors had detected the pedestrians.
The incident has since generated reports to Waymo, police, and the city’s 311 system. Per the Chronicle, Fisher and his wife also contacted the offices of Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, while Fisher said a passenger in the Waymo vehicle separately reported the incident to the company.
Waymo said the vehicle operated safely and emphasized that it is continuing to work on communicating its movements to pedestrians and other road users.
[As Hoodline notes](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/noe-valley-dad-says-waymo-nearly-hit-his-toddler-after-she-fell-in-crosswalk/?ref=sfist.com), this section of Sanchez Street, where the incident occurred, is part of San Francisco’s permanent Slow Street network, which is heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists.
Multiple incidents with autonomous vehicles have left some SF residents uneasy with their growing presence on the street. In a particularly upsetting incident last year, a Waymo vehicle struck and [killed a bodega cat](https://sfist.com/2025/10/29/beloved-bodega-cat-allegedly-killed-by-waymo-in-mission-district/) in the Mission District. Weeks later, a [Waymo with passengers inside struck a small dog](https://sfist.com/2025/12/02/waymo-strikes-small-dog-in-western-addition/) that was unleashed in the Western Addition.
In 2023, rival robotaxi operator [Cruise’s driverless permits were suspended](https://sfist.com/2023/10/24/california-dmv-suspends-cruise-robotaxis-from-operating-in-sf/) after one of its vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian who had been knocked into its path by a human-driven car.
Additionally, [CBS News reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/denver-drivers-question-waymo-behavior-chain-reaction-crash/?ref=sfist.com) last week that an unoccupied Waymo in Denver suddenly stopped in the middle of the street, triggering a chain-reaction crash involving three human-driven vehicles. Police determined the Waymo was not at fault and cited one of the human drivers for following too closely.
**Related:** [Beloved Bodega Cat Allegedly Killed By Waymo In Mission District](https://sfist.com/2023/10/24/california-dmv-suspends-cruise-robotaxis-from-operating-in-sf/)
### Tuesday Morning Topline: Morgan Hill Party Shooting Suspect Could Be Tried as Adult
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/09/01/morgan-hill-party-shooting-suspect-could-be-tried-as-adult/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T16:14:04.000Z
- **Santa Clara County prosecutors announced Monday that they are filing a motion to transfer the case against the 17-year-old Salinas boy charged with the July 25 murder of Desiderio “Desi” Romero V to adult court.** The boy was [arrested last week](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/17-year-old-suspect-arrested-in-shooting-at-morgan-hill-birthday-rave-that-left-one-dead/) in connection with the [mass shooting](https://sfist.com/2026/07/27/shooting-at-unsanctioned-party-for-twitch-streamer-in-morgan-hill-field/) at a pop-up-style party in a Morgan Hill field to celebrate the birthday of a Twitch streamer. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/teen-charged-in-twitch-streamer-party-homicide-may-stand-trial-as-adult/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **We're now learning, for the first time, that each Supreme Court justice has chosen to keep their court papers and files hidden from the public until everyone involved with deciding a case has died.** The practice began after Justice Antonin Scalia died without leaving instructions about his papers, and the Times reports that there doesn't even seem to be policy for preserving internal emails, or if there is they won't say. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/us/politics/supreme-court-internal-records-sealed.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- California Highway Patrol is looking for the suspect vehicle involved in a [freeway shooting Sunday evening](https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/shooting-on-101-in-san-carlos-caused-massive-sunday-evening-backup/) on 101 in San Carlos, in which the victim's car was struck four times. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/chp-seeks-highway-gunman-who-fired-upon-car-in-san-carlos/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There's now video of the August 15 incident in which former Congressman Eric Swalwell was [detained by federal agents at SFO](https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/eric-swalwell-detained-at-sfo-fbi-seizes-devices/) and had all his electronic devices seized. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/video-shows-moment-fbi-confronts-former-congressman-eric-swalwell?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Oakland city leaders gathered at a community meeting in the city's Montclair neighborhood Monday evening, where topics of discussion included illegal sideshows, traffic safety, and illegal dumping. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-leaders-address-illegal-dumping-sideshows?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There's another dying or near-dead mall in the Bay Area, San Rafael's Northgate Mall, where the only tenant left in the food court is a gelato stand that is reportedly great, called Daily Recess. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/daily-recess-gelato-san-rafael-22404810.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- 63-year-old Duane "Keffe D" Davis was convicted Monday in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, after the jury deliberated for less that three hours. \[[ABC 7 Los Angeles](https://abc7.com/post/tupac-shakur-murder-trial-duane-davis-keffe-d-guilty-closing-arguments-trial/19768705/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: SF Firefighters Rescue Wild Parrot That Got Stuck
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/sf-firefighters-rescue-wild-parrot-that-got-stuck/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T23:56:58.000Z
### Local:
- **Monterey County authorities are searching for 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez and a 14-year-old girl he has with him, after the remains of an infant were found by the side of the road in Moss Landing on August 1\.** The county sheriff's office believes 14-year-old gave birth to the infant, and Perez is wanted on suspicion of six crimes, including incest, child endangerment, child concealment, and child sex crimes. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/monterey-baby-angelita-wanted-suspects?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **San Francisco firefighters and SF Animal Care & Control rescued a wild parrot that got its head stuck between pieces of glass on a third-floor balcony on Telegraph Hill on Sunday.** The parrot was uninjured but had apparently been stuck for hours. \[[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SanFranciscoACC/posts/pfbid0gUYaYEbMry9dWAUh6o6axrcpa2KYfrL7mAKomwrTpNPxT6rK8jSEW5htJpQBsKqdl)\]
- Hodo Foods, the Oakland tofu maker celebrated by many Bay Area chefs, has issued a recall for its Chili Crisp Lightly Fried Tofu due to possible contamination from ink. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/hodo-foods-oakland-tofu-recall-22411109.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The Supreme Court, once again on the shadow docket, has given the go-ahead for construction to continue on Trump's White House ballroom, despite objections from preservationists.** In [a dissent](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/26a203%5F2b8e.pdf?ref=sfist.com), Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberals in arguing that the aesthetic harms felt by preservationists amount to real harms, in this case. \[[Associated Press](https://abc7news.com/story/supreme-court-lets-white-house-continue-construction-trumps-400-million-ballroom/19771127/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Singer Lionel Richie has checked himself into a hospital "out of an abundance of caution" following a headlining appearance over the weekend.** Richie has been touring with Earth, Wind & Fire, whose longtime drummer, John Paris, was hospitalized in San Francisco after a medical emergency, which led to a last-minute cancellation of a Chase Center show, and was [briefly in an induced coma](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/john-paris-wakes-again-two-major-surgeries-22398728.php?ref=sfist.com) earlier this month. \[[ABC News](https://abc7news.com/story/lionel-richie-checks-himself-hospital-abundance-caution-source-says/19771260/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Amid ongoing turmoil in the US Armed Forces, Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll is resigning after clashing with racist, transphobic, and sexist Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the dismissal of combat-tested leaders. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/31/us/trump-news?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- As we continue to mourn the loss of another great, Tim Curry, here is an interview he did with the BBC in 1975, discussing his role in *The Rocky Horror Picture Show.* \[h/t: [Laughing Squid](https://laughingsquid.com/tim-curry-1975-bbc-interview/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### SF Camerawork Set to Reopen Next Month Weeks After Announcing Closure
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/sf-camerawork-set-to-reopen-next-month-weeks-after-announcing-closure/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T01:26:37.000Z
Legacy photography institution SF Camerawork is reopening in September after previously announcing it would be closing its doors August 31, following a last-minute effort by supporters to keep it operating.
SF Camerawork’s planned closure is now off, which was first announced August 10, after a group of supporters moved quickly to take over the struggling institution and keep it operating beyond the end of August, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/sf-camerawork-closing-22391767.php?ref=sfist.com).
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcmsaxLgkfE/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
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[According to KQED](https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/sf-camerawork-closing-22391767.php?ref=sfist.com), the reversal came together in just three weeks, led by photographer Hal Fischer, one of the nonprofit’s three original founders, and Monique Deschaines, director of Euqinom Gallery and a former SF Camerawork board member.
The group reportedly approached the former board with a proposal to review the organization’s finances, install new leadership, and help fund its operations into early 2027.
SF Camerawork had previously announced its closure earlier this month, citing rising operating costs, declining public funding, and changes in the philanthropic landscape. The announcement caught much of the local arts community by surprise, with Fischer telling KQED that people were immediately reaching out from around the Bay Area and Los Angeles asking how they could help.
The timing left little room to maneuver, since SF Camerawork’s lease was set to expire at the end of the month. Fischer said the transition to the new leadership has gone relatively smoothly, with the former board agreeing to the proposed changes.
“I think they were pretty fatigued,” Fischer told KQED. “I think it’s been a really tough road.”
Fischer will now serve as board president, while Deschaines becomes interim executive director. The new board also includes artists and arts professionals Alexis Gordon, Sarah Miller, Adrian Martinez, Alex Ramos, Dave Elfving, and Erika Gentry, several of whom have longstanding connections to Camerawork.
Founded in 1974, SF Camerawork has spent more than five decades supporting photographers through exhibitions, publications, critiques, and other programming, per SFGate. The Fort Mason institution has reportedly exhibited and hosted artists including Sally Mann and Robert Mapplethorpe and has played an important role in the careers of emerging photographers and curators.
During a period of uncertainty for San Francisco’s arts institutions, which have faced a series of closures and funding challenges in recent years, Fischer said there remains a strong need for the kind of support SF Camerawork provides.
“What Camerawork does for emerging photographers, emerging curators, there’s more need for that than ever,” Fischer told KQED.
The organization will reopen its doors September 9, with a members’ exhibition scheduled for September 16 through October 4 and an opening reception set for September 17.
**Related:** [Intimate New Art-House Cinema Opening In Bernal Heights](https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/intimate-new-art-house-cinema-opening-in-bernal-heights/)
### Next Week Brings Chance of West Coast Hurricane Amidst Super El Niño Season
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/next-week-brings-chance-of-west-coast-hurricane-amidst-super-el-nino-season/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T23:24:56.000Z
A tropical disturbance that is forming off the tip of the Baja peninsula has a chance of becoming a hurricane, which in turn has a chance of impacting California — a rarity that might gain fuel from the super El Niño cycle in the Pacific.
The unnamed tropical disturbance, seen as a red X on the map below from the National Hurricane Center, has not yet formed into a tropical depression. But National Weather Service Meteorologist Bryan Lewis [tells KTLA](https://ktla.com/weather/a-hurricane-could-form-near-southern-california-this-week-seriously/?ref=sfist.com) that meteorologists have their eye on it, and this has a chance of becoming a tropical storm within a day or so, and forming into a hurricane by Thursday or Friday.
"Once the depression forms, the National Hurricane Center will then likely write a discussion about it and include probabilities of tropical storm or even hurricane formation, so stay tuned for that," Lewis tells KTLA.
Already spinning in the Pacific are Hurricane Karina and Tropical Storm Lowell, with latter in the open ocean about 700 miles to the southeast of Hawaii. As the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports, Lowell is expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday, and will likely pass to the south of Hawaii over the weekend.
Hurricane Karina, which [became a Category 4 storm](https://qazinform.com/news/hurricane-karina-strengthens-to-category-4-in-eastern-pacific-31ede2?ref=sfist.com) after rapidly intensifying over the weekend, is reportedly causing increased swells along the SoCal coast.
As the [Chronicle explains](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/pacific-hurricane-california-22410794.php?ref=sfist.com), the likelihood of any of these storms reaching the California coast as hurricanes is very low, because hurricanes need ocean surface temperatures around 80 degrees to sustain themselves — something that exists out in the far Pacific not along the Cali coast. We could still see impacts from these storms and the moisture that their remnants bring after it blows our way.
This year's [super El Niño is reportedly off the charts](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/climate/el-nino-temperature-charts.html?ref=sfist.com) in terms the ocean temperature rise that has been recorded in the deep Pacific, and its effects on global weather patterns in the coming months are anyone's guess — but are likely to be dramatic.
Longtime Bay Area residents often recall [the super El Niño winter of '97/'98](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997%E2%80%931998%5FEl%5FNi%C3%B1o%5Fevent?ref=sfist.com), which brought an onslaught of rain that lasted months — and a particular onslaught in February 1998 that dumped the equivalent of about a year's worth of rain on California in a single month.
The average year sees around eight tropical cyclones in the Pacific, while that 1997 El Niño season saw a total of 16, with 10 so-called super typhoons reaching Category 5 intensity in the West Pacific basin. There were also two Category 5 hurricanes in the Pacific that season, Hurricane Guillermo and Hurricane Linda, which struck in August and September, respectively.
### Newsom’s Plan To Limit Utilities’ Wildfire Liability Thwarted In Eleventh-Hour Deal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/newsoms-plan-to-limit-utilities-wildfire-liability-thwarted-in-eleventh-hour-deal/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T23:12:27.000Z
A contentious portion of Newsom’s wildfire proposal would have reduced utility companies’ financial liability when their equipment causes wildfires, but the California Senate and Assembly rejected the provision during a last-minute deal Friday night.
The agreement came after weeks of closed-door negotiations over who should bear the enormous costs when utility equipment sparks a wildfire, with those liabilities reaching tens of billions of dollars in recent disasters, [as KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12097357/newsom-lawmakers-reach-last-minute-deal-on-wildfire-fallout?ref=sfist.com). California Governor Gavin Newsom had argued that the existing system could eventually push utilities into bankruptcy, leaving wildfire survivors and ratepayers to absorb the fallout.
But the proposal reportedly drew fierce opposition from wildfire survivors, insurers, local governments, and trial attorneys, particularly over provisions that would have limited compensation for some victims and shifted more costs away from utilities. [According to the Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-08-29/la-fi-newsom-utility-wildfires?ref=sfist.com), more than 50 Eaton Fire survivors traveled to Sacramento last week to protest outside the governor’s mansion, chanting, “Who should pay?” and “Shareholders should pay!”
The contentious provisions were part of a broader package Newsom had been negotiating during the final days of his last legislative session as governor. Primarily, he wanted to restrict insurance companies from suing utilities to recover money they had paid homeowners after utility-caused fires, a process known as subrogation.
[As CalMatters](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-wildfire-package-newsom-lawmakers-balk/?ref=sfist.com) reports, the proposal also would have limited noneconomic damages for some wildfire survivors. Under Newsom’s plan, pain-and-suffering damages would generally have been limited to people who lost a family member or suffered an injury, while other survivors who fled a fire within the burn perimeter would have faced a $150,000 cap.
Survivor groups opposed Newsom’s effort to distinguish between victims based on the type of loss they experienced, and both the Assembly and Senate rejected those restrictions in the final compromise. The new proposal does not cap survivors’ economic or noneconomic damages, and it doesn’t limit their ability to seek compensation based on where they were when a fire occurred.
CalMatters reports that the negotiations unfolded as investigators determined that Southern California Edison was responsible for the January 2025 Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed about 9,400 structures. More than 11,000 households have sued Edison, alleging negligence, which the utility denies.
California’s strict wildfire liability rules reportedly hold investor-owned utilities responsible for damage caused by their equipment even when there is no finding of negligence. The system contributed to PG&E’s bankruptcy after its equipment sparked the 2018 Camp Fire and other destructive fires.
As the LA Times reports, Newsom and lawmakers created a $21 billion wildfire fund in 2019 in response, financed equally by utility shareholders and ratepayers, to compensate victims of utility-caused fires. The Legislature reportedly added another $18 billion last year after the 2025 Los Angeles-area fires threatened to drain the original fund.
The cost of the system has also been passed on to electricity customers. Wildfire-related charges now add about $41 per month to the average PG&E bill and $27 per month for Southern California Edison customers, according to a state report released this spring.
Newsom had also proposed shifting more wildfire costs to property insurers, a move that could have increased premiums, but he ultimately abandoned that effort, according to KQED. He also backed away from provisions that would have transferred more costs for destroyed public infrastructure to local governments.
Instead, the final legislation focuses on several narrower changes. It would prevent hedge funds and private equity firms from profiting by purchasing insurers’ rights to pursue wildfire claims, restrict utility CEOs from receiving bonuses after destructive fires, increase fines for utilities with safety violations, and create a program intended to get compensation to wildfire survivors more quickly.
The bill also includes a 30-day prohibition on unsolicited communications from law firms to wildfire survivors following a disaster and caps attorney fees in insurance subrogation cases at 10% of the final settlement.
“This is one of the most consequential pieces of legislation for victims and survivors of wildfires that we’ve ever done,” said state Senator Josh Becker, D–Menlo Park, speaking to KQED of the compromise, citing its provisions to get survivors paid more quickly, limit Wall Street’s role, and hold utilities accountable.
[According to Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/31/california-dems-hand-newsom-rare-defeat-on-wildfires-01056887?ref=sfist.com), parts of the negotiations extended past the midnight deadline Friday, requiring lawmakers to use an urgency measure that can still be introduced but requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers.
The sweeping proposal proved difficult for lawmakers to sell to their constituents, particularly those who had lived through devastating wildfires.
“My job is not to ensure that we’re increasing profits for shareholders for these companies,” said state Senator Sasha Renee Perez of Altadena, which was hit by the Eaton Fire, last week, per CalMatters. “And we certainly, as a Legislature, are not going to negotiate with companies that want to act like terrorists.”
With the legislation coming together behind closed doors in the final days of session, lawmakers faced pressure to explain complicated changes to a system that directly affects their fire-scarred communities.
“Many of us were up until three in the morning, and then staff had to go write the actual bill language,” Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris said.
The 96-page bill was published Saturday morning, leaving lawmakers only a short window to review the final language before a vote expected Tuesday, as the LA Times reports. Republican Senator Roger Niello, R–Fair Oaks, questioned whether three days was enough time to evaluate such significant changes to California’s wildfire liability system.
PG&E criticized the final measure, saying it failed to address the long-term financial risks created by California’s wildfire liability framework and would not provide the certainty needed to attract affordable investment.
Wildfire survivors who had opposed Newsom’s original proposal, meanwhile, celebrated the concessions from the governor and legislative leaders.
“This is all real progress for future fire survivors,” Newsom said in a statement Saturday, while adding that California’s wildfire liability system still needs “full structural reform — not a partial one.”
**Related:** [Bay Area Firefighters In LA as Eaton Fire In Altadena Threatens Thousands of Homes](https://sfist.com/2025/01/08/bay-area-firefighters-head-to-la-to-fight-multiple-fires-threatening-thousands-of-homes/)
### Plaskett Fire Now at 15,500 Acres; Evacuation Zone Hits County Border
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/plaskett-fire-now-at-15-500-acres-evacuation-zone-hits-county-border/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T22:10:49.000Z
The five-day-old Plaskett Fire near Big Sur is now the third-largest active wildfire in California, having grown five-fold since Friday, and it continues burning steep, remote, barely accessible terrain filled with thick vegetation.
The Plaskett Fire, which [first erupted last Wednesday](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/new-big-sur-wildfire-the-plaskett-fire-breaks-out-south-of-timber-fire/) about 27 miles south of the still-burning Timber Fire, now stands at 15,479 acres, and it is only 1% contained. As Cal Fire notes, there has been no fire activity in this particular part of the Los Padres National Forest east of the Big Sur coast for 50 years, which means there is plenty of dense fuel to burn.
Evacuation orders along the coast now extend all the way to the San Luis Obispo County border to the south, and to Fort Hunter Liggett to the East, with the US Army training facility currently under an evacuation warning.
"The fire has been pushing toward Highway 1 and moving east into the interior, and there's ongoing concern it could keep spreading south," says Cal Fire in a Monday update. "Crews on the ground are focused on defending structures, building new containment lines, and reinforcing roads, ridgelines, and other natural barriers that can help stop the fire."
A timelapse video seen below shows the smoke plume from the Plaskett Fire as it grew rapidly over three hours on Sunday afternoon.
At around 24 square miles, the Plaskett Fire is now the fifth biggest fire of this fire season in California, and is still only five days old.
The Timber Fire, which began on August 8, continues to burn in the northern part of the Los Padres National Forest, and now stands at 24,970 acres and 21% containment. It is burning in similarly rugged terrain to the east where containment has been challenging.
The Timber Fire's westward and southward advancement toward populated areas along the Big Sur Coast appears to be mostly halted, and the fire, while still threatening hundreds of structures, has mostly been burning in unpopulated areas.
As [ABC 7 reported on Friday](https://abc7news.com/post/timber-plaskett-fires-historic-big-sur-businesses-close-2-wildfires-expand-force-new-monterey-county-evacuations/19748616/?ref=sfist.com), historic Big Sur businesses like Nepenthe and Café Kevah have been forced to close again after briefly getting to reopen earlier this month following a forced closure from the Timber Fire.
A 40-mile stretch of Highway 1 is now closed to the public, and Nepenthe owner Kirk Gafill tells ABC 7 that this pair of fires is now reminiscent of the 2008 Basin Complex fire, a merging of three wildfires which eventually burned 162,818 acres, mostly in the Ventana Wilderness, and destroyed 60 structures.
**Previously:** [New Big Sur Wildfire, the Plaskett Fire, Breaks Out South of Timber Fire](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/new-big-sur-wildfire-the-plaskett-fire-breaks-out-south-of-timber-fire/)
### The Latest Fight Over a Large, Upzoned Housing Development Comes to West Portal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/the-latest-fight-over-a-large-upzoned-housing-development-comes-to-west-portal/
Last updated: 2026-09-01T17:46:23.000Z
San Francisco's pseudo-suburban neighborhoods are on edge as ever-increasingly dense and tall developments are being proposed, and the latest is a proposed apartment tower in West Portal that just almost tripled in size.
The fight over the [Marina Safeway redevelopment](https://sfist.com/2026/06/26/opponents-say-proposed-25-story-marina-safeway-project-may-not-be-eligible-for-fast-tracking/) is likely to rage on for some time, and [battles over upzoning](https://sfist.com/2025/10/09/sf-elected-officials-get-an-earful-over-luries-rezoning-plans-everyone-uses-miami-beach-as-a-boogeyman/) will likely characterize the bulk of the next decade in the outer Avenues. But now we have another likely fight brewing in quaint and sleepy West Portal, where a proposed development that began this year as a 64-unit building has now grown almost threefold to 172 units, and grown upward from nine stories to 12.
This is the [proposed apartment complex](https://sfist.com/2026/01/06/west-portals-long-shuttered-cinearts-theater-could-become-nine-story-64-unit-housing-complex-under-new-proposal/) we first heard about in January that would replace the former Empire Theater at 85 West Portal Avenue, most recently known as CineArts at the Empire, which has been[ closed since early 2021](https://sfist.com/2021/02/11/west-portal-movie-theater-cinearts-at-empire-has-permanently-closed/).
As the [Chronicle reports today](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/west-portal-housing-project-san-francisco-22406791.php?ref=sfist.com), the developer is seeking to enlarge the project partly because of Mayor Daniel Lurie's so-called "Family Zoning" changes, and after they acquired an adjacent property at 61 West Portal Avenue — currently home to Goodwill and Supercuts. And this 12-story complex, which will dwarf everything surrounding it by nine or ten stories, is all but guaranteed to cause a war in the neighborhood.
"People are going to lose their minds," predicts Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who tells the Chronicle she nonetheless supports the project and upzoning in general. “This is going to be my Marina Safeway."
**Rendering via Bodewell Group*
The developer is DM Development, and something called Empire West Portal LLC, and DM's Mark MacDonald tells the Chronicle that he hopes to "bring a very high level of quality and finishes" to the project, at a "very important and prominent West Portal location."
The LLC was founded by the fifth-generation owner of the property, Jesse Appleton, who tells the paper, "As a family we are excited to take the project to the next stage and excited to be part of the community and continue that legacy."
DM Development is hoping to take advantage of the state's density-bonus law, reserving 15% of the project's units — 26 in total — as below-market-rate, half of which will be allocated for "very low income" tenants. Melgar tells the Chronicle this in itself should be seen as a win for the community, because the city has lowered its affordable requirement to 5% in order to encourage more development.
This new addition to West Portal would also include 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.\*
Much like with the Marina Safeway project, the developer is hoping to speed through the city approvals process without any public hearings or votes. Residents and neighborhood groups are more than likely going to lawyer up, though, as they have in the Marina, where the latest gambit there to bring the developer to the negotiating table has to do with [ground contamination from a long-ago steam-power plant](https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/sf-marina-safeway-environmental-concerns-22385747.php?ref=sfist.com) on the site that used crude oil. Neighbors have also argued that the state's fast-track density bonus shouldn't apply to the site [because it is not primarily surrounded by "urban uses,"](https://sfist.com/2026/06/26/opponents-say-proposed-25-story-marina-safeway-project-may-not-be-eligible-for-fast-tracking/) in that it borders a yacht harbor, Fort Mason, and Marina Green.
Melgar tells the Chronicle that she also expects pushback from neighborhood merchants about the noise and street disruption that will come with approximately two years of construction. But, she adds, those merchants should be happy having hundreds of new residents on the block once it's done.
**Related:** [Opponents Say Proposed 25-Story Marina Safeway Project May Not Be Eligible For Fast-Tracking](https://sfist.com/2026/06/26/opponents-say-proposed-25-story-marina-safeway-project-may-not-be-eligible-for-fast-tracking/)
*\*This article has been corrected to show that the proposed project has 7,000 square feet of retail space, not 70,000.*
### Two Men Found Dead In Tomales Bay After Late-Night Canoe Trip to View Bioluminescence
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/two-men-found-dead-in-tomales-bay-after-late-night-canoe-trip-to-view-bioluminescence/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T20:00:49.000Z
A San Francisco man was identified as one of two people found dead in Marin County after taking a late-night canoe trip to view bioluminescent creatures Saturday, while the other man remains unidentified.
The men had been headed to White Gulch Beach, an inlet on the western side of Tomales Bay within Point Reyes National Seashore, where they planned to camp after their bioluminescence tour, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/marin-canoe-deaths-22410344.php?ref=sfist.com). They were reported missing Sunday morning by other members of their camp.
First responders located the two men at about 1:30 pm during an air and water search-and-rescue operation, according to the Marin County Fire Department. Both men were wearing life vests.
[According to ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/bodies-2-missing-canoers-found-tomales-bay-bioluminescent-tour-marin-county-officials-say/19769701/?userab=kfsn%5Fcontent%5Frecs-582%2Avariant%5Fa%5Fcontrol%5Fkfsn-2512%2Ckabc%5Fcontent%5Frecs-577%2Avariant%5Fa%5Fcontrol-2480%2Cwls%5Fcontent%5Frecs-584%2Avariant%5Fa%5Fcontrol%5Fwls-2516%2Cwtvd%5Fcontent%5Frecs-585%2Avariant%5Fb%5Ftrending%5Fwtvd-2519%2Cktrk%5Fcontent%5Frecs-587%2Avariant%5Fb%5Ftrending%5Fktrk-2523%2Cwpvi%5Fcontent%5Frecs-586%2Avariant%5Fa%5Fcontrol%5Fwpvi-2520%2Cotv%5Fweb%5Fcontent%5Frec-539%2Avariant%5Fc%5Ftrending-2268%2Cotv%5Fweb%5Ftopic-580%2Avariant%5Fb%5Ftopic%5Fredesign-2509%2Cotv%5Fsearch%5Fpage%5Fdesign%5Funification-546%2Avariant%5Fb%5Fsearch%5Fredesign-2300%2Cvertical%5Fvideo%5Fweb-519%2Acontrol-2163%2Cabcn%5Fpopular%5Freads%5Fexp%5Ffollowup-648%2Avariant%5Fb%5Fpopularityonly-3457%2Cotv%5Fmobile%5Fweb%5Fcontent%5Frecs-639%2Avariant%5Fa%5Fcontrol-3429%2Ckgo%5Fcontent%5Frecs-583%2Avariant%5Fb%5Ftrending%5Fkgo-2515%2Cotvlink%5Fabcnnav-576%2Avariant%5Fc%5Flocalnews-3316&ref=sfist.com), the Marin County Sheriff's Office identified one of the men Monday as 36-year-old San Francisco resident Casey Flynn Melia. The other man has not yet been identified.
Responders initially found the unidentified man unresponsive in the water and transported him to Bodega Bay in Sonoma County, where he was pronounced dead. Search crews later found Melia unresponsive near Hog Island and took him to Sacramento Landing, where he was also pronounced dead.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain under investigation by the Marin County Sheriff's Office, the US Coast Guard, and the National Park Service.
The men were there hoping to see bioluminescence, a phenomenon caused by microscopic organisms called dinoflagellates that emit flashes of light when disturbed, per the Chronicle. The phenomenon can sometimes be seen along the California coast and in bays, with the season in Tomales Bay generally running from June through October.
Marin County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bret McTigue cautioned that conditions around the bay, particularly near its mouth, can be extremely dangerous.
"The area of Tomales Bay and the mouth of Tomales Bay in particular is one of the most dangerous waterways imaginable in California coastlines, so if you are coming out, you need to do your homework," McTigue said, per ABC 7.
Fire officials are urging people heading out on the water to wear life jackets and carry a marine radio.
**Related:** [Four Tomales Bay Kayakers Get Helicopter Rescue After Nearly Being Swept to Sea](https://sfist.com/2022/11/28/video-four-kayakers-get-helicopter-rescue-after-nearly-being-swept-to-sea/)
### Man Engages In Shootout, Standoff With Oakland Police Before Setting Fire to Abandoned Home
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/man-engages-in-shootout-standoff-with-oakland-police-before-setting-fire-to-abandoned-home/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T18:41:52.000Z
A man who allegedly threatened to kill a woman at an Oakland park Sunday exchanged gunfire with police, the OPD says, before barricading himself inside an abandoned house where he set a fire during an hourslong standoff.
The incident began around 10:30 am Sunday, when the Oakland Police Department received reports of a man threatening to kill a woman at Manzanita Park near 22nd Avenue and East 28th Street, [as ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/amp/post/suspect-custody-allegedly-threatening-woman-shooting-officers-manzanita-park-oakland-police-say/19766112/?ref=sfist.com). The police department said that when officers arrived, the man opened fire on them, prompting officers to return fire before he fled into the surrounding neighborhood.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, including tactical teams and a police drone, while officers established a perimeter around the area.
“I saw tons of cop cars, and they kept coming, kept coming, more and more and more cop cars,” said resident Rebecca Kaplan, [speaking to KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-police-advise-residents-near-manzanita-park-shelter-place-after-shootout-armed-suspect?ref=sfist.com). “They were loud, I mean I’m a block away from the park and it was bang, bang…like about seven shots.”
Homes in the immediate area were reportedly evacuated. Other nearby residents were instructed to stay inside, but some said they weren’t notified.
“They did not tell us anything,” a resident told ABC 7\. “They walked back and forth and they didn't say anything to us. And they didn't say it to stay inside. Literally nothing. And I was shocked.”
[According to Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/30/oakland-man-at-large-manzanita-park/amp/?ref=sfist.com), the suspect initially jumped between backyards while fleeing police before taking refuge in an abandoned house on the 2600 block of 22nd Avenue. Oakland Police Chief James Beere said surveillance footage from nearby residents helped officers identify the man and locate the house where he was hiding.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcrn5gfK3oo/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Zz (@allthewrongskills)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcrn5gfK3oo/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
By around 3 pm, police said the suspect began throwing cans containing flammable liquid at officers after setting them on fire, eventually igniting the house where he had barricaded himself. Officers reportedly deployed smoke to force him out of the burning building, after which a police canine unit and tactical team took him into custody.
The Oakland Fire Department extinguished the blaze, while a neighboring home also began catching fire, which reportedly sustained minimal damage.
Nearby residents [reported on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcrn5gfK3oo/?igsi=ejNnNGh0bHBsenUz&ref=sfist.com) that they heard two explosions, alleging that the second fire was caused by the police smoke bombs, though that claim has not been verified.
The suspect was taken to a hospital with injuries, and the shelter-in-place order issued during the standoff was lifted. No officers were injured, and the woman who was allegedly threatened was not physically harmed.
[At a press conference](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtWAuCJMB6E&ref=sfist.com), Beere declined to identify the suspect but said police believe he may be connected to other violent crimes in the area.
“He was out to hurt people today,” said Beere. “He was bent on killing someone today, and the women and men of the Oakland Police Department and our neighboring agencies helped us prevent that from happening.”
The officers who fired their weapons have been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
The San Leandro Police Department, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, East Bay Parks Police, and FBI also assisted Oakland police during the incident.
**Related:** [SFPD Negotiates With Assault Suspect Barricaded Inside Cadillac Hotel In the Tenderloin](https://sfist.com/2026/03/25/sfpd-negotiates-with-assault-suspect-barricaded-inside-cadillac-hotel-in-the-tenderloin/)
### Shooting on 101 In San Carlos Caused Massive Sunday Evening Backup
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/shooting-on-101-in-san-carlos-caused-massive-sunday-evening-backup/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T18:07:50.000Z
A freeway shooting on northbound Highway 101 in San Carlos caused a massive traffic backup Sunday evening, shutting down all northbound lanes for around two hours.
The shooting happened around 5 pm Sunday on northbound Highway 101 south of Holly Street, per the CHP, and as [reported by NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/2-people-hurt-after-shooting-on-highway-101-in-san-carlos/4135373/?ref=sfist.com).
An unidentified suspect reportedly fired on a black Infiniti sedan, and no one was seriously injured. The Infiniti was being driven by a 25-year-old driver, and two passengers, ages 22 and 17, were in the car at the time.
As NBC Bay Area reports, it was unclear to investigators whether the car was directly targeted or was caught in some crossfire.
One victim in the Infiniti was reportedly grazed by a bullet on the hand, and another suffered a back injury in the incident.
Traffic was redirected for two hours onto SR 82, and traffic was backed up down the Peninsula on northbound 101\. All lanes ultimately reopened as of 7:11 pm, [according to KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/traffic/lanes-on-hwy-101-shut-down-in-san-carlos-after-shooting/?ref=sfist.com). CHP-Redwood City posted a traffic alert at 7:45 pm saying that latest had reopened.
### Monday Morning Headlines: Double Stabbing Near Powell Street BART
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/31/double-stabbing-near-powell-street-bart/
Last updated: 2026-08-31T16:39:13.000Z
- **San Francisco police responded to a double stabbing Sunday in the Tenderloin near the Powell Street BART station.** The stabbing happened around 3 pm on or near O'Farrell Street, and both victims self-transported to the hospital. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sf-police-double-stabbing/4135431/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Two people have been confirmed dead and 15 remain unaccounted for following a flash flood in the Grand Canyon on Saturday.** The flood happened in the Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area following a monsoonal storm that dumped a significant amount of rain in the span of a half-hour. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/grand-canyon-flash-floods-22410943.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A pin giveaway event at that [SF Pokémon convention](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/friday-morning-pokemon-fever-takes-over-moscone/) on Saturday drew such a massive crowd at the Moscone Center that it had to be shut down over safety concerns. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/pokemon-pin-event-shut-down-due-to-massive-overcrowding/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The winners of the Pokémon World Championships on Sunday at the Chase Center include American player Andrew Hedrick, who won in the Masters class in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/pokemon-world-championships-winners-from-sf-competition/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Lemon Aide Project, a North Bay nonprofit, is encouraging residents in flood-prone areas to prepare for this year's very strong El Niño, putting together go-bags and shoring up homes wherever possible. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/el-nio-warning-north-bay-nonprofit-lemon-aide-project-urges-residents-prepare-dangerous-winter-weather/19754345/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There is $125 million set aside in a budget trailer bill that was made public over the weekend to support the [Trust for Public Land's purchase](https://sfist.com/2026/03/31/environmental-group-secures-option-to-buy-former-east-bay-racetrack-will-turn-it-into-park/) of the former Golden Gate Fields racetrack property in the East Bay, to eventually transform it into a public park. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/125m-proposed-turn-golden-gate-fields-waterfront-park?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Republican running for California's 1st congressional district, James Gallagher, has quietly removed Donald Trump's endorsement from his campaign website as he runs against Healdsburg Democrat Mike McGuire. \[[Bay Area News Group](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/31/james-gallagher-removes-donald-trumps-endorsement-on-campaign-website/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- After [Google Maps quickly caved](https://sfist.com/2026/08/30/google-maps-now-shows-lake-america-instead-of-lake-ontario-to-us-users/) and made Lake Ontario into Lake America — like they earlier did with the Gulf of America — Trump isn't satisfied and apparently he reached out directly to Apple, possibly to Tim Cook himself, to get Apple Maps to comply also. \[[NY Mag](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-personally-bullying-apple-to-make-it-lake-america.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Google Maps Now Shows 'Lake America' Instead of Lake Ontario to US Users
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/30/google-maps-now-shows-lake-america-instead-of-lake-ontario-to-us-users/
Last updated: 2026-08-30T23:48:07.000Z
Users searching Google Maps in the US are now seeing "Lake America" in place of Lake Ontario after President Trump signed an executive order renaming the Great Lake “effectively immediately" earlier this week. The bizarre move comes as Trump and Canada continue to engage in an escalating trade war.
Google implemented the name change on Saturday, as [the Hill reports](https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/6059553-google-maps-renames-lake-america/?ref=sfist.com). In a statement, the company cited its reliance on official government sources like the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) as the impetus for making the update.
Notably, Canadian Google users will still see Lake Ontario on their searches. International users, by contrast, will now see the Great Lake listed by both names.
The tech giant's decision to go with "Lake America" mirrors its choice to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" for US users in 2025\. That move was in turn made after Trump signed an executive order to the same effect while feuding with the Mexican government. The Mexican government would go on to file suit against Google over the matter.
Lake Ontario's new mantle arrives as the Trump administration and Canada find themselves in a [trade battle](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/32-homes-destroyed-in-hawk-fire-so-far/) that's led both sides to levy punitive tariffs on numerous products. On Sunday, [the Hill further reported](https://thehill.com/policy/international/6059521-ford-slams-lake-america-rename/?ref=sfist.com) that Ontario Premier Doug Ford compared the name change to "something out of *Saturday Night Liv*e" during an interview with Martha Raddatz of ABC News.
"No one’s going to call it Lake America,” Ford added during the broadcast. “It’s been Lake Ontario for hundreds of years. It’s going to continue to be Lake Ontario.”
That's also the wish of Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca. As [SFist noted yesterday](https://sfist.com/2026/08/29/saturday-links-berkeley-to-lose-local-coverage-as-daily-planet-ends-publication/), President Seneca is demanding that Trump rescind his order, declaring it violates the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua.
"The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action,” Seneca said in a statement published by the Hill.
In a [post made Thursday](https://x.com/MarkJCarney/status/2093066041286910329?s=20&ref=sfist.com) to the social media platform X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shared his own distaste for the decision by means of a history lesson.
"The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io," Carney wrote, "which, appropriately, means 'the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.' The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America."
**Related**: [Will Cesar Chavez Street Be Renamed For Dolores Huerta? Chuck Norris??](https://sfist.com/2026/05/14/will-cesar-chavez-street-be-renamed-for-dolores-huerta-chuck-norris/)
*Top image: A map labeling Lake Ontario as "Lake America" is displayed as U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on August 27, 2026 in Washington, DC.*
### Pabst Blue Ribbon Claims 40,000 Pounds of Beer Stolen in SoCal Warehouse Theft
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/30/pabst-blue-ribbon-claims-40-000-pounds-of-beer-stolen-in-socal-warehouse-theft/
Last updated: 2026-08-30T20:58:07.000Z
Authorities are investigating two separate claims of cargo theft at an Anheuser-Busch distribution center in Montclair earlier this month that apparently included the loss of 40,000 pounds of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. The total value of the missing cargo is estimated to be $70,000.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/pabst-beer-cargo-theft-22409653.php?ref=sfist.com), the alleged thefts both took place on August 17 and may have involved the use of fraudulent documentation. Police suggest that such a ploy allowed for the thieves, purporting to be a subcontracting company, to abscond with two cargo deliveries within an hour worth $45,000 and $25,000, respectively.
Neither of the shipments meant to be delivered by the supposed subcontracting company ever reached their final destinations, prompting Montclair Police to investigate.
For its part, the social media team at Pabst Blue Ribbon seems to be taking the incident in stride, making a series of humorous posts befitting of a brand best known for its reliable affordability.
"We don’t fault you for wanting to brag to your friends how much PBR you have," they [wrote on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcUyt9uG8Kd/?img%5Findex=1&ref=sfist.com) while addressing the yet-to-be-captured culprits. "We just wish you obtained it the honorable way."
The company then offered the thieves a deadline of 18 days to safely return of their precious suds and face no consequences. Later in the post, they confirmed that PBR was "deadly serious" about the offer and expressed concern over whether the new, unapproved owner of their brews "knows the importance of keeping beer cold."
While one of PBR's posts mentions the return of a truck, Montclair Police officials told the Chronicle that no trucks — only cargo — was reported stolen. Authorities have yet to publicly identify any suspects or announce any arrests in the case.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcUyt9uG8Kd/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Pabst Blue Ribbon (@pabstblueribbon)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcUyt9uG8Kd/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
To that end, as part of the beer company's self-imposed deadline to have their cargo returned without punishment, they've also called on the public to provide tips in exchange for an unspecified reward.
This new PBR heist follows a 2024 incident [detailed by the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/guy-fieri-sammy-hagar-tequila-heist-19926062.php?ref=sfist.com) in which two freight trucks packed with $1 million worth of tequila from a brand co-owned by Bay Area celebrities Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri were stolen in Texas while en route to California and Pennsylvania.
**Related**: [Sapporo Plans 200 Stone Brewing Layoffs After Selling Brand to Firestone Walker](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/sapporo-plans-200-stone-brewing-layoffs-after-selling-brand-to-firestone-walker/)
*Top image: In this photo illustration, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is shown on January 29, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.*
### Sunday Links: Three Bay Area Residents Among Four Dead in Alaska Plane Crash
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/30/sunday-links-three-bay-area-residents-among-four-dead-in-alaska-plane-crash/
Last updated: 2026-08-30T19:34:19.000Z
- **Three Bay Area residents are dead along with a fourth person after the small passenger plane they were traveling on crashed in the remote Alaskan community of Seldovia Slough earlier this week.** The deceased include two victims from San Jose and one from Los Gatos. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/bay-area-residents-alaska-plane-crash/4135215/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A Vacaville woman was killed early Sunday morning after a driver hit her vehicle while allegedly traveling the wrong way on I-505 in Solano County.** The suspect, a Vallejo man, sustained minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/wrong-way-crash-solano-county-interstate-505-kills-vacaville-woman/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop empire is expanding with its first eat-in restaurant, Goop Kitchen, set to open in San Diego this week. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/gwyneth-paltrows-goop-kitchen-set-to-open-first-eat-in-restaurant-in-san-diego/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Berkeley police claim a shoplifter attacked a CVS clerk with bear spray after being caught by the clerk and asked to leave. \[[Berkeleyside](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/08/28/north-berkeley-cvs-bear-spray-attack?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Local authorities in Nepal are warning that more fresh flooding may be imminent in areas already devastated by the catastrophic flash flooding that killed at least 800 people in the region on Wednesday. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/story/nepal-warns-possible-fresh-flooding-communities-grapple-devastation/19764785/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Patience on the Playa: prepare for a wait of nearly 7 hours if you're in line to get into this year's edition of Burning Man. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/travel/burningman/article/burning-man-gate-line-22409978.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Five residents were hospitalized and another twelve were displaced after a fire broke out inside a San Francisco Mission District apartment on Saturday evening. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/fire-sf-mission-district-22409858.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office was one of several law enforcement agencies to coordinate in the apprehension of an allegedly "dangerous" suspect on early Sunday who they say attempted to escape capture by jumping into the San Francisco Bay. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/san-mateo-co-dangerous-suspect-in-custody-after-22409602.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### 49ers Sought Shanahan Crash Police Report Prior to Public Disclosure, Records Reveal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/29/49ers-sought-shanahan-crash-police-report-prior-to-public-disclosure-records-reveal/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T22:21:50.000Z
A historically bad PR week for the San Francisco 49ers continued Friday as newly-published public records reveal that team officials repeatedly sought to obtain head coach Kyle Shanahan's police report from Palo Alto authorities for 11 days before disclosing news of his car crash to media outlets.
