A couple of weeks ago, as San Francisco emergency responders attempted to pull away from a scene where a man had been seriously injured, a pair of Cruise robotaxis allegedly loitered in the ambulance’s path, not understanding that they were required to get out of the way. The man died not long afterward. It didn’t take long for the autonomous vehicles to be blamed for the man’s death.

Cops Pull Over Self-Driving Car

Tensions between SF locals and the robotaxi population have been notably high since a state-level decision several weeks back unleashed hundreds of the automated vehicles onto Bay Area roads, and this episode seemed to confirm residents’ worst fears. The fact that the cars had obstructed an emergency vehicle—with fatal results—seemed to confirm worst suspicions. Worse still, a much-publicized public safety report showed that emergency responders tied to the incident had specifically blamed Cruise’s cars for their slowed response. A flurry of press stories blaming the robotaxis for the incident followed.

It’s now become apparent, however, that the story is more complicated than that. For one thing, city officials have now clarified—weeks later—that Cruise was specifically not at fault for the man’s death. For another thing, it’s been revealed that the man was actually fatally struck by a city bus, meaning that, while emergency responders partially blamed the self-driving cars for the deadly outcome, a human-operated city vehicle wounded the victim in the first place.

How the crash actually happened

This week, the San Francisco Standard reported that the victim in question, 69-year-old Sammy Davis, was a homeless man who, on August 14th, fell to the ground behind a city bus and was subsequently struck and seriously injured. Neither the bus driver nor passengers appeared to notice that Davis had been struck. Not long after the incident, emergency responders showed up and, after loading the man into their ambulance, had their unfortunate encounter with Cruise’s vehicles. In an initial Fire Department report that was acquired by Forbes via a public information request, emergency responders were clearly fuming about the role that the self-driving cars had played in the incident. The memo reads:

“The patient was packaged for transport with life-threatening injuries, but we were unable to leave the scene initially due to the Cruise vehicles not moving,” the report says. “This delay, no matter how minimal, contributed to a poor patient outcome…The fact that Cruise autonomous vehicles continue to block ingress and egress to critical 911 calls is unacceptable.”

Cruise previously denied that its vehicles had anything to do with Davis’s death, claiming that only 90 seconds elapsed between the time when he was put on a stretcher and when the man left the scene.

This week, officials released a statement that clarified that Cruise had not officially been blamed for Davis’s death. “The San Francisco Fire Chief has not attributed this pedestrian death to Cruise AVs,” a joint statement by the Fire Chief and the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency reads. The statement goes on to partially blame press reports which relied “on an internal report from an SFFD staff member on the scene” for the perception that Cruise was to blame for the man’s death. “The city sends our deepest condolences to [the] family and friends of the victim,” the statement concludes.

In response to the update from city officials, Cruise provided Gizmodo with the following statement: “Nothing lessens the tragedy of a lost life, but we appreciate the Fire Chief’s clarification that they have not attributed this to Cruise. We look forward to continued and increased collaboration with SFFD on our shared goal of road safety.”

San Francisco’s Robotaxi Infestation

Whether Cruise was at fault for this particular incident or not, it seems clear that San Francisco is in for some turbulent times, as the automated driving industry uses the city as a giant testing ground for its robotaxi experiment. Under such circumstances, it only stands to reason that locals would feel annoyed, if not outright alarmed. More relevantly, the tension between the city’s public safety officials and the robotaxi industry don’t really seem like they’re going away anytime soon. City officials are notably wary of a new, arguably experimental technology that has the potential to clog traffic and cause dangerous accidents. Only time will tell whether that wariness is justified or not.

UPDATE: This story originally stated that the public safety report detailing the incident involving Cruise’s vehicles had been leaked to Forbes. The documents were actually acquired via a public information request. We regret the error.

The post A Cruise Robotaxi Was Blamed for a San Francisco Man’s Demise However He Was Truly Hit By a Metropolis Bus appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — An extremely dangerous atmospheric river continues to move through the San Francisco Bay Area and has caused flooding on roadways and highways around the region, as well as significant storm damage.

Thursday’s storm is ranking a strong level 3 on the exclusive ABC7 Storm Impact Scale. This is compared to the level 5 storm on Wednesday, the first level 5 in the history of the scale.

The entire region remains under a Flood Watch, and winds will continue to be an issue until 10 a.m. Thursday.

