• All of BART’s SF stations now have free WiFi, as the agency announced Thursday it was adding service at 16th Street, 24th Street, Glen Park, and Balboa Park ahead of the World Cup matches and events. Free Wi-Fi was implemented at BART’s Market Street stations, along with SF International Airport and West Oakland, in February, with the goal of free service system-wide by early 2028. [Bay City News]
• Lartey Solomon, 33, a registered nurse and TikTok content creator from Oakland, was identified as the victim in a fatal shooting in downtown Oakland May 31. Shacory Carnell Daniels, 39, was charged with murder in Solomon’s death, and a GoFundMe account has been set up for Solomon’s family. [Chronicle]
• In celebration of the New Mission Theater’s 110th anniversary, its operator, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is officially renaming it in honor of director Christopher Nolan for his contributions as a large-format filmmaking pioneer. [NBC Bay Area]

National:

• A giant inflatable depicting Elon Musk with a tattoo that says, "SpaceX's Grok makes AI child porn," cast a shadow over Times Square in New York City Thursday ahead of SpaceX potentially going public Friday. [Business Insider]
• Authorities are investigating giant numbers “8647” that appeared on the National Mall in Washington DC, which likely indicate “get rid of” the 47th president. [NBC News]
• The flesh-eating screwworm, which was previously eradicated, recently made a comeback to North America — thanks to organized crime, apparently. [CNN]

Video

• Two YouTubers from out of town came to SF with a list of some of the internet's favorite greasy spoons, including El Farolito, Lung Fung Bakery, and Golden Boy Pizza, to see who could find the best breakfast, lunch, and dinner items for less than $50 each for the day. The episode is 30 minutes long and features interviews with some of the business owners, along with close-ups of their mouth-watering meals.

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

After putting the larger BUILD Act proposal on hold, which would have cut transfer taxes in half on property sales above $10 million, Mayor Lurie and Supervisor Mahmood are pursuing a commercial foreclosure tax that’s initially expected to  generate $67 million a year.

Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood’s proposed foreclosure tax, which was pulled from the now-paused BUILD Act, would impose a transfer tax of 3% to 6% when commercial properties change hands through foreclosure, as the Chronicle reports. Single-family homes, condos, and residential buildings with fewer than five units would be exempt from the tax.

This would reportedly close a longstanding loophole that currently allows those transactions to avoid the city's transfer tax altogether while generating around $67 million a year for the first three years.

The measure would repeal an exemption that San Francisco created in 1984 for foreclosed properties, which Mahmood and Lurie argue has cost the city substantial revenue over the years.

According to Mission Local, the proposal already has support from several supervisors and is expected to qualify for the November ballot.

As SFist reported previously, the larger BUILD Act, which would have cut transfer taxes in half on property sales of $10 million or more, was shelved earlier this week. Mahmood cited the city's ongoing budget crisis and the need to identify replacement revenue before moving forward.

The aim of the BUILD Act was to increase housing development and construction jobs, but it drew criticism because it would have extended tax breaks to high-value property sales regardless of whether they produced new housing. It would have also reduced the city’s revenue by an estimated $400 million over the next several years.

Mahmood reportedly said the new foreclosure measure would ensure large lenders, hedge funds, and other financial institutions pay the same taxes as other sellers when they acquire or dispose of foreclosed properties.

The Chronicle reports that former Supervisor Dean Preston is developing a measure alongside the Democratic Socialists of America called the Affordable Housing Guarantee Act, which would preserve the current transfer tax rate and dedicate revenues to affordable housing, in the event the BUILD Act proposal is revived.

Previously: Lurie, Mahmood Shelve Proposal to Halve Transfer Taxes on Property Sales Over $10M

Image: Bilal Mahmood/Facebook

San Francisco firefighters were battling a one-alarm blaze Thursday afternoon which broke out just before 4 pm, with black smoke seen billowing from the vicinity of the restaurants Che Fico and Foghorn Taproom.

The SFFD is still on the scene Thursday of a one-alarm fire on the 800 block of Divisadero. The block, between Fulton and McAllister streets, is home to the restaurants Che Fico and Foghorn Taproom, and the fire appeared to be coming from the top of one or the other of these buildings.

