SAN FRANCISCO – The Sundance Institute is considering a relocation after its current partnership with Park City, Utah, expires in 2026. The city of San Francisco will apply to be the new host.

Moviegoer and publicist Karen Larsen says she's not sure it's a good idea.

“I think San Francisco already has too many festivals,” Larsen said. “There is a festival for everything here, including dogs.”

The Sundance Institute opened a “request for information” this month, inviting cities to submit proposals explaining why they should host the festival starting in 2027.

San Francisco is expected to be one of many cities bidding for the role, but Larsen believes Park City is part of the festival's appeal.

“I thought it was strange because Sundance was founded in Utah. That was the whole point. It was a destination festival like Telluride, so it was kind of surprising news,” Larsen said.

She understands why they might consider other options. She used to attend Sundance, but hasn't been there in recent years.

“It’s really cold, really difficult to get around,” Larsen said. “It’s hard to work there.”

She admitted that San Francisco would have nicer weather and more hotels available for the festival.

Suzanne Pfeifer waited in line to see one of the films at the San Francisco International Film Festival. She says she has conflicting opinions.

“I think it would be wonderful. I just don’t want it to have a negative impact on the San Francisco Film Festival,” Pfeifer said. “But if it’s a different time of year, I think it would work well here. This festival sells out every year.”

In a statement, Gloria Chan of the SF Office of Economic and Workforce Development said, “The city can confirm that we will comply with the RFI (Request For Information) proposal. San Francisco is a center for artistic expression that offers a unique blend of urban sophistication and natural beauty, providing filmmakers and visitors with an unparalleled setting with the infrastructure and amenities to immerse themselves in the magic of cinema. From our bustling neighborhoods to the tranquil shores of the bay, every corner of the city pulses with energy and inspiration, capturing the imaginations of storytellers and audiences alike.

“San Francisco is one of the most cinematic cities in the world – one that showcases independent and innovative storytelling, cultural vibrancy and creativity from filmmakers like Joe Talbot (The Last Black Man of San Francisco), Marielle Heller (The Diary of a “Teenager Girl”) and Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy),” Chan said. “San Francisco is the perfect backdrop for the Sundance Film Festival and has a rich history of celebrating the groundbreaking works of independent filmmakers from around the world.”

Many films had their world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, which usually takes place in January. They then attend other festivals later in the year.

Larsen says if Sundance actually came to SF, she thinks it would impact the festivals already happening here.

“Like this festival, the Asian Film Festival, which is happening in two weeks, all the films will be picked up at Sundance,” Larsen noted.

The Sundance Institute continues to collect proposals through May 1.

The final location is expected to be announced in late 2024 or early 2025.

More from CBS News

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new state-of-the-art technology and health research park in Los Angeles on Friday.

A collaboration between UCLA and the private sector that is taking over a space that was once a Westfield shopping center.

“This is a race for global dominance in this area. This is about exponentials,” Newsom said.

Meanwhile, up north in the Bay Area – our own mall in San Francisco – a new store is closing its doors.

MORE: 'A sad day': Nordstrom officially closes SF flagship store, shoppers say goodbye

Adidas announced on Friday that they would be closing on January 13th.

However, it's not just malls that are becoming more and more available in San Francisco. Across the city, office vacancies are at record levels.

This level is now at 35% according to the latest figures.

Given the unused space, the question was whether San Francisco could do something similar to LA

MORE: The Cinemark theater at SF Westfield Mall is closing, but an expert says it's part of a nationwide problem

“You should be able to turn a downtown core into not just a business center, but an innovation center,” Sean Randolph said.

Randolph works with the Bay Area Council's Economic Institute.

He says since the pandemic, several city leaders have pushed opportunities to redevelop downtown.

“All I can say is that there is a real interest in the University of California's desire to look at downtown as an option for campus, for housing, for a number of things,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

But it's not just universities that can fill the empty space, says commercial real estate developer Mark Ritchie.

MORE: 'Seeing the potential': SF's 'Vacant to Vibrant' pop-ups hope to extend their stay in the city

According to Ritchie, artificial intelligence companies have emerged as fast-growing users of office space in recent years – particularly in San Francisco.

“We are in the best position nationally to recover from this based on the hope of future jobs in technology and whatever the vanguard of technology is,” Ritchie said.

But experts say new developments will not come without challenges.

“There are homelessness issues that are stopping some businesses from coming here. There are problems with crime,” Randolph said.

But despite the obstacles, many city residents say they would support the changes.

“Especially if it’s done right. Housing, community organizations, after-school programs,” said Elena Henderson of San Francisco.

If you're using the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Copyright © 2024 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

The post With Adidas transferring out of San Francisco, what may fill metropolis’s rising empty retail areas? appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

As some 30 dancers were handed the first employee paychecks ever issued to them by the Penthouse Club one evening in early November, a wave of panic swept the popular North Beach strip club.

“I opened mine in the locker room, and I was shocked,” said a former Penthouse dancer who asked to be identified as Jane. “All the other girls were also freaking out. Me and my friends decided right then that we were done. That was the final straw.”

Historically classified as independent contractors, the dancers were used to walking out of the club’s doors with cash each night — often hundreds of dollars — after their shifts ended. That changed suddenly when clubs across The City began enforcing a California Supreme Court ruling from April in an unrelated industry that set new standards for determining whether or not workers should be classified as employees.

The decision has shaken up the gig economy, but is also having an effect in unexpected places, such as in the hair salons and the adult entertainment industry, where workers have traditionally not been considered employees.

At local clubs, the move to convert dancers to employee status is causing an exodus, with many of them leaving San Francisco establishments.