Jan. 5, 2023

5 a.m.
19-year-old killed in Fairfield crash Wednesday

ABC7 News is learning about a deadly accident that happened Wednesday morning. Police say that a 19-year-old woman was driving on Vanden Road at One Lake, which was partially flooded, when she hydroplaned and lost control. She then collided into a utility pole and did not survive the crash.

Police say she was likely going at speeds unsafe for the conditions.

The woman’s name is not being released by police.

4 a.m.
Tree falls on Oakland apartment building

A large eucalyptus tree fell on a three-story apartment building at 3293 Lynde St. in Oakland.

Jan. 4, 2023

10:46 p.m.
Evacuation warnings in Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County has issued evacuation warnings to community members residing in the watershed areas of the Uvas Reservoir and Pacheco Pass River Basin due to weather conditions and risks to the general public and property. For more details, visit the county website here.

10:35 p.m.
Toddler dies in Sonoma County home hit by falling tree

A Toddler has died after a tree fell onto a home in Occidental Wednesday night, fire officials said. The toddler aged 2.5 was home with their mom and dad when it happened.

Firefighters performed CPR while waiting for medics to arrive but the infant did not make it.

9:00 p.m.
Dam failure prompts Flash Flood Warning in San Benito Co.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for a dam floodgate release in northwestern San Benito County.

Dam operators reported the spillway of the North Fork Dam being compromised just after 6 p.m. and predict that water will overtop the spillway by tomorrow morning. This will impact areas, including Lovers Lane, Pacheco Creek and Santa Ana Creek.

Flooding is already being reported along the Pacheco Pass Reservoir.

NWS says residents who are in low lying areas below the North Fork Dam are urged to move to higher ground immediately.

7:25 p.m.
Wind gusts knock over gas station canopy in Daly City

This video of wind gusts so strong they knocked over the canopy of a gas station came in just minutes ago. This happened a short time ago in Daly City. At this time, we’re not hearing of any reports of injuries, but you can see the gas pump was crushed by the fallen canopy.

7:10 p.m.
Shelter-in-place in order lifted in San Rafael

The earlier Shelter in Place from Canal to mid-block Novato St due to multiple blown transformers and downed live wires has been lifted, according to San Rafael officials. Roadways have re-opened, however the power line had to be cut by PG&E and power is now out in the area, possibly expected to be out until tomorrow.

6:04 p.m.
Shelter-in-place in order in San Rafael

Officials issued a shelter-in-place order from Canal to mid-block Novato Street in San Rafael due to multiple blown transformers and live high voltage wires down. No vehicle or pedestrian traffic is allowed. For more information, visit here.

5:56 p.m.
Lanes blocked on I-280 in San Bruno

The southbound lanes of I-280 just north of Skyline Blvd in San Bruno is blocked due to multiple downed trees, CHP said.

Only one of the far left lane is open. CHP are asking drivers to avoid the area.

5:40 p.m.
Evacuation warnings for Russian River area

Officials issued an evacuation warning for residents living near the Russian River and its surrounding areas from Healdsburg to Jenner amid flooding threat. For the full list of evacuation warning zones, visit here.

Oakland, Milpitas declare State of Emergencies

The cities of Oakland and Milpitas declared local state of emergencies amid the powerful Level 5 storm. The declaration of the emergencies will enable cities to utilize all resources necessary to prepare and respond to the storm.

5:15 p.m.
San Francisco officials urge residents to stay off roads, limit 911 calls

Mayor London Breed joined city leaders to urge residents to stay off the roads as the storm intensifies Wednesday night. Officials are asking residents to limit 911 calls except for in emergency situations, as all crews are on hands-on-deck responding to weather-related incidents. For all non-emergency calls, you can dial 311.

4:30 p.m.
Mandatory evacuations ordered for multiple areas in Santa Cruz County

Evacuation orders for multiple areas of Santa Cruz County were issued Wednesday afternoon as more rainfall hit the county, bringing higher flood risks.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for unincorporated areas including the Paradise Park area in zone CRZ-E081 and the Felton Grove neighborhood in zones FEL-E008 and FEL-E012.

The following evacuation zones are also under an immediate evacuation order: CTL-E010, CTL-E014, CTL-E015, CTL-E018, and CTL-E019 zones in the Soquel area north of state Highway 1, the CTL-E050, CTL-E051 zones in the La Selva Beach area, PAJ-E015, PAJ-E024, PAJ-E026, PAJ-E027, PAJ-E028, PAJ-E029 zones near Pajaro, and WTS-E017, WTS-E018, WTS-E019 zones in Watsonville.

