The GrowSF Report: Danny Sauter files to run for District 3 Supervisor
PLUS: Fentanyl dealers may face murder charges for overdoses
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of October 23, 2023:
- Danny Sauter files to run for District 3 Supervisor
- Fentanyl dealers may face murder charges for overdoses
- California issues “scathing” report on SF housing, local control could end next month
- California wants to lead the way on treating severe mental illness
- APEC is coming, here’s what it means for you
- What are the Supervisors expensing to taxpayers?
PLUS:
- Butter & Crumble opens in North Beach
- Equator Coffee is BACK on 2nd
Danny Sauter files to run for District 3 Supervisor
We couldn’t be more thrilled that Danny Sauter declared his candidacy for District 3 Supervisor this week, according to Han Li at The Standard. Danny has an impressive record as a community leader and is deeply committed to his North Beach neighborhood. He organized the North Beach Farmers Market and sits on the board of North Beach Neighbors. He’s also Executive Director of the non-profit Neighborhood Centers Together.
Danny ties together a strong work ethic and a commitment to doing good, with his affable personality and kind spirit. He’s certain to be a great representative if he wins in November 2024.
Danny previously ran for Supervisor in 2020. He secured an impressive 43% of the vote against Aaron Peskin, the longest serving career politician in San Francisco, showing Danny has a strong base and an upward trajectory.
Fentanyl dealers may face murder charges for overdoses
Garrett Leahy at The Standard reports that Governor Newsom, in collaboration with Mayor Breed, District Attorney Jenkins, and State Senator Wiener, is launching a new initiative that will investigate overdose deaths the same as murder cases. This will not only help police and investigators map out the crime syndicates selling fentanyl, but hold dealers responsible for the deaths they cause.
San Francisco is on track to set yet another record in fentanyl overdoses this year, so this response to the growing problems is long overdue. We’ve let progressive anti-policing policies kill too many people, and it’s time to fix it.
California issues “scathing” report on SF housing, local control could end next month
San Francisco has a well-deserved reputation of being allergic to new housing, and now the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has released a scathing report saying much the same. According to Josh Koehn at The Standard, HCD “identified 28 specific actions San Francisco must take” to comply with State housing law.
If San Francisco fails to take these actions, the city will lose control of its housing permitting process and the State will step in to unblock homebuilders. We’ve been saying this for months, and now we may be just 30 days away from the shoe dropping.
California wants to lead the way on treating severe mental illness
Earlier this month, Governor Newsom signed a flurry of reforms into law. Chief among them were two bills addressing the mental health crisis. One focuses on creating more beds: a $6.4bn bond measure that will appear on the ballot this March will build more housing and provide more than 10,000 treatment beds. A second one is an expansion of qualifying criteria to meet involuntary treatment placement, when the state takes over a person’s care because they can’t care for themselves due to mental illness or drug addiction.
“Look what’s happening on the streets. It’s night of the living dead in the Tenderloin in San Francisco...and people are dying,” Governor Newsom told The Economist. (No subscription? Use this archive link.)
Although critics condemn the changes as an infringement on civil liberties, the Governor’s laws are in response to the increasingly visible display of suffering and homelessness on the streets of California. In 2021, more than 2,000 homeless people died in Los Angeles County. The hope is that instead of relying only on the street or jail, people will be able to get the care they need with a third alternative: more beds. “Vote no if you believe in the status quo,” said Governor Newsom.
And, we couldn’t agree more.
APEC is coming, here’s what it means for you
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is coming to SF, from November 11th to the 17th. Political and business leaders, including heads of state from Australia, Japan, Peru, as well as President Biden and VP Harris, will be in attendance.
Be prepared for some disruptions to your commute:
[M]uch of San Francisco’s South of Market area will be wrapped in a ring of steel mid-November. Moscone Center, the main site for the conference, will have a security perimeter; transit lines will be rerouted and some streets closed.
Though inconvenient for commuters, APEC will be a great boost to struggling hotels and restaurants. Plus, SF will have the opportunity to remind leaders from around the world what makes it such a special place. Here’s hoping for some good news to come out of the event!
What are the Supervisors expensing to taxpayers?
Being a San Francisco City Supervisor is a tough job, and although the pay ($156K / year) is more than the median city employee salary, it’s still less than what can be made in the private sector. To help ease the financial burden, each supervisor has $10K in expense accounts, that they can use to purchase goods and services related to their role.
The San Francisco Standard recently obtained records for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, detailing what the supervisors were billing back to taxpayers. There are, thankfully, no egregious items or violations of policy, but it is interesting to note what the supervisors have been spending on: refrigerators, chairs, phone chargers, and travel to conferences.
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Recent & upcoming openings
A great city is constantly changing and growing, let’s celebrate what’s new!
Butter & Crumble opens in North Beach
Need a delicious and deliciously instagrammable pastry in North Beach? Lucky for you, Butter & Crumble opened yesterday at Francisco & Stockton, according to Dianne de Guzman at Eater SF. It’s just a few blocks from Pier 39, so it’s sure to be a hot spot for tourists and locals alike.
Equator Coffee is BACK on 2nd
Paolo Bicchieri at Eater SF spreads the good news that Equator Coffee is coming back to the LinkedIn building at 2nd & Howard in Soma. They’re only open Monday to Friday for now, so stop by for a workday pick-me-up.
The Spirit of San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city and the Bay Area. Here’s what makes it great. Brought to you by The Bold Italic.
What we’re doing this week
It’s Halloween season — here’s what we’re up to
There’s so many costumes to wear, pumpkins to pick, and candy to eat. Get out there and enjoy this very orange and colorful time of year in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Here are some great options.
Castro Halloween returns after nearly two decades
Big block parties collectively ghosted us in the pandemic, but the Castro’s annual costume soirée vanished long before that. Pleasant news ahead for us though: the iconic Castro Halloween returns this Saturday and Sunday. A 2006 shooting sent it on hiatus, but organizers aim to make the event less chaotic by tailoring it for families. Activities include face painting, trick-or-treating for kids, a costume contest, and Halloween movies at the Castro Theatre.
Día de los Muertos with SF Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony celebrates its 16th annual Día de los Muertos celebration on November 4, 2023. This event features a concert program of traditional and contemporary Latin American music, preceded by a festive array of family-friendly activities.
WHEN: Nov. 4, 2023 at 2 p.m.
WHERE: Davies Symphony Hall at 201 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco
What we’re writing about
The beers of Bush Street
Let us give thanks for the weekday pint, a sacrament of which San Francisco has no shortage, nor places in which to have it. Some streets are more blessed than others, but even the humblest alley usually has bars to spare and compare. We review four great options on Bush Street.
Molti Amici: New Healdsburg Italian spot that defines Sonoma Wine Country
Healdsburg is already known as a foodie haven, despite being small town Sonoma. Epitomizing Sonoma Wine Country now: it’s a wood-fired pizza, housemade pasta, seafood crudo and cocktail hang with bocce hidden in an inviting back patio. Molti Amici follows in the footsteps of its predecessor in the same space for a decade prior: former pizza, pasta and bocce favorite Campo Fina.
Russian River Pride proves being queer is fun in autumn, too
While not as raucous as our summer celebrations, Russian River Pride gave us a worthy cause for all our rainbow outfits and flags to come out on a sunny Oct. 15. The Sunday festivities marked a reboot of the celebration since 2019, with a few motivations: promoting sobriety, queer seniors, national Coming Out Day, and raising awareness of LGBTQ issues in a moment that legislation has tried to quell those discussions. View photos of the day.
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