A witness at the scene spoke to a Che Fico employee who said that staff there had evacuated after they started smelling smoke.

Video posted by the SFFD showed a ladder with firefighters climbing to the roof of Foghorn Taproom — which moved into the space two years ago after the closure of Little Star Pizza.

Update: An SFFD source tells SFist that the fire seems to have originated in the flue connected to Che Fico's grills and wood oven. The firefight reportedly required significant damage to the rear of the building that houses the restaurant.

No damage was reported inside the restaurant and the restaurant has not made any announcements about the situation.

We'll update this post if we learn more.

This is a developing story.

Jollibee's much-anticipated Market Street location was nearing the end of San Francisco's years-long, draconian permitting process when a noise compliance issue surfaced, throwing yet another wrench into the company's already delayed opening plans.

Jollibee’s long-delayed Market Street outpost — slated to be the chain’s first San Francisco location in more than a decade — was on the brink of opening after years of stalled permitting, but a failed noise compliance test led to further delays, as the Chronicle reports.

As SFist reported previously, the Market Street Jollibee was initially slated to open in 2023, which got pushed to 2024 and later 2025. The restaurant, planned for the former Payless ShoeSource site at 934 Market Street near Hallidie Plaza, has reportedly been winding through city approvals since 2020, including historic preservation review, utility installation approvals, and coordination with multiple agencies due to its proximity to BART, Muni, and a dense residential corridor.

According to the Chronicle, the latest setback emerged during the health permit stage in January, when required noise testing of rooftop mechanical equipment flagged the installation as exceeding San Francisco’s strict limits for commercial properties. Independent acoustical consultants found the units — including a heat pump and refrigeration condensers — produced several decibels above allowable daytime and nighttime thresholds when measured against surrounding ambient conditions along Market Street.

Because the equipment sits adjacent to residential units and overlooks Hallidie Plaza, the city required mitigation before the health permit could move forward. Jollibee has since worked on insulating the rooftop machinery and exploring compliance options, including potential variances, but a second round of testing was reportedly compromised by procedural errors, forcing further delays.

The Chronicle reports that the project also faced earlier delays, including utility approvals from PG&E, coordination with BART for construction equipment staging, and a Board of Supervisors vote tied to underground infrastructure near the public plaza. City departments have also reportedly acknowledged internal missteps and miscommunications on both sides as contributing factors to the prolonged timeline.

One official noted that the project could be used as a “case study” for improving the city’s permitting process. There is still no confirmed opening date for Jollibee’s Market Street location.

As the Chronicle reported last week, Jollibee, which currently operates 12 Bay Area locations, is opening 15 additional stores in Northern California over the next eight years.

Previously: That New Jollibee Is Indeed Coming to the Former Payless Shoe Store at Market and Fifth Streets

Image: HONG KONG, HONG KONG - JUNE 14: A Jollibee Foods Corporation's mascot is seen at one of the company's restaurant in Hong Kong on 14 Jun 2018. As of April 2018, JFC had a total of about 1,200 Jollibee outlets worldwide, with presence in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Hong Kong, North America, and Italy. (Photo by S3studio/Getty Images)

The leader of a cultish religious group partly based in Oroville, in Butte County, was recently convicted of eight counts of child molestation and three counts of rape, and he's now been sentenced to 225 years to life — though he will be eligible for "elder parole."

58-year-old Sansue Bee Vang, the leader and prophet of a Hmong religious group founded in Wisconsin called Kev Ntseeg Leej Niam Kee Tiam Vaj Lis Thum (which loosely translates to "Belief in the Mother"), was found guilty on February 9 following a jury trial in Butte County. In 2020, Vang had moved select families in the cult-like group from Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Fresno to establish a new temple in Oroville, at the base of Table Mountain.

In 2024, an 11-year-old girl and her mother came forward to authorities with allegations that they had both been sexually assaulted by Vang, and according to the Butte County District Attorney's Office, a subsequent investigation led to disclosures of rape from four other women.

