THIS WEEK AT THE VOICE FOR THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026
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by Mike Ege
Editor in chief, The Voice of San Francisco
It’s summer in S.F. and with the World Cup and the European heat wave, people are coming to the Bay Area for fun in a Mediterranean climate. The North Beach Festival, which took place the weekend of June 21, estimates it attracted over 40,000 attendees this year, with heavy opening-day crowds and long lines at stands selling pizza and other popular food, as well as at stands selling artisanal and not-so-artisanal trinkets..
Of course, crowds also bring complaints, and not just about parking. Mayor Daniel “Let’s Go” Lurie has been betting on special events to boost the city’s economy, and sooner or later, crowds and fun invite the tragedy of the commons, such as the literal roof-raising that accompanied the Red Bull Formula 1 Show run held on Marina Boulevard back in February.
Moving into summer brings hotter weather, which means organizers need to be mindful of both hydration and hooliganism. Which brings us to public irritation over Gay Pride organizers’ policing of water bottles this year. Apparently, hundreds of bottles were confiscated at the gates for being filled with water, and promised water stations didn’t pan out.
Why confiscate water? Well, because apparently even the humble water bottle can be used to brain people. Pretty much any rigid receptacle can, as demonstrated during a recent Thursday evening commute when a fender bender in SOMA prompted an enraged motorist to pummel the other driver with a pet feeding bowl.
Meanwhile, members of the Board of Supervisors are in a funk over the impending return of Covid-era crank yankers to public comment.
As we predicted in our Monday report this week, supervisors were reluctantly compelled to pass a motion to reintroduce remote public comment in accordance with recently adopted state law. Members ranging from progressive Shamann Walton to moderate Stephen Sherrill voiced their disdain.
“This is something that is being forced upon us from the state legislature,” Walton, Rules Committee chair, told colleagues as they considered the item Tuesday. “Some of you may remember that during the pandemic, we had to sit here for hours, sometimes until two in the morning and listen to people call in that were not constituents that were from other states and from other countries. … if we cannot receive donations and support from people from other countries, we should not have to sit here and listen to them, talk about the business of San Francisco.”
Sherrill was even more agitated.
“If I didn’t think this would cost us money on the inevitable lawsuit, I would vote against it just to … uh, probably can’t say what I wanted to say there, but it’s hypocrisy,” he told colleagues, going on to bemoan how genuine constituents were “going to get pushed out by all the whackadoodles around the world who decide to opine because they have nothing better to do. It is hard enough for us to provide the appropriate access to enough San Franciscans to actually get the job done.”
Supervisor Connie Chan opined, “Well, I mean, I think if Supervisor Walton and Supervisor Sherrill are in agreement, this must not be good.”
Chan then queried Deputy City Attorney Brad Russi as to whether the new regulation could be implemented in such a way to squelch abusive or nonresident comments. He was not optimistic, noting that anyone dissatisfied with such measures could likely sue the city for violating the Brown Act. Board Clerk Angela Calvillo then noted measures already in the works to attenuate effects of obviously disruptive comments, including encouraging commenters to sign up in advance.
The supervisors, under the leadership of Aaron Peskin, discontinued remote public comment except for people with disabilities in October 2023 when members of the self-styled Goyim Defense League, an antisemitic group, started a campaign of coordinated abusive calls into supervisors’ meetings.
Speaking with The Voice later in the week, District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey summed up the sentiment:
“To have to sit through a public comment with people spouting racial slurs just for the purpose of getting a rise out of people is just delegitimizing government in a way that we shouldn’t allow. Listen, you have the absolute First Amendment right to participate in your government. You can send an email, you can make a video, you can tag us on social media. You have the whole panoply of things available to you to participate in your democracy. But there is something that should be respected about coming in and availing yourself of the platform of public comment. And if you’re going to have some racist hide behind the anonymity of a long distance phone call, to spout off on some hateful thing, that’s bad for the process, and I don’t want to platform it.”
Remote public comment returns to the Board of Supervisors next Tuesday, for better or worse.
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Top News
LAW AND ORDER
U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding birthright citizenship highlights San Francisco
Court delves into city’s past and 1898 case of S.F. native Wong Kim Ark
by John Trasviña
San Francisco took center stage on Tuesday, when the United States Supreme Court issued its final decision of the 2026 term, upholding the doctrine of Birthright Citizenship. San Franciscans played significant roles in the current case, Trump v. Barbara, in ways strikingly similar to the city’s prominence in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, in 1898. Above and beyond any local connections, the set of court opinions striking down President Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship will be discussed and written about for decades to come.
