All good things come at a price, and when they're as meticulous, wonderful and small as the Astolat Dollhouse Castle, they should. The astonishing vision, meticulous preparation and incredible items (over 10,000) of the 29-room, 800-pound dollhouse justify the hefty $8.5 million price tag. The seven-level masterpiece was created by artist Elaine Diehl around 1980 and unveiled in 2015. It took no less than 13 years to complete and was estimated at the time to be worth over $2,000 per square inch.

Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
That makes this 9-foot-tall dollhouse castle more expensive than a fully furnished 4-bedroom, 6-bathroom, 4,000-square-foot home in San Francisco, and that's just how much money you'd have left over to buy a Tesla even after buying the house, according to the Zillow listing.

Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
It may not be a livable space, but it's definitely a stunning one. The tiny objects and rooms of the world's most expensive dollhouse will make you feel like you're Alice in Wonderland. What first catches the eye is the historic exterior of a property that takes its name from the castle in “The Lady of Shalott,” a 19th-century ballad by Alfred Lord Tennyson, according to Bloomberg.

The rooms are illuminated by working chandeliers. Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
One can't help but marvel at details like fountains, topiary, and a grand arched entrance with ornate columns. And that's just the outside facade. What lies beneath is truly amazing. Details such as armor, a $5,000 silverware set, artwork, paintings and gemstone collections in the extravagant rooms showcase the talent of the carpenters, goldsmiths, glassblowers and silversmiths.

Experienced carpenters and artists have crafted the incredible miniatures. Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
Although all rooms are luxuriously appointed with features such as real parquet floors, hand-stitched tapestries, marble bathrooms and gold trim, it is the library that captured my heart.

Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
This outstanding area contains tiny books with real printed pages that can be read under a magnifying glass. In the library, one can (if one really tries) find a Bible that is said to be one of the smallest in the world. Notable items kept here include a $2,500 fold-out secretary bookcase and a miniature Hebrew Torah valued at up to $2,500.

Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
Expensive items include a miniature grand piano valued at $7,000, a midget Jeep 949 station wagon valued at over $3,300, and a miniature portrait valued at nearly $2,000. It was apparently so small that it had to be painted with a single bristle brush.

Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
Of the seven floors containing regular rooms like the main parlor, dining room, bedrooms and butler's quarters etc, the sixth floor was the most exciting with the grand ballroom, musician's alcove, bar area and living rooms. At the very top of the multi-million dollar miniature house was a wizard's tower with fascinating details like astronomical displays and zodiac signs, a telescope and an observatory.

Image – Astolat Dollhouse Castle
These are just a few examples of the dedication and excellence of the 29-room home, which was unveiled to the public in 2015 to benefit the nonprofit organization Autism Speaks and a selection of other children's charities. The exhibition was hosted by the Nassau County Museum of Art. “The castle is so valuable because of its structure,” said Paula Gilhooley, the museum's curator. She added, “Astolat is one of the most beautiful miniature structures in the world and exhibits a rare combination of sculpture, artistry, engineering and detail that sets it apart from anything that has existed before. Astolat is a tremendous feat of construction and when you see it you will be absolutely speechless.” The museum-quality dollhouse was acquired by collector L. Freeman in 1996 and moved to the Nassau County Museum of Art.

The living area of ​​the house for sale in Francisco. Image – Zillow.

The post 13 years within the making, this extremely detailed miniature dollhouse is price greater than a completely furnished 4-bedroom residence in San Francisco. The home has 27 absolutely wired rooms adorned with chandeliers, gold plated chairs, books, oil portray even the bogs have purposeful plumbing. appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Far fewer home buyers are leaving the San Francisco Bay Area than they were during the height of the pandemic, a report from Redfin showed on Tuesday.

When Covid hit the U.S. and office workers were forced to work remotely, people left San Francisco in droves, flocking to metro areas with lower costs of living. But now, as many Bay Area tech companies return to in-office work, home buyers are leaving the area at a slower rate.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the net outflow of home buyers was down 13% annually, according to Redfin. Additionally, the number of buyers looking to leave the Bay Area was down almost 50% from the September 2021 peak of the pandemic-driven moving boom. 

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“The news says it’s a ghost town, but restaurant reservations at foodie hot spots are impossible to get, and Dolores Park is packed on the weekend with residents and tourists,” Ali Mafi, a San Francisco Redfin Premier agent, said. “With the big boom in AI and many tech companies requiring in-person work, San Francisco is as alive as ever. Homes are getting multiple offers, and I see the market getting more competitive as the year goes on.”

The Bay Area fell below Los Angeles to No. 2 on the list of metros home buyers nationwide are looking to leave during the fourth quarter, marking the first quarter in more than two years that it wasn’t in the No. 1 spot. This list is determined by new outflow, which Redfin defines as the measure of how many more home buyers are looking to leave a metro area than move to it.

The slowing net outflow of home buyers in the San Francisco area is partially due to a number of residents choosing to stay put, especially as major tech companies, like Apple, Google and Meta, are requiring their workers to return to office, according to the report. 

At the height of pandemic remote work, many Bay Area home buyers left for the more affordable areas of Sacramento and Austin, Texas—last quarter, the flow of buyers moving from San Francisco to those two metros dropped about 25% year over year. 

In addition, San Francisco home prices have dropped ever so slightly—the median sale price is still about $1.3 million, near its lowest level since early 2019.

The post San Francisco Is Making a Comeback as Fewer Residence Consumers Are Leaving for Different Metros appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Far fewer home buyers are leaving the San Francisco Bay Area than they were during the height of the pandemic, a report from Redfin showed on Tuesday.

