What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of September 20, 2026:
- Transit Cuts Could Double Bay Bridge Delays
- Mandarin Immersion School to Open in Noe Valley in 2027
- Public Power Bid Clears PG&E’s Environmental Appeal
- Grocery Stores and Pharmacies Could Skip Chain-Store Review
- City Permitting Problems Derail Butter & Crumble’s Second Shop
Election Countdown
38 days until the November 3, 2026 Election! You’re voting on up to 44 different things, which nobody with a family, job, or a social life has time to research. Luckily, we’ve compiled everything you need to make up your mind. Whether you agree with our endorsements or not, we hope you find our research useful! Read the GrowSF Voter Guide and share it with your friends!
Transit Cuts Could Double Bay Bridge Delays
Published September 24, 2026
The Facts
If Prop H and the Regional Transit Measure fail, severe cuts to public transit could add 33 minutes westbound in the morning and 43 minutes eastbound in the evening to Bay Bridge congestion delays, a new analysis projects. The model assumes low-ridership rail stations close and riders switch to driving, Rachel Swan reports at the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Context
Just about every group across the political spectrum endorses both RTM’s five-county sales tax and Prop H’s Muni parcel tax.
Without new funding, BART’s contingency plan calls for trains every 30 minutes starting January 2027, followed by potentially closing up to 15 stations in July.
The GrowSF Take
You don’t have to ride transit to benefit from keeping it running. This broad coalition is right to make the case to drivers, too. Vote yes on Proposition RTM and Proposition H to keep trains and buses running.
Mandarin Immersion School to Open in Noe Valley in 2027
Published September 24, 2026
The Facts
A new SFUSD Mandarin immersion school will open at 1670 Noe Street in fall 2027, starting with one transitional kindergarten class and three kindergarten classes. SFUSD plans to add a grade each year through eighth grade. The Noe Valley location is temporary, though; a move to a permanent campus is expected in fall 2028. Enrollment information becomes available in October 2026.
The Context
SFUSD currently offers just 66 kindergarten seats in Mandarin immersion at Starr King and Jose Ortega elementary schools. Parent advocates say the new school will double that capacity, reports Ezra Wallach at The San Francisco Standard.
Families have been pushing for more options for years. In August 2025, the school board rejected Dragon Gate Academy, a parent-led Mandarin immersion charter proposal, in a 7–0 vote while pursuing its own school.
The GrowSF Take
More public-school seats in programs families actually want is good news, and we’re happy to see more Mandarin immersion schools! The Board of Education should have allowed the Dragon Gate Academy Mandarin charter school while launching its own, though. More of a good thing is always better.
Public Power Bid Clears PG&E’s Environmental Appeal
Published September 24, 2026
The Facts
San Francisco’s bid to buy PG&E’s local electric grid advanced September 22 when supervisors unanimously rejected challenges to its environmental review. Supervisor Matt Dorsey called PG&E a “bad faith actor” using the process to delay a takeover, reports Alyce McFadden at the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Context
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission values the grid at about $3.4 billion, with state regulators still determining its worth. Customers would repay acquisition bonds through electricity bills.
The high cost of PG&E’s assets isn’t the only barrier to a City takeover; low City wages are another. City lineworkers earn $85.30 an hour, while PG&E pays around $92–$97 per hour, according to their advertised base wage rates, combined with its 25% local premium for San Francisco, before overtime and retention incentives. A full comparison would also need to account for benefits.
The GrowSF Take
The city would have to compete for experienced crews while paying acquisition debt and upgrading the grid. That deserves more scrutiny than promises of cheaper public power. Before approving a purchase, supervisors should demand evidence that customers would save money after accounting for competitive compensation, debt, and upgrades.
We’re not here to say this is necessarily a bad idea (San Francisco runs a great water system and airport, after all), but we aren’t yet convinced it’s a responsible choice. We’re waiting to see more information before taking a position.
Grocery Stores and Pharmacies Could Skip Chain-Store Review
Published September 24, 2026
The Facts
Grocery and pharmacy chains could move into former chain-store spaces without an extra planning approval under Supervisor Bilal Mahmood’s new permitting proposal, reports Alyce McFadden at the San Francisco Chronicle. It would also ease approvals for chains operating inside grocery stores, such as cafés and pharmacies, and give grocery stores and pharmacies priority processing at locations not previously occupied by chains. Mahmood expects to introduce legislation in the coming weeks; Supervisors Stephen Sherrill and Myrna Melgar have signed on as co-sponsors.
The Context
San Francisco’s “formula retail” rules require chain stores to get special permission in many neighborhoods, aiming to protect independent businesses and neighborhood character. But the law itself acknowledges that chains generally charge lower prices and that excessive restrictions can raise storefront vacancy rates.
In GrowSF’s February 2025 poll, 75% of voters favored allowing more chain stores or repealing the restrictions.
The GrowSF Take
Thank you to Mahmood, Sherrill, and Melgar for backing a practical way to fill empty stores. Protecting neighborhood character should not mean making residents travel farther for groceries and prescriptions. A chain replacing another chain should be routine, not a political negotiation. The Board should pass this reform.
City Permitting Problems Derail Butter & Crumble’s Second Shop
Published September 24, 2026
The Facts
Butter & Crumble, the North Beach bakery, has abandoned its planned cake café at 301 Union Street, with owner Sophie Smith citing city permitting problems, reports Aaron Tolentino at KRON4. Smith will look for another location; the original bakery remains open on Francisco Street.
The Context
Supervisor Danny Sauter’s North Beach zoning reforms loosened restrictions on which businesses could occupy storefronts. But permitting still derailed this expansion.
Smith discovered a property line running through the space in March. She says at least one city department assured her she could proceed, reports Tara Duggan at the Chronicle. She submitted permit applications in May. On July 23, she learned officials had found records of a previously removed dividing wall, raising structural and evacuation concerns. Smith had spent tens of thousands of dollars. She praised staff’s efforts to help, but ultimately walked away.
The GrowSF Take
City Hall deserves blame for a permitting process that gave this business confidence to proceed before identifying a deal-breaking problem. Helpful phone calls cannot recover Smith’s money or her employees’ lost opportunities.
Sauter was right to loosen zoning restrictions. The city now needs to make its permitting guidance reliable. Safety requirements should be identified early, with a clear answer about what fixes would make a space usable. The Office of Small Business should pair its existing commercial leasing assistance with coordinated building and fire review before entrepreneurs commit to a lease.