Evacuation zone CRZ-E001-C near Whitehouse Canyon Road has also been ordered to evacuate.

Evacuation orders in those areas are mandatory and the areas are closed to public access.

In addition, areas around Capitola Village and Felton are under evacuation warnings, as are areas of Boulder Creek, the area around Last Chance Trail and the Lompico and Zayante areas. Those who require additional time to evacuate and people who have pets and livestock should evacuate now, per the Capitola Police Department and Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

For a complete list of evacuation zones, visit https://aware.zonehaven.com/search.

3:30 p.m.
Evacuations urged for parts of Alameda County

Residents of Kilkare, Palomares and Niles Canyon roads in Alameda County are urged to evacuate because of the storm, saturated soils and runoff, county officials said on Twitter at 2:31 p.m. Wednesday.

Rain is expected to become heavy Wednesday afternoon and stretch into Thursday. A wind warning is in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday.

3 p.m.
NOAA sending hurricane hunters into storm

ABC7 Meteorologist Drew Tuma says NOAA is sending their hurricane hunters into our atmospheric river right now to gather data on the storm’s strength.

2:30 p.m.
Departure, Arrival flights grounded at SFO

Departures and arrivals at San Francisco International Airport are grounded due to wind until at least 3 p.m., according to a representative.

2:15 p.m.
Several Bay Area counties under State of Emergency due to storm

Sonoma, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties have all declared an emergency. In Contra Costa County, the city of Danville is under a state of emergency. The city of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County has also declared a state of emergency.

11:15 a.m.
Newsom declares State of Emergency to support storm response, recovery efforts

Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a State of Emergency for California to help with the response and recovery efforts to the large winter storm moving through the state. This will allow California to respond quickly to support local governments, authorities in their ongoing response.

11:10 a.m.
CHP issues high wind advisory for Golden Gate Bridge

The California Highway Patrol has issued a High Wind Advisory for the Golden Gate Bridge.

10:55 a.m.
CA officials give update on Level 5 storm

State officials will provide update on the state’s response to the impacts to California communities following a strong winter storm. Officials will also discuss the continued efforts the state is making to keep Californians safe.

10 a.m.
Several Bay Area schools announce closures for Wednesday, Thursday

Several schools across the Bay Area have announced they will be closed either Wednesday or Thursday due to the severe storm moving through the area. Here’s a look at the closures so far:

• Horicon School in Annapolis in Sonoma county – closed today Wednesday 1/4
• The South San Francisco Unified School District – closed Thursday 1/5 – (Classes will resume on Friday, Jan. 6)
• San Mateo Foster City School District – closed Thursday 1/5 – (Classes will resume on Friday, January 6)
• Pacifica School District closed Thursday 1/5 (Classes will resume on Friday, Jan. 6)
• Portola Valley School District – all schools will be closed Thursday 1/5 – (Classes will resume on Friday, Jan. 6)

9:45 a.m.
Crow Canyon Road in San Ramon closed, open to residents only, police say

San Ramon police say Crow Canyon Road is closed to traffic in both directions between San Ramon and Castro Valley. There is limited access for residents only.

9:30 a.m.
CHP issues High wind advisories for Bay Bridge, San Mateo Bridge and Dumbarton Bridge

The California Highway Patrol has issued high wind advisories issued for three Bay Area bridges: Bay Bridge, San Mateo Bridge and Dumbarton Bridge.

8:50 a.m.
BART warns up to 20-minute systemwide delay due to wet weather

BART is warning riders there may be up to 20-minute delays systemwide due to wet weather conditions.

8:30 a.m.
East Bay Regional Parks District closed through Thursday

The largest regional park system in the country is closing down because of the strong storm hitting the Bay Area. East Bay Regional Parks District has closed down all parks from today through tomorrow. Residents are advised by the park district to not enter the parks.

Parks are expected to reopen on Friday after officials asses the weather conditions. For reopenings and more information on east bay regional parks you can head to their website.

8 a.m.
SF out of sandbags, hope to have more later Wednesday

The San Francisco Department of Public Works said Wednesday morning that no more sandbags are currently available for residents and businesses seeking them to prevent flooding from an atmospheric river hitting the city this week.

