The GrowSF Report: SFUSD faces hiring delays after California government steps in
PLUS: Mission District's sex trade problem reaches fever pitch — now residents are suing
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of August 25, 2024:
- SFUSD faces hiring delays after California government steps in
- Mission District's sex trade problem reaches fever pitch — now residents are suing
- SF Democrats endorse closing Great Highway to cars
- SFUSD to reveal which schools will close next month
- Night markets are bringing San Francisco back to life
Recent & upcoming openings:
- Slanted Door returns to its first home in the Mission
SFUSD faces hiring delays under California government oversight
Actions have consequences, and that’s never been more apparent to the SF Teachers’ Union. After spending lavishly to elect their preferred Board of Education candidates who created a hundred-million-dollar budget deficit in the school district, they now need approval from California regulators just to hire teachers, leaving many vacancies.
According to Han Li at the Standard, “the state doesn’t trust [the district’s] ability to resolve its deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars and avoid bankruptcy.”
“We are in an awful situation. Our kids can’t wait longer to see their teachers,” Meredith Dodson, executive director at San Francisco Parent Action, told the San Francisco Standard.
It’s a tough reality, but with SFUSD’s finances in such bad shape and fewer students filling classrooms, the state needs to step in. The upcoming school closures and mergers aren’t what anyone hoped for, but they’re necessary to prevent an even bigger financial mess down the road.
It’s important we get the school district back on track. Check out our Voter Guide to figure out which candidates have the experience necessary to fix it.
Mission District's sex trade problem reaches fever pitch — now residents are suing
What was once Capp Street’s problem has now migrated to Shotwell, and residents are taking action: Sex work in the Mission has gotten so bad that locals are suing, claiming the city has allowed their once quiet area to proliferate in noise, traffic, and public disturbances that come with the trade. Now they demand real solutions.
“It’s not one of those things that will be cured by just moving them from one part to the other,” Tony Eby, executive director of San Francisco SafeHouse, a resource center for sexually exploited women, told the SF Chronicle.
Last year, SF curbed sex work on Capp Street by installing a series of bollards along a four-block stretch, which made it harder for cars to roll up and solicit people. But instead of solving the issue, everyone just moved down to Shotwell.
The lawsuit highlights growing concerns in the lead-up to the November election, showing the community’s frustration with the city’s inability to tackle social issues like this one. Our supervisors are looking to fix the problem but not fast enough.
SF Democrats endorse closing Great Highway to cars
Is it time to trade traffic for tranquility on the Great Highway? The SF Democratic County Central Committee seems to think so, but not without a fierce debate that went down Wednesday at the Milton Marks Conference Center. After a heated meeting full of cheers, boos, and plenty of arguing, they’ve thrown their support behind a plan to turn part of the Great Highway into a new park.
“The Great Highway is our next opportunity to create an iconic public space, just as San Franciscans did before when they created Embarcadero, Crissy Field, and Patricia’s Green,” Audrey Liu, an Inner Richmond resident, said at the meeting. “Every time it’s been a difficult decision, but every time San Franciscans have agreed to do what’s hard.”
Not everyone’s thrilled—especially folks on the west side who worry about how this will mess with their daily commutes. For what it’s worth, though, SFMTA estimates an average impact to commute times of just 1 to 3 minutes. We support the plan, and with big names like Nancy Pelosi backing the idea, it’s more of a “when” than an “if”!
SFUSD to reveal which schools will close next month
The fate of several San Francisco schools will be decided on September 18, when SFUSD officials reveal which schools will close or merge for the 2025-26 school year. The district is grappling with declining enrollment, the end of federal pandemic relief funds, and financial mismanagement, all of which have put intense pressure on its budget.
Superintendent Matt Wayne has stressed that the district will focus on fairness, with closures more or less equally affecting their surrounding communities. The announcement on September 18 will be just the beginning, with a final vote on the closures set for December. SFUSD is working to get its finances in order while also trying to build a better foundation for the future.
Night markets are bringing San Francisco back to life
While the Bay Area has never quite had the same street food culture as the bustling streets of Taipei, night markets have become the go-to way to bring communities together, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
These events, inspired by the night markets of Asia, have popped up across the region, from San Francisco to Silicon Valley. As we head into the mild Bay Area autumn, these markets are the perfect spots to enjoy the diverse cuisines we have to offer, with some even staying open as late as 10 p.m. These are KQED’s picks, although GrowSF’s sister project — The Bold Italic — has also covered the Sunset Night Market, Chinatown, and First Thursdays, among others.
