The Frisc

13/06/2024

An 🚴🏾 update from our streets and transit reporter Kristi Coale: SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has some Valencia bike lane news.

The center-lane experiment was supposed to end in August. But SFMTA says it’s working with merchants on designs, especially parking and parklets. Problem: Valencia is wider from 19th-23rd than 15th-19th Sts 😵‍💫

Another problem: Merchant demands for change ASAP (one guy went on hunger strike) have given way to caution, says SFMTA director Jeffrey Tumlin. They now want to avoid summer disruption (peak dining season) and during holiday shopping: “They want us to delay to .. minimize impact on sales.”

So… when? SFMTA's Paul Stannis says installing the new lanes will take 1-2 weeks per block. There are 8 blocks total. There’s no date yet.

Each block could have both floating and curbside parklets. SFMTA said in February it was looking at the “floating” idea, which is popular in Oakland. (Bikes travel between the curb and the parklet.)

The agency says of the 30 parklet owners in question, about 25% want theirs to float, but they have to accept that means less curb space for parking/loading.

The board will vote next week whether to support the effort in progress.

Oh, if you want to check out SFMTA's original February presentation about the potential new changes, here's our live thread:
https://x.com/TheFrisc/status/1760051412372005144

13/06/2024

🗣 LIVE: Let's talk about SF public schools.

It's a critical time for the San Francisco Unified School District, with perhaps the most consequential decisions in a generation coming up.

Join us at Manny's on **JUNE 18** for a live conversation with Board of Education commissioner Jenny Lam and Meredith W. Dodson of the San Francisco Parent Coalition.

We'll discuss school closures, the budget crisis, teacher morale, 8th grade algebra, the Lowell question, and more!

Plenty of time for audience Q&A too. Bring your burning questions! 🔥

A conversation about upcoming school closures, a budget crisis, math and literacy reforms, and much more.

10/06/2024

🗣 LIVE: Let's talk about SF public schools. It's a critical time for SFUSD, with perhaps the most consequential decisions in a generation looming.

Join us at Manny's on ***JUNE 18*** for a live conversation with Board of Education commissioner Jenny Lam and Meredith Dodson of the San Francisco Parent Coalition. We'll discuss school closures, the budget crisis, teacher morale, 8th grade algebra, the Lowell question, and more.

Plenty of time for audience Q&A too. Bring your burning questions! 🔥

A conversation about upcoming school closures, a budget crisis, math and literacy reforms, and much more.

07/06/2024

🗣️ NEW CONVERSATION: streets activist and data maven Stephen Braitsch has advice for SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency: measure your projects' impact, give more info and transparency, and help residents better understand how street and transit improvements affect their lives.

This conversation is particularly relevant, as the November ballot could feature a tax on Uber and Lyft to fund Muni. Votes to fund the agency have been no slam dunk recently, as Kristi Coale reports

One transit activist says the city and its voters deserve to know whether big changes make streets safer, buses faster, and neighborhoods livelier.

30/05/2024

🏗️ NEW, GROUNDBREAKING: London Breed 倫敦．布里德 doesn't show up to kick off every new construction project. But yesterday she and a bunch of other officials were at Folsom and Main Streets, aka Transbay Block 2, for a few reasons:

👉🏼 the site will become 300+ affordable homes
👉🏼 it's in a part of downtown that the city is desperate to revitalize
👉🏼 the mayoral race is heating up, and housing is a key issue

Adam L Brinklow reports on a neighborhood that was once touted as "the future of the city." That future was waylaid by the pandemic, work-from-home techies, and a transit center boondoggle. Can it get back on track?

Once touted as "the future of the city," this neighborhood suffered from the pandemic, work-from-home, and a transit center boondoggle. Can Transbay now help shape San Francisco's recovery?

28/05/2024

📸 NEW STREET PHOTO SPOTLIGHT: Call it Carnival, or Carnaval, or if you’re down on the bayou, Mardi Gras. In most other places, the annual festival of music, dance, costume, folk art, and revelry comes in February, a time to party before the Catholic observation of Lent.

But not in San Francisco. We do ours in May.

The 46th Carnaval San Francisco was a sight to behold. Mission resident & photographer Pamela Gentile got it from all angles as nearly 70 groups marched, floated, kicked, salsa'd, samba'd and celebrated their way down 24th and Mission Streets!

There was no better way to spend the long weekend in the city than at the 46th Carnaval, culminating in a grand parade down Mission Street. All photos by Pamela Gentile.

28/05/2024

🚋 NEW, ELECTION 2024 UPDATE: Grassroots transit advocates want voters to pass a tax on ride-hail firms Uber Lyft and Waymo this November to bolster SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's budget.