Public Works officials said more sandbags are expected to be available at the operations yard later Wednesday, but the exact time was to be determined.

7 a.m.
Marin County activates emergency shelter for unhoused residents

Marin County activated its severe weather emergency shelter starting Wednesday for people experiencing homelessness in anticipation of more heavy rain hitting the Bay Area this week.

The overnight warming shelter is located at the Marin County Health and Wellness campus located at 3240 Kerner Blvd., in San Rafael. It will be open from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Individuals are encouraged to sign in by 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The nearest public transportation to the campus, according to Google Maps, is the bus stop at Bellam Boulevard and Lisbon Street, which is served by Marin Transit’s 580 and 23 routes. It is also near the stop at Kerner Boulevard and Larkspur Street served by Marin’s 23, 29, 35, 36 and 645 routes.

VIDEO: Marin Co. announces emergency shelter for unhoused community

6:30 a.m.
Danville declares local emergency through Jan. 10

The Town of Danville has proclaimed a local emergency in response to the ugly storms expected to start Wednesday, while the city is still cleaning up after last weekend’s wet weather that included flooding and mudslides.

Acting as the city’s director of emergency services, Town Manager Joe Calabrigo signed the proclamation just before noon Tuesday, according to a statement from city officials. The proclamation will remain in effect until noon on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

The declaration allows Danville greater flexibility to contract for and obtain supplies for more expedient disaster response.

Residents can contact the police department for safety concerns at (925) 820-2144. To request non-urgent assistance for clean-up or other concerns, call Danville Maintenance Services at (925) 314-3450 or go to www.danville.ca.gov/danvilleconnect.

For assistance with county-maintained or privately-maintained creeks, call county public works at (925) 313-7000 or email admin@pw.ccounty.us. For power outage information, go to www.pge.com/outagealerts. Weather can be monitored at www.weather.gov/mtr.

Jan. 3, 2023

7:18 p.m.
Evacuation orders for unhoused living near creeks

San Jose has issued a mandatory evacuation order for unhoused people living in creek areas, police tweeted. SJPD says officers are responding to creek areas and making announcements to evacuate. Shelters will be provided.

7 p.m.
An area of Santa Cruz Co. being evacuated ahead of storm

An area near Whitehouse Canyon Road in Santa Cruz County is being evacuated due to concerns with a culvert, the sheriff’s office announced on Tuesday evening.

A culvert under Whitehouse Canyon Road became undermined during the last storm and that caused a part of the roadway to fail. The sheriff’s office anticipates that the upcoming rains pose a “significant concern” that the entire culvert could completely fail, making the roadway impassable for medical and law enforcement resources.

The zone being evacuated is CRZ-E001-C. To pinpoint its location, go to https://aware.zonehaven.com/search.

Road closures can be monitored at https://sccroadclosure.org.

6:50 p.m.
San Jose announces State of Emergency before historic storm

On Tuesday, the City of San Jose proclaimed a State of Emergency ahead of the atmospheric river weather event. The proclamation provides emergency powers to the city needed to respond to the storm events, and simultaneously issues an evacuation order to people living within or along waterways for their safety.

“We want to make sure all residents are informed and prepared to stay safe, and that city staff has the ability to move quickly to relocate encampments that are in harm’s way,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said.

5:50 p.m.
Mandatory evacuation orders issued for parts of Watsonville in Santa Cruz Co. at high risk of flooding

The City of Watsonville issued mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday evening for neighborhoods with a high risk of flooding ahead of Wednesday’s storm.

The city tweeted a map highlighting the areas ordered to evacuate in Santa Cruz County.

“If your residence is located within this map’s blue-shaded area, you’re asked to evacuate NOW or as soon as possible to safely get ahead of the storm’s flooding,” the tweet wrote.

An overnight shelter opened at Cesar Chavez Middle School (440 Arthur Rd.). This site will serve as the central location to accommodate residents. Shelter space will be limited, so pets must be dropped off at the Animal Shelter (580 Airport Blvd.) before the storm or make arrangements with friends or family.

Ramsay Park (1301 Main St.) is also now open and serves as a place for residents to meet up with family members and get information on available services. There will be limited onsite services.

For those who need transportation services, Lift Line will be available to assist. Please call 831-688-9663.

