The Grow SF Report, Vol. 27
The Grow SF Report, Vol. 27
The latest updates on SF government progress, policies, and priorities
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city this week:
Gavin Newsom survives the recall
With nearly 64% of Californians voting No on the recall, Gavin Newsom lives to fight another day. San Francisco, as it usually is, was a bit of an outlier in the results. We were the only county in the state to not vote for Larry Elder as the #1 backup choice. Instead, Kevin Paffrath placed first with about 20,000 votes (compared to 170,000+ blank).
The Grow SF PAC voter guide was the only one that advised voters to vote for a backup rather than just leaving question 2 blank. Grow SF is proud to have pushed Elder out of the top spot.
School Board Recall signatures counted
The San Francisco Department of Elections has finished counting the total number of signatures for the Board of Education recall. The next step is validating the signatures, which will take one or more weeks.
2022 Groundbreaking Scheduled for 550 Howard
The developer behind a 61-story mixed-use tower slated to go in at 550 Howard Street announced plans for an early 2022 groundbreaking, delivering solid evidence that developers remain very optimistic about post-pandemic San Francisco.
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:
Grow SF Town Hall with Heather Knight
Grow SF regularly hosts conversations with folks around San Francisco and in local government to learn about what they do, how our local government operates, and what we can do to get involved.
Last month Bilal Mahmood and Joel Engardio spoke to Heather Knight, from the SF Chronicle, to learn more about her process and how she breaks news. You don’t want to miss it!
The Matrix 4 Trailer released!
The Matrix Resurrections was largely shot right here in San Francisco! Check out the trailer. How many landmarks can you point out?
Fun in SF
Check out some of our favorite fun activities happening in SF right now:
The Crossing, at East Cut
The old Transbay Transit Terminal has been converted into a community space with a family friendly beer garden, food trucks, public art, and more! It’s open now on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Mid-2023.
The Dahlia Garden in Golden Gate Park
It’s always a beautiful display, located next to the Conservatory of Flowers and Car Free JFK!
Topical Tweets
Yes, there is good stuff on Twitter. Here’s some of it:
There’s always drama on SF Twitter. Here’s the latest:
Safe Lanes is a web app that lets you quickly report illegal parking violations. Instead of using 311, which requires you to manually fill out a form, Safe Lanes uses GPS and image analysis to make reporting quick and easy! WE LOVE IT.
Shockingly, Supervisor Chan decided to attack the app, claiming it violated people’s personal data. Actually, the app uses the 311 API to create requests, and all 311 data is public via the SF Data platform.
We love 311, *when it works*. As @drivingmzstacey puts it, “[they] are as anti-cyclist as you”. Check out her thread on parking violations reported to 311 that weren’t acting on. This should NOT be tolerated in SF.
The conversation didn’t stop there. The creator of the site, Stephen Braitsch, defended his work. His goal is to build a better interface so more people can report violations.
We’re disappointed Supervisor Chan would spend time attacking Stephen’s work, rather than supporting more community involvement around parking issues and working to make SF a safe place for cyclists and pedestrians.