“This whole business will be completely ruined. The whole point about being a stripper is you go in, get fast cash, no one knows how you’re getting it, it’s not documented and it’s not taken from you,” said a single mother who gave her name as Darla, who also recently cut ties with Penthouse Club. Like other dancers The San Francisco Examiner spoke with for this story, she asked to maintain anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Club owners say the changes are costing them as well.

A sign posted mid-October in the dancers’ dressing room at the Gold Club in the South of Market neighborhood said the club “felt that it was protecting your right and freedom to be an independent contractor.”

“However, as a result of the lawsuits and ongoing demands by the suing dancers and their attorneys, the club is now being compelled by Court order to eliminate the independent contractor option and require all dancers to become the club’s employees,” the sign read.

Axel Sang, marketing director of BSC, confirmed in an email to the Examiner that the dancers were formerly contractors but are now “club employees being paid an hourly wage and commission on dance sales.”

“The BSC-managed clubs now have matching payroll taxes, unemployment compensation, workman’s compensation, Healthy San Francisco costs, Affordable Care Insurance costs, and SF sick leave pay for several hundred new employee entertainers in addition to the hourly wage,” he wrote.

He estimated that 200 dancers have quit their jobs since the change came down at BSC clubs, including Penthouse and Gold Club and said that the change has “dramatically affected the business and the profitability,” costing the clubs “several million dollars” a year.

“A substantial reduction in the number of entertainers performing as well as the substantial increased payroll and other costs makes it very difficult to generate profits,” Sang said.

The California Supreme Court decision pushing the changes in the business came out of a lawsuit brought by two drivers for Dynamex, a same-day delivery and logistics company that converted its drivers to independent contractors in 2004. Under the ruling, workers may now be considered employees if they perform work within the usual course of the company’s business, said David Peer, a labor attorney in Carlsbad who has written about the Dynamex ruling.

“If you are running a strip club, you would think that the dancers are performing work within the usual course,” Peer said. “If the club owners want to play it safe, they should certainly be paying minimum wage and following the wage and hour rules that most organizations follow when they hire an employee.”

Lawsuits alleging improper classification of exotic dancers predate the Dynamex ruling, according to Harold Lichten of Lichten & Liss-Riordan, a Boston law firm representing Uber drivers who claim the rideshare company misclassified them.

“When you improperly characterize someone as an independent contractor you don’t have to pay social security tax, unemployment tax, minimum wage or overtime,” Lichten said, adding that the incentives were “incredibly great” for companies to “misclassify people because they were saving so much money at the workers’ expense.”

Lichten said the Dynamex ruling became leverage in ongoing litigation against Uber, and noted that it should also come as a benefit to the dancers, who now are now eligible for the protections afforded to all employees.

“The concern is that some companies may lower the amount they pay them to make up their losses,” Lichten said. “That would be unfortunate. But on balance, it’s much better to be an employee because you have legal protections.”

However the dancers interviewed by the Examiner said that while they are now entitled to minimum wage, benefits and the option to unionize, the reclassification has done more harm than good.

“Not one of those girls had a check for two weeks over $300. There was a lot of upset. A lot of girls packed up to leave that night. I was one of those girls,” Darla said.

“I can go work at McDonald’s for $15 an hour, and not take off my clothes, and not put up with the crap I put up with as a dancer,” Darla added, noting that all of the Penthouse dancers “have considered leaving.”

The vast majority of the strip clubs in San Francisco — 10 out of 12 — are owned or managed by BSC Management. The only exceptions are the Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre and The Crazy Horse.

Sang said the company is not paying dancers more than minimum wage because they “are paid commissions on dance sales which in most cases far exceed the hourly wage.”

But dancers said the commission structure for private dances has also been significantly cut.

Policies can vary for each club, but before the reclassification, dancers said if they arrived to their shift early enough they would keep 75 percent of their dance sales — which is where they made the majority of their money.

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A dancer at the Gold Club, who asked to be called Mary, said it had been common for dancers on average to sell around $1,000 in dances a shift and keep $750.

Under the new commission structure at the Gold Club, however, dancers said they keep none of the first $150 they sell in private dances, 40 percent of the next $250 they sell, and 60 percent of sales beyond that.

Some dancers said they must also pay a $100 fee for renting the private room.

Dancers at the Gold Club said they now walk away with only $60 on the first half-hour private dance they sell.

“When I make a customer pay $400 and I see $60 of it, it isn’t computing for me,” Mary said. “We want to do our job, and previously our business was to sell dances. And we still need to make living. But at the same time, where is the incentive?”

Some dancers also feared being classified as employees would mean not being able to pick and choose which customers to serve.

Joe Carouba, an owner of BSC, declined to speak with the Examiner for this story because of pending litigation. But in a deposition he gave in October in connection with a lawsuit filed by Olivia Doe, he said he “firmly believed” dancers should be independent contractors so they can assert more control over which customers they will and won’t serve.

“I think they should control their own sexuality, they should control their own bodies,” he said. “The difference there being, of course, if you’re an employee, you don’t have a choice who you perform for, as an independent contractor you get to choose how you perform, whom you perform for, and what level you’re comfortable at.”

Dancers said many of them were poorly informed and caught unaware when the new contracts were rolled out.

Jane said she was one of the first Penthouse dancers to sign the new contract amid confusion, and wasn’t given a copy or time to review it.

At the Gold Club, Mary said management called dancers into the office in the middle of their shifts, still dressed in bikinis and eight-inch heels, and told them to look at a new contract on a computer screen and immediately sign it. Some dancers had been drinking during their shift, she said.

“We were given no opportunity to look at the contracts or have paper copies beforehand,” Mary said. “There’s really been no communication, no transparency.”

