Columbus
San Francisco Examiner
Paul Pelosi attacker gets 30-year federal sentence as state trial looms
A federal judge on Friday sentenced the man who struck the husband of longtime San Francisco congresswoman Nancy Pelosi in the head with a hammer at their San Francisco home to 30 years in prison. A federal jury convicted David DePape, 44, in November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties. The charges carried maximum sentences of 20 and 30 years, respectively,...
As The City set fatal overdose records, US deaths declined
As 2023 marked San Francisco’s deadliest year for drug overdoses on record, newly released federal data showed that last year marked the first time since 2018 that reported overdose deaths declined across the country. The National Center for Health Statistics said its preliminary data recorded 107,543 overdose deaths in 2023. That figure is down 3% from 2022 when there were 111,029 deaths reported. There were 810 fatal overdoses in San Francisco last year, an increase of about 25% from the 649 recorded deaths in 2022. ...
These are the next steps for Great Highway's coastal-trail conversion
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a closure of Great Highway between Sloat and Skyline boulevards that would turn a portion of the road of into a multiuse coastal trail. Construction on the project, which will build a mile-long trail alongside amenities such as a pedestrian plaza and upgraded restrooms, is slated to begin late next year. Project officials said they expect the trail will be open to the public in 2030. ...
SF police alternative taking vast majority of homelessness calls, mayor says
When San Francisco launched one of its newest street-homelessness response teams last year, its director said The City viewed it as an audition. The Mayor’s Office touted it as a successful one this week. Mayor London Breed said Thursday that the Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team, a collaboration between the Department of Emergency Management and Urban Alchemy to address the vast number of 911 and 311 calls being made each day related to homelessness, responded to nearly 14,000 calls for service in The City —...
Yearslong Martins Beach battle appears headed for court — again
The long-running dispute over access to Martins Beach, near Half Moon Bay, is slated to continue playing out in the courts. A state judge earlier this week issued a tentative ruling that would allow a lawsuit filed by a pair of state agencies seeking to ensure public access to the beach to proceed. Assuming he finalizes the ruling, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Raymond Swope will have denied an attempt by the property’s owners — a pair of companies tied to Silicon Valley venture...
Lurie drops out of TogetherSF debate; Breed-Peskin forum canceled
The saga over San Francisco mayoral debates took new twists on Thursday. Candidate Daniel Lurie became the third candidate to decline to participate in a mayoral debate hosted by political organizations TogetherSF Action and GrowSF schedule for next Monday. Meanwhile, Manny’s Cafe abruptly canceled a conversation between Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin that had also been scheduled to occur Monday. ...
SF street homelessness lowest since 2015 amid overall rise
Homelessness in San Francisco increased 7% in the last two years, according to preliminary Point-In-Time Count data released Thursday by The City’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. The federally mandated count, which The City and other jurisdictions across the nation conduct every two years, tallies the number of unhoused people living on the street in tents, vehicles or other shelter on one particular night. San Francisco conducted its count Jan. 30, recording 8,323 people that night compared with 7,754 in 2022. ...
SF street homelessness lowest since 2015 amid overall rise
Homelessness in San Francisco increased 7% in the last two years, according to preliminary Point-In-Time Count data released Thursday by The City’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. The federally mandated count, which The City and other jurisdictions across the nation conduct every two years, tallies the number of unhoused people living on the street in tents, vehicles or other shelter on one particular night. San Francisco conducted its count Jan. 30, recording 8,323 people that night compared with 7,754 in 2022. ...
Pro-Palestinian tent encampments end at Bay Area colleges
Pro-Palestinian protesters at two Bay Area college campuses have dismantled their tent encampments after reaching agreements with administrators following weeks of demonstrations. San Francisco State University protesters did so Wednesday after coming to a compromise with President Lynn Mahoney and university administration, one day after their counterparts at UC Berkeley tore theirs down following an agreement from the university administration to start a “rigorous examination” of the school’s investments. Demonstrators...
SF faces ‘alarming’ lack of enforcement options for AI misinformation
As the November election approaches, fake videos and audio snippets generated by artificial intelligence continue to appear online, stoking concern that quickly advancing “deepfake” technology could be used to sway races and sow political misinformation. Concerned that state and federal lawmakers will be too slow in their response, San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston consulted with local election officials for the past several months to figure out what The City might be able to do on its own to fend off AI-generated falsehoods. ...
