The GrowSF Report: State Farm to drop thousands of insurance plans in California
PLUS: Central Subway plagued by leaks
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of April 15, 2024:
- State Farm to drop thousands of insurance plans in California
- Central Subway plagued by leaks
- The Mayor’s race isn’t just Democrats
- Recall of Alameda DA Pamela Price qualifies for the ballot
- Deadly intersection in West Portal to be redesigned as plaza
Recent & upcoming openings:
- Tartine Manufactory makes pizza at night once again
- Todo el Día all-day dining in Noe
State Farm to drop thousands of insurance plans in California
State Farm will not renew nearly 100,000 residential and commercial insurance policies in California this summer. Sonoma County, Contra Costa, and the Santa Cruz Mountains are the hardest hit, but San Francisco is not immune: many policies across the Inner Richmond and Presidio Heights will end.
State Farm is one of the few remaining insurance carriers in California, as wildfires and astronomical construction costs have resulted in higher losses than their forecasts predicted. “Nearly every carrier has exited the CA marketplace, has a moratorium on new business, or is non renewing homeowners and property policies en masse and no one is holding @RicardoLara4CA to account. We are in an unprecedented crisis and it is only getting worse,” shared Cyn Wang, owner of Wang Insurance Agency and a GrowSF advisor.
State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has already proposed some changes to insurance market regulations to fix the crisis. Dubbed the “Sustainable Insurance Strategy,” it will legalize using forward-looking risk models when insurers calculate their premiums. It’s a vitally important step, and if all goes well may be in full effect by the end of 2024.
Central Subway plagued by leaks
The Central Subway sprung a leak. An SFMTA station agent told Alex Mullaney of the Standard that the “leaks are everywhere,” preventing kiosks in the Chinatown-Rose Pak Station from being leased out to vendors, making the floors dangerously slippery, and likely compromising the long-term integrity of the subway.
Although SFMTA tried to mitigate the high water table at the station, water is still seeping in around the station’s construction joints. In addition to repeatedly sealing the joints, SFMTA has hired engineering firm Gall Zeilder. "We’re working with them because of their experience and expertise, as this specific issue requires some specialization since the leaks are not at a fixed location," said SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte.
Plugging the leaks are projected to cost $4.5 million for the Chinatown-Rose Pak Station, and vendors can’t return until 12 months after repairs and maintenance are completed.
The Mayor’s race isn’t just Democrats
Chinese American Republican candidate Ellen Lee Zhou is running for Mayor of San Francisco again. Although she subscribes to unpopular positions in San Francisco – including conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine ideology – it is possible that Zhou could influence the outcome of the mayoral election, especially because of ranked choice voting (RCV).
“She’s such an outlier…The question is, who can get her second and third votes?” said David Ho to Han Li at the Standard.
In 2019, Zhou received 25,000 first-choice votes and even defeated London Breed in a single precinct in Chinatown. Though Zhou is certain to lose, she could tip the balance in the final round of counting if she convinces her supporters to vote for one of the leading Democratic candidates as their second or third choice.
Recall of Alameda DA Pamela Price qualifies for the ballot
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price will face a recall. Over 120,000 signatures were submitted, and 74,757 valid signatures confirmed.
“The resounding support for this recall petition sends a clear message that the people of Alameda County demand accountability and ethical leadership from their elected officials,” said Brenda Grisham, one of the organizers behind the recall, according to David Hernandez at the Chronicle.
Price ran on a progressive platform in 2022 which has since backfired. Price has overseen a huge surge in crime since taking office, with violent crime rising 21% last year and nearly 1 out of 30 people having their cars stolen.
Deadly intersection in West Portal to be redesigned as plaza
In response to the tragic crash in West Portal that killed an entire family waiting at a bus stop, SFMTA, Mayor London Breed, and Supervisor Melgar proposed a plan to prevent the next tragedy.
Cars will no longer be allowed to cross the intersection of Ulloa Street and West Portal Avenue, and the area in front of the Muni station will become a protected pedestrian plaza, similar to Jane Warner in the Castro. Specifically, cars driving down West Portal or Ulloa Street to the station will have to turn right; Lenox Way which runs alongside the library will convert to one-way; and cars will be prohibited from turning off of Claremont Avenue down Ulloa Street to access West Portal Avenue. Safety precautions like bollards will be added in front of the bus stop.
The changes seem sensible..we just wish that a family didn’t need to die for it.