At trial, prosecutors presented evidence that the girl had been molested by Vang on five separate occasions when she was between the ages of 8 and 10 years old. The child, herself, testified to the multiple and escalating sexual acts she was forced to perform, and she told the court that Vang threatened to beat her if she ever told anyone.

Vang also reportedly threatened an adult woman and her family after forcibly raping her and making her swear to silence.

Another woman, who was around 19-year-old at the time of the incident, testified that Vang ordered her to have intercourse with him. According to the DA's office, "He told her that, as the prophet, he could see that terrible things would happen to her family and the Hmong community if she did not comply."

Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Bennett argued at trial that not only was there no evidence to suggest the rape survivors were lying, but there was amply evidence that Vang had established his cult in order that he could "exploit the power he imagined for himself" for his own gratification, and use the group itself to force the women's silence.

The Hmong are an ethnic group with roots in southern China who migrated into Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape persecution. Many Hmong families, escaping persecution under Communist rule in Laos in the 1970s, subequently emigrated to the US, settling primarily in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California.

While many Hmong rely on shamans to connect with the spiritual world and believe in Animism, the Oroville cult arose around a single charismatic leader, Vang, who claimed divine authority on his own.

It's unclear how many people belong to the Kev Ntseeg Leej Niam Kee Tiam Vaj Lis Thum, which had followers across multiple states. But dozens of families were reportedly in residence at the 170-acre compound they established in Oroville six years ago.

As the DA's office notes, despite the lengthy sentence, Vang will be eligible for "elder parole" in 20 years, if he survives that long.

Top image: Photo via Butte County Sheriff's Office

Following legislation signed by Mayor Daniel Lurie, the city accepted $14.5 million in private funding from SF’s Downtown Development Corporation to push forward the long overdue revitalization of the Powell Street corridor.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie approved a measure Wednesday allowing the city to accept private donations for the long-delayed Powell Street Promenade refresh project, supported by a $14.5 million commitment from the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation, as KTVU reports. Construction is expected to break ground this fall, with most work completed by 2027.

As SFist reported last year, the redesign focuses on the three-block stretch between Market and Geary streets, with plans for wider sidewalks, new landscaping, along with a series of decorative lighting features, including programmable lanterns inspired by the area’s historic architecture. A large, suspended, spherical LED installation near the Cable Car Turnaround, which will change colors with the seasons — rainbow for Pride, green and red for Christmas, etc. — anchors the design.

Designers from Field Operations, the firm behind Presidio Tunnel Tops and New York’s High Line, partnered with Sitelab Urban Studio on the winning proposal after a competitive design process, as the Chronicle reports.

The project also reportedly includes upgraded cable car boarding areas and improved connections between the Powell Street turnaround and Union Square. Muni will also be replacing its aging cable car mechanical and electrical systems underground.

“San Francisco will have 24 million visitors this year, surpassing 2019 levels,” Lurie said Wednesday during a press conference. Per the Chronicle, Lurie referred to Powell Street as one of the first places tourists encounter in the city and called it  “a corridor that reflects the optimism of our city.”

Lurie's office said in a statement that the contribution from the SF Downtown Development Corporation adds to $26 million already approved through the 2024 Healthy, Safe and Vibrant San Francisco Bond and transportation funding sources.

City leaders and project backers say the investment is part of a broader effort to strengthen downtown’s recovery and build a more active mixed-use district.

Per the Chronicle, Downtown Development Corporation CEO Shola Olatoye said additional announcements involving new businesses and jobs are expected this summer, while the city and local stakeholders are also working on a new long-range vision for downtown — the first comprehensive plan of its kind in roughly 40 years.

Previously: Design Approved For Sparkly Revamp of Powell Street

Image: Rendering by Field Operations via Union Square Alliance

There are many ways you can watch the World Cup matches at home or with friends, with the first matches being played today in Mexico, and Team USA playing its first match against Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday.

The opening ceremony is just moments away, as of this writing, in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and it's taking place before the first match being played in this North American tournament, at Mexico City's massive stadium beginning at noon Pacific Time. Team Mexico will be playing South Africa in the first of the Group A matches.

A second Group A match is being played tonight at Guadalajara Stadium at 7 pm PT, with Korea facing the Czech Republic.