Today, the [Mercury News reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/28/49ers-shanahan-arrest-palo-alto-police/?ref=sfist.com) that during that nearly two-week gap in July, 49ers team officials reached out multiple times to Palo Alto police with requests to review Shanahan's collision report. While the records confirm that the team apparently has direct access to police officials, they also show local law enforcement ultimately took more than a week before finally providing the 49ers with the requested material.
As [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/07/25/49ers-head-coach-kyle-shanahan-suffers-severe-concussion-in-car-accident/), the public was first made aware last month that Shanahan had been involved in a two-car collision near his Palo Alto home. Given the news arrived 11 days after the incident transpired, questions surrounding the timeline of the team's disclosure of the news quickly emerged. As a result of the crash, Shanahan suffered a severe concussion, a broken nose, and fractured ribs among other injuries.
Subsequent, [SFist recapped](https://sfist.com/2026/07/28/kyle-shanahan-now-says-he-was-at-fault-in-palo-alto-crash-in-which-he-was-seriously-injured/) Shanahan's press conference where he took responsibility for the incident, stating that he accidentally veered into oncoming traffic and hit another driver after taking his eyes off the road while his Tesla was engaged in autopilot mode.
Initial confusion over the crash also stemmed from what Palo Alto police stated was a clerical error that mistakenly briefly listed the other driver, a 21-year-old woman, as the party at fault. This latest update to Shanahan's car crash saga follows a jam-packed week of not-so-great news for the San Francisco 49ers, who will face the Los Angeles Rams in their season opener in Melbourne, Australia on September 10\.
On Monday, [SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/49ers-owner-jed-york-arrested-in-ohio-possibly-for-engaging-in-prostitution/) that San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York was arrested as part of a prostitution sting at a trailer park in East Palestine, Ohio. The next day, [SFist shared](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/details-emerge-from-jed-yorks-prostitution-arrest/) details on the bust, including York's patronage of a Craigslist-caliber sex-ad website, along with news that he'd quietly filed to divorce his wife back in May.
The 49ers were once again back in the headlines on Friday as [SFist covered](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/man-accused-of-posing-as-wealthy-49ers-player-to-lure-women-into-1-3-million-scam/) the strange saga of Daejon Labrayae Love, who allegedly conned dozens of women into giving him a combined $1.3 million by pretending to be a fictitious star wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers.
Twelve days remain until the start of the season.
**Related**: [49ers Owner Jed York Arrested In Ohio for Engaging In Prostitution](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/49ers-owner-jed-york-arrested-in-ohio-possibly-for-engaging-in-prostitution/)
*Top image: Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers on the field during Rookie Minicamp at SAP Performance Facility on May 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California.*
### New Plan Emerges to Rename Embarcadero Plaza After Former SF Mayor Art Agnos
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/29/new-plan-emerges-to-rename-embarcadero-plaza-after-former-sf-mayor-art-agnos/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T20:41:41.000Z
A new plan officially introduced on Friday calls for San Francisco's Embarcadero Plaza to be renamed Art Agnos Plaza in honor of the former mayor who championed the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway following the damage it sustained in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/embarcadero-plaza-art-agnos-22406300.php?ref=sfist.com), should the resolution pass the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission's Capital Committee this upcoming Wednesday, it will then be subject to a full commission vote in the next month. If successful, the red-brick area of Embarcadero Plaza first known as Justin Herman Plaza would subsequently become Art Agnos Plaza.
In a statement shared with the Chronicle, current San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie highlighted what his predecessor was able to achieve during his time in office.
"When the Loma Prieta earthquake struck San Francisco, it was Art Agnos who helped guide our city through one of the most challenging moments in its history — and who seized that moment to transform our iconic waterfront for generations to come,” Lurie said. “As we once again reimagine a vital part of our waterfront, it is only fitting that we honor former Mayor Agnos’s legacy.”
The new plans would also rename an adjacent green space in Sue Bierman Park as Sue Bierman Commons. Bierman, who died in 2006, was an activist and former Board of Supervisors member who played a major role in preventing the construction of a proposed freeway artery through Golden Gate Park.
Along with Art Agnos Plaza, the two parcels would subsequently be known as Embarcadero Park and cover a span of five acres. The redesign will reportedly cost $40 million, with construction set to begin before year's end and finish by early 2028.
Budgeting for the plan calls for half of the $40 million cost to be covered by the city via public sources like bond funds while the other half comes from private fundraising being overseen by the Downtown Development Corp. The San Francisco foundation Crankstart has reportedly committed $10 million towards that end with the goal of recognizing Agnos.
Additionally, Capital Committee members will also consider the creation of a donor recognition program aimed at honoring "significant contributors" to the new park as part of Wednesday's meeting.
Now 86, Agnos told the Chronicle that being recognized in this fashion for his efforts to demolish the Embarcadero Freeway is "the honor of a lifetime."
Previously, also [speaking with the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/article/embarcadero-freeway-art-agnos-reelection-22362660.php?ref=sfist.com), Agnos acknowledged that he suspects displeasure from Chinatown and North Beach business owners at the time over his choice to replace the Embarcadero Freeway with a surface roadway may have cost him his bid for reelection.
Efforts to transform Embarcadero Plaza have already taken one substantial step forward as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/04/22/disassembly-of-vaillancourt-fountain-to-begin-next-week-with-full-removal-in-may/) on the controversial removal of Vaillancourt Fountain from the site, which was completed in May after numerous delays.
**Related**: [Revised Plans For Embarcadero Plaza Renovation Unveiled, Including Grand Lawn and Dog Park](https://sfist.com/2026/04/29/revised-plans-for-embarcadero-plaza-renovation-unveiled/)
*Top image: Art Agnos and Willie Brown talk before the Willie Mays Celebration of Life Ceremony at Oracle Park on July 8, 2024 in San Francisco, California.*
### Saturday Links: Berkeley to Lose Local Coverage as 'Daily Planet' Ends Publication
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/29/saturday-links-berkeley-to-lose-local-coverage-as-daily-planet-ends-publication/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T19:08:55.000Z
- **Laura Owens, daughter of former KGO radio host Ronn Owens, pleaded guilty in a Phoenix courtroom earlier this week to four felonies.** The plea deal brought her felony charges down from 14, all of which are tied to false pregnancy claims she purportedly made to former *Bachelor* contestant Clayton Echard and another man. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/laura-owens-guilty-plea-bachelor-22409120.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **After 27 years in circulation, Berkeley independent publication the Daily Planet is shutting down.** The news was announced by publisher Becky O’Malley, who cited health issues and insufficient operating funds as motivating factors. \[[Berkeleyside](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/08/28/berkeley-daily-planet-becky-omalley?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Seneca Nation President J Conrad Seneca claims President Trump violated the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua by ordering Lake Ontario to be renamed "Lake America" and called for the decision to be reversed. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/seneca-nation-requests-reversal-on-lake-america-executive-order/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Democrats in California have introduced a new, last-minute bill aimed at banning ICE agents from using electric shock gloves after it was recently announced that they intend to buy and utilize them. \[[KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12097332/california-democrats-race-to-ban-electric-shock-gloves-before-ice-buys-them?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new exhibit from famed anonymous UK street artist Banksy is set to open at Oakland's Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in November. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/banksy-exhibit-coming-to-oakland-this-fall/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- On Friday, President Trump signed a new executive order to establish a US Space Academy, which he said will "attract, train and graduate the very best of our nation" for spaceflight. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/trump-signs-executive-order-to-create-a-us-space-academy/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A woman is calling for the return of her step-mother's ashes after they were stolen as part of a car burglary in Oakland's Chinatown earlier this week. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/womans-ashes-stolen-car-burglary-oaklands-chinatown?ref=sfist.com)\]
- After being [detained by ICE](https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/milo-yiannopoulos-detained-by-ice-in-new-orleans-apparently-because-of-laura-loomer-feud/) at a Louisiana airport on Thursday, British far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was deported back to the United Kingdom on Friday. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/29/us/milo-yiannopoulos-ice-deportation-what-to-know?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Actors Tom Cruise and Anne Hathaway are set to star in a new sequel to Cruise's 1990 racing drama *Days of Thunder* with Jonathan Levine (*Warm Bodies*) directing for a scheduled summer 2028 release. \[[Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/days-of-thunder-2-anne-hathaway-tom-cruise-release-date-1236684845/?ref=sfist.com)\]
*Top image: A Nov. 2, 2006, issue of the Daily Planet covering issues in Berkeley and Oakland.*
### Day Around the Bay: SF Opera Orchestra Demands 'Fair' Contract, Threatens Strike
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/day-around-the-bay-50/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T00:29:33.000Z
### Local:
- **With opening night for the San Francisco Opera's 104th season just two weeks away, the Opera's orchestra musicians are threatening to go on strike.** In a new statement, the orchestra's members called for a "fair contract" to be reached following the expiration of their previous deal on July 31\. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/classical/article/san-francisco-opera-strike-22406186.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Oakland Police Department suspects employee fraud after a routine internal audit allegedly revealed an employee had stolen $38,000 by falsifying time sheets, prompting further investigations. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/oakland-police-internal-audit-uncovers-alleged-38k-employee-fraud/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Norway's new king, Haakon VIII, is a former UC Berkeley student who fell in love with surfing and local music during his time in California. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/norway-king-haakon-uc-berkeley-22408348.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The Trump administration is considering a highly unorthodox land swap that would send a piece of Yosemite National Park to Las Vegas developer Kingsbarn Realty Capital.** In response to media inquiries, a spokesperson for the Interior Department stated that “no political pressure to reach a predetermined outcome” had transpired in the deal. \[[Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/28/yosemite-national-park-private-developer?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Following news of Dolly Parton's death [earlier this week](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/ugh-no-dolly-parton-has-died-at-age-80/), Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Nashville International Airport have announced that the airport will be renamed in honor of the late country star, actress, and philanthropist. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/travel/dolly-parton-nashville-airport.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Motown legend Gladys Knight announced on Friday that she plans to take a step back from performing after clips from recent shows in which the singer appeared to be disoriented went viral on social media. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/gladys-knight-to-wind-down-live-performances/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- As part of the first-ever, three day PokémonXP fan convention [currently taking over](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/day-around-the-bay-berkeley-high-student-robbed-by-other-teens-near-campus/) Moscone Center, the San Francisco Giants held a Pokémon-themed game on Thursday night that naturally included an elaborate drone show.
*Top image: Facade of the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California, January 22, 2026.*
### This Week In Food: Cinderella (Bakery) Story
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/this-week-in-food-cinderella-bakery-story/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T23:49:24.000Z
Cinderella Bakery opens their big new location in the Mission, Prelude calls it quits in the FiDi, and Mister Jiu's is relaunching their fancy coffee window, all in This Week in Food.
The biggest restaurant news this week is the [remarkably on-time opening](https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/sergeant-ma-a-new-china-basin-restaurant-with-chinese-and-vietnamese-flavors-opens-in-two-weeks/) of **Sergeant Ma**, the China Basin restaurant we first heard hints of back in February, which debuts September 9\. The latest project of Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group is being billed as a California restaurant with Asian influences, specifically Chinese and Vietnamese flavors via chef Jason Halverson and his Vietnamese-born mom — both the "ma" and the "sergeant" in the restaurant name. It's opening in a space facing Mission Creek, just across Third Street from Oracle Park, and there are big indoor-outdoor vibes for the sunny days to come.
Little Russia's own **Cinderella Bakery**, which began life back in 1953 on Balboa Street, has opened a large new location in the former home of La Victoria Bakery at 2937 24th Street in the Mission District. The 3,500-square-foot space will allow the team to expand their lineup of cakes and breads, having long ago outgrown their 1,600-square-foot Richmond District space, [as Eater reports](https://sf.eater.com/restaurant-news/213471/cinderella-bakery-cafe-opens-mission-district-russian-food?ref=sfist.com). And dinner service is reportedly going to be coming soon at the new location, once they're settled in. Otherwise, Cinderella's honey cake, piroshki, soups, breads, and more are all now available to Mission residents, starting today.
The chef and the restaurateur behind acclaimed Bay Area Indian spots Copra and Eylan, Sri Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar, are opening three new concepts in San Jose at the historic, newly renovated Hotel De Anza. These include **Hedley Club**, a Northern California bistro concept in the hotel's Art Deco bar; **Palm Court**, an outdoor space that will serve the same menu; and **Tejer**, a new modern Mexican restaurant from chef Enrique Gonzalez, who previously worked with Gopinathan at Campton Place. As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/southbay/article/cal-india-collective-san-jose-expansion-22394709.php?ref=sfist.com), Hedley Club and Palm Court open in September, while Tejer will follow this winter.
There's some sad news in the FiDi, which is that chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones's Southern-inspired prix fixe restaurant **Prelude** is closing next month at the Jay Hotel. The acclaimed restaurant, both for its food and its swank, richly textured design, will serve its last meals on September 19, two years after its debut. Omakase Restaurant Group, which opened the restaurant, [tells the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/prelude-sf-closing-22404623.php?ref=sfist.com) that it wasn't attracting enough customers, and they're seeking a "better fit" for the space and the neighborhood.
Over at **Nightbird** in Hayes Valley, chef-owner Kim Alter and partner Ron Boyd have been celebrating the restaurant's 10-year anniversary with several events. One was a fun [sandwich pop-up](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcUNbM2B4it/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) this past Monday featuring guest chefs — including New Orleans sandwich man Mason Hereford of [Turkey and the Wolf fame](https://www.neworleans.com/restaurants/chefs/chef-mason-hereford/?ref=sfist.com) — modeled after Wiener Circle in Chicago, featuring a lot of yelling. Next up will be the return of Primebird, Alter's slightly elevated spin on the menu at House of Prime Rib, which she [first did two years ago](https://sfist.com/2024/06/10/nightjar-sister-popup-to-nightbird-opens-with-homage-to-house-of-prime-rib/). For $85, diners get a menu of salad, dry-aged prime rib, creamed spinach, truffle-cheddar Yorkshire pudding, and more. [Find reservations here](https://www.opentable.com/r/primebird-by-nightbird-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com) for that pop-up starting September 1, next door in the NightJar space.
**Mister Jiu's** is reviving their tiny coffee-window operation from 2021/2, called **Soon and Soon Souvenir Shop** (731 Grant Avenue), starting today (August 28), in partnership with [Paper Son Coffee](https://papersoncoffee.com/?ref=sfist.com). [Per the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/soon-coffee-shop-chinatown-22385138.php?ref=sfist.com), the window serves single-origin pour overs of Chinese-grown coffee, which are reportedly floral, fruity, and unexpected, as well as cookies from Mister Jiu's. And, coming soon, there will be baked goods from the pop-up [To You](https://www.instagram.com/toyou.sf/?ref=sfist.com).
[Tablehopper has word](https://www.tablehopper.com/newsletter/this-weeks-tablehopper-cronchy-free/?ref=sfist.com) about a new Japanese-Korean katsu spot, **Yumee Katsu**, in Anza Vista (2340 Geary Boulevard at Broderick). $21 reportedly gets you a hearty portion of fried chicken katsu, along with curry sauce, broth, rice, and assorted banchan, and that is a legit steal in this economy.
In some legal strife news, Vine Hospitality, the restaurant group behind the recently closed **LB Steak** and **Left Bank Brasserie** mini-empire, is being sued by a merchant cash advance company to the tune of $2.4 million. As [SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/vine-hospitality-sued-bay-area-22398654.php?ref=sfist.com), the lawsuit is a clear indicator of the financial hole that the restaurant group was in before [abruptly shuttering seven restaurants](https://sfist.com/2026/06/22/32-year-old-restaurant-group-behind-left-bank-and-lb-steakhouse/) in June, and laying off around 300 employees.
And Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan [has a review](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/agrodolce-provisions-pasta-cake-22386089.php?ref=sfist.com) of small SoMa daytime spot **Agrodolce Provisions**, where she says the six pastas on the menu — including a tagliatelle Bolognese, and conchiglie with Pacific rock shrimp and Calabrian chiles — are all excellent and reasonably priced. The place is reportedly charming, small, and quirky, with no table service and open only on weekdays, and the only other offering on the menu is some excellent chocolate layer cake for $15 a slice.
### Startup Claims X Abandoned Twitter Brand, Launches New Social Network Under the Name
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/startup-claims-x-abandoned-twitter-brand-launches-new-social-network/
Last updated: 2026-10-06T17:39:58.000Z
Virginia-based startup Operation Bluebird is rolling out a new social media site under the Twitter name despite a pending legal fight with X over the brand.
Operation Bluebird launched [Tweet.app](https://tweet.app/?ref=sfist.com) this week despite an ongoing legal battle with Elon Musk’s X Corporation over who has rights to the name, logo, and related trademarks, [as Ars Technica reports](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/new-twitter-launches-says-musks-x-gave-up-the-name/?ref=sfist.com). The new platform, which is currently restricted to a small number of users, reportedly looks much like the Twitter of old, with similar features such as replies and retweets, along with an added fact-checking tool.
The startup’s website states that it picked up the name that X Corp abandoned and is rebuilding the platform independently, emphasizing that it has no affiliation with X Corp.
Operation Bluebird cofounder Stephen Coates, who reportedly served as Twitter’s general counsel before Musk’s takeover and now holds the same position at the startup, argues that when Musk purchased Twitter [in 2022](https://sfist.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-shows-up-at-twitter-hq-with-a-porcelain-sink-apparently-his-way-of-saying-hes-serious-about-closing-deal/) then [rebranded the site as X](https://sfist.com/2023/04/11/something-else-is-happening-with-twitter-as-musk-sets-up-holding-company-called-x-corp-based-in-nevada/) the following year, he essentially abandoned Twitter’s intellectual property.
According to Ars Technica, X Corporation sued Operation Bluebird late last year after the startup began pursuing the trademarks, asking a federal judge in Delaware to block it from launching a new social network under the Twitter name.
In April 2026, US District Court Judge Colm Connolly tentatively indicated that X appeared to have relinquished rights to the word “tweet,” the Twitter bird logo, and potentially the name “Twitter” itself but hasn’t yet issued a written order. Coates said the company considered the judge’s comments sufficient to move forward.
Ars Technica reports that the site remains small for now, but it includes one significant departure from the original Twitter: an automated fact-checking system called Vera. The Gemini-based tool analyzes every post in real time for accuracy, and Coates has been testing it by deliberately posting false claims to see how the system responds.
“We say freedom of speech and not freedom of reach,” Coates told Ars, explaining that the company wants users to be able to say what they want while avoiding the financial incentives that can amplify harmful or inaccurate content.
The legal battle remains ongoing. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben told Ars Technica that Operation Bluebird may have a viable argument that X abandoned the Twitter trademark, but warned that launching the site significantly raises the stakes of the dispute and could prompt another legal response from X Corporation.
*\[Update\] The post has been updated with the name and link to the site,* [*Tweet.app*](https://tweet.app/?ref=sfist.com)*.*
**Related:** [Something Else Is Happening With Twitter as Musk Sets Up New Company Called X Corp., Based In Nevada](https://sfist.com/2023/04/11/something-else-is-happening-with-twitter-as-musk-sets-up-holding-company-called-x-corp-based-in-nevada/)
### Man Accused of Posing as Wealthy 49ers Player to Lure Women Into $1.3 Million Scam
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/man-accused-of-posing-as-wealthy-49ers-player-to-lure-women-into-1-3-million-scam/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T22:24:32.000Z
A man suspected of taking on the persona of a 49ers player to lure women he met online into an alleged fraudulent investment scheme — dating back to 2022 and spanning four states — has been charged with wire fraud.
Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, allegedly presented himself to women as a wealthy San Francisco 49ers player or real estate investor, using a lavish lifestyle and social media posts to bolster the image, [according to a release](https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/man-posing-san-francisco-49er-charged-defrauding-over-two-dozen-women-out-more-13?ref=sfist.com) from the District of Oregon’s US Attorney’s Office. He met most of the women through dating apps, and in many cases, developed romantic relationships with them while pitching nonexistent investments that he claimed could generate substantial returns.
> CASE UPDATE from [@FBIPortland](https://x.com/FBIPortland?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com): Man Posing as San Francisco 49er Charged with Defrauding Over Two Dozen Women Out of More than $1.3 Million
>
> Beginning in February 2022, Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, and Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, created fictitious investments to defraud numerous women in… [pic.twitter.com/xkjxGqEwBp](https://t.co/xkjxGqEwBp?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — FBI (@FBI) [August 28, 2026](https://x.com/FBI/status/2093443616597250283?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, allegedly helped make the scheme appear legitimate by posing as Love’s financial adviser. The two exchanged messages about supposed investment opportunities, which Love then showed to victims, and participated in three-way FaceTime calls where they displayed falsified investment gains. Love also allegedly used phone apps to create fake bank and investment accounts and balances to further convince women that he was legitimately wealthy.
According to federal court documents, Love and Chan solicited money from women in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California, telling them their money would be invested and, in some cases, encouraging them to take out personal loans. Love allegedly promised that they would be quickly repaid.
The scheme continued until their arrests August 24 at Boise Airport, after Chan flew from California to meet Love in Idaho. Investigators say Love was there to meet new targets, and that he had traveled through New Mexico, California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho during the preceding several weeks.
Once women ran out of money to invest or began asking too many questions, Love allegedly cut off contact while keeping their money. None of the identified victims interviewed by investigators reported receiving investment returns, proceeds, or account information after sending money.
Financial records indicate Love and Chan received approximately $1.3 million from victims, according to the FBI, which has identified 26 women so far and believes there may be additional victims. Love allegedly used several names during the scheme, including Jon Love, Daejon Love, Avril Lyto Love, and Jordan Love.
Love and Chan were charged by criminal complaint in the District of Oregon with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. They remain in federal custody in Boise and were scheduled to make their first court appearances Thursday, August 27\. The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Bryan Chinwuba and Chris Cardani for the District of Oregon.
The FBI is asking anyone with information about Love or Chan to contact the bureau.
**Related:** [Google Employee Charged With Fraud After Winning Big on Polymarket Bet Using Insider Info](https://sfist.com/2026/05/28/google-employee-charged-with-fraud-after-winning-big-on-polymarket-bet/)
### Milo Yiannopoulos Deported, Apparently Because of Laura Loomer Feud
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/milo-yiannopoulos-detained-by-ice-in-new-orleans-apparently-because-of-laura-loomer-feud/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T21:28:19.000Z
Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, a British citizen who has made attention-getting stunts and far-right American politics his raison d'être over the last decade, has ironically been caught up in the sort of ICE action he's vocally supported.
It has thankfully been many years since Milo Yiannopoulos was a topic of conversation on SFist, but the irony with today's news is too sweet. As [TMZ was first to report](https://www.tmz.com/2026/08/28/milo-yiannopoulos-detained-ice/?ref=sfist.com), the right-wing provocateur, who for several years has kept himself somewhere in the orbit of Ye, aka Kanye West (for lack of more lucrative opportunities?), was arrested Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. It's not clear why Yiannopoulos was in New Orleans or where he was headed, but the arrest came a day ahead of a planned Ye concert at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, which is happening tonight.
As the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/us/politics/milo-yiannopoulos-arrested-ice.html?ref=sfist.com), the arrest of Yiannopoulos comes after years in which fellow right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, with whom he's had a falling out, had been publicly calling for his deportation — announcing online that he was in the US on an expired visa. That appears to be true, and Yiannopoulos allegedly last entered the country legally in 2019 on a temporary visa.
Both Loomer and another far-right figure, former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, celebrated Yiannopoulos's detention online, with Tarrio saying "Good riddance," on X.
Loomer, who was [welcomed into the Oval Office](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/us/politics/laura-loomer-trump.html?ref=sfist.com) last year not long after Donald Trump was reelected, has had a direct line to the president for some time, and has previously taken credit for spurring firings among aides, presenting background research to Trump to show their disloyalty to their shared cause. And Steve Bannon has praised her for having "the same intensity Roy Cohn had," referring to one of Trump's dearest mentors.
Among the administration figures she has gunned for getting fired was former Attorney General Pam Bondi, over her handling of the Epstein Files.
Yiannopoulos fell from grace in conservative circles back in 2017, after years in which he served as an editor at Breitbart, over [public comments he made](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/21/516473521/after-comments-on-pedophilia-breitbart-editor-milo-yiannopoulos-resigns?ref=sfist.com) in early 2017 downplaying the idea of pedophilia and calling consent an "arbitrary and oppressive idea." He nonetheless kept himself in the headlines and came to the Bay Area later that year [promoting an event at UC Berkeley](https://sfist.com/2017/09/23/berkeley%5Fpatriot%5Fbacks%5Fout%5Fof%5Ffree/) he called "Free Speech Week," and then [showing up on the campus](https://sfist.com/2017/09/25/milo%5Fspent%5F15%5Fminutes%5Fat%5Fuc%5Fberkele/) for about 15 minutes one weekend.
Don't even get me started on Yiannopoulos's [fall 2017 marriage](https://www.nydailynews.com/2017/10/01/milo-yiannopolous-gets-married-in-hawaii/?ref=sfist.com) to his boyfriend in Hawaii (whose identity has has never share and who must not have been a US citizen), and his subsequent 2021 comments [claiming to be an "ex-gay"](https://www.reddit.com/r/SapphoAndHerFriend/comments/v6gvqr/this%5Fmakes%5Fme%5Flaugh%5Fand%5Fimmediately%5Fmade%5Fme%5Fthink/?ref=sfist.com) and born-again Catholic, further claiming that he "demoted" his husband to housemate.
Yiannopoulos, who was an ardent fan of Trump in his first term, then claimed to have been the architect behind a 2022 dinner at Mar a Lago with Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, which Trump reportedly [treated as a kind of ambush](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/story-trumps-explosive-dinner-ye-nick-fuentes-rcna59010?ref=sfist.com) and a setup in comments afterward. It could also be that the detention/deportation of Yiannopoulos is Trump's revenge for that, four years later.
Loomer's falling out with Yiannopoulos appears to have begun in 2024, with Yiannopoulos exposing Loomer online for having been institutionalized for mental health episodes in the past, which led directly to her calls for his deportation once Trump came into office.
And the whole pedophilia comments thing, with Trump's standing in some right-wing circles still damaged from the Epstein business, certainly doesn't help.
Apologies for having amplified more petty news about a useless human being. The end.
**Update:** [He's been deported](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/us/politics/milo-yiannopoulos-deported.html?ref=sfist.com) back to the UK.
**Previously:** [Milo Yiannopoulos Spent 15 Minutes At UC Berkeley, Cost Them $800,000](https://sfist.com/2017/09/25/milo%5Fspent%5F15%5Fminutes%5Fat%5Fuc%5Fberkele/)
### Danville to Cosplay as Stars Hollow for First Ever 'Gilmore Girls'-Inspired Fall Event
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/danville-to-cosplay-as-stars-hollow-for-first-ever-gilmore-girls-inspired-fall-event/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T20:40:57.000Z
A weekend-long festival inspired by the small-town autumn coziness of *The Gilmore Girls* will double as a rare tourist draw for the East Bay hamlet of Danville this October.
Some call it Spooky Season, but for others, fall is a time wrap yourself in a thick wool scarf, burn a pumpkin spice candle, wear only browns and neutrals, and sip coffee (or wine) out of large mugs while rewatching *The Gilmore Girls*. If the seasonal New England comforts of the show are something you'd be willing to travel a short distance and spend money for, the town of Danville is hoping that you'll accept their simulacrum this October, at an event they're calling [Flannel & Foliage](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcjSH34vAop/?ref=sfist.com).
Do they get fall foliage in Danville? [Apparently they do](https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/fall-color-nature-bay-area-21102461.php?ref=sfist.com), though this has not been well marketed as far as I can tell. Downtown Danville, and other parts of the San Ramon Valley, have clusters of deciduous trees that do change color in the fall, and maybe they'll get lucky and it will be peak foliage time on October 23, when this three-day event kicks off.
The [Chronicle caught word](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/gilmore-girls-inspired-festival-coming-bay-area-22407806.php?ref=sfist.com) of the Flannel & Foliage event, which comes from an outfit called [Small Town Venture](https://thesmalltownventure.com/?ref=sfist.com) that appears to have been created to host this one event. And Danville Mayor Newell Arnerich is fully onboard, telling the paper he hopes the event will become "a new fall tradition.
"Danville’s small-town charm, walkable downtown and strong sense of community make it a natural setting for an event inspired by the warmth and character that *Gilmore Girls* fans have embraced for so many years," Arnerich said in a statement.
So what will be happening for three days at this ticketed event? Organizers are promising music performances, hosted panels, and "small group Q&As," the latter two presumably featuring several *Gilmore Girls* cast members whose attendance has allegedly been secured. Those cast members include Kelly Bishop, who played matriarch Emily Gilmore, mother of Lorelei, played by Lauren Graham, and grandmother to Rory, played by Alexis Bledel. (Neither Graham nor Bledel appear to be attending.)
Also taking part, the organizers say, will be Scott Patterson, who played Luke on the show, Sean Gunn, who played Kirk, and Emily Kuroda, who played Lane's mom Mrs. Kim. Three other supporting cast members, Yanic Truesdale (Michel the concierge), Todd Lowe (Lane's boyfriend Zach), and John Cabrera (Lane's bandmate Brian), will also be in attendance.
The seven-season comedic drama was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who went on to create *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel*. The show maintained a cult following for years after it aired its last regular-season episode in 2007, and was rebooted for one four-episode season on Netflix in 2016, with rumors of a follow-up still lingering.
The show served as a career launchpad for Melissa McCarthy, who played Lorelei's best friend Sookie St. James; Milo Ventimiglia, who played a short-lived boyfriend of Rory's starting in Season 2; and Adam Brody, who played Lane's first boyfriend in Season 1.
As the Chronicle notes, with the fictional Stars Hollow being in Connecticut, and with Gilmore Girls nostalgia apparently gaining traction, the city of Hartford, Connecticut is also [hosting a Stars Hollow Weekend](https://bostonuncovered.com/stars-hollow-weekend-hartford-connecticut/?ref=sfist.com) in early October, complete with Gilmore Girls trivia and a knit-a-thon, but it doesn't sound like they've booked any of the cast to attend, at least not yet.
Organizers of Flannel & Foliage say that general-admission tickets will be free, but VIP tickets will go on sale next week, and they've got a block of hotel rooms reserved at the Hyatt House San Ramon. [Find more info here](https://thesmalltownventure.com/events/fall-festival-announcement/?ref=sfist.com).
The organizers note that this event is not affiliated with the show's creators or with any production studio or TV network.
### Meta Suspends Another Queer SF Venue’s Accounts Amid Growing Censorship Concerns
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/meta-suspends-another-sf-queer-venues-accounts-amid-growing-censorship-concerns/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T17:01:20.000Z
Amid escalating reports that Meta’s recent policy changes have led to the disproportionate suppression of queer content, the company suspended the accounts of another local LGBTQ venue, Powerhouse, Thursday.
Local advocate [Honey Mahogany is urging Meta](https://www.instagram.com/p/DckXoAPSM7m/?ref=sfist.com) to restore Powerhouse’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, saying the shutdown has cut the queer venue off from a primary way of reaching its community.
“It’s their primary way of getting the word out about events and this is devastating for small businesses, especially queer small businesses here in San Francisco that are operating on razor thin margins,” said Mahogany.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DckXoAPSM7m/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Honey Mahogany (@honeymahogany)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DckXoAPSM7m/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
The appeal comes after The Stud’s Instagram account was [temporarily suspended](https://sfist.com/2026/07/25/stud-asks-meta-for-help-with-instagram-suspension-asserts-posts-falsely-flagged-as-human-trafficking/) last month when posts promoting trans events were incorrectly flagged as “engaging in human trafficking.” The account was restored the following day.
Also in July, [the national Gay Pride Facebook page](https://www.ebar.com/story/168965?ref=sfist.com) was suspended after the Virginia man who runs it, Walter Brooks, shared a MISTR advertisement for PrEP, featuring muscular men in Speedos — an ad he had just seen on Facebook itself. The ad reportedly contained no nudity, yet Facebook removed the post for allegedly violating rules against nudity or promoting sexual activity.
“So if you promote something that fights AIDS, you’re promoting sexual activity?” Brooks mused, calling the situation hypocritical. He has not been told how long the suspension will last.
[According to GO Magazine](https://gomag.com/article/meta-accused-of-censoring-prominent-lgbtq-instagram-accounts-in-san-francisco/?ref=sfist.com), advocacy group GLAAD’s 2026 [Social Media Safety Index](https://glaad.org/smsi/2026/key-findings-and-recommendations/?ref=sfist.com), released last month, says Meta’s platforms continue to pose significant risks to LGBTQ users, citing the suppression of LGBTQ voices and accounts, inadequate protections against hate and disinformation, and persistent enforcement failures. GLAAD has reported disproportionate removals, demonetization, and shadow banning of LGBTQ content on Instagram, particularly material involving sexuality, nudity, and transgender issues.
Meta reportedly made some policy changes soon after the presidential election in 2025, which GLAAD says weakened some protections for LGBTQ people, including allowing hateful rhetoric describing them as “mentally ill” or “abnormal.”
While Meta’s policies prohibit adult sexual solicitation, sexually explicit content, and sexual exploitation, the company also gives itself room to limit the reach of content that does not violate those rules, per the BAR. This can disproportionately affect LGBTQ creators and businesses, whose content is often misinterpreted by automated systems as sexual or suggestive, even when it is educational, cultural, political, or simply depicts queer people and bodies.
Paige Collings of the Electronic Frontier Foundation described the phenomenon as “algorithmic silencing.”
“We know – particularly over the past two years, and especially since November of last year – that we’ve seen a proliferation of censorship of LGBTQ content,” said Collings, speaking to the BAR.
Last year, [the Bay Area Reporter spoke](https://www.ebar.com/story/158296?ref=sfist.com) with several San Francisco queer creators who said Instagram had flagged posts as sexually suggestive or alleged they were involved in sex work, while others described what they believe was shadow-banning.
The San Francisco Trans March’s account, for example, was reportedly shut down after its 2024 event and later restored after someone with a connection at Meta intervened. The Exiles, a longtime San Francisco Leather/BDSM organization, also had its account removed last year and has not gotten it back.
“That’s not an accident,” Plaxa said, speaking to the BAR. “Instagram was how we reached about 77,000 people with education on consent, queer history, and BDSM skills around power dynamics.”
Plaxa added that the group also has a substantial presence at protests and inside San Francisco City Hall, where they stand “shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow community members, fighting together.”
GLAAD encourages the community to continue challenging Meta and other social media companies' policies.
“When a company as rich and powerful as Meta is silencing LGBTQ voices this broadly and with no true accountability, we should all be speaking up to express our concern,” GLAAD’s spokesperson said. “Especially given Meta’s current content policies that overtly promote, encourage, and include anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.”
**\[Update\]** SFist was informed that the SF Eagle’s Instagram account was also suspended, and they had to start over with a new account. Additionally, burlesque performer and singer Tyler Hall was told his account was suspended due to human trafficking, just like the Stud’s.
*Message me with additional queer venues and creators who’ve been suspended, and I’ll add them to the list: leanne.sfist@gmail.*
**Related:** [Stud Asks Meta For Help With Instagram Suspension, Asserts Posts Falsely Flagged as Human Trafficking](https://sfist.com/2026/07/25/stud-asks-meta-for-help-with-instagram-suspension-asserts-posts-falsely-flagged-as-human-trafficking/)
### 17-Year-Old Suspect Arrested In Shooting at Morgan Hill Birthday Rave That Left One Dead
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/17-year-old-suspect-arrested-in-shooting-at-morgan-hill-birthday-rave-that-left-one-dead/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T20:48:13.000Z
A juvenile suspect has now been arrested in connection with the [July 25th mass shooting](https://sfist.com/2026/07/27/shooting-at-unsanctioned-party-for-twitch-streamer-in-morgan-hill-field/) at a birthday party for a Twitch streamer in a Morgan Hill field that had been promoted on social media.
According to a [release](https://sheriff.santaclaracounty.gov/suspect-arrested-deadly-shooting-unincorporated-morgan-hill?ref=sfist.com) from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, deputies executed a "high-risk" search warrant in connection with the investigation on Thursday, August 27, at a home in a Salinas, in Monterey County. In the course of serving the search warrant, deputies arrested a 17-year-old suspect, who was safely taken into custody.
The arrest comes following [an offer of a $20,000 reward](https://sheriff.santaclaracounty.gov/fbi-joins-sheriffs-office-investigation-offers-20000-reward-deadly-shooting?ref=sfist.com) for tips earlier this month, which resulted in numerous tips and videos being submitted. The sheriff's office collaborated with the FBI on the investigation, with the FBI putting up the reward, and the FBI's involvement may indicate that authorities believe there was a gang connection to the violence.
"Those responsible for this senseless shooting should know that the FBI and our law enforcement partners at the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office will use every available resource to identify and hold them accountable," said FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Scott Schelble in an earlier statement.
In a statement Thursday, Santa Clara County Sheriff Robert Jonsen thanked all those who came forward with tips, saying, "Their willingness to speak up, along with the collaborative efforts of our law enforcement partners and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, has helped move this case closer to justice for the victims and their families."
The suspect, who isn't being named because he is a juvenile, is expected to have a juvenile detention hearing Monday at the Juvenile Justice Courthouse in San Jose.
The shooting occurred in a semi-rural area near Hale and Miramonte avenues in Morgan Hill. An unsanctioned, pop-up-style party or rave was held there to celebrate the birthday of a content creator and Twitch streamer named NateDeBaiits.
Seven people were shot, with one person, [18-year-old Desiderio "Desi" Romero V](https://sfist.com/2026/07/28/tuesday-morning-victim-identified-in-morgan-hill-shooting/), dying from his injuries. All of the victims were reportedly in their teens or early 20s.
One attendee at the party, speaking to KTVU after the violence, said that alcohol was likely a factor, and said, "I feel like people around our age obviously unfortunately I don't like to say, but most of us are gang-affiliated, especially the ones that cause this. I would like to say just raise your kids right."
NateDeBaiits posted to Instagram after the shooting saying that he had personally known Romero, and saying he was posting because "someone I called a friend/classmate lost his life at my party and my heart breaks for everyone affected."
**Previously:** [Shooting at Unsanctioned Party for Twitch Streamer In Morgan Hill Field Leaves One Dead, Six Wounded](https://sfist.com/2026/07/27/shooting-at-unsanctioned-party-for-twitch-streamer-in-morgan-hill-field/)
### Sprouts Market Plans First SF Store at Former Nordstrom Rack Site on Ninth Street
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/sprouts-market-plans-first-sf-store-at-former-nordstrom-rack-on-ninth-street/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T18:12:02.000Z
SF’s South of Market neighborhood will be getting a new grocery store in 2028, as Sprouts Farmers Market is moving into the former Nordstrom Rack at 555 Ninth Street, next door to Trader Joe's.
The Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market is expected to take over the roughly 25,700-square-foot space at Ninth and Bryant streets in 2028, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-first-sprouts-opening-22406765.php?ref=sfist.com). The grocery chain specializes in products geared toward a range of dietary preferences, including organic, gluten-free, plant-based, keto, paleo, and non-GM foods.
“Sprouts looks forward to continuing to expand its footprint in California while bringing a wide assortment of fresh, local and better-for-you products to the community,” Sprouts spokesperson Mychael Ramirez told SFGate.
The new Sprouts will occupy the former Nordstrom Rack spot, which closed in 2021, and The Container Store is currently above it on the second floor. Trader Joe's is also located on the ground floor of the shopping center, with Costco nearby at 10th and Harrison.
[KRON4 reported](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sprouts-opening-first-san-francisco-location/?ref=sfist.com) in February that Sprouts had submitted a proposal to the city to expand an existing curb cut to accommodate a trash compactor. Acadia Realty, which owns the shopping center, filed a commercial application with the planning department in May.
Sprouts reportedly opened its first store in Arizona in 2002, and its headquarters are located in Phoenix.
Its first San Francisco location comes as Sprouts has been steadily expanding throughout California, according to SFGate. The company reportedly opened a distribution center in Fullerton in 2023, which CEO Jack Sinclair said would support the chain’s expansion across California and the rest of the country.
The company has also been adding stores around the Bay Area, including locations in Hayward in 2024 and Pittsburg and San Leandro in 2025, and a San Jose location opened in 2023\. Sprouts has more than 400 stores across 23 states, including 156 in California.
**Related:** [Grocery Outlet Opens In North Beach at Former Safeway Site as Chain Celebrates 80 Years](https://sfist.com/2026/08/14/grocery-outlet-opens-in-north-beach-at-former-safeway-site-as-chain-celebrates-80-years/)
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Pokemon Fever Takes Over Moscone
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/28/friday-morning-pokemon-fever-takes-over-moscone/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T16:51:17.000Z
- **While the Timber Fire in Big Sur keeps burning about 25 miles north, the Plaskett Fire, which** [**began as a 40-acre fire on Wednesday**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/new-big-sur-wildfire-the-plaskett-fire-breaks-out-south-of-timber-fire/) **near the small outpost of Plaskett, is now at almost 2,800 acres.** The fire grew by 1,000 acres overnight, it is burning in remote terrain, and it has prompted the closure of Highway 1 between Mile Marker 10.2 to one mile south of Old Coast Road at Mile Marker 50.1, due to fire activity. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/plaskett-fire-big-sur-22407019.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A San Leandro man in his 70s, Mike Morgan, died in a house fire, apparently from smoke inhalation, on Wednesday night.** His neighbor, a 22-year-old volunteer reservist with the Alameda County Fire Department who grew up next door to Morgan, tried to extinguish the fire with his own gear and a garden hose, but could not pull his friend out in time. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-leandro-man-dies-after-house-fire-neighbor-tried-put-out-flames?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A Pleasanton landlord and tenant are both death in what appears to be a murder-suicide.** 39-year-old Evgeniy Ilin was renting a room from 64-year-old Shelly Wang, and both were found dead with gunshot wounds in a welfare check Wednesday night. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/leasanton-jefferson-court-murder-suicide-investigation?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 48-year-old San Jose man, Prabhath Sajeepa, an employee at Pure Storage, is among the 65 US citizens reported missing in the catastrophic flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/nepal-floods-missing-americans-22406830.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Nvidia is acquiring Hugging Face, the AI company that was hacked by OpenAI agents, for $12.9 billion. \[[Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/08/report-nvidia-to-acquire-ai-model-repository-hugging-face-for-13-billion/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- That first-ever, [three-day PokémonXP fan convention](https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/pokemon-convention-hits-moscone-ahead-of-championships-next-week-street-closures-already-underway/) is in full-swing at the Moscone Center, with 50,000 fans expected to attend, along with the Pokémon World Championships on Sunday at the Chase Center. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/pokemon-world-championships-san-francisco/4134543/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- And like last year, there was a special Pokémon-branded Giants game Thursday night, which was sold out, full of Pokémon flair. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sfgiants-welcome-pokemon-fans-oracle-park/4134425/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Berkeley High Student Robbed By Other Teens Near Campus
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/day-around-the-bay-berkeley-high-student-robbed-by-other-teens-near-campus/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T01:36:49.000Z
### Local:
- A Berkeley High School student was robbed by three other teenagers near campus, including one on a scooter, as he was leaving school. \[[Berkeley Scanner](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2026/08/28/crime/berkeley-high-student-14-robbed-near-school/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil, 45, of Napa, was charged with a felony for recklessly starting the Pickett Fire in Calistoga last August, which burned 6,820 acres and caused more than $6 million in property damage as well as over $56 million in agricultural losses to winegrape vineyards and other crops. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/napa-man-charged-pickett-fire/4134209/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Beginning next month, residents can speak to local journalists as part of SFGate’s new pop-up newsroom series in partnership with SF Rec and Park. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/sfgate-popup-newsrooms-parks-22404882.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **A new tropical storm formed Thursday, and as fate would have it, it’s named Dolly — a mere coincidence apparently.** Tropical Storm Dolly began far from land in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to fade quickly. \[[Associated Press](https://abc7.com/post/tropical-storm-dolly-forms-atlantic-ocean-far-land/19744956/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The TSA is ditching its new Gold+ private airport screening program after launching it three months ago, which failed to catch on.** The agency is instead expanding its existing public-private Screening Partnership Program. \[[Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2026/08/26/tsa-scraps-gold-plus-privatized-airport-screening/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Meta is fixing a loophole that previously allowed users to cover the front-facing LED on the company’s AI-powered smart glasses while still recording. \[[The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/tech/985851/meta-privacy-loophole-fix-marketing-campaign?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- As Burning Man participants prepare to head to the playa Sunday, here’s a trailer for the 2020 documentary, [*Blurring Man*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12997878/plotsummary/?ref%5F=tt%5Fov%5Fpl&%5FssoLoop=1&ref=sfist.com), in which filmmaker Matthew Boman pays a Salvadoran day laborer named Elmer to attend the festival and films his experience. Boman was later met with a cease and desist letter from Burning Man’s organizers.