Sang denied the allegations, and said cameras were installed to protect the clubs from legal challenges over the new contracts.

“Signs were posted clearly that the areas were under video and audio surveillance. Each contract signing on video and audio clearly shows each entertainer was required to fully read the contract before signing,” Sang wrote in an email. “On camera, each entertainer was clearly given a copy of the contracts that they signed.”

Dancers said morale has plummeted at clubs across The City. Many are unhappy with how management announced and rolled out the change, but fear losing their jobs if they complain.

Because BSC has a virtual monopoly on San Francisco strip clubs, dancers said if they are blacklisted at one club, they are afraid they won’t be able to work anywhere else in The City.

While dancers across the country have sued clubs saying they should have been classified as employees instead of independent contractors, those who spoke with the Examiner said not everyone wants to be an employee. There are advantages to being independent contractors — so long as they are actually treated as contractors.

Mary said being treated as a contractor would mean being able to negotiate dance fees with clients directly rather than have the club set prices, and to pick which dates and times to work. Previously, as contractors, dancers could pick which days to work, but not which hours.

“Contractors should have autonomy,” she said.

An often-touted perk of being an employee is access to benefits, such as health insurance. But to qualify, employees must work enough hours to be considered full-time — which isn’t practical for most people dancing at a strip club. Dancers said even working three days a week is physically exhausting.

“You do what you need to do to maintain your boundary while making sure they have a good time. It takes a lot of emotional labor to do that,” Mary said. “I don’t think people realize that’s the most difficult part of our job. It’s not really talked about in the public perception of stripping.”

The drastic pay cuts and availability of cheap flights have pushed some dancers to seek work outside of San Francisco, traveling as far as Las Vegas and Reno one or two nights a week while continuing to live in The City.

“Girls are scrambling to find a job to fit their lifestyle or even make ends meet,” Jane said.

The post New guidelines for contractors have surprising penalties for The Metropolis’s strip golf equipment | San Francisco Information appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

As some 30 dancers were handed the first employee paychecks ever issued to them by the Penthouse Club one evening in early November, a wave of panic swept the popular North Beach strip club.

“I opened mine in the locker room, and I was shocked,” said a former Penthouse dancer who asked to be identified as Jane. “All the other girls were also freaking out. Me and my friends decided right then that we were done. That was the final straw.”

Historically classified as independent contractors, the dancers were used to walking out of the club’s doors with cash each night — often hundreds of dollars — after their shifts ended. That changed suddenly when clubs across The City began enforcing a California Supreme Court ruling from April in an unrelated industry that set new standards for determining whether or not workers should be classified as employees.

The decision has shaken up the gig economy, but is also having an effect in unexpected places, such as in the hair salons and the adult entertainment industry, where workers have traditionally not been considered employees.

At local clubs, the move to convert dancers to employee status is causing an exodus, with many of them leaving San Francisco establishments.

“This whole business will be completely ruined. The whole point about being a stripper is you go in, get fast cash, no one knows how you’re getting it, it’s not documented and it’s not taken from you,” said a single mother who gave her name as Darla, who also recently cut ties with Penthouse Club. Like other dancers The San Francisco Examiner spoke with for this story, she asked to maintain anonymity for fear of retaliation.

People walk by the Penthouse Club on Broadway in North Beach on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

Club owners say the changes are costing them as well.

A sign posted mid-October in the dancers’ dressing room at the Gold Club in the South of Market neighborhood said the club “felt that it was protecting your right and freedom to be an independent contractor.”

“However, as a result of the lawsuits and ongoing demands by the suing dancers and their attorneys, the club is now being compelled by Court order to eliminate the independent contractor option and require all dancers to become the club’s employees,” the sign read.

Axel Sang, marketing director of BSC, confirmed in an email to the Examiner that the dancers were formerly contractors but are now “club employees being paid an hourly wage and commission on dance sales.”

“The BSC-managed clubs now have matching payroll taxes, unemployment compensation, workman’s compensation, Healthy San Francisco costs, Affordable Care Insurance costs, and SF sick leave pay for several hundred new employee entertainers in addition to the hourly wage,” he wrote.

He estimated that 200 dancers have quit their jobs since the change came down at BSC clubs, including Penthouse and Gold Club and said that the change has “dramatically affected the business and the profitability,” costing the clubs “several million dollars” a year.

“A substantial reduction in the number of entertainers performing as well as the substantial increased payroll and other costs makes it very difficult to generate profits,” Sang said.

The California Supreme Court decision pushing the changes in the business came out of a lawsuit brought by two drivers for Dynamex, a same-day delivery and logistics company that converted its drivers to independent contractors in 2004. Under the ruling, workers may now be considered employees if they perform work within the usual course of the company’s business, said David Peer, a labor attorney in Carlsbad who has written about the Dynamex ruling.

“If you are running a strip club, you would think that the dancers are performing work within the usual course,” Peer said. “If the club owners want to play it safe, they should certainly be paying minimum wage and following the wage and hour rules that most organizations follow when they hire an employee.”

Lawsuits alleging improper classification of exotic dancers predate the Dynamex ruling, according to Harold Lichten of Lichten & Liss-Riordan, a Boston law firm representing Uber drivers who claim the rideshare company misclassified them.

Silhouettes of exotic dancers outside Centerfolds on Broadway in North Beach on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

“When you improperly characterize someone as an independent contractor you don’t have to pay social security tax, unemployment tax, minimum wage or overtime,” Lichten said, adding that the incentives were “incredibly great” for companies to “misclassify people because they were saving so much money at the workers’ expense.”