Many of the matches will be carried live on Fox, as KTVU notes, including the opening Mexico City match, as well as for free on Tubi. FS1 (Fox Sports One) will be carrying the Guadalajara game and many other matches to come, which can also be seen on Hulu+ Live, YouTube TV, and Fubo.

Over 50 bars around the city will regularly be showing matches, and Mission Local has put together a handy map of those, as well as a map of official FIFA event locations around town.

Sports bars that will be airing matches — and luckily for these games they won't be in the middle of the night or very early morning for Americans! — include Teeth, Standard Deviant, The Napper Tandy, and Balompie Cafe in the Mission; Hi Tops and Rikki's in the Castro; The Valley Tavern in Noe Valley; Afterwork Bar and Biergarten in Hayes Valley; Yancy's Saloon and O'Brien's Irish Pub in the Sunset; Richmond Republic Draft House, Steins, and The Abbey Tavern in the Richmond; Kezar Pub, Murio's Trophy Room, O'Reilly's, and Mad Dog in the Fog in the Upper Haight; Danny Coyle's and Nickie's in the Lower Haight; the Final Final, Sully's, The Bus Stop, and Horseshoe Tavern in the Marina; Boardroom and Maggie McGarry's in North Beach; and Irish Times, Schroeder's, and Harrington's in the FiDi.

KQED offers its recs for the best soccer bars in town, and these are Maggie McGarry's, Kezar, and The Pig & Whistle at the edge of the Richmond and Anza Vista.

In Oakland they also recommend The Athletic Club, George & Walt's, and Neighborhood Sports Club. And for Friday's USA vs Paraguay game, head to Raimondi Park in Oakland, where the Oakland Sports Group is hosting a big-screen watch party.

Up in the North Bay, head to Pond Farm Brewing in San Rafael, Tam Tavern in Mill Valley, The Goose & Fern in Santa Rosa, and Mog Asu Wine Bar in Tiburon.

The first match being played at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, aka Levi's Stadium, will be on Saturday, June 13, with Qatar facing off against Switzerland. Four more group-stage matches will be played here, and just one match in the round of 32, on July 1.

Top image: Players of Mexico stand and sing the national anthem during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City Stadium on June 11, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

A search is underway for an unidentified young woman who called to request a late checkout for the suspect in the OpenAI firebomb attack in April, and the SFPD thinks she may be a co-conspirator.

Investigators with the San Francisco Police Department are looking into whether Daniel Moreno-Gama, the Texas man accused of firebombing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Russian Hill home, may have had help, as the Chronicle reports.

Based on records recently obtained by the outlet, police are reportedly trying to identify a young woman who called the Union Square Plaza Hotel on April 8 to request a late checkout for Moreno-Gama, who had checked into the hotel two days prior — he checked back in April 9 before the April 10 attack. This led police to consider the possibility that Moreno-Gama was coordinating with another person.

As SFist reported previously, Moreno-Gama, who pleaded not guilty in the attack, was captured on surveillance video throwing a Molotov cocktail at the exterior gate of Altman’s home. Shortly after, Moreno-Gama was arrested after attempting to break into OpenAI's Mission Bay headquarters while holding a jug of kerosene.

According to the Chronicle, the records also reportedly show that Moreno-Gama spent the night of April 8 in Redding, at a La Quinta Inn, before checking back into the Union Square Plaza Hotel the next day. Authorities have not said why Moreno-Gama made the trip to Redding or what he did while there.

Two days after the firebombing, police were reportedly called back to the Union Square Plaza Hotel after a housekeeper discovered a firearm in a room registered to Moreno-Gama.

Moreno-Gama is due in court next month and remains in custody while facing separate state and federal prosecutions, as previously reported. His attorneys are seeking mental-health diversion in the state case, where he has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and attempted arson charges, while federal explosives and firearms charges are also pending.

Previously: 20-Year-Old Texas Man Accused of Firebombing Sam Altman's House Enters Not Guilty Plea

It's always sad when a bustling restaurant that felt like it had been there forever loses its mojo and withers away. But that was the case for North Beach's Park Tavern, not just once, but twice.

