San Francisco Open Studios returns for its 52nd year
Open Studios is back for its 52nd run, with ArtSpan once again building a bridge for artists and aficionados to meet. Like a family sourdough starter that began in your great-grandmother’s kitchen, local art culture has developed its own complex flavor over the years. San Francisco Open Studios is the nation’s longest-running event of…
The AI hydra: Controversy about everything, everywhere all at once
So, this nearly happened, as told in a recent headline: “AI hallucination of Chinese nuclear components almost led to US military attack.” The fact that an artificial intelligence made a…
When treachery abounds, entertainment resounds
Betrayal is disheartening and debilitating, unless it’s happening to someone in a movie. Then, it’s diverting. For example, The Weight is a tension-loaded drama that follows a criminal expedition into…
S.F. lawmakers tackle hunger, PG&E, and SoMa street trees, plus changes to major development plans this week
San Francisco’s sprawling city government is about to get a little more sprawling. This week’s agenda includes a new office to coordinate the city’s food programs, another step toward taking over PG&E’s local power grid, millions of dollars in new spending, a hearing on the city’s street-tree strategy and fresh…
Lurie, legislators, rally for Newsom to sign workforce housing bill
Flanked by state legislators, the city attorney, and San Francisco’s mayor, Assemblyman Matt Haney held a press conference at the Sophie Maxwell Building in Dogpatch on Friday urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign AB 1294, a bill aimed at making it financially viable to build housing for what advocates call…
Fort Mason Center turns historic loading docks into massive sunrise-to-moonrise mural
Created in the passageway between Landmark Buildings B and C at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture is a new 18-panel public mural by artist Leah Rosenberg. The Sea Is But Another Sky transforms the historic loading dock corridor into a reminder of the natural phases of daily life.…
Sherrill moves to oust William Palmer from Sheriff’s Oversight Board
During the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill moved to begin the formal process of removing William Palmer from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board. Sherrill cited a city investigation…
‘We are in a housing emergency!’ Mayor declares.
Mayor Daniel Lurie opened the full Board of Supervisors meeting with a message about what he calls “a rent emergency.” The good news, he said, is that San Francisco is “finally moving in the right…
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by Nomi Kane | @Nomikane
Yes, we can save transit with capital funds
Can Bay Area transit be saved from major service cuts next year without a tax increase by redirecting capital funds to operations? Advocates of the Bay Area transit sales tax are dismissive, and now a senior transportation policy advisor at SPUR, Sebastian Petty, has echoed their skepticism. But the pro-tax…
The best of us: Joshua Wong versus the CCP
From Hong Kong comes the news that pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to further political charges and is facing anywhere from 3 to 10 additional years — and possibly life. Wong, now 29 years old, has been harassed and arrested by China’s Communist Party (CCP) for years as…
U.C.’s SAT debate isn’t about testing. It’s about two different definitions of equity.
The argument over reinstating the SAT/ACT as one of the 13 or more dimensions of U.C. holistic admissions requires a broader and, clearer understanding of our equity goals as a state — one that functions in both short-term and long-term policy senses. Properly articulating UC’s equity goals can help us…
San Francisco Has Many Good Public Schools. We Should Have Many More.
At one San Francisco public elementary school, just two of 41 tested third-, fourth- and fifth-graders met or exceeded California’s English language arts standard in 2024–25. In math, one did. Not one tested third- or fifth-grader met the state standard in either subject. The children, families and educators at this…
School district description of student test scores as ‘very promising results’ called into question
Little to no progress found among key student groups
S.F. arrests four after teen’s death exposes deadly new opioid in counterfeit pills
San Francisco police have arrested four people and seized more than 20,000 counterfeit pills in an investigation launched after the April overdose death of a…
Revisiting and revising vital sitcom formats
A lack of originality isn’t merely a bug in the movie and TV business. It’s often a feature, as production companies and studios take the…
As an assemblyman, Rob Bonta funneled money from donors, lobbyists, and his foundation to nonprofits run by his wife
Read Part 1 here. It may not be a coincidence that California Assemblywoman Mialisa (Mia) Bonta wants to stop journalists from investigating nonprofits. Along with…
MAG Galleries presents Sarah Khurshid Khan’s ‘Flowers Coming Out of Their Mouths’
Sarah Khurshid Khan’s Flowers Coming Out of Their Mouths brings 27 new collages to the MAG Galleries along with ceramic pieces that communicate playful and…
Dakota Fanning rises in The Sun Never Sets
Earning acclaim as a child actor may or may not be a harbinger of future success. There are more than a few movie and TV…
‘Objects: USA’ revisits a landmark exhibition of American craft at the Museum of Craft and Design
The Museum of Craft and Design (MCD) presents Objects: USA, on view from Sept. 5 through Jan. 17, 2027. This exhibition, organized in partnership with…
Sisterhood is powerful … and sometimes problematic
Since television first captured the public’s fancy in the 1950s, shows about detectives and spies have predominantly featured men in the main roles. There have…
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