When Covid hit the U.S. and office workers were forced to work remotely, people left San Francisco in droves, flocking to metro areas with lower costs of living. But now, as many Bay Area tech companies return to in-office work, home buyers are leaving the area at a slower rate.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the net outflow of home buyers was down 13% annually, according to Redfin. Additionally, the number of buyers looking to leave the Bay Area was down almost 50% from the September 2021 peak of the pandemic-driven moving boom. 

“The news says it’s a ghost town, but restaurant reservations at foodie hot spots are impossible to get, and Dolores Park is packed on the weekend with residents and tourists,” Ali Mafi, a San Francisco Redfin Premier agent, said. “With the big boom in AI and many tech companies requiring in-person work, San Francisco is as alive as ever. Homes are getting multiple offers, and I see the market getting more competitive as the year goes on.”

The Bay Area fell below Los Angeles to No. 2 on the list of metros home buyers nationwide are looking to leave during the fourth quarter, marking the first quarter in more than two years that it wasn’t in the No. 1 spot. This list is determined by new outflow, which Redfin defines as the measure of how many more home buyers are looking to leave a metro area than move to it.

The slowing net outflow of home buyers in the San Francisco area is partially due to a number of residents choosing to stay put, especially as major tech companies, like Apple, Google and Meta, are requiring their workers to return to office, according to the report. 

Redfin

At the height of pandemic remote work, many Bay Area home buyers left for the more affordable areas of Sacramento and Austin, Texas—last quarter, the flow of buyers moving from San Francisco to those two metros dropped about 25% year over year. 

In addition, San Francisco home prices have dropped ever so slightly—the median sale price is still about $1.3 million, near its lowest level since early 2019.

The post San Francisco Is Making a Comeback as Fewer Dwelling Consumers Are Leaving for Different Metros appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

San Francisco – Raw sewage overflows since January 2017 at the San Francisco’s main 850 Bryant St. jail are making prisoners sick, according to a class action lawsuit asking for $150,000 or more in damages filed July 30 against the City and County of San Francisco, the Sheriff and other law enforcement personnel.

The raw sewage spill was reported in the District Attorney’s Office in January 2017 but not in the jail.

“Inmates who have come into physical contact with the sewage have developed skin rashes … intestinal problems, lung problems, breathing problems and headaches. Inmates have slipped and fallen on the sewage and slippery floor, injuring themselves and then contracting skin rashes,” according to Bay Area civil rights lawyer Yolanda Huang, who filed the action on behalf of at least seven named inmates.

In addition to the City and County of San Francisco, also named are Sheriff Vicki L. Hennessy, Undersheriff Matthew Freeman, Chief Deputy Sheriff of Custody Operations Paul Miyamoto and other San Francisco Sheriff’s Office officers, deputies and employees.

The prisoners, who are in “A-Block,” are locked inside their cells 24-7 and spend no more than three hours a week outside those cells, which have been hit by regular, frequent and ongoing sewer backups, causing sewage, feces, urine and other bio-hazardous materials to spew out from the toilets. The sewage sometimes just overflows; other times the backup is explosive and sprays.

Raw sewage overflows since January 2017 at the San Francisco’s main 850 Bryant St. jail are making prisoners sick, according to a class action lawsuit asking for $150,000 or more in damages filed July 30 against the City and County of San Francisco, the Sheriff and other law enforcement personnel.

According to Ms. Huang, when sewage backflows out of the toilets, inmates are required to yell “Water!!” and sheriff’s deputies need to unlock a closet and shut off the entire water system for at least A Block. The prisoners claim the water shut-off affects other blocks as well.

Then inmate workers use blankets to sop up the sewage. These inmate workers are not provided with face masks and are usually provided nothing more than gloves.

“Once the wet blankets are removed, the inmates who live in these cells are usually required to clean the floors … Supplies provided inmates are inadequate, do not disinfect and are provided for limited time periods … The floors and furniture inside these cells are never truly disinfected. The foul smell and odors are pervasive. During this entire period, prisoners are forced to remain in their cells (and) forced to eat in their cells while there is sewage on the floors.”

Ms. Huang said that even after much of the sewage is sopped up and removed, the water remains turned off. Inmates cannot use the bathrooms and have no water to drink. Even during hot days, inmates are forced for long periods of time to be without water. Access to the bathroom is not usually provided, and inmates are forced to hold their bladder and bowels, including those with prostate problems.

Attorney Yolanda Huang

Inmates often lose personal property and canteen items when the sewage wets their property. Inmates have no choice, due to the danger of bacterial and viral contamination, but to throw their belongings out, losing hundreds of dollars of canteen items.

“Being forced to live in this unsanitary, disgusting, nauseating, offensive and outrageous situation is creating severe hardships for the prisoners … Some have developed severe psychological stress, including extreme despair and suicidal ideation,” said Ms. Huang.

The claimants are asking that the “unconscionable situation (that) has existed for an extensive period of time,” be corrected immediately by the City and County, and they are asking for damages of at least $150,000 for physical injuries, emotional stress and loss of personal property damaged by the sewage spills.

Attorney Stanley Goff files second suit

A second suit on behalf of more of the sickened prisoners was filed by attorney Stanley Goff on Aug. 12, 2018. His suit provides more information on the constantly recurring toxic waste spills San Francisco prisoners have been forced to endure for nearly two years.

While District Attorney Gascon’s offices in the same building were professionally cleaned and disinfected and the plumbing problem repaired, the much worse raw sewage spills in the jail that prisoners must live with 24/7 have been ignored. The Goff suit reports the following in its Statement of Facts:

“On Jan. 3, 2017, there was a plumbing malfunction at 850 Bryant St., the Hall of Justice in San Francisco. The faulty plumbing caused raw sewage and other hazardous toxins to flood the floor in the Hall of Justice that contains the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

“The City’s immediate response to this flooding was to evacuate the District Attorney’s Offices until the flooding was stopped and a Hazmat crew properly cleaned and properly disinfected the area.