On its Instagram page on Wednesday, the Park Tavern team announced the restaurant would be closing for good on June 21. The closure comes following what seemed at the time like a promising revival of the place in November 2024, at the hands of original partner James Nicholas and celebrity chef Jonathan Waxman, after the pandemic, and a legal battle between the partners, had previously appeared to doom the place.

"It has been our privilege to serve this community and be a part of this special neighborhood," the post reads. "We are deeply grateful to every member of our team — past and present — and to the loyal guests and friends who have made Park Tavern such a meaningful place over the years."

Nicholas had taken over the lease in 2024 after, a year earlier, his ex-wife and onetime business partner Anna Weinberg had been evicted from the space in a dispute with the landlord. Weinberg had tried to hold onto the business in a divorce that saw the splitting up of the couples' restaurant businesses, which included Marlowe, The Cavalier, Leo's Oyster Bar, and Tosca Cafe, and a remodel had occurred in the space after the pandemic, followed by a brief and unsuccessful reopening in early 2023.

The 2024 reopening under Nicholas and Waxman — the beloved original menu had been created by Marlowe/Cavalier chef Jennifer Puccio — was met with a disastrously bad review from then-new Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan, in which she accused Waxman of serving her "the worst steak of my life," and noted that the menu was anchored by "historical reenactments" of well known Waxman dishes, rather than having any particular direction of its own.

Waxman was also, essentially, serving as a journeyman consultant, maintaining his two restaurants in New York including the still beloved Barbuto, and lending his name to the revival.

Service after this reopening was also spotty, and it just felt like the energy and magic of the place had long since left the building.

When Park Tavern opened in the fall of 2011, in a space facing Washington Square Park that had long been occupied by another neighborhood icon, Moose's, it was met with immediate raves and constant crowds. Weinberg's talent for creating a moment and a mood were well on display, and Park Tavern very quickly became like San Francisco's answer to Balthazar and other buzzy, well established brasseries that feel like have always existed.

Puccio's deviled eggs, Marlowe burger, and poulet rouge (a riff on Marlowe's terrific poulet vert), and her talent for creating crave-worthy dishes, helped keep crowds coming back for years.

But restaurants have lifespans, crowds move on to shinier things, and the pandemic was not kind to anyone in the restaurant industry. And try as they might, the owners never recaptured the spirit of the place in its post-pandemic revivals.

"Over the next two weeks, we'd love to welcome you back one last time. Join us to raise a glass, share a meal, and celebrate the memories we've created together," the restaurant team said in the Instagram note.

In any event, it remains a well-located restaurant space with great potential, and it's likely to get snapped up before long.

Previously: North Beach's Park Tavern to Be Reopened Former Partner In Restaurant, With Original Chef

Photo by Richard Johnson/Getty Images

• A "severe" Red Flag Warning goes into effect at 11 pm Wednesday night for the East Bay hills and the interior ridges of the North Bay. Wind gusts up to 45 mph are expected, with gusts up to 60 mph possible at the ridge tops, leading to some PG&E public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) to lessen fire risks. [KRON4]
• The San Quentin Rehabilitation Center has confirmed that a 38-year-old male inmate has a possible case of hantavirus, though they do not believe it was a case of human-to-human transmission. [ABC 7]
• Dr. Maria Su, the superintendent of the SF Unified School District, appears to have survived her congressional hearing today, and did so without getting trapped into ugly culture-war exchanges with Republicans. [ABC 7]

National:

• The trial of the arson suspect accused of sparking the blaze that led to the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles last year, 30-year-old former Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht, began today. Prosecutors say that Rinderknecht deliberately set the blaze in anger toward wealthy people, while his defense argues that fireworks set off by others in the area on New Year's Eve were more likely the cause of the larger fire. [LA Times]
• It was Bill Gates's turn to testify before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday about his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, and he called his interactions with Epstein — which were allegedly mostly business-oriented — a "grave error." Gates also said that Epstein tried to use information about his extramarital affairs to gain leverage over him. [New York Times]
• Governor Gavin Newsom and former VP Kamala Harris have broken their silence on the California governor's race, and both offered their full-throated endorsement of Xavier Becerra as the race has come down to one Democrat and one Republican in November. [California Post]

Video:

• There's a whole subgenre of travel vlog now involving British people touring American cities and reviewing things, and here we have this one, from the YouTube channel "The Brits Try," in which British transplants to the US Nicola and Andrew, while on a road trip through San Francisco, manage to get a table off the waitlist at House of Prime Rib, which they call a "full-on American experience."