But a bigger tax measure backed by London Breed 倫敦．布里德 Aaron Peskin and many other local bigwigs could kill it. Jerold Chinn reports and explains 👇🏼

Self-funded transit advocates didn't realize that to win in November they must outgain a huge tax overhaul endorsed by SF’s political, financial, and business leaders.

21/05/2024

🩺 NEW STORY, HOUSING AND HEALTH: relies on 1000s of permanent supportive housing (PSH) units to get people off the streets and stabilize their lives.

But 5% of residents, by San Francisco Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing's estimate, *de*stabilize their neighbors' lives with disruptive behavior. A March hearing exposed deep troubles, with hundreds of calls to police over 18 months, at one supportive housing site in Mission Bay run by HomeRise. That's CEO Janea Jackson pictured below.

This isn't the norm, but many people including Jackson acknowledged the need for a deeper level of behavioral care to make PSH work for everyone. (Jackson calls it "specialized housing.")

David Mamaril Horowitz digs into the complex problem and what SF is doing about it. 👇🏽👇🏽

To help people stay off the streets, the city needs housing where “5 percent” of residents don’t disrupt their neighbors’ lives.

17/05/2024

🚲 NEW STORY: The Wiggle bike route has been a thing for 30 years, a key connector of the western neighborhoods and downtown.

Next year, SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will expand the city's "Bike and Roll" network as SF continues to reorient its streets away from car-first uses.

The Wiggle could use an upgrade. How about a Slow Street? Advocates are focused on 3 blocks of Steiner St. that could also help 200+ seniors nearby use Duboce Park more often. Kristi Coale reports 👇🏽

The city's most famous bike route needs an upgrade. Will it include restrictions on cars at a perilous intersection?

10/05/2024

✏️ You might have heard this week about the dire financial situation at the San Francisco Unified School District. But did you hear that 3 of the 4 Board of Education members up for re-election this fall don't plan to run? It's a big surprise in a town where political incumbents have a big advantage.

That means the district will enter 2025, embroiled in budget crisis, school closures, and academic reforms, all with at least 3 new faces on the board.

ICYM we have that scoop for you, plus more on the state's warning that SFUSD needs to get its fiscal house in order ASAP.

Two years after a bruising recall, more than half the Board of Education could turn over, all while trying to govern a district facing fiscal crisis and a school overhaul.

10/05/2024

NEW, EXPLORE SF 🔍: Lying on the beach or lounging on the grass on hot days gets old fast 🥱 How about an adventure this weekend? It's high spring, and there's still time to find a dizzying palette of wildflowers without leaving city limits.

No time to wait. Summer is coming. Grasses turn brown, and the fog rolls in 🌥

We show you 4 of our favorite super bloom spots, and get some advice from an wildflower expert San Francisco Recreation and Park Department to boot. Get out now and explore with Maryann Jones Thompson!

Want to see super blooms without leaving city limits? We asked the guy who manages SF’s natural areas for tips – and added our own favorites as well.

08/05/2024

🥄 SCHOOL BOARD SCOOP: 3 of 4 San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education incumbents aren’t planning to run for re-election in November.

What that means: SFUSD will start 2025, a critical year, with at least three new board members, maybe four, who will have a steep learning curve dealing with an alarming fiscal crisis, controversial school closures, major academic reforms, and more.

Ida Mojadad has the details - who's running, who's not, and why ✏️

Two years after a bruising recall, more than half the Board of Education could turn over, all while trying to govern a district facing fiscal crisis and a school overhaul.

06/05/2024

In case you weren't plugged in last week 🔌 👇

's bid to control its grid has never seemed closer. Pacific Gas and Electric Company rebuffed a $2.5 billion offer a few years ago, but a legal dispute may soon reveal a price for all the utility's SF assets. Will be able to afford it?

What's more, does the city have what it takes to be the only power provider in town? It's one thing to run scattered sites around town. It's another to have full responsibility.
Check out Part 2 of the Kristi Coale special report on SF's Electric Future ⚡️

To control its electric future, the city’s utility agency has a head start. Whether SF can afford the switch isn’t the only big question.

02/05/2024

🔌 NEW, POWER PLAY: 's bid to control its grid has never seemed closer. Pacific Gas and Electric Company rebuffed a $2.5b offer a few yrs ago, but a legal dispute may soon reveal a price for all the utility's SF assets. Will be able to afford it?

What's more, does the city have what it takes to be the only power provider in town? It's one thing to run scattered sites around town. It's another to have full responsibility.

Check out Part 2 of the Kristi Coale special report on SF's Electric Future ⚡️

To control its electric future, the city’s utility agency has a head start. Whether SF can afford the switch isn’t the only big question.

01/05/2024

🏘️ NEW HOUSING STORY: Something nearly all of can agree upon: the city needs more affordable housing.