5:10 p.m.
SF Bay Ferry suspending service for 2 routes affecting Alameda, Oakland on Wednesday, agency says

The San Francisco Bay Ferry will be suspending service to two routes affecting Alameda and Oakland on Wednesday due to the storm forecast, the agency said on Tuesday.

The Harbor Bay and South San Francisco routes will not be sailing in either direction.

“Big southerly winds have outsized impacts at Harbor Bay and SSF terminals,” said the agency on Twitter.

All other routes will operate as scheduled, the agency said.

RELATED: Here’s how Bay Area is preparing for dangerous Level 5 storm taking aim at region

5 p.m.
Flood Warning issued for the Russian River in the North Bay

A Flood Warning has been issued on the Russian River near Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville, according to Meteorologist Drew Tuma. River forecast to crest at 35.4 feet Thursday evening causing moderate flooding.

4 p.m.
Pleasant Hill announces several sandbag locations ahead of storm

Pleasant Hill officials said Tuesday that city sandbag locations have been refilled and asked residents to respect the city’s 10-bag limit per household ahead of Wednesday’s storm.

Sandbags are located at City Hall at 100 Gregory Lane, the community center at 320 Civic Drive, and on Hawthorne Drive near Pleasant Oaks Park.

Pleasant Hill experienced flooding during last weekend’s storm and is expected to have similar issues once the next storm hits Wednesday. City officials asked people to not drive through flooded areas and around roadway closure signs and barricades.

3 p.m.
Orinda residents can fill sandbags at 2 locations

The city of Orinda has sand and empty sandbags available Tuesday at Moraga-Orinda Fire District Fire Station No. 43 at 20 Via Las Cruces, and at Fire Station No. 44 at 295 Orchard Road ahead of Wednesday’s storm.

Residents should bring their own shovels.

2:30 p.m.
Sandbags available at 2 San Ramon locations for residents

San Ramon police said sandbags are available Tuesday at two locations in the city ahead of another large storm forecast in the area.

The sandbags are available at Central Park at 12501 Alcosta Blvd. and at Athan Downs Park at 2975 Montevideo Drive.

2 p.m.
Santa Clara Co. offering free sandbags are several locations

Santa Clara County residents can get free filled sandbags from sandbag sites operated by the Santa Clara Valley Water District ahead of more heavy rainfall expected this week.

At the five Valley Water sandbag sites scattered throughout the county, residents can pick up free filled sandbags or fill their own with bags and sand the district has provided.

There are also 20 city and county public works yards with bags and sand that residents can fill themselves. A shovel and someone to help lift the sandbags is recommended since they are heavy.

Some sites may require proof of residency. More information and site locations can be found at https://www.valleywater.org/flooding-safety/flood-ready/sandbags.

12:45 p.m.
SF leaders give update on how city is preparing for storm

San Francisco leaders provided an update on how the city is preparing for the incoming atmospheric river. This comes after the city saw more than 5 inches of rainfall on New Year’s Eve causing widespread flooding making it the second wettest day in recorded history in San Francisco. Mayor London Breed says Wednesday’s storm will be significant. She is urging people to limit travel if possible. She warns of localized flooding. The mayor also says to use 911 for life-threatening emergencies, and 311 for reports of flooding in one’s home or business.

SF Department of Emergency and Management Mary Ellen Carroll says the National Weather Service has upgraded the wind gusts for Wednesday to 60 to 70 mph. There will be a Flood Watch from Wednesday at 4 a.m. to Thursday at 4 p.m. This could mean power outages and falling trees.

Officials are also recommending people to stock up on batteries and flashlights.

12:30 p.m.
SF warns sandbags are running low

SF Public Works says it is running low on sandbags. Residents asked to only get them if you really need them, limit of five per address.

“We have a limited supply of sandbags available for San Francisco residents whose properties are prone to flooding. Limit 5 per address. Pick up at our Operations Yard, Marin and Kansas streets gate. We’ll stay open until 8 p.m. Please only get sandbags if you really need them.”

Sandbags are available for residents and business owners. More details are available through “SF72” here.

8:30 a.m.
Most of Bay Area under moderate risk of flooding

The National Weather Service has placed most of the Bay Area under a moderate risk of flooding tomorrow for excessive rainfall. ABC7 Meteorologist Drew Tuma says given our wet soil conditions produced by recent heavy rains, flooding is likely.