Photo by Spencer DeMera

Following years of disputes, construction has begun on the $73 million renovation of the historic Portsmouth Square park in SF’s Chinatown, which is expected to take two years.

San Francisco leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the long-delayed $73 million revamp of Portsmouth Square, as the Chronicle reports. The renovation, which is expected to keep the park closed for roughly two years, will be funded through a mix of city bond money and state and local grants.

Plans reportedly include a new 8,300-square-foot clubhouse with meeting rooms and a commercial kitchen, a larger playground, an adult fitness area, a performance plaza and stage, and upgraded landscaping, lighting, and shade. City officials say the redesign is intended to better serve residents in one of the city’s densest neighborhoods, where many seniors and families rely on the square as an everyday meeting place.

According to the Chronicle, the project also includes removing the elevated pedestrian bridge connecting the park to the nearby Hilton, a longstanding point of contention, as SFist reported back in 2022. While surveys found strong community support for tearing it down, preservation advocates have objected, and a legal dispute remains over who will pay for its removal.

Demolition of the bridge is expected later this summer, though the parking garage beneath the square will remain open for most of the construction period, as the Chronicle reports.

Several historic monuments and markers tied to the city’s early history will reportedly be placed in storage during the renovation.

KPIX notes that Portsmouth Square is one of San Francisco’s oldest public gathering spaces and has long been known as the “living room” of Chinatown. The square played a central role in the city’s early history, serving as San Francisco’s civic center in the 1800s, and the site of the first American flag-raising in the city.

The square was also reportedly home to California’s first public school and is connected to the legacy of early Black entrepreneur and civic leader William Leidesdorff.

Speakers at Tuesday’s groundbreaking highlighted the park’s importance as both a neighborhood gathering place and a landmark of San Francisco history.

Related: Rec and Parks Gets Ripped Off for $4.5 Million In Cost Overruns on Portsmouth Square Parking Garage

A new report estimates that the Bay Area saw $245.1 million in extra economic activity last summer thanks to the three consecutive weekends of major concerts in Golden Gate Park, produced by Another Planet Entertainment (APE).

That economic impact report, prepared by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and released by Another Planet on Tuesday, per the Chronicle, is meant to encourage the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to vote favorably on a proposal to continue giving APE permission to put on extra shows in the summer, using the infrastructure put in place for Outside Lands — in addition to other concerts at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park, and in Embarcadero Plaza.

This appears to mean that no such shows are planned yet for the weekend after Outside Lands this August, but it's possible that will change once a final vote gets taken.

As SFGate reported late last month, the SF Recreation and Park Commission has already given the OK to a proposal by APE to continue doing concerts on the Polo Field and elsewhere for a three year term, with an option to extend.

In 2024, the first of these permits allowed APE to put on a mini-festival of heavy metal acts headlined by System of a Down. And in 2025, the permit allowed the promoters to do both the Grateful Dead 60th anniversary shows by Dead & Company the weekend prior to Outside Lands, and a post-Outside Lands show by Zach Bryan.

Outside Lands alone last year generated $97.5 million in regional economic activity, and drew 214,000 attendees. According to the report, while the Dead & Company shows drew attendees from across the country and world, Outside Lands tends to be a more local-heavy audience, with 69% of attendees surveyed coming from the Bay Area.

The proposal by APE provides for kickback revenue to SF Rec & Parks to the tune of $1.53 million per two-day event, and $765,000 per day for single-day or events that last up to three days, like Outside Lands.

It's unclear when the Board of Supervisors will take their vote on the proposal, but with Mayor Daniel Lurie generally gung-ho about big events — even boxing matches in front of City Hall — and the supervisors generally in favor of these permits previously, it seems likely to sail through.