“Subsequently, plumbers contracted by San Francisco placed a ‘trap’ device into the pipes at the Hall of Justice, which prevented the District Attorney’s Office from being subjected to that type of flooding again.

“However, this ‘trap’ device caused the sewage pipes to ‘back up’ and flood the jail area inside the building (County Jail #4 or CJ4).

A second suit on behalf of more of the sickened prisoners was filed by attorney Stanley Goff on Aug. 12, 2018. His suit provides more information on the constantly recurring toxic waste spills San Francisco prisoners have been forced to endure for nearly two years.

“From that time period in the beginning January of 2017 to the present, raw sewage floods have occurred almost every day and at times occur three times a day affecting inmates housed in the A-Block portion of CJ4. …

“These floods have occurred in the middle of the day and at times in the middle of the night when the plaintiffs are trying to get their rest.

“When the raw sewage floods occur, on average, there is between a half-inch and an inch and a half of raw sewage through the entire 8-foot-by 20-foot living space in the plaintiffs’ A-Block cell.

“The plumbing in plaintiffs’ A-Block cell was such that when a toilet in the cell was flushed, sewage would back-flow into the toilet and raw sewage would overflow on the floor of the cell. When the raw sewage floods occur, the plaintiffs are able to observe visible pieces of fecal matter and used toilet tissue in the water.

“When the floods occur, deputies turn all running water off on the entire floor for several hours at a time. During these periods of no running water, the plaintiffs are forced to hold their urine and bowels, causing extreme pain and discomfort for hours at a time.

“The beds in the plaintiffs’ A-Block cell do not have a storage shelf, so the plaintiffs are forced to place their personal belongings, such as books, hygiene products, commissary food items and court documents, on the floor under their bed areas. When the raw sewage flooding occurs, these personal items belonging to the plaintiffs are almost always severely damaged – contaminated – and destroyed.

“When the raw sewage flooding occurs, the plaintiffs are forced to use their own personal bedding materials (jail issued blankets) to soak up the sewage, and are not given any protective gear such as Hazmat suits or masks to clean up the sewage or provided with proper disinfectant agents to adequately sanitize the contaminated areas.

“As a result, the plaintiffs’ A-Block cell consistently smells of human feces, urine and other sewage materials. Pursuant to jail policy, the plaintiffs are forced to eat all of their meals in their A-Block cell so they are forced to endure these hazardous fumes and nauseating smells while eating.

“Due to the direct exposure to the raw sewage emanating from these constant floods, the plaintiffs have developed intestinal problems, are having difficulty breathing and have been suffering from constant headaches. …

“The plaintiffs have notified defendants [the City, Sheriff and other jail authorities] and/or other Sheriff Deputies in writing of the unsanitary and dangerous conditions caused by the raw sewage flooding and have submitted numerous grievance forms giving the defendants notice of these hazardous and or dangerous conditions.

“Despite plaintiffs’ written and verbal notices to defendants, the horrendous and dangerous conditions in the plaintiffs’ A-Block housing area have never been properly addressed by the defendants and continue to this day.

“The plaintiffs filed a timely government claim against defendants pursuant to California Government Code §910, et seq. The plaintiffs’ claims were subsequently rejected by San Francisco on July 17, 2018.” Suits could be filed only after the claims were rejected.

Stanley Goff, left, accompanies client Daryle Washington at the Hall of Justice in 2015.

The Goff suit calls for compensatory, general and punitive damages.

San Francisco’s main jail, on the top floors of a downtown building, is seismically unsafe and has chronic problems with rats, cockroaches and asbestos as well as raw sewage flooding. But a vigorous “No New Jail” campaign, which the Bay View strongly supported, defeated plans to replace it.

The jail population, which is 57 percent Black in a city that is 3-5 percent Black, needs to be reduced through the elimination of racist policing and bail, and the city has other jail facilities. When the plan to replace the jail was defeated, then-Supervisor now Mayor London Breed said, “850 Bryant needs to come down, but more importantly we need to tear down the system of mass incarceration it represents.”

Attorney Yolanda Huang can be reached at 510-329-2140 or yhuang.law@gmail.com and attorney Stanley Goff can be reached at 415-571-9570 or scraiggoff@aol.com.

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On this version of Hot off the Wire:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hospitals and health care systems are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to help summarize doctors’ notes and analyze health records. But a new study led by Stanford School of Medicine researchers cautions that popular chatbots are also perpetuating racist, debunked medical ideas. That is prompting concerns the tools could worsen health disparities for Black patients. Powered by AI models trained on troves of text pulled from the internet, chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard responded to the researchers’ questions with a range of misconceptions and falsehoods about Black patients, according to the study published Friday in the academic journal Digital Medicine.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A novel program in Tennessee aims to interest more Black and other minority medical students in organ transplants, to help ease troubling disparities. Six students from Meharry Medical College spent the summer shadowing specialists at Tennessee Donor Services for hands-on lessons in recovering organs, matching them to recipients — and the empathy needed to work with grieving families. Thousands die awaiting a transplant because there aren’t enough donated organs and some don’t get a fair chance, including Black Americans. Whatever their career paths, the students say they plan to educate others about organ donation.

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A pediatricians’ group is warning powdered drink mixes known as “toddler milks” are unregulated, unnecessary and nutritionally incomplete. The drinks are marketed for older babies and toddlers up to age 3. The American Academy of Pediatrics says the products often contain high amounts of added sugar and salt. A trade group for the manufacturers of the products say the drinks could fill nutritional gaps. Experts say babies and toddlers older than age 1 should eat a balanced diet of solid foods and drink breast milk, fortified whole cow’s milk and water.