Jan. 2, 2023

3 p.m.
NWS says powerful storm could cause ‘loss of life’

The National Weather Service said Monday that this upcoming storm will likely be “the most impactful system on a widespread scale that this meteorologist has seen in a long time.”

NWS officials say not only will this storm bring flooding, power outages and “disruption to commerce,” it will also most likely cause loss of human life. They say this system will be brutal and needs to be taken seriously.

Watch the latest AccuWeather forecast and take a look at recent weather stories and videos.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Copyright © 2023 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.

The post San Francisco Bay Space Stage 3 storm stay updates: A number of deaths, together with toddler, blamed on Wednesday’s storm appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Boudin derangement syndrome: Since taking office in 2020, the DA has become the locus of a corporate backlash. (Courtesy of the Recall Chesa Boudin campaign)

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After just two years in office, Chesa Boudin, the district attorney of San Francisco, gets blamed for every crime in the book—even offenses committed before he took office and beyond the city limits. For his efforts to tackle wage theft, end cash bail, expand the program that diverts nonviolent offenders from prison, and prosecute abusive cops, Boudin has been rewarded with a recall campaign scapegoating him for all of this city’s woes. The vote takes place on June 7, and recent polls suggest it will be an uphill battle for Boudin and progressives.

Loaded with cash from local billionaires, Big Tech, and other corporate interests, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco and an allied group called San Franciscans for Public Safety have poured a whopping $5.1 million into the campaign to recall Boudin. Real estate interests have also kicked in, including more than $600,000 from Shorenstein Realty Services, a major local developer. As the Democratic strategist Cooper Teboe told Forbes, Boudin is “the unfortunate recipient of all of the anger from the investor class and the billionaire class.” The recall’s top funder is the Republican billionaire William Oberndorf, who donated $3.7 million to federal candidates in 2020—mostly to Republicans, including Senators Mitch McConnell and Tom Cotton.

While Boudin is the primary target, this centrist uprising first came to public attention in February when it spearheaded the recall of three school board members (a campaign that was financed heavily by Oberndorf and the billionaire investor Arthur Rock). Next came electoral threats to progressive supervisors who didn’t support the school board recall, revealing a larger political agenda. Then, in late April, corporate interests mounted a gerrymandering effort that could put some supervisor districts in the centrist camp. And now, the furious push to recall Boudin.

“There is a big money effort to roll back progressive politics in San Francisco,” says Tim Redmond, founder and editor of the progressive news site 48 Hills, who has covered politics here since 1986.

Related Articles

Propelling this movement is a well-financed narrative that has insinuated itself into local media and politics—and a sizable portion of the electorate. This narrative blames San Francisco progressives for complex crises whose causes reach back decades and far beyond the city line. The writer Michael Shellenberger, who’s making an improbable run for the California governor’s office, bizarrely blames the left for the city’s ills in his book San Fransicko, with its bombastic subtitle: Why Progressives Ruin Cities.

At the heart of this reactionary movement is a misdiagnosis of genuine problems. Burgeoning homelessness and drug addiction here are preventable tragedies. Housing costs are among the highest in the nation, with the median single-family home priced at $2 million, far out of reach for most people. The city also hosts the world’s greatest concentration of billionaires, and the Bay Area is home to California’s most glaring inequality, with the top 10 percent of earners raking in 12.2 times what folks in the bottom 10 percent make.

While progressives have often held a majority in the city’s legislature, they haven’t had a mayoral ally since Art Agnos lost to conservative Frank Jordan in 1991; the city’s “strong mayor” charter also adds to centrists’ power when they control the executive branch. Rising homelessness, addiction, and crime are the result of national and regional crises, including woefully insufficient spending on supportive housing for homeless people. Redmond says the current scapegoating is “a total distraction from the fundamental inequalities in the US and in San Francisco.” If anything, progressive policies like the city’s living wage ordinance, universal health care access, rent control, tenants’ rights laws, and taxes on extreme wealth have blunted these crises.

Current Issue

Chasing Chesa, Fomenting Fear

When he was elected in November 2019, Boudin was hailed as a bright new star in a wave of reforming district attorneys that included Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, Rachael Rollins in the Boston area, and Kim Foxx in Cook County, Ill. All have faced criticism, but the backlash in San Francisco has been particularly virulent, prompting pundits to label it “Chesa Boudin Derangement Syndrome.” As the San Francisco Examiner writer Gil Duran described it, “Every crime trend—even those pre-dating his tenure—can somehow be blamed on him. Car burglarized? Blame Boudin. Walgreens and CVS closing hundreds of stores nationwide? Boudin’s fault. National fentanyl epidemic? Thanks, Boudin. Police not making enough arrests? Boudin hurt their morale.” One recent recall campaign ad featured a man who closed his store because of drug dealing—but a reporter revealed that the business had been shuttered before Boudin was elected.