Lichten said the Dynamex ruling became leverage in ongoing litigation against Uber, and noted that it should also come as a benefit to the dancers, who now are now eligible for the protections afforded to all employees.

“The concern is that some companies may lower the amount they pay them to make up their losses,” Lichten said. “That would be unfortunate. But on balance, it’s much better to be an employee because you have legal protections.”

However the dancers interviewed by the Examiner said that while they are now entitled to minimum wage, benefits and the option to unionize, the reclassification has done more harm than good.

“Not one of those girls had a check for two weeks over $300. There was a lot of upset. A lot of girls packed up to leave that night. I was one of those girls,” Darla said.

“I can go work at McDonald’s for $15 an hour, and not take off my clothes, and not put up with the crap I put up with as a dancer,” Darla added, noting that all of the Penthouse dancers “have considered leaving.”

The vast majority of the strip clubs in San Francisco — 10 out of 12 — are owned or managed by BSC Management. The only exceptions are the Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre and The Crazy Horse.

Sang said the company is not paying dancers more than minimum wage because they “are paid commissions on dance sales which in most cases far exceed the hourly wage.”

Neon signs for adult entertainment clubs light up along Broadway in North Beach on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

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But dancers said the commission structure for private dances has also been significantly cut.

Policies can vary for each club, but before the reclassification, dancers said if they arrived to their shift early enough they would keep 75 percent of their dance sales — which is where they made the majority of their money.

A dancer at the Gold Club, who asked to be called Mary, said it had been common for dancers on average to sell around $1,000 in dances a shift and keep $750.

Under the new commission structure at the Gold Club, however, dancers said they keep none of the first $150 they sell in private dances, 40 percent of the next $250 they sell, and 60 percent of sales beyond that.

Some dancers said they must also pay a $100 fee for renting the private room.

Dancers at the Gold Club said they now walk away with only $60 on the first half-hour private dance they sell.

“When I make a customer pay $400 and I see $60 of it, it isn’t computing for me,” Mary said. “We want to do our job, and previously our business was to sell dances. And we still need to make living. But at the same time, where is the incentive?”

Some dancers also feared being classified as employees would mean not being able to pick and choose which customers to serve.

Joe Carouba, an owner of BSC, declined to speak with the Examiner for this story because of pending litigation. But in a deposition he gave in October in connection with a lawsuit filed by Olivia Doe, he said he “firmly believed” dancers should be independent contractors so they can assert more control over which customers they will and won’t serve.

“I think they should control their own sexuality, they should control their own bodies,” he said. “The difference there being, of course, if you’re an employee, you don’t have a choice who you perform for, as an independent contractor you get to choose how you perform, whom you perform for, and what level you’re comfortable at.”

Dancers said many of them were poorly informed and caught unaware when the new contracts were rolled out.

Jane said she was one of the first Penthouse dancers to sign the new contract amid confusion, and wasn’t given a copy or time to review it.

At the Gold Club, Mary said management called dancers into the office in the middle of their shifts, still dressed in bikinis and eight-inch heels, and told them to look at a new contract on a computer screen and immediately sign it. Some dancers had been drinking during their shift, she said.

“We were given no opportunity to look at the contracts or have paper copies beforehand,” Mary said. “There’s really been no communication, no transparency.”

Sang denied the allegations, and said cameras were installed to protect the clubs from legal challenges over the new contracts.

“Signs were posted clearly that the areas were under video and audio surveillance. Each contract signing on video and audio clearly shows each entertainer was required to fully read the contract before signing,” Sang wrote in an email. “On camera, each entertainer was clearly given a copy of the contracts that they signed.”

Dancers said morale has plummeted at clubs across The City. Many are unhappy with how management announced and rolled out the change, but fear losing their jobs if they complain.

Because BSC has a virtual monopoly on San Francisco strip clubs, dancers said if they are blacklisted at one club, they are afraid they won’t be able to work anywhere else in The City.

While dancers across the country have sued clubs saying they should have been classified as employees instead of independent contractors, those who spoke with the Examiner said not everyone wants to be an employee. There are advantages to being independent contractors — so long as they are actually treated as contractors.

Mary said being treated as a contractor would mean being able to negotiate dance fees with clients directly rather than have the club set prices, and to pick which dates and times to work. Previously, as contractors, dancers could pick which days to work, but not which hours.

“Contractors should have autonomy,” she said.

An often-touted perk of being an employee is access to benefits, such as health insurance. But to qualify, employees must work enough hours to be considered full-time — which isn’t practical for most people dancing at a strip club. Dancers said even working three days a week is physically exhausting.

“You do what you need to do to maintain your boundary while making sure they have a good time. It takes a lot of emotional labor to do that,” Mary said. “I don’t think people realize that’s the most difficult part of our job. It’s not really talked about in the public perception of stripping.”

The drastic pay cuts and availability of cheap flights have pushed some dancers to seek work outside of San Francisco, traveling as far as Las Vegas and Reno one or two nights a week while continuing to live in The City.

“Girls are scrambling to find a job to fit their lifestyle or even make ends meet,” Jane said.

The post New guidelines for contractors have sudden penalties for The Metropolis’s strip golf equipment | San Francisco Information appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

“So many of my friends told me I was crazy for moving to San Francisco — it’s unsafe, it’s filthy, it’s going down the tubes,” she said. “My experience has been the opposite. The beautiful neighborhoods, vibrancy and positivity — that message isn’t getting out there.”

Bobby Pierce and his wife, Leanne, are raising their toddler, August, in the Richmond District, a San Francisco neighborhood popular with families for its proximity to Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach and eclectic shops. Mr. Pierce, who grew up in rural Ohio, said people there like to criticize San Francisco for its fentanyl deaths, homelessness and economic struggles, even though those problems exist everywhere, including Ohio.

