San Francisco news from Bay Area Brief: local stories summarized with links to the original reporting.
Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman's ordinance, File No. 261089, would bar San Francisco stores from selling lockable butane lighters with plastic parts, with $500 and then $1,000 fines. The Fire Department ties the devices to more than 30 fires and $3.2 million in damage.
PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said Wednesday, Oct. 14, that a San Francisco takeover of the utility's local electric grid would cost the city more than $20 billion, counting assets, property and severance costs. The city valued the assets at about $3.4 billion in April. PG&E files its full analysis with state regulators on Oct. 20.
The free Bay Area Science Festival returns Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on UCSF's Mission Bay campus, with 125-plus hands-on exhibits. Valkyries Game 1 of the WNBA Finals tips off a block away at 12:30 p.m., so organizers are urging families to take transit and allow extra time.
Prop A is a charter amendment its backers call 110 small fixes. It would move many commissions into ordinary city law that supervisors can change without a public vote, change how legal settlements are approved and give the city administrator more control over real estate deals.
Prop E, one of three Lurie charter measures, would put the city administrator in charge of purchasing rules citywide, including Muni, the PUC, the airport and the port, raise the contract amounts that need supervisor approval and double the administrator's term to 10 years.
San Francisco police say four men were arrested Oct. 7 to 9 in Atlanta, Stockton, Irvine and Los Angeles in connection with the Feb. 9 shooting that wounded 49ers defensive end Keion White in the ankle on the 1700 block of Mission Street. The alleged gunman, Gregory Walker, 36, faces assault with a firearm and felon-in-possession charges.
Proposition D would raise San Francisco's citizen-initiative signature requirement from about 10,600 to about 42,500, require a Board majority to refer measures, and strip the mayor of unilateral ballot placement. It needs a simple majority on Nov. 3.
Proposition C would amend San Francisco's charter so General Fund contributions to the Housing Trust Fund grow from about $52 million a year toward $125 million, extend the fund to 2058, and lift the down-payment assistance income cap to 200% of area median income.
Proposition B would let San Francisco create a nonprofit municipal finance corporation that could later seek approval to become a public bank. It does not raise taxes or fund the bank; the controller estimates $310 million to $460 million over eight years if the city proceeds.
Federal prosecutors say OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan hid an encrypted USB recording device behind a TV in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco offices. He appeared in court Oct. 13 and remains in custody pending an Oct. 19 detention hearing.
A two-car crash just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, pushed an SUV into the front entrance of Jolene's at 16th and Harrison streets in the Mission District. The SUV driver was taken away by ambulance. The owner estimates about $10,000 in repairs and hopes to reopen Thursday.
Mayor Daniel Lurie signed legislation Tuesday creating an Office of Food Security Coordination inside the Human Services Agency, plus a Food Security Council, after the Board of Supervisors passed the ordinance unanimously. The move centralizes programs once split across nine city entities.
Eight candidates are on the Nov. 3 ballot for three SFUSD Board of Education seats. GrowSF and the Democratic Party back Phil Kim, Autumn Brown Garibay and Tim Tung; SF Parents Action backs Kim, Brown Garibay and Alida Fisher; the teachers union backs Virginia Cheung, Reina Tello and Ryan Hazelton.
A man wanted on an outstanding warrant fled San Francisco police on an electric scooter near Mission and Eighth streets Monday, crashed into a bus shelter, and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police have not released his name or the warrant details.
UPDATED: The San Francisco Police Commission on Wednesday, Oct. 14, approved Department General Order 10.12, SFPD's first full drone policy. It allows drones for a "public safety response," bans general surveillance and limits most footage to 30 days. Critics at City Hall said it is still too vague; SFPD typically takes about three months to implement new rules.
Caltrans will shut every southbound lane of Highway 101 between Cesar Chavez and 17th streets from 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, to 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 19, plus one northbound lane and the westbound I-80 ramp to northbound 101. The detour is I-280, which also serves Chase Center on the day of Valkyries Game 1.
Nine candidates are on the Nov. 3 ballot for the southeastern District 10 seat. Theo Ellington leads in voter-guide endorsements, with DJ Brookter and J.R. Eppler next, and the Hunters Point Shipyard cleanup and 20,000 unbuilt homes top the issues.
San Francisco's second Raising Cane's opens Oct. 12 at 255 Winston Drive, the Stonestown space a McDonald's held for 30 years. It will stay open until 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 3:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
A yes vote reopens the Upper Great Highway to private vehicles from 4 a.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Friday and closes Sunset Dunes Park during those hours. A no vote keeps the two-mile oceanfront park car-free.
Prop F would let the mayor fire most department heads for any reason, reorganize most departments without a public vote and revive deputy mayors, banned since 1991. A no vote keeps commissions' current role.
Prop. J on the Nov. 3 ballot would tax most commercial and large multifamily foreclosure transfers at full fair-market value starting March 1, 2027, while keeping the break for homes and buildings with four or fewer units. The controller pegs average revenue at $100 million to $150 million a year over the first five years.
