THIS WEEK AT THE VOICE FOR THURSDAY, SEPT. 24, 2026
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by Mike Ege
Editor in Chief, The Voice of San Francisco
Mission Supervisor Jackie Fielder has a new idea. This week, she introduced legislation supporting Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) as a way to help San Francisco food vendors.
California’s MEHKO program has been in place for about seven years; cities and counties must vote to opt in for it to take effect. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and Berkeley have opted in, for instance.
Track record on concerns like food safety is still spotty, but if Contra Costa, one of the more recent programs, serves as an example, there have been only two health complaints, neither of which involved food-borne illness, in their 94-operator pilot program. By April 2026, 34 operators were seeking renewal of the program. The county characterized the pilot as showing strong compliance and no adverse public health impacts, and the board subsequently made MEHKO permanent.
But here’s the thing: San Francisco is a city of apartments and restaurants. One wonders what will happen when you try to squish them together. How would you like it if your upstairs neighbor converted their home into a soup kitchen? And if you are starting as a resident, how would you like it if your roommate decided to convert your apartment into a soup kitchen?
Of course, in Fielder’s mind this isn’t about soup kitchens. The MEHKO program specifically allows home kitchens to serve as commissaries for up to two CMFOs (Compact Mobile Food Operations) — bureaucratese for those food carts you trip over in the Mission or the Wharf, all bearing the same bacon-wrapped hot dogs that have been repeatedly warmed over after repeatedly stored on ice (possibly in bathtubs) — the ones you need to be really, really drunk to find appetizing.
In her roll call remarks, Fielder told colleagues, “Street vendors are small businesses. They are entrepreneurs, and they are an important part of our neighborhoods and our culture.”
So if Fielder has her way with implementation, Sam and Ella could be your new roommates along with their cousin, Listeria.
Meanwhile, in our hinterlands, a desperate search for voter fraud is underway. CalMatters recently reported on how Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis says he found suspicious ballots in the June 2026 primary, an election in which he himself lost his job.
Curtis, who had no previous experience administering elections when Shasta County supervisors appointed him registrar in 2025, has promoted unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and is associated with election-denial figures; he judged the ballots to be suspicious based “on their texture and smell.”
The FBI subsequently visited the county elections office and inspected the room where Curtis had secured the ballots. Curtis says a federal grand jury subpoena ordered him to bring the ballots to Sacramento, although he later said he was told he no longer needed to appear. The DOJ declined to confirm or deny the subpoena.
Next comes word from Marin County — yes, Marin County — that the local Republican party chair John Turnacliff ended up retracting his claim that 73 dead people voted in a recent special election, apologizing to that county’s Board of Supervisors. That said, he said he would continue investigating.
This was after the county registrar found that while there were a handful of dead people on the rolls, none of them voted, and when Turnacliff rechecked his numbers, he started to find that many of the voters he thought were dead were in fact alive.
Conventional wisdom on voter fraud has long been that while there have been occasional attempts to game the electoral system, they rarely succeed, if at all, mainly because of the sheer number of people who vote.
Of course that doesn’t stop people from trying.
Back in the nineties, then-Mayor Willie Brown asked voters to approve up to $100 million in city financing and land-use changes for a new 49ers stadium and entertainment complex at Candlestick Point. The measures passed by only about 1,500 votes, and so allegations of vote fraud from opponents of the stadium deal came out of the woodwork.
A pro-stadium campaign volunteer, John Griffin, was found to have gone to different polling places on Election Day and voted provisionally multiple times, which didn’t help the situation. But an investigator with the city attorney’s office caught him in real time doing the dirty deed while conducting a field inspection, and he was prosecuted. (That investigator was now lobbyist extraordinaire, Alex Clemens.)
After the election, multiple agencies found questionable campaign practices. The Examiner found around 200 votes cast in the names of people who had filed change-of-address forms or registered elsewhere, and nine possible dead voters. At least one person apparently registered at a post office and another at a jewelry store. That number of votes wouldn’t have been enough to sway the overall election result.
Notably, the Examiner found one out-of-town voter who specifically commuted to San Francisco from Santa Clara County to vote against the plan.
“I wanted the stadium to lose, so I voted,” she told reporters.
Check out links to our latest content below, or just bookmark our homepage to see the latest.
Top News
TRANSPORTATION
Transit measure failures could add to Bay Area commute travel times
A new study from SPUR warns that Bay Bridge traffic delays could more than double if transit funding measures fail in November.
by Jerold Chinn
“The study called “Bumper to Bumper” said drivers on the Bay Bridge, for example, would feel the impact of the failures of both measures, with traffic delays more than doubling during the peak hours, adding 33 minutes during the morning commute in the westbound direction and 43 minutes in the eastbound direction in the evening.