SFUSD ‘Staircase of Imagination’ a ‘game-changer’ for neurodivergent students
The San Francisco Unified School District faces a number of challenges as the school year comes to a close: declining enrollment across all campuses, aging facilities in need of repair, and a shortage of resources in special education. One San Francisco public school is addressing all three with a simple but impactful approach by partnering with local technology and design companies. Sherman Elementary School administrators tasked companies with reimaging its...
New UC Berkeley tool paints grimmer picture of SF housing crisis
A new UC Berkeley study paints an even grimmer picture of San Francisco’s housing crisis. Researchers from the school’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation published a new tool attempting to reframe the way affordability is typically measured. Their analysis found that 55% of Californians would find it “difficult to get by” if they were to rent in San Francisco. ...
Reports: Cruise paying up to $12M to woman hit by its car in SF
The woman who was run over by a Cruise autonomous vehicle in downtown San Francisco in October has reached a settlement with the General Motors-owned company, according to multiple reports. Cruise is paying $8 million to $12 million to settle the dispute, Fortune and Bloomberg Law each reported. Company spokesman Erik Moser declined to confirm the settlement or the amount. Instead, in an emailed statement, he said: “The hearts of...
SF pharmacies could soon carry opioid-treatment medication
New legislation in San Francisco would make one of the main medications used to treat opioid withdrawal more accessible to those who need it. The San Francisco Department of Public Health and Supervisor Matt Dorsey introduced a resolution making buprenorphine — one of the most commonly used medications to treat opioid-use disorder, alongside methadone — available in The City’s pharmacies. “It is critical that people in recovery have easy access...
SFUSD’s biggest bond ever has one last step before hitting ballot
San Francisco public schools’ largest-ever bond measure is all but assured of heading to the November ballot after the San Francisco Board of Education unanimously approved the measure Tuesday — but not without debate over its size and priorities. The board now has until Aug. 9 to submit the approved resolution and text to the Department of Elections. Matthew Selby, the elections department’s custodian of records, told The Examiner that...
SFUSD’s biggest bond ever has one last step before hitting ballot
San Francisco public schools’ largest-ever bond measure is all but assured of heading to the November ballot after the San Francisco Board of Education unanimously approved the measure Tuesday — but not without debate over its size and priorities. The board now has until Aug. 9 to submit the approved resolution and text to the Department of Elections. Matthew Selby, the elections department’s custodian of records, told The Examiner that...
Federal regulators investigating Waymo for crashes, breaking traffic safety laws
Federal regulators are investigating yet another autonomous-vehicle company that operates in San Francisco. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Monday it is looking into Waymo’s fleet of 444 self-driving vehicles and the robotaxis’ automated driving systems after receiving 17 reports of single-vehicle crashes and five reports of possible violations of traffic-safety laws. Eight of the 22 incidents cited in the NHTSA’s report occurred in San Francisco over a span...
New Anchor Brewing owner expected to be announced by end of May
The assets of the 127-year-old Anchor Brewing could have a new owner by the end of May, nearly four months after a winning bid was originally expected to be announced. Buyers involved in the bidding process said the assignee in charge of the shuttered beer company’s assets hasn’t yet made a decision, which has led to a delay in publicizing the bid results. Sam Singer, a San Francisco public-relations executive...
Supes push SF officials for ‘larger vision’ for Union Square
With The City facing a huge deficit as it heads toward budget negotiations, a committee of the Board of Supervisors called on officials this week to develop more cohesive plans for investing civic funds to revitalize the historic Union Square shopping district in a time of radically changing retail dynamics. The four supervisors present at the Land Use and Transportation Committee hearing Monday heard from various city officials — particularly from the Office of Economic and Workforce Development — about a litany of initiatives already...
Tesla slashes hundreds more Bay Area jobs as mass layoffs continue
Tesla is letting go of hundreds more Bay Area workers in its latest round of layoffs, according to a notice the company sent to state officials Monday. The cuts are part of the Texas-based electric automaker’s ongoing efforts to slash 10% of its global workforce — which was roughly 140,000 people at the end of last year — as announced at the start of April. The layoffs affect 601 workers...
San Francisco Examiner
4K+
Posts
14M+
Views
The San Francisco Examiner, founded in 1863 as the Democratic Press, examines politics, crime, sports and culture in The City with a focus on solutions-based journalism.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.