Sup. Dean Preston says City Hall is too slow to tap into a federal subsidy to build thousands of affordable units, and he's launched a pressure campaign.

It's the latest salvo from Preston in his long-running spat with the London Breed 倫敦．布里德 administration over housing. Not so fast, say SF's housing agencies: it's more complex than Preston allows, and his numbers are off.

As always, Adam L Brinklow breaks it down for you 👇👇

Spurred by Sup. Dean Preston, lawmakers urge more aggressive use of obscure Obama-era subsidies. City officials say it’s not that simple.

29/04/2024

⚠️ ICYM LAST WEEK: we launched a new investigative series on 's electric future ⚡️

This isn’t just about robotaxis and e-bikes. You’ll learn how Pacific Gas and Electric Company, politics, and technology are shaping – or hindering – urgent changes needed for a greener, safer, and more affordable city, from housing to homeless services to street lights and transit.

Part one of the series, by Kristi Coale, is here. Part two is coming soon!

Affordable housing. Plug-in buses. Even a tiny bathroom. The giant utility's delays and demands bleed city coffers and hamper critical progress on shelter, emissions, street safety, and more.

26/04/2024

🔔 NEW STORY, SCHOOL STRATEGIES: It seems San Francisco Unified School District has been working its way through a legion of troubles for years.

Solutions are painful, none likely more so than upcoming school closures. District leaders hope their approach doesn't set off the backlash we've seen in Oakland. But, oh, the complications.

Two more huge initiatives await - new kindergarten assignment zones and a huge bond to repair aging schools - and they rely on getting closures right. Ida Mojadad unties the complex knot for you 👇🏼

SFUSD can’t reform kindergarten zones or start major school repairs until it resolves consolidations. Public opinion and politics add even more complications.

24/04/2024

⚡️⚡️ It’s Climate Week, and we’re launching a new series that *explains, explores, and investigates* San Francisco’s promises of a cleaner, greener, safer electric future – and the more sobering reality.

This isn’t just about robotaxis and e-bikes. You’ll learn how Pacific Gas and Electric Company, politics, and technology are shaping – or hindering – urgent changes needed for a cleaner, safer, and more affordable city.

Kristi Coale has spent countless hours digging, interviewing, and crunching data, and it’s time to share. Part one is all about PG&E and how its control of SF's grid affects progress on affordable housing, plug-in transit.... even tiny bathrooms. Our series starts RIGHT NOW

Affordable housing. Plug-in buses. Even a tiny bathroom. The giant utility's delays and demands bleed city coffers and hamper critical progress on shelter, emissions, street safety, and more.

18/04/2024

BIG NEWS: We've launched a new website! Yes, it kinda looks like our old one. (We love the colors and logo far too much.) But spend some time, and you'll notice differences including easier navigation, faster loading, and a better mobile experience.

😍 Woo hoo! Big thanks to art director Jeremy LaCroix Shooting Small for his guidance and to everyone who pitched in with feedback.

Let us know what you think! And if you're a contributor to The Frisc, please know we couldn't do big projects like this without your support. Let's keep up the momentum all year. 🙏

https://thefrisc.com/

18/04/2024

🗣️ NEW CONVERSATION: Pro-housing lawmakers now dominate Sacramento and keep pushing for more homes to ease the housing crunch.

Opponents of more density are playing defense. Can they use the ballot instead? Lafayette mayor Susan Candell
wants to try in 2026 for a constitutional amendment to enshrine local housing control. (It would be her 3rd attempt.)

What's this all to do with ? A lot. What happens in Sacto, housing-wise, directly affects us here. Candell also says Aaron Peskin's mayoral run is not just an inspiration, but the start of a backlash against YIMBYs and other density proponents.

Adam L Brinklow has a long chat with Candell, one of Peskin's biggest fans.

For decades, local control ruled in California. Cities decided where to build housing – or not, in many cases, which has left the state in a housing shortage and affordability crisis.  But a new wave of state officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco’s Scott Wiener, and Berkeley’s...

01/04/2024

🏘 NEW STORY (MAP QUEST): Our neighborhood tour continues, viewed through the lens of the new San Francisco Planning zoning map.

Adam L Brinklow takes you to Glen Park, where great transit access (Bay Area Rapid Transit and SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency lines) and lots of neighborhood amenities should mean more density.

But what about that "village" neighborhood character?

The Glen Park station has a parking lot that’s ripe for dense housing. But what about the rest of the “village”?

29/03/2024

🚴🏽 NEW STORY: Maybe you saw London Breed 倫敦．布里德's election-year pledge yesterday to beef up street safety.

What you didn't see: SF's long-awaited plan for a better bike network is being delayed and won't be ready until 2025.