CITY HALL
Including yet another milestone in the city’s public power quest
by Mike Ege
OPINION
The AI hydra: Controversy about everything, everywhere all at once
Despite action by local, state, and federal officials, Americans have increasingly made up their minds.
by John Zipperer
Quote of the week
I suspect the biggest impact will be the grassroots efforts to fight new data centers, for which there is a much clearer solution: stop letting big tech companies pay communities in beads and baubles for their water and electricity.
— John Zipperer on the sudden rush to bottle up AI, in “The AI hydra: Controversy about everything, everywhere all at once“
Nomi toon
In Case You Missed It
A&E
Asian Art Museum presents a celebrated Korean painter in ‘Ha Chong-Hyun: Retrospective’
Museum hosts pioneering artist’s first major North American exhibition.
by Sharon Anderson
A&E
San Francisco Open Studios returns for its 52nd year
The nation’s longest continuously running studio crawl invites the public behind the scenes across five weekends of local art and culture.
by Taylor Snowberger
A&E
When treachery abounds, entertainment resounds
Deceit drives much of the dramatic action in The Weight, and disloyalty feeds the comedic flourishes in The Musical.
by Michael Snyder
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EVENTS
Out and about Sept. 24–30, 2026
What to do this weekend and beyond
By Lynette Majer
Managing Editor, The Voice of San Francisco
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. 24
Only two nights remain of Illuminate’s Grace Window, a stunning laser light installation that projects 720-foot light beams from the Fairmont roof directly through Grace Cathedral’s Rose Window. Sunset to sunrise through Friday; Grace Cathedral is open 8 p.m. to midnight with live music, and the lasers are orchestrated to respond to the music in real time. Free viewing.
The three-masted, 297-foot Mexican Navy training ship, Cuauhtémoc, sailed under the Gate yesterday for the first time in 17 years. The ship travels the world to share Mexican culture and history. Tours 10 a.m. to noon and 4 to 8 p.m. today; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; departure 10 a.m. after a “farewell at the dock” at 9: 30 a.m. Sunday, Piers 15–17.
The San Francisco Film Preserve’s Re: Vision Festival of Restoration and Rediscovery, celebrating the work of archives and archivists “across decades, borders, and genre,” opens today with My Name Ain’t Suzie. Each of the 14 featured films is paired with a short. 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets from $20; festival passes also available.
Friday, Sept. 25
Today is Dolly Day! This celebration of Dolly Parton’s life will honor her generosity, creativity, joy, and, of course, her music. Y’all are encouraged to wear your cowboy hats, bling, fringe, big hair, “and all other forms of self-expression.” Noon to 3 p.m. in Union Square. Free admission.
The Sunset Night Market: Autumn Moon Festival spans seven blocks and features art and retail vendors, a wide variety of food vendors, mooncakes, lanterns, music, cultural performances, and more. 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Irving Street (between 19th and 26th avenues). Free admission.
Courtesy YBCA
You’re invited to an opening night celebration of two exhibitions: Dread Scott: The Body Politic and Rael San Fratello: Prototypes and Provocations. Meet the artists and curator, enjoy cocktails, and dance to tunes spun by DJ afsoos. Gallery 1 and 2 at YBCA. 6 to 9 p.m. Free with RSVP.
Saturday, Sept. 26
Discover engineering in action at Engineering Day, a family-friendly celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math. Meet engineers and scientists, build bridges and water filters, and explore the many ways engineering shapes the world around us. The day also includes the launch of the WindBorne long-duration weather balloon from the Fog Bridge into the stratosphere. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Exploratorium. Free with museum admission (from $30).
The Chuseok Festival, a celebration of Korea’s harvest festival, features Korean food and drink, music, community, culture, live performances, traditional games, local Korean artists and businesses, games, and activities for all. Pups welcome. 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Presidio Main Parade Lawn, Free; reserve here.
Enjoy a magical afternoon of circus performances by members of Circus Bella, food, family fun, face painting, and more, like free popcorn and cotton candy. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Mark’s Square. Free admission; RSVP here.
Sunday, Sept. 27
KALW is inviting you to a housewarming and grand opening of Warfield Commons, a reimagined multistory “hub for arts, media, culture, and civic engagement designed to activate community and amplify the stories of the Bay Area and beyond.” Enjoy live performances including music, a puppet show for the kiddos, culinary arts, building tours, artist activations, and more. Noon to 5 p.m. at Warfield Commons. Free admission; RSVP here.m $10; dinner from $30.
Listen to our podcasts
- Our votes matter: Prop. A, D, E, F, and G on the S.F. ballot
- The political season has arrived … just check your mail
- An interview with Laurance Lee, candidate for the San Francisco School Board
- Are you prepared? Four-year community college? The blight continues
- Plus more (and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible or everywhere else you get your favorite podcasts)
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