A karaoke bar busted for drugs, prostitution, and human trafficking may come back to haunt Attorney General Rob Bonta and other politicians
In a July 4, 2024, column, I exposed possible links to Attorney General Rob Bonta and a bar reportedly owned by Andy Duong called the Music Cafe, which had been busted for drugs, prostitution, and human trafficking. Duong, whose family ran a waste company at the center of a sprawling East Bay corruption scandal,…
Market and Fifth streets finally get jolly
Six years after it was first announced that Jollibee would be returning to San Francisco, it has finally come to fruition. The company had originally filed public permits for the…
How San Francisco’s Pretrial Diversion Program led to the murders of Jessica Sanchez Landaverde and Ed French
In the early morning hours of Nov. 23, 2025, Cassidy Wyatt Allen, a repeat violent offender and participant in San Francisco’s mental health diversion program, broke into 38-year-old Jessica Sanchez…
Out and about July 30–Aug. 5, 2026
We’re in for some nice weather coming up, which is a good thing because most of my picks for the week are outdoors. There are also a few inside events as well, from a craft fair to some music and dance. Read on. Thursday, July 30 ODC Summer Sampler will…
Crack, credit repair, business loans and a sex-worker hotline
On July 16, 2026, community advocate JJ Smith recorded a disheveled woman handing a rock of crack cocaine to a man in a wheelchair. Moments later, she unlocked the gate to a storefront office at 457 Hyde Street. Smith asked the man who received the drugs what operated inside. “It…
San Francisco officials back robotaxi federal bill following Waymo incidents
San Francisco leaders are backing a federal bill that calls for stricter regulations over autonomous vehicles, following several incidents involving Waymo vehicles during major events in the city. Mayor Daniel Lurie and fire department Chief David Crispen are backing a bill by Representative Kevin Mullin, who represents parts of San…
Can ‘Wiklerism’ produce a truce in the Democratic Party wars?
Tuesday night, when Representative Nancy Pelosi spoke in front of an audience in San Francisco, she recalled her experience leading the California Democratic Party in…
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…
‘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 never before seen in the Bay Area, such as dazzling…
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by Nomi Kane | @Nomikane
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…
The Cow Palace isn’t a good fit for a server farm
For 85 years, the Cow Palace has played an important role in Bay Area history. Unfortunately, a new proposal to locate data centers there for the next 100 years just does not add up. Prince, the Grateful Dead, and the Golden State Warriors all played at the event center. John…
‘The Future of Us’ was a visionary civic experiment
A multiday, citywide festival recently took place across San Francisco, ringing in the country’s 250th birthday with a forward-thinking, imaginative approach to the future. San Francisco-based civic arts and sciences nonprofit The Plenary Co. was at the helm of the project, alongside the Svane Family Foundation, a major supporter of…
Manny and moral intoxication
In Part 1, we introduced Orli Peter’s model of moral intoxication and demonstrated it across three cases. In Part 2, we turn to the hardest case — and to the question the framework is building toward: what do we do about it? Case four — Yekutiel: the hardest case and…
Inside SFUSD’s ‘ Voices’ curriculum: multiculturalism or activism?
What is “Voices” Liberated Ethnic Studies, and why have 2,100 parents and community members signed petitions against it? In March 2026, the San Francisco Unified…
Jessica survived a break-in by a violent offender out on mental health diversion. Another Jessica wasn’t as fortunate.
On the morning of Nov. 23, 2025, Cassidy Wyatt Allen, a 45-year-old transient and career criminal, broke into 38-year-old Jessica Sanchez Landaverde’s San Francisco apartment…
San Francisco Chinatown construction to bring street closures, detours starting this week
Over the next several weeks, San Francisco drivers and Muni riders should prepare for street closures and bus detours as the city begins major construction…
A curmudgeon’s lampoon of U.S. history
In his capacity as a comedic performer, writer, and public figure, Larry David has made a considerable living by being cantankerous, contrary, and dissatisfied, perpetually…
SFMOMA presents ‘Graciela Iturbide: Between Two Worlds’
“The camera is an excuse to share the life of the people, the rhythm and sympathy of festivals, to discover my country.” — Graciela Iturbide…
Odysseus and Spider-Man to the rescue
Never mind the poisonous noise from certain quarters about the nontraditional casting of the actors in filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. All the racism and…
Haines Gallery explores abstraction with three painters in ‘The Shape of Looking’
Haines Gallery is pleased to present The Shape of Looking, a group show that highlights three distinct approaches to contemporary abstract painting. The exhibition brings…
Sleeping with self-deprecating celebrities
A young woman makes a bargain with her fiancé that would give each of them license to sleep with one famous person — presumably one…
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