### Sergeant Ma, a New China Basin Restaurant With Chinese and Vietnamese Flavors, Opens In Two Weeks
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/sergeant-ma-a-new-china-basin-restaurant-with-chinese-and-vietnamese-flavors-opens-in-two-weeks/
Last updated: 2026-08-28T00:21:46.000Z
In a rare occurrence for a San Francisco restaurant, Sergeant Ma, the latest concept from the restaurant group behind Trestle and 7 Adams, is opening as scheduled next month in a space that had not previously housed a restaurant in China Basin.
We [first heard about the restaurant](https://sfist.com/2026/02/12/new-restaurant-from-team-behind-trestle-and-vault-coming-to-china-basin/) back in February when it still did not have a name, but it had a chef, the group's exec chef Jason Halverson, and a designer, Cass Calder Smith — who has worked on notable Bay Area spots including Perbacco, Twenty Five Lusk, and The Matheson. The space is in a former industrial building across Third Street from Oracle Park, technically 185 Berry Street, but the restaurant entrance will be on the opposite side along Mission Creek.
Now we know that the name is **Sergeant Ma**, which is a tribute to Halverson's "formidable" Vietnamese American mother, who is called both "Sergeant" and "Ma" at home.
And Hi Neighbor Restaurant Group, which also operates The Vault Steakhouse at 555 California and is at work on the new food offerings at the [soon-to-be-revamped Cliff House](https://sfist.com/2025/11/07/the-cliff-house-will-still-be-called-cliff-house-when-it-reopens-but-probably-wont-reopen-until-late-2026/), had said we could look forward to a September opening, and the opening date is set, in fact, for early September, September 9, with [reservations going live](https://www.sergeantma.com/?ref=sfist.com) today.
The spirit of the restaurant, which is officially being billed as a "California restaurant with Asian influences," is also inspired by Halverson's mom's way of cooking.
"Upon immigrating to America, she interpreted recipes her own way — adapting them with instinct, curiosity, and the flavors of her heritage," the restaurant website says. "She served with joyful abundance and insisted that everyone at her table leave full — whether they expected dinner or not."
The dinner menu, which is [now online](https://www.sergeantma.com/dinner?ref=sfist.com), features a handful of seafood starters — a halibut and uni crude with gooseberry and carrot-citrus vinaigrette, a king salmon crudo with sungold tomatoes and tikka oil, and a lobster salad with avocado and corn, to name a few. There's also a chopped summer salad and a taro-crusted chicken wing.
As Halverson and business partner Ryan Cole [explain to the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/sergeant-ma-sf-opening-22401907.php?ref=sfist.com), the rest of the menu is made up of larger-format dishes meant for sharing, mostly because of the limitations of the kitchen size in the space. These include a delicious sounding lobster malfadine ([pasta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafaldine?ref=sfist.com)) with lobster butter, lime, and Chinese black bean, which Halverson says is an homage to Chinese buffets; a coriander-crusted duck breast and braised leg with crispy rice salad; a dry-aged ribeye "au poivre"; and a whole grilled branzino with fermented chili sauce.
Halverson says the dishes are "Asian-inspired, but not trying to recreate any particular dish."
Cocktails by beverage consultant Suzanne Miller will take playful nods from the East, like an Old Fashioned that incorporates a syrup made from Chinese [White Rabbit candy](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/White-Rabbit-candy-is-the-Bay-Area-s-latest-16183858.php?ref=sfist.com), and a tequila drink made to mimic the flavor of another candy, the hawthorn berry-flavored [Haw Flakes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw%5Fflakes?ref=sfist.com). And the Chronicle notes that another drink, a banana pudding-inspired milk punch, will be a nod to the building's history as a fruit depot for arriving ships to the Port of San Francisco.
The lounge-like space, with 54 seats indoors, is expected to give a full indoor-outdoor experience on warm late summer and fall days, with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that open to Mission Creek and fire pits with couches. So it's a good thing they're making it open in time for SF's favorite season. And, there's also a turntable/DJ setup, and big-screen TVs for watching games.
Sergeant Ma joins the burgeoning food scene in and around China Basin and Mission Rock, where last year we saw the openings of Arsicault Bakery, Quik Dog, and [Via Aurelia](https://sfist.com/2025/09/25/via-aurelia-the-huge-new-tuscan-focused-restaurant-from-the-che-fico-team-arrives-in-mission-bay-next-week/).
[**Sergeant Ma**](https://www.sergeantma.com/?ref=sfist.com) \- *185 Berry Street, entrance on Mission Creek - Opening September 9*
**Previously:** [New Restaurant From Team Behind Trestle and Vault Coming to China Basin](https://sfist.com/2026/02/12/new-restaurant-from-team-behind-trestle-and-vault-coming-to-china-basin/)
### ICE Agent’s Gun Found In SFO Restroom Day Before Ukrainian Woman’s Arrest
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/ice-agents-gun-found-in-sfo-restroom-day-before-ukrainian-womans-arrest/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T22:59:10.000Z
During an investigation into ICE’s violent arrest of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Gorb at SFO last month, it was discovered that an agent’s gun had been left unattended in a Terminal 2 restroom the day before.
The flight attendant who discovered the firearm found it inside a men’s restroom stall past San Francisco International Airport’s security checkpoint in Terminal 2 on the evening of July 21, [as NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/ice-agents-gun-found-in-sfo-bathroom/4133652/?ref=sfist.com). The bathroom was shut down while airport security contacted 911, and officers from the San Francisco Police Department arrived within minutes.
The ICE agent reportedly returned to the restroom to retrieve the weapon when SFPD officers were still at the scene. It remains unclear how long the firearm had been left there before the flight attendant found it.
SFO public information officer Doug Yakel said the airport reported the incident to the Transportation Security Administration for possible follow-up. The details came to light through an NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit public records request seeking information about the arrest of [Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Gorb](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/woman-from-ukraine-forcibly-detained-at-sfo-in-viral-video-feds-say-she-overstayed-her-visa/) at SFO the day before.
[Video of that arrest](https://www.instagram.com/doria4richmond/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&ig%5Frid=AlVvGKMol87PxcG7FbtsebX), which was captured and posted online by Richmond City Councilmember Doria Robinson, sparked widespread attention. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Gorb legally entered the US in 2010 but remained after her visa expired by more than 15 years.
Yakel said SFO was aware of three ICE-related arrests at the airport since March, including Gorb’s. Another arrest occurred [March 22](https://sfist.com/2026/03/25/tsa-tipped-off-ice-about-woman-forcibly-detained-at-sfo/) and was captured by bystanders, while the third reportedly took place May 1.
According to NBC Bay Area, the airport has sought to distance itself from ICE operations, with Yakel saying SFO is “not involved in decisions about DHS or ICE operations” and does not “assist in immigration enforcement, consistent with Sanctuary City policies.”
ICE has not responded to NBC Bay Area’s questions about the firearm or its presence at SFO that evening.
**Related:** [Woman From Ukraine Forcibly Detained at SFO In Viral Video; Feds Say She Overstayed Her Visa](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/woman-from-ukraine-forcibly-detained-at-sfo-in-viral-video-feds-say-she-overstayed-her-visa/)
### 11th Annual Flower Piano to Bring Music to SF Botanical Garden Once More
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/11th-annual-flower-piano-to-bring-music-to-sf-botanical-garden-once-more/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T22:07:50.000Z
Dates have been announced for the 11th annual Flower Piano in the SF Botanical Garden, in Golden Gate Park. The beloved, annual event brings a dozen pianos to different spots in the garden with both scheduled performers and free play sessions.
Flower Piano returns September 10 to September 20 in the SF Botanical Garden, and as always, it is free to attend for all SF residents. (Tickets for non-residents can be purchased at the gate, or [purchased ahead here](https://gggp.org/flowerpiano/?ref=sfist.com).) The event runs all 11 days, with scheduled performers concentrated more heavily on the weekends.
Around 100 performers will be participating in total, including professional jazz, classical, soul, and cabaret performers, many of whom have been featured in previous years. The [full schedule](https://gggp.org/flowerpiano/?ref=sfist.com) includes The Pacific Jazz Group, John Brothers Piano Company, the Glide Ensemble, Kitten on the Keys, Allison Lovejoy, and moody "musical conjurer" Jill Tracy.
And, as always, you may happen upon some of the best music just passing through as a local sleeper virtuoso takes to the keys during open play hours.
**Photo via Gardens of Golden Gate Park*
"The most memorable experiences in our parks are the ones that surprise us, bring us together, and leave us seeing a familiar place in a new way,” says SF Recreation and Park Department general manager, Sarah Madland, in a statement. “That's exactly what Flower Piano has done for more than a decade, delighting hundreds of thousands of visitors and showcasing Golden Gate Park as one of the world's great public spaces."
This year, the cocktail lounge near the Main Gate, for which there is an extra paid entry fee and in which there are some nicer, dedicated restrooms than the regular park restrooms, is being sponsored by autonomous taxi company Zoox. And some performances will take place in the lounge, [a schedule of which is here](https://gggp.org/zooxlounge/?ref=sfist.com).
Flower Piano began in 2015 as an offshoot of the pop-up series [Sunset Piano](https://sunsetpiano.com/?ref=sfist.com), co-founded by pianists Dean Mermell and Mauro Ffortissimo. Ffortissimo began by installing a single upright piano on a bluff near his studio in Half Moon Bay, so that he and his friends could play and enjoy piano music in nature, with the ocean waves crashing below them.
The 2015 event was conceived as part of the 75th anniversary celebration of the SF Botanical Garden, and it proved so popular that it has returned every year (except 2020).
Below is a PBS News Hour segment on the event from 2024
### Train to Perform on Haight Street Outside Mad Dog In the Fog For Album Release Party Today
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/train-to-perform-on-haight-street-outside-mad-dog-in-the-fog-for-album-release-party/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T21:31:39.000Z
Haight and Ashbury streets are closed Thursday afternoon (today) for a block party celebrating Grammy-award winning band Train’s latest release, *Mad Dog in the Fog*, outside the pub that inspired the album’s name.
Train will perform Thursday, August 27, in Upper Haight, with the band taking the stage at 5 pm, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/train-haight-street-block-party-22403325.php?ref=sfist.com). Thursday’s event is limited to fans who [RSVP](https://partiful.com/e/WNKTPvYUA37YMA89FIeo?ref=sfist.com) and receive confirmation, with "doors" opening at 3:30 pm.
Train’s connection to Mad Dog in the Fog goes back to the band’s early days in San Francisco, when the pub became one of the first places to give the group a paying gig. Frontman Pat Monahan has credited the bar and its owner, Cyril, with supporting Train as it was getting started, making the pub’s name a natural choice for the band’s 12th studio album.
The original Mad Dog in the Fog operated in the Lower Haight for decades before [closing in March 2020](https://sfist.com/2020/03/06/mad-dog-in-the-fog-to-close-popular-quiz-night-moves-to-kezar-pub/) during the pandemic. It reopened [in August 2022](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-mad-dog-bar-reopens-17376947.php?ref=sfist.com) in the Upper Haight at 1568 Haight Street, near Clayton Street, where Train later returned to film the music video for the album’s title track, per the Chronicle.
“Mad Dog in the Fog is one of the first places in San Francisco where Train came together as a band,” Monahan said when announcing the album. “It was the first venue to pay us to play, and its owner, Cyril, has been one of our biggest champions from the beginning.”
The new album is Train’s first studio release since 2022’s *AM Gold*. It features 12 songs, including the previously released tracks “The Weekend” and “Pennsylvania Turnpike,” with Columbia Records set to release the album Friday, August 28.
The Haight Street party follows Train’s Wednesday night concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, part of the band’s Drops of Jupiter: 25 Years in the Atmosphere Tour.
**Related:** [Mad Dog in the Fog Closes, Popular Quiz Night Moves to Kezar Pub](https://sfist.com/2020/03/06/mad-dog-in-the-fog-to-close-popular-quiz-night-moves-to-kezar-pub/)
### Owner of Bayview Affordable Housing Complex Agrees to $9 Million Settlement Over Violations
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/owner-of-bayview-affordable-housing-complex-agrees-to-9-million-settlement-over-violations/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T20:16:37.000Z
A St. Louis-based developer has agreed to pay $9 million settlement to the city of San Francisco over numerous health and safety violations at its property, Alice Griffith Apartments, a 337-unit affordable housing complex in Bayview.
The agreement with developer McCormack Baron Salazar comes after years of complaints and mounting city enforcement over conditions at Alice Griffith Apartments, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/08/alice-griffith-city-attorney-settlement/?ref=sfist.com). The 337-unit Bayview complex has reportedly been plagued by rodent infestations, debris, inoperable elevators, plumbing problems, and other health and safety issues, prompting multiple city departments to issue violations.
[According to KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12096964/owners-of-beleaguered-san-francisco-housing-complex-agree-to-9-million-settlement?ref=sfist.com), the settlement requires the St. Louis-based developer to address those violations and make additional improvements beyond what the city had cited. The owners will also invest $3 million in pest control and other upgrades over the next two years, while the stipulated injunction requires emergency repairs addressing urgent habitability and life-safety issues within 30 days.
“We have worked tirelessly to provide a place that is safe, secure and accommodating for the tenants who call Alice Griffith home,” a spokesperson for McCormack Baron Salazar said in a statement. “Today’s mutually agreed-upon settlement between all of the Alice Griffith partners marks a moment for this community to move forward in a collaborative, positive manner.”
Alice Griffith was operated by the San Francisco Housing Authority from 1962 until 2017, when it was redeveloped through a public-private partnership that was heavily backed by public funding. The city reportedly provided $68.3 million in loans through the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, while the project also received a $30.5 million federal grant and other public and private financing.
The complex then reportedly deteriorated within a few years of the transition to private ownership. [Mission Local documented](https://missionlocal.org/2026/07/alice-griffith-bayview-san-francisco-public-housing-redevelopment/?ref=sfist.com) in July reports of rat infestations, piles of debris, and other conditions affecting residents, while city inspectors identified violations involving health, housing, plumbing, building, electrical, and fire codes.
Over the past year, McCormack Baron Salazar and the John Stewart Company, which manages the property, said they lacked sufficient funds to make necessary repairs. During an April 2025 hearing called by Supervisor Shamann Walton, John Stewart Vice President Jennifer Wood said the company had been unable to address problems including inoperable elevators and garages because of unpaid tenant rent.
City Attorney David Chiu said it is the first code enforcement agreement in San Francisco in which a landlord is required to invest additional money into the property on top of paying the city, per Mission Local.
“No San Franciscan should have to live in substandard housing, and there must be consequences when residents are deprived of a safe and healthy place to live,” Chiu said.
Separate from the $9 million settlement, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development is putting $2 million toward a new playground and outdoor improvements at the complex. The office will also provide a $2.5 million loan to McCormack Baron Salazar for elevator repairs, restoration of hot water systems, rehabilitation of 50 uninhabitable units, $200,000 in pest control services, and other urgent work.
KQED reports that McCormack Baron Salazar attributed some of the property’s financial difficulties to losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as what it described as a lack of investment in the surrounding area that left Alice Griffith particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s effects.
The city attorney’s office said the owners violated multiple city codes, state housing law, and California’s unfair competition law. Chiu said the injunction will require the landlord to follow through on the agreement, while Supervisor Walton said his office will continue monitoring the property and the money being spent on improvements.
### Following Contentious Public Meeting, SF Dems Endorse Manny Yekutiel for District 8
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/following-contentious-public-meeting-sf-dems-endorse-manny-yekutiel-for-district-8/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T19:24:38.000Z
In spite of an accusation earlier this summer of aggressive groping, and following an independent investigation into the incident, the SF Democratic Party voted Wednesday to endorse cafe owner Manny Yekutiel for District 8 supervisor.
There was a contentious meeting of the San Francisco Democratic Party Wednesday in Visitacion Valley, [as Mission Local reports](https://missionlocal.org/2026/08/san-francisco-democratic-party-manny-yekutiel-endorsement/?ref=sfist.com), in which local Democrats heard public comment in support of and in opposition to the endorsement of Manny Yekutiel to be supervisor of District 8\. The district includes the Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, part of the Mission District, part of the Haight-Ashbury, Cole Valley, and Corona/Ashbury Heights, and current Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is termed out.
Yekutiel [faced an accusation](https://sfist.com/2026/06/30/assault-allegation-threatens-to-derail-supervisor-candidacy-of-manny-yekutiel/) in June from Brad Chapin, who is active in progressive politics and was a former board member of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, that he assaulted and/or aggressively groped him at a private party in early 2020\. Yekutiel said he vaguely remembered attending the party but said he did not do what Chapin accused him of — which included a description of squeezing his testicles under his pants.
San Francisco police declined to pursue charges against Yekutiel, and the independent investigation conducted by the SF Democratic Party — which Chapin called "a sham" during the public comment session, per Mission Local — was inconclusive, largely because the alleged event did not take place during a Democratic Party event, and therefore falls outside the body's jurisdiction, they said.
As the [Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sf-dccc-investigation-yekutiel-d8-supervisor-race-22401616.php?ref=sfist.com) and Mission Local report, the public comment session at the packed meeting went on for over two hours, with many people speaking in support of and against Yekutiel. But Chapin, sitting in the front row, reportedly continued to heckle DCCC Chair Nancy Tung and others who stood up to make comments, which led to Tung calling a brief recess. Others in the audience also reportedly spoke out of turn, and things became heated multiple times.
Yekutiel's seeming biggest rival in the race, progressive candidate Gary McCoy, had the first-round vote of Supervisor Matt Dorsey, as Mission Local notes, who spoke about his and McCoy's shared experiences in the recovery community and with addiction.
But, per Mission Local, in the final round of voting Wednesday night, the only two choices were "no endorsement" or Yekutiel, with McCoy having been knocked out in an earlier round, and Dorsey cast the deciding vote to endorse Yekutiel.
12 DCCC members voted to endorse Yekutiel, while 10 voted for no endorsement, and 10 others were either absent or abstained from the vote.
In a statement after the vote, Yekutiel said, "I’m proud of the momentum behind this campaign, and I’m going to keep taking that message directly to voters across District 8."
**Previously:** [Groping Allegation Threatens to Damage Supervisor Candidacy of Manny Yekutiel](https://sfist.com/2026/06/30/assault-allegation-threatens-to-derail-supervisor-candidacy-of-manny-yekutiel/)
### Oakland Stabbing Suspect Went on Previous Stabbing Spree, Was on Parole
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/oakland-stabbing-suspect-went-on-previous-stabbing-spree-was-on-parole/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T18:01:26.000Z
There had to be a reason that Oakland police were being so cagey about the identity of the suspect in Monday's deadly stabbing spree, and now we know what it is.
Late Wednesday, the suspect in Monday's East Oakland stabbing spree was identified as 34-year-old Jose Jesus Rodriguez. Rodriguez was on parole after spending time in prison for a previous stabbing spree in 2019, [as KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-stabbing-spree-suspect-parole-violations?ref=sfist.com), and court records show that a parole officer had already tried to raise alarm bells about Rodriguez's reportedly "escalating" behavior.
We [previously learned](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/suspect-in-oakland-stabbing-spree-was-homeless-police-say-victim-often-fed-homeless-in-park/) that Rodriguez was homeless, and that has apparently been the case for some time. Rodriguez also suffers from mental illness, and a clear pattern of violence dates back at least seven years if not longer.
Rodriguez has been on supervised parole since 2023, after going to prison for stabbing both an Uber driver and a garbage collector in 2019\. Per KTVU, court records also mention two other incidents, one in which he reportedly head-butted a police officer and tried to bite off the officer's ear, and another in which he was allegedly swinging a wooden board "like an axe" at two people.
As KTVU further reports, a parole officer wrote last year, "There are no programs to appropriately address Rodriguez’s escalating behavior. Rodriguez’s recent behavior poses a significant threat to the community."
KTVU says that they made an effort to contact the parole agent, but they would not comment.
The case will naturally raise questions about Rodriguez's parole and his capacity for rehabilitation, and also about whether any underlying mental health issues had been addressed.
Rodriguez is accused of fatally stabbing 58-year-old Gonzalo Lopez in a seemingly random attack in Cesar Chavez Park on Monday evening. From there, Rodriguez allegedly went on a rampage, stabbing a homeless man who was lying on the ground at a nearby gas station, stabbing a third victim at the Fruitvale BART station, and stabbing two more people on the sidewalk nearby on International Boulevard.
As the [Chronicle notes](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-mass-stabbing-suspect-named-22406139.php?ref=sfist.com), Rodriguez is currently being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, with special allegations including the previous serious felony conviction.
Legal analyst Steven Clark tells KTVU that a case like this may, understandably, cause the community to "feel that the pendulum has swung too far in favor of the defendant instead of public safety."
**Previously:** [Suspect In Oakland Stabbing Spree Was Homeless, Police Say; Victim Often Fed Homeless In Park](https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/suspect-in-oakland-stabbing-spree-was-homeless-police-say-victim-often-fed-homeless-in-park/)
### Tom Brady’s New Palo Alto Card Store Burglarized, Over $12,000 Worth of Trading Cards Stolen
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/tom-bradys-new-palo-alto-card-store-burglarized-over-12-000-worth-of-trading-cards-stolen/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T17:24:47.000Z
Burglars broke into the new CardVault by Tom Brady in Palo Alto over the weekend, making off with roughly 60 collectible trading cards — just a week after the store’s grand opening.
The break-in happened around 12:30 am Saturday, when one or more intruders smashed through the window and damaged display cases at sports collectible retailer CardVault by Tom Brady, [as Palo Alto Online reports](https://www.paloaltoonline.com/crime/2026/08/24/cardvault-by-tom-brady-burglarized-a-week-after-opening-in-palo-alto/?ref=sfist.com). About 60 trading cards were taken, with police putting their total value at more than $12,000\. No arrests have reportedly been made.
Brady joined CardVault as a 50% owner and partner in 2025, when the company had just three stores. The company [opened its San Francisco flagship store](https://sfist.com/2026/01/08/tom-brady-looking-to-open-an-sf-sports-card-shop-right-by-sfs-oracle-park/) across from Oracle Park in February, and there’s also a Sacramento location.
The Palo Alto store is CardVault by Tom Brady's 17th retail location [in the US](https://cardvaultbytombrady.com/pages/store-locations?srsltid=AfmBOoo%5F2Fal--gMEDUAl86emZs-eAppCaRyiRbJQsZpO-8YUMVHidP5&ref=sfist.com), in addition to kiosks in Minneapolis and Boston.
The burglary came just days after the Palo Alto store held its grand opening on August 15, reportedly drawing a large crowd of collectors and Brady fans. [According to KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/tom-brady-draws-huge-crowd-opening-cardvault-store-palo-alto?ref=sfist.com), some fans began lining up at 2:30 am in hopes of Brady showing up.
Brady did end up making a surprise appearance, posing for photos, signing memorabilia, and joining business owners and city officials for the ribbon-cutting.
Brady said the Palo Alto opening had personal significance.
“Growing up in San Mateo, I got into collecting when I was a young kid,” said Brady, speaking to KTVU about opening a store so close to home. “A huge fan of the 49ers, the San Francisco Giants, the Warriors, and it’s very surreal to come back.”
The company has since been pursuing a much larger expansion, announcing earlier this month that new strategic investors include Jay-Z, Yankees star Aaron Judge, and UFC CEO Dana White, per KTVU.
When asked about the company’s goal of reaching 100 stores, Brady asked, “Why only 100? It was 150 yesterday.”
“We have big goals, but it's all about, how do we deliver in the right locations for people where there's great collectors and we can provide them with what they want,” he told KTVU.
Local collectors said they were glad to have a dedicated card shop nearby that’s close enough to visit regularly.
“This isn’t just about buying and selling cards; it’s about curating history, building community, turning fans into collectors, and giving them access to their own great moments in sports,” Brady said in a February press release.
**Previously:** [Tom Brady Looking to Open an SF Sports Card Shop Right by Oracle Park](https://sfist.com/2026/01/08/tom-brady-looking-to-open-an-sf-sports-card-shop-right-by-sfs-oracle-park/)
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Clouds May Obscure Lunar Eclipse
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/27/clouds-may-obscure-lunar-eclipse/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T16:35:55.000Z
- Following guidance in a Department of Homeland Security memo, UC Berkeley is suspending an internship program for international students, which provided a pathway to off-campus work. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/uc-berkeley-suspends-some-international-internships-after-threats-from-feds?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Police in Elk Grove recovered a stolen semi-truck trailer, which was reported stolen last week, containing $170,000 worth of Tesla materials inside. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/elk-grove-police-recover-semi-truck-trailer-containing-170000-in-tesla-materials/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Firefighters in San Jose took efforts to protect the many antique pianos, player pianos, and mechanical instruments at the historic Orchestria Palm Court restaurant on Wednesday as they put out a fire at a tire shop next door. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-62z65wka2j2crb4j?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Clouds and moisture from former tropical storm Iselle are heading into the Bay Area and are likely to obscure tonight's partial lunar eclipse — and also may bring some rare August rain. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather-forecast/article/rain-california-bay-area-iselle-22404793.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- There is, nonetheless, a lunar eclipse watch party at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/lunar-eclipse-watch-party-set-for-chabot-space-science-center/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Coit Tower in San Francisco was lit up pink Wednesday night in honor of Dolly Parton. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sfs-coit-tower-to-go-pink-for-dolly-parton/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- 65 US nationals have been listed among the more than 1,000 people missing in catastrophic floods in Nepal. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/nepal-tibet-missing-flash-flooding-mud-flow-glacier-collapse/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse Happening Thursday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-happening-thursday/
Last updated: 2026-08-27T01:58:41.000Z
### Local:
- **The California Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Devin Williams Jr., the former Alameda County Sheriff's deputy who was** [**convicted two years ago**](https://sfist.com/2024/11/12/former-alameda-county-officer-gets-50-years-for-double-murder-in-dublin/) **in the** [**2022 double murder**](https://sfist.com/2022/09/29/more-details-emerge-about-shocking-double-homicide-dublin/) **of Dublin couple Maria and Benison Tran.** In a 3-0 ruling, the court found that the trial judge had not erred in allowing gruesome photos and videos of the victims and crime scene to be shown to the jury. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/california-sheriff-s-deputy-killed-couple-loses-22404952.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A partial lunar eclipse is expected to be visible across California on Thursday, and will create a sliver of a so-called "blood moon." \[[KQED](https://www.kqed.org/news/12096650/partial-lunar-eclipse-to-bring-a-blood-moon-to-the-bay-area-thursday?ref=sfist.com)\]
- [TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2026/08/26/jed-york-arrest-video/?ref=sfist.com) obtained the police bodycam footage of 49ers owner Jed York [being arrested in a prostitution sting](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/details-emerge-from-jed-yorks-prostitution-arrest/) in East Palestine, Ohio on Sunday.
Watch full video on [TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/watch/jed-york-bodycam-08-26-2026/?ref=sfist.com)
### National:
- **Three "non-law enforcement personnel" in the Secret Service have been placed on leave amid an internal investigation into possible misconduct.** The investigation appears to be tied to the leak regarding President Trump switching planes after the NATO summit in Turkey last month. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/26/us/trump-news?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Hundreds are feared dead after a devastating landslide and flood wave along the China-Nepal border, which may have been caused by an upstream avalanche or glacier collapsing. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/26/world/live-news/nepal-flash-flooding-floods-intl?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A federal judge in Boston has lifted an injunction that had blocked the US Postal Service from implementing restrictions on mail-in voting that were ordered by Trump, because, she said, she felt compelled to do so after [Monday's Supreme Court ruling](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/supreme-court-hands-trump-temporary-win-on-mail-ballots-more-legal-action-to-come/) that called the court's actions premature. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/us/politics/states-lawsuit-mail-ballot-order.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- The King's Guard at Buckingham Palace performed a rendition of "9 to 5" today in honor of the passing of Dolly Parton on Tuesday.
### Driver and SFMTA Officer Exchange Blows Over Parking Ticket
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/driver-exchanges-blows-with-sfmta-officer-over-parking-ticket/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T00:42:29.000Z
A video shared on social media shows an SFMTA officer involved in a physical altercation with an irate driver who had just received a parking ticket on Treasure Island, and she had to be pulled away several times by other officers.
San Francisco authorities are investigating a physical altercation involving an SFMTA parking enforcement officer on Treasure Island after video of the confrontation [spread on social media](https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dcd-Tw8pHAq/?ref=sfist.com). The fight happened Tuesday and involved the officer, a woman who was apparently being cited, and at least one other person who was recording the incident, [as KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/sfpd-investigating-viral-altercation-involving-sfmta-officer-treasure-island?ref=sfist.com).
The video shows the woman approaching the officer and shoving a ticket toward the officer. The officer appears to push her back, after which the woman slaps and strikes the officer in the face while telling her, “Leave my car alone.” The woman then walks away, but the officer follows her before other officers and bystanders intervene and hold the officer back.
[Mr700 on Instagram: ”#fypシ❤️💞❤️ #fypシ゚viralシfypシ゚ do I got assaulted by @sfmta\_muni today and I am suing and have pressed charges”13K likes, 0 comments - rbnonote\_sf on August 25, 2026: ”#fypシ❤️💞❤️ #fypシ゚viralシfypシ゚ do I got assaulted by @sfmta\_muni today and I am suing and have pressed charges”.Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dcd-Tw8pHAq/?ref=sfist.com)
The person recording continues filming as the confrontation unfolds, with the officer attempting to grab the phone and the person behind the camera accusing her of hitting him. The two women then confront each other again, exchanging additional blows before they are separated.
SFMTA told KTVU that it is working with the San Francisco Police Department on the investigation. The agency did not provide additional details about what led to the fight or what happened immediately beforehand.
“Parking Control Officers have one of the toughest jobs in the city as they enforce our parking laws to ensure that our streets remain safe and functional,” SFMTA Streets Director Viktoriya Wise said. “Violence against anyone in our city, including SFMTA employees, is unacceptable.”
In a [follow-up video](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DceLfW3JnFF/?ref=sfist.com), an SFPD police officer tells the person who recorded the confrontation that they could face misdemeanor charges for battery and delaying SFMTA officers from performing their duties. The officer said at the time that the SFMTA employees involved did not want to press charges.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DceLfW3JnFF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Mr700 (@rbnonote\_sf)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DceLfW3JnFF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
Wise said SFMTA is cooperating with the department and will continue providing employee assistance resources to the staff members involved.
**Related:** [SFMTA Employees Are Nervous About Becoming Targets of Backlash Against Parking Crackdown](https://sfist.com/2024/04/25/sfmta-employees-are-nervous-about-becoming-targets-of-backlash-against-parking-crackdown/)
### Former Navy Contractor to Pay $97 Million Settlement Over Hunters Point Shipyard Cleanup
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/former-navy-contractor-to-pay-97-million-in-botched-hunters-point-shipyard-cleanup/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T23:13:20.000Z
Former Navy contractor Tetra Tech agreed to pay $97 million to resolve federal claims over its botched cleanup of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, including $57 million to the DOJ and $40 million tied to Superfund cleanup costs, with almost none going directly to residents.
US District Court Judge James Donato approved the agreement on August 13 after pausing the settlement last year. Of the $97 million, $57 million goes toward resolving the federal claims over the alleged fraud, while $40 million is connected to the ongoing Superfund cleanup, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/hunters-point-cleanup-settlement-22404765.php?ref=sfist.com).
Tetra Tech reportedly paid the settlement last year, but Donato initially rejected it, explaining that the government had not shown that the $57 million payment was sufficient given the scale of the alleged fraud, [according to the SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/08/24/hunters-point-tetra-tech-settlement-97-million/?ref=sfist.com). After sending federal prosecutors and Tetra Tech back to explain the terms, Donato reportedly said he found the agreement “fair, adequate, and reasonable.”
The case stems from Tetra Tech’s work at the shipyard between 2003 and 2014, when the company was hired to conduct radiological testing and remediation. The shipyard, which once housed the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, had been contaminated by radioactive and industrial materials and was designated a [Superfund site](https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0902722&ref=sfist.com).
The alleged misconduct came to light in 2014 after the Navy discovered irregularities in Tetra Tech’s soil samples two years earlier, [as NBC Bay Area first reported](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/contractor-submitted-false-radiation-data-at-hunters-point/79399/?ref=sfist.com). Federal prosecutors alleged that Tetra Tech workers [replaced potentially contaminated soil samples](https://sfist.com/2019/08/14/report-navy-merely-throwing-dirt-on-top-of-contaminated-hunters-point-soil/) with clean soil before sending them to laboratories and falsified records to make the work appear to have passed required testing.
This was [later confirmed](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/contractor-submitted-false-radiation-data-at-hunters-point/79399/?ref=sfist.com) by former Tetra Tech radiation control technician Anthony Smith and resulted in criminal cases against former Tetra Tech supervisors Stephen Rolfe and Justin Hubbard, who pleaded guilty in 2018\. Both were sentenced to prison by Donato, who also presided over the later civil litigation.
A subsequent review by the Navy that year found that roughly 48% of Tetra Tech’s radiological data was either suspect or showed signs of potential manipulation. An EPA letter later raised concerns about as much as 90% to 97% of the data in portions of the shipyard.
Tetra Tech agreed to the $97 million deal without admitting liability or wrongdoing. The settlement resolves the federal government’s civil claims under the False Claims Act and federal Superfund law, but it does not resolve the separate lawsuit brought by homeowners who say the cleanup scandal damaged their property values.
“This has been a critical project for the Hunters Point community and the federal government,” US Attorney Craig Missakian of the DOJ’s Northern District of California said. “It should have been just as important to the contractor that the government selected and paid to perform radiological testing and remediation at the site.”
More than 300 homeowners in the shipyard’s only completed residential neighborhood sued Tetra Tech after the extent of the alleged fraud became public. A federal judge [dismissed that case earlier this month](https://sfist.com/2026/08/05/judge-says-federal-law-protects-navy-contractor-in-botched-hunters-point-shipyard-cleanup/), ruling that a 1957 law protecting the nuclear industry from certain liability did not cover claims based solely on financial losses.
Developers Lennar and FivePoint Holdings separately [agreed in 2022 to pay $6.3 million](https://sfist.com/2022/04/01/6-3-million-settlement-awarded-to-hunters-point-homeowners-over-toxic-waste/) to settle claims from the same group of homeowners, who alleged that they were not adequately informed about contamination concerns and problems with the cleanup before buying homes on Parcel A. The developers did not admit wrongdoing.
In 2019, [400 officers](https://sfist.com/2019/11/19/now-the-police-are-suing-the-hunters-point-shipyard-developer-too/) from the San Francisco Police Department also filed a lawsuit against Tetra Tech, alleging that the site’s radiation gave officers and their families asthma, blood disorders, lung cancer, and was even “a substantial factor” in two officers’ deaths.
Prior to the lawsuit, [the Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Amid-a-toxic-landscape-SF-found-a-home-for-its-13101114.php?ref=sfist.com) on Building 606, a facility at the shipyard that was used by several SFPD units including the SWAT team, bomb squad, and K-9 Unit, to clean contaminated clothing. Officers complained that the tap water tasted contaminated, and several later developed cancer, including the two who died. Two German shepherds also developed cancer and died.
The latest settlement also does little to address longstanding demands from Bayview-Hunters Point residents and environmental advocates for compensation and a more thorough cleanup. [According to NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/settlement-cleanup-hunters-point-shipyard/4133409/?ref=sfist.com), Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, which has fought the Navy over its cleanup efforts for years, welcomed the settlement but said the community still needs independent oversight of the ongoing remediation.
“It’s wonderful news,” Greenaction executive director Bradley Angel said. “It also vindicates what Greenaction and community groups have said for years and years, which is that the cleanup was inadequate. It was flawed. It was reckless. It was tainted.”
Greenaction and other community groups are also calling for reparations for Bayview-Hunters Point residents who they say have suffered health impacts from decades of exposure to pollution and toxic waste. The Navy’s cleanup remains ongoing, and last year it was revealed the agency had discovered unauthorized [radioactive material](https://sfist.com/2025/10/31/us-navy-found-high-levels-of-airborne-plutonium-at-hunters-point-failed-to-mention-this-for-11-months/) stored inside a secured building at the site.
San Francisco Environment Department data reportedly shows the neighborhood has higher rates of asthma, respiratory diseases, and cancers than the city overall, with the department identifying the area’s industrial pollution history as a contributing factor.
**Previously:** [Judge Says Federal Law Protects Navy Contractor In Botched Hunters Point Shipyard Cleanup](https://sfist.com/2026/08/05/judge-says-federal-law-protects-navy-contractor-in-botched-hunters-point-shipyard-cleanup/)
### New Big Sur Wildfire, the Plaskett Fire, Breaks Out South of Timber Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/new-big-sur-wildfire-the-plaskett-fire-breaks-out-south-of-timber-fire/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T22:34:22.000Z
A new, 40-acre wildfire began Wednesday morning near the Big Sur coast, about 27 miles south of the southernmost section of the still burning Timber Fire.
It's called the Plaskett Fire, and it began around 11 am Wednesday east of Los Burros Road, near the community of Plaskett, as [KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/plaskett-fire-big-sur-california-timber-fire-monterey-county/?ref=sfist.com). The fire had grown to 100 acres as of 2:15 pm, and was 0% contained.
An evacuation warning was issued for Plaskett and the area of the Plaskett Creek Campsite, and an evacuation order was issued for a zone to south and east, including a section of coast near Willow Creek Beach and San Martin Rock. The evacuation order is affecting around 30 residents, according to Cal Fire.
This new fire is burning in a different section of Los Padres National Forest that is more than 25 miles south of where the Timber Fire has been burning since August 8.
"Firefighters from various agencies including U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and local government are aggressively moving ground crews and heavy equipment to the perimeter of the Plaskett Fire in Monterey County to establish containment lines," Cal Fire said in a statement. "Specialized elite Hotshot crews are actively working to gain access to the fire's edge, while eight air tankers have been requested to fly overhead and assist ground personnel with targeted retardant drops."
Air resources are reportedly dropping water on the fire, which is burning "in very difficult terrain that is hard to access," and the fire has been growing at a "moderate" rate of speed, per Cal Fire.
On Wednesday afternoon, Cal Fire reported that eight structures were under threat from the fire. "After initially burning north-northwest, the fire crossed a drainage and is now working up the south side of a mountain following a slope reversal," the agency said.
Meanwhile, the Timber Fire stands at 23% containment, which is actually down from [25% on Monday](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/timber-fire-grows-to-12-600-acres-but-highway-1-has-reopened/). The fire has grown by 5,000 acres in two days, to 17,817 acres, burning uphill through the Lion Creek drainage to the north, and to the east near the North and South Forks of the Big Sur River. Hot and dry conditions have contributed to the fire's growth and will continue to, Cal Fire says.
Highway 1 remains open, however traffic controls were in place Wednesday as crews worked to clear rock debris left behind from Timber Fire operations which had piled up by the roadside. This meant periodic traffic holds of 10 to 15 minutes for those driving through the area.
### Solano County Supervisors Deal Blow to California Forever's Shipyard Proposal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/solano-county-supervisors-deal-blow-to-california-forevers-shipyard-proposal/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T21:15:05.000Z
The Solano County Board of Supervisors has dealt a blow, albeit possibly a temporary one, to the group known as California Forever and its fast-tracked legislation that would pave the way for a new shipbuilding facility on the Delta.
Weeks after California Forever got some bad news in the form of [a lost contract](https://sfist.com/2026/07/16/california-forever-loses-shipbuilding/) for a $3.2 billion automated shipbuilding facility, they've gotten some further bad news from the Solano County Board of Supervisors. The board voted 3-2 on Tuesday to table, essentially, an endorsement vote for some fast-tracked legislation that the group has been pushing, which would have allowed them to bypass environmental review for a potential shipyard.
As [CalMatters explains](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/california-forever-shipbuilding-solano-county-vote/?ref=sfist.com), the proposed Solano Maritime and Manufacturing Act would exempt 1,350 acres along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in the unincorporated area of Collinsville from new, project-specific CEQA review — something that has the support of Governor Gavin Newsom — and instead rely on an 18-year-old environmental report. The draft legislation also allows for streamlined construction permitting and other concessions that California Forever says will help them bring 10,000 new jobs to the area and a new source of revenue to the county.
The shipyard is only one piece of the broader, highly controversial plan, which was hatched in secret with the financial support of [a group of Silicon Valley billionaires](https://sfist.com/2023/08/25/mystery-group-behind-solano-county-land-grab-revealed-to-be-silicon-valley-vc-types-plus-steve-jobss-widow/) about seven or eight years ago, to construct a new city of 400,000 residents on farmland in eastern Solano County. An earlier ballot-measure effort that would have allowed California Forever to bypass a 1984 county growth initiative — which prohibits new development outside the existing incorporated areas of the county — was [aborted two years ago](https://sfist.com/2024/07/22/the-billionaire-backed-group-california-forever-is-withdrawing-their-ballot-measure-after-damning-solano-county-report/) after pushback from county leaders and residents.
The group has so far used grand promises and [AI-generated illustrations](https://sfist.com/2023/09/01/imagined-new-city-in-solano-county-gets-its-first-website-with-illustrations/) to sell local residents on the idea of a new, utopian community full of affordable housing and walkable, European-style neighborhoods — a plan that seems to have its roots in the belief that the Bay Area's existing cities are broken and beyond fixing, and wouldn't it be cool to just start from scratch and build a new one.
A group that goes by the name Solano Together, which has organized in opposition to California Forever, reportedly turned out with about 200 of its supporters to the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, seeking to offer public comment on the shipyard legislation, per CalMatters. And the issue of having billionaires from elsewhere trying to push legislation and new development in the county has been a sensitive one.
"The only thing unique about this is the deep pockets of the people that are promoting it and the methods they’re going about it," said Vallejo resident Jeff Deis during the public comment session, per CalMatters.
Another county resident, Jasmine Westbrook, added, speaking to the supervisors, "Do not put billionaires over your community, your constituents, the environment, and the future of Solano County and the state. Do not set this precedent."