The plan isn't just for bikes. It will make street improvements to help pedestrians - or anyone not in a car. We'll see a draft map this summer, but the final won't arrive til early 2025. Kristi Coale reports 👇🏼

A new network was supposed to be in place this year, but neighborhood input and troubles around town have set it back to 2025.

25/03/2024

⛺️ NEW, OFF THE STREET: People living on streets can now bypass a waitlist and other red tape and move right into empty units of supportive .

The new program, first reported by The Frisc last September, has helped lower San Francisco Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing's vacancy rate to 7.1%.

While the department says the effort "continues to thrive," it's only a trickle - 6 to 8 move-ins/month - relative to the city's unsheltered population that was nearly 4,400 in a 2022 snapshot count. Meanwhile, with thousands of people living on SF streets, officials face legal, economic, and political pressure from many sides.

David Mamaril Horowitz reports on the bottlenecks keeping the Street to Home program from expanding soon... and why HSH is ok with that.

A program that began last year skips waitlists and other hurdles, and officials say it’s thriving. It also has limitations.

20/03/2024

NEW, GRIEVING: It's not even April, and is on pace for its deadliest traffic year in the Vision Zero SF era. People who aren't in cars are bearing the brunt, including a family killed last weekend and another man in January. Signs at vigils show the range of emotion.

Amidst this, SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has plans to deploy 33 speed cameras, a yearslong pilot program to add another safety measure to the city's arsenal. The cams won't go live til next year. Meanwhile, as Kristi Coale reports, nothing is stemming the deadly tide https://thefrisc.com/sf-to-add-speed-cameras-next-year-as-it-mourns-a-family-killed-by-an-out-of-control-driver-53cd345f14f0

18/03/2024

📜 SURVEY: This weekend's horrific crash of an SUV into an SF bus stop, killing three and leaving an infant in critical condition, underscored the city's unchecked traffic fatality rate and the need for solutions.

Last week, activists created a Franklin Street 'road diet' in front of an elementary school where a teacher was struck and killed in 2021. Their guerilla act of taking away a traffic lane stemmed from frustration with delayed promises to slow the street's traffic.

Scott Wiener recently called for “speed governor” technology in every California vehicle. Last week, SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency unveiled plans for speed cameras on dozens of streets.

We want to hear your voice. Speed governors? Street cameras? What should SF do? Take our short survey and let us know 👇🏽

09/03/2024

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01/03/2024

NEW, PROP C: Mayor London Breed 倫敦．布里德 put a tax break on next week's ballot. It's meant as an incentive to convert 's empty offices into .

But an analysis by the city's top economist says the 🥕 might not be big enough to get such projects going, and could actually be counterproductive for the city. Adam L Brinklow breaks it down ⤵️

Apartment developers would get relief, but the city’s top economist says the incentive might be too weak or have negative effects.

26/02/2024

NEW, HOMELESS ACCOUNTABILITY: 2 years ago we reported how San Francisco Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing's emergency no-bid contract power came with oversight rules that were, at best, lenient.

Then voters, with a 2/3 majority, approved a new oversight commission in Nov 2022. Since its debut last May, the commission has reviewed 8 contracts total. (6 of them just a few days ago.)

Now HSH aims to extend its no-bid contract power until 2029. Will its watchdogs have more bite? Commissioner Sharky Laguana told .horowitz.7: “We are finally getting into position to sink our teeth into the meat of the work we’re doing.”

Debate on the no-bid authority extension, and perhaps a vote, is coming tomorrow at the Board of Supervisors. Check out David's report on the oversight was promised for its billion-dollar homelessness agency 👇🏽

Tension between urgency and accountability has resurfaced with a bill to let HSH bypass competitive bidding until 2029.

22/02/2024

🚲 NEW STORY, TWO-WHEELED TRIAL: The Valencia Street bike lane experiment will keep rolling.

The unusual center-lane configuration has its detractors. Some of them want the one-year pilot shut down before it ends in August. But early interesting data points have arrived about traffic, safety, and congestion.

Kristi Coale rides us through all that, and reports why the SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board is ready to stay the course, and how what comes after could be just as complicated.

When the one-year experiment ends in August, SFMTA promises to have an alternative plan ready to roll.

22/02/2024

🏘️ NEW STORY, SHRINKING HOMES: SFMTA - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will soon redo the old Potrero Yard bus depot and maintenance shop in the northeast Mission District. There's a bonus: plans call for 465 new affordable homes on the site, a small but welcome contribution as plans for tens of thousands of new homes this decade.

But wait: Turns out the plans are in place but the 💲💲💲 isn't, which means the housing total could end up far less than first hoped. That would be a big missed opportunity. Adam L Brinklow explains how this came about.

Housing atop a renovated Muni yard is a creative idea. But if funds don’t arrive on time, the downsized project will keep shrinking.