What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of February 26, 2024:
- It’s time to vote!
- Is Aaron Peskin running for Mayor?
- SF School District abandons failed payroll system
- Supreme Court may settle homeless encampment injunction
- Higher bills and record profits - what’s going on at PG&E?
- Did Rick Parina fake his own death?
Recent & upcoming openings:
- Binu Bono brings good wine to West Portal
It’s time to vote!
Election day is in THREE DAYS. Have you voted? Do you have a plan to vote?
The Tuesday, March 5, 2024 election is one of the most important San Francisco elections in years. We have the opportunity to change the direction of the city by electing new leadership to the Democratic Party that will emphasize public safety and housing affordability, new judges that will actually hold criminals accountable, and improve our public schools.
How To Vote
Vote by mail
Mail your ballot no later than Tuesday, March 5th
If you missed mail pickup, drop off your ballot at your local polling place, or in any city ballot dropbox by 8pm on election day
Vote in person
Vote at City Hall every day through Election Day
Vote at your local polling place on Election Day, Tuesday March 5, from 7 am to 8 pm
Check out the GrowSF Voter Guide for easy to use information and sensible recommendations.
Is Aaron Peskin running for Mayor?
The Mayor’s race just got more crowded. According to J.D. Morris at the Chronicle, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin plans to run for Mayor.
We’re not surprised, but we are concerned. Peskin has had a disastrous tenure as Supervisor, where he has spent decades sabotaging the mayor and blocking homebuilding in his district. If elected as Mayor, we’re likely to see homebuilding completely halt across the city and for businesses to be faced with even more red tape.
Peskin has until June 11 to officially declare. We’ll keep you informed on new developments in the race and how the candidates differ.
SF School District abandons failed payroll system
It’s finally happened — after spending over $34 million to build its own bespoke payroll system which repeatedly failed to pay teachers (or even paid them negative amounts!), the district has officially given up. Now, like they should have done from the beginning, they’re going to use an off-the-shelf industry-standard payroll system.
“The school board is expected to approve a new contract on March 12 with Frontline Education, which offers a system in wide use among California school districts,” writes Jill Tucker in the Chronicle.
Supreme Court may settle homeless encampment injunction
Last summer Judge Donna Ryu ordered San Francisco to stop cleaning up homeless encampments and moving people indoors. This happened due to a lawsuit from the “Coalition on Homelessness” which argued that SF was “destroying encampments without providing housing.” Now the lawsuit is on hold, pending a Supreme Court case: Grants Pass v. Johnson.
The result of Grants Pass v. Johnson may result in the SF case getting thrown out. We’ll know this summer!
Higher bills and record profits - what’s going on at PG&E?
If you noticed a sudden increase in your PG&E bill, you’re not alone. Last year the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved rate hikes for PG&E, with the intention of funneling higher revenues into infrastructure upgrades (replacing aging equipment and burying power lines, for example). That’s good news for a resilient grid and fewer wildfires, but is that what’s actually happening? With PG&E reporting their profits increased 25% to $2.2 billion, we needed to find out.
It turns out that, while profits are indeed rising, the magnitude of the spike is exaggerated by low profits PG&E has recently had due to the company paying lots of fines for the wildfires they caused. So most of that rate hike is going to improving the grid, but it still stings.
We know this isn’t comforting to customers struggling to pay their higher bills. If you’re feeling the pinch and want to vent, the SF Standard wants to hear from you!
An about-face on the Valencia Bike Lane
In December we reported that data didn’t support claims that the bike lane on Valencia Street led to a business slump. City officials are now responding: the SFMTA plans to revisit the original proposal of running a curb-side protected bike lane, rather than the center bike lane.
In response to an Examiner Op-Ed by SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin and Board Chair Amanda Eaken, Roger Rudick of StreetsBlog SF writes “It's refreshing that Tumlin and Eaken are finally being upfront that parking was the driver for the decision to abandon the extension of curbside protected bike lanes that were designed and ready to go in 2020.”
SFMTA is also addressing safety concerns: Jian Huang was killed and several people hospitalized while the City ran its center bike lane experiment. They concede that revisiting the original design is a conversation they’re willing to have as that “design is more familiar to San Franciscans.”
Did Rick Parina fake his own death?
And now for something completely different.
We have heard some pretty crazy stories since our time working in San Francisco politics, but nothing quite like this. Local volunteer and prolific public commenter Rick Parina appears to have faked his own death.
Parina was a familiar face on many citywide political campaigns. He seemed to have a love of San Francisco, a lot of time on his hands to help, and more recently, some extra wealth to give to candidates and causes he thought would get San Francisco on the right track. Then, he disappeared. Those he promised funds to were told he had passed away suddenly, and the pledged funds were being held by his estate. There was even a memorial service to honor his passing.
But oddly, no obituary followed. People started asking questions, and now it seems like most of what made Rick Parina beloved by so many was actually the story he told about himself. In fact, according to Annie Gaus and Josh Koehn at the Standard, he’s not a decorated war hero, his ex-wife isn’t dead, he never had the millions of dollars he pledged to donate, and he may not even be dead!
