State’s DUI reform gutted by lawmaker arrested for DUI last year
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A California Senate committee just gutted one of the state’s most substantial DUI reform bills in years, despite widespread support from other lawmakers and families of drunk driving victims. The bill would have required in-car breathalyzers for anyone convicted of a DUI, bringing California in line…
School district plan to control citizen oversight of $1.5 billion bond spending lands in court
Back-to-school week is turning into back-to-court week for San Francisco Superintendent of Schools Maria Su and the school board. On Tuesday, a diverse group of public school graduates and supporters,…
Out and about Aug. 20–26, 2026
For your enjoyment the next several days, there are some street and block parties, a few concerts, both indoor and outdoor, a Museum Monday suggestion, and more. Read on. Thursday,…
SFMOMA presents landmark Jacob Hashimoto installation ‘Giant Arc’
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) launches Jacob Hashimoto: Giant Arc, the largest installation of the multimedia artist’s career. Bamboo and Japanese paper, fashioned into hand-built kites, are suspended from the ceiling in a cloud canopy. The site-specific installation will cover the museum’s ground-floor, admission-free Roberts Family Gallery…
Why S.F. neighborhoods are up in arms over new environmental rankings that could cost them money
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California recently updated the system it uses to decide which communities get top priority for state environmental cleanup funding, and dozens of groups in the Bay Area aren’t happy with it. In July, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment released…
Absence of measurement isn’t equity; it’s the illusion of equity
I am, reportedly, a menace to joyful and equitable achievement, though I demand deep thought and genuine effort from ordinary teenagers who are capable of extraordinary things. I have been overheard objecting to circular reasoning. I once drew a comic strip showing step by step how to solve a complex,…
IF BLUE (a poem)
If blue Is a hue You aspire to The beaches of San Francisco are calling to you And your crew or retinue “Yoo-hoo!” We have…
Heroes are not so hard to find … on TV
If it feels like real-world heroes are in short supply these days, the fictional variety can be easily found on television. They may not conform to a particular heroic ideal, but they’re out there, and…
Treasure Island has had 537 power outages. The city will not call it an emergency because the city is the problem.
Treasure Island has had 537 power outages. That is not bad luck. It is a long-running, city-owned failure that the city refuses to name because naming it would force action. I write this as a…
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by Nomi Kane | @Nomikane
Learning to cooperate with reality
Picture a 10th grader sitting in her math class. Her phone is “hidden” in her hoodie pouch, but she surreptitiously checks notifications every few minutes, knowing that I have too many students and too much teaching to do to pester her. She was late three out of four classes this…
The state of wartime politics
The rest of the country is finally noticing what we local political observers have long known: Nancy Pelosi isn’t a fan of Scott Wiener, who is currently ahead in the race to succeed her in Congress. For months, people have been wondering when she’d really lean into her effort to…
The university’s pants are splitting faster than they can patch them back together
Every teacher knows the feeling, when you’ve lost the middle of the room — that sinking sensation when half your students are raring to go and the other half are hopelessly lost, and nothing you do is going to reach both halves at once. It’s like bending over and hearing…
Before San Francisco taxes itself for Muni, it should fix Muni
San Francisco is asking voters to pay more for Muni. The question is whether the agency has earned another bailout. Weeks after Measure A approval, a $535 million Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond that includes $200 million to replace the seismically unsafe Potrero Bus Yard, the city is lining…
After second random elder attack while out on mental health diversion, defense wants more diversion for Zavein Blue Wright
On July 22, 2026, after randomly attacking and nearly killing a senior man and a senior woman three years apart, repeat violent predator Zavein Blue…
‘Superficial Matters: Artists from the Svane Gift and Beyond at the de Young
The de Young presents the third iteration in their series of exhibitions drawn from a major acquisition of 42 artworks by 30 emerging and midcareer…
Almost nowhere in California is building enough. Here’s why
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Every eight years, state housing regulators give cities and counties across California an especially dreaded homework…
Significant questions surround S.F. school district’s $1.5 billion bond program
Last week, San Francisco public school officials cut the ribbon for Mission Bay Elementary School, fulfilling what they described as “a vision over two decades…
Learning life lessons on the periphery of fame
Success is not always a component of fame, nor is fame a requisite of success, and neither one is easy to achieve. While the late…
Flow, Works by Tyler Zheng at MAG Galleries: A creative journey into the unknown
MAG Galleries is pleased to announce Flow, works by Tyler Zheng, running from Aug. 7 through Aug. 30th. The artist’s wood-fired ceramics are completed with…
A hella stage musical gets a big-screen release
One of the best known tragedies of Greek mythology tells of the doomed romance between the preternaturally gifted musician Orpheus and the beautiful wood nymph…
‘Treasures of the Pharaohs’ brings ancient Egypt to the de Young
The majesty of ancient Egypt returns to San Francisco with Treasures of the Pharaohs. The exhibition includes an extensive array of over 130 important artifacts, some…
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