“When I was growing up, the meme of San Francisco was that it was this ungodly gay place, and before that, it was hippies,” said Mr. Pierce, 36. “It’s never had a nationally savory reputation, I suppose, which is maybe what draws me to it.”

James Falino, 28, a consultant for environmental nonprofits, said he moved to San Francisco from New York five years ago for its relaxed vibe, proximity to nature and thriving L.G.B.T.Q. communities. But when he visited New York over the summer and the topic of San Francisco came up, he immediately felt defensive.

When people learned where he lives now, they responded with a facial expression that he described as “aghast.”

Then came a whispered, “Are you OK?”

“I am,” he assured them. Again and again.

The post San Francisco Residents Bored with Metropolis’s Damaging Status appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Other high-profile losses include Whole Foods, Amazon Go, and Office Depot. The shrinking retail scene has contributed to a general real estate slump as large tech companies have also downsized, with the city estimated to have 18 million square feet of empty office space as of June.

However, despite the talk of San Francisco’s “doom loop,” many businesses have chosen to stay — and some are even moving into the Golden City’s vacant downtown storefronts.

The brands expanding and moving in

“As a new neighbor in the community, we are working to contribute and create a comfortable and welcoming environment,” a spokesperson for Ikea US told Insider, adding that Ikea has had stores in the Bay Area since 2000.

They continued, “We are excited to strengthen our presence in San Francisco and intend to test and try different formats to meet the needs of our San Francisco consumers for many years.”

Chanel is also making moves in downtown San Francisco. The luxury fashion brand moved from a smaller location in the city after purchasing a three-story building at 340 Post Street, across from Union Square, for $63 million, the Real Deal reported. Chanel did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Its parent company, Gap Inc, has been closing other locations in San Francisco. These include its downtown Old Navy site in July and its Athleta store on Sutter Street. But this isn’t unique to the city. The clothing giant has been shutting stores across the country in a bid to cut costs as it grapples with declining sales.

A spokesperson for Gap told Insider that the company was committed to San Francisco and had deep roots there.

“It’s where we were founded and the region where thousands of our team members still live and work today,” they said.

“We recently invested in renovating our Downtown San Francisco hub where our teams come together to develop new consumer experiences and product innovations. As part of that remodel, we opened four new stores at our headquarters,” they added.

AI boom boosts city

Fintech startup Brex decided to close its San Francisco office and switch to remote working during the pandemic but reopened a San Francisco location earlier this year to cash in on the opportunities offered by the AI boom.

“Our cofounder and co-CEO, Henrique Dubugras, was really excited by what he saw as going on in the Bay Area with regards to AI and how big of an opportunity it was going to be,” Michael Tannenbaum, Brex’s COO, told Insider. “So we wanted to get closer to that.”

He said that the sheer density of talent and innovation in San Francisco meant the city remained an ideal place for startups to develop.

“It’s a forward-thinking town,” Tannenbaum said. “It’s always been somewhere where a lot of trends have started – it’s just a place where ideas can get off the ground.”

Angela Hoover, the CEO and cofounder of Andi, an AI search-engine startup, moved the company to San Francisco earlier this year.

“Andi was initially based in Miami, which has a growing, vibrant startup scene. But increasingly, the heart of AI seemed to be beating in the Bay Area,” she told Insider.

The move has been enormously beneficial for the company, Hoover said, as it allowed Andi to accelerate its product development and has made hiring easier.

“It was a great decision,” Hoover said. “For an AI startup, there’s no better place to be right now than in San Francisco.”

The post These retailers are bucking the pattern and opening shops in San Francisco regardless of the town’s ‘doom loop’ appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

• Some retailers are fleeing San Francisco as fears grow over rising crime and a worsening economic environment.
• Nordstrom, Whole Foods, and Anthropologie have all closed locations in the city in the past year.
• Many retailers are staying put and are even expanding their presence.

San Francisco is in the middle of a retail exodus.

The city has seen a number of high-profile businesses close locations in recent months, as fears over crime, soaring rents, and a worsening economic environment have grown.

The most recent exit was Nordstrom, which closed the doors of its five-story department store in Westfield San Francisco Centre in August, citing falling foot traffic and the “changing dynamics” of downtown San Francisco.

Other high-profile losses include Whole Foods, Amazon Go, and Office Depot. The shrinking retail scene has contributed to a general real estate slump as large tech companies have also downsized, with the city estimated to have 18 million square feet of empty office space as of June.

However, despite the talk of San Francisco’s “doom loop,” many businesses have chosen to stay — and some are even moving into the Golden City’s vacant downtown storefronts.

The brands expanding and moving in

Swedish furniture chain Ikea opened a new branch in San Francisco’s Mid-market area in August, occupying a 52,000-square-foot location as part of its strategy to open smaller stores in city centers.

“As a new neighbor in the community, we are working to contribute and create a comfortable and welcoming environment,” a spokesperson for Ikea US told Insider, adding that Ikea has had stores in the Bay Area since 2000.

They continued, “We are excited to strengthen our presence in San Francisco and intend to test and try different formats to meet the needs of our San Francisco consumers for many years.”

The entrance of Ikea’s new San Francisco store. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Chanel is also making moves in downtown San Francisco. The luxury fashion brand moved from a smaller location in the city after purchasing a three-story building at 340 Post Street, across from Union Square, for $63 million, the Real Deal reported. Chanel did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Another French luxury brand, Yves Saint Laurent, doubled its space in Union Square last year by leasing three floors of the I. Magnin & Co. building. The move came despite luxury stores in downtown San Francisco being targeted by a series of high-profile robberies.

