The Grow SF Report, Vol. 26
The latest updates on SF government progress, policies, and priorities
With today’s Report, Grow SF is welcoming many new subscribers who want to see a city that prioritizes public transportation, safe biking, and walkability. We hope you enjoy our updates!
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city this week:
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered!
History was made this week with the submission of nearly 240,000 signatures to recall three San Francisco school board commissioners — the first recall to qualify since 1983, and the first recall ever of School Board members.
Now the Department of Elections will validate the petitions and schedule an election sometime between December 2021 and February 2022.
Alison Collins Drops Her $87M Lawsuit
After School Board member Alison Collins was censured for her racist tweets about Asian Americans (and her refusal to apologize for them), she sued the school district and her fellow commissioners for $87 million.
Last month, a judge dismissed her lawsuit, saying it was without merit. This week (on the same day more than 81,000 signatures were delivered to City Hall calling for her recall), Collins announced she would drop her lawsuit and not challenge its dismissal.
But the school district is still out $100,000 in legal fees, on top of their structural deficit of over $100 million per year.
Proposal for Fast & Frequent Muni Service
SFMTA published 3 proposals for Muni service in 2022, ranging from the “Familiar” network to the “Frequent” network, and a “Hybrid” option. The Frequent Network would remove some of the slower, infrequent pre-COVID bus lines, but in exchange, it would make the busiest lines, like the 7, 22, 49, and 12, come more often and more reliably.
By coming more often and moving faster thanks to the bus-only lanes on major routes, the Frequent network would put the average San Franciscan within 30-minutes of about 4,000 more jobs and within 45-minutes of 9,000 more jobs than the Familiar network. That’s a huge improvement for transit riders.
Check out SFMTA’s post for a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown and don’t forget to take their survey to share your thoughts!
A Car Break-In That Will Break Your Heart
San Francisco had 30,000 reported annual car break-ins before the pandemic. But they plummeted while tourists were away. Now that things have opened up, car break-ins have risen 19 percent from this time last year.
A couple who evacuated the wildfires near Lake Tahoe stayed in a San Francisco hotel in the Marina. They left South Lake Tahoe with only their most treasured possessions (like original photos of deceased parents). But in San Francisco, thieves broke into the locked metal covering on the bed of the couple’s pick-up truck. The irreplaceable photos were stolen along with a family heirloom guitar that belonged to a grandparent.
Watch the report on ABC-7 News.
Update: SF COVID-19 Vaccinations
With the delta variant spreading, it’s important that everyone who is eligible get vaccinated.
Delta variant update
If you received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine and are worried about the Delta variant, San Francisco’s Department of Public Health Adult Immunization & Travel Clinic (AITC) and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) are offering supplemental mRNA shots.
Current stats
Vaccination Rate: 86% of SF residents over 12 have received at least 1 dose. 79% have been fully vaccinated.
Eligibility: All SF residents 12 and older are eligible to be vaccinated!
Vaccine Sites: Find a vaccine site near you.
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Vote in the Governor Recall Election
The Governor is the chief executive of the State, and has the authority to author bills, issue executive orders, veto legislation, and more. Whether Governor Newsom is recalled or not will have massive consequences on our state, and on our country as a whole. Even former President Obama weighed in on the election:
It’s Transit Month!
San Francisco Transit Riders are putting on a bunch of great transit-themed events this month, including a detailed walkthrough of 2022 service, a talk on transit safety, and a virtual game night with the Connect the Bay transit board game! (yes, the game really exists!)
Check out the full calendar from our friends at San Francisco Transit Riders.
Fun in SF
Check out some of our favorite fun activities happening in SF right now:
10th Annual David Bowie Birthday Bash
Join the First Church of the Sacred Silversexual in their 10th annual celebration of David Bowie!
Friday night is cover-to-cover of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars!
Saturday night is Hunky Dory!
Neil Armstrong at the Moon Palace
A children's play that fuses American history with Chinese mythology. It is a story of kindness, friendship, and adventurous exploration!
American astronaut Neil Armstrong landed on the moon and discovered Chang'er, Jade Rabbit, and Wu Gan─ legendary characters from the Chinese mythology. Neil Armstrong learned from his new friends how they became immortals and arrived at the moon. But just when he grew comfortable, his adventure continued.
Poet and playwright Clara Hsu wrote and produced this children's play to celebrate the 2021 San Francisco Autumn Moon Festival. Because of the pandemic, the play was made into a Play-Movie. Thirteen children and two adults participated in this intergenerational production. A Costume Parade with the cast and young lion dances after each performance.
TeamLab: Continuity at the Asian Art Museum
At teamLab: Continuity, you will find yourself immersed in a wondrous ecosystem of lush imagery drawn from nature and East Asian art that dynamically evolves around you. It’s an interactive and immersive experience with lights, sounds, and smells.
Topical (Transit) Tweets
Yes, there is good stuff on Twitter. Here’s some of it:
Bart is 50% off this month
Muni Metro is much faster than it used to be
Remember being stuck in the tunnel under Market St? Last year Muni made the bold move to limit which trains enter the subway and the results are incredible. Even those taking the J, which now need an extra transfer, are seeing better transit times!