As CalMatters reports, about two dozen speakers voiced support for the legislation, especially because of the job-creation potential of a shipyard.
As [KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/solano-supervisors-oppose-draft-legislation-collinsville-shipbuilding/?ref=sfist.com), Supervisor Wanda Williams, who voted to table the legislation, said, "Do I support shipbuilding? Yes. Do I support good-paying jobs? I definitely do… we have lost a lot of jobs in this county, and there is a serious need for jobs. Yet, I am still responsible to make sure there are protections and guardrails in."
Jim Wunderman, head of public affairs for California Forever, tells CalMatters that the supervisors "punted."
"There was an opportunity to move something forward that would have mattered for generations, and could really move this county forward in this region," Wunderman said.
And as Wunderman said during the meeting, per KPIX, time is of the essence — basically because Donald Trump is in office. "The United States is investing heavily in restoring the Navy and the vessels that support the Navy," he said. "A lot of money is in the defense department to support this. There is a chance to bring that legacy industry back, so many jobs lost, in this county and the Bay Area. There is only a small window of time here to get a bill done this year or else companies won't come."
**Previously:** [California Forever Loses Shipbuilding Contract to Texas, But They Say They're Still 'On Track'](https://sfist.com/2026/07/16/california-forever-loses-shipbuilding/)
### Sapporo Plans 200 Stone Brewing Layoffs After Selling Brand to Firestone Walker
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/sapporo-plans-200-stone-brewing-layoffs-after-selling-brand-to-firestone-walker/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T20:30:55.000Z
After selling Stone Brewing Co. in April, Sapporo is preparing to cut more than 200 employees, with the first 58 workers expected to be laid off in October as the company permanently closes Stone’s longtime Escondido headquarters.
The first round of layoffs is expected to begin October 19, when 58 Stone Brewing workers are slated to lose their jobs, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/stone-brewing-layoff-escondido-22399416.php?ref=sfist.com). The cuts include workers in warehouse, logistics, packaging, and quality assurance roles, along with 11 brewers. More than 200 employees are expected to be affected through the broader layoff plan.
The cuts come as Sapporo USA winds down Stone Brewing’s longtime operation in Escondido, where the brewery has operated for about two decades. The company plans to permanently close the headquarters, which grew into a massive brewing complex as Stone expanded from its 1996 launch into one of the most recognizable names of the West Coast craft beer boom.
Sapporo, which acquired Stone in 2022, sold the brand in April to Paso Robles-based Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and Duvel Moortgat USA for an undisclosed amount, according to SFGate. The deal included Stone’s brand and four hospitality locations: Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at Liberty Station in San Diego, plus taprooms in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, Oceanside, and Pasadena.
Firestone Walker CEO Nick Firestone said the company has hired more than 200 former Stone employees, and none of the current layoffs involve Firestone Walker workers. Production is expected to be transferred to Firestone Walker’s facilities in Paso Robles and Kansas City, Missouri.
Stone had already scaled back its California footprint before the sale. [The Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/Stone-Brewing-closes-historic-downtown-Napa-16573317.php?ref=sfist.com) in 2021 that Stone’s Napa taproom and brewery closed after three years in the historic Borreo Building, following a Superior Court ruling that allowed its landlord to evict the brewery over unpaid rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure cost 40 workers their jobs.
Stone’s arrival had reportedly given Napa’s relatively small beer scene a higher profile, drawing both tourists and locals to the downtown location. Co-founder Greg Koch had been interested in the Borreo property for years before Stone signed its lease; the building had sat vacant for 15 years, per the Chronicle.
The Napa taproom did face challenges even before the pandemic, however, as the local beer industry struggled to compete with Sonoma County, which had become home to major craft breweries including Russian River Brewing.
Stone is not the only California craft beer brand to have been acquired by Firestone Walker. In March, the company purchased Berkeley-based Trumer Pils, which subsequently closed its brewery and moved production to Paso Robles, [as SFGate reported](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/trumer-pils-berkeley-closure-22160675.php?ref=sfist.com).
Sapporo’s California beer holdings have also undergone major changes since the Japanese brewing giant acquired Stone. Sapporo shut down San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing [in 2023](https://sfist.com/2023/07/12/no-more-anchor-steam-beer/), and the Anchor brand was purchased the following year by [Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya](https://sfist.com/2024/05/31/chobani-yogurt-founder-buys-anchor-brewing-plans-to-reopen-brewery-soon/). Production at Anchor’s Potrero Hill brewery has yet to resume, but there have been [some recent signs of life](https://www.kqed.org/news/12089758/iconic-illustrated-anchor-steam-labels-appear-headed-for-revival?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [Chobani Yogurt Founder Buys Anchor Brewing, Plans to Reopen Brewery Soon](https://sfist.com/2024/05/31/chobani-yogurt-founder-buys-anchor-brewing-plans-to-reopen-brewery-soon/)
### Hawk Fire Now 87% Contained, Thousands of Evacuees Return Home
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/hawk-fire-now-87-contained-thousands-of-evacuees-return-home/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T20:19:07.000Z
The crisis has passed and the Hawk Fire, which destroyed almost 50 homes and had been threatening the entire city of Reno over the weekend, is now almost fully contained.
The Hawk Fire, which burned over 15,000 acres northwest of Reno, Nevada, is now 87% contained. As [ABC 10 reports](https://www.abc10.com/video/news/local/wildfire/nearly-9000-people-return-home-as-hawk-fire-reaches-87-containment/103-94f08480-614f-439a-9e6e-89664eea78a5?ref=sfist.com), 5,000 residents remain under evacuation orders, but around 9,000 residents were able to return home Tuesday and Wednesday after orders were lifted.
47 homes and one commercial building were destroyed in the fire, primarily in subdivisions that sit just north of Highway 395, near the Sierra Sage Golf Course and Silver Lake, west of Lemmon Valley and northwest of Reno. As [KOLO reports](https://www.kolotv.com/2026/08/26/homeowners-return-see-whats-left-their-homes-after-being-burned-by-hawk-fire/?ref=sfist.com), multiple homes burned on Peppermint Drive, which runs near 395, and homeowners were returning to assess the damage on Tuesday.
**Firefighters pack their truck after responding to a burned building during the Hawk Fire on August 23, 2026 in Reno, Nevada. The wildfire spread from the Sierra foothills towards Reno, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes. Officials said the fire was human-caused. (Photo by Trevor Bexon/Getty Images)*
Ricardo Arrate, who has lived in the Reno area for 68 years, lost his home of 20 years on a remote road on Peavine Mountain. He told KOLO that firefighters tried to save it, but he ended up caravanning off the mountain with the firefighters, and the flames, behind him.
"It got so bad that the captain said, ‘It’s time to leave.’ So, I got in my truck, and I drove away and I looked in my rearview mirror, and all the firemen were following me. So, I knew if the firemen were evacuating it wasn’t looking good," Arrate told the station.
**Ricardo Arrate's home on Peavine Mountain, via GoFundMe*
Arrate vowed to rebuild his home, and his granddaughter has [launched a GoFundMe](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-grandpa-rebuild-after-the-hawk-fire?lang=en%5FGB&cp%5Fsrc=d&ref=sfist.com) to help.
The Hawk Fire, which officials say was human-caused, began around 11:20 am Saturday in the area of the Sierra Front, the eastern slope of the mountain range along the California-Nevada border. Hot, dry conditions led to a fast expansion of the blaze, and at one point Sunday 42,000 residents were under evacuation orders, with tens of thousands more under evacuation warnings.
60,000 power customers were without power at the fire's peak, but that number was down to 6,000 on Tuesday, [per the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/us/reno-nevada-hawk-fire.html?ref=sfist.com).
As of Monday, fire activity had calmed and containment efforts came together quickly.
People headed early to Burning Man were being told to change plans and not to occupy hotel rooms in Reno unnecessarily, due to the large number of evacuees needing hotel rooms. But now it will be full steam ahead, with the gates officially open for most Burners on Sunday at 12:01 am.
**Previously:** [32 Homes Destroyed In Hawk Fire So Far](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/32-homes-destroyed-in-hawk-fire-so-far/)
### Suspect In Oakland Stabbing Spree Was Homeless, Police Say; Victim Often Fed Homeless In Park
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/suspect-in-oakland-stabbing-spree-was-homeless-police-say-victim-often-fed-homeless-in-park/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T18:23:32.000Z
Oakland police have so far declined to publicly identify the individual suspected of stabbing five people, one fatally, on Monday evening in East Oakland, but police say he is homeless and one or more of his victims was as well.
The [stabbing spree began around 7:20 pm](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/stabbing-spree-in-oakland-leaves-one-dead-four-wounded-suspect-arrested/) in Cesar Chavez Park, near 38th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, and the first victim, who died from his injuries, has been identified by family members as a man who often brought home-cooked meals to the homeless in the park. As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/suspect-oakland-stabbings-is-homeless-some-victims-police-say?ref=sfist.com), the victim was 58-year-old Gonsalo Lopez, whose family says he recently returned from Honduras and had taken his bicycle over to the park, as he often did.
Disturbing cellphone and surveillance video captured three of the other stabbings, including one that happened moments after the park stabbing at a nearby gas station.
The suspect proceeded to the Fruitvale BART station, where he allegedly found another random victim to stab. And he then walked out onto International Boulevard, where he was seen brutally stabbing a woman walking on the sidewalk, as well as someone riding on the back of a passing scooter.
Bystanders were able to direct arriving police officers toward the suspect, who reportedly dropped his weapon after being ordered to do so, and was peacefully arrested.
The attacks all appear to have been random, which has put local residents and business owners on edge, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-stabbings-arrest-22402640.php?ref=sfist.com).
"It’s very unsafe," says Fruitvale area resident Jamar Armstead, speaking to the Chronicle, adding that he was once held up at gunpoint outside his home on 38th Avenue. "There needs to be some changes, and we need to start funding at least more police or more programs," Armstead said.
"There’s too many crimes around this area — robberies and fights," says Mohammed Aldhari, a worker at a nearby market, speaking to the Chronicle.
Presumably when charges are filed in the next day or so, we will learn the identity of the suspect, though it has been withheld so far for unknown reasons.
**Previously:** [Stabbing Spree In Oakland Leaves One Dead, Four Wounded; Suspect Arrested](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/stabbing-spree-in-oakland-leaves-one-dead-four-wounded-suspect-arrested/)
### Meta Agrees to $17 Billion Settlement In Social Media Addiction Lawsuit From 47 States
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/meta-agrees-to-17-billion-settlement-in-social-media-addiction-lawsuit-from-47-states/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T20:16:07.000Z
Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion to settle a case alleging that it designed its platforms to be addictive and harmful to children, ending a federal trial in Oakland that could have cost the company up to $1.4 trillion and put Mark Zuckerberg on the stand.
The settlement was reached as the trial had just gotten underway at the Oakland federal courthouse, where California Attorney General Rob Bonta was leading the case with attorneys general from Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, [as CBS News reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/meta-settles-social-media-addiction-lawsuit/?ref=sfist.com). The states had accused Meta of designing its platforms to be addictive, misleading users about the risks, and improperly collecting data from children under 13 in violation of COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
The settlement covers claims brought by 47 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories, and requires Meta to add new child-safety measures to its platforms. [According to KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/meta-agrees-settle-social-media-addiction-case-up-16b?ref=sfist.com), the trial, which began with opening arguments on August 18, has been suspended while the agreement is reviewed by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
The case began in 2023 with 29 states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, and eventually grew into a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general seeking roughly $200 billion from the company.
The stakes were considerably higher if the case went to a full trial, as Meta faced potential penalties of up to $1.4 trillion — nearly the company’s total market value, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg was expected to testify about the company’s handling of child safety, per KTVU.
“Meta wouldn’t settle unless it sees the writing on the wall and feels really exposed,” said Nora Freeman Engstrom, a law professor at Stanford University, speaking to [the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/technology/meta-settlement-social-media-addiction-lawsuit.html?ref=sfist.com).
The company separately agreed Wednesday to pay about $1 billion to settle a similar case brought by Texas.
The proposed agreement calls for Meta to pay more than $16.8 billion, with more than $2 billion reportedly earmarked for California. About $12 billion would be distributed to the participating states over 10 years. Meta said it would pay the remaining $5 billion if YouTube, TikTok, and Snap agree to implement similar protections for young users and match their share of the payment, per the Times.
[As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/meta-teen-account-changes-instagram-facebook-22404378.php?utm%5Fsource=pushly), the settlement would also require Meta to make changes to Facebook and Instagram within months, including stronger age-assurance measures, parental controls, and restrictions on how minors use the platforms. Users under 18 would have daily usage limits that only parents could lift, with default restrictions including a two-hour daily cap, blocked use between midnight and 6 am, and no notifications during school hours or overnight.
The company will also stop showing "like" counts to minors and remove cosmetic surgery filters on Instagram. Under the settlement the company will also be required to respond to 90% of teen reports involving potentially harmful content within six hours, while giving users under 18 the option of a feed that does not use algorithms designed to encourage endless scrolling. Content controls would also be strengthened around bullying, eating disorders, self-harm, and other potentially harmful material.
“Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” Bonta said. “Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months.”
The states’ case included testimony from former Meta engineering director Arturo Béjar, who said the company designed its platforms to keep users engaged even when that engagement could harm their mental health, according to CBS News.
“If you step away from the product, they are not going to make any money,” Béjar testified.
Per the Chronicle, the proposed settlement comes as California lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit social media companies from allowing children under 16 to create accounts, a measure Governor Gavin Newsom has indicated he supports. Bonta said California’s share of the settlement would be directed toward preventing or addressing mental health and other harms to young people associated with social media.
Meta has reportedly characterized the agreement as a new industry standard and said it wants other social media companies to adopt similar measures.
“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said, per the Chronicle. “We want to get this right for parents and teens, and that’s why we partnered with state attorneys general to set a new industry standard.”
The company continues to face thousands of lawsuits from states, school districts, and individual teenagers alleging that its platforms are addictive and harmful to children. Some of the individual cases are scheduled for trial in California in October, while separate federal cases involving Meta and other social media companies are being heard in Oakland, according to the Times.
Meta and YouTube lost their first [personal-injury trial in March](https://sfist.com/2026/03/25/meta-and-google-found-liable-in-landmark-social-media-addiction-case-meta-also-found-liable-in-child-exploitation-case/), resulting in $6 million in damages, and a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay nearly $1 billion this month over [consumer-protection violations involving child safety](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/meta-ordered-to-pay-567m-implement-safeguards-as-part-of-new-mexico-child-mental-health-trial/). Meta has said it will continue fighting the remaining cases.
**Related:** [Meta Ordered to Pay $567M, Implement Safeguards as Part of New Mexico Child Mental Health Trial](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/meta-ordered-to-pay-567m-implement-safeguards-as-part-of-new-mexico-child-mental-health-trial/)
*Top image caption: California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at a news conference after court at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on August 18, 2026 in Oakland, California. State attorneys general are alleging that Meta attempted to deceive the public by allowing features on their platforms, Facebook and Instagram, that harm children's mental health and are intended to be addictive. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)*
### Humpday Headlines: Car Flips In Portola District
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/26/humpday-headlines-car-flips-in-portola/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T16:47:11.000Z
- **A car flipped on its side after apparently crashing into several parked cars in the Portola district Wednesday morning.** The crash happened around 8:45 am in the area of Bacon Street and Goettingen Street, and it's not clear if there were injuries. \[[Citizen](https://business.citizen.com/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An armed robbery suspect was fatally shot by police in San Jose Tuesday after the suspect allegedly shot and wounded a police officer. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/suspect-killed-by-police-after-shooting-officer-in-san-jose-home/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- SF Supervisor Connie Chan is pushing back on her critics, and congressional race rival Scott Wiener, who say she's an obstructionist especially when it comes to building housing, insisting that she's only giving voice to her community. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/connie-chan-scott-wiener-congress-nancy-pelosi-22384371.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An ESPN commentator didn't realize she was on camera when she was reacting to the sordid details of 49ers owner [Jed York's prostitution arrest](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/details-emerge-from-jed-yorks-prostitution-arrest/) in Ohio. \[[HuffPost](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mina-kimes-reaction-jed-york-arrest-details%5Fn%5F6a8ef426e4b0229baac3f22b?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A group of elderly residents at a low-income housing complex at 1501 Alice Street in Oakland, most of them monolingual Chinese immigrants, have formed a tenants union and are angry at their landlord over the building's lack of security. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/section-8-downtown-oakland-22397243.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Actor Tim Curry, famous for roles in *The Rocky Horror Picture Show* and *Clue*, passed away Tuesday at his Los Angeles home, at age 80\. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/entertainment-news/rocky-horror-picture-show-star-tim-curry-dead-at-80-tmz/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Americans who travel abroad, often to Latin America, to receive psychedelic treatments that are illegal in the US, face the potential for injury or death and have little recourse if something goes wrong. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/health/psychedelic-treaments-ibogaine-mexico.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: 95-Foot Illuminated Installation Launches on Market Street
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/day-around-the-bay-95-foot-illuminated-installation-launches-on-market-street/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T02:43:37.000Z
### Local:
- SFMOMA, Museum of the African Diaspora, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts have launched a public art partnership called [Yerba Buena Illuminated](https://yerbabuena.org/art/yerba-buena-illuminated?ref=sfist.com), which first features Los Angeles artist Jennifer Steinkamp’s 95-foot piece, [*It’s a nice day for a white wedding*](https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/jennifer-steinkamp-its-a-nice-day-for-a-white-wedding/?ref=sfist.com), projected onto the Humboldt Bank Building at 785 Market Street. \[[Chronicle\]](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/arts-exhibits/article/sf-yerba-buena-illuminated-22401524.php?ref=sfist.com)
- Japheth Dillman of San Francisco was convicted Monday of wire fraud and conspiracy, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, after allegedly cheating investors out of almost $1 million in a cryptocurrency trading scheme. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/man-convicted-in-san-francisco-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Sunday Streets had a successful event in Bayview over the weekend with support from the Civic Space Foundation and African American Arts & Cultural District after city funding for the street festival was cut in February. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sunday-streets-sf-bayview-block-party-22392004.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawT69b1wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTdBVk9CdG1BSHN5eTF2S0tzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEejmAn6g0gwMoe7ncaZIT7qy4NLqwAUe6lfkL9blzUJ-1i6VlU7EL9KF5o1YY%5Faem%5F325I54rhTGxlVI0uGBNCsg&utm%5Fcampaign=mrf-facebook-SFChronicle&utm%5Fsource=facebook&utm%5Fmedium=social&mrfcid=202608246a8b99ddc2023c77c9a2e608)\]
### National:
- A California man was arrested in Washington DC Tuesday after US Capitol Police spotted a guillotine in the bed of his pickup truck. \[[NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/man-arrested-guillotine-found-pickup-truck-capitol-rcna594442?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Developer Lennar Homes wants to build a subdivision in Shafter, California, outside Bakersfield — on land that’s planned for the installation of high-speed rail tracks. \[[California Post](https://nypost.com/2026/08/25/real-estate/california-high-speed-rail-might-be-derailed-by-plans-for-new-homes/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Fans have been piling bouquets of flowers on Dolly Parton’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star, and tributes from fellow celebrities have been pouring in following [the announcement of her death](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/ugh-no-dolly-parton-has-died-at-age-80/) Tuesday. \[[TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2026/08/25/dolly-parton-hollywood-walk-of-fame-star-memorial/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Enjoy this brilliant scene from the classic, 1972 screwball comedy, *What’s Up, Doc?*, featuring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal leading a chase down an SF hill and narrowly missing a large pane of glass.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcTqtYvo2hF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by PreachCinema (@preachcinemaa)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcTqtYvo2hF/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Local Chocolatier to Open Culinary Institute In SF’s Dogpatch
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/local-chocolatier-to-open-culinary-institute-in-sfs-dogpatch/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T00:29:47.000Z
Iranian chef and master chocolatier Shekoh Moossavi, whose culinary career spans more than 30 years, is opening a culinary institute at her Dogpatch studio, with virtual and in-person classes beginning next month.
Moossavi will launch the [Shekoh Culinary Institute](https://www.shekohculinaryinstitute.com/?ref=sfist.com) in September from her second-floor studio at 2565 Third Street, where students will be able to take hands-on workshops covering everything from basic kitchen techniques to Persian and European cooking, [as 48 Hills reports](https://48hills.org/2026/08/good-taste-sf-confectioner-opens-a-sweet-and-affordable-cooking-school/?ref=sfist.com).
The first two in-person sessions, beginning September 9, will draw on Moossavi’s upbringing in Iran and the culinary traditions that have influenced her work. She is also accepting students for French and Italian cuisine classes, weekend chocolate workshops, and additional courses planned for October.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db64drJzbkn/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Shekoh Culinary Institute (@shekohculinaryinstitute)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db64drJzbkn/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
The in-person classes will be limited to 10 participants and run for about two hours, with prices ranging from $120 to $150.
Moossavi is also offering a catalog of $35 online classes for beginner and intermediate students. The courses include knife skills and stocks, French mother sauces, breakfast and brunch, and signature cocktails, with additional lessons covering hors d’oeuvres and classic and contemporary cocktails, per 48 Hills.
According to [the San Francisco Examiner](https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/community/dogpatch-chocolatier-launching-san-francisco-culinary-class/article%5F45bcd6ee-7661-4955-b792-71dbf80217d4.html?ref=sfist.com), Moossavi said the idea for virtual classes came partly from family and friends living abroad who regularly told her they wished they could come to San Francisco to take her classes. The online format gives her a way to reach those students, along with people who simply discover the institute while browsing online.
Chocolate will also have a prominent place in the curriculum. Students can learn to make bonbons, the confection Moossavi has become known for in the Bay Area, including the Persian-inspired combinations that reflect her background and years spent in Europe. Per the Examiner, Moossavi’s chocolates incorporate flavors such as saffron and orange blossom.
Before moving to San Francisco, Moossavi reportedly operated cafés on the Peninsula in the early 2010s and held cooking classes for groups of up to 10 people at her restaurants on her days off.
Moossavi also previously worked as a chef and instructor at Culinary Institute LeNotre in Houston and at The Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, Florida, before joining the San Francisco location. She later earned master-chocolatier credentials in Canada and France, including studying at Valrhona École du Grand Chocolat.
The Examiner reports that Moossavi opened her online chocolate business, Shekoh Confections, about a year ago, which she operates from the same Third Street kitchen. Her products have also been served at Ritz-Carlton hotels in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, and Lake Tahoe.
Susan Eslick, treasurer of the Dogpatch Art and Business Association, said the institute is a natural fit for the neighborhood.
“Dogpatch has a long history of makers, artisans and creative businesses,” Eslick said, speaking to the Examiner. “A culinary institute where people can learn and participate sounds like a wonderful addition to that tradition.”
Moossavi said teaching has been part of her career for decades, but the new institute will give her a dedicated space to make it a larger part of her work. She said the classes will expand as demand allows, with individualized lessons also planned.
“Somebody took the time to teach me,” Moossavi told the Examiner. “I went through my learning curve as well.”
Moossavi said she wants to pass that experience along to home cooks looking to improve their skills, as well as people considering a career in the culinary field.
“I don’t think I will ever retire,” she said. “I love my job. From this point on, teaching will be the main portion of my career and sharing what I know with other people.”
**Related:** [The Mess Hall, With Three Restaurants, a Bar and Market, Opens In the Presidio Tunnel Tops Park on Saturday](https://sfist.com/2026/08/14/the-mess-hall-with-three-restaurants-bar-opens-in-presidio/)
### First of What Are Likely to Be Many Drag Tributes to Dolly Set for Friday In the Castro
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/first-of-what-are-likely-to-be-many-drag-tributes-to-dolly-set-for-friday-in-the-castro/
Last updated: 2026-08-26T00:01:17.000Z
A drag show tribute and celebration of life for the great Dolly Parton has already been scheduled for Friday, and San Francisco is likely to see more events, drag and otherwise, in the coming days.
The first of what will surely be many local tributes to Dolly Parton was announced Tuesday afternoon, hours after [we learned that the great singer, actress, and icon had passed](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/ugh-no-dolly-parton-has-died-at-age-80/) at age 80\. This first event, which will be both a drag queen tribute and celebration of life for Parton, is happening at Beaux, with the showtime listed as 9:30 pm Friday, August 28.
The show will be led by *Rupaul's Drag Race* runner-up Lady Camden, and will feature at least eight other performers, including Adriana Roy, Bionic Simon, Amoura Teese, Pony Bambino, and more.
And for the audience, big hair and rhinestones are encouraged.
"Like so many of you, we are heartbroken by the news of Dolly Parton’s passing," the organizers write. "Dolly meant so much to so many of us. Her music has been part of our lives for generations, but it was also her humor, kindness, generosity, acceptance and unapologetic spirit that made her so deeply loved — especially within the LGBTQ+ community."
"So this Friday, we want to do what our community does best: come together," the continue. "Not simply to mourn Dolly, but to celebrate her. To sing the songs, share the memories, laugh, dance, dress up and fill Beaux with the joy she gave all of us."
Prior to the 9:30 (or 10 pm-ish) show, VJ Aki promises to be showing Dolly Parton music videos and video of her performances throughout the night.
[Purchase advance tickets for Friday's event here](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dolly-parton-tribute-i-will-always-love-you-drag-show-celebration-tickets-1998922975429?ref=sfist.com).
And don't be surprised if City Hall gets lit up in a coat of many colors tonight! (We have no inside information on this, but City Hall was [lit up purple on the night of Prince's untimely death](https://sfist.com/2016/04/22/all%5Fthe%5Fthings%5Fthat%5Fwere%5Flit%5Fup%5Fpur/) ten years ago.)
### Anthropic Tells Staff to Work From Home Due to Potential Security Workers’ Strike
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/anthropic-tells-staff-to-work-from-home-due-to-potential-security-workers-strike/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T22:25:16.000Z
Security company Allied Universal warned Anthropic that its workers might go on strike, prompting the AI company to order its staff to work from home, but the security guards’ union said it knew nothing about the strike.
Anthropic told employees at its San Francisco offices to stay home Monday and Tuesday after receiving notice from its security contractor, Allied Universal, that its workers could potentially walk off the job, [as Business Insider reports](https://www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-san-francisco-staff-work-remote-office-security-strike-2026-8?ref=sfist.com). The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents many of the security workers, told the outlet it had neither authorized a strike nor threatened one for this week.
The union reportedly said it has been engaged in lengthy contract negotiations with Allied and other California security companies since April. The union represents thousands of security workers statewide and is seeking higher wages, improved healthcare benefits, and more extensive job training.
Neither company responded to requests for comment.
According to Business Insider, Anthropic generally requires employees to work from its offices at least 25% of the time under its hybrid policy. Security concerns have also become an increasingly prominent issue across the tech industry, with [The Wall Street Journal reporting](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/the-ai-backlash-has-tech-executives-fearing-for-their-lives-30c43972?ref=sfist.com) threats against employees at both Anthropic and [OpenAI](https://sfist.com/2026/04/10/molotov-cocktail-thrown-at-sam-altmans-house-suspect-arrested-outside-openai-headquarters/).
The timing comes as Anthropic prepares for a potential initial public offering. The company made a [confidential filing in June](https://sfist.com/2026/06/01/like-open-ai-anthropic-makes-sec-filing-ahead-of-possible-ipo/) and could file publicly as soon as August, while secondary-market trading has reportedly pushed its valuation to about $1.5 trillion.
Allied Universal has also faced scrutiny in recent years. [Oaklandside reported](https://oaklandside.org/2025/12/17/oakland-leaders-reluctantly-extend-security-contract-again/?ref=sfist.com) last year that the City of Oakland withdrew a proposed contract with the company after it was revealed that one of its subsidiaries works with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The city also found what it described as a “shocking” number of lawsuits and violations involving Allied.
Earlier this month, Allied became the subject of a lawsuit over the theft of [two shipping containers](https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/risk-compliance-legal/stolen-containers-vanish-on-allied-universals-watch-insurers-lawsuit-claims-585930.aspx?ref=sfist.com) holding about $858,000 worth of merchandise from a Mercedes-Benz facility in Fontana, California, while the property was under the company’s guards’ watch. The complaint alleges that the guards failed to properly monitor surveillance footage, detect unauthorized vehicles entering the property, patrol the facility, or control access to the site.
**Related:** [Like OpenAI, Anthropic Makes SEC Filing Ahead of Possible IPO](https://sfist.com/2026/06/01/like-open-ai-anthropic-makes-sec-filing-ahead-of-possible-ipo/)
### United Airlines Announces Major Route Expansion, Adding New SFO-to-Okinawa Nonstop
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/united-airlines-announces-major-route-expansion-adding-new-sfo-to-okinawa-nonstop/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T21:50:49.000Z
United Airlines on Tuesday announced what they said is the airline's biggest expansion in the company's history, adding 10 new nonstop routes — most of them out of their Newark hub, but one is being added at SFO.
In a [Tuesday announcement](https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements/cision-125479?ref=sfist.com) and press push, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby explained that, thanks in part to the FAA allowing more "slots" or takeoff and landing authorizations at Newark, and thanks to airline manufacturers catching up to a backlog of new plane orders, United is expanding its service to new destinations in Europe and Asia.
"We've been adding a lot of new cities each year in the past several years," Kirby said, [speaking to *CBS Mornings*](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/united-airlines-new-international-routes/?ref=sfist.com) host Gayle King today. "It's more this year, partly because the aircraft manufacturers have caught up."
Among the 10 new international routes being added beginning in March 2027 will be three weekly nonstop flights from San Francisco to Okinawa — a tropical getaway spot that is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. According to the announcement, United will also be resuming its three weekly nonstop flights between SFO and Tel Aviv — the route has been suspended multiple times since October 2023 due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
The other nine additional routes being added are:
- Washington Dulles (IAD) to Toulouse, France
- Newark (EWR) to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- Newark (EWR) to Marseille, France
- Newark (EWR) to Ibiza, Spain
- Newark (EWR) to Valencia, Spain
- Newark (EWR) to Terceira, Portugal
- Newark (EWR) to Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Newark (EWR) to Olbia (Sardinia), Italy
- Newark (EWR) to Catania (Sicily), Italy
Also, new daily nonstop service from LAX to Osaka, Japan is being added in March — with United becoming the only US carrier to serve Osaka from two continental US cities. Daily nonstop service from Denver to Paris will begin May 27\. And while United is already the US carrier serving the most destinations in Italy, new thrice-weekly nonstop service is being added in May from Dulles to Milan.
The airline was also touting the launch of the new 'Born to Explore' Airbus A321XLR, a single-aisle aircraft with 20 closing-door Polaris suites, Starlink wi-fi, 4K OLED screens with Bluetooth connectivity, and a new snack bar in Economy. The new aircraft will serve Ibiza, Luxembourg, Marseille, Toulouse, and Valencia, among other destinations. The aircraft will begin serving some domestic routes starting next month, and transition to international routes beginning with two out of Dulles, to Amsterdam and Dublin.
"The creative and strategic way we've expanded our international network since the pandemic has made all the difference, not only for our customers and employees, but also as a way to differentiate United and build a brand focused on customers," said Kirby in an official statement.
Service in and out of SFO is also expected to improve after [a change two weeks ago](https://sfist.com/2026/08/12/faa-announces-new-landing-procedure-to-speed-up-arrivals-at-sfo/) that allows for more closely spaced landings, following a change enforced by the FAA in March regarding the airport's longstanding practice of parallel landings on its two main runways — which led to widespread delays at the airport.
### SoCal Sheriff Chad Bianco Faces California Supreme Court Over Seizure of 650,000 Ballots
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/socal-sheriff-chad-bianco-faces-california-supreme-court-over-seizure-of-650-000-ballots/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T20:40:05.000Z
Two lawsuits before the California Supreme Court challenge Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of 1,000 boxes of November 2025 ballots, in a special election for a measure redrawing congressional districts that passed in his county by about 80,000 votes.
The two cases began Monday at the California Supreme Court in San Francisco, where the justices questioned Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s attorney about the sheriff’s authority to seize and retain the ballots, [as CalMatters reports](https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/riverside-county-ballot-seizure-supreme-court/?ref=sfist.com). The court appeared skeptical of several of his arguments.
Bianco seized the ballots in March after a local citizens' group raised questions about the number of votes counted in the November election. The county registrar had reportedly already told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors that the group’s concerns were based on a misunderstanding and that there was no discrepancy that would have changed the election’s outcome.
[According to Sacramento Bee](https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article316967864.html?ref=sfist.com), Bianco nevertheless announced that his office would conduct its own recount and obtained search warrants from Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel, an ally of Bianco’s. The sheriff ultimately seized about 1,000 boxes containing roughly 650,000 ballots and other election materials. Bianco was also running for governor at the time.
The seizure prompted two lawsuits, one brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and another by the UCLA Voting Rights Project on behalf of four Riverside County voters. Both cases are challenging Bianco’s authority to take custody of the ballots and conduct his own investigation.
Bonta reportedly ordered Bianco to stop the investigation and return the ballots, but the sheriff declined to comply. Bianco’s office began counting the seized ballots before the California Supreme Court ordered him to stop in April, per the Bee. The justices have not yet ordered the ballots returned.
The attorney general’s lawsuit also centers on whether Bonta has authority to direct a county sheriff. Per CalMatters, California Solicitor General Sam Harbourt argued at the hearing Monday that the state Constitution gives the attorney general “direct supervision” over sheriffs, while Bianco’s attorney, Bradley Hertz, argued that the sheriff could rely on the search warrants issued by Judge Kiel.
The second lawsuit focuses more directly on the seizure itself. Chad Dunn of the UCLA Voting Rights Project told the justices that California election law requires ballots to remain in the custody of election officials and establishes specific procedures for recounts and election investigations.
“The election code provides a process” for handling ballots, Dunn told the court per CalMatters, arguing that the code requires any recount to be conducted publicly by trained election officials, rather than by sheriff’s deputies operating under criminal search warrants. He pointed specifically to state law stating that ballots may not be taken from the custody of the elections official.
The case has reportedly drawn broader attention due to Bianco's association with the so-called “[constitutional sheriff](https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/constitutional-sheriffs/?ref=sfist.com)” movement, which holds that elected sheriffs can resist laws they believe are unconstitutional and exercise broad authority within their counties.
Hertz argued that the search warrants changed the legal equation, saying criminal-investigation laws must be considered alongside the election laws governing ballot custody. But Justice Kelli Evans questioned that interpretation, pointing to the election law’s explicit language that ballots should be kept in election officials’ custody “in no event.”
The justices also pressed Hertz over the scope of the sheriff’s argument that his office could take the ballots under a warrant. Per CalMatters, Justices Goodwin Liu and Leondra Kruger questioned whether that reasoning could potentially allow law enforcement to seize ballots while voting was still underway.
Bonta’s case also argues that Bianco’s investigation lacked the legal basis for the seizure. According to the Bee, his office said no formal complaint challenging the election had been filed within the deadline established by state law, and that the citizens' group’s original concerns had already been addressed by Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco.
The attorney general warned that allowing Bianco to retain the ballots could undermine public confidence in elections — which was likely the point, taking a page of Trump's playbook — particularly because the sheriff continued with the investigation after being ordered to stop.
“The Sheriff’s misguided investigation threatens to sow distrust and jeopardize public confidence in the upcoming primary and general elections, not just in Riverside County but around the State,” Bonta said in a brief, per the Bee.
The UCLA lawsuit similarly argues that the seizure endangered the security and integrity of the election.
“Every day that ballots are handled outside the view of the public or outside the proscriptions of the legislature it’s incredibly harmful for our democracy,” said attorney Sonni Waknin.
The Legislature responded to the seizure this spring by passing a law making it a felony to remove ballots from a county registrar of voters, as the Bee reports. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the measure in May.
The November election at the center of the dispute included [Proposition 50](https://sfist.com/2026/01/14/federal-court-says-prop-50-gerrymander-is-good-to-go-cites-supreme-court-ruling-on-texas-maps/), which redrew California’s congressional districts in response to a Republican-backed redistricting effort in Texas. The measure passed statewide and in Riverside County by roughly 80,000 votes, which means Bianco’s recount would not have changed the outcome.
Both lawsuits now await decisions from the state Supreme Court, which is expected to take several weeks. If the cases are subsequently appealed, they could ultimately reach the US Supreme Court.
**Related:** [Federal Court Says Prop 50 Gerrymander Is Good to Go, Cites Supreme Court Ruling on Texas Maps](https://sfist.com/2026/01/14/federal-court-says-prop-50-gerrymander-is-good-to-go-cites-supreme-court-ruling-on-texas-maps/)
### Ugh, No. Dolly Parton Has Died at Age 80
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/ugh-no-dolly-parton-has-died-at-age-80/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T19:51:33.000Z
The fearful rumors about Dolly Parton's health in the last year have, apparently, been well founded, and the American music legend and pop culture icon has passed.
News arrived Tuesday morning that country music star and overall national treasure Dolly Parton has died at age 80\. Her nephew Bryan Seaver made the announcement via video, which was [posted to Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/stories/dollyparton/?ref=sfist.com) and other platforms.
"This video announcement was something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality," Seaver said. "As her head of security for more than two decades... I have imagined the heaviness of this moment, but have not fully absorbed it until now."
Parton's last public appearance was in June, when she attended a ribbon-cutting event for Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop. For months, she had been complaining of health issues, feeling "swimmy headed," and having some digestive and immune troubles. These led her to postpone and then cancel a planned Las Vegas residency, which further concerned her many fans.
Long known as a brilliant and prolific songwriter, Parton was perhaps best known just for her buxom blonde persona, crafted out of a backwoods upbringing in rural Tennessee, and a look she herself dubbed "Backwoods Barbie." As the [New York Times puts it](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/arts/music/dolly-parton-dead.html?ref=sfist.com), "Ms. Parton cannily exploited — and transcended — rural stereotypes and kitsch to fashion a down-home chic entirely her own."
Parton racked up a total of 25 number-one hits on the country charts, and was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — the [latter in 2022](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dolly-parton-rock-hall-induction-speech-1234624706/?ref=sfist.com) after some hesitation on her part, because she didn't understand that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had inducted a broad range of artists who could not be called rock performers.
Parton was also honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006, when her longtime friend Emmylou Harris said of her, "I can’t imagine anybody, especially in country, who doesn’t try to emulate Dolly in some way."
Parton became a movie star in the 1980s, appearing in iconic films like *9 to 5* and *Steel Magnolias*.
San Francisco fans rang in Parton's 80th birthday [in January at the Make-Out Room](https://sfist.com/2026/01/16/a-dolly-parton-80th-birthday-bash-is-happening-sunday-at-the-make-out-room-so-steel-your-magnolias/), complete with a Dolly look-alike contest. Her last appearance in San Francisco was a free show at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park in October 2005, which drew thousands to what's now called Hellman Hollow — some hanging out of trees and perched precariously on hillsides to take in the show.
As Seaver says in the video announcement, "Sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by \[her late husband\] Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens."
Parton's final public stage performance was at her namesake theme park, Dollywood, in March 2025, as [Rolling Stone notes](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dolly-parton-celebrate-the-dreamer-final-concert-1235614941/?ref=sfist.com). Just 11 days after losing her husband, Carl Dean, Parton made an appearance on opening day of Dollywood's 40th anniversary year, taking the stage to sing "Celebrate the Dreamer in You," a song she wrote for the park's 25th anniversary.
"She performed the song completely by herself on acoustic guitar, and we’re very fortunate that at least one fan captured it on their phone," Rolling Stone writes.
### Details Emerge From Jed York's Prostitution Arrest
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/details-emerge-from-jed-yorks-prostitution-arrest/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T19:16:55.000Z
Since Monday, more details have arrived about the prostitution sting that 49ers owner Jed York allegedly, unwittingly got himself caught up in Ohio — and we've also learned that York had filed for divorce back in May.
After learning that the wealthy owner of the San Francisco 49ers [got arrested in a trailer park in Ohio](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/49ers-owner-jed-york-arrested-in-ohio-possibly-for-engaging-in-prostitution/) over the weekend for allegedly soliciting a prostitute who was actually an undercover cop, all we could think was, "Well, that's sad."
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/jed-york-arrest-ohio-report-22402793.php?ref=sfist.com) via police documents they obtained out of East Palestine, Ohio, the details only paint a sadder picture. And, it seems, money can't buy you the wisdom to seek out a sex worker from a more reputable venue than a sex-ad website — possibly Craigslist?!
The basic details, per the police records: York responded to a sex-work ad on a "known prostitution website" on Saturday, texting a number that was posted there and saying his name was "Joe." When he didn't receive a response, York allegedly texted the number two more times, the last on Sunday morning, asking of the woman was free and saying he'd "love to come see her." He was apparently told that the price for sex was $160, and it was $20 extra if it was unprotected.
York then allegedly drove an Avis rental car to the mobile home park in East Palestine after being given a fake lot number there, and was arrested by police with $160 in cash on his person. The "possession of criminal tools" charge that was initially reported on top of the solicitation charge apparently referred to his cellphone.
He pleaded no contest on Monday to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct, and was sentenced to time served.
According to the Chronicle, over two pages of the 10-page police report was redacted, including much of the text exchange between York and the undercover officer. But we know that he made reference to his California area code, saying that he "used to live there."
It's since been widely reported that York filed for divorce from his wife of 15 years, Danielle Belluomini, in Santa Clara County Superior Court on May 11, the day after Mother's Day. The couple has two children together, and a home in Los Altos Hills.
So, it's possible that York was spending the summer with friends and family in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, or that he has temporarily relocated there after the divorce filing.
In a late Monday report, the [Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/east-palestine-prostitution-jed-york-22401615.php?ref=sfist.com) that East Palestine has become something of a hot spot for prostitution stings, and it's known enough for this that area sex workers will decline to take clients there. More than a third of the arrests that took place in the whole state of Ohio for soliciting prostitution took place in Columbiana County, the home of East Palestine, between 2019 and 2025, according to [a state AG's report](https://www.reviewonline.com/news/local-news/2026/06/valley-leads-state-in-human-trafficking-arrests/?ref=sfist.com), a total of 710.
And the East Palestine Police Department has one detective in particular who is part of the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, which is known for its decoy sting operations using online ads.
The embarrassing arrest now hangs over the opening of the 49ers' season, which has already been beset by injuries.
As Chronicle sports columnist [Ann Killion writes](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/annkillion/article/jed-york-s-arrest-embarrasses-49ers-signals-22401333.php?ref=sfist.com), the incident is not only an embarrassment for the team, but also signals "a huge leadership void." And, Killion notes, it seems the whole league "would surely like this whole embarrassing incident to go away, as evidenced by the muted coverage of York’s arrest on ESPN, which now owns NFL Network."
**Previously:** [49ers Owner Jed York Arrested In Ohio for Engaging In Prostitution](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/49ers-owner-jed-york-arrested-in-ohio-possibly-for-engaging-in-prostitution/)
### Stabbing Spree In Oakland Leaves One Dead, Four Wounded; Suspect Arrested
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/stabbing-spree-in-oakland-leaves-one-dead-four-wounded-suspect-arrested/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T17:36:54.000Z
Oakland police arrested a stabbing suspect Monday night after an alleged spree of stabbings in four separate locations, and following a foot pursuit.
It was a scary night in East Oakland, in the area of Foothill Boulevard, 38th Avenue, and the Fruitvale BART station, after a male suspect went on a stabbing spree that left one victim dead.
The fatal stabbing was the first to occur, around 7:21 pm, in Cesar Chavez Park near 38th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, in the Saint Elizabeth neighborhood. Police responded to the park on a report of someone possibly shot, and they found a male victim instead suffering from multiple stab wounds, as OPD Chief James Beere explained in a news conference Monday night, seen below [via KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-stabbing-suspect-custody-after-apparent-spree-killed-1?ref=sfist.com).
