SF Politics

Trump-Like Rhetoric at Mark Farrell Event Raises Eyebrows, Farrell Quickly Disavows Host’s Remarks

The host of a recent Mark Farrell fundraiser in the Marina went off on SF for “lawlessness and wokeism,” a description Farrell called “pretty compelling.” But now Farrell says he disagrees, and Mayor Breed is taking him to task.

SF Politics

SF Supervisor Dorsey, Mayor Breed, Propose 'Cash Not Drugs' Plan to Encourage Sobriety

A San Francisco Supervisor has some new proposed legislation that would pay an extra $100/week incentive to city welfare recipients if they are in substance-abuse treatment and succeed in staying clean.

SF Politics

Breed Vows Major Encampment Crackdown Coming In August, Says There May Be ‘Criminal Penalties’

Emboldened by the recent Supreme Court decision allowing bans on homeless encampments, Mayor London Breed said Thursday that a major effort to sweep encampments was in the works and would start in August.

SF Politics

SF’s Moderate Candidates Duke It Out at Debate Peskin Skipped Because He Figured It Was Rigged

Monday night saw another SF mayoral debate, this one largely dominated by the topics of crime and homelessness, but Aaron Peskin refused to show because he felt the organizers already had the fix in for Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie.

SF Politics

Supreme Court Ruling Could Have Broad Implications for Homeless Encampment Sweeps In California

The Supreme Court has, predictably, ruled in favor of the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, weighing in for the first time on the issue of homelessness and how cities and states may legally enforce laws around public camping.

SF Politics

SF’s Wealthiest Political Group Endorses Farrell and Lurie, Relegates Breed to Third Choice

The moderate group Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, whose top money man is a Republican mega-donor, has dual-endorsed Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie for SF mayor, and only says to include London Breed as your third choice so Peskin doesn’t win.

SF News

UC Says No to Proposed Campus In SF's Downtown

A kind of moonshot proposal to install a new University of California campus in downtown San Francisco — one of a number of ideas that have been thrown out there in the last year by the mayor to bring new life to downtown — has been declined by the university.

SF Politics

How Many 'Ambassadors' Does the City Need? SF Community Ambassadors Rally to Save Their Jobs

A fight is ongoing over SF Mayor London Breed's new proposed budget, in which she is attempting to cut the 14-year-old program Community Ambassador Program in order to close a major deficit.

SF Politics

Lights Went Out as Candidates Were Speaking at Monday Night’s Very Glitchy SF Mayoral Debate

It was literally a “lights out” performance, and not in a good way, on Monday night when the five major candidates running for San Francisco mayor debated at UC Law, and repeated technical glitches marred the night’s proceedings.

SF News

Supervisors Up In Arms Over Breed’s Massive Budget Cuts to Community Ambassador Program

Those bright neon yellow- and green-jacketed street ambassadors are on the chopping block in Mayor Breed’s new proposed budget, as she’s calling to phase them out by 2026 to save a few dollars, but supervisors are furious because they think that program really works.

SF Politics

In First SF Mayoral Debate, Crowd’s Jeers are More Memorable Than Candidates’ Performances

All five major candidates for San Francisco mayor faced off Wednesday night in their first proper debate of this year’s mayoral race. All stuck tightly to their pretty wonky scripts, but the crowd let loose on the candidates (and the moderators) with booing and heckling.

SF Politics

Breed and Supervisors Arguing Publicly After Committee Rejects Breed’s Police Commission Pick

With two of Mayor Breed’s nominees for the Police Commission up for a vote, a Board of Supervisors committee rejected Breed’s pick Debra Walker, setting off Twitter spats between the mayor and Supervisor Ahsha Safai, but the full board will have the final say on this.

SF Politics

We’ve Finally Got a Real SF Mayoral Debate, Happening on June 17

After two scheduled debates crashed and burned, we’ve finally got a true mayoral debate with all five major candidates on the same stage, scheduled for June 17 at UC Law San Francisco.

SF Politics

Mayor Breed Suspected of Slow-Walking Police Commission Appointments, Causing Meeting Cancellations

The SF Police Commission is supposed to meet three times a month, but they’ve canceled five of their last eight meetings, and there is speculation that Mayor London Breed is engineering absences so the commission can’t meet regularly.

SF Politics

Supervisors Stymie Mayor Breed In Panda Fundraising Plan, Creating First Roadblock

A San Francisco supervisors' committee on Thursday effectively shot down a resolution concerning Mayor London Breed's announced plan to bring Chinese pandas to the San Francisco Zoo.

SF Politics

London Breed, Aaron Peskin Beg Off From Monday Mayoral Candidate Debate By TogetherSF, Will Host Their Own Thing

A scheduled May 20 debate among mayoral candidates by two tech-funded advocacy groups has been making Mayor London Breed uneasy, and as of Tuesday, she is officially pulling out.

SF Politics

Breed Threatens to Back Out of First Mayoral Debate, Questions Whether It Might Be Rigged by Organizer

The first SF Mayoral debate is in less than two weeks, but London Breed may be a no-show, as there are ties surfacing between the debate’s tech PAC organizer, and both the Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie campaigns.

SF News

Mayor Breed Touts New Numbers Saying SF Tents and Encampments at a Five-Year Low

London Breed’s office is making a big to-do over the latest city numbers that indicate tent encampments are at a five-year low, and while these numbers vary wildly over time, it does look like the trend line is going in a positive direction.

Arts & Entertainment

Mayor Breed Proposes ‘Entertainment Zone’ Where Bars Can Sell Open Containers for Outdoor Events

SF Mayor London Breed’s latest gambit to get you to please go downtown and spend money again is her new proposed “entertainment zone” where establishments can sell alcohol to street patrons, and the first of these could be on the Financial District’s Front Street.

SF News

Rally Planned to Protest Mayor Breed's Omission of City Clinic Relocation Funds In Proposed Bond Measure

LGTBQ health advocates, along with City Clinic doctors and members of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club are rallying today outside the clinic on Seventh Street to protest Mayor London Breed's omission of clinic funds in a proposed bond measure.

SF Politics

Mayor Breed Proposes a $360 Million Bond Measure to Fund a Potpourri of Seemingly Unrelated Causes

When you vote on whether to reelect Mayor London Breed on November 5, you might also be voting on Breed’s new $360 million bond measure that would fund hospitals, homelessness services, street improvements, and even Harvey Milk Plaza.

SF Restaurants, Food & Drink

Tadich Grill 175th Anniversary Party Draws Willie Brown, Mayor Breed, and Aaron Peskin (Who Were Very Nice to Each Other)

The oldest restaurant in California, Tadich Grill, celebrated its 175th anniversary on Sunday, bringing many local luminaries, with political foes Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin burying their hatchets for one brief afternoon over cioppino and crab cakes.

SF News

Latest City Hall Remedy for Tenderloin Street Circus Is Shutting Down Corner Stores at Midnight

Corner stores that cater to the crowds who hang out around UN Plaza and elsewhere into the wee hours of the morning are part of the problem, the mayor's office says.

SF News

Peskin, Breed Both Say They Are Trying to Get Macy's to Stay In Union Square

Supervisor and mayoral candidate Aaron Peskin was on TV Thursday night discussing the city's efforts to cajole the Macy's organization to change its mind about closing the San Francisco store.

Arts & Entertainment

SF Zoo to Receive Panda Loan From China

A giant panda, or a pair of pandas, will be coming to the San Francisco Zoo sometime in the future, as Mayor London Breed has succeeded in her mission to coax some Panda Diplomacy out of China.