And luxury jewelry brand Van Cleef & Arpels opened its first standalone location in Union Square in 2022.

A Banana Republic store at Gap’s San Francisco headquarters. Jay Watson

Other chains, such as Banana Republic, are downsizing but staying in the area.

Its parent company, Gap Inc, has been closing other locations in San Francisco. These include its downtown Old Navy site in July and its Athleta store on Sutter Street. But this isn’t unique to the city. The clothing giant has been shutting stores across the country in a bid to cut costs as it grapples with declining sales.

A spokesperson for Gap told Insider that the company was committed to San Francisco and had deep roots there.

“It’s where we were founded and the region where thousands of our team members still live and work today,” they said.

“We recently invested in renovating our Downtown San Francisco hub where our teams come together to develop new consumer experiences and product innovations. As part of that remodel, we opened four new stores at our headquarters,” they added.

AI boom boosts city

AI startups are giving San Francisco a much-needed boost. The city is home to 11 of the top 20 AI companies in the US, data from VC firm NFX, which was shared with Insider, showed. Many of these companies are hunting for office space.

Fintech startup Brex decided to close its San Francisco office and switch to remote working during the pandemic but reopened a San Francisco location earlier this year to cash in on the opportunities offered by the AI boom.

San Francisco skyline. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

“Our cofounder and co-CEO, Henrique Dubugras, was really excited by what he saw as going on in the Bay Area with regards to AI and how big of an opportunity it was going to be,” Michael Tannenbaum, Brex’s COO, told Insider. “So we wanted to get closer to that.”

He said that the sheer density of talent and innovation in San Francisco meant the city remained an ideal place for startups to develop.

“It’s a forward-thinking town,” Tannenbaum said. “It’s always been somewhere where a lot of trends have started – it’s just a place where ideas can get off the ground.”

Angela Hoover, the CEO and cofounder of Andi, an AI search-engine startup, moved the company to San Francisco earlier this year.

“Andi was initially based in Miami, which has a growing, vibrant startup scene. But increasingly, the heart of AI seemed to be beating in the Bay Area,” she told Insider.

The move has been enormously beneficial for the company, Hoover said, as it allowed Andi to accelerate its product development and has made hiring easier.

“It was a great decision,” Hoover said. “For an AI startup, there’s no better place to be right now than in San Francisco.”

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The Scarlet Sage Herb Co., a nearly 30-year-old small business, has found itself on the verge of closure just three months after reopening in a new location in San Francisco’s Fillmore District.

According to owner Laura Ash, onerous city bureaucracy has dried up a key source of the business’ revenue: bulk dried herbs.

Earlier this month, the San Francisco Department of Public Health issued a cease-and-desist order to the store, prohibiting Scarlet Sage from selling herbs until it fulfills the requirements for a food permit. 

Having joined the company as an employee in 2009, Ash took over as owner in 2015 and has operated Scarlet Sage since then. The store is known for its focus on wellness, holistic medicine and witchery. Think tarot cards, healing crystals and sacred talismans. 

After a 28-year run on Valencia Street in the city’s Mission District, the store moved to its new location at 1903 Fillmore St. earlier this summer. Ash said a number of factors spurred her to relocate, including low foot traffic, increasing crime and difficulties renegotiating a lease with her landlord. 

After a pricey build-out, Scarlet Sage opened its doors in July. Business in the new location was slowly picking up just as the store was hit with what Ash called “an existential threat.” 

A Department of Public Health inspector visited the location in response to a complaint that scoops were being washed in the bathroom sink. Ash noted that the bathroom is currently the only source of running water available in the store, and the utensils were taken out to the herb table for further sanitizing and drying.

In Scarlet Sage’s previous location, a hand-washing sink outside the bathroom was used to clean utensils. Ash said the business was in the process of saving the funds necessary to add a similar appliance in the new location.

Ash said when she explained her situation, she was told to get an official food permit, the same as any restaurant, bar or bakery. That would require tens of thousands of dollars in additional costs as well as the inclusion of a food prep sink, a mop sink and a three-compartment sink. 

“We’re not heating or preparing food, and what they’re asking for us to do is pay $20,000 to $100,000 to comply by getting a general contractor, preparing an architectural drawing and adding five sinks,” Ash said.

She estimated the store is losing about $1,000 a day from the halt in sales. Although herbs make up only around 10% of the store’s total revenue, they serve as a gateway to bigger-budget purchases. Many customers often leave after seeing that the herbs are no longer for sale, Ash said.

The Department of Public Health confirmed to The Standard that its staff had recently inspected Scarlet Sage, which resulted in a notice to cease and desist food handling of “open (non-prepackaged) food” and to apply for a health permit. In other words, the department considers Scarlet Sage on par with any other business that serves food.

Ash said she has around two weeks of funds left, so she’s readying a fundraising effort to keep the store open as she works out a permanent solution. In the meantime, Ash said she’s working with the city to obtain a permit to package the herbs in her home kitchen.

“I’m asking for time, resources and support to comply with these new laws,” Ash said. “Let’s work on a solution together. That’s how we move forward.”

The public health department said it offered education first and will work directly with Scarlet Sage on its options, such as temporarily renting a commercial kitchen space to handle and package the merchandise and transport it back to the store for sale.

Some small-business owners are warily watching this play out and debating the idea of categorizing herb stores as restaurants. Kenny Lau, an herb store owner in Chinatown and the chairman of the Chinese Herb Trade Association of America, estimated that 90% of the herb stores in Chinatown do not have an independent sink outside of the bathroom.