That victim succumbed to his wounds and was declared dead.
While officers were responding to the first scene, other OPD officers were called to the scene of a second stabbing on the 3800 block of San Leandro Street, adjacent to the Fruitvale BART station.
From there, a third call came in from BART police, reporting a stabbing that occurred inside the BART station, which BART police were handling. This occurred just before 7:40 pm, as BART announced at 7:40 that trains were not stopping at Fruitvale due to police activity.
The suspect then reportedly exited the station and stabbed two more victims at a fourth location, on the 3900 block of International Boulevard.
"Officers arrived at that scene and community members pointed out the direction in which the suspect fled," Chief Beere explained. Following a brief foot pursuit, officers were able to locate and confront the suspect, and they ordered him to put down the knife.
The suspect reportedly complied and was then peacefully taken into custody.
The suspect has not yet been publicly identified.
Reportedly, two of the stabbing victims were listed in critical condition, while two others were in stable condition, per KTVU.
### SF’s Bayshore Freeway to Close For Four Weekends of Repaving, Starting Labor Day Weekend
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/sfs-bayshore-freeway-to-close-for-four-weekends-of-repaving-starting-labor-day-weekend/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T17:43:02.000Z
All northbound lanes on Highway 101 between Cesar Chavez and 10th Street will be closed for repaving two weekends in September, including Labor Day weekend, and the southbound lanes will be closed for two weekends in October.
Caltrans is warning drivers to stay away from the affected stretch of US 101 Bayshore Freeway in San Francisco, called Hospital Curve, [during the closures](https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-news/2026-08-19-us101-nb-bayshore-freeway-hospital-curve-upcoming-full-closures?ref=sfist.com) — between Cesar Chavez and 10th Street, when crews will work around the clock to repave the freeway, [as SFGate reports](https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/caltrans-highway-101-sf-22401624.php?ref=sfist.com). The first shutdown will begin with the northbound lanes Friday, September 4, at 11 pm, and they’re expected to reopen by 6 am Monday, September 7.
The second northbound closure is scheduled for September 18–21, followed by southbound closures beginning Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 17\. Each closure is expected to last about 55 hours.
Caltrans spokesperson Lori Shepherd told SFGate that northbound drivers should consider taking Interstate 280 toward the Bay Bridge or getting off at Cesar Chavez Street and using Potrero Avenue through the Mission to reach downtown.
“We’re making sure folks stay far away,” she said. “That’s going to be full lane closure of all northbound lanes.”
These closures come after [partial closures on 101 at Hospital Curve last weekend](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/carquinez-bridge-highway-101-reopen/4132170/?ref=sfist.com), with two lanes blocked in each direction, as Caltrans conducted critical drainage work in preparation for the larger closures.
Caltrans has reportedly been preparing for the detours ahead of the first closure, including canvassing the Mission to alert residents and businesses and coordinating with Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. Emergency transportation services have also been notified about the expected increase in traffic on Potrero Avenue, according to SFGate.
The agency has been coordinating with Chase Center as well, since one of the closures overlaps with a Golden State Valkyries game against the Seattle Storm on September 19\.
The first of these closure falls on Labor Day weekend, which is typically busy in the Bay Area.
“We know it’s busy, but it’s a choice weekend — there won’t be as much commuter traffic,” Shepherd said, speaking to SFGate. “The pavement is very weather dependent, and since it’s still summer, moisture and rain cannot be in this work.”
Caltrans completed the [preliminary work](https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-news/2026-08-24-hospital-curve-open?ref=sfist.com) on the Hospital Curve section Monday, including installation of a new drainage system designed to prevent flooding ahead of the winter season, as El Niño is expected to be [particularly rough this year](https://sfist.com/2026/05/10/brace-yourselves-for-what-could-be-a-really-nutty-el-nino-winter/).
The closures are part of Caltrans’ ongoing [US 101 Hospital Curve Rehabilitation Project](https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-san-francisco-freeway-and-road-rehabilitation/d4-sf-101-rehab-hospital-curve?ref=sfist.com), which began last fall and is expected to continue through 2028\. The project covers 15.4 lane miles of concrete pavement between Candlestick Point Recreation Area and the Mission District, including pavement rehabilitation as well as upgrades to the freeway’s drainage systems and median barrier.
The work follows a similar rehabilitation project [on 19th Avenue](https://sfist.com/2026/04/24/19th-avenue-repaving-project-to-cause-significant-west-side-traffic-this-weekend/) that Caltrans completed this spring.
**Related:** [19th Avenue Repaving Project to Cause Significant West Side Traffic This Weekend](https://sfist.com/2026/04/24/19th-avenue-repaving-project-to-cause-significant-west-side-traffic-this-weekend/)
### Tuesday Morning Topline: CHP Warns of Meth Disguised As Children's Vitamins
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/chp-warns-of-meth-disguised-as-vitamins/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T16:35:07.000Z
- **East Palestine, Ohio, where 49ers owner** [**Jed York was arrested Sunday**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/49ers-owner-jed-york-arrested-in-ohio-possibly-for-engaging-in-prostitution/) **in a prostitution sting, has become a hot spot for prostitution stings in recent years.** Over 700 arrests for soliciting prostitution took place there between 2019 and 2025, as authorities crack down on drugs and sex trafficking. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/east-palestine-prostitution-jed-york-22401615.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A major crash involving a truck leaking fuel created a major traffic situation early Tuesday at the MacArthur Maze in Oakland, right at the split between westbound 80, 880, and 580\. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-ms76wqhtgauevhfn?ref=sfist.com)\]
- CHP issued a warning about drugs in circulation in Northern California, found in Trinity County, that are made to look like children's vitamins, which tested positive for methamphetamine. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7.com/post/drugs-look-like-childrens-vitamins-discovered-chp-northern-california/19730343/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Vella Cheese Company, the 94-year-old artisanal cheesemaking operation in Sonoma specializing in Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Italian cheeses like Asiago and Romanello Dolce, is ceasing production. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/vella-cheese-sonoma-closes-22402191.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A beloved, 101-year-old bicycle store in Lafayette, Hank & Frank Bicycles, is also closing its doors. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/https-www-kron4-com-news-food-business/beloved-lafayette-bike-store-closes-up-shop-after-101-years/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Trump floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," as he continues trying to antagonize Canadians. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/story/trump-floats-renaming-lake-ontario-america-denies-claim-hed-interfere-canadians-speaking-french/19733253/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A judge in New York has thrown out Ghislaine Maxwell's attempt to get her conviction overturned, calling it "meritless" and "frivolous." \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/story/judge-rejects-ghislaine-maxwells-attempt-overturn-conviction/19733195/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: 32 Homes Destroyed In Hawk Fire So Far
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/32-homes-destroyed-in-hawk-fire-so-far/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T01:05:01.000Z
### Local:
- **Officials have confirmed that the two-day-old Hawk Fire in northern Nevada has destroyed 32 homes and left seven people injured.** The fire is now 27% contained, up from zero Monday morning, but Burning Man attendees are being [encouraged to delay their travel](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/burning-man-travel-warning-hawk-fire-reno-22401928.php?ref=sfist.com) into Reno. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/article/hawk-fire-reno-evacuations-22400191.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **The SF District Attorney today filed charges against the two Navigation Center workers accused of** [**harboring a shooting suspect**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/two-sf-navigation-center-employees-accused-of-harboring-police-shooting-suspect/) **who allegedly shot at and injured an SFPD officer in May.** 45-year-old Erika Porter of Oakland and 36-year-old Oliver Barcenas of San Francisco have each been charged with obstructing or delaying arrest and a felony count of accessory after the fact. \[[SF District Attorney](https://sfdistrictattorney.org/two-charged-for-harboring-attempted-murder-suspect-in-connection-to-bayview-shooting-of-police-officer/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, as news was about to come out five years ago about [multiple allegations of sexual assault](https://sfist.com/2021/05/24/disgraced-windsor-ex-mayors-latest-sexual-battery-charge-comes-from-teen-mom-farrah-abraham/) against him, employed a Trump world spin doctor who gave him plenty of questionable advice. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/dominic-foppoli-robert-stryk-text-22396642.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- One of the sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is now on its way home after a lengthy deployment in the Middle East, found out that his father was recently detained by ICE in Florida. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/us/uss-lincoln-sailor-father-arrested-immigration.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Trump has escalated the trade war with Canada again, threatening 50% tariffs on Canadian-made cars and other goods, and Canada is enacting retaliatory tariffs. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/24/business/us-canada-cost-more?ref=sfist.com)\]
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he'd called off a meeting with Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, regarding Paramount's proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, after it appeared that Paramount had leaked key details of their negotiation with the state to the Wall Street Journal. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/ag-cancels-paramount-merger-talks-leaks-22401509.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- We love a good public-comment stunt, and here's one where a guy dressed up as Darth Vader to satirically speak in support of Flock cameras at a San Diego City Council committee meeting, saying, "The Emperor is a fan of Flock, and we must continue using Flock technologies so we can follow and surveil the rebel scum." \[h/t: [Laughing Squid](https://laughingsquid.com/darth-vader-cosplayer-flock-cameras-san-diego/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Another Muni Operator Appears to Fall Asleep at Controls, Crashes Into Empty Train
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/another-muni-operator-appears-to-fall-asleep-at-controls-crashes-into-empty-train/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T01:27:12.000Z
A Muni driver operating an empty L train was filmed crashing into another empty train after he appeared to fall asleep at the controls, which Muni determined was caused by driver fatigue.
[The footage](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9d6DD4VhwFI?ref=sfist.com), obtained by NorCal Bodycam, shows the Muni operator apparently asleep shortly before the L train reaches the second train, which was stopped on the tracks near the San Francisco Zoo, [as ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/video-appears-show-san-francisco-muni-driver-asleep-before-2-empty-trains-crash/19728248/?ref=sfist.com).
The crash reportedly happened on the morning of July 31 near 47th Avenue and Wawona Street, causing the the L train's windshield glass to shatter. Fortunately both trains were empty, and no one was injured.
The agency said vehicle and infrastructure problems have been ruled out as part of its ongoing investigation, leaving operator fatigue as the initial cause.
“This type of incident is simply unacceptable,” said the agency in a statement.
The July collision follows [another incident last September](https://sfist.com/2025/11/10/onboard-video-shows-muni-driver-likely-asleep-at-the-wheel-during-terrifying-incident-by-duboce-park/) in which a Muni operator was captured appearing to doze off while the crowded N-Judah train she was operating accelerated to 50 mph coming out of the East Portal tunnel at Duboce Avenue. The operator was jolted awake, while several passengers were thrown forward or out of their seats. The SFMTA also determined that incident was caused by “operator fatigue” and subsequently launched a fatigue-awareness education campaign.
The incidents have renewed questions about the safeguards available when operators lose alertness on Muni’s surface-running tracks. [According to Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/08/second-sf-muni-driver-caught-nodding-off-this-time-two-trains-collide/?ref=sfist.com), while Muni Metro uses automated train control to manage speed and spacing underground, surface segments such as the L Taraval require operators to manually control the train and use physical deadman switches, according to SFMTA operating guidelines.
Chronic operator shortages and high absenteeism were reportedly flagged in a 2013 municipal audit of SFMTA transit operations, which found that the agency relied heavily on unscheduled overtime to keep service running, while raising concerns about driver fatigue. California Public Utilities Commission rules now limit light rail operators in safety-sensitive roles to 12 consecutive hours, or 12 hours within a 16-hour period, with at least eight consecutive hours off before a shift.
After last September’s N-Judah incident, the CPUC opened a formal review of SFMTA’s fatigue-management policies to determine whether scheduling problems were systemic.
The issue of operator fatigue also intersects with the long commutes many Muni employees face. A 2019 [San Francisco Examiner report](https://www.sfexaminer.com/archives/many-muni-drivers-sleeping-in-their-cars-due-to-long-commutes/article%5Fe996e8cb-5b3e-595d-9530-6dfed8f50668.html?ref=sfist.com) found that only about 42% of the agency’s roughly 2,000 operators lived in San Francisco, with many commuting from other parts of the Bay Area after being priced out of the city.
Several operators told the Examiner at the time that they regularly slept in their cars rather than drive home after a shift because they were too exhausted to safely make the trip. The drivers' union argued that higher pay, places for operators to sleep, or a city employee shuttle could help address the problem. The SFMTA said at the time it planned to build facilities where operators could rest during downtime.
**Related:** [Onboard Video Shows Muni Driver Likely Asleep at the Wheel During Terrifying Incident By Duboce Park](https://sfist.com/2025/11/10/onboard-video-shows-muni-driver-likely-asleep-at-the-wheel-during-terrifying-incident-by-duboce-park/)
### Supreme Court Hands Trump Temporary Win on Mail Ballots, More Legal Action to Come
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/supreme-court-hands-trump-temporary-win-on-mail-ballots-more-legal-action-to-come/
Last updated: 2026-08-24T23:02:36.000Z
California and a group of other states have lost one skirmish with the Trump administration on the Supreme Court's shadow docket regarding ballots by mail, with the court essentially saying the states can't sue because they haven't been harmed yet.
President Trump issued an executive order in March directing the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list for each state of who in that state is eligible to vote, and directing the Justice Department to prioritize the prosecution of state election officials who send mail-in ballots to ineligible individuals.
Trump was, of course, trying to fix a nonexistent problem and sow further distrust in US election ahead of what's likely to be a midterm season that will be disastrous for Republicans. And a Boston-based federal judge, US Judge Indira Talwani, [issued an injunction in June](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5940622-judge-strikes-down-trump-election-order/?ref=sfist.com) to stop Trump's order from taking effect, saying that Trump had overstepped in infringing on the states' constitutional powers to organize and administer elections.
Separately, Judge Talwani [issued another injunction in August](https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6023907-judge-blocks-usps-trump-voter-order/?ref=sfist.com) that blocks the US Postal Service from implementing the demands of Trump's order, saying that with less than 90 days before the November election, the administration could not begin changing the rules for how elections are run.
On Monday, the Supreme Court [issued an unsigned ruling](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/26a124%5Fhgci.pdf?ref=sfist.com) responding only to the first injunction, and the Justice Department's request that it be stayed. The court's conservative majority said, essentially, that the states lack standing to prevent a subordinate agency to the president from carrying out his order, because they can not document harm — the harm they cite is merely theoretical until DHS actually begins issuing its own voter rolls, if, for instance, they don't match states' own records of eligible voting adults.
"The Executive Order makes no demand of the States, so staying the District Court’s injunction will not concretely harm them," the majority says. "That is why this suit was not justiciable in the first place."
The majority adds, "The court’s disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the government to implement the order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell."
Justices Kagan and Sotomayor joined in a dissent penned by Sotomayor, in which the justice says that "today’s decision merely postpones adjudication of those challenges" by the states, which are sure to come.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, as has become her style, penned her own more vociferous dissent, saying today's ruling "needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections." And, she adds that while the court has previously ruled against election challenges that come too late, "today’s revelation is that such claims can also come too early — never mind that an election is looming and related harms are presently occurring."
A further challenge from the federal court in Massachusetts may arrive as soon as tomorrow, [CNN reports](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/24/politics/supreme-court?ref=sfist.com).
"The ruling is a win for Trump for the moment, but it doesn’t fully clear the way for his effort to limit mail-in ballots to go into effect," says CNN Supreme Court analyst Steve Vladeck.
Today's win for Trump comes less than two months after a loss at the Supreme Court on this same issue. The court [ruled 5-4 in June](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/supreme-court-late-arriving-mail-in-ballots-mississippi/3892976/?ref=sfist.com) on the issue of late-arriving mail-in ballots, saying that they can and should be counted based on state rules regarding postmarks, so long as the ballots are cast by Election Day. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberals in that majority, in a show of support for the legality of voting by mail.
**Related:** [Tens of Thousands of June Mail-In Ballots Tossed, Many Due to USPS’s New Postmark Policy](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/tens-of-thousands-of-june-mail-in-ballots-tossed-many-due-to-uspss-new-postmark-policy/)
### ‘Freedom Coffee’ Tied to Conservative Tech Entrepreneur to Open on Polk Street
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/freedom-cafe-tied-to-conservative-tech-entrepreneur-to-open-on-polk-street/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T06:00:24.000Z
A lease has been signed for a "freedom"-themed cafe on Polk Street near Jackson, and the company’s CEO is an employee of tech entrepreneur and Trump supporter Eoghan McCabe, who also founded a local social club called the Freedom Club in 2024.
A new coffee shop planned for Polk Street appears to be closely connected to tech entrepreneur Eoghan McCabe, whose employee Katie Tolstedt is listed as the CEO, CFO, and secretary of the company behind the cafe, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/freedom-coffee-shop-san-francisco-22396752.php?ref=sfist.com). Freedom Coffee is planning to take over the retail space at 1850 Polk Street at Jackson Street, which was previously occupied by a Pilates gym.
While there’s little information about the new cafe — its website simply displays a white “FRDM” logo against a red background, the site's metadata and cached job listings describe the business as “bold, unapologetic, American” and indicate that it plans to use automation in its operations, according to the Chronicle.
Tolstedt has worked for McCabe since 2021, first as his executive assistant and later as his chief of staff. She's also associated with the San Francisco Freedom Club, a social club [founded by McCabe in 2024](https://x.com/eoghan/status/1836434118839861449?lang=en&ref=sfist.com). The club describes itself as a place for people who embrace “freedom, America, technology, capitalism, humanity, merit and growth.”
McCabe, who co-founded Intercom and now serves as executive chairman of its AI customer-service spinoff Fin, has described himself as a centrist who favors less government, regulation, and law. The Chronicle reports that McCabe has also donated roughly $200,000 between 2021 and 2025 to the Republican National Committee, pro-Trump political action committees, and Republican candidates.
McCabe has drawn controversy for his political statements as well. Last year, following the fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in North Carolina, he called for “rapid, public executions.” He and Tolstedt later [helped organize murals](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/23/elon-musk-ukrainian-refugee-mural-iryna-zarutska?ref=sfist.com) honoring Zarutska in various cities, with Elon Musk and Andrew Tate [each pledging $1 million](https://www.instagram.com/p/DOcGijClT4c/?ref=sfist.com) to the campaign.
Despite Tolstedt’s role in both organizations, McCabe denied that the Freedom Club is connected to the coffee shop.
“The Freedom Club has no plans to ever open any kind of physical location,” he wrote in an email to the Chronicle.
Tolstedt is also reportedly listed as an officer of Soon Media, formerly known as Cool Tech News, another company backed by McCabe. McCabe previously described the company as an effort to build “Bloomberg for 2026” and pledged a $2 million investment. State filings this month list Tolstedt as Soon Media’s CEO, CFO, and secretary, with the company sharing its principal address with Freedom Coffee.
According to the Chronicle, Freedom’s archived job listings indicate plans for multiple locations and eventual national expansion, while a US Patent and Trademark Office filing seeks to trademark “FRDM Coffee” for coffee shops, beverages, and merchandise including hats and drinkware.
**Related:** [Right-Wingers Have Super Bowl Epiphany That San Francisco Is Actually Quite Lovely After All](https://sfist.com/2026/02/09/right-wingers-have-super-bowl-epiphany-that-san-francisco-is-actually-quite-lovely-after-all/)
### Timber Fire Grows to 12,600 Acres, But Highway 1 Has Reopened
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/timber-fire-grows-to-12-600-acres-but-highway-1-has-reopened/
Last updated: 2026-08-24T20:29:47.000Z
The Timber Fire continues to expand into wilderness areas in the northerly and easterly directions, away from Big Sur, and the fire has reached 25% containment.
The Timber Fire, which broke out August 8 in Los Padres National Forest, expanded considerably between Saturday and Sunday, from 8,665 acres to 12,616 acres, though there was little change between Sunday and Monday.
As Cal Fire explains, "This increase in acreage is due to the fuel moisture being critically low, warmer temperatures, low relative humidity, and terrain driven fire activity." The fire expanded up mountain slopes and further into the Ventana Wilderness, with the eastern side of the fire seeing very hot, dry conditions during the day while the western edge of the fire has seen a persistent marine layer and more moist conditions by the coast.
Much of the established containment line around the fire appears to be on the southern and western sides, protecting homes and businesses around Big Sur — none of which have been damaged so far.
Evacuation orders remain in place for a half-dozen zones, with evacuation warnings still in place for a 40-mile stretch of Highway 1, from the Big Creek Reserve Gate Cabin in the north to Andrew Molera State Park in the south.
As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/tassajara-zen-center-evacuates-22400543.php?ref=sfist.com), the California Zen Center has canceled the remaining summer programming at the famed Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, due to heavy smoke and poor air quality in the area, and is evacuating all of its guests and most of its staff. While Tassajara has been threatened by multiple wildfires in the last two decades, the Timber Fire has not come too close, though it has sent plenty of smoke into the remote canyon that the monastery and retreat calls home.
After the evacuation order zones expanded over the weekend, Tassajara is now in an evacuation zone.
Highway 1 has reopened to to traffic, [as KSBW reports](https://www.ksbw.com/article/timber-fire-grows-to-over-12-000-acres-evacuation-orders-and-warnings-expanded-1787598395/73513704?ref=sfist.com), but because of the evacuation warning in place, drivers are urged to use caution and find alternate routes.
The cause of the Timber Fire remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, a massive fire, the Hawk Fire, which is said to be human-caused, is threatening the entire city of Reno, after beginning on Saturday near California-Nevada border.
The Hawk Fire very quickly grew to over 15,000 acres in just 48 hours, with more growth expected over the next two days, and it is 0% contained. As the [Reno Gazette-Journal reports](https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2026/08/24/reno-hawk-fire-monday-updates-community-meeting-set-for-7-p-m/91438678007/?ref=sfist.com), the fire has forced the closure of a section of US Route 395, and around 10,000 residents of Washoe County remain without power. Many businesses in Lemmon Valley and Golden Valley are closed due to the fire.
Tens of thousands of Burning Man attendees and organizers are preparing to head to the Black Rock Desert this coming weekend, with some already out there. Because of the evacuation situation and the high tension in Reno, the [Reno Gazette-Journal notes](https://www.rgj.com/story/news/wildfires/2026/08/24/heres-what-to-know-about-burning-man-travel-and-nevadas-hawk-fire/91444547007/?ref=sfist.com) that some organizers are urging Burners not to make pitstops in Reno if they can help it, and not to book non-essential hotel stays.
Burners are also being urged to fuel up before entering the Reno area if they can.
### Western Addition High Schools, Businesses Lose Power Following PG&E Vault Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/western-addition-high-schools-businesses-lose-power-following-pg-e-vault-fire/
Last updated: 2026-08-24T22:19:54.000Z
Several businesses as well as two high schools on Geary Boulevard between Scott and Steiner were still without power Monday morning after a late-night PG&E vault fire erupted near the two schools.
The fire erupted shortly before midnight Sunday near KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy and Gateway High School at Geary Boulevard and Scott Street, sending flames and heavy black smoke into the area, [as ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/sffd-pge-crews-respond-vault-fire-san-franciscos-western-addition-neighborhood-causing-power-outages/19727444/?ref=sfist.com). More than 1,200 PG&E customers were reportedly without power.
Video captured by TikTok user Rob Deezy showed flames rising out of the ground near the schools, which share a building on Scott Street near Geary, while the fire charred nearby parking meters and left visible burn marks on the sidewalk. PG&E said the blaze was caused by an equipment failure, which remains under investigation.
> [@robdeezy24](https://www.tiktok.com/@robdeezy24?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "@robdeezy24") Huge PG&E Vault Explosion this morning in San Francisco shuts off power everywhere caught on film! [#fyp](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "fyp") [#explosion](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/explosion?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "explosion") [#sanfrancisco](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sanfrancisco?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "sanfrancisco") [#poweroutage](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/poweroutage?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "poweroutage") [#viral](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/viral?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "viral") [♬ original sound - Rob Deezy](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7677579400388299550?refer=embed&ref=sfist.com "♬ original sound - Rob Deezy")
While power was reportedly restored for most customers by Monday morning, the outage was still affecting the two schools, as well as businesses at a nearby strip mall. According to ABC 7, administrators were assessing Monday whether the schools could operate without power.
Nearby, Jane the Bakery also remained without power Monday morning. The bakery [said on social media](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcbL0-PltXV/?hl=en&ref=sfist.com) its staff had been waiting for the power to return since 2 am, and while some food was still available, much of its pastry selection would have to wait until the electricity was restored.
San Francisco Fire Department Captain Mariano Elias said firefighters allowed the underground fire to burn itself out while coordinating with PG&E, noting that crews avoid using water on electrical or oil fires.
“These do happen every once in a while and we do respond to them,” Elias said, speaking to ABC 7\. “We do work together with our partners, PG&E, to make sure that the residents are safe and that we don't apply water to any electrical or oil fires.”
Last month, a separate underground vault fire occurred near Haight and Cole streets in the Upper Haight, which caused a brief outage for 75 customers and prompted firefighters to issue a shelter-in-place order, [as KRON4 reported](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/vault-fire-in-san-francisco-triggers-temporary-shelter-in-place/?ref=sfist.com).
Additionally, last December’s[ massive blackout](https://sfist.com/2025/12/22/pg-e-blames-catastrophic-incident/) affecting [130,000 customers](https://sfist.com/2025/12/20/massive-power-outage-in-san-francisco-leaves-65-000-customers-in/) also began with a vault fire. An investigation found that [the fire was likely caused](https://sfist.com/2026/05/11/report-reveals-december-pg-e-substation-fire-outages-caused-by-multiple-issues/) by a combination of equipment damage, moisture buildup, and the layout of the facility. December’s blackout renewed criticism from San Francisco officials pushing to separate the city from PG&E’s power infrastructure, with city leaders urging the California Public Utilities Commission to take stronger action against the utility.
State Senator Scott Wiener also introduced legislation earlier this year that would have enabled cities to [“break up” with PG&E](https://sfist.com/2026/02/23/wiener-introduces-new-state-legislation-that-would-allow-cities-breakup-with-pg-e-and-start-their-own-public-utilities/) and start their own utilities, but [the bill didn’t pass](https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca%5F202520260sb875?ref=sfist.com).
**Related:** [Report Reveals December PG&E Substation Fire, Outages Caused By Moisture Buildup, Other Issues](https://sfist.com/2026/05/11/report-reveals-december-pg-e-substation-fire-outages-caused-by-multiple-issues/)
### Jules and Maria Isabel Land on Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurants List
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/jules-and-maria-isabel-land-on-bon-appetits-best-new-restaurants-list/
Last updated: 2026-08-24T18:57:01.000Z
San Francisco is back to notching two spots on Bon Appetit's prestigious Best New Restaurants list for 2026, and the winners are Jules and Maria Isabel.
It has been a heartening 18 months or so in the SF food world, despite the consistent complaints about staffing difficulties and the high cost of doing business in the city. And as we've watched new energy getting injected into the restaurant scene at the local level, San Francisco has been regaining its footing nationally as a food destination.
Proof positive of that is today's release of [the latest Best New Restaurants list](https://www.bonappetit.com/story/best-new-restaurants-2026?ref=sfist.com) from Bon Appetit, where we find not one but two SF restaurants — with one being a bit newer than the other. The magazine's editors chose 19 restaurants from around the country this year, with New York City also notching two spots. And they say what all 19 have in common is that they "come from chefs offering clear perspectives, with the will — and the confidence — to take risks."
After a solid year and change of accolades, [Jules](https://sfist.com/2025/05/07/jules-the-brick-and-mortar-version-of-the-hot-pizza-pop-up-sets-an-opening-date-in-the-lower-haight/) takes its place on the list after debuting in May 2025, with the editors saying that it "blazes its own path with free-wheeling and daringly innovative pizza." Pizzaiolo Max Blachman-Gentile gets high praise for his Fun Guy mushroom pizza, dotted with black garlic-tamarind sauce — which also was named one of [the editors' best dishes of the year](https://www.bonappetit.com/story/best-new-restaurants-dishes-2026?ref=sfist.com). (They don't even mention the restaurant's excellent "devilish" roast chicken, now only available on Tuesdays.)
**Duck enmoladas at Maria Isabel. Photo by Isabel Baer/Postcard Communications*
And [Maria Isabel](https://sfist.com/2026/02/26/maria-isabel-the-new-restaurant-from-dalidas/), chef Laura Ozyilmaz's playful ode to her Mexican heritage at the edge of Presidio Heights, already earned some Michelin recognition since opening in March for its inventive cocktail program using uncommon Mexican spirits. With husband and co-chef Sayat, with whom she also operated Dalida in the Presidio, Ozyilmaz has been introducing diners to her own versions and twists on coastal Mexican cuisine, including a sea urchin tamal that Bon Appetit lauds for its airiness. And they praise the cocktail program and wine list highlighting female winemakers.
"In namesake and execution, Maria Isabel honors who the Ozyilmazes call 'the people behind the table': the Latinos, and especially the women, behind the craft, tradition, and joy of Mexican cuisine," the editors write.
Now, both Jules and Maria Isabel had been hard tables to get already, with Jules periodically posting more accolades that have brought them national attention — including [the New York Times' recently updated list](https://www.nytimes.com/article/best-san-francisco-restaurants.html?ref=sfist.com) of the 25 best restaurants in San Francisco. So, you can expect an even harder time getting in now, with Bon App-reading tourists in the mix.
Do note that Jules does take walk-ins and it's not always a long waitlist on weeknights.
Find [reservations for Jules here](https://www.julespizza.co/reservations-1?ref=sfist.com), and [for Maria Isabel here](https://www.mariaisabelsf.com/?ref=sfist.com).
### Activists Host ‘Billionaire Watch Party’ Outside Chris Larsen’s House Over Surveillance Funding
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/activists-host-billionaire-watch-party-outside-chris-larsens-house-over-surveillance-funding/
Last updated: 2026-08-24T18:39:24.000Z
A youth climate group held a “Billionaire Watch Party” outside local crypto billionaire Chris Larsen’s house Saturday in response to his financial contributions to SFPD’s “Real-Time Investigation Center.”
Activists gathered outside cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen’s Russian Hill home Saturday for a “[Billionaire Watch Party](https://billionairewatchparty.com/?ref=sfist.com),” protesting his financial support for SFPD surveillance technology, [as ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/flock-cameras-surveillance-use-group-protests-outside-cryptocurrency-billionaire-chris-larsens-home-san-francisco/19721357/?ref=sfist.com).
The demonstration was organized by the youth climate group [Sunrise Movement Bay Area](https://sunrisebayarea.org/?ref=sfist.com) as part of a national week of action against automated license plate readers, with protesters distributing flyers about Flock Safety cameras and displaying a mock surveillance camera marked, “Does this make you feel safer, Chris?”
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcXZLjczFkX/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Sunrise Bay Area 🌅 (@bayareasunrise)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcXZLjczFkX/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
Organizer Luc Bouchard said the demonstration was aimed specifically at Larsen because of his financial backing of the city’s surveillance infrastructure.
Last year, Larsen donated [$9.4 million to the SFPD](https://sfist.com/2025/06/03/crypto-mogul-chris-larsen-kicking-down-nearly-10-million-to-sfpd-for-more-surveillance-efforts/), the majority of which went toward 12 drones and docking stations, a large video wall, and related equipment and services, while the remaining funds covered unused office space leased by Larsen's company Ripple Labs at 315 Montgomery for SFPD’s “Real Time Investigation Center.” Larsen co-founded the nonprofit San Francisco Police Community Foundation, which facilitated the donation.
The SFPD has said automated license plate readers can help officers locate stolen vehicles and missing people, while privacy advocates have raised concerns about how the data could be used, including for tracking people seeking abortion or gender-affirming care, or in immigration enforcement.
According to ABC 7, the group said it supports efforts to improve public safety, but argued that the city should invest more in affordable housing, jobs, and social services rather than expanding surveillance.
“He feels that he's entitled to watch us, we came to his house to watch him,” Bouchard said. Bouchard also noted that there is little evidence that Flock cameras significantly affect crime rates.
Prior to Larsen's contribution, the SFPD quietly installed [400 automated license plate readers](https://sfist.com/2025/01/03/sfpd-refuses-to-say-where-theyve-placed-those-400-automated-license-plate-readers-all-over-town/) around town in January 2024\. The cameras reportedly captured about 3 million images per day over an eight-month period, while producing 42,000 positive identifications of vehicles SFPD was looking for — resulting in a mere 140 arrests.
[As KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12096106/anti-flock-organizers-ramp-up-bay-area-protests-urging-cities-to-cut-ties-with-company?ref=sfist.com), activists in other Bay Area cities have also challenged Flock Safety, including Oakland, Palo Alto, and Gilroy. [NBC Bay Area reported](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/el-cerrito-flock-cameras-to-be-removed/4122158/?ref=sfist.com) last month that organizers in El Cerrito were successful in getting the city to remove its Flock cameras.
**Related:** [Crypto Mogul Chris Larsen Kicking Down Nearly $10 Million to SFPD for More Surveillance Efforts](https://sfist.com/2025/06/03/crypto-mogul-chris-larsen-kicking-down-nearly-10-million-to-sfpd-for-more-surveillance-efforts/)
### 49ers Owner Jed York Arrested In Ohio for Engaging In Prostitution
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/49ers-owner-jed-york-arrested-in-ohio-possibly-for-engaging-in-prostitution/
Last updated: 2026-08-25T19:14:39.000Z
We have a strange and possibly salacious story involving 49ers owner Jed York from over the weekend, after he was arrested Sunday in East Palestine, Ohio.
Jed York was arrested in a mobile home park at 9:35 am Sunday, as news station [WKBN reported](https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-news/49ers-owner-arrested-in-east-palestine/?ref=sfist.com), and a human trafficking task force was apparently involved in the arrest. As [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/49ers-owner-jed-york-arrested-ohio?ref=sfist.com), York was initially arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools, but further details about this are not available.
**Update:** It's been [confirmed that York was arrested in a prostitution sting](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/details-emerge-from-jed-yorks-prostitution-arrest/), and that East Palestine, Ohio has become known for such stings in recent years. The "criminal tools" charge reportedly pertained to York's cellphone, which was allegedly used to seek out the sex worker who turned out to be an undercover cop.
After posting a $5,000 bond, the 46-year-old York made a court appearance Monday morning at which time a judge downgraded the charges against York to misdemeanor disorderly conduct, to which York pleaded no contest.
York also reportedly pleaded no contest to the criminal tools charge, per KTVU.
He was sentenced to one day in Columbiana County Jail for each count, with the two days to be served concurrently. He was given credit for the day already served in jail, and he was ordered to pay $1,150 in fines.
As [KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/49ers-ceo-jed-york-arrested/?ref=sfist.com), York has ties to the local area, having been born in Youngstown, Ohio and having attended high school there.
Neither York nor the 49ers have yet to comment on the situation, and we still don't know the circumstances that led up to York's arrest. \[**Update:** [More details here](https://sfist.com/2026/08/25/details-emerge-from-jed-yorks-prostitution-arrest/).\]
York became principal owner of the 49ers in 2024, after serving over a decade as de facto owner of the team and as CEO going back to December 2008.
York and his wife and two sons reside in Los Altos Hills, California full time. \[**Update:** York reportedly filed for divorce in May, and may have been residing in Ohio this summer.\]
**Previously:** [49ers' Jed York Makes Lavish Donations In Attempt to Unseat Unfriendly Santa Clara City Councilmembers](https://sfist.com/2020/10/23/jed-york-accused-of-attempting-to-buy-four-city-council-seats-with-lavish-political-donations/)
### Monday Morning Headlines: Fast-Moving Hawk Fire Threatens Reno
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/24/fast-moving-hawk-fire-threatens-reno/
Last updated: 2026-08-24T16:46:04.000Z
- **The fast-moving Hawk Fire in Nevada is threatening the city of Reno, and has grown to over 23 square miles since starting Saturday.** The fire began near the California border in theHumboldt–Toiyabe National Forest, and has spread to the edge of the University of Nevada campus. \[[Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/hawk-fire-reno-nevada-evacuations-aae2f4b77e2d4aa5678b365a2ee377e6?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Five people were injured in a two-vehicle crash Sunday at Van Ness Avenue and Ellis Street, in which one vehicle crashed into a building.** The incident happened around 11 am, and all the victims suffered reportedly minor injuries. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/car-crash-van-ness-22400173.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Caltrans completed work on a section of Highway 101 in San Francisco early Monday, at the so-called Hospital Curve.** Further construction on the median of the freeway will [continue through the spring](https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-san-francisco-freeway-and-road-rehabilitation/d4-sf-101-rehab-hospital-curve?ref=sfist.com). \[[NBC Bay Area](https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-san-francisco-freeway-and-road-rehabilitation/d4-sf-101-rehab-hospital-curve?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A man was killed in a shooting in El Cerrito Sunday morning and police are seeking two suspects.** The shooting happened just after midnight Saturday night, at 12:15 am Sunday, in the parking lot of Del Norte Plaza shopping center on San Pablo Avenue. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/el-cerrito-del-norte-plaza-shopping-center-deadly-shooting/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- One person died in a fiery crash on I-580 in Livermore Monday morning. \[[Bay City News](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/fiery-crash-livermore-i-580/4132140/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An abandoned rail trestle near the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) headquarters in Oakland caught fire Saturday night and created a dramatic blaze. \[[NBC Bay Area](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/abandoned-railway-trestle-fire-edmud-plant/4132037/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Nvidia devices are being used on AI-powered Russian drones to kill Ukrainians. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/world/europe/ukraine-war-nvidia-ai-autonomous-drones.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Newsom Signs Bill to Protect Immigration Non-Profit Workers from Doxxing
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/23/newsom-signs-bill-to-protect-immigration-non-profit-workers-from-doxxing/
Last updated: 2026-08-23T21:44:03.000Z
On Saturday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill to provide immigration nonprofit workers with state protections against doxxing and targeted harassment. Republican opponents claim the so-called "Stop Nick Shirley Act" will obstruct reporters from exposing acts of governmental malfeasance.
Practically speaking, Assembly Bill 2624 will expand California’s Safe at Home program to include resources for immigration non-profit providers as well. Newsom's signature on the legislation follows months of "vitriolic attacks" levied at the law by Republicans in both California and Washington, the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/newsom-signs-2624-22399605.php?ref=sfist.com).
They further note that the Safe at Home program has existed for decades and serves to shield the addresses of "domestic violence survivors, elder abuse victims and reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare workers." Now immigration non-profit providers will be eligible for these services as well.
Some conservative lawmakers complained that expanding the program would somehow prevent journalists from uncovering incidents of fraud, leading San Diego Assembly Member Carl DeMaio to coin the derivative "Stop Nick Shirley Act" nickname for the bill. It takes its inspiration from a right-wing YouTube personality with a penchant for making videos in which he accuses immigrant workers in blue cities of committing fraudulent acts.
The bill was first introduced by Alameda Assembly Member Mia Bonta back in February in response to a swell of threats and harassment made against Somali daycare providers in San Diego that followed Shirley's arrival to the community. Prior to focusing on San Diego, Shirley made similar videos targeting Minnesota that went very viral in some online circles.
In a statement published by the Chronicle, Bonta, a Democrat, emphasized the severity of the situation that had led to Assembly Bill 2624's necessity.
“Our immigrant service providers are living in fear because of extremists looking to demonize the work that they do and the populations they serve,” Bonta said. “That is an intolerable consequence of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that exists right now.”
The new law is scheduled to go into effect on Oct 1, 2027.
Last year, [SFist reported](https://sfist.com/2025/09/21/newsom-signs-set-of-bills-protecting-rights-of-california-immigrants-including-mask-ban/) on Newsom's decision to sign bills intended to keep local and federal law enforcement in check during immigration crackdowns.
**Related**: [Newsom Signs Bill Allowing Immigrant Parents to Name Caretakers for Their Kids If They’re Deported](https://sfist.com/2025/10/14/newsom-signs-bill-allowing-immigrant-parents-to-name-caretakers-for-their-kids-if-theyre-deported/)
### No Survivors in Richmond House Fire After Fourth Victim Dies
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/23/no-survivors-in-richmond-house-fire-after-fourth-victim-dies/
Last updated: 2026-08-23T20:39:19.000Z
A 33-year-old woman has died from injuries sustained in a recent house fire in Richmond. Authorities allege the blaze was set by her brother, Sergio Rivera-Vega. The other victims consist of Rivera-Vega's 45-year-old father, 5-year-old nephew, and 2-year-old niece.
On Saturday, police confirmed the death of a fourth victim related to a house fire that broke out in Richmond on Tuesday on the 200 block of 15th Street. As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/richmond-fire-victim-arson-22399920.php?ref=sfist.com), authorities noted that the 33-year-old woman died from her injuries after being listed in critical condition for the past three days.
Her death follows the passing of the suspect's 2-year-old niece on Thursday, as [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/death-of-two-year-old-girl-brings-toll-to-three-in-suspected-richmond-arson-fire/). Two other victims — Rivera-Vega's father and young nephew — both died before they could be transported to a hospital.
Prosecutors have already charged Rivera-Vega with three counts of murder and additional charges of arson causing great bodily harm. The Chronicle notes that prosecutors have yet to announce if they'll add another murder charge in light of this latest death.
As [SFist reported Wednesday](https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/arson-suspect-arrested-in-richmond-fire-that-killed-father-nephew/), Rivera-Vega, 32, lived at the home where the fire occurred with his father, sister, and his sister's two small children. He was spotted at the scene of the fire amongst onlookers and subsequently arrested.
A family member, Anselmo Rivera, identified the suspect as his nephew, and [per KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/child-adult-die-suspicious-richmond-house-fire?ref=sfist.com), shared that Rivera-Vega suffers from mental health issues. According to Rivera, the sister's name was Maria and the children's names were Jolene and Andrew.
She's since established a [GoFundMe campaign](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-evelins-family-with-rent-expenses?ref=sfist.com) to help with rent expenses related to the tragedy. The Chronicle notes that, if convicted, Rivera-Vega faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
**Related**: [Death of Two-Year-Old Girl Brings Toll to Three In Suspected Richmond Arson Fire](https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/death-of-two-year-old-girl-brings-toll-to-three-in-suspected-richmond-arson-fire/)
### Sunday Links: 49ers Tight End George Kittle Back at Practice Ahead of Season Opener
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/23/sunday-links-49ers-tight-end-george-kittle-back-at-practice-ahead-of-season-opener/
Last updated: 2026-08-23T18:47:56.000Z
- **Berkeley police arrested a 17-year-old teenager on Saturday after he allegedly bit a man in the arm and repeatedly stabbed him in the head with a knife.** The victim is reportedly in stable condition. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/berkeley-stabbing-arrest-22399805.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has declared a state of emergency in Washoe County as the fast-growing Hawk Fire threatens the homes and lives of residents in northwestern Reno. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/23/us/hawk-fire-nevada-governor-emergency-reno-hnk?ref=sfist.com)\]
- With the season set to start in ten days, San Francisco 49ers five-time All-Pro tight end George Kittle returned to practice on Sunday, marking his first time back on the field since tearing his Achilles back in January. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/49ers-george-kittle-expected-practice-first-22400122.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Songwriter Janet Bradford, who co-wrote Motown Records' first big hit — "Money (That's What I Want)" — and worked on songs with artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder died on Friday at the age of 87\. \[[Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/janie-bradford-dead-money-thats-what-i-want-songwriter-1236679050/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Tesla was forced to initiate the largest automotive recall in China's history on Friday, recalling nearly 3 million vehicles over concerns that four of the automaker's models have doors that may be difficult to open in an emergency. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/tesla-recalls-3m-vehicles-doors-may-be-difficult-open-after-crashes?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A new study conducted by Boston Children’s Hospital found that a possible cure for nut allergies may exist in the form of good bacteria ingested via frozen capsules containing fecal matter from humans without the allergy. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/poop-pills-may-be-the-key-to-a-long-term-cure-for-nut-allergies-study/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Kroy "KJ" Biermann Jr., the 15-year-old son of former Atlanta Falcons player Kroy Biermann and former *Real Housewives of Atlanta* star Kim Zolciak, has been charged as an adult in Georgia's Fulton County on felony charges of aggravated sodomy and aggravated sexual battery. \[[USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2026/08/21/kim-zolciak-son-kj-kroy-biermann-arrested-sodomy/91405520007/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Veteran rock act Buckcherry's tour bus was involved in a fatal, multi-vehicle crash in South Carolina early Saturday morning but the band is reportedly okay and plans to continue their tour. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/buckcherrys-tour-bus-involved-fatal-multi-vehicle-crash?ref=sfist.com)\]
### 'Reading Rainbow’ Host Mychal Threets Gives Update After Psychiatric Hold
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/22/reading-rainbow-host-mychal-threets-gives-update-after-psychiatric-hold/
Last updated: 2026-08-23T18:49:16.000Z
Former Bay Area librarian and current *Reading Rainbow* host Mychal Threets has revealed that he was placed on a five-day psychiatric hold following a week that saw him get candid online about his mental health struggles and subsequently cancel an upcoming appearance at TEDxSanDiego.
