City Hall highlights: Palmer defenestration begins; Mahmood looks to clean up projects; settling Airline labor gripes; Flower Mart changes
San Francisco supervisors this week will take the first formal steps toward removing Sheriff’s Oversight Board President William Palmer, whose alleged abuses of office, history of violence against women and criminal record have made him a lightning rod for controversy. The Board will also consider changes to airport workers’ healthcare benefits, homelessness oversight recommendations…
Transit measure failures could add to Bay Area commute travel times
Bay Area leaders warn that traffic conditions could worsen, including on the Bay Bridge, if voters this November fail to pass two measures, according to a report released by the…
Out and about Sept.24–30, 2026
Enjoy light installations, outdoor festivals, a celebration of everyone’s favorite entertainer, an indoor film festival, art exhibition openings, and more, including one stately visitor docked at the waterfront. Thursday, Sept.…
Asian Art Museum presents a celebrated Korean painter in ‘Ha Chong-Hyun: Retrospective’
The pioneering Korean contemporary artist Ha Chong-Hyun is the subject of a retrospective at the Asian Art Museum, his first major North American museum exhibition. Tracing Ha’s creative evolution over more than six decades, the exhibition features more than 50 paintings along with two new works completed as recently as…
San Francisco Open Studios returns for its 52nd year
ArtSpan’s San Francisco 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. ArtSpan’s San Francisco…
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 possibly grave error is less interesting than the fact that the American military is apparently deploying bad AI in mission-critical…
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…
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,…
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,…
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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…
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…
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…
‘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,…
School district description of student test scores as ‘very promising results’ called into question
Little to no progress found among key student groups
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…
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…
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