“Some of the old buildings in Chinatown are not feasible to make the changes,” Lau said in Cantonese. “And a sink would cost at least $20,000.”

Lau acknowledged that certain sanitation rules should be followed to the letter of the law. But herb stores should not be required for any special permit unless they are importing rare herbs from overseas, he said.

The health department explained that it did not target Scarlet Sage but is required to investigate complaints received with respect to potential health code violations.

Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents the district where Scarlet Sage is located, said he’s aware of the issue but has not heard back from the health department for further clarification.

“My office is committed to helping small businesses recover from the pandemic,” Preston said. “[The department] should be more forthcoming about their enforcement priorities and reasons for demanding costly changes at a time when small businesses are struggling to survive.”

Ash agreed with Lau and argued for a new category for businesses like hers—one that would include herbal medicine shops, tea shops and bulk candy retailers—to balance public health protections with the realities of operating a small business.

“For me, this is a survival story, and it’s not been easy,” she said. “This is a whole other level of bureaucracy that I’ve never seen before.”

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• Representatives for the California force are currently on a recruitment drive, visiting four Texas colleges 
• It comes after the police department had funding cut, causing them to pay out high amounts of overtime 
• San Francisco is currently experiencing high numbers of homelessness and open drug use 

San Francisco is trying to recruit cops from Texas as it faces a shortage of officers, after businessman Marc Benioff slammed the city’s homeless and drug problems.

The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) is visiting four Texas university campuses throughout the month as part of a new recruitment drive. 

Candidates from outside of the state of California will take a written test, a physical ability test and an interview to see if they make they cut.

A police spokesperson told the San Francisco Standard that the number of estimated applications this year is 2,104, nearly a 20 percent increase from 1,756 last year.  

The recruitment push comes as the department faces staffing issues, causing them to pay out high amounts of overtime. 

Representatives for the California force are currently on a recruitment drive, visiting four Universities in Texas As part of the move, the SFPD are visiting four Universities, with the poster for Sam Houston State seen here The four Texan universities are Texas Southern University, Sam Houston State University, Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

The Standard reported that between 2017 and 2022, cops spent $88.9 million more on its employees, despite working fewer hours. 

The four Texan universities are Texas Southern University, Sam Houston State University, Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. 

Following widespread calls for reforms that swept the national following the murder of George Floyd, the department in the California city had their funding cut. 

Mayor London Breed was one of the first to openly speak out in support of defunding the police.

During a July 2020 press conference, Breed said: ‘We chose to change how this city and how this country treats our young Black men.’

Breed announced $120 million would be cut from the police and sheriff’s departments to reinvest in programs that help black and brown communities.

The following year, Breed u-turned on the decision and increased the police budget as the city faced a rampant rise in property crime and looting. 

At the time, she said: ‘More aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerant with all the bulls*** that has destroyed our city.’

Mayor London Breed speaks during the celebration of the 9th Annual Chinatown Night Out in San Francisco, California, United States on September 6, 2023 Latest figures up until Sunday show that there have been more homicides so far this year, than the whole of last year

Last year the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a $50 million increase in SFPD’s budget.

Latest figures up until Sunday show that there have been more homicides so far this year than the whole of last year. 

So far, there have been 40 murders in the city in 2023, while there was just 36 last year. 

Likewise, the number of robberies in the city is also higher now than for the whole of last year, with 1,989 reported incidents this year, compared to just 1,704 last year.  

The number of total crimes this year is also closely catching up with last years full total, with 36,573 crimes committed this year, compared to 37,674 in 2022.

It comes after Salesforce Inc. CEO Marc Benioff said that he had pushed officials in the city to clean the place up before the company’s annual conference. 

AI convention Dreamforce, which draws 40,000 people from around the world according to the company, was held in the city last week. 

During a press event on Wednesday, Benioff said: ‘We put a lot of pressure on the city this year. It looks great. It’s very safe right now. We’re moving in the right direction.’

Benioff, 58, held the event at the Moscone Center, which is in an area that is currently facing issues including homelessness, crime and open air drug markets, according to Kron4.

Benioff also posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: ‘San Francisco has been incredibly clean, beautiful, and safe for the last 3 days of Dreamforce.

‘It is great that the city is able to put its best foot forward for this major event that brings in 40K people from around the world, and $80M to the economy.

‘It is important to ask why the city cannot be this clean and safe every single day?’

Salesforce Inc. CEO Marc Benioff, pictured here, said he had pushed officials in the beleaguered California city to clean the place up The AI convention, which draws 40,000 people from around the world according to the company, was held in the city over the past few days

Benioff had previously warned that the company could pull the large scale convention from the city due to the ongoing problems it is facing.

He told The San Francisco Chronicle: ‘If this Dreamforce is impacted by the current situation with homelessness and drug use it may be the last Dreamforce.’

Mayor London Breed responded to Benioff’s claim that Dreamforce made the city’s transformation possible.

She told ABC7 News: ‘It’s not just because of Dreamforce. There are other conventions. This is what we do for every convention that comes to SF.

‘My pushback is San Francisco changing. Things are getting better.’

Despite this, Mayor Breed did concede that some areas of the city, particularly the Tenderloin and South of Market, did still present challenges. 

The city has struggled for years with rampant fentanyl use and fatal overdoses, and is on pace for its deadliest year yet.

More than 849 people are expected to die of drug overdoses in 2023, on pace to exceed the current record of 720 deaths in 2020

In the first five months of 2023, preliminary reports show there were 346 overdose deaths in the city – an increase of more than 40 percent from the same period in 2022.

Latest figures show that overdose deaths are continuing to rise, soaring in August with an additional 84 deaths, 66 involving fentanyl.  