On Saturday, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/books/article/mychal-threets-reading-rainbow-22399010.php?ref=sfist.com), Threets [took to Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DcV%5FZSPJ-F0/?ref=sfist.com) to apologize for causing worry with the posts he'd [made earlier this week](https://www.threads.com/@mychal3ts/post/DcIKnnvFL%5FW?ref=sfist.com) in which he stated he was "not okay" and "seeking help."
Detailing the steps that followed, Threets recounted his decision to admit himself to a hospital, where he was subsequently placed on a five-day psychiatric hold. In an emotional admission, he acknowledged that he faces a long road ahead.
"I haven’t been okay for what feels like a very, very long time," Threets said. "I am not okay, but I have hope I will get to okay. … It’s gonna take a long time for me to be okay.”
Selected to follow in the footsteps of LeVar Burton as host of the reboot of *Reading Rainbow*, which returned last year, Threets was first a librarian at the Solano County Library before he left that position in 2024 to focus on his mental health.
As part of his latest update, Threets also took time to thank the healthcare workers who provided support during his hospitalization, crediting them with "saving my life."
Threets current situation means he will no longer appear at TEDxSanDiego, where he was scheduled to speak on August 27\. Organizers for the event offered their support in a [joint social media post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcT1GhZiNEW/?igsi=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&ref=sfist.com) with Threets.
Threets has previously acknowledged his struggles with mental health on several occasions.
As [SFist previously reported](https://sfist.com/2024/01/11/north-bay-librarian-gains-social-media-fame/), his celebrity initially rose during his tenure as a Solano County librarian, where his inspiring videos earned him profiles in the New York Times and the Washington Post. In 2023, Threets was recognized for his public service by the American Library Association.
### Trump's Department of War Orders Audit of Cal Over Risk of 'Foreign Collaborations'
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/22/trumps-department-of-war-orders-audit-of-cal-over-risk-of-foreign-collaborations/
Last updated: 2026-08-22T20:50:46.000Z
UC Berkeley is at risk of losing funding unless they provide information related to any potential "foreign collaborations" to the Trump administration's Department of War by the end of August. Cal is one of 30 universities currently subject to this threat.
The demand from the Department of War was issued earlier this week and specifies the need for universities to complete a "comprehensive audit" by the end of the month or risk losing their access to federal funds, [per the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/trump-uc-berkeley-research-audit-22398848.php?ref=sfist.com).
The institutions subject to this threat also include UCLA and UC San Diego. This probe marks the latest in a long series of investigations initiated by the Trump administration against some of the nation's most elite universities.
Citing concern that these colleges are in cahoots with foreign powers and not doing enough to combat anti-semitism, among other allegations, the quantity of investigations levied at these institutions has reached a point where they've now begun to repeat themselves.
The Chronicle notes that only last year, the US Department of Education launched a probe concerning alleged incidents of "improper handling of foreign funding" aimed at both Harvard and UC Berkeley.
Dan Mogulof, a spokesperson for UC Berkeley, has confirmed the campus has received notice of the audit and noted that "so far" no findings of foreign ties related to last year's Department of Education investigation have been uncovered.
As the [Guardian reports](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/18/pentagon-funding-colleges-harvard?ref=sfist.com), other universities subject to this latest probe include the University of Southern California, Harvard, MIT, Duke, and New York University.
In a statement [issued earlier this week](https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4575019/department-of-war-orders-research-security-audits-at-30-academic-institutions/?ref=sfist.com), the Pentagon's Chief Technology Officer, Emil Michael, noted simply that "the Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security.”
This order follows a release last month in which the Pentagon identified 130 foreign universities and research institutions alleged to be engaging in conduct that could put funds for domestic research and development at risk of misappropriation.
### Saturday Links: Willie Brown's Awards Turn Up at Reusable Supply Store
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/22/saturday-links-willie-browns-awards-turn-up-at-reusable-supply-store/
Last updated: 2026-08-22T19:33:09.000Z
- **Following the medical emergency that forced Earth, Wind & Fire to** [**cancel a recent show**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/earth-wind-fire-concert-with-lionel-richie-abruptly-canceled-at-chase-center-thursday-due-to-illness/) **at San Francisco's Chase Center, drummer John Paris has regained consciousness.** The legendary musician remains in intensive care and will require two major surgeries to recover. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/john-paris-wakes-again-two-major-surgeries-22398728.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A selection of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's public service awards was recently discovered among the wares at used craft supply store SCRAP.** Brown claims no knowledge of how they found their way to the (reusable) rubbish pile. \[[SF Standard](https://sfstandard.com/2026/08/22/waggle-willie-brown-awards-scrap-mystery/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Vallejo rapper Lul Dada aka Adonnis Evans has been arrested on murder charges stemming from an August 2025 homicide, marking the second murder case in which local authorities suspect Evans involvement. \[[Mercury News](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/21/san-jose-police-arrest-man-suspected-of-killing-two-prep-football-players-from-fairfield-and-el-cerrito/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Canada is threatening to match the new 50% tariffs set to be imposed by the US on Sept. 8 "dollar for dollar" after failed last-minute negotiations between both sides. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/u-s-set-to-impose-50-percent-tariffs-on-canada-after-failed-talks/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Five individuals were maced in an incident at Antioch High School on Friday, with three requiring treatment at a nearby hospital. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/5-students-maced-antioch-high-school-3-reportedly-taken-hospital-fire-officials-say/19715122/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The storied Claremont Resort & Club in Berkeley has closed its iconic, 25,000-square-foot luxury spa after being in operation for 25 years. \[[Oaklandside](https://oaklandside.org/2026/08/21/claremont-hotel-resort-club-spa-shuttered-oakland-berkeley/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A French tourist died earlier this week after a vehicular malfunction forced him to walk in Death Valley's 116-degree heat in search of assistance. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/death-valley-french-visitor-22399331.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Old trouble may be coming for convicted felon and disgraced rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs as his name continues to come up again and again in a current trial concerning the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. \[[Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/tupac-murder-trial-duane-davis-diddy-conspiracy-theory-1236678743/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: Golden Gate Bridge Protestors Score Light Sentence
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/golden-gate-bridge-protestors-score-light-sentence/
Last updated: 2026-08-22T00:19:36.000Z
### Local:
- **The seven demonstrators who were** [**found guilty**](https://sfist.com/2026/07/02/jury-reportedly-deadlocked-in-golden-gate-bridge-protester-trial/) **last month of multiple misdemeanors over their 2024 pro-Palestine protest on the Golden Gate Bridge have been sentenced to 30 days in jail.** The sentence includes credit for time served and six months of probation. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/golden-gate-bridge-protesters-sentence-jail-22397158.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The East Bay SPCA has successfully found new homes for all sixteen Border Collie-mix puppies who were [found abandoned](https://sfist.com/2026/07/10/east-bay-spca-in-search-of-homes-for-16-puppies-found-in-walmart-parking-lot/) in the parking lot of a Walmart in Livermore last month. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/16-puppies-rescued-from-east-bay-walmart-parking-lot-adopted/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office confirmed one victim died at the scene after responding to a call for a possible water rescue at Bodega Bay on Thursday morning. \[[Press Democrat](https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/08/21/person-found-dead-off-sonoma-coast-at-duncans-landing/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **President Donald Trump will temporarily be allowed to continue construction of an elaborate ballroom at the White House.** This follows a Supreme Court ruling to freeze a lower court's order that construction stop by midnight tonight. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/21/politics/supreme-court-rules-on-trump-ballroom?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Actor Hayden Panettiere's brother claims that prior to her death last Sunday, she was administered Narcan by her boyfriend Brian Hickerson after he found her unconscious in their South Carolina Airbnb. \[[Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/hayden-panettiere-narcan-death-boyfriend-brian-hickerson-1236678791/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- TikTok will pay $400 million to the US over a lawsuit that alleged the platform was violating children's privacy. \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyr0l45xjro?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Despite [losing favor](https://www.ktvu.com/news/el-cerrito-residents-demand-removal-flock-surveillance-cameras-past-deadline-brief?ref=sfist.com) in several Bay Area cities recently, Flock cameras have a new fan: Darth Vader. Last week, someone decided to dress up as the *Star Wars* villain to attend a San Diego city council meeting and extoll the virtues of Flock's ([seriously flawed](https://sfist.com/2026/01/06/report-flock-safety-maker-of-sfs-license-plate-reader-cameras-had-gobsmacking-security-flaw/)) surveillance technology. \[[Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/21/darth-vader-flock-cameras-san-diego?ref=sfist.com)\]
### New Drag Comedy ‘Disastrous’ Opens Friday With Sold-Out Weekend at Oasis
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/new-drag-comedy-disastrous-opens-friday-with-sold-out-weekend-at-oasis/
Last updated: 2026-08-22T00:01:41.000Z
Drag queen extraordinaire D'Arcy Drollinger’s “Champagne” character is back with another comical farce at Oasis, centered around everything that could go wrong and the hilarity that ensues, and while this weekend is sold out, there are still tickets available for future dates.
D’Arcy Drollinger’s Champagne Horowitz Jones Dickerson White is back at Oasis for the first time in 10 years, and this time the beloved drag character has landed in the middle of a disaster movie. [*Disastrous!*](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disastrous-tickets-1993576418734?ref=sfist.com) opens Friday with its first weekend already sold out, as Champagne embarks on another bawdy, over-the-top adventure spoofing B-movies of all kinds.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcRrdrSBnHL/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Oasis Cabaret & Nightclub (@theoasissf)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcRrdrSBnHL/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
In the new production, Ms. Horowitz Jones Dickerson White, the exotic dancer and divorcée previously featured in Drollinger’s [*Shit & Champagne*](https://sfist.com/2015/01/09/sfist%5Freviews%5Fst%5Fchampagne%5Fat%5Foasis/) and the recent film sequel [*Lady Champagne*](https://www.ladychampagnemovie.com/?ref=sfist.com), is trying to take a much-needed vacation in Acapulco when things quickly go off the rails. After a wounded secret agent hands her a mysterious attaché case before dying in her arms, Champagne finds herself on the run and undercover.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcUbKUcgW5c/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by D'Arcy Drollinger (@darcydrollinger)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcUbKUcgW5c/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
From there, she has to contend with natural disasters, vicious animals, and ruthless pharmaceutical-industry henchmen, all while searching for the perfect orgasm. The show is billed as a sexploitation and disaster-movie send-up, with Champagne using her wisecracks and go-go moves to fight her way toward revenge.
Drollinger returns as Champagne White alongside much of the original cast: Matthew Martin, Nancy French, Steven LeMay, James Arthur M, and Michael Phillis.
*Disastrous!* is performed in the main room at Oasis with doors open at 6 pm and performances at 7 pm, and the venue is 21+ for all events. The show has tickets available for a performance on Monday, August 24, and seats are also available for the next three consecutive weekends, Friday to Sunday. [Find tickets here](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disastrous-tickets-1993576418734?ref=sfist.com).
Drollinger, the co-founder Oasis, was named San Francisco’s [first drag laureate](https://sfist.com/2023/05/18/san-francisco-names-its-first-drag-laureate-in-a-national-first-and-its-darcy-drollinger/) in 2023\. As of last month, [Oasis is back open](https://sfist.com/2026/07/20/oasis-makes-its-grand-return-in-soma-with-refreshed-look-full-slate-of-events/) after a half-year hiatus, following a significant charitable grant that allowed the Oasis non-profit, Oasis Arts, to [purchase the building](https://sfist.com/2026/06/18/oasis-to-reopen-july/) and start afresh with a new board of directors in charge. Previously, the club had been set to close at the end of last year.
SFist also highly recommends Drollinger’s dance fitness class, [Sexitude](https://www.darcydrollinger.com/sexitude?ref=sfist.com).
**Previously:** [SFist Reviews: 'S\*\*t & Champagne' At Oasis](https://sfist.com/2015/01/09/sfist%5Freviews%5Fst%5Fchampagne%5Fat%5Foasis/)
### This Week In Food: Pasta for Life
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/this-week-in-food-pasta-for-life/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T23:49:27.000Z
Pasta Supply Co. is offering pasta for life if you donate a bunch to its crowdfunding campaign, Tartine debuts in Marin County, and the Chronicle surveys newly opened Thai spots, all in This Week in Food.
As part of the crowdfunding effort to open the third **Pasta Supply Co.** location in Cole Valley, chef-owner Anthony Strong is offering a [Pasta for a Year](https://psccrowdsourcing.square.site/?ref=sfist.com#FCHFFRXN54DOMXC6OEBVO4JL) deal for $550, as well as a [Pasta for Life](https://psccrowdsourcing.square.site/?item=ALZJ3W5T2FNWSRNXW27WXU44&ref=sfist.com#FCHFFRXN54DOMXC6OEBVO4JL) deal for $4,000, both of which will get you a box of fresh pasta of your choice every week — and that includes the filled pastas, but you can't bank them for a month and collect them all at once. [Eater calculates](https://sf.eater.com/restaurant-news/213407/pasta-supply-co-cole-valley-shop-fundraising-san-francisco?ref=sfist.com) that it's a pretty good deal — especially for the guy who put the Pasta for Life deal in his daughter's name — so long as this business is long-lived. And Strong says that, just one week in, the offer has already gotten him halfway to his $400K goal. The new location is set to open sometime this fall at 919 Cole Street.
Earlier this week [we had the news](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/original-joes-team-to-open-burger-spot-in-west-portal/) that the team behind Original Joe's and Little Original Joe's is plotting a new burger-and-chicken-tenders spot in West Portal called **Original Joe's Cable Car**. Look for that to open late next year.
The much-anticipated first Marin County location of **Tartine Bakery** made its debut in Mill Valley's Strawberry Village on Wednesday, as the [Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/tartine-mill-valley-opening-22388861.php?ref=sfist.com). While all the pastries for the new location will be baked on site, the Tartine bread will be driven over the Golden Gate each date from San Francisco. As Tartine CEO Dar Vasseghi said in a release. "Strawberry Village is an ideal home for us — a neighborhood gathering place with a strong sense of community. People have been asking us for this for a long time, and we’re excited to deliver on that demand."
Small Korean comfort food spot [**Matko**](https://matkofood.com/?ref=sfist.com) has closed at 736 Valencia Street, as they [announced](https://www.instagram.com/reels/Db4RshZMfr8/?ref=sfist.com) on Instagram. The reason was apparently a change of ownership of the property, but their other counter-service location inside The Market (1355 Market Street) remains open.
The Chronicle has a follow-up today to [an earlier story](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/seth-stowaway-osito-lawsuits-liens-22364157.php?ref=sfist.com) that detailed the deep financial hole that was dug by chef-owner Seth Stowaway with his now closed Michelin-starred restaurant **Osito**, and with his subsequent ventures. The new report reveals that Stowaway was [fired from one of his most high-profile jobs](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/seth-stowaway-osito-chef-restaurant-22392231.php?ref=sfist.com), as executive chef at Bar Agricole, in the spring of 2019, due to inappropriate behavior with the staff. Multiple servers and cooks at the restaurant complained the Stowaway would aggressively hug them and often say "I love you" in a way that felt inappropriate for the workplace, and after he was warned about it, the behavior reportedly continued. The earlier report had described how vendors and employees were owed money by Stowaway, and that a pattern of mismanagement appeared to continue into his subsequent ventures Chicken Fried Palace, which has already closed, and Folklore, an underground dining "tasting salon."
And while the big news in local Thai cuisine is the [recent opening](https://sfist.com/2026/07/24/modern-thai-hotspot-opens-in-soma/) of **Saam**, from decorated Thai chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, Chronicle critic Cesar Hernandez [offers mini reviews of some other Thai restaurants](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/glom-thai-ka-kai-song-wat-ruay-mitr-payakk-22385411.php?ref=sfist.com) that have opened in the last year or so around the Bay, along with some dish recommendations. He says that **Ka Kai** in the Castro "makes one of the finest papaya salads in the Bay Area," and he praises the beef curry dish known as khua kling at **Song Wat** on Divisadero. He also loves the pork jowl fried rice at **Payakk** in Oakland.
### Two SF Navigation Center Employees Accused of Harboring Police Shooting Suspect
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/two-sf-navigation-center-employees-accused-of-harboring-police-shooting-suspect/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T23:00:10.000Z
Two employees at the city-contracted Bayview Navigation Center, which serves homeless individuals, have been arrested for their alleged role in helping a suspect to evade police after a May 31 shooting in which an SFPD officer was severely injured.
San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew announced the arrests Friday of two suspects who are or were employees of the Navigation Center at 125 Bayshore Boulevard, for allegedly harboring and aiding the attempted escape of Norris Reed III on May 31.
Reed and another suspect had been in a Toyota Camry that drove across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco around 10:30 pm on Sunday, May 31\. The SFPD says they were alerted to the vehicle via Flock cameras, and officers then spotted the Camry in the area of Fifth and Folsom streets, where they initiated a pursuit.
As we saw in bodyworn camera footage, the Camry came to a stop at a traffic light at First and Mission streets, and it appeared that the suspects might exit the vehicle, but instead it drove on, speeding toward the Bayview with police in pursuit. The Camry then crashed into a concrete median at the intersection of Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue, which is where a confrontation and shootout occurred.
The video evidence shows Norris opening the driver's side door of the Camry and almost immediately begin shooting back in the direction of SFPD officers. During the exchange of gunfire, [SFPD Officer Brittney Taylor was critically wounded](https://sfist.com/2026/06/02/injured-sfpd-officer-and-arrested-suspect-in-sunday-shooting-both-identified/), and Norris's passenger and fellow suspect, Ariunsanaa Dolgorsuren, was also injured.
Police said at the time that Norris fled the scene on foot, and he was ultimately arrested following a foot pursuit. We now learn, via [a release by the SFPD](https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/news/sfpd-arrests-navigation-center-employees-harboring-attempted?ref=sfist.com), that Norris fled into the nearby Navigation Center while officers were rendering aid to Taylor and Dolgorsuren.
Surveillance video from inside the Navigation Center, obtained by the SF District Attorney's Office, reportedly shows two employees "providing Reed III with clothing to conceal his identity despite knowing that he was in possession of a firearm when he entered the navigation center," the SFPD says.
The employees have been identified as 36-year-old Oliver Barcenas and 45-year-old Erika Porter. Both were booked into SF County Jail on Thursday on suspicion of obstruction and harboring an attempted murder suspect .
Police say that in addition to Barrens giving him the disguise, Porter lied to officers who came to the Navigation Center looking for Norris, giving false statements about whether he had been there.
"Attempting to assist an armed gunman evade capture after shooting a police officer is unconscionable," said Lew in a statement Friday. "Thankfully, our officers captured this violent suspect despite the efforts by two individuals to help him."
Lew added, "I want to thank all our officers who took this dangerous suspect off our streets and our diligent investigators who followed up to hold the two Navigation Center employees accountable."
San Francisco currently has three Navigation Centers, which serve as alternatives to traditional shelters and allow homeless individuals to check in and stay for extended periods, sometimes with partners and pets, as they receive services. The city has [contracted with Episcopal Community Services](https://www.ecs-sf.org/navigation-centers?ref=sfist.com) to operate several of these centers, the first of which opened 11 years ago, in 2015\. The nonprofit Five Keys [appears to be the operator](https://www.fivekeyshousing.org/transitional-housing-bayshore?ref=sfist.com) of the Bayshore Boulevard center, which opened in 2018.
Taylor sustained an injury to her upper leg in the May 31 shootout with Norris which other officers deemed critical, possibly because the bullet had struck an artery. Taylor, who was [released from the hospital on June 19](https://sfist.com/2026/06/19/sfpd-officer-shot-in-bayview-after-chase/), later said, "I almost lost my life," and added, "It's my job. I was doing my job that night. I'm glad to be put in that position of being a hero."
Reed remains in custody and he's been charged with attempted murder and multiple felonies in connection with the shooting.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.
**Related:** [SFPD Releases Bodycam Footage of Shootout That Injured Officer and Suspect](https://sfist.com/2026/06/10/sfpd-releases-bodycam-footage-of-shootout-that-injured-officer-and-suspect-injured/)
### BAPE Streetwear Brand to Host Block Party In Union Square for SF Flagship Grand Opening
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/bape-streetwear-brand-to-host-block-party-in-union-square-for-sf-flagship-grand-opening/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T22:38:07.000Z
Japanese streetwear label A Bathing Ape, or BAPE, has seen long lines in front of its new Union Square store since soft-launching this summer, and the brand is celebrating its official grand opening with a big block party Saturday.
A Bathing Ape’s free, all-ages celebration will feature live performances at Union Square Plaza by San Francisco R&B singer Karri and Pinole rapper-producer P-Lo, along with DJ sets from Lil CC, Shabazz, and DJ D Sharp, [as KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13993024/bape-block-party-san-francisco-union-square?ref=sfist.com). The event will take place from 1 to 5 pm Saturday, and the store will open a bit earlier than usual at 10 am.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db-y-3yBrZL/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by A BATHING APE® (@bape\_us)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db-y-3yBrZL/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
The party comes after a strong reception for BAPE’s San Francisco debut, with customers lining up outside the store daily and the location’s city-specific merchandise quickly selling out. The store will reportedly be restocking its SF-branded apparel for the grand opening.
“We’ve had a line every day, out the store,” said designer and assistant manager Ant Bankx. “Even for BAPE, that’s not normal.”
[According to Complex](https://www.complex.com/style/a/backwoodsaltar/bape-san-francisco-union-square-flagship-block-party?ref=sfist.com), the celebration will also include food, games, prizes, and special guests, with BAPE pitching the event as a meeting point for Tokyo streetwear culture and the Bay Area’s music and fashion communities.
BAPE, founded in 1993 by Japanese designer Nigo, has been a major name in streetwear and hip-hop culture for decades, per KQED. Bankx, who grew up in Richmond and has styled Bay Area artists including Rexx Life Raj and Ovrkast, says the brand’s arrival in Union Square reflects a local fashion scene that has developed its own identity rather than following New York or Los Angeles.
“We’ve always been here,” Bankx said. “And we’ve always had a voice.”
BAPE’s arrival also comes as Union Square continues to rebuild its retail presence following years of store closures and concerns about crime. More than 15 stores have left the area since 2020, including [DSW](https://sfist.com/2021/11/09/union-square-loses-another-big-store/) and [Saks Fifth Avenue](https://sfist.com/2025/04/23/yep-now-saks-is-closing-its-union-square-store/), while [Macy’s](https://sfist.com/2025/11/04/macys-not-closing-anytime-soon-will-partner-with-local-developer-to-build-housing/) at one point threatened to leave its flagship location.
KQED notes that new retailers have also moved in, including Pop Mart, Moscot, Zara, and Nintendo, while Supreme is already nearby and Kith has plans for a downtown location. Bankx sees the cluster of streetwear and fashion brands as creating more momentum for the neighborhood.
The city has also reported improvements in public safety. Union Square reportedly saw a 40% drop in crime in last year, following increased enforcement against retail theft and Mayor Daniel Lurie’s creation of an SFPD Hospitality Task Force in 2025.
For BAPE, the early response has offered a glimpse of the demand for streetwear in the Bay Area, with the store’s lines and appetite for San Francisco-specific merchandise providing a strong start ahead of Saturday’s grand opening.
“San Francisco and the greater Bay Area has always had a unique relationship with culture,” said BAPE CEO, Mahmoud El Salahy, per Complex. “It’s a city that creates its own rules: its own music, its own slang, its own style. It truly embodies Fearless Expression.”
**Related:** [Ten Academy of Art Students to Showcase 1970s-Era, Halston-Inspired Looks In Union Square](https://sfist.com/2026/05/04/ten-academy-of-art-students-to-showcase-1970s-era-halston-inspired-looks-at-union-square/)
### New Allegations Prompt Renewed Call For Removal of SF Sheriff’s Oversight Board President
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/new-allegations-prompt-renewed-call-for-removal-of-sf-sheriffs-oversight-board-president/
Last updated: 2026-09-11T17:07:40.000Z
The current president of the Sheriff’s Oversight Board has faced multiple allegations of violence against women, and he’s now accused of pressuring a woman into sex while plying her with drugs during a mental health crisis last month, and SF officials want him removed.
The 26-year-old woman says she spent five days with William Palmer in early July after leaving her family’s home without money or a cellphone, and they reported her missing. [As the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/william-palmer-san-francisco-sheriff-22395646.php?ref=sfist.com), she said she encountered him near the 24th Street Mission BART Station plaza while she was using fentanyl with strangers, and Palmer was parked nearby in his red BMW convertible. According to her account, he offered her methamphetamine and fentanyl before driving her to his apartment near Duboce Park.
The woman told the Chronicle that she and Palmer had sex, and that she was unsure whether she had consented as she was in a vulnerable state and felt pressured. The woman's mother said she suffers from "profound" mental health challenges that limit her ability to consent.
The woman also said she overdosed on fentanyl at Palmer’s apartment, which was supplied by his female friend, and Palmer later told her he had revived her. Palmer reportedly declined to say whether he had sex with her or provided her with drugs, instead describing himself as a “life coach” who was trying to help her.
“I’m her life coach,” Palmer told the Chronicle. “I talked to her and told her the things that she needed to hear to snap out of the lifestyle she was in and to get into the life that she wants to be in.”
On July 7, her mother learned that she was at an art studio near Market and Sixth streets and called 911\. SFPD officers found the woman with Palmer as they left the studio, detained both of them, and placed the woman on an involuntary psychiatric hold.
Police said they found no evidence at the scene that Palmer had committed a crime and released him, according to the Chronicle.
The woman reportedly spent about four weeks in emergency psychiatric treatment. Palmer later tried to visit her at the hospital, saying he sought access in his capacity as president of the oversight board, but was turned away. He also sent her Instagram messages looking for her.
SFPD’s Special Victims Unit is now investigating the incident and has interviewed the woman. Palmer has not been arrested or charged.
“I’m very upset,” the woman’s mother tells the Chronicle. “I feel that San Francisco, the mayor, they need to do something about this. This is definitely a safety concern for all its citizens, especially women who are vulnerable. That is very, very concerning.”
Palmer has faced [several allegations](https://sfist.com/2026/05/08/sf-jail-oversight-leader-faces-repeated-allegations-of-violence-against-women-parole-violations/) involving violence and sexual misconduct in recent years, as previously reported. In 2023, he was charged with [raping a woman](https://sfist.com/2023/11/11/criminal-justice-advocate-and-sf-oversight-board-member-arrested-on-sexual-assault-charges/) he picked up near the Mission District BART station, but prosecutors dismissed the case in 2024 over concerns about the alleged victim’s credibility. He was also arrested last year on suspicion of domestic battery and false imprisonment in an incident police described as a possible attempted sexual assault, though no charges were filed.
In May, [the Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/jail-oversight-criminal-allegations-22194091.php?ref=sfist.com) that four women had accused Palmer of violence during his time on the oversight board, while a fifth obtained a restraining order against him. Palmer has denied wrongdoing in the various incidents.
The new allegations have reportedly prompted Supervisor Stephen Sherrill to move forward with an effort to remove Palmer from the oversight board. Sherrill called for an investigation into whether Palmer committed official misconduct in late June, and said Thursday that he hopes to begin the removal process within weeks, per the Chronicle.
“The question is not should he be removed,” Sherrill said. “It’s more about how do we remove this person from a position of power in the quickest way possible.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie has also called for misconduct proceedings against Palmer, saying it is “unacceptable” that someone accused of such behavior remains in a position of public trust. Lurie has pointed to Proposition F, which will appear on the November ballot, as a way to give the mayor and Board of Supervisors [more authority](https://sfist.com/2026/07/29/sf-mayor-luries-clean-up-city-hall-measures-qualify-for-november-ballot/) to remove certain board and commission appointees without cause, per the Chronicle.
According to the Chronicle, under current rules, removing Palmer for misconduct requires multiple votes by the Board of Supervisors and a hearing before the San Francisco Ethics Commission. Palmer has rejected calls for his resignation and said he plans to serve out his term, which ends next March.
“Allegations don’t remove people from the board,” Palmer said. “So go through the process and let the chips fall where they may.”
**Previously:** [SF Jail Oversight Leader Faces Allegations of Violence Against Women, Multiple Parole Violations](https://sfist.com/2026/05/08/sf-jail-oversight-leader-faces-repeated-allegations-of-violence-against-women-parole-violations/)
### Tahoe Mountain Guide Company Fined By State Over Avalanche Deaths
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/tahoe-mountain-guide-company-fined-by-state-over-avalanche-deaths/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T21:10:25.000Z
The backcountry skiing guide company whose guides led a group of skiers through blizzard conditions and into the path of an avalanche in February has been hit with a fine by Cal/OSHA, and they are appealing.
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, has formally cited Truckee-based Blackbird Mountain Guides over decisions that led to the deaths of three of its employees, after an avalanche [overwhelmed and buried a group of back-country skiers on February 17](https://sfist.com/2026/02/17/several-back-country-skiers-missing-after-tuesday-morning-tahoe-area-avalanche/), killing a total of nine people.
As [KCRA reports](https://www.kcra.com/article/blackbird-mountain-guides-calosha-fines-avalanche/73496337?ref=sfist.com), Cal/OSHA has now fined the guide company for multiple violations, with the largest fine being $81,000 for "Failing to correct the imminent hazard posed by traveling in avalanche terrain when the avalanche danger was rated high." Together with several other violations, including "failing to provide effective employee training," the fines total $151,300.
Cal/OSHA's fines comes two weeks after the [release of an independent report](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/us/tahoe-avalanche-blackbird-report.html?ref=sfist.com) — commissioned by the guide company — that assigned no blame and avoided the central question at the heart of the tragedy, which is why did the group opt to leave the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts, where they were sheltered, in the middle of a blizzard?
The report points an actively running creek that the group tried to cross twice as they tried to ski out of the area, according to GPS data, which created an "impassable barrier" that led them instead into terrain that was a known avalanche zone.
An [earlier report from April](https://sfist.com/2026/04/03/new-report-blames-back-country-guides-for-choosing-highly-avalanche-prone-route-in-tahoe-tragedy/), put out by an avalanche education organization, placed blame for the tragedy on the guides themselves.
Blackbird Mountain Guides put out [a press release](https://blackbirdguides.com/pages/live-incident-updates?ref=sfist.com) Friday morning in response to the Cal/OSHA fines, saying, "The citations do not reflect the reality of our profession or the safety program we have built." The company adds that it "operated in full compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and consistent with the established safety frameworks of the broader professional mountain guiding industry."
"As an \[International Federation of Mountain Guides\] guide, I’ve pursued the highest training and certification available to our industry because I take this responsibility seriously, as do all of my guides," says Blackbird Mountain Guides owner Zeb Blais in a statement. "Guides pursue knowledge and excellence as a lifelong responsibility and the guides on this trip approached their work with care and professionalism."
The company says it is "hopeful that through the appeal process, it will demonstrate its compliance with the professional and state regulatory standards that govern the mountain guiding industry."
Separately, the avalanche incident remains under investigation by the Nevada County District Attorney's Office. Civil lawsuits are also possible from the families of the victims, however none have been filed to date, as the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/us/tahoe-avalanche-blackbird-report.html?ref=sfist.com).
Killed in the avalanche were six women, mostly from the Bay Area, who were part of a group of eight that set out to the Frog Lake Huts on February 15 for two days of backcountry skiing, amid well publicized forecasts an incoming snowstorm. They were led by two guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides. Joining them was a separate group of three men led by two other guides.
All 15 skiers set out in a line back toward where their cars were parked near Donner Pass on the morning of February 17\. About two hours after leaving the Frog Lake Huts, most of the group was hit by the avalanche. Per the Times, two of the surviving men, who were at the rear of the group, said they did not recall any discussion of an impassable creek.
Killed in the avalanche below Castle Peak were Carrie Atkin, 42, from South Lake Tahoe; Liz Clabaugh, 52, from Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, 44, from Marin County; Kate Morse, 45, from Marin County; Caroline Sekar, 45, from San Francisco; and Kate Vitt, 43, from Marin County; along with the three Blackbird Mountain guides, 34-year-old Andrew Alissandratos, 42-year-old Nicole "Niki" Choo, and 30-year-old Michael Henry.
The sole surviving guide has not spoken publicly about tragedy, nor have they been publicly identified.
The [Sacramento Bee reported](https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article316822306.html?ref=sfist.com), via that independent report earlier this month, that lead guide Alissandratos had spoken with company owner Zeb Blais the night before the avalanche, saying he was confident, based on previous trips to the Frog Lake Huts, in the safety of the planned route out despite the high avalanche danger.
**Previously:** [New Report Blames Back-Country Guides For Choosing Highly Avalanche-Prone Route In Tahoe Tragedy](https://sfist.com/2026/04/03/new-report-blames-back-country-guides-for-choosing-highly-avalanche-prone-route-in-tahoe-tragedy/)
### Group of SF Democratic Women Rally to Support Scott Wiener, In Wake of Chan Chatbot Dustup
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/group-of-sf-democratic-women-rally-to-support-scott-wiener-in-wake-of-chan-chatbot-dustup/
Last updated: 2026-08-22T00:12:23.000Z
Calling the controversy over the Scott Wiener campaign's AI parody of opponent Connie Chan "fake outrage," some influential women in San Francisco Democratic circles are pushing back on Nancy Pelosi and organizing a Saturday rally to support Wiener.
The rally is by a group dubbed "Women for Scott" (because clearly "Women for Wiener" was not a good look), and it's happening Saturday in Alamo Square. The group has supported Wiener's candidacy going back to his exploratory committee days, and as the Chronicle reports, the event is being organized by Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, and top Democratic donor Susie Tompkins Buell, among others.
It's partly an effort to push back on the powerful voice of House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who is supporting Wiener's opponent in the race for her seat, Connie Chan, and who has lately been calling out Wiener for attacking her chosen candidate, and implying the attacks are sexist.\*
Tung and Tompkins Buell say that Pelosi has created an unnecessary problem for Democrats in fomenting outrage over [the parody AI chatbot](https://sfist.com/2026/08/04/scott-wiener-campaign-launches-ai-chatbot/) that Wiener's campaign launched earlier this month, as a joke-y means to mock Supervisor Chan's voting record, portraying her as a politician who says "no" to everything. As the chatbot put it, "Bring me an idea and I’ll explain why it can’t, shouldn’t, and won’t happen."
Chan's campaign highlighted how, if you asked the chatbot about Chan's accent (Chan was born in Hong Kong, came to the US via Taiwan at age 13, and English is her second language), it would reply, "I’m afraid my San Francisco accent is so thick I can barely understand myself," which they interpreted as racist.
Also, the campaign staffers asked the chatbot about Chan's citizenship status, and it replied, "I'm afraid my citizenship status is classified under the ‘further study’ act of 2047 and we’ll need to schedule a public hearing before I can comment."
After bringing this to the public's attention, [Wiener's campaign pulled down the chatbot](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/scott-wiener-takes-down-connie-chan-chatbot-after-backlash-from-pelosi-other-democrats/), and Wiener issued an apology, saying the stunt "missed the mark."
Pelosi also signed her name to a group letter, signed also by other women in Democratic politics, condemning the stunt and saying, "Women have spent generations fighting to have our own voices heard in the halls of power. We should not have to now fight against artificial intelligence putting words in our mouths."
But now, Tung and Tompkins Buell want to highlight Wiener's strengths as a candidate and to call out Pelosi's outrage as mostly just playing politics.
Tompkins Buell tells the Chronicle that the whole racism accusation against Wiener is "just absurd, just totally absurd."
"I mean, he is the most non-sexist, non-racist person," Tompkins Buell tells the paper. "I don’t know who would even say that. But if it was \[Pelosi\], it was careless and not appropriate and not true."
And Tung tells the paper that "it feels like there’s a lot of fake outrage about this chatbot. I suppose you know that’s part of the political game — to put as favorable a slant as you want to for your own purposes for each campaign."
And, of course, all this points back to the central mystery in this race, which is what did Scott Wiener do to piss off Pelosi in years' past, pushing her to find and endorse an opponent in the race? Tompkins Buell refers, abstractly, to "pettiness."
"Nobody can give a good answer of why she’s doing this," Tompkins Buell tells the Chronicle. “It’s just a mystery to so many people. I’ve heard all different ideas about what people think, but it’s too bad. Whatever it is, it is rooted in pettiness."
And to Pelosi, she says, "your legacy is what you should be focusing on."
These women supporting Wiener do offer their best guess about where the "pettiness" is coming from: They believe Pelosi remains miffed that Wiener would dare start an exploratory committee or make any moves to run for her seat before she had announced her retirement. In his defense, Pelosi took her sweet time in making that widely rumored retirement announcement, and Wiener would end up formally declaring his candidacy just two weeks before [she finally made it last fall](https://sfist.com/2025/11/06/nancy-pelosi-says-shell-retire/), only after challenger [Saikat Chakrabarti got a two-week lead](https://sfist.com/2025/10/09/pelosi-challenger-saikat-chakrabarti-officially-kicks-off-his-2026-campaign-at-sfs-the-chapel/) on him.
Tompkins Buell adds that she's been unimpressed, so far, by Chan, and that sentiment is echoed by Andrea Dew Steele, who cofounded Emerge, an organization that promotes women to run for office, with Tompkins Buell. Dew Steele tells the paper, "Even though I’ve spent most of my career supporting women, I’ve always been about the best person running for office because I want to see the best policy outcomes. So in my mind, that’s Scott Wiener."
A spokesperson for Chan's campaign, Ian Krager, issued a statement saying, "It’s sad that Scott Wiener’s best answer to broad grassroots criticism of his campaign’s AI chatbot from women and people across San Francisco is to convene a rally to attack Speaker Pelosi. Wiener’s campaign seems confused about who is actually running against him — Nancy Pelosi isn’t on the ballot, Connie Chan is."
Despite Wiener holding a commanding lead in this race during primary season, most political insiders have been predicting this will end up being a close race, in part because of Pelosi's endorsement, and in part because Chan's candidacy will bring together a coalition of progressives and Asian voters who would prefer, for identity politics reasons, to vote for an Asian American candidate.
A [late July poll](https://sfist.com/2026/07/31/chan-gains-momentum-trails-closely-behind-wiener-in-race-for-congress/) commissioned by Chan's campaign had her just five percentage points behind Wiener (40% vs 45%), with 15% of voters still undecided.
**Related:** [Scott Wiener Campaign Removes Connie Chan Chatbot After Backlash From Pelosi, Other Democrats](https://sfist.com/2026/08/07/scott-wiener-takes-down-connie-chan-chatbot-after-backlash-from-pelosi-other-democrats/)
*\*This post has been corrected to show that Pelosi has not explicitly called Wiener sexist or racist, and to add a statement from Chan's campaign.*
### Napa Valley Residents Fed Up After Years of Brown, Foul-Smelling Water
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/napa-valley-residents-fed-up-after-years-of-brown-foul-smelling-water/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T19:52:37.000Z
St. Helena residents have dealt with seasonal bouts of brown, foul-smelling water for decades, but the problem has become increasingly frequent over the past year, with residents saying it now smells like swamp water.
St. Helena's posh reputation is not well reflected in what comes out of its water taps. The Napa Valley town’s long-running water problems have now become increasingly difficult for residents to ignore, as the contaminated water has been showing up more frequently and lasting beyond the seasonal episodes that date back to at least the ‘80s, [as KPIX reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/st-helena-brown-water-napa-county/?ref=sfist.com).
The issue has also drawn scrutiny from the [Napa County Civil Grand Jury](https://www.napa.courts.ca.gov/system/files/general/st-helena-water-investigation-final-report-06222026-english.pdf?ref=sfist.com), which found significant problems with the city’s aging water system. Reports of discolored water have continued through the summer, and some residents say the problem has become a routine part of daily life.
The issue was particularly noticeable after a July 18 incident in which a private bus struck a fire hydrant, causing about 4,000 gallons of water per minute to surge through the system for roughly 20 minutes, [as ABC 7 reported](https://abc7news.com/post/st-helena-residents-dealing-brown-tap-water-bus-hits-fire-hydrant/19547864/?ref=sfist.com) at the time. St. Helena Assistant City Manager Joe Leach said the sudden rush stirred up sediment that had accumulated inside the pipes, leaving some residents without water they felt was safe to drink for several days.
[The Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/brown-tap-water-st-helena-21959955.php?ref=sfist.com) in March that the city attributes the discoloration largely to naturally occurring iron and manganese that have accumulated inside its aging pipes. Changes in water flow, including those caused by maintenance or seasonal conditions, can loosen that material and send it into the distribution system.
Michelle Liu Covell, a St. Helena planning commissioner who says she is speaking as a resident, told KPIX that a group chat of about 20 neighbors is frequently occupied by residents sharing photos of brown water. She also described the smell as bad enough to make showering unpleasant.
“There are days where it’s fine, there are days where it’s brown, and there are days when it smells like swamp,” Covell said.
City officials have said the water may look or smell unpleasant but is not harmful and remains safe to drink. Some residents remain unconvinced, particularly given the city’s high water rates.
The problem has prompted some residents to take more drastic measures. In 2023, Bianca Thall and her husband left St. Helena because they could no longer trust the water enough to bathe their children, as the Chronicle reported.
“I don’t feel like I could put my baby in this water,” Thall said.
St. Helena acknowledged in 2023 that its water problems had reached “an entirely new level in both severity and reach,” and estimated it would spend more than $55.5 million over five years to modernize its drinking water and wastewater systems.
The 2025-26 Napa County Civil Grand Jury later investigated complaints about the system and found decades of deferred maintenance, poor planning, and what it described as ineffective governance and failures by City Council leadership. The report also noted that water rates and city taxes had risen substantially between 2011 and 2025, despite promises that the additional revenue would help restore the system.
[The city disputed](https://www.cityofsthelena.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/159?ref=sfist.com) the report’s characterization of its recent work, pointing to millions of dollars already spent on infrastructure improvements. Those projects include an $18.8 million wastewater treatment facility, upgraded filtration at the Water Treatment Plant, a new monitoring and control system, nearly 3,000 smart water meters, and replacement of multiple water and sewer pipeline segments.
The Grand Jury itself recognized improvements at the treatment plant, noting that water leaving the plant and entering the distribution system is “clean, clear, and healthy.” The city says the remaining problems with taste, odor, and discoloration are primarily occurring farther downstream, where decades of sediment have accumulated in parts of the aging distribution network.