PARIS (AP) — Bedbugs go wherever people go, and they have become a nightmare haunting France for weeks. The government has been forced to step in to calm an anxious nation that will host the Olympic Games in almost nine months — a prime venue for infestations of the crowd-loving insects. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called a meeting of ministers for Friday to tackle the bedbug crisis. The country’s transport minister, Clement Beaune, met this week with transportation companies to draw up a plan for monitoring and disinfecting — and to try to ease what some have called a national psychosis inflamed by the media.

PARIS (AP) — The “Mona Lisa” has given up a secret. Scientists used X-rays to peer into the chemical structure of a tiny speck of the celebrated work of art. They came up with a new insight into the techniques used by Leonardo da Vinci when he painted his portrait of the woman with the enigmatic smile. Research published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Chemical Society says the oil-paint recipe he used as his base layer had a distinctive chemical signature. A rare compound in Leonardo’s first layer of paint suggests the famously inventive Italian Renaissance master may have been in an experimental mood when he started the “Mona Lisa” early in the 16th century.

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In recent years, a certain narrative has emerged about San Francisco politics — that the famously liberal city is drifting to the right.

There’s some evidence to suggest that the electorate is also moving to the right. In 2022, city voters recalled progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who sought to reduce incarceration, and, a few months later, voted to keep his replacement, moderate District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, in office for three more years.

These actions make it seem like the city’s moderate and conservative voices are gaining power and influence, and data on voter registration somewhat supports this notion. The Republican share of San Francisco voters has increased slightly in recent years, from 6.4% in February 2019 to almost 6.9% as of September 2023.

Yet the narrative should be viewed with caution. Despite this slight bump in registered Republicans, San Francisco is still dominated by Democrats, whose numbers have also increased in past years.

The growth in both parties comes at the loss of independent voters and registrants of other political parties, suggesting the rise in Republicans is less indicative of the city shifting to the right and more a result of increasing levels of partisanship and a nationalization of local politics, according to political experts.

As of September 2023, nearly two-thirds of San Franciscans were registered as Democrats and 29% were independents or voters registered with other parties. The remaining roughly 7% were registered Republicans.

Moreover, the 0.4 percentage-point growth in registered Republicans between 2019 and 2023 represents just 2,800 individuals in a city of more than 500,000 voters. The resulting 2023 share of about 7% is also lower than the 10% it constituted in 2010. Still, even a small increase is a cause for excitement for some Republicans.

“The stop in the slide is significant,” said San Francisco Republican Party Chairman John Dennis. “The fact that we’ve consistently grown over the last five years.”

The biggest change in party identification over the last decade happened between 2019 and 2020, when the share of independents and other party registrants fell by nearly 6 percentage points and was almost entirely captured in the growth among Democrats.

The rise in the Democratic share in 2020 represented Democratic opposition to Trump, said San Francisco State University political science Professor Jason McDaniel. More Democrats, he said, may have felt inclined to register and vote in 2020 compared with previous elections.

In California, no-party-preference voters can typically participate in Democratic primaries even without registering with the party, as long as they request a ballot. It’s possible some voters didn’t know that and registered as Democrats to vote in the 2020 primary, said political researcher Ruth Bernstein from EMC Research. That would explain a similar, but less extreme, jump in Democratic registration between 2015 and 2016.

But unlike what followed after 2016 — a gradual decline in the Democratic share — the Democratic numbers post-2020 remained high and coincided with increases in Republican registration as well.

McDaniel attributes this to increased polarization and a growing inability to remain independent. “Partisanship gets at all aspects of our lives,” said McDaniel. “Being independent of politics is less possible these days.”

More coverage: Looking ahead to the 2024 election

The small, but notable, change in registered Republican voters varied across supervisorial districts. The Republican share in District 11, which includes the Excelsior, Ingleside and Outer Mission, grew from 5.5% in 2019 to 7.8% in September 2023 — an increase of 2.3 points, the largest among the 11 districts.

District 2, which includes the Marina and Pacific Heights, was once the most Republican district in the city by a large margin. But over the past decade, the Republican share has fallen steadily. It still has the largest share of Republican voters, but just barely. District 4, the Outer Sunset district, is close to overtaking District 2 as its Republican numbers have increased by 1.7 points since 2019.

District 11, which had the largest Republican increase, is among the six odd-numbered districts that have supervisor races next year. With District 11 supervisor Ahsha Safaí running for mayor in 2024, two candidates are currently running for the seat.

District-level changes in party registration may be affected by redistricting, a once-in-a-decade event when the city redraws district lines to balance the city population. During the last cycle, entire neighborhoods moved districts, which may have significantly impacted the makeup of voters. For example, District 5 lost the progressive Inner Sunset and added the more moderate Tenderloin.

Still, the changes in Districts 2 and 11 seem to reflect the national reconfiguration of the Republican Party post-2020, when Trump captured more blue-collar voters and wealthier people went more for Democrats. District 2, where Democrats made the largest gains since 2019, has relatively high household incomes and high education levels among its residents, while District 11, where the Republican share increased most, includes residents who are typically less educated and less affluent.

“We’re seeing a microcosm of that in San Francisco,” said the GOP’s Dennis. “Folks living in the less expensive neighborhoods (like District 11) are not as likely to fall for the propaganda from the New York Times and CNN, and they saw how the economy looked during Trump.”

The GOP believes the city’s rising Republican share is a result of existing voters, exasperated by Democratic leaders’ inability to solve city issues, switching over, according to Dennis.