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Recent & upcoming openings
A great city is constantly changing and growing, let’s celebrate what’s new!
The Slanted Door returns to its first home in the Mission
Slanted Door, the renowned Vietnamese restaurant by Charles Phan, is set to return to its original Mission District location at 584 Valencia St., where it first opened in 1995. After leaving the Ferry Building in May, the restaurant plans to reopen in spring 2025, taking over the space that previously housed Chezchez. The move follows the closure of its Ferry Building location, which had remained dark since 2020 due to the pandemic and costly remodeling plans.
WHERE: 584 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110
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
Wet Paint: The Silent Auction
Queer Arts Featured in the Castro presents a silent auction fundraiser from its “Wet Paint” event series, which allows attendees to paint on unconventional blank canvases. The art up for auction was painted on the old screen from the Castro Theatre, which is currently undergoing renovation. In addition, Queer AF salvaged a number of the original floorboards from the theater. These old growth pine boards, well worn by time, have been renewed and transformed by hand into stunning frames for thirteen of the works up for auction.
WHEN: Sept. 6 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Queer Arts Featured, 575 Castro St.
'Dear San Francisco' at Club Fugazi
Club Fugazi—once the backdrop for the iconic Beach Blanket Babylon—has gotten new seating and modernized lighting. Its new show Dear San Francisco is still very much San Francisco, tapping into well-known themes that resonate with both residents and visitors. Circus acts and live original music await.
WHEN: Running now through January 2025 — show begins at 7:30 p.m., typically running Wednesday through Sunday
WHERE: 678 Green Street, San Francisco, CA
What we’re writing about
How to have the best Labor Day ever in SF — or at least a decent one
Labor Day in San Francisco is one of those days where the city’s mood is somewhere between “let’s make the most of summer’s last hurrah” and “who says I can’t sip cocktails at 10 AM?” If you’re sticking around town, here’s a rundown of what’s going down on September 2nd, so you can make sure your day off isn’t just spent scrolling through Netflix or pretending to clean.
You can tour this Painted Lady for $30
The new generation of San Francisco tourist may never have seen the omnipresent 90s sitcom Full House; but they’re on TikTok. And so is George, the 68-year-old owner of the Blue Painted Lady.
The house is a living museum of San Francisco iconography, one that outshines the Mrs. Doubtfire home down the street and The Princess Diaries mansion on Lyon. We all want to picnic like the Tanner family in Alamo Square and experience that idyllic dream, or at least to show all our friends on Instagram that we did.
George Patrick Horsfall offers tours of his home on 712 Steiner for a suggested $30, although this feels like a quietly-known activity taking place since the pandemic.
Elena’s in West Portal offers a taste of LA with an SF twist
San Francisco restaurants struggle with half-empty tables due to higher costs, staffing issues, and the so-called “doom loop,” a local restaurant group has bucked the trend by opening two new spots with packed tables since day one. Are these cutting-edge boundary-pushers? No. They’re traditional American-Mexican and Italian formulas.
Elena’s is both modern and refreshingly old school, honoring Elena’s daughters’ Mexican heritage. The lofty space was packed and buzzing post-opening, with four-hour waits and celebrities like Joe Montana. Giant booths, candle-lit ficus trees, skylights, a gas-lanterned doorway, and an open tiled kitchen set the stage for fajitas, chile relleno, and margaritas.
Valencia Street sizzles with ‘Salsa in the Streets’
It was a tepid 67 degrees Saturday, but the atmosphere was sweaty, hot, and sexy. It was salsa, and it had taken over the entire block from 19th to Valencia. People in their 20s were dancing with their kids, their elders, and strangers. It was all smiles — community at its finest.
Salsa in the Streets’ tagline is “No cover. Just come.” This reflects not only organizer Sara Deseran’s ethos for the event, but also the fact that it was built on the idea of bringing joy to the Mission. If you missed last weekend’s Salsa in the Streets — don’t worry. You have one more chance to shake your ass in 2024. Saturday, September 21st will be the last of this year.
San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest public one in the U.S.
San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden began its life as the Japanese Village and Tea Garden concession at the 1894 California Midwinter Fair. Other countries had similar villages, but the most popular concession, the Japanese Tea Garden, was the only one to outlast the fair. Today it has become a symbol of cultural persistence in San Francisco.
This article is part of SF Throwbacks, a feature series that tells historic stories of San Francisco to teach us all more about our city’s past.
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