Prop. I on the Nov. 3 ballot would dedicate half of transfer-tax revenue from sales of $10 million or more to a restricted House SF Fund for affordable housing and tenant protection. The controller estimates it redirects about $114 million to $124 million a year out of the General Fund.
The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee voted Sunday night to void its August endorsement of Manny Yekutiel and endorse former Pelosi aide Gary McCoy for the Castro–Noe Valley supervisor seat. Party chair Nancy Tung rejected calls to resign.
Prop H would tax San Francisco parcels by building type and size for 15 years starting July 1, 2027, to fund Muni operations. Most single-family homes would pay $129 a year. The Controller pegs revenue near $177 million annually. It needs a simple majority.
Mayor Lurie, City Attorney Chiu and other city leaders want the CPUC to open a formal proceeding covering the December Mission Substation blackout, a year of large outages, delayed grid projects and recent vault fires.
The moderate group, which pulled its own endorsement of Yekutiel, asked voters how they'd rank him if he resumed his campaign. His name is still on the ballot, and supporters of front-runner Gary McCoy are not happy.
SFUSD officials concede that sending students home or parking them in offices without paperwork is illegal, and that they don't know how often it happens. A Coleman Advocates report says one school of about 300 students logged 3,639 office referrals in a year.
The law drops shadow analysis from the city's local environmental review and halves the window to appeal. Park shadows still get checked under a 1984 voter measure, and critics say the public loses a voice.
The damage appears limited to the outer mailer, the Department of Elections says. If all four ballot cards and the return envelope are intact, the ballot can still be voted and returned.
Mayor Daniel Lurie's new limits on police use of the city's 400-plus Flock cameras add a 30-day access window and required incident numbers, but critics say key safeguards date to a 2016 state law and one major recommendation was left out.
The former Orange County congresswoman cited Wiener's record on housing, health care and transit, a month before San Francisco voters choose between him and Supervisor Connie Chan.
San Francisco police arrested Shakia Vanderbilt in the weekend shooting of Ulysses Tykee Davis, a 47-year-old guard and father of six who was working a reality-TV tour event at the Mid-Market venue.
With more than a million visitors expected, SFMTA plans to block driverless cars from picking up or dropping off along a large stretch of the waterfront from Friday through Sunday, NBC Bay Area reports.
Board President Rafael Mandelman introduced an ordinance covering large grocery stores and all drug stores, backed by the grocery workers' union and opposed by the California Grocers Association.
Four supervisors pressed police and health officials Thursday on whether enforcement in the Tenderloin and SoMa is just pushing drug activity into the Mission and other districts. The mayor's office did not send anyone.
New Department of Building Inspection rules let four- to six-story buildings use one interior stair plus a secondary exit, aimed at small mid-block lots. Each project still needs approval.
Friday's Parade of Ships kicked off three days of air shows over the Bay. Here are the show times, Presidio road closures, rideshare limits and on-water restrictions through Sunday.
UPDATED: The Board of Education voted 5-2 Tuesday night to replace the 15-year citywide elementary lottery with Option C — a neighborhood seat for every family, with applications elsewhere limited to citywide specialty programs. Fall 2028 is the target start.
The San Francisco Lowrider Council's Cold Frisco Night cruise gathers around 4 p.m. Saturday on Mission Street between Cesar Chavez and 22nd. Muni has backup reroutes ready for the 14, 14R, 27, 48, 49 and 67.
A 4-month-old brother and sister from the Sacramento Zoo moved into the Puente al Sur habitat Thursday, with a tentative public debut set for Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Rec and Park recommended a nine-year lease for the team behind Colibri and Il Parco. The cafe would open in spring 2027 and get no city funding.
Police leaders told supervisors the Special Victims Unit will change how it shelves cases, but advocates say the plan leaves out an independent yearly audit.
City surveyors counted 148 tents in September, up from a record-low 115 in May, ending four straight quarters of decline. Lived-in vehicles kept falling.
The bar at 22nd and Guerrero never reopened after Labor Day. Owner Ian Duggan says a lender's lawsuit froze payroll money, and he may look for a new operator to keep it alive.
Two people were pulled from the car with minor injuries after Thursday's crash on the 5700 block of Mission Street, which broke water pipes and electrical lines.
Five years after closing on Powell Street, the Japanese retailer opened a 20,000-square-foot flagship at Fourth and Market, in the former Old Navy.
Fumio Yonezawa's first U.S. restaurant takes over the former Prelude space at The Jay hotel, starting with a tasting menu and adding a la carte bar dishes Oct. 12.
The 110-year-old landmark on Bartlett Street comes back seismically safe and gas-free. The temporary Valencia Street branch closes Oct. 31.
A kayak flipped near the Ferry Building on Thursday afternoon. Officers found the man under the bridge's westernmost column after a witness heard him calling for help.
The Golden State Valkyries need Chase Center for Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, so Doja Cat's San Francisco concert moves six days later. Existing tickets still work.
The suit asks a judge to make the SFPUC redo its state-required water plan. The group says inflated forecasts could justify bigger Tuolumne River withdrawals and higher bills.