San Francisco has its share of urban problems. But analysis by the San Francisco Chronicle found that “reported crime data does not clearly show a trend toward worsening public safety.” Even as crimes like car break-ins have increased in the city (as they have statewide and beyond), violent crimes are way down. But that hasn’t stopped the fearmongers from fanning a political wildfire.

The typically center-right Chronicle surprised locals with a strong editorial against the recall, arguing, “Crime stats that mirror those of when Boudin took office do not justify a recall. Violent crime is low and has stayed low even as it has surged across the country…. Cities across the country—regardless of their criminal justice approach—have struggled after COVID lockdowns lifted.” The Examiner and the local Democratic Party also reject the recall, as have many former prosecutors and judges.

Blaming the victims: Municipal workers trash an encampment of unhoused people just a few blocks from San Francisco’s City Hall. (Christopher D. Cook)

Scapegoating Homeless People

On a recent afternoon, across the street from a shining new glass tower of condos for sale a few blocks from City Hall, city workers descended on tents arrayed neatly on the sidewalk’s edge. A burly public works employee snatched and tossed a silver tent onto a platform truck, atop other “junk” bound for the dump.

“The man that lives in there is a 65-year-old dude who’s out on a medical appointment,” a fellow tent dweller, an amply tattooed Marine veteran, told me. “It’s our constitutional right to live here, to have a home. You can’t take that away from us,” he urged the workers in an increasingly irate voice. When I asked who’s demanding the tent removals, city workers insisted, “The mayor, London Breed.”

Trashing an elderly homeless man’s shelter and belongings—a violation of city policy, advocates tell me—is brutally familiar in this city, where “there are more anti-homeless laws than in any other city in the state,” says Jennifer Friedenbach, the longtime director of the Coalition on Homelessness. “Homelessness in San Francisco is a popular wedge issue,” she continues. “And politicians—Shellenberger no exception—stoke fear of homeless people to get their name in the paper…. Homeless people, drug dealers, and criminals are all lumped together and scapegoated.”

A Twitter account named “BetterSOMA” (referencing the South of Market area) posts photographs of homeless people shooting up or crumpled on the sidewalk, a humiliating public exposure that could haunt these people’s futures. When I confronted the group about this practice, BetterSOMA and its acolytes came at me like piranhas. As one put it, “It should be humiliating. They should be shamed. If you coddle street addicts, MORE SHOW UP and are lured into depravity.” Another insisted, “They are drug addicts. Their dignity went out the window before the photos pal.”

The pandemic has only intensified the street crises, Friedenbach says. “People have been out there for two years—their [precarity] has gotten much worse, their drug use much worse.” Meanwhile, Friedenbach sees a growing “promotion of tried-and-failed strategies” such as criminalization and forcing homeless mentally ill people into institutions through conservatorship. The forces behind the recall campaign, she adds, “are complaining about homelessness and then fighting against the solutions,” citing Mayor Breed’s opposition to voter-approved measures to expand funding for homeless services and shelters.

As the writer Gray Brechin, founder of the Living New Deal, puts it, “The question isn’t asked enough: Why are people taking so many drugs? To dull the pain of living in this incredibly cruel society. At the root of it is poverty,” he says, and “a dystopic neoliberal environment that is guaranteed to drive people insane” while living on the streets.

Follow the Money

Fueling this city’s centrist octopus is an engine of big money—largely from Big Tech, real estate, and other corporate interests. And these efforts reach beyond the recalls: As 48 Hills documented, Oberndorf has given at least $300,000 to Neighbors for a Better San Francisco—money spent campaigning against progressive candidates and measures. In 2020, the group and its corporate allies—all aligned with Mayor Breed—spent big to oppose Proposition I, a real estate transfer tax on the wealthiest property owners to help fund emergency aid and affordable housing in the pandemic. (Voters approved the measure by a large margin and rejected several centrist candidates.)