ELECTIONS 2026
Seven candidates face off in first District 10 supervisor community forum
Hopefuls vying to succeed Shamann Walton tackle housing, public safety, economic development and other topics at a crowded Bayview church.
by Erica Sandberg
OPINION
Friday night’s New York City-style menacing in Dolores Park
The social media broadcast of Scott Wiener’s harassment at Trans Shabbat wasn’t a protest. It was an instructional video — and the audience wasn’t Wiener.
by Elizabeth Statmore
Quote of the week
“I think that the idea that San Francisco is going to lose its leadership — I don’t really see that. It’s very hard to tell what will come after the AI boom, but I don’t really see that. It’s going to retain its leadership of the AI industry. I think the bigger question is whether it can retain the special culture. And this goes to your question: Can it retain the special culture, which then presumably nurtures all the booms going forward? Even though the city has come back in dramatic ways, it’s also the case that a lot of the street life, social life, cultural life is still not what it was at all.“
—Jonathan Weber on whether San Francisco’s marriage to Tech has been costly, in John Zipperer’s interview
Nomi toon
In Case You Missed It
NEWS
A city married to tech: An interview with Jonathan Weber
The author of City on the Edge on San Francisco’s rollercoaster ride in the internet age.
by John Zipperer
RIGHT STUFF
More accolades for The Voice of San Francisco!
The Voice garners nine awards for its reporting in 2025 from the California Newspaper Publishers’ Association.
by Mike Ege
CULTURE
Top of the Mark revives legendary 100 Martini Passport for hotel’s centennial
To celebrate its 100th birthday, the iconic lounge is bringing back a beloved boozy tradition.
by Erica Sandberg
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EVENTS
Out and about July 2–8, 2026
What to do this weekend and beyond.
By Lynette Majer
Managing Editor, The Voice of San Francisco
It’s a busy weekend out there, with a variety of performances from festivals to music concerts featuring kids, a ballet, and more, like, um, fireworks. Read on to see what you may want to do.
Thursday, July 2
The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, in its 26th year, is chock-full of all kinds of admission-free entertainment from music and dance to theater, family programs, and cultural events throughout each week and most weekends through November. So grab a picnic lunch and go hear jazz harp player and soul-powered vocalist Destiny Muhammad, who takes the instrument to a new level with her “soaring vocals” of jazz standards and original tunes. 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the Great Lawn at Yerba Buena Gardens. Free admission.
Friday, July 3
The San Francisco Mime Troupe opens their 67th season today with Wreckage: A Musical Tragicomedy, which asks the political questions: Is it just us, or does it feel like everything is falling apart? How are we going to survive and rebuild in the rubble left from the economic, social, and psychological devastation of the idiotic kleptocrats? When it’s all over will there be enough left to build something new out of this … wreckage? 1:30 (music), 2 p.m. (show) at Delores Park through Saturday; Sunday at Yerba Buena Gardens. Shows throughout Northern California through Sept. 7. $20 suggested donation.
Anyone who loves watching talented kids perform won’t want to miss the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus featuring the San Francisco Boys Chorus. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Calvary Presbyterian Church. Free admission; reserve here.
Saturday, July 4
If jazz is your jam, don’t miss the annual Fillmore Jazz Festival. Spanning 12 blocks, this iconic festival honors and celebrates the roots of the Fillmore district. Don’t miss the southern blocks, where you’ll find a treat of unscheduled musicians and vendors, typically centered around Marcus Books (the nation’s oldest Black-owned independent bookstore — and don’t miss it either). 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fillmore Street (Jackson to Eddy streets), through Sunday. Free.
The Golden Gate Park Band will perform Happy 250th America!, a Fourth of July concert featuring “patriotic favorites, rousing marches, and musical fireworks,” from a program of Gershwin, Mancini, Joplin, and others. (Basset hounds always make me smile, especially one keeping warm under a blanket.) 1 p.m. to 2:30 at the Spreckles Temple of Music. Free.
Enjoy an elegant afternoon tea with live music to celebrate the country’s birthday at Stars, Stripes & Scones. The Red, White, and Tea Menu includes scones and biscuits, delicious-sounding tea sandwiches from egg salad, chicken salad, to duck liver mousse and others, and sweets like a plum rose tartlet, lemon tart strawberry cake, and more. Five time slots available from 1 to 2 p.m. through Sunday at the Laurel Court Restaurant and Bar in the Fairmont San Francisco. Tickets from $65; reserve here.
In addition to the two usual waterfront barges (Aquatic Park and Pier 39), in celebration of the nation’s 250th, fireworks will also be launched from each tower and the east side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Visit the links above for the best viewing areas and other helpful info (like bridge closure times and transportation options). And to find out if Karl is planning to crash the party, check out Fog Today, or the cool-looking app Foggy. 9:30 p.m. Free.
Sunday, July 5
It’s the first Sunday of the month, so head to the Head West Marketplace, which features emerging and established local brands and small businesses offering goods like handmade ceramics, locally sourced vintage, and more. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the back plaza of the Ferry Building.from $10; dinner from $30.
Listen to our podcasts
- More on Scott Wiener and throughout the Bay Area, Safeway and building remains a major issue
- Hate and abuse need to be confronted and dealt with without delay
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- Nothing to be proud of: Scott Wiener harassed as Jew hatred is on the rise
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