However, it’s unclear whether the registration changes are a result of voters switching parties or residents moving in and out of the city. It could also be from people dying or younger people reaching voting age.

An issue for Republicans is that even in a place like District 11 where the GOP made inroads, Democrats actually gained more registered voters in absolute terms; it’s only on a relative basis that Republicans grew faster. In fact, there was no supervisorial district in which Democrats didn’t gain more voters than Republicans since 2019.

The recent changes in registration are unlikely to significantly impact election outcomes, according to political experts.

“I doubt it’s enough to swing a race,” said McDaniel. “If we were talking about changes like this in a more purple area, then, yes, these margins might matter. But I don’t think they will have much of an effect in San Francisco.”

Reach Nami Sumida: nami.sumida@sfchronicle.com

The post Are Republicans making a comeback in San Francisco? In all probability not appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has in recent weeks teamed up with wealthy donors in posh Upper East Side penthouses and West Coast decks adorned with flower arrangements and flags. He’s hosting two more fundraisers in New York on Thursday, capping a quarter-end lightning campaign that his team believes will give him a solid financial footing for a competition they expect to set new spending records.

Friday’s events are Biden’s 9th and 10th fundraising receptions of the past two weeks, numbers achieved by Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Biden’s campaign team hasn’t commented on how much it raised at the often impromptu events, but it does exude confidence about the size of the donation before announcing the July 15 deadline.

The president is also calling on the entire Democratic Party to scramble for dollars, and is asking for help from aspiring politicians and governors in the process. Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois, as well as more established figures like former President Barack Obama. Obama will be featured in a new Biden campaign video Thursday, designed to encourage small-dollar donations online ahead of Friday’s donation deadline. Allies insist the party stands firmly behind him despite polls showing the Democratic base’s enthusiasm for the 80-year-old president is lagging behind.

“I’ve been doing this for a number of presidents and presidential candidates for a very long time,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul, Democratic mega-donor and co-chair of Biden’s campaign. “I’ve never seen the Democrat enterprise get off the ground like this from top to bottom, from President Obama, governors, senators, congressmen, just down the line — he’s had excellent support.”

Aiders say they try to encourage donors — particularly small donors — to dig deeper early.

The latest attack is also a consequence of Biden’s day job, Katzenberg said, adding that “his first, second and third job is to rule the country.” Biden’s trips abroad in April and May and the week-long showdown over raising the country’s debt ceiling kept him in Washington. And Biden will travel to Europe next month, giving the campaign a tight window to adjust to donor events ahead of the historically slow summer season.

While the first quarter is widely viewed as a gauge of campaign strength, Katzenberg said there is “no urgency right now” for Biden to raise or spend large sums because he lacks a credible primary threat and the election is 16 months away. Nevertheless, Biden wants to make a mark with the first totals.

Katzenberg said there are “very optimistic signals” that the Biden campaign could significantly exceed its fundraising in 2020, including a high number of first-time Biden donors. Other campaign workers and allies have grown more optimistic about the forthcoming haul.

A far less reticent Biden is seen at the presidential fundraisers, which the press has limited access to and cameras don’t show, than the public often sees. The President sometimes uses them to test a new campaign line or to make more candid remarks than at formal events.

He usually starts at a lectern, but often uses his favorite handheld microphone, which allows him to move around the room and speak more directly to guests.

Biden often nods personally to hosts — at a fundraiser at the New York home of Greek shipping magnate George Logothetis in May, Biden noted that the lessons he learned from his family as a child were no different than “if my mother was ‘Bidenopoulos ‘ instead of ‘Finnegan’.”

Though his advisors make a point of not dwelling on potential 2024 adversaries, Biden often doesn’t shy away from criticizing those aspiring to the Republican presidential nominee at these events.

“I was stunned by the damage the last government has done to us on an international and global scale. “I mean, I was amazed at how deep it goes,” Biden said during a fundraiser in Chevy Chase, Maryland Tuesday night.

His criticism does not only apply to his predecessor.

“Did you ever think you’d ever go through a period where another team’s second-biggest contender bans books?” Biden said in a veiled reference to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a fundraiser earlier this month in Greenwich, Connecticut.

When a baby squeaked while Biden spoke to donors about the Republicans in Chicago on Wednesday, the president spontaneously said, “I don’t blame you, kid.”

His sometimes rambling remarks are full of anecdotes about his long tenure in public office, peppered with references to issues of concern to Democrats, such as stricter gun controls and abortion rights. But on a smaller scale, where cameras are banned, the president can speak out, such as making a rare reference to his personal views on abortion when speaking on the issue at a separate Chevy Chase fundraiser Tuesday.

“I’m a practicing Catholic,” Biden said. “I’m not a big fan of abortion, but guess what? Roe vs. Wade got it right.” At the same event, he misinterpreted the war in Ukraine and instead referred to Iraq.

Last week, Biden sparked a round of diplomatic storm and stress from Beijing after calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” at a fundraiser – just hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Xi to defuse tensions. Biden insisted the epithet would not affect the relationship – although others in his administration specifically refused to repeat it.

“He wants to shake hands with everyone and chat with everyone,” Katzenberg said. “If something is on his mind, he says it – and that makes him authentic.”

Last week in the San Francisco area, his fundraisers seemed to prove his point that the US economy favors the rich. He attended events near homes whose Zillow price lists were about four times the lifetime earnings of the average US worker.

“Mr. President, believe me, this is a fancy crowd,” Newsom said at an event amid polite laughter. “I know these people.”

The president still tries to make connections to a working-class past even as he outlines big issues like climate change, relations with China and the fate of democracy.