San Francisco is still full of surprises!
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Recent & upcoming openings
A great city is constantly changing and growing, let’s celebrate what’s new!
Binu Bono brings good wine to West Portal
WHERE: 230 W. Portal Avenue
WHEN: Look for an April opening
According to Esther Mobley at the Chronicle, a new wine bar is opening in West Portal named Binu Bonu (“good wine” in Sardinian). Led by the former owners of La Ciccia, Binu Bonu will focus on wines from smaller, sustainable producers. There’s no kitchen, but you’ll be able to nosh on olives and charcuterie.
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Vote by Tuesday, March 5
Election Day is on March 5th, and so far a paltry 12% of voters have returned their ballots so far.
The GrowSF voter guide is your key to voting for positive change in SF — we make it simple to elect results-focused leaders and vote for meaningful policy change. This March will be one of the most important SF elections in years. So please dive in!
Party with us on Election Day!
We plan to celebrate the hard-working candidates running for Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) on the Democrats for Change slate. Mark your calendar for Election Night on Tuesday, March 5.
WHERE: ANINA, 1482 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN: March 5, 6 p.m.
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
Night of Ideas at SF Public Library
Free to the public, Night of Ideas features programming on all seven floors of the Main Library. Philosophical debates, talks, performances, screenings and more encourage attendees to engage together around the pressing issues of our day while also celebrating the city’s vibrant culture and heritage. New this year, is the very first Afternoon of Ideas, a family program ahead of the main event welcoming younger generations to participate in crafts, performances and workshops with award-winning children’s book authors, artists and educators.
WHEN: Today, March 2, 2024
WHERE: San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco
‘Prometheus, The Poem of Fire’ with SF Symphony
Alexander Scriabin’s symphonic poem Prometheus, The Poem of Fire celebrates synesthesia and cosmic unity. Scriabin envisioned a total, mystical, consuming work of art that sublimed his audiences to another plane of consciousness. Devised by San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Cartier in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent, the San Francisco Symphony and Cartier present a multisensory production of Prometheus that aspires towards transcendence, aiming to realize Scriabin’s vision of a truly synesthetic work of art.
WHEN: March 2-3
WHERE: Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave San Francisco, CA
Tulip Day in Union Square
The ”Tulip Garden” at Union Square will open to the public at 1:00 p.m. and will close at 4:30 p.m. By that time, all 80,000 tulips will have been picked and will soon be giving many American households a wonderful feeling of early spring. And something else: March 8 is International Women’s Day! But we are celebrating this special day in March, with a bunch of fresh colorful tulips?
WHEN: March 9 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Union Square, 333 Post St, San Francisco
What we’re writing about
Madonna says San Francisco ‘looked like heaven to me’
In her career spanning more than 40 years, Madonna continues to captivate audiences with her artistry and fearless approach to self-expression. She can also show up whenever she damn well wants to, and given her recent health scare, we are happy to just see her at all.
Madonna’s appearance Wednesday at Chase Center fared decently with a kickoff just before 10 p.m.; her high-energy performance wowed audiences with stunning visual effects and powerful vocals that showcased her enduring stage presence.
I just saw Swan Lake for the first time — now I have questions
Why is Prince Siegfried falling for a swan? Who elected Odette as Swan Queen?
We also wanted to know why the black swan later shows up like it’s a totally chill thing to happen at a house party, and whether all the other swans were similarly enchanted by the evil sorcerer. And if that were the case, why didn’t Jessica Fletcher a la Murder, She Wrote show up and go, “Say, has anyone else noticed all these white swans around, and that the town maidens have gone mysteriously missing?”
The internet’s biggest DIY decorator lives in San Francisco
Meet Tay Nakamoto, better known to the internet as Tay BeepBoop, a 30-year-old Japanese-Hawaiian who moved to San Francisco for college 13 years ago and decided to stay, and whose Instagram bio reads simply: “I make things??” Her TikTok videos and Instagram reels are an explosion of color and whimsy, featuring brightly-decorated rooms and creative DIY craft ideas, many of them narrated in a friendly, melodious voice that easily invites one into her quirky, colorful world.
The Bay Area Lesbian Archives: A place to cruise and learn history
Lesbian love came out to play recently at the Bay Area Lesbian Archives — or BALA. The queer collective-run community space in Berkeley hosted LGBTQ+ folk both young and old to absorb historical material, intergenerational conversation, and community bonding during its event, “Cruise the Archives.” This was BALA’s first event that provided material from their archive, most of which was paper paraphernalia from the 1970s and 80s. The theme of the night was of course on message for the month of February — love.
What to expect from Trixie Mattel’s ‘Solid Pink Disco’
Trixie’s belated appearance lasted a tidy 90 minutes at The Independent in NoPa; she danced around a bit, did a couple model walks, then the party was over. It all served us a very pink, simplified version of Trixie’s music video Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous — a cover of RuPaul’s 2004 single. But were we mad about it? No. Trixie is hilarious, she played great tunes, and more than anything: everyone worked a fun look.
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