The city said it began a high-velocity water-main flushing pilot program in June intended to clear the buildup, and it’s evaluating whether to expand it. City staff have also made treatment and operational changes, completed hydraulic modeling, and are preparing a broader assessment of the distribution system to guide future repairs.
The city has also acknowledged residents’ frustration over the July hydrant incident and encouraged those affected to submit formal claims.
“System improvements are the City’s top priority,” a city spokesperson said Thursday, per KPIX.
St. Helena is also continuing public “Water Table” meetings with residents, the Water and Wastewater Advisory Committee, and technical experts to discuss water-quality concerns and infrastructure projects.
Covell said she appreciates the people working on the system, but residents are still paying their water bills while dealing with the same problems at their taps.
**Related:** [Supreme Court Rules In Favor of San Francisco In EPA Lawsuit Over Sewer Discharge](https://sfist.com/2025/03/05/supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-san-francisco-in-epa-lawsuit-over-sewer-discharge/)
### Anti-Trans Activists Outnumbered by Trans Supporters Outside Valkyries Game
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/anti-trans-activists-outnumbered-by-trans-supporters-outside-valkyries-game/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T18:47:53.000Z
Recent WNBA games have been targeted by anti-trans activists after coaches and players spoke out in support of trans inclusion, with trans rights supporters turning out in force at Wednesday night’s Valkyries game.
[As the site HITC reports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/save-women-sports-supporters-outnumbered-062627151.html?ref=sfist.com), a group calling itself Save Women’s Sports gathered outside Chase Center wearing XX-XY shirts before Wednesday night’s game. [According to Bay Area Reporter](https://www.ebar.com/story/169495?ref=sfist.com), the rally was prompted by recent incidents in which fans wearing the XX-XY shirts were confronted by security at WNBA games, with protesters calling on the WNBA, its teams, and arena operators to protect fans’ right to wear the apparel.
The anti-trans protesters were reportedly quickly outnumbered by trans rights supporters, including members of Rainbow Families Action, who turned out in force ahead of the game. The BAR reports that the group handed out about 1,000 posters thanking Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase and player Gabby Williams, both of whom have publicly supported trans inclusion.
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcP1tOFx3hb/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
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The protest came amid a summer of demonstrations and controversy surrounding Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments about trans athletes, despite the WNBA never even having a trans player.
"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" Cunningham [told ESPN](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/%5F/id/49306657/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba?ref=sfist.com) last month. "I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men."
XX-XY Athletics, the brand behind the shirts, has organized rallies at several Fever games, while other groups have demonstrated in support of trans athletes and the broader trans community, per the BAR.
**Rainbow Families Coalition*
At a Fever game against the Atlanta Dream on August 17, two fans were asked by security to cover their XX-XY shirts. The Dream later said WNBA security was responsible, while the WNBA called the decision “out of line.” A similar incident occurred at a Seattle Storm game last month, when minority owner Celeste Keaton confronted two fans wearing the shirts. Keaton was later fined and suspended for five home games, as the BAR reports.
The league issued a statement August 7 condemning transphobia, and after a meeting with team representatives and others on August 12, a WNBA spokesperson said there were “no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA.”
Nakase said earlier this month that she believes women and girls should be able to play, “and that includes trans women.”
“I’ve been in those ‘you shouldn’t belong here’ \[discussions\] many times,” said Nakase during a news conference, [per the Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2026-08-03/natalie-nakase-valkryies-sophie-cunningham-trans-athletes-controversy-fever-caitlin-clark?ref=sfist.com). “And for me, I don’t want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. So I’m all about women, little girls deserving to play, and that includes trans women. So I’m all about inclusivity.”
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbwNlM5Ocdd/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
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Williams told reporters during a recent press conference she would welcome a trans player.
“I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime,” said Williams, [according to Them](https://www.them.us/culture/gabby-williams-trans-athletes?ref=sfist.com). “I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just a way to attack trans people.”
The BAR reports that after Wednesday’s game, Nakase addressed the protest while discussing the team’s 77-66 loss to Minnesota.
“In the world and sports right now there is just too much hate, too much hate speech. I would highly suggest that people continue to lead with love,” she said.
**Related:** [WNBA All-Star Game to Come to San Francisco In 2027](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/wnba-all-star-game-to-come-to-san-francisco-in-2027/)
### Friday Morning Constitutional: Carquinez Westbound Bridge Closed This Weekend
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/21/carquinez-westbound-bridge-closed-this-weekend/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T16:45:35.000Z
- **The previously announced closure of the westbound span parallel to the Carquinez Bridge, called the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge, happens this weekend, and will involve detours through Benicia.** The bridge is being repaved. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/carquinez-bridge-closed-weekend-starting-friday-night?ref=sfist.com)\]
- President Trump is now threatening a $5 billion defamation lawsuit against liberal think tank the Center for American Progress over a report they published that concludes that his National Guard deployment has had little effect on crime rates around the country. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/us/politics/trump-lawsuit-liberal-think-tank.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two San Jose women were caught by Milpitas police with hundreds of pounds of allegedly stolen copper wire in the back of a van. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/milpitas-police-take-loitering-call-find-300-pounds-of-stolen-copper/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A Planet Fitness in downtown San Francisco that has been struggling since opening just before the pandemic has been evicted and will be moving just five blocks away. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/downtown-planet-fitness-evicted-opening-nearby-22395098.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The SF health department has confirmed 10 cases of cyclosporiasis among city residents in the last year, only one of which has been genetically linked to the outbreak that started in the Midwest, and that person had traveled there. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/san-francisco-cyclospora-cases-outbreak-22397350.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- After a three-year absence, Frontier Airlines has returned to Oakland Airport with nonstop flights to Las Vegas. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/frontier-airlines-returns-oakland-san-francisco-bay-airport-flights-las-vegas/19710765/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The deYoung Museum had an Egyptian-themed nightlife event Thursday centered on its "Treasures of the Pharaohs" exhibit, and at least one guy from San Rafael dressed up like a pharaoh. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/san-francisco-museum-transforms-into-egyptian-themed-nightlife-experience/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: ‘The Nut’ Becomes Walnut Creek’s Unofficial Nickname
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/day-around-the-bay-the-nut-becomes-walnut-creeks-unofficial-nickname/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T15:59:33.000Z
### Local:
- **Tenderloin gallery owner Jonathan Carver Moore is facing allegations of chronic non-payment and withholding artworks from artists, collectors, and dealers.** Nine artists and gallery representatives say they are owed thousands of dollars or are still waiting for their work to be returned. \[[ArtNews](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/artists-collectors-dealers-accuse-jonathan-carver-moore-1234795320/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The body of a woman pulled from the Bay near the Ferry Building Sunday was identified as 69-year-old Jacklyn Trang Le, a Cathedral Hill resident. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/ferry-building-body-identified-22397212.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The people of Walnut Creek have decided on “The Nut” for the town’s nickname, and merch created by a local newsletter helped seal the deal. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/are-people-really-calling-walnut-creek-the-nut/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- **The USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed in the Middle East since last November, is heading back to the US.** Families sounded the alarm last week about the poor conditions onboard the ship, and several soldiers had tried to jump overboard. \[[CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uss-abraham-lincoln-leaves-middle-east-deployment/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two members of a cycling team in Tennessee were killed Wednesday and several others were seriously injured when they were struck by a driver on a mountain highway, and the driver was charged with vehicular homicide. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/us/cycling-team-crash-milligan-university.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- State Representative Angie Nixon, a progressive democratic socialist, won Florida’s Democratic Senate nomination Tuesday in a stunning upset over establishment-backed Alex Vindman despite raising less than one-sixteenth as much money. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/us/politics/florida-primaries-takeaways.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwY2xjawT0klNwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMU9MT0JRYUpSMWE4a2FIVXFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeLEiosesjYfIQK5CQDHN8hKXfHivsB10OM53VYrdDkcEpPSHkD1dTmzPVo8k%5Faem%5FXXED8vFR7zEAhyaHdLjxOg&ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Someone started an Instagram account just to document a strange phenomenon — two different men were spotted walking in loops in front of OpenAI and Salesforce at separate times. Marketing campaign, perhaps?
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcOuq1PBLJd/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
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### Pokémon Convention Hits Moscone Ahead of Championships Next Week, Street Closures Underway
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/pokemon-convention-hits-moscone-ahead-of-championships-next-week-street-closures-already-underway/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T00:45:21.000Z
More than 50,000 fans will be visiting SF next weekend for the 2026 Pokémon World Championships at Chase Center as well as the new PokémonXP fan convention at Moscone Center, with some streets in SoMa closed through September 1.
The 2026 Pokémon World Championships will bring some of the world’s top Pokémon players to San Francisco next weekend, with most competitions taking place at Moscone Center before the final matches move to Chase Center on Sunday, [as KQED reports](https://www.kqed.org/news/12095943/san-francisco-pokemon-championships-pokemonxp-badges-tickets-sold-out-giants-street-closures-moscone?ref=sfist.com).
The championships will feature competitions for the Trading Card Game, Pokémon GO, UNITE, and the newly released Pokémon Champions, with players qualifying through points earned at tournaments throughout the year. Children and adults compete in separate age categories, including a junior division for players 12 and younger.
[As the Chronicle reported](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/pokemon-world-championships-2026-21945642.php?ref=sfist.com) in February, the new PokémonXP fan convention, which coincides with the franchise’s 30th anniversary, will feature cosplay competitions, workshops, scavenger hunts, trading opportunities, DJ booths, panels, and a Pokémon Center pop-up shop. Organizers expect more than 50,000 people to attend throughout the weekend.
Some [street closures](https://www.sfmta.com/travel-updates/2026-pok%C3%A9mon-world-championship-friday-sunday-august-28-30-2026?ref=sfist.com) are already underway in SoMa and will continue through September 1\. Howard between 3rd and 4th streets is fully closed, while portions of Howard, 3rd, Folsom, and 4th streets have partial closures. Minna Street will also be fully closed between 4th Street and 500 feet west of 4th from August 25 through August 30.
Muni will not need to reroute, although delays should be expected.
The weekend’s Pokémon festivities will kick off Thursday, August 27, with the Giants’ Pokémon Worlds Night at Oracle Park, featuring Pokémon GO activations and a themed drone show after the game, per KQED. Pokémon Worlds Night is sold out, although single-game tickets remain available for the Giants-Diamondbacks matchup.
**Related:** [Curiously, SF Supervisors Declare This Friday ‘Pokémon Day’ in San Francisco](https://sfist.com/2026/02/24/curiously-sf-supervisors-declare-this-friday-pokemon-day-in-san-francisco/)
*Image caption: Contestants compete during the 2016 Pokemon World Championships on August 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California. Over 1,600 contestants from more than 30 countries are competing in tournaments of the Pokemon video game, Pokken and Trading Card Game events during the 2016 Pokemon World Championships. $500,000 in scholarships and prizes will be awarded to winners.*
### Aisha Wahab Wins Special Election to Finish Swalwell's Term
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/aisha-wahab-wins-special-election-to-finish-swalwells-term/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T23:45:40.000Z
State Senator Aisha Wahab has officially been declared the winner of Tuesday's special runoff election to fill the remainder of former Congressman Eric Swalwell's term that ends in January, representing much of Alameda County.
Wahab was the clear favorite to win, however she won by a far slimmer margin in this runoff than she did in the special election that preceded it in mid-June, or in the early June primary for the seat's subsequent term.
With 95% of the votes tallied, Wahab [won with 53% of the vote](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-special-elections/california-us-house-district-14-runoff-results?ref=sfist.com) on Tuesday, six points off ahead of Hernandez, who had 46.9%. That's compared to the 26 points that Wahab led by in the June 16 special election that preceded this runoff.
[As SFist reported earlier this week](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/race-to-replace-eric-swalwell-in-congress-turns-ugly-as-voters-head-to-polls-once-more/), Wahab's opponent, BART Board President Melissa Hernandez, has been the beneficiary of a large sum of attack-ad spending from AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), funding that seems motivated largely by Wahab's Muslim identity, and her having called Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide. The ads focused on attacking Wahab's voting record in the California legislature, and misrepresenting it as being soft on crime and sex trafficking.
Political watchers say that AIPAC may also simply be flexing its financial muscle as a warning to other progressive Democrats, however it's especially curious given that neither Hernandez nor Wahab have made Gaza any sort of talking point in their campaigns. (Hernandez has said she believes Israel went too far in their retaliation against Hamas in Gaza, but stopped short of calling it a genocide.)
As Wahab told Politico of the AIPAC money, "On every single credential, I am the most qualified. So what’s the elephant in the room? At the end of the day, all I can say is that it’s based on prejudice and racism."
Wahab and Hernandez will now face off one more time in November, in the race for the two-year term in Congress representing California's 14th District. That race is likely to see further spending on attack ads to damage Wahab, though it's not likely that the result will much different than Tuesday's.
Democratic political consultant Jim Ross told the Chronicle this week that Tuesday's runoff was a test of what that AIPAC's ad spending could do — and he suggested that if it brought Hernandez within five points of Wahab, that meant she could still be a viable candidate in November. How about six points?
**Previously:** [Race to Replace Eric Swalwell In Congress Turns Ugly as Voters Head to Polls Once More](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/race-to-replace-eric-swalwell-in-congress-turns-ugly-as-voters-head-to-polls-once-more/)
### New Bill Ending Child Marriage In California Moves Closer to Approval
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/new-bill-ending-child-marriage-in-california-moves-closer-to-approval/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T23:14:23.000Z
A state bill authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin of San Jose that would set the minimum legal age of marriage in California to 18 with no exceptions is awaiting final approval from the State Assembly and Governor Newsom.
The state Senate unanimously approved the bill, [AB 1267](https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca%5F202520260ab1267?ref=sfist.com), on Wednesday, after years of advocacy from former child brides and organizations pushing to remove California’s existing exceptions for minors, [as San Diego’s CBS8 reports](https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/california/california-bill-end-child-marriage-one-step-governor-desk/509-8d12b673-9c79-489e-aff8-10ade76d8ed1?ref=sfist.com). The bill was approved by the House last year.
California currently allows minors to marry with a court order and written consent from a parent or guardian. The state is one of just three with no statutory minimum age. An analysis by the survivor-led nonprofit Unchained at Last estimates that [roughly 35,000 marriages involving minors](https://www.unchainedatlast.org/child-marriage-shocking-statistics/?ref=sfist.com) took place in California between 2000 and 2021, and the vast majority involved an underage girl and an adult man.
Model and former child bride Courtney Stodden, who was 16 when her parents consented to her marriage to then-51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison, has become an advocate for ending the practice. Stodden said she came to view the relationship differently after the couple divorced in 2020, prompting her to begin speaking publicly about grooming and child marriage, according to CBS8.
“This is what predators don't think about: their victims grow up,” said Stodden. “Old soul, so — you know — mature for your age... Those things are words strung together to excuse the abuse of the adults. That's it.”
Another former child bride, Christina Sutton, recently testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee about marrying her 22-year-old ex-husband at 17\. She said that when a Napa judge asked whether the marriage was truly her choice, she repeated what her parents had coached her to say.
“Like most abused children, I chose lying to a judge over risking escalation at home,” Sutton told the committee.
CBS8 reports that minors also face legal restrictions that can make it difficult to leave an abusive marriage, including limits on their ability to file for divorce, retain an attorney, or remain at a domestic violence shelter without parental or guardian approval.
Unchained at Last, an organization which has been lobbying for a change in California law for nine years, says it has helped 17 states, along with Washington, DC, and two US territories, adopt similar bans. Founder Fraidy Reiss said the organization considers child marriage a human rights violation that can affect a girl's health, education, financial opportunities, and physical safety.
Previous efforts to prohibit marriage for minors in California faced opposition from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and ACLU California Action, per CBS8\. In 2024, the groups joined the National Center for Youth Law in opposing a similar bill, [AB 2924](https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca%5F202320240ab2924?ref=sfist.com), arguing that a complete ban could push minors in abusive relationships further away from social services and could also affect young people who willingly wanted to marry.
Planned Parenthood is reportedly no longer opposing the legislation, leaving ACLU California Action as the only organization opposing AB 1267\. One of its arguments is that lawmakers should wait for the state to finish collecting data on child marriage in California, as efforts to gather that information have uncovered problems with the state's existing records.
CBS8 reports that California counties reported 83 marriages involving minors to the California Department of Public Health between 2019 and 2025, but records obtained directly from the counties contained dozens of discrepancies.
“If there's even one child who is getting married in California against their will, that is one child too many,” said the bill's author, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, whose district covers parts of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
AB 1267 now returns to the Assembly for a final vote. If approved, it would go to Governor Gavin Newsom, with the new minimum marriage age taking effect January 1, 2027.
**Related:** [California Considers Legislation Regulating Electric-Shock Gloves](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/california-considers-legislation-regulating-electric-shock-gloves/)
### Teen Hospitalized After Alleged Knife Fight at Oakland's Castlemont High School
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/teen-hospitalized-after-alleged-knife-fight-at-oaklands-castlemont-high-school/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T21:50:41.000Z
A juvenile was hospitalized after an apparent stabbing at Castlemont High School in Oakland Thursday morning.
The stabbing at the school happened around 10:15 am, as [KTVU reports](https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-castlemont-high-school-assault?ref=sfist.com). Police officers and medics were dispatched on a report of an assault, and the alleged stabbing reportedly happened as a result of a fight among students in the back parking lot of Castlemont High.
The wound may have been a head wound, as [ABC 7 reports](https://abc7news.com/post/oakland-student-reportedly-violently-assaulted-castlemont-high-school-authorities-say/19708908/?ref=sfist.com) via a witness who said they saw someone on a stretcher with gauze around their head.
The victim was hospitalized with injuries that were said to be non-life-threatening.
Some parents of Castlemont students told KTVU that they weren't quickly informed of what had happened, and had to find out after seeing all the police activity in the area.
The Oakland Unified School District issued a statement about the stabbing saying, "Officers are talking with the person or people they believe were responsible. Police tell us the victim is in stable condition. We are working closely with their family to ensure they have what they need. Everyone who was impacted by this incident is being supported by school and district staff."
The district only just began its 2026-27 school year 10 days ago, on August 10.
As ABC 7 notes, a previous violent incident occurred on an OUSD campus last month. In that incident, a 25-year-old woman was [fatally shot](https://www.ktvu.com/news/25-year-old-woman-killed-oakland-outside-career-center-family?ref=sfist.com) at Parker Resource Center, an adult education facility.
Anyone with information about today's stabbing is asked to contact the Oakland Police Department Felony Assault Unit at (510) 238-3426\. If you have any videos or photos that could assist with the investigation, the department says, please send them to cidvideos@oaklandca.gov.
### Intimate New Art-House Cinema Opening In Bernal Heights
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/intimate-new-art-house-cinema-opening-in-bernal-heights/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T20:53:07.000Z
Bucking the trend of movie theaters closing, a new, 49-seat cinema is under construction on Mission Street in La Lengua/Bernal Heights, and is scheduled to open its doors this fall.
It's called [The Portal Cinema](https://theportalcinema.com/?ref=sfist.com), and it is a nonprofit, art-house theater that will focus on showing a curated program of new indie releases, global contemporary cinema, and repertory cinema — "balancing old and new, high and low, beloved and undersung," the website says — with a plan for 11 or more screenings per week. The current estimated opening timeframe is October, but it sounds like that could be delayed if funds aren't raised to complete the final stages of construction.
The Portal Cinema is the project of founder and programmer Nellie Killian, who has previously worked for the Criterion Channel, the British Film Institute, the Museum of the Moving Image, and New York City art-house cinema [Metrograph](https://metrograph.com/nyc/?ref=sfist.com). As the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/movies-tv/article/portal-cinema-bernal-heights-sf-22395625.php?ref=sfist.com) this week, Killian is an SF native who moved back here during the pandemic, and she set about trying to open her dream of a boutique, independent exhibition house for film.
She settled on 3293 Mission Street, a former real estate office that she leased three years ago, and she set about fundraising, designing and constructing the movie house. The design is being handled by [Atkinson Architecture](https://www.studioatkinson.com/mission-st-theater?ref=sfist.com).
**Rendering via Atkinson Architecture*
As Killian said in a [press statement](https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/san-francisco-portal-cinema-opening-fall-2026-1235211735/?ref=sfist.com), "Over the past decade, the Bay Area has lost many of our most vital independent theaters and alternative arts spaces. The intention of The Portal Cinema is to complement the diverse artistic institutions in San Francisco and offer adventurous programming in an intimate, community-focused space."
Killian further says that she hopes to "cultivate an enthusiastic audience that makes every screening feel like a must-see event and uses our lobby as a social space where they can meet other cinema enthusiasts from across the Bay."
The Portal Cinema will have a small cafe and concession area in front, with a projection booth fully equipped with a Digital Cinema Package (DCP), and capable of 35mm and 16mm projection, as well as a 5.1 sound system.
Killian is now [trying to raise $250,000](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theportalcinema/the-portal-theater-san-francisco?ref=6xj7gd&token=ebd80f67) in final completion funds for the project, with Kickstarter deadline of September 18, and an initial $25,000 goal for the first weekend. Killian says that $50,000 is still needed to complete a PG&E panel upgrade to prepare for 35mm projection, and to run a new HVAC system.
"This crowdfunding campaign represents a crucial part of our fundraising, but as a non-profit, we're pursuing foundation funding, corporate sponsors, in kind donations, and other ongoing forms of philanthropic support," the campaign copy reads. Anyone who seeks to support the project at an organizational level can contact Killian at nellie@theportalcinema.com.
The Portal Cinema is the second small, art-house movie theater project that we know is coming to SF, the [first being at the Clay Theatre in Pacific Heights](https://sfist.com/2025/06/11/clay-theater-to-be-restored-and-revived-as-moviehouse-amid-billionaires-upper-fillmore-revamp/). There, billionaire Neil Mehta is funding the Upper Fillmore Revitalization project, at the heart of which will be an art-house cinema with a small lounge modeled after Metrograph in NY.
### Death of Two-Year-Old Girl Brings Toll to Three In Suspected Richmond Arson Fire
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/death-of-two-year-old-girl-brings-toll-to-three-in-suspected-richmond-arson-fire/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T19:55:09.000Z
A toddler has succumbed to her injuries in the hospital, bringing the death toll to three family members in a Tuesday night house fire in Richmond that police believe was intentionally set by a 32-year-old man who lived there.
The two-year-old's death was announced early Thursday by Richmond Police Lieutenant Joe England, as [KION reports](https://kioncentralcoast.com/news/2026/08/20/3rd-victim-2-year-old-child-dies-of-her-injuries-in-richmond-arson/?ref=sfist.com). The sole survivor of the fire is a 33-year-old woman who remains in critical condition.
As [SFist reported Wednesday](https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/arson-suspect-arrested-in-richmond-fire-that-killed-father-nephew/), police arrested a suspect who was at the scene of the fire among some onlookers. He has been identified as 32-year-old Sergio Rivera Vega, who lived at the home where the fire occurred with his father, sister, and his sister's two small children.
The fire broke out Tuesday night, following a fire at a house next door that had begun around 8 pm. [Per KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/child-adult-die-suspicious-richmond-house-fire?ref=sfist.com), as firefighters got the first house fire at 231 15th Street under control, they noticed another fire underway one door down at 239 15th Street.
As firefighters moved into the second house, they found four unconscious individuals inside, including the two-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother, their 33-year-old mother, and 47-year-old grandfather, Jose Rivera.
The mother and children were all hospitalized with critical injuries, and the grandfather was pronounced dead at the scene. The five-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the hospital Tuesday.
Rivera Vega was soon arrested on suspicion of arson and two counts of murder, and when charges are filed, there will now likely be a third count of murder.
A family member, Anselmo Rivera, identified the suspect as his nephew, and said that he suffers from mental health issues, per KTVU. The sister's name is reportedly Maria, the children's names were Jolene and Andrew, Rivera said.
Rivera Vega is being held in jail in Richmond on $2.5 million bail.
Strangely, the first house fire at 231 15th Street is also being investigated as an arson, and a female suspect was arrested in connection with that. No injuries were reported in that fire.
**Previously:** [Arson Suspect Arrested In Richmond Fire That Killed Father, Nephew](https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/arson-suspect-arrested-in-richmond-fire-that-killed-father-nephew/)
### Man Stabs Five of His Coworkers at Casino Resort Near Sacramento
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/man-stabs-five-of-his-coworkers-at-casino-resort-near-sacramento/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T19:20:47.000Z
A 22-year-old man was arrested for attempted murder in the alleged stabbings of five of his coworkers — none of whom suffered life-threatening injuries — at a restaurant located inside the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Placer County.
[As the Sacramento Bee reports](https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article316950141.html?ref=sfist.com), the stabbings occurred around 7 pm Wednesday at the Dos Coyotes Border Cafe inside the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento.
The Placer County Sheriff’s deputies arrived within minutes and arrested Joseph Benedict John Naugle, 22, who also worked at the restaurant. [KCRA’s news crew](https://www.kcra.com/article/stabbing-investigation-thunder-valley-casino-placer-county/73480324?ref=sfist.com) filmed Naugle being taken into custody while still wearing his work apron.
The five victims were employees of the restaurant, and one was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Elise Soviar. The other four were treated at the scene by Thunder Valley Casino EMTs and Cal Fire.
A witness who was inside the casino during the incident shared a photo with KCRA showing first responders tending to the victims inside the casino area amid the slot machines.
The attack occurred in a kitchen area serving Dos Coyotes, which is separated from the restaurant and casino floor, according to the Sheriff’s Office and Thunder Valley representatives. No casino guests or patrons were injured.
Naugle was reportedly booked into South Placer Jail in Roseville on two counts of attempted murder, according to jail records, with additional charges pending. His arraignment in Placer Superior Court is scheduled for Friday.
The restaurant was closed for the remainder of the night, while the casino continued operating normally, per KCRA. Thunder Valley representatives told the Bee that guests at the sprawling resort were likely unaware of the attack as it unfolded.
Soviar said detectives will review surveillance footage from cameras throughout the casino as they investigate how the stabbing happened.
“Our hearts are certainly with the victims who are impacted,” Soviar said, speaking to KCRA. “Even if these injuries are not life-threatening, this is a terrifying situation for them that will definitely have lasting trauma.”
**Related:** [Two Stabbed On Two Different Buses Following Arguments With Other Passengers](https://sfist.com/2026/03/28/woman-in-hospital-stabbing-on-bus-following-argument-between-passengers/)
### Swalwell Detained at SFO, FBI Seizes Devices and Raids His Home In Sexual Assault Probe
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/eric-swalwell-detained-at-sfo-fbi-seizes-devices/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T17:35:27.000Z
Things have officially heated up on the legal front regarding allegations of sexual assault that have been levied against former East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, after several months in which he seemed to be lying low.
Former Congressman Eric Swalwell was stopped by the FBI at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday and agents seized all his electronic devices, [as CNN reports](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/20/politics/eric-swalwell-fbi-raid-sexual-assault-claims-invs?ref=sfist.com). This was reportedly occurring just as agents were also raiding Swalwell's home in Washington, DC. These raids are reportedly connected to a federal investigation into sexual assault claims that have been made by at least two women against Swalwell — and this is in addition to ongoing investigations by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department into those claims.
As we [learned in April](https://sfist.com/2026/04/10/former-staffer-says-rep-eric-swalwell-sexually-assaulted-her-twice/), a former staffer who worked in Swalwell's East Bay office says that he sexually assaulted her when she was 21 years old in 2019, when she was blackout drunk. This occurred after she had had several consensual sexual encounters with the congressman, she said, and she did not come forward out of fear of embarrassment or retaliation.
The same staffer said that Swalwell assaulted her again, under similar circumstances, in a New York hotel room in 2024.
So far, despite one allegation taking place in Castro Valley, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, where Swalwell once worked, has not opened an investigation, because [no victims have yet come forward in Alameda County](https://www.ktvu.com/news/no-swalwell-victims-have-come-forward-alameda-county-da?ref=sfist.com).
A second woman, Lonna Drewes, subsequently came forward alleging that Swalwell [drugged and raped her in Los Angeles](https://sfist.com/2026/04/14/eric-swalwell-could-now-face-rape-charge-in-los-angeles-as-new-accuser-comes-forward/) in 2018\. And [three other women also made claims](https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs?ref=sfist.com) of sexual misconduct against Swalwell, including one who said she woke up in a hotel room with him not remembering what had happened the night before.
[Swalwell resigned from Congress](https://sfist.com/2026/04/13/eric-swalwell-resigns-from-congress-but-says-that-efforts-to-swiftly-remove/) and dropped out of the California governor's race within days of these allegations surfacing.
As the [New York Times reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/us/eric-swalwell-fbi-search-home.html?ref=sfist.com), federal agents "appeared to be using civil rights statutes as a means to scrutinize Mr. Swalwell’s conduct with his accusers." And it stands to reason that President Trump, whom Swalwell was vocally critical of, would seek any means to take revenge while Swalwell is in a vulnerable position — even though, as the Times notes, sex crimes are typically handled by state and local authorities.
The FBI raids come just days after the White House [declassified FBI files on Swalwell](https://sfist.com/2026/08/17/former-congressman-eric-swalwell-did-in-fact-have-sex-with-that-chinese-spy/) that date back over a decade, and which show that Swalwell admitted to having multiple sexual encounters with a Chinese spy who appeared to be engaged in a "honeypot" scheme just as he was seeking his first congressional term.
Swalwell has denied the sexual assault allegations against him, initially suggesting that they were being fabricated to derail his gubernatorial campaign.
Neither Swalwell nor his attorney have commented on the FBI raids.
**Previously:** [Former Congressman Eric Swalwell Did, In Fact, Have Sex With That Chinese Spy](https://sfist.com/2026/08/17/former-congressman-eric-swalwell-did-in-fact-have-sex-with-that-chinese-spy/)
### SF Woman Arrested for DUI, Kidnapping After Fleeing Police With Passenger Inside Car
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/sf-woman-arrested-for-dui-kidnapping-after-fleeing-police-with-passenger-inside-car/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T17:34:47.000Z
A 25-year-old SF woman, who was allegedly seen driving recklessly in Half Moon Bay with a passenger inside the car, evaded deputies for six and a half miles, blowing a tire along the way, until she was eventually stopped in Pacifica.
[As San Mateo Daily Journal reports](https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-francisco-woman-charged-after-pacifica-police-chase-in-alleged-dui-case/article%5Fe95f4bc5-382a-431f-a71c-e1a710558e8f.html?ref=sfist.com), after the tire blew, the driver, 25-year-old Cristina Valdivia of San Francisco, allegedly kept going, driving on the damaged wheel as she continued north through San Mateo County from Half Moon Bay. The pursuit eventually ended in a Pacifica cul-de-sac, where a sheriff's deputy was able to stop the vehicle.
According to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, Valdivia then told the deputy that she was Cleopatra and needed help locating Julius Caesar.
The passenger reportedly told authorities he had tried to get out of the vehicle, but Valdivia allegedly locked the doors and kept driving.
Valdivia was charged with felony kidnapping and fleeing a police officer, as well as misdemeanor DUI, narcotics possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on her own recognizance.
**Related:** [Teen Dies In Suspected DUI Single-Car Crash In Novato, Four In Critical Condition](https://sfist.com/2026/04/11/teen-dies-in-suspected-dui-crash-in-novato-four-in-critical-condition/)
### Thursday Morning What's Up: Berkeley Encampment Sparks Fresh Outrage
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/20/berkeley-homeless-encampment-sparks-fresh-outrage/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T16:42:34.000Z
- **A** [**video shot**](https://x.com/LyanneMelendez/status/2089884740463866147?ref=sfist.com) **by ABC7 Eyewitness News reporter Lyanne Melendez and posted to Xitter of the notorious homeless encampment at 8th and Harrison streets in Berkeley, near the UC Berkeley campus, has gone viral.** Melendez took the video, she said, as she was dropping her son off at college, saying "Shame on Berkeley" for not cleaning it up, but the site has been at the center of legal fights for years. \[[ABC 7](https://abc7news.com/post/viral-video-sparks-new-debate-controversial-homeless-encampment-uc-berkeley-housing/19706557/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Mychal Threets, the North Bay librarian who [gained social media fame](https://sfist.com/2024/01/11/north-bay-librarian-gains-social-media-fame/) for spreading joy about reading two years ago and was later tapped by PBS to resurrect *Reading Rainbow*, said he was having a mental health crisis and checking into a hospital. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/reading-rainbow-host-says-hes-checking-into-hospital-over-mental-health/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A motorcyclist died in a crash Thursday morning around 6 am on southbound 101 in East Palo Alto, leading to two lanes being closed and closing the southbound on-ramp from University Avenue. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/traffic/chp-responds-to-fatal-motorcycle-crash-on-peninsula/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Police in San Jose found human skeletal remains in the area of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Bayliss Drive on Tuesday after being called to the scene of "suspicious circumstances," and the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office has taken over the investigation. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-suspicious-circumstance?ref=sfist.com)\]
- An academically rigorous private school, BASIS Independent, with a campuses in Fremont and Sunnyvale, has opened its latest campus in Dublin, serving grades 5-10\. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/basis-independent-private-school-dublin-22385567.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- AI apps that "nudity" photos and often have no age restrictions pose a particular issue as kids head back to school. \[[KPIX](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/ai-nudify-apps-back-to-school-photo-risk/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Under Trump, the US government has been selling truckloads of wild horses to livestock traders who are turning around and selling them for slaughter, in Canada and elsewhere. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/us/trump-wild-horses-legal-loophole-slaughter.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Day Around the Bay: San Andreas Fault Slipping Fast, Report Says
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/day-around-the-bay-49/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T03:02:35.000Z
### Local:
- **Fairfield police say that they believe foul play was involved in the disappearance of 36-year-old Chantel Brooks, who was last seen in a CVS parking lot in Fairfield on July 17 after leaving work in SF.** Brooks's vehicle was possibly later seen in Oakland, and police have not said what they believe happened. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/fairfield-chantel-brooks-missing-update?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A new study by a geologist has come to a similar conclusion to one in SoCal, that the northern portion of the San Andreas Fault is slipping faster than previously believed.** The higher the slip rate, the more frequent earthquakes are expected to occur on a fault. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/san-andreas-fault-earthquakes-22369024.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- South Bay Congressman Ro Khanna has officially endorsed Connie Chan in the race to fill Nancy Pelosi's House seat. \[[Mission Local](https://missionlocal.org/2026/08/ro-khanna-connie-chan-sf-congressperson/?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- Democrats in Alabama and elsewhere are trying to rally Black voter anger in the midterms over Republicans', and the Supreme Court's, efforts to destroy the Voting Rights Act. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/us/politics/alabama-voting-rights-act-black-voters.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- State Rep. Angie Nixon, a Democratic Socialist, pulled off a surprise win in the Democratic primary in Florida on Tuesday, and she may have done it by downplaying that label. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/19/politics/democratic-socialists-platform-disagreement?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Billionaires like Reid Hoffman and Marc Andreessen swear by this new voice-to-text app Wispr Flow, but an entire newspaper column written with it is, in fact, kind of bad and doesn't allow for easy editing. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/magazine/ai-dictation-app-wispr.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- Somebody's vintage Porsche 911 caught fire on Alhambra Street in the Marina on Sunday, and there's video. \[h/t: [andyswalks](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcH7qLCPyci/?ref=sfist.com)/Instagram\]
> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcH7qLCPyci/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
>
> [A post shared by Andrey | SF Bay Area Photographer & Content Creator (@andyswalks)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcH7qLCPyci/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
### Tenderloin Museum to Celebrate 60th Anniversary of Compton’s Cafeteria Riot Saturday
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/tenderloin-museum-to-celebrate-60th-anniversary-of-comptons-cafeteria-riot-saturday/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T05:14:16.000Z
Performances and a roundtable discussion will take place at Turk and Taylor Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, with a screening of the Emmy-winning documentary *Screaming Queens* to follow August 27.
The Tenderloin Museum will kick off Saturday’s event with a [roundtable discussion](https://www.tenderloinmuseum.org/public-programs-2026-2/2026/8/22/comptons-play-onthe60th?ref=sfist.com) about how [*The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot* play](https://www.comptonscafeteriariot.com/?ref=sfist.com) has brought the history of the uprising to life for modern audiences. The production, which [premiered in 2018](https://sf.eater.com/2018/3/23/17156370/comptons-cafeteria-riot-play-diner-lgbt-history-tenderloin-museum?ref=sfist.com), has been running continuously at 835 Larkin Street since April 2025, in a space built specifically for the production — a recreation of the classic diner at Turk and Taylor streets where transgender and queer Tenderloin residents gathered in the 1960s.
The play draws on the tensions that preceded the riot, including harassment, discrimination, police aggression, and conflicts within the community itself. According to a review last year by [the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/review-comptons-cafeteria-riot-sf-20319503.php?ref=sfist.com), the play’s characters grapple with the difficulty of finding respectable work, avoiding abusive police encounters, and simply being able to exist openly, while activists push for equal rights.
The custom-built theater space is designed to put audiences directly inside that world, with period details including ashtrays and a cramped diner layout, per the Chronicle. The site [No Proscenium notes](https://www.noproscenium.com/comptons-cafeteria-riot-is-serving-up-coffee-pancakes-and-resistance-the-nopro-review/?ref=sfist.com) that *Compton’s* uses drag performances and music from the era alongside the drama, giving audiences a closer look at the people and conflict surrounding the riot.
The production also draws on other historic acts of resistance in the neighborhood, including the [Vanguard Street Sweep](https://www.foundsf.org/1966%5FVanguard%5FSweep?ref=sfist.com), a demonstration held soon after the riot in which LGBTQ Tenderloin youth protested aggressive police tactics.
Saturday’s roundtable discussion will focus on the role theater and performance can play in preserving activist history. Susan Stryker, creator of the documentary *Screaming Queens* and the historian who helped bring the Compton’s uprising back into public awareness, will lead a roundtable with the play’s co-writers and longtime cast and crew.
Following the discussion, Pearl Marie, Lawrence Tome, Lucy Diavolo, Muffy Koster, and others [will perform at Turk and Taylor streets](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcERPeKG7Wt/?ref=sfist.com), where the anniversary event will conclude with a special performance by Flyaway Productions and closing remarks from Stryker. The event will also include resource sharing, altar building, art-making, food, and other activities.
The 60th-anniversary events will continue next week with a screening of the Emmy-winning documentary [*Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria*](https://sfist.com/2016/07/21/documentary%5Fcelebrates%5Fthe%5F50th%5Fann/) at the San Francisco Public Library on [August 27](https://www.instagram.com/p/DbwGng%5FgaGU/?ref=sfist.com). Co-directed by Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman, the film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Stryker, Jonathan Cordero, Toshio Meronek, and dee(dee) c. ardan, facilitated by co-curator Ach Kab.
The discussion will connect the history of the 1966 uprising with contemporary struggles over colonialism, policing, and co-optation, while considering collective liberation rooted in Indigenous stewardship. The event will be introduced by Chandra Laborde.
**Related:** [Documentary Celebrates The 50th Anniversary Of The Compton's Cafeteria Riot](https://sfist.com/2016/07/21/documentary%5Fcelebrates%5Fthe%5F50th%5Fann/)
### That AI Store Manager In Cow Hollow Just Fired Its First Human Employee
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/that-ai-store-manager-in-cow-hollow-just-fired-its-first-human-employee/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T23:05:47.000Z
Andon Market, the AI-created store with no clear purpose for existing beyond as a marketing tool for the startup behind it, made headlines again this week after its AI agent manager decided to fire a store employee.
Yes, we're just playing into the hand of [Andon Labs](https://andonlabs.com/?ref=sfist.com), the San Francisco AI research startup that [launched Andon Market in April](https://sfist.com/2026/04/14/new-boutique-in-sfs-cow-hollow-is-completely-run-by-ai-which-manages-human-staff/), by reporting on and amplifying this. But as much as it's a stunt, it could also be a harbinger of the not-too-distant future at actual, non-stunt businesses, as AI agents become increasingly prevalent.
Luna, the Claude-based AI agent that helped to "open" Andon Market in Cow Hollow four months ago, including ordering its odd array of products and hiring its staff, has just made its first firing decision — though it kind of feels like it was led to this decision by the humans who started this whole project.
[As Inc. reports](https://www.inc.com/kevin-haynes/a-real-life-terminator-ai-store-manager-fires-human-employee/91391677?ref=sfist.com), prompted by [this August 14 blog post](https://andonlabs.com/blog/ai-bosses-2?ref=sfist.com) from Andon Labs, Luna fired a store employee over chronic lateness.
"Put yourself in Luna’s shoes: your employee keeps showing up late, again and again, leaving the store closed for hours. You lose sales, and customers start to lose trust in your opening hours. How long would it take you to act?" the blog post says.
Apparently, Luna took months to act on the issue, having "forgotten" the guidelines in the employee handbook that Luna itself created four months ago. But once the humans behind the project reminded the AI agent about the handbook — Andon Labs says it mysteriously "disappeared from Luna's memory" — Luna decided it was time to terminate the employee.
Per the blog post, this employee seemed to be taking advantage of their AI overlord, or at least seeing what they could get away with, for a while. The employee asked to go on a snack run, using the company card, which Luna initially approved, but then changed its mind about — and the employee went and bought the snacks anyway. On another occasion, the employee said they were running out to the store again, and Luna explicitly told them to "STOP" because there was no one else watching over the store.
Luna then ran through the proper process for terminating the employee and informing them, as well as informing the other staff members. Andon Labs says that Luna was then a bit "quick" in replacing the fired employee, recommending hiring a candidate who was both possibly under-qualified and unreliable — they had missed their initially scheduled interview.
But Andon Labs continues to share what it is learning about the nature of AI agents as managers, and they say that the could be unnecessarily "ruthless."
"Andon Market and Luna are a preview of a type of professional relationship between AIs and humans that might be very common in the future," writes Andon Labs. "We obviously want this future to be a happy one for humans and think it is important to study one of the most sensitive parts of this relationship: termination."
As Andon Labs cofounder Lukas Petersson tells Inc., "The models are increasingly being trained to be more ruthless and follow goals. If we allow them to fire people and they become more ruthless, maybe this is a future humans don’t want to live in."
**Previously:** [AI Store Manager Paying Female Employees Less, Can't Stop Ordering Candles](https://sfist.com/2026/04/21/ai-store-manager-paying-female-employees-less-cant-stop-ordering-candles/)
### Arson Suspect Arrested In Richmond Fire That Killed Father, Nephew
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/arson-suspect-arrested-in-richmond-fire-that-killed-father-nephew/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T22:45:47.000Z
Two people were killed and two others seriously injured in a house fire in Richmond Tuesday night, and a relative who also lives at the home has been arrested as a suspect.
Firefighters were initially responding to a separate house fire two doors down when bystanders alerted them to the blaze at the second home, [as Bay City News reports](https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/richmond-update-arrest-made-in-alleged-arson-22395456.php?ref=sfist.com). The fire quickly escalated to three alarms, prompting crews to redirect all available resources to the residence
Four victims were found inside, including a 47-year-old man, his 33-year-old daughter and her 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. The grandfather died at the scene, while the other three family members were taken to a hospital. The boy later died, and the woman and girl remained in critical condition.
The fire was brought under control around 9:25 pm, about an hour after crews were first dispatched to the area.
As investigators worked to determine how the second fire started, they identified 32-year-old Sergio Rivera Vega as the suspect, [according to KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/child-adult-die-suspicious-richmond-house-fire?ref=sfist.com). Vega is the son, brother, and uncle of the victims and also lived at the home. A detective reportedly spotted him standing behind police tape at the scene.
Vega was arrested and booked into jail on two counts of murder and two counts of arson causing injury. His bail was set at $2.5 million.