“How many of you are from smaller towns in the Midwest?” he asked. “You know what happened when the factory closed. The soul of the community is lost. No joke.”

Biden’s campaign team breaks with the level of transparency the Obama campaign sought during his tenure as vice president and does not share the total amount raised at a single event.

“The campaign will share its fundraising numbers when we submit our FEC application next month,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement, referring to the Federal Elections Commission. “We are heartened by the strong response we are seeing from donors and our grassroots supporters, including a significant number of new donors since 2020, who support the President’s agenda of restoring democracy, freedom and growing the economy through the growth of the support the middle class.”

He added, “While MAGA Republicans debate extreme, divisive and unpopular policies in their primary, we make sure we have the resources to conduct an aggressive, victorious campaign.”

___

Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Josh Boak contributed to this report.

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California Highway Patrol Sgt. Ryan Burns was leaving a routine drunk-driving bust on Polk Street Monday when a beat-up Chevy Camaro two blocks away started racing through the Tenderloin. 

One of Burns’ motorcycle officers had tried to pull the driver over for a flat rear tire and heavily tinted windows, and instead of stopping, the driver gunned it.

“Start me a second unit!” the officer yelled over the radio. Burns hit the gas to join the chase and the driver careened to a stop several blocks later on Gough Street. The officer wedged his bike at the car’s front window, whipped out his pistol and pointed it at the driver’s face, yelling, “Show me your hands!” 

Burns’ partner, Officer Andrew Barclay, dashed over, saw something in the driver’s mouth and ordered him to spit it out. Out flew a tightly folded dollar bill filled with what looked like crack cocaine. Two San Francisco police narcotics officers who happened to be nearby arrested the man for drug possession and evading police. 

The scene outside of CHP Sergeant Ryan Burns car in the Tenderloin in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 12, 2023.Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Traffic stops like this are what CHP officers said they’re hoping will tamp down the rampant, open-air drug trade in San Francisco in a coordinated federal, state and local push that began May 1. That’s when Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed six to 10 CHP officers a day to patrol the Tenderloin and South of Market and 20 California National Guard analysts to gather intelligence for drug-trafficking investigations.

But the crackdown has brought questions, including whether arrests can make a difference in a crisis driven by addiction and whether it’s appropriate to turn loose CHP officers not subject to the city’s oversight. 

In the first six weeks of the operation, the CHP seized 5.5 kilos of drugs and made 92 felony and misdemeanor arrests for alleged crimes related to possession of fentanyl and illegal guns, driving under the influence and domestic violence, among others, the governor’s office said Wednesday.  

The biggest change has been in drug arrests. Citywide data from the District Attorney’s Office analyzed by The Chronicle shows that CHP officers presented 12 narcotics arrests to the D.A. in May alone — more than the total number they’d presented over the past 12 months combined.

CHP officer Arellano finds drugs wrapped in a dollar bill which was discovered in the car of a man who was trying to flee from CHP on Gough Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 12, 2023.Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

To do so, state law enforcement officers are employing an old-school investigative technique that San Francisco wants to limit its own police from employing. CHP officers told The Chronicle they can pull people over for minor infractions like broken tail lights or overly tinted windows — something Barclay, who is a public information officer, likened to fishing.

“You start there and work your way up through information you learn,” he said. “That’s why it’s important to make these stops.”

The San Francisco Police Commission, supported by reform advocates, voted in January to restrict local officers from making so-called pretextual stops, pointing to data showing that such stops cost significant police time and money, seldom prevent crime, and disproportionately target people of color. 

The policy is not in effect yet because it’s tied up in negotiations between the city and the police officers’ union, said police commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone, who authored the policy. 

Carter-Oberstone told Police Chief Bill Scott in a commission meeting on May 3 that he was concerned that CHP officers conducting traffic enforcement related to narcotics “sounds a lot like pretext stops.” Scott, who does not oversee the CHP deployment, responded that “we have not asked them, nor do we expect them to go out and do pretext stops.” He said the CHP was aware of the city’s pending policy and added, “I don’t think the commission will be disappointed with that piece.”

CHP officer M.Garcia (center) arrests a man for a DUI in the Tenderloin in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 12, 2023.Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Carter-Oberstone questioned the efficacy of focusing on pretextual stops given that “every high quality and respected study on this issue has shown that pretext stops are an incredibly inefficient way to discover contraband.”

A Chronicle analysis conducted last year found that from mid-2018 to mid-2022, SFPD officers were 10.5 times as likely to stop Black people than white people for low-level pretextual infractions. 

Barclay, however, said the technique as used by the CHP is deployed carefully — and has been effective. “We don’t racially profile,” he told the Chronicle. “We don’t look at people. We look at violations, and we can have a lot of reasons to stop people.” 

A spokesperson for Newsom, Izzy Gardon, said in an email that CHP officers’ ability to use pretextual stops was “absolutely not (a) factor” in calling them into the city. Gardon said Newsom’s intention was to “crack down on crime linked to the fentanyl crisis, hold the poison peddlers accountable, and increase law enforcement presence to improve public safety and public confidence in San Francisco.”

Evan Sernoffsky, a spokesperson for the city police force, said Wednesday, “The SFPD is working with the Police Commission to implement a policy restricting pretextual stops. In general, our policies do not apply to other law enforcement agencies.” 

Mayor London Breed, who asked Newsom for help to combat drug dealing, said when the deployment was announced that the intention was to do “something different,” enforce accountability and send a strong message to criminals “holding communities hostage.” 

Breed supported the move to limit San Francisco police using pretextual stops, in which police use minor offenses to search for other criminal activity, but not an outright ban on pulling drivers over for various relatively minor traffic infractions, arguing that would jeopardize safety. Her office did not respond Wednesday to whether she supported the CHP using pretextual stops to enable drug busts. 