Economists have warned the city is spiraling into an ‘urban doom loop’ – a vicious circle of interconnected trends and forces that send cities into economic and social ruin.

Over the past few months, dozens of retailers announced they would be vacating the downtown area of the city.

Drug addicts and the homeless congregate in the Tenderloin District of the California city Open drug use is now common in the city, something which the police are cracking down on San Francisco Police have attempted to shut down open-air drugs markets in the hard-hit Tenderloin and SoMa areas of the city. Pictured: 64-year-old Deliada Valdez who has been homeless for four years is seen in Tenderloin District of San Francisco, California, United States on August 28, 2023

Retail stalwart Old Navy announced they would be shuttering their flagship store in the area last month, becoming the latest chain to exit the city.

Nordstrom also announced they would be closing all of their locations in the city.

The company said that due to the ‘changing dynamics’ of San Francisco it would be shuttering all remaining stores in the next few months.

In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing all their locations, with Anthropologie and Office Depot having also made the same decisions.

High theft has proved a problem in the area recently, with a Walgreens in the city center resolving to chaining their freezers to stop shoplifters.

A map reveals the major businesses which have left, or plan to leave, San Francisco in recent months

A disturbing recent report showed 95 retailers in downtown San Francisco have closed since the start of the COVID pandemic, a decline of more than 50 percent.

Out of 203 retailers open in 2019 in the city’s Union Square area, just 107 are still operating, a drop of 47 percent in just a few pandemic-ravaged years.

One Target store in the city has been forced to lock up more of its products to stave off thieves.

An employee at the location previously said it was being robbed as often as ‘every ten minutes.’

Video footage of another Target has been shared on social media and shows large quantities of their stock now behind barriers.

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(J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — Ask a rabbi about self-driving cars and you’d better be ready for a long answer.

Self-driving cars — also known as robotaxis, autonomous vehicles or driverless cars — with their whirring sensors and their odd, almost tentative movements, have become a familiar sight on the streets of San Francisco.

Familiar they might be, but not without controversy. With local incidents of self-driving cars trying to drive into active fire zones, stalling en masse and even crashing into a fire truck this month, reports of autonomous misconduct have been plentiful. Regardless, the California Public Utilities Commission in mid-August expanded commercial robotaxi service to daytime hours in San Francisco for GM’s Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo autonomous vehicle divisions. City officials are opposed to the expansion, citing safety and other concerns.

And yet the all-electric fleets offer intriguing Shabbat possibilities — not least for observant Jews who traditionally refrain from driving and using electricity on the day. So what do local rabbis say?

“As an Orthodox Jew, in order to evaluate new realities, they are going to try and understand how they work and categorize them within already existing precedent in Jewish law,” said Rabbi Joel Landau of Adath Israel, an Orthodox synagogue in San Francisco.

There is one existing piece of technology that might offer a clue, he said. It’s the Shabbat elevator, which automatically stops and opens its doors at each floor, negating the need to press a button. 

It may seem that an autonomous vehicle, if pre-programmed, could possibly meet the same requirements as a Shabbat elevator. But Landau said it’s not that simple.

“Not everyone is happy with a Shabbat elevator,” he said.  

Many elevators make adjustments based on the weight of the passenger, he said, which negates their neutrality, so to speak. By contrast, a running escalator or moving walkway might be OK.

If self-driving cars react to a passenger’s weight or position, that alone might rule them out for Shabbat use among observant Jews. The same is true if riders would need to activate anything to start the ride. Landau said he’s sure the technological know-how to make a Shabbat-compliant autonomous electric car could be developed. He’s just not sure it should be.

The issue of driving on Shabbat was addressed in the Conservative movement back in the 1950s when rabbis allowed driving to synagogue for services as Jews moved into the suburbs and lived too far from shul to walk. Still, the movement does not encourage driving on Shabbat.

“The ideal is that one does not drive on Shabbat and that people live close by to their Jewish communities — to walk to synagogue, share meals, raise families,” Rabbi Amanda Russell of Congregation Beth Sholom, a Conservative synagogue in San Francisco, wrote in an email to J.

But not everyone can reach that ideal, she said. “We know that to be in community on Shabbat, many people have to drive.” 

But what about self-driving robotaxis? Would they be better than driving?

“Funny you should ask about this,” Russell said. “These cars have become a small topic of conversation at Beth Sholom, simply because they are taking up precious parking spots in the early morning for daily minyan and on Shabbat!”

Annoyance aside, Russell said the question comes down to the way the cars operate, what they are used for and whether they undermine the spirit of Shabbat. If “pre-arranged and prepaid,” she said, self-driving cars could be “more ideal” on Shabbat than someone driving even an electric car.

So how do self-driving cars really work? Could they really be Shabbat-compliant?

To put it simply, an autonomous car is equipped with an array of sensors and imaging devices, including cameras and LIDAR, which is the spinning device atop the cars that uses light to measure distance. While GPS helps the car map its route, it’s all those sensors that help the car navigate a chaotic street environment.

Right now, riders access the cars through apps on their phones, but pre-arranging a robotaxi pickup is possible. 

“To make it permissible, one would want to make the arrangements before Shabbat: pickup and drop-off locations, payment, etc.” Russell said. “That would prevent the passenger from having to use their phone, any ride-share-related technology and any form of money, all of which are prohibited on Shabbat.”

Russell and Landau both said that focusing on keeping the spirit of Shabbat is a crucial guide. Landau said that even if self-driving cars can technically be used — an assumption that hasn’t been truly tested yet — he doesn’t believe that most observant Jews will tap on the Waymo app a few minutes before sundown on Friday.

“Not everything you could do, you should do,” Landau said. 

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