Love the GrowSF Report? Share it
Help GrowSF grow! Share our newsletter with your friends. The bigger we are, the better San Francisco will be.
Recent & upcoming openings
A great city is constantly changing and growing, let’s celebrate what’s new!
Tartine Manufactory makes pizza at night once again
WHERE: 595 Alabama St
WHEN: Monday & Tuesday, 8am-4pm; Wednesday-Sunday, 8am-4pm; 5:30-9:30pm
Tartine Manufactory now offers dinner service for the first time since the pandemic. Rejoice! Visitors can feast on a range of pizza options like chorizo & pepper which features spicy “arrabiata” sauce, or something more sweet like pineapple made with its in-house mozzarella. What’s so unique (and flavorful) about its pizza dough is that it’s made from a “..sourdough starter and undergo[es] a two-day cold fermentation that helps create an easily digestible, light and crispy crust,” according to Omar Mamoon at the Standard. There’s more than just pizza on the menu, however, and we encourage you to check it out!
Todo el Día all-day dining in Noe
WHERE: 4063 24th St
WHEN: Monday-Sunday, 8am-8pm
Visitors can expect coffee and tacos in the same location, maybe at the same time if they wish! Todo el Día opened on April 15th in Noe Valley, and stroller-pushing tired parents can grab coffee or juice along with breakfast tacos in the morning. The all-day menu serves salads, tacos, and rotisserie chicken, with many vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. In the evening, Todo el Día offers alcoholic beverages, and even partnered with SF Brewing on a “Noe Valley blonde ale,” according to Lauren Saria at Eater.
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
It’s 4/20 and so much is going on
Except the official event hosted by San Francisco. On this day:
The Stud reopens.
There’s a naked bike ride.
BART’s legacy trains are officially retiring.
Uhhh, there’s volleyball.
There’s quite a lineup of concerts, too.
Mere Mortals returns at SF Ballet
Mere Mortals with SF Ballet is now back. The show is a reimagining of an ancient parable set to music by DJ Sam Shepherd, also known as Floating Points. Choreographer Aszure Barton contextualizes the parable of Pandora for the current technological world with new work featuring music and dance, light, and visuals.
WHEN: April 18-24
WHERE: War Memorial Opera House
What we’re writing about
Why I love San Francisco
San Francisco's problems are serious and interlocking, and government, businesses and individuals living here need to pull together to help work at them. But looking into the city’s past has given us hope that the city and the people who love it will rise to the challenges laid down for those living here now.
Hairspray is a 1960s cartoon come to life — now in San Francisco
Playing through Sunday in San Francisco is the beloved musical Hairspray, based on the equally-beloved 1988 John Waters film of the same name. Despite Waters’ reputation at the time as a transgressive indie film director known for weird little cult movies, Hairspray turned out to be a sharp departure from his earlier work, while still featuring his edgy muse, the late, great drag queen Divine.
While many of the songs are great, some of the jokes did fall a little flat. However, that likely has more to do with the now 22-year-old script than it does the actors’ delivery. Considering modern tastes in 2024, the show could probably stand to be updated a little. Quite frankly, it needs more John Waters!
Photos from Bootie’s 20th Anniversary
Te early 2010s were a weird time to move to San Francisco. Rent was cheap but salaries equally so. Homelessness and crime felt just as problematic as today, but social media had not yet gripped our minds and phones in the chokehold they now have on us. San Francisco remained a utopia for many young hopefuls, fed to us in our childhoods from Full House, Charmed, Princess Diaries, and Mrs. Doubtfire.
Among all this was Bootie, this quirky pseudo-underground mashup party that also felt of the moment: iPods were still a thing, and FM radio’s slow death hastened with the growing use of Pandora and Spotify. We had never seen to DNA Lounge back then, but loved the nostalgia akin to Buffy the Vampire Slayer; here was a venue ripped straight out of The Bronze.
San Francisco writers say ‘I’m Sorry’ at the Make Out Room
The Happy Endings Reading Series has filled the seats of the Mission District’s Make Out Room for years now. It features five local writers reading essays, poems, short stories and other words in response to a shared cheeky prompt: a delightful mix of standup and write-down.
Want more positive news? Subscribe to The Bold Italic
Get some good vibes in your life by subscribing to The Bold Italic. It’s the sister project to GrowSF which focuses on what makes San Francisco a great place to live.