But will the Polo Field setups get an extra use in August with just two months or less to sell tickets? And what would the show or shows be? APE's president of concerts and festivals, Allen Scott, tells the Chronicle, "[In] My perfect world, we do a K-pop concert out there or a Latin concert," but, he adds, "There’s just so many different variables being in a city park that we want to respect."

Related: Grateful Dead Celebration Fills Up SF Hotels

After facing widespread outrage over a proposed ban on smoking at bar patios in SF, Supervisor Melgar has put the plan on hold while she and Mayor Lurie continue discussions with the community.

Supervisor Myrna Melgar indefinitely paused a proposed ordinance that would have banned smoking on the outdoor patios of neighborhood bars and taverns, citing the need for ongoing discussions with business owners and other city leaders, as KQED reports. Melgar, who’s chair of the Land Use and Transportation Committee, was set to discuss the legislation at a committee meeting Monday.

“It’s clear that we need to do a little more work,” Melgar said Monday, according to SF Examiner. “I have accepted the recommendations from a couple of my colleagues and the mayor to help with some amendments and some process issues.”

As SFist reported in April, the legislation would have extended existing indoor smoking restrictions to outdoor bar seating areas, similar to rules already in place at restaurants, hotels, arenas, and other venues.

Supporters argue it would close a gap in current tobacco laws and reduce secondhand smoke exposure for patrons and workers, noting that several Bay Area cities, including Oakland and San Jose, already restrict smoking in outdoor dining and drinking spaces. The Examiner reports that public health advocates say most patrons comply when rules are clear and signage is in place.

“I would love to be able to enjoy a drink at an outdoor patio without choking on toxic cigarette smoke,” said Ruth Malone, a registered nurse, per KQED. “Customers aside, it is truly not okay to force bar employees to be exposed to secondhand smoke just to do their jobs.”

Opponents say the measure could hurt bars still recovering from the pandemic, while passing the burden to small businesses to enforce the measure and shifting smokers onto sidewalks.

No timeline has been given for when the measure might return for consideration.

Previously: SF Supe Pushes to Ban Smoking on Bar Patios, as Most Bay Area Cities Have Already Done

Image: El Rio, Brian W/Google Maps

Following a class-action lawsuit last month over alleged illegal strip searches of women at SF County Jail No. 2, a second suit filed Tuesday claims conditions for women in custody are worse than those for men.

Nine women incarcerated at San Francisco County Jail Number 2 on Seventh Street in SF have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that women at the facility have fewer resources and opportunities than men in the county jail system, as Mission Local reports. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a jury trial.

The suit reportedly names the city, Sheriff's Department, and jail health officials, claiming that women at the jail receive limited access to sunlight, exercise, hot water, healthy food, and adequate healthcare.

The lawsuit follows another class-action case filed last month over alleged illegal strip searches that were caught on officers’ bodycams, as SFist reported previously.

According to the new lawsuit, people held at the SoMa jail have little to no access to outdoor sunlight because the facility lacks an outdoor yard, despite a federal court ruling requiring daily sunlight exposure for people incarcerated longer than a year, per Mission Local. Unlike men in county custody, who can be transferred to the larger County Jail Number 3 in San Bruno, women are housed exclusively at County Jail No. 2 and do not have the option of being moved.

The complaint also cites recurring plumbing problems, insect infestations, limited hot water, inadequate exercise space, and poor-quality food, with several women reporting weight gain, digestive issues, and sleep problems while in custody.

Earlier this year, multiple people reported weeks of inadequate hot water at the jail, leading some to stop showering altogether, as Mission Local reported in February. Others described overcrowded intake areas, unsanitary conditions, and people experiencing drug withdrawal while awaiting processing. Jail officials have said water temperature issues were addressed and that facilities are cleaned regularly.

Additionally, as SFist reported in 2020, the city agreed to a $2.1 million settlement with more than 200 people incarcerated at the now-closed County Jail Number 4 after years of sewage overflows caused human waste to spill into housing units. Attorneys for the plaintiffs alleged jail officials failed to adequately address the conditions despite repeated complaints.

Previously: SF Sheriff’s Office Hit With New Scandal of Officers Allegedly Taking Video of Women's Strip Searches

Image: Joe Kukura/SFist