The centrist constellation includes tech-funded groups like GrowSF, AdvanceSF (whose leadership is a who’s who from the Chamber of Commerce), and the YIMBY (“Yes in My Back Yard”) movements pushing a maximal growth agenda that includes “streamlining” environmental reviews to spur more building, principally of market-rate housing. This agenda is part of what the writer Rebecca Solnit calls the “free-market fundamentalism” that has become a local religion. “The constant narrative going on for decades is that if we just build enough buildings, housing will become affordable,” Solnit told me. “But we have more than 40,000 vacant units here,” she notes, citing a city report. “We have a distribution problem, not a supply problem.”

Observing this array of centrist and big money groups, Redmond concludes, “They’re all connected, and the money proves that. Politics takes money, and they’ve got the money.” He adds, “Well-financed efforts at framing the debate have had an effect.”

In April, after many epic late-night hearings, the city’s Redistricting Task Force finalized a new electoral map that could favor centrist district supervisors at the expense of progressive stalwarts like Connie Chan, another target of real estate interests. In an e-mail obtained by 48 Hills, the real estate developer Nick Podell, a board member of Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, crowed, “For the 1st time in the 40 years that I’ve lived in the City, there is a large coordinated centrist/moderate movement to take on Progressive power.” That effort, Podell wrote, is poised to “flip 3 districts with Progressive Supervisors to moderate majorities.” The local Republican leader Richie Greenberg cheered the centrist map, writing, “Connie Chan is TOAST.”

San Francisco is chronically conflicted. A nominally liberal town where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 10-fold, it is also a historical hub of finance capital, extreme wealth accumulation, and corporate profit, which all fuel (and fund) a moderate and sometimes conservative politics, particularly on economic issues. Since the Gold Rush, says Solnit (who has lived here since 1980), San Francisco “has always had a progressive wing and a corporate moderate wing. Because Republicans don’t have traction here, people think of us as this quasi-socialist utopia, but it’s not true…. Now we have millionaires buying elections through recalls.” As the Examiner columnist Lincoln Mitchell explains, the city’s rich and powerful “are not always conservative or right wing, but they have a vision that is distinctly not progressive.” Their “moderate-to-conservative vision,” Mitchell says, “is one where businesses and developers are empowered and given incentives to operate more or less how they like, where fear of crime is fetishized, and where homelessness is understood as a problem not of human suffering but as a quality-of-life issue for the housed.”

Crisis conditions: Two years into the pandemic, precarity, poverty, addiction, and inequality have only gotten worse. (Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Big Tech’s Shadow

The writer and activist Roberto Lovato offers a scathing diagnosis of his native city’s neoliberal tilt, pointing to Silicon Valley’s ethos of “digital Darwinism.” The recalls, Lovato explains, show the cumulative effects of Big Tech’s power: “You’re looking at what Silicon Valley did over all these years, the near-totalitarian control of the body politic of San Francisco.” This “greed machine,” he argues, is manufacturing “a normalization of displacement…. One way to do it is to reengineer the political system.”

“There’s a fascistic cruelty beneath the shiny silicon surface of San Francisco,” Lovato says—one that displaces communities and cultures in the name of relentless growth and profit. “All my friends who grew up here have been displaced. The organic growth of the Mission [District] that created the largest concentration of murals in the world has been displaced by gentrification and tech workers buying $14 burritos…. They use our murals to push us out.”

“Tech has such a libertarian tendency,” Solnit says, “but a lot of it is economically regressive. We don’t have the language to express how many of these folks are Burning Man libertarians while being economic Republicans.” Tech’s predominance here, she adds, has cultural as well as political implications: “Everything is DoorDashed and smartphoned; it’s a much more mediated experience. The desire to avoid human contact has been such a part of the tech culture—the desire to live in one of the most densely urban centers in the country while being hostile to much of that life.”

Even amid this centrist uprising, San Francisco progressives have mustered some positive changes. A voter-approved tax on vacant storefronts took effect in January, and activists are preparing a ballot measure to tax up to 40,000 vacant residential units to pressure landlords to fill them (a similar effort worked well in Vancouver). In March, the city enacted a groundbreaking law enabling tenants to form union-like associations to bargain with landlords. It’s also worth remembering that in 2019, city voters elected Boudin on the platform of criminal justice reform that he’s now implementing. On June 7 and beyond, voters here have a chance to reject this corporate-funded reactionary movement. San Francisco, as always, remains intensely contested terrain.

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