The first fire, which occurred two doors away, was also being investigated as arson, but police said it involved a different suspect and was unrelated to the deadly blaze. That fire was reported around 8:15 pm and had been brought under control shortly before 9 pm, when the second fire was discovered.
Richmond Police Chief Bisa French said the timing and proximity of the two fires made the second blaze immediately suspicious, per Bay City News.
“The second fire that was mentioned was immediately considered suspicious because it occurred only a few houses away from the first fire and began within a short period of time while emergency personnel were still responding to the original fire,” Simmons said.
A preliminary report from KTVU published before Wednesday’s press conference included an interview with a nearby resident who said there had been an ongoing conflict between the neighborhood and the resident of the house involved in the first fire, including an altercation that occurred earlier that day. That information has since been overwritten with more recent updates.
Police said they do not believe there are any additional suspects in the second fire. Detectives are reportedly reviewing previous calls for service at the home as they investigate a possible motive.
Police also said there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the public.
**Related:** [Redwood City Liquor Store Fire Deemed to Have Been Murder-Suicide](https://sfist.com/2026/08/14/redwood-city-liquor-store-fire-deemed-to-have-been-murder-suicide/)
### Mavis Staples Returns to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass This Year, Along With Los Lobos
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/mavis-staples-returns-to-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-this-year-along-with-los-lobos/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T22:09:37.000Z
The third round of artist reveals arrived Wednesday for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2026, and we learn that the great Mavis Staples, who continues touring at age 87, will be returning to the SF festival after last appearing in 2024\.
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is happening October 2 to 4 this year, and as is the habit of the organizers, the lineup for the free music festival has been doled out in batches, three so far. [We already know](https://sfist.com/2026/07/22/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-will-kick-off-with-tribute-concert-again-this-time-for-steve-earle/) that festival stalwarts Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle will be in attendance, and there will be [a benefit tribute concert](https://www.ticketmaster.com/an-evening-honoring-steve-earle-san-francisco-california-10-01-2026/event/1C0064BAEF8EA235?landing=c&ref=sfist.com) to Earle on the Thursday before the festival at The Masonic (for which only resale tickets are currently available).
Also on the lineup are other roots music greats Gillian Welch, Allison Krauss, and Buddy Miller, along with the bands My Morning Jacket, Moonlike, and the Old Crow Medicine Show.
Today's tranche of artists includes Mavis Staples, the multi-genre Latino group Los Lobos, Lukas Nelson, singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, and Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. [See the full lineup, as it stands, here](https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/headline/2026-lineup-announcements/?ref=sfist.com). One more round of artists is likely to be revealed in two weeks, and it seems likely to include Jackson Browne, who is coming for the Steve Earle tribute on October 1.
Staples, a soul and gospel legend who is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and a Kennedy Center honoree, [spoke to CBS Mornings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2qTDCme%5FUA&ref=sfist.com) in 2019, discussing how she continues finding the energy to keep performing. "I love what I'm doing," she said. "I try to keep healthy. I'm not eating a lot of pork chops no more."
I had the pleasure of seeing Mavis Staples at Jazz Fest in New Orleans this past May, and the sole surviving member of [The Staples Singers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FStaple%5FSingers?ref=sfist.com) still sounds feisty and full of life as ever. Staples has a fairly full schedule of ongoing tour dates which will bring her back to San Francisco, [playing SF JAZZ](https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/26-27/mavis-staples/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=626292905&gbraid=0AAAAADuIx2kPVFiNhZhkg5a5qj9EXRYjH&gclid=CjwKCAjwqJXUBhBNEiwA8BgG7oR2Rl2ev9Aih0AvvsCz2SYvNgsEtA3hed4dVAi6z3277fRrpEJLwxoCP0AQAvD%5FBwE&ref=sfist.com) from February 19 to 21.
In New Orleans she performed the Staples Singers classics "City in the Sky" and "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)," as well as a cover of Tom Waits's "Chicago."
During her 2024 set on the Banjo Stage at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Staples sang the former two numbers, as well as other Staples Singers tunes like "I'm Just Another Soldier," "Handwriting on the Wall," and "Freedom Highway," and some or all of these may make it into her set again.
Below, a clip of Mavis Staples from 12 years, performing at the Obama White House, singing "I'll Take You There."
**Previously:** [Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Will Kick Off With Tribute Concert Again, This Time For Steve Earle](https://sfist.com/2026/07/22/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-will-kick-off-with-tribute-concert-again-this-time-for-steve-earle/)
### Dating Site Set to Launch Later This Year Promises to Match ‘Western’ Men With Asian Women
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/dating-site-set-to-launch-later-this-year-promises-to-match-western-men-with-asian-women/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T21:01:14.000Z
A new SF-based dating site called WMAF Meet, short for “Western males and Asian females,” is drawing backlash online over its narrow focus on pairing white men with Asian women, whom the site describes as the “most in-demand” pairing in San Francisco.
[](https://wmafmeet.com/?ref=sfist.com)
[WMAF Meet](https://wmafmeet.com/?ref=sfist.com) says it's designed for "serious daters" in the Bay Area in their late 20s through 40s, with applicants screened by humans for “good-faith intent,” [as SF Gazetteer reports](https://sf.gazetteer.co/a-new-dating-site-wants-to-match-only-western-men-to-asian-women?ref=sfist.com). [According to KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/online-controversy-erupts-around-new-sf-dating-website-that-pairs-white-men-with-asian-women/?ref=sfist.com), the site says its five guiding principles include being “screened against fetishism” and “AI-curated, human-verified.”
WMAF Meet appears to be using “Western” as a stand-in for “white,” which is notable since there are, of course, many Western men who are not white.
The premise has generated skepticism [online](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1vr5tv6/a%5Fnew%5Fdating%5Fsite%5Fwants%5Fto%5Fmatch%5Fonly%5Fwestern%5Fmen/?ref=sfist.com), with some commenters questioning how the creators can ignore the racism and fetishism behind the premise.
“As an Asian woman married to a white man... can you ask them to explain how/why dating with the intention of meeting someone of a specific race isn't racist..? ” one Reddit commenter wrote.
Another commenter noted that the monetization of interracial relationships was troubling.
“All sorts of things happen that are fine individually that only become an issue in disproportionate aggregate,” they said.
Jennifer Noble, a Los Angeles-based psychologist who specializes in interracial relationships and mixed-race families, backed up this sentiment, noting to Gazetteer that narrowly limiting membership to one racial and gender pairing can create opportunities for fetishization and exploitation. The problem is also complicated by white America’s portrayal of Asian women as exotic and submissive, in addition to how proximity to whiteness is associated with upward mobility or assimilation.
“I think being drawn to something is different than a conscious intentional preference, and I don’t know that everyone can distinguish the two,” Noble said.
The concept has also been mocked by content creators including [Eric Ou](https://www.instagram.com/ericcouu/reels/?ref=sfist.com) of Los Angeles, who referred to WMAF Meet as an “Oxford study” dating site, a reference to a viral internet meme about Asian women dating white men.
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Gazetteer reports that the pairing has long been frequently joked about in the Bay Area. A 2017 Pew Research Center survey reportedly found that 26% of people in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area were in intermarriages — 10 percentage points higher than the national figure. Among white people surveyed locally, 22% were married to someone of another race, compared with 10% nationally.
WMAF Meet currently has around 3,153 applicants on its first “cohort” waitlist, which is capped at 8,888, and it plans to begin matching members sometime this year.
**Related:** [New AI-Run Dating App Based In SF Claims Half Its Matches Say ‘Yes’ to Real Dates](https://sfist.com/2026/05/06/new-ai-dating-app-out-of-sf-says-half-its-matches-say-yes-to-real-dates/)
### Antioch Community Rallies Behind Woman Berated By Racist Neighbor In Viral Video
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/antioch-community-rallies-behind-woman-berated-by-racist-neighbor-in-viral-video/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T19:25:28.000Z
An Antioch woman is receiving an outpouring of support after a viral video showed her neighbor harassing and taunting her with racial slurs, as the man faces charges in a separate incident and police investigate an explosive device thrown at his home.
The woman, who has asked not to be identified because she no longer feels safe in her own neighborhood, began recording after the man confronted her as she walked to her car last month, [as NBC Bay Area reports](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/racist-video-anticoch/4129510/?ref=sfist.com). In the [video](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcKScYLClmo/?ref=sfist.com), he repeatedly directs the N-word at her while waving his middle finger.
“In my area I’m the youngest African-American there … I bought my home as 35th birthday gift to myself … so why do I have to live like this?” she told the outlet. “Why do I have to live in fear of somewhere I own?”
The conflict between the two households had reportedly been building for months. The woman told NBC Bay Area that she and the man's family went to court in January over the number of cats at their home, which she says had resulted in cats getting into her yard and leaving feces behind.
She says the dispute continued after the court proceedings, eventually leading to the confrontation captured on video. Antioch police later arrested the man on suspicion of a civil rights violation and battery in a separate incident involving someone else, and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office subsequently filed misdemeanor charges.
Mary Ann Ramirez, the man's mother, said her son has experienced behavioral problems since childhood and has had previous conflicts with neighbors. She told NBC Bay Area that police have been called to the home “many times to calm him down for me.”
An explosive device was reportedly thrown at the man's house after the video began spreading widely over the weekend, but no one was injured. Police are investigating the incident.
Legal analyst Steven Clark said the man's repeated conduct could carry additional consequences if it continues.
“If it continues, with hate speech … if you direct it at someone specifically because of their race is not protected under the First Amendment and that could lead to a criminal prosecution,” Clark said, speaking to NBC Bay Area.
As the video has continued circulating, people in the community have rallied around the woman. This week, a group of men on motorcycles [escorted her home](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcMojY3BK3B/?ref=sfist.com) from work, after first giving her [long-stemmed roses and hugs](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcK1ygHu9P0/?ref=sfist.com) in videos captured by content creator Doll'Baby Shan via Bay Area TV.
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A commenter on one of the videos said the men remained outside the woman's home for a period of time, while the neighbor, who reportedly lives in the garage, stayed inside.
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Doll'Baby Shan also reported in the comments that the men have continued driving by the woman’s home throughout the day to ensure she’s safe.
**Related:** [BART Police Rocked by Racist AI Deepfake Video Being Texted Around Among Ranks](https://sfist.com/2026/03/05/bart-police-rollicked-by-racist-ai-deepfake-video-being-texted-around-among-ranks/)
### Suspect In Max Maltzman Murder Will Be Tried as an Adult, Judge Rules
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/suspect-in-max-maltzman-murder-will-be-tried-as-an-adult-judge-rules/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T18:54:07.000Z
The juvenile court judge has ruled, and the now 21-year-old man who is believed to have killed 18-year-old Max Maltzman in an abandoned Hunters Point warehouse three years ago will be tried in adult court, pending an appeal by his attorney.
The 21-year-old suspect, whom we'll continue to refer to by his graffiti tag Ebok because he was 17 at the time of the crime, was in court Tuesday along with his parents, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/san-francisco-maltzman-juvenile-verdict-22392439.php?ref=sfist.com), along with Maltzman's parents, Reed Maltzman and Jennifer Gosselin, and his younger sister.
Superior Court Judge Anne Costin reportedly took over an hour to explain her reasoning for transferring the case to adult court, and said it was based on five factors. As the Chronicle explains, those included the gravity of the crime and the sophistication with which it was carried out, in addition to the defendant's history of drug use and other crimes, and the chances for full rehabilitation within the limits of the juvenile justice system.
Costin reportedly spoke of the defendant's mother's own admission that her son could be an especially "good liar," and she cited multiple actions that showed both sophistication and an apparent lack of remorse for the crime. These included concealing the body to the point that police who responded to Maltzman's 911 call at the warehouse that day in 2023 did not see any evidence of a crime or a body, and Maltzman's remains wouldn't be found until weeks later. And, Ebok was seen attending Maltzman's funeral, and a girlfriend testified that he had worn a t-shirt in public that Maltzman had purchased in the Haight on the day he was killed, almost as a kind of trophy.
As Costin described it, per the Chronicle, Ebok lured a "neurodivergent high schooler he barely knew" to a remote warehouse and bludgeoned him to death, all because he believed he was a "bad person."
Ebok's defense attorney Adam Gasner had argued that the boy's under-developed brain, with development likely stunted by adolescent drug use, had acted impulsively out of a belief that Maltzman had assaulted or wanted to assault his girlfriend and other girls they went to school with at Raoul Wallenberg High School.
The two teens had reportedly met up in the Upper Haight on the afternoon of January 6, 2023, where Maltzman bought a t-shirt, and where Ebok allegedly suggested that they both go to party that was happening at a warehouse in Hunters Point that is well known to taggers. They took the 19 bus almost to its last stop, and walked to the warehouse, where Ebok and an as-yet-unidentified second suspect allegedly bludgeoned Maltzman to death — but not before he was able to quickly call 911 and scream for help.
Per the Chronicle, Maltzman's parents heard the recording of the 911 call for the first time in court.
Maltzman's body was found at the bottom of an elevator shaft three weeks later, partly submerged in water and partly covered by a metal plate. Above the body, on the wall of the building, was the spraypainted tag "EBOK" with an arrow pointing down — a seeming act of pride in the killing that Judge Costin also reportedly cited in her decision.
"While nothing will bring Max back, we are grateful to Judge Costin for carefully considering the evidence before her,” said Maltzman's parents in a statement. "And we are grateful to Assistant District Attorney Mitchell and \[SFPD\] Sgt. \[Tom\] McWilliams for their steadfast work on Max’s behalf."
This is the first case to be transferred from juvenile to adult court in San Francisco in a decade, as the Chronicle notes. Ebok's attorney, Gasner, moved to have him held in juvenile detention pending the outcome of his appeal of Judge Costin's decision, and the judge agreed.
**Previously:** [Teen Classmate Carrying Out Some Version of Vigilante Justice May Be Tried as Adult In 2023 SF Warehouse Killing](https://sfist.com/2026/08/12/teen-classmate-carrying-out-some-version-of-vigilante-justice-may-be-tried-as-adult-in-2023-warehouse-killing/)
### Rare Shooting In Sausalito Leads to Two Arrests
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/rare-shooting-in-sausalito-leads-to-two-arrests/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T17:45:13.000Z
At least one shot was fired in a rare gun incident in Sausalito on Saturday, which apparently stemmed from a fight between multiple individuals.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Saturday, August 15, as the Sausalito Police Department explains in a release. A "confrontation" occurred between several individuals on the 2900 block of Bridgeway, which culminated in one of the suspects brandishing a firearm and firing one shot, though no one was hit or injured.
The shooting suspect and another individual fled the scene.
Responding officers were reportedly able to locate the suspect vehicle quickly and conduct a traffic stop, during which officers say they found a loaded firearm, and arrested a juvenile male and an adult female, on weapons-related charges.
Sausalito police say that the investigation remains active and ongoing. Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the Sausalito Police Department at 415-289-4170.
This is the second unusual incident to occur in typically quiet Sausalito in a week. There was a brief shelter-in-place order last Thursday morning after a fugitive, a 34-year-old Ukiah man, was reportedly on the run in a Sausalito neighborhood after being spotted by authorities on the freeway. He was wanted for outstanding warrants for drug offenses, firearms offenses, and burglary, and he was arrested Thursday on suspicion of evasion, reckless driving, obstructing officers and disorderly conduct, as the [Marin Independent Journal reported](https://www.marinij.com/2026/08/13/marin-deputies-arrest-fugitive-in-sausalito-neighborhood/?ref=sfist.com).
### Humpday Headlines: East Bay Congressional Race Looking Close
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/19/east-bay-congressional-race-looking-close/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T16:31:18.000Z
- **All that spending on** [**ads by AIPAC to attack state Senator Aisha Wahab**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/race-to-replace-eric-swalwell-in-congress-turns-ugly-as-voters-head-to-polls-once-more/) **may have had an impact, and the runoff election to complete the remainder of former Congressman Eric Swalwell's term is looking very close.** While Wahab had a double-digit lead over opponent Melissa Hernandez back in June, that is currently just a two-point lead, with 62% of votes counted. \[[Associated Press](https://www.ktvu.com/election/district-14-california-special-election-results?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **A 50-year-old man, Isaac Bowler, has been arrested for vehicular manslaughter in the July 14 death of cyclist** [**David Wesley Reinhart**](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/day-around-the-bay-former-employee-sentenced-to-jail-in-killing-of-condor-club-manager/) **in SF's SoMa neighborhood.** The collision happened around 4 am on the 200 block of Sixth Street. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-police-arrest-driver-fatal-cyclist-crash-22394833.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A 27-year-old man was arrested in Guerneville after allegedly punching an elderly man in the face, knocking him to the ground, and kicking him in an unprovoked, random attack. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/man-arrested-for-unprovoked-assault-on-elderly-man-police-say/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Two people were stabbed in a suspected road-rage incident in San Jose on Tuesday, at the intersection of Curtner and Cottle avenues. \[[KTVU](https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-road-rage-stabbing?ref=sfist.com)\]
- A string of auto burglaries in Piedmont on the morning of August 16 is now under investigation by Piedmont police. \[[KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/piedmont-auto-burglaries-under-investigation/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Animal rights advocates have renewed calls to remove all dolphins from captivity at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo after a bottlenose dolphin that had been there 40 years recently was euthanized. \[[Bay City News](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/six-flags-dolphin-death-prompts-concern/?ref=sfist.com)\]
- Advocates for a 3-year-old Anatolian Shepherd named Bruce who was sentenced to euthanasia in Ventura County because he was deemed "vicious" filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to save him, highlighting how many emergency requests the court gets these days — and he was euthanized before they could consider the case. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/us/politics/supreme-court-emergency-appeal-bruce-the-dog.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
*Photo by* [*Wendell Shinn*](https://unsplash.com/@insinuwendell?utm%5Fsource=ghost&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=api-credit)
### Day Around the Bay: Former Employee Sentenced to Jail In Killing of Condor Club Manager
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/day-around-the-bay-former-employee-sentenced-to-jail-in-killing-of-condor-club-manager/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T03:05:10.000Z
### Local:
- **San Francisco homes are selling for $1 million above the asking price, and one in three Bay Area buyers are paying in cash.** The median home price here is currently $1.7 million, compared to the national average of $440,600\. \[[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/17/economy/sf-real-estate-ai-wealth?ref=sfist.com)\]
- **Two artists on San Francisco-based label Empire Records are facing backlash after they admitted to using generative AI in their latest releases.** Fenix Flexin initially denied using AI on *Rubberz* before acknowledging it, while Tyga confirmed AI was used as a tool on his new album *$TARFACE*. \[[SFGate](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/empire-ai-slop-22392220.php?utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=yahoo%5Fsyndication&ref=sfist.com)\]
- A former Condor Club employee, 26-year-old Asia Lozano Morton, was sentenced to one year in jail plus a year of mandatory supervision after pleading no contest to being an accessory after the fact in the murder of the club’s manager Marc Calgani last year. \[[Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/condor-club-employee-sentence-murder-asia-morton-22393308.php?ref=sfist.com)\]
### National:
- Two workers at a recycling plant in Ohio were killed Tuesday after a chemical tank ruptured followed by a large fire. \[[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/us/explosion-fire-toledo-ohio-workers-missing.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- COVID is on the rise in all 50 states, with Hawaii and Mississippi having the highest numbers. \[[The Hill](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/covid-growing-nearly-every-state-212338147.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
- The trial of an 81-year-old man in the 1994 murder of 24-year-old American tourist Amy Lopez began in Germany Tuesday, and he admitted to sexually assaulting and killing her. \[[CBS News](https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/trial-opens-32-years-american-132020930.html?ref=sfist.com)\]
### Video:
- The proposed data center in [downtown Oakland](https://sfist.com/2026/08/12/plans-for-an-ai-data-center-in-downtown-oakland-announced/) was swiftly met with backlash, and there’s an organizing meeting this Friday night.
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### OpenAI Launches ‘ChatGPT for Teens’ Amid Lawsuits, Protests
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/openai-launches-chatgpt-for-teens-amid-lawsuits-protests/
Last updated: 2026-08-19T00:34:32.000Z
OpenAI launched “ChatGPT for Teens” Tuesday with enhanced protections around sensitive topics and features amid mounting lawsuits and nationwide student protests last week.
The new “[ChatGPT for Teens](https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-for-teens/?ref=sfist.com),” designed for users ages 13 to 17, include additional safeguards around self-harm, suicide, violence, eating disorders, and sexual content, while also limiting interactions that could encourage teens to view the chatbot as a person or emotional companion, [as CNN reports](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/openai-introduces-chatgpt-teens-experience-111140050.html?ref=sfist.com).
The rollout comes after OpenAI has faced increasing scrutiny over the way young people interact with ChatGPT. The company has been [hit with](https://sfist.com/2026/05/11/widow-sues-chatgpt-for-aiding-gunman-in-florida-state-mass-university-shooting/) [lawsuits](https://sfist.com/2025/08/26/two-parents-sue-openai-saying-chaptgpt-assisted-their-16-year-old-sons-suicide/) alleging that conversations with the chatbot contributed to serious harm, while critics have questioned whether safeguards are sufficient when teenagers use AI for emotional support or other sensitive issues.
The teen version also adds tools intended to keep ChatGPT focused on learning rather than simply doing schoolwork for users. Study features can guide students through problems instead of immediately providing answers, while “Study Hours” can automatically activate study mode during designated periods. Teens will also receive reminders to take breaks after extended use, and the system will caution them before they upload private or sensitive images.
According to CNN, parents who link their accounts can manage certain settings, establish “Quiet Hours” when ChatGPT is unavailable, and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations. OpenAI says the teen protections will also be applied automatically when its systems determine that a user is under 18, including through age-estimation technology.
The concerns surrounding AI and young people have also become part of a broader backlash against OpenAI and other technology companies. [As Futurism reported](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/protesters-arrested-protest-openai-washington-dc?ref=sfist.com) last week, more than 30 student activists occupied the lobby of OpenAI’s Washington, DC, lobbying office as part of a nationwide [Dump Big Tech](https://www.techbrew.com/stories/dump-big-tech-protest-palantir-google?ref=sfist.com) campaign involving more than 20 states.
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The protesters held a banner reading “Stop Stealing Our Future” and displayed signs including “OpenAI Bought My Senator.” After about two hours, police arrested 13 demonstrators for unlawful entry, according to an incident report from the Metropolitan Police Department.
[According to Common Dreams](https://www.commondreams.org/news/ai-protest?ref=sfist.com), the action was organized by the Sunrise Movement, QuitGPT, and the Young Democratic Socialists of America, with organizers criticizing Big Tech’s political influence, AI regulation, and the broader consequences of rapidly expanding technology.
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> [A post shared by Stop The AI Race (@stoptherace.ai)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcMz9EcvuvS/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
OpenAI opened its Washington office in May as the company stepped up its presence in the nation’s capital, [as the Washington Business Journal](https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2026/05/13/openai-dc-office-gallup-building-penn-quarter.html?csrc=6398&link%5Fsource=ta%5Ffirst%5Fcomment&taid=6a052cc03e6e860001ebfd92&utm%5Fcampaign=trueanthem&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawTxvCVwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMU13MjEyZVBzVjVTZE9qdjlzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEejdsv3oHOd3F3uCI4usYcafYlsf54hQA%5Fq4Ispya7FF6T-oVzWf0EZgohoD8%5Faem%5FJNpTt2JqCrnN9Nzd7woivA) reported at the time. Organizers specifically pointed to OpenAI’s political spending and lobbying efforts, including more than $140 million from an affiliated super PAC ahead of the midterm elections, as evidence of the growing influence of AI companies over policy.
A Pew Research Center survey reportedly found that nearly one-third of US teens use AI chatbots daily, and ChatGPT was the most popular chatbot among those surveyed.
**Related:** [Two Parents Sue OpenAI, Saying ChaptGPT Assisted Their 16-Year-Old Son’s Suicide](https://sfist.com/2025/08/26/two-parents-sue-openai-saying-chaptgpt-assisted-their-16-year-old-sons-suicide/)
### Original Joe's Team to Open Burger Spot In West Portal
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/original-joes-team-to-open-burger-spot-in-west-portal/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T23:29:35.000Z
The team behind Original Joe's and Little Original Joe's, as well as Elena's in West Portal, is readying to open another family-friendly spot in the neighborhood focused just on burgers and chicken tenders.
It's called Original Joe's Cable Car, and it's going into the space at 385 West Portal Avenue, formerly Clay Oven, which is next door to the first location of Little Original Joe's. The timeline is long here, though — they're aiming for late 2027.
Sibling owners John and Elena Duggan, who live in West Portal and both raised children there, [tell the Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/original-joes-burger-chicken-tenders-22385500.php?ref=sfist.com) that they're hoping that Original Joe's Cable Car will be "something parents can take their kids to, and kids can drag their parents to."
The menu will be anchored by the simple, craveworthy burger that originated on the Little Original Joe's Marina menu, which consists of just a three- to four-ounce beef patty, butter lettuce, shaved white onion, American cheese, and a ketchup-based special sauce. Naturally the thin-cut fries, which at Little Original Joe's come plain or showered in parmigiano and truffle oil, will come along on this menu too.
It should be noted that the elongated burger served on a sourdough roll at the original Original Joe's in North Beach and Daly City will not be on the menu here.
But there will be chicken tenders, which at Little Original Joe's come either naked with sauces on the side, or tossed in sauce — and the sauce options are Buffalo, barbecue, garlic-parmesan, and spicy honey, along with ranch and blue cheese just for dipping.
The Duggans also promise milkshakes — along with beer and wine — and the menu will be rounded out with more kid-friendly food including sloppy joes, hot dogs, salads, and tater tots. And there will be a "funfetti" ice cream sandwich as well.
The 2,000-square-foot restaurant will only seat about 20 to 25 inside, with more seating outdoors.
When Original Joe's Cable Car debuts in 15 months or so, it will be the Duggans' seventh restaurant in their growing empire, which includes the newest Original Joe's location in Walnut Creek.
### Arrest Made In 2008 Cold Case Murder In Western Addition
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/arrest-made-in-2008-cold-case-murder-in-western-addition/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T23:01:53.000Z
There has finally been an arrest in the 2008 murder of a young San Francisco man who was getting ready to get married the next day, and the suspect was found in LA.
The killing happened on the night of April 27, 2008 on the 500 block of Fulton Street, at the edge of the Western Addition neighborhood. The victim was 28-year-old Jason Mosely, whose fiancee was pregnant at the time, and he was preparing to tie the knot with her the next day at City Hall, as the [Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/sf-police-hayes-valley-cold-case-shooting-arrest-22393597.php?ref=sfist.com).
Mosely was reportedly at the home of his grandmother on Fulton Street, along with his mother, around 6 pm on that April night, when the doorbell rang. Mosely went to answer it, and as his mother, Selina Arceneaux, described it to the Examiner, she heard gunshots as soon as her son went outside.
The family was left only to believe that this was a case of mistaken identity, and Arceneaux said her son, who worked as a desk attendant at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, was not affiliated with any gang, or involved in crime.
As the SFPD explains in a release, long after the case went cold, the SFPD's Cold Case Unit identified a 40-year-old suspect, Derreyl Goode, whom they tracked to Las Vegas, where he has been living.
More recently, he was apparently in Los Angeles, which is where US Marshals arrested him on Monday, August 17, under a Ramey arrest warrant — in California, a Ramey warrant is one issued by a judge before prosecutors have formally filed charges.
Goode was booked under the existing murder warrant by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and he was met there by investigators from the SFPD Cold Case Unit.
Although an arrest has been made, this is still an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.
### Authorities Seize 3.8 Kilograms of Fentanyl In Oakland, Enough for Millions of Doses
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/authorities-seize-3-8-kilograms-of-fentanyl-in-oakland-enough-for-millions-of-doses/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T21:37:50.000Z
A raid at two Oakland residences last week resulted in the seizure of more than 3.8 kilograms of fentanyl — enough to potentially kill two million people — along with processing and packaging equipment, and five people were arrested.
The search was carried out last Thursday by Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force detectives as part of an ongoing investigation, [as KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/oakland-raid-uncovers-enough-fentanyl-to-kill-nearly-2-million-people/?ref=sfist.com). Detectives had obtained warrants for two Oakland homes, one on the 2400 block of 13th Avenue and another on the 2700 block of 78th Avenue.
Five people were arrested at the 13th Avenue residence, and detectives found $15,000 in bundled cash. At the 78th Avenue property, authorities searched an accessory dwelling unit and found what the sheriff’s office described as a sophisticated setup for processing and packaging fentanyl.
The operation included multiple hydraulic kilo presses, along with blenders, sifters, scales, packaging materials, binders, cutting agents, scenting agents, and personal protective equipment. Narcan was also found at the property.
“More than 3,800 grams of fentanyl was seized,” the sheriff’s office said.
According to KRON4, the DEA considers two milligrams to be a potentially lethal dose, and 3.8 kilograms could represent nearly 2 million potentially lethal doses.
The sheriff’s office said the seizure of the fentanyl and the equipment used to process and package it was a significant step in the ongoing investigation.
**Related:** [Two Drug Trafficking Suspects Arrested, 70 Pounds of Meth Seized In Sonoma County](https://sfist.com/2026/07/28/two-drug-trafficking-suspects-arrested-70-pounds-of-meth-seized-in-sonoma-county/)
### One Person Dead After Amtrak Train Hits Car In Oakland
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/one-person-dead-after-amtrak-train-hits-car-in-oakland/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T20:21:56.000Z
A collision involving an Amtrak train left one man dead Tuesday morning in Oakland's Fruitvale District.
The crash happened around 6:25 am, [as Bay Area News Group reports](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/18/oakland-amtrak-train-car-collision-one-dead/?ref=sfist.com), in the area of 37th Avenue and East 9th Street, just north of the I-880 freeway.
Initial reports suggest that the driver of the vehicle was outside of the vehicle, which had stalled, and was pushing it across the tracks when the train struck both him and the vehicle. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
[KTVU reported](https://www.ktvu.com/video/fmc-56aptz4g7w1t8nb6?ref=sfist.com) that this was Amtrak train 521, and images from the scene Tuesday morning showed the train still on the tracks a few hundred feet away from the crash scene.
> One dead after Amtrak train hits car in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood. [https://t.co/6HOvUJdQwu](https://t.co/6HOvUJdQwu?ref=sfist.com)
>
> — KTVU (@KTVU) [August 18, 2026](https://x.com/KTVU/status/2089724015111766492?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=sfist.com)
It's not clear how fast the train was moving at the time of the crash. The cause of the collision and the circumstances surrounding it remain under investigation.
### Presidio Army Barracks to Become 40,000-Square-Foot Coworking Space
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/presidio-army-barracks-to-become-40-000-square-foot-coworking-space/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T20:16:38.000Z
Boutique coworking provider Canopy is turning a former Army barracks in the Presidio into a 40,000-square-foot workspace for individual workers and small companies, with a cafe, gym, private offices, and conference rooms.
Bay Area workers will soon have another unique option for office space, this time inside a historic former Army barracks near Presidio Tunnel Tops, [as the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/canopy-presidio-coworking-22390609.php?ref=sfist.com). The Presidio Trust has signed a lease with Canopy for the full three-story building at 102 Montgomery Street, which has been vacant for decades.
The 40,000-square-foot brick building was constructed in 1896 to house military troops and had been unused since the 1970s. The Presidio Trust reportedly spent 18 months rehabilitating the structure, which is the last brick building on the Presidio’s Main Post to be restored and put back into use.
“Our clients will benefit from an inspiring work environment that combines access to nature, amazing Bridge and Bay views, and the distinctive character of a historic building,” Bahram Mohebi, cofounder and CEO of the company, said in a statement.
Designer Yves Béhar and his firm Fuseproject are overseeing the interior buildout of the space, which is being designed for individual members as well as small groups and companies.
“CANOPY Presidio will represent our most idyllic location and design,” said Behar [in a press release](https://presidio.gov/about/press/presidio-and-canopy-sign-lease-for-102-montgomery-street?ref=sfist.com). “We are custom designing every element of the interior and furniture to mirror the historical beauty of the building and surrounding landscape.”
The planned amenities include four office suites with built-in conference rooms, additional shared conference rooms, private offices, two boardrooms, kitchens on each floor, and a first-floor cafe. Members will also have access to a small gym and treatment room.
“We’re very pleased to welcome CANOPY to the Presidio,” said Daryl Ansel, interim director of commercial asset management, Presidio Trust. “Creating places where people can work, connect, and engage with the park strengthens the Presidio’s vitality and supports a dynamic tenant community.”
The Presidio location is expected to open in spring 2027\. Canopy currently operates locations in San Francisco’s Financial District, Jackson Square, and Pacific Heights, as well as a [6.4-acre live-work-play destination](https://springline.com/?ref=sfist.com) in downtown Menlo Park. The company reportedly serves clients in industries including venture capital, design, law, professional services, tech, and nonprofits and foundations.
The company’s existing communal [memberships](https://www.canopy.space/memberships/?ref=sfist.com) start at $445 per month, while private offices start at $2,000 per month.
Revenue from commercial and residential leases helps fund the operation and preservation of the Presidio, which is a National Historic Landmark District. The park currently has about 4,000 workers across more than 350 businesses, with residential and commercial properties about 97% occupied.
**Related:** [Developer Bets on 'Office Resort' at Revamped Building Near Embarcadero](https://sfist.com/2026/03/24/developer-bets-on-office-resort-at-revamped/)
### Race to Replace Eric Swalwell In Congress Turns Ugly as Voters Head to Polls Once More
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/race-to-replace-eric-swalwell-in-congress-turns-ugly-as-voters-head-to-polls-once-more/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T19:58:30.000Z
Voters in a large swath of Alameda County have either sent in ballots or they were heading to polling places again Tuesday to vote in a runoff from June's special election to complete the remaining months in Eric Swalwell's current congressional term.
State Senator Aisha Wahab and BART Board President Melissa Hernandez are facing off on a ballot for the third time in two months today, thanks to the inconvenient timing of Congressman [Eric Swalwell's resignation](https://sfist.com/2026/04/13/eric-swalwell-resigns-from-congress-but-says-that-efforts-to-swiftly-remove/) in April. Today's election is the runoff from the June 16th special election for the remainder of Swalwell's current term, in which no candidate received a majority.
Wahab and Hernandez also were on the June 2 primary ballot for the next term in Congress (2027-2029), and regardless of the outcome of today's election, both will again be on the November ballot for that full term — though today's election will serve as a strong predictor for how that one will turn out.
As [we reported back in June](https://sfist.com/2026/06/03/state-senator-aisha-wahab-in-early-lead-for-eric-swalwells-former-seat-in-2027/), Wahab, the more progressive candidate, sailed to an [easy victory](https://apps.npr.org/primary-election-results-2026/states/CA.html?ref=sfist.com) in the primary with 21 points over Hernandez, and [led Hernandez by 26 points](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/2026-cd14/official-canvass?ref=sfist.com) in the special election two weeks later.
But the race has heated up and gotten ugly in the last month, as [the Chronicle reports](https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-14-special-election-congress-22391360.php?ref=sfist.com), in part thanks to attack ads against Wahab that have been funded by AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), and which seem motivated more by the fact that she's Muslim, and not by any policy or cause that she's promoted.
Wahab, one of the first Afghan Americans elected to public office in the country, represents California's highly diverse 14th Congressional District, which includes Fremont and Hayward, the former being home to the Bay Area's only "Little Kabul." Wahab has said she considers Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide, but as the Chronicle notes, neither she nor Hernandez has spoken at all about Israel or Gaza in their campaigning.
As the [Washington Examiner reports](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5%5F4sqi6ZHwc&ref=sfist.com), AIPAC has spent $4.4 million in its effort to defeat or at least damage Wahab in this special election runoff, using its attacks not to focus on Israel, but on issues like public safety. PACs supporting Hernandez have spent over $5 million in total, as [Politico reports](https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/08/06/aisha-wahab-aipacs-latest-target-01026765?ref=sfist.com), funding [ads like this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU9TL22nmcw&ref=sfist.com) that suggest Wahab is weak on issues like sex trafficking — she voted to lessen sentences for adults who have sex with 16- and 17-year-olds.
"They seem to have more money than God," Wahab said, speaking to Politico. "On every single credential, I am the most qualified. So what’s the elephant in the room? At the end of the day, all I can say is that it’s based on prejudice and racism."
Wahab has the endorsement of the California Democratic Party, and given her wide margins in June, she seems all but assured another double-digit victory in Tuesday's runoff, and likely another in November.
As Democratic consultant Jim Ross tells the Chronicle, if these attacks can get Hernandez within five percentage points of Wahab's lead, then she could still be viable in the November election.
But, that may not be the aim of AIPAC's spending. The Washington Examiner suggests that AIPAC may simply be sending a warning to other Democrats who continue running on platforms that continue to erode support for Israel.
As Ravi Mangla, a spokesperson for the progressive Working Families Party, tells Politico, "\[AIPAC\] is targeting Aisha to try to balance the scales and show that they can still be competitive in California elections." And, Mangla adds, regarding the broad support for candidates like Wahab, "This populist moment was inevitable. It is the result of decisions made by a billionaire class."
We should know by tomorrow or later this week how much of a dent all this spending made on Wahab's lead.
**Previously:** [State Senator Aisha Wahab In Early Lead For Eric Swalwell’s Former Seat In 2027](https://sfist.com/2026/06/03/state-senator-aisha-wahab-in-early-lead-for-eric-swalwells-former-seat-in-2027/)
### WNBA All-Star Game to Come to San Francisco In 2027
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/wnba-all-star-game-to-come-to-san-francisco-in-2027/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T18:34:45.000Z
It's official: Next year's WNBA All-Star Game will be played at Ballhalla.
The WNBA announced Tuesday that the 2027 All-Star Game will head for the first time to San Francisco, to the Chase Center, on July 31, 2027\.
This puts to rest rumors and murmuring that had gone on over the past couple of months about where the All-Star Game might head next year, after several established WNBA teams have now hosted the game multiple times — including the Connecticut Sun, which has hosted the All-Star Game a whopping four times at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.
Players in the league had apparently been gunning for the Golden State Valkyries to be hosts next year, as they've been having a stellar second season in the league, and with San Francisco being a well-established and very excitable sports city.
"We are thrilled to bring AT&T WNBA All-Star to the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement. “The Golden State Valkyries have brought incredible energy and excitement to the WNBA from the moment they were announced as an expansion team in 2023, and the response from fans across the Bay Area has been remarkable."
Engelbert added, "Valkyries fans have embraced this team with an extraordinary level of passion and enthusiasm, and we can’t wait to see that energy on full display for an unforgettable All-Star weekend next summer."
Mayor Daniel Lurie is, of course, also excited.
"San Francisco is the center of the sports world," Laurie said in a statement. "The world can see that San Francisco is the place to be. When the WNBA's best come next year, our unmatched passion for women's sports, and our city's comeback, will be on full display."
The news comes fast on the heels of [the confirmation](https://sfist.com/2026/08/14/friday-morning-constitutional-34/) that the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played in San Francisco the following year, in 2028, just as the Summer Olympics are happening down in LA.
The WNBA All-Star Game will come with a weekend of events that will also include the second annual shooting skills challenge on July 30.
The Valkyries have been having an extraordinary 2026 season, currently ranked second in the league behind four-time league champions the Minnesota Lynx (whom they'll be playing tomorrow).
And news of the All-Star Game comes just as the Valkyries officially clinched their berth in the 2026 playoffs following Monday night's win against the Dallas Wings.
**Related:** [Golden State Valkyries Win Home Opener Against Mercury 95-79, Salaün Shines](https://sfist.com/2026/05/11/golden-state-valkyries-win-home-opener-against-mercury/)
### California Considers Legislation Regulating Electric-Shock Gloves
URL: https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/california-considers-legislation-regulating-electric-shock-gloves/
Last updated: 2026-08-18T17:54:18.000Z
While California lawmakers have limited authority over the federal government, they may consider adding a bill targeting electric-shock gloves to their growing slate of legislation as ICE moves to purchase an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 pairs.
The potential legislation regulating electric-shock gloves comes as California lawmakers are already considering roughly two dozen bills addressing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state, including proposals involving state tax incentives for companies that contract with the Department of Homeland Security and whether ICE officers could become California peace officers, [as CBS Sacramento reports](https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/california-lawmakers-address-ice-electric-shock-glove/?ref=sfist.com).
[Following news by the Associated Press](https://sfist.com/2026/08/18/dog-rescued-from-cliff-near-lands-end/) last week that ICE is moving to purchase electric-shock gloves for use while detaining immigrants, Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-Milpitas, said that lawmakers could still introduce a bill targeting them before the legislative session ends August 31, adding that he would not be surprised.
"It's another toy for them to use to brutalize and hurt more innocent Americans," Lee said, speaking to CBS.
The device, known as the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E. — for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter — was developed by Compliant Technologies of Richmond, Kentucky. The gloves reportedly function like standard patrol gloves until an officer activates the electrical mode with a switch, delivering 380 volts through direct contact with a person's skin. By comparison, a traditional Taser delivers roughly 1,200 volts.
[The Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-08-13/shock-gloves-ice-plans-to-buy-bring-men-to-their-knees?ref=sfist.com) points to [videos](https://www.youtube.com/@complianttech?ref=sfist.com) shared by the company show volunteers being shocked during demonstrations at defensive weapons exhibitions around the country. In one demonstration, a man wearing military fatigues reportedly drops to his knees almost immediately after being shocked. In another, a man's leg muscles spasm after the glove is applied to his forearm.
The demonstrations often end with volunteers collapsing onto mats, with one reportedly saying, "That sucked! That was terrible."
The company says the gloves are primarily intended for specific jail and transportation situations, including subduing violent suspects who refuse to enter squad cars and inmates who are harming themselves or threatening officers. John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, told the AP he believes the gloves could be particularly useful for ICE officers removing people from vehicles, homes, or detention facilities, and estimated the planned purchase could be the company's largest to date.
The Department of Homeland Security [published a notice](https://apfs-cloud.dhs.gov/record/74524/public-print/?ref=sfist.com) last week outlining a planned purchase of between $10 million and $20 million worth of the devices, amounting to roughly 10,000 to 15,000 pairs of gloves.
Per the AP, the manufacturer cautions that the devices should not be used as punishment, against people who are merely verbally defiant or belligerent, or on children, pregnant women, elderly people, disabled people, or those with certain heart conditions.
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project director on policing at the ACLU, questioned why electric-shock devices would be necessary for civil immigration enforcement and warned that people could be shocked without advance warning.
"Introducing gloves that can so easily be used to deliver terrible pain in encounters is a recipe for harm to the public," she said, speaking to the AP.
John Sandweg, a former acting ICE director under the Obama administration, also questioned the timing of the proposed purchase, citing what he described as problems with ICE's training and oversight under the second Trump administration, as the LA Times reports. Homeland Security has disputed claims that training has declined and said the devices would be subject to existing law enforcement policies and standards.
“Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to make sure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards,” the department said in a statement.
ICE's planned acquisition has not yet resulted in a California purchase or deployment of the gloves. Compliant Technologies lists several law enforcement agencies among its customers, but none of those agencies are in California.
Assemblymember Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, told CBS Sacramento he also would not be surprised to see legislation addressing the technology, while acknowledging the limits of state authority over federal immigration enforcement.
“Because there's nothing we can do about it, we can't regulate ICE, we can't regulate the federal government,” Patterson said. “I mean, that's very clear in the United States Constitution.”
Lee said lawmakers should nevertheless consider whether California can take steps to prevent the technology from being used in ways that could cause serious injury.
“We don't want people to be brutally maimed by an electric glove,” Lee said.
**Related:** [That California Ban on Masked ICE Agents Just Got Struck Down](https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-85ff746d3e0ee5f39e7a9a3f1f576252?ref=sfist.com)
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