CHP officers have seized more than 4.2 kilos of fentanyl in the Tenderloin and the surrounding neighborhoods, along with 1.3 kilos of meth, cocaine and heroin combined, the governor’s office said. The Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that at least 2 mg of fentanyl is potentially lethal, meaning the amount seized could have killed 2.1 million people. 

“I’m proud of the CHP and CalGuard’s lifesaving efforts to shut down the Tenderloin’s poison pipeline and hold drug traffickers accountable,” Newsom said in a statement. “These early results show promise and serve as a call to action: we must do more to clean up San Francisco’s streets, help those struggling with substance use, and eradicate fentanyl from our neighborhoods.”  

Neither CalGuard or CHP have said how long they would be deployed. CHP said it has used existing resources from the San Francisco office for the operation and is supplementing regular patrol duties with staff from its Golden Gate division. 

Despite an increase in enforcement, residents, business owners and people who use or sell drugs told The Chronicle they have yet to feel much of a difference on the streets. The head of a federal task force working on the operation told the Chronicle that seeing the first improvements would take at least a year’s worth of work. 

Scott told The Chronicle last week that CHP’s presence “is disruptive to people committing crimes.” 

He also said the CHP’s help has freed up his officers to enforce Breed’s new push to arrest some drug users under public intoxication laws in an effort to get them into treatment — a tactic decried by many health experts as ineffective and harmful to people with addiction. The CHP was training his officers on how to recognize people under the influence last week, Scott added. 

“The fact that they’re here gives us a little bit more flexibility to do this type of work,” he said. “It’s very helpful.”  

The governor’s office did not provide a breakdown of CHP arrests within SoMa and the Tenderloin alone. But data from the District Attorney’s Office, which includes all arrests presented by CHP to the D.A. citywide for possible charging, shows the CHP presented more drug arrests than in past years.  

The CHP’s citywide arrest count of 75 in May isn’t historically high: Before the pandemic, the agency regularly presented that many or more arrests in a month to the D.A.’s office.

Johnny Harris, who uses fentanyl and lives outside, told The Chronicle in late May that the CHP has been visible in Tenderloin hotspots where he buys his drugs, but that the officers’ presence hasn’t made a difference. 

“They’re not really messing with us,” he said between puffs of his drug, adding that he can always tell undercover cops by their nice dress shoes. 

He said the ramped-up patrols won’t prevent him and his street cohorts from simply dispersing their groups when the CHP or police roll or walk by, then reassembling when the coast is clear.

“Not a chance in hell they’ll make a difference,” he said. “They would have to kill everybody to stop the drug trade around here. This is the most God-less place in the world.”   

Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents the Tenderloin, said that “nobody wants folks dealing drugs out there,” but doesn’t believe that sweeps of street-level dealers will make a dent without addressing demand. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents SoMa, welcomed more policing geared at trying to shut down open-air drug markets. 

Residents and business owners interviewed by The Chronicle reported uneven impacts, with fewer dealers on some blocks and more on others. 

“This is definitely an added resource for the city, for the police department, and I’m really happy that this is happening. However, the issue and the challenges are still here,” said Azalina Eusope, owner of Azalina’s restaurant on Ellis Street and a member of the Tenderloin Business Coalition that prompted Breed to add police in the neighborhood this year. 

“I know everybody is doing the best that they can. I just hope we can just buckle down and continue the effort. With that, hopefully we’ll see some results. I have faith,” Eusope said. 

Tracey Mixon, a longtime Tenderloin resident and organizer with the Coalition on Homelessness, an advocacy group, said she noticed fewer dealers on Eddy Street last week. 

“It was the first time where I was able to walk places and not hear, ‘Mama, what you need? ’ she said. ‘That was finally a little bit of changing, but not a whole lot is going to change, because they have been selling drugs out here for years.’  

Mixon doesn’t want dealers to bother her or her 13-year-old daughter, but as a Black woman, she said she has been concerned about being racially profiled by law enforcement. 

Both Mixon and Del Seymour, a business owner and founder of nonprofit Code Tenderloin, called the CHP deployment a “dog and pony show.” Seymour said he’d seen patrols ramp up and dealers and users moving as far north as Post Street, above Geary Street, but didn’t believe it would change the drug trade. He did, however, support state coordination to go after high-level drug suppliers. 

CalGuard has sent 14 analysts to the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force, and later in the month sent another six to the San Francisco Fentanyl Task Force. 

Major General Matthew Beevers told The Chronicle CalGuard has assembled thousands of pages of analytics on drug networks in San Francisco. The guard’s role is to assemble a detailed schematic of who’s dealing dope where, how and to whom in San Francisco — so authorities can then crush that network. 

Northern California HIDTA Director Mike Serna said people are coming from all over the Bay Area to buy drugs in San Francisco and estimated the number of dealers at “hundreds.” In order to squash the drug trade, he said, “we have to continue the push for years.” 

CHP officers said they’re leaving it to analysts to determine if they’re making a difference. But, as Barclay said: “Personally, I’d like to think we have.” 

Reach Mallory Moench at mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com; Susie Neilson at susan.neilson@sfchronicle.com; and Kevin Fagan at kfagan@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @KevinChron

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• A radio DJ in California’s Bay Area has disappeared after making a chilling final post on his Instagram page
• Jeffrey Vandergrift has been missing since Thursday night. The caption of a post he wrote in August 2022 was edited shortly after his disappearance
• “Thank you for a wonderful life filled with joy, laughter, pain and struggle,” the post reads, along with a picture of Wild 94.9 radio host Vandergrift

A Bay Area radio DJ has disappeared and may have left a chilling final message for his fans and loved ones in the wake of his disappearance.

