Overdose Deaths Fall
PLUS: Our new transparency portal
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of June 14, 2026:
- Overdose Deaths Fall
- GrowSF launches our new transparency portal
- Billionaire Tax Negotiations
- Recalled, Still in Office
- Golden Gate Bridge Tolls Rise July 1
Overdose Deaths Fall
Published June 18, 2026
The Facts
Overdose deaths fell sharply this spring. San Francisco recorded 34 deaths in April, 35 in May, and 219 through across the first five months. The 2021-2025 monthly totals were higher in every prior year: 286 deaths in the first five months of 2021, 246 in 2022, 348 in 2023, 329 in 2024, and 316 in 2025. City officials also warned, in reporting by Natalia Gurevich at The Examiner, that cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid tied to a first local death, is showing up in counterfeit pills.
The Context
The city is improving from a still-awful baseline. San Francisco logged 625 overdose deaths in 2025. DPH says Neighborhood Street Teams expanded citywide in May 2025, and the city funded a 16-bed crisis stabilization unit at 822 Geary for people in urgent mental health or substance-use crisis.
The GrowSF Take
This is progress, but San Francisco is still mostly treading water. Even with 219 deaths through May, the city is still losing far too many people. We need a bigger shift: mandatory treatment, zero tolerance for sidewalk-level consumption, and rapid enforcement against street dealers. Better is good, but it is not enough.
GrowSF launches our new transparency portal
GrowSF became San Francisco’s most trusted voter guide by showing our work. Other groups tell people how to vote; we publish the evidence behind every endorsement and evaluate it fairly and honestly.
Now we’re showing our work on campaign finance too. Every dollar we raise and spend — every ad, mailer, and metric — is documented in detail, so our impact is clear.
Billionaire Tax Negotiations
Published June 19, 2026
The Facts
The billionaire tax qualified for the ballot this week, but with just 54% of voters indicating support, the union backing the measure is trying to negotiate a lower rate in exchange for Newsom’s support, according to Sophie Austin at The Associated Press.
They have until 5 p.m. on June 25, the deadline to certify or withdraw the measure, to find a negotiated deal. Any deal would have to be passed by the legislature.
The Context
The Legislative Analyst’s Office says the original 5% version could raise tens of billions of dollars over several years, with 90% earmarked for health care and 10% for food assistance or education-related programs. But it also warns California could lose hundreds of millions of dollars or more in annual income-tax revenue if wealthy residents leave.
Negotiations between Newsom’s office and the union have been ongoing for weeks. This week, odds of the measure appearing on the November ballot collapsed on Polymarket, possibly indicating someone with inside knowledge knew a deal had been reached. That ended up not being the case.
The GrowSF Take
Standard advice among political operatives is that you want your ballot measure to be winning with at least 60% before Election Day. So with just 54% expressing support in a May poll, the union must be feeling uneasy.
We hope this large-scale asset seizure is withdrawn. Everyone should pay their fair share, and sustainable tax policy requires that tax rates are stable, predictable, not punitive, and hard to game. Policies like a one-time asset seizure tell entrepreneurs: don’t build your company here. Some billionaires have already left the state, and more are likely to follow, whether or not the seizure ultimately ends up legal or not. This will have a big negative impact on tax revenues, innovation, and the broader economy.
California should focus on delivering the basics with a reasonable budget instead of chasing one-time wealth grabs that could push out the tax base we already depend on.
Recalled, Still in Office
Published June 18, 2026
The Facts
It’s nice to be reminded that San Francisco doesn’t have the most dysfunctional politics.
In Avenal, a small town in the Central Valley about halfway between SF and LA, voters recalled four city council members in an April 28 special election, but three have refused to leave office.
On June 11, the council took up a resolution declaring the recall unlawful and directing staff to keep recognizing the incumbents as still in office. On June 17, Attorney General Rob Bonta granted residents leave to file a quo warranto lawsuit to remove the officials.
The Context
In California, quo warranto is the formal court process used to test whether someone is unlawfully holding public office, and it cannot proceed without the Attorney General’s consent. That means this dispute has moved beyond campaign politics and into the basic question of who lawfully has the power to govern.
The GrowSF Take
As ridiculous as our politics are, remember that it can always get worse!
Golden Gate Bridge Tolls Rise July 1
Published June 18, 2026
The Facts
Golden Gate Bridge tolls rise July 1, with FasTrak at $10.25, pay-as-you-go at $10.50, mailed invoices at $11.25, and carpools at $8.25. Most Golden Gate Transit and Ferry fares also rise by up to 25 cents, though Marin and Sonoma local bus fares and Giants ferry fares stay flat.
The Context
The district approved this five-year toll program in March 2024, raising most bridge tolls by 50 cents each year through 2028 to help close a $220 million five-year shortfall. The district is also beginning a seismic retrofit that Rachel Swan at The Chronicle described as adding 38 shock absorbers and steel plates at the base of both towers.
The GrowSF Take
Great infrastructure requires constant maintenance, and a great society pays for it.