EXCLUSIVE: Voice of San Francisco report on parole agent’s failure to supervise Troy McAlister leads to legal action
In an Dec. 10, 2025 exclusive, The Voice of San Francisco revealed documents showing that the Dec. 31, 2020 crash that killed 60-year-old Elizabeth Platt and 27-year-old Hanako Abe in San Francisco was one of several incidents over six months that should have prompted agents and supervisors of the California Department of Corrections and…
Supes grill Waymo: Safety, congestion, and jobs
Safety, congestion, and jobs. No, it’s not the title of the latest New Order album. Rather, they were the issues at hand at a hearing held at City Hall on…
Judge who says family of four killer shouldn’t get jail time set to retire this year
Nearly two years ago, a Mercedes SUV traveling at high speed careened into oncoming traffic near West Portal Muni Station, drove onto the sidewalk, and crashed into a family of…
Muni rider satisfaction rating reaches new high
Muni service satisfaction reached a new record among riders surveyed last year, with 78 percent of riders rating the service as either excellent or good, an improvement from 2024, when the overall rating was 72 percent. The survey was conducted by Corey, Canapary & Galanis research firm last year between…
Blinking red warning light
“If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.” — David Frum Last week, President Trump gave his version of the State of the Union (SOTU). The much shorter version of his message is that everything’s super-great. SOTU speeches from presidents…
Pop-culture potpourri
It may be a bit of a surprise when the most satisfying feature film to premiere in a given week is only available to stream rather than shown in theaters, but it happens. Case in point: The pirate-themed action movie The Bluff, which premiered last Friday on Prime Video. Meanwhile,…
Charter reform may spell big impacts for arts funding
Big changes are coming to San Francisco’s City Hall, including alterations to governance and leadership, and a sweeping charter review that could significantly affect the…
Frustrated families sue the state to stop antisemitism in California schools
This story was originally published by EdSource. Sign up for their daily newsletter. Disappointed that lawsuits and complaints against school districts haven’t forced change, a national Jewish nonprofit law organization is suing the California Department of Education…
As transit taxes loom, voters should look to Waymos on S.F. streets for an alternative
To close the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s $307 million budget gap, the city’s political establishment is preparing to ask voters to approve two transit tax measures on the November 2026 ballot: a regional sales…
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“See?,” By Nomi Kane | @Nomikane
A suspect was sent to pretrial diversion — 36 days later he killed someone
A San Francisco judge granted pretrial diversion to a man arrested with a loaded pistol, ordering a gun safety course and a “reflective essay.” Thirty-six days later, he allegedly murdered someone with a shotgun. Two felony charges became misdemeanors. Misdemeanors became pretrial diversion. The court’s prescription for a man caught…
BART’s doomsday gambit: Pay up or lose your station
I grew up taking BART. As a working-class kid taking BART from my home in Fremont to U.C. Berkeley for my first computer science classes, or to San Francisco to work at my first coding job, I think fondly of it. I want BART not just preserved but expanded. More…
Group working to reform city charter proposes to cut funding for sports, libraries, arts, and music
A proposal to cut funding for sports, libraries, arts, and music in the San Francisco Unified School District is working its way through the city bureaucracy, and it must be stopped in its tracks. When I first read this proposal, I was astonished. Are you kidding me? You want to…
The ghost in the room: A journey from the streets to sobriety
In San Francisco, we are told that “Housing First” is the ultimate cure. But for years, I lived on the dark side of that promise. I was awarded a Section 8 voucher — the “golden ticket” — but without accountability, it became a license to disappear into my addiction. When…
Major questions for school district leaders after the teachers’ strike
Following the settlement of San Francisco’s first teacher strike in 47 years, which closed schools for five days, Superintendent Maria Su and the school board…
Out and about Feb. 26–March 4, 2026
From music to dance to flowers, authors on tour, and more, here are my picks for the upcoming days. Thursday, Feb. 26 Although I usually…
California Governor’s race: Too many choices?
Last Friday, the California Democratic Party kicked off its convention in San Francisco with what can only be described as a binge-watching session of fireside…
Carly Schwartz: From San Francisco to Panama and back home
You don’t need to move to the jungle to learn about yourself, but sometimes it helps. I met Carly Schwartz on March 30, 2012, when…
The Museum of Craft and Design bridges media and material in ‘Video Craft’
The Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) presents Video Craft, an exhibition exploring the unlikely partnership between the heavily embodied practices of craft and the…
From historic hostel to overcrowded, drug-saturated homeless shelter
Lower Nob Hill was once best known for its classic San Francisco architecture, relatively affordable residential properties, and thriving businesses. Travelers, especially those wanting easy,…
Southland stories run the gamut
While Las Vegas, Nev., and Branson, Mo., have each co-opted the title in recent years, Los Angeles was touted as the Entertainment Capital of the…
Welcome the Year of the Horse with the Chinese Culture Center
The Chinese Culture Center will transform the 600 block of Grant Avenue into an “Art Zone” to usher in the Lunar New Year and the…
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