Jeffrey “JV” Vandergrift, 54, host of the JV Show on radio station Wild 94.9, was last seen at his home in San Francisco around 10 p.m. Thursday.

A post on Vandergrift’s official Instagram account dated August 20 was recently edited to change the caption to the past tense, in which he thanks his listeners and says he’s had a good life.

“Thank you for a wonderful life filled with joy, laughter, pain and struggle.” It’s been a great journey. “Your support and prayers meant the world,” the caption reads.

His listeners, friends and family are now asking the public to help find him and bring him home.

Jeffrey “JV” Vandergrift, 54, host of the JV Show on radio station Wild 94.9, was last seen at his home in San Francisco around 10 p.m. Thursday. Officials have described Vandergrift as “vulnerable” and are urging anyone who may have information about his disappearance to come forward. After his disappearance, fans pointed out that the Wild 94.9 host had edited an Instagram caption to be past tense used, and thanked the fans for their years of love and support

According to his Twitter account, the post was originally shared to mark National Radio Day.

“It’s #NationalRadioDay. I know who cares!!?” Been at 94 since 94. Wow that’s a long time!! “I am very grateful to each of you who have been with me on this journey,” he wrote at the time.

Since he edited the post and disappeared, the comments section has evolved into a place for his fans and loved ones to send him love and support in hopes that maybe he sees it.

“Dear JV. You are loved. “We are all praying for you and thinking of you,” one person wrote.

“We are all praying for you and thinking of you.” Sometimes it’s nice to just get away and clear your head, but we’re worried about you,” said one commenter.

“JV… Listen to your listeners.” We’ve been listening to you since the 1990s. Now it’s your turn to listen to your audience. You are so loved!! We still need more than 40 years of listening to you on the radio! “I pray for your safe return to your family,” wrote another fan.

“Hey buddy, come home.” We miss you and love you bro. At least tell us you’re safe,” another person said.

Fans also gathered outside iHeart Radio San Francisco station over the weekend to leave flowers and messages of support for Vandergrift and his colleagues.

San Francisco police ask for help locating Vandergrift. The San Francisco radio DJ who disappeared last week said he was suffering from mysterious brain problems just hours before he disappeared from his home. Fans also gathered outside station iHeart Radio San Francisco weekend to leave flowers and messages of support for Vandergrift and his colleagues

Natasha has remained silent about her husband’s disappearance as she works closely with investigators.

She is a former Playboy model and actress who appears on DJ’s radio show. The model was frequently featured in various advertisements for Target, Sony and Marriott.

Her current focus is on her Instagram account, where she showcases model photos and her figure to her 2 million followers.

JV and Natasha tied the knot in 2006 after a three-year relationship. They renewed their wedding vows later in 2017.

The couple quickly bonded over various projects including producing their shows, The Dog House Comedy Show.

While the two thrived in the spotlight, JV took a brief hiatus in 2021 after being diagnosed with Lyme disease, according to The Sun.

Vandergrift, here with his wife Natasha, in a photo posted to Instagram

San Francisco Police Department officials released a statement last week urging the public to keep an eye out for the “vulnerable” man.

In a statement released by Vandergrift’s radio station, his colleagues said they were worried sick for him and were working with police to get him home.

“We are deeply concerned, and we know you are, that our own joint venture has been reported missing by the SFPD,” Wild 94.9 said in a statement.

“We are working closely with them and his wife Natasha, who is also a dear friend and member of the WiLD 94.9 family.” it further in the statement.

Vandergrift is described as a white male, six feet tall, 180 pounds, balding, and brown eyes.

According to police, he has multiple tattoos, including those on his arms and above his right ear, and was last seen wearing black sweatpants.

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Park Hotels & Resorts, the operator of two of San Francisco’s best-known hotels, is handing over the keys to the properties — essentially abandoning a city that’s falling on hard times.

Park Hotel has halted payments on a $725 million loan related to the Hilton Union Square and Parc 55, the Real Estate Investment Trust said Monday. The hotels, just blocks from the Moscone Center’s once-busy conference hall, have nearly 3,000 rooms in total.

A slowing economy and a thunderclap of remote work have emptied offices across the country, and there are warnings of a ticking bomb in the commercial real estate market. Downtown San Francisco has been hit hard by a wave of tech layoffs and a sharp decline in Moscone’s conference schedule.

“We believe more than ever that San Francisco’s path to recovery will be marred and lengthened by major challenges” that will reduce demand for business and leisure travel, said Thomas J. Baltimore Jr., general manager of Park Hotels & Resorts.

The company previously warned investors not to weigh options for the loan, telling analysts last month that the properties made a small contribution to its 2023 guidance.

Park Hotels & Resorts shares rose more than 2 percent on Tuesday. The company’s portfolio includes 46 hotels, including Hiltons in Chicago, Honolulu, Midtown Manhattan and San Diego.

The sudden departure of Park Hotels & Resorts raises concerns others may follow suit. San Francisco relies heavily on business travel, which has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. JPMorgan Chase brought back its annual healthcare conference this year, but other events have been postponed, including VMWare’s technology conference.

Not everyone gives up. “We’re not writing San Francisco off,” James Risoleo, chief executive officer of Host Hotels & Resorts, parent company of the Marriott Marquis San Francisco, told analysts in May.

“I worry about how the market is doing compared to 2019 and what’s happened with the layoffs in the tech world and things like that and the return to office in that market is really lagging behind the rest of the country,” he said . “But it’s the center of technology and will be the center of artificial intelligence when the world returns.”

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