For nearly 15 years, Amour Vert focused most of its business in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the company was founded by two entrepreneurs who believed that clothing needed to be more environmentally friendly.

But the women's fashion company, which describes itself as “French-inspired design, California-natural style,” is ready to conquer Southern California, with several stores set to open in the area next year. At the same time, Amour Vert is moving its headquarters from San Francisco to the heart of Los Angeles' fashion district, leasing space in The New Mart, a historic building that houses contemporary clothing showrooms and the biannual Designers and Agents trade show.

“It's a strategic realignment to maximize our opportunities,” said Dominique Mikolajczak, who was named CEO of the company last year after spending more than three years on the board. “Southern California is a fashion hub and Northern California is a technology hub.”

Amour Vert just opened its first Southern California location in Long Beach, in a relatively new open-air mall in the coastal city 30 miles south of LA. The mall, known as 2nd & PCH, is located on Pacific Coast Highway, with a massive Whole Foods Market as its anchor and several trendy shops, including Lululemon, Johnny Was and Free People.

This growing retail offering will soon be joined by stores in the Irvine Spectrum, a massive outdoor mall in Orange County, and in San Diego at the Westfield UTC shopping center. This summer, Amour Vert will open a store in Manhattan Village in the affluent Manhattan Beach neighborhood, where homes sell for at least $2 million.

Next year, the sustainable clothing and accessories label, most of which are priced under $300, will open a store in Westfield Topanga, adjacent to the affluent Calabasas and Hidden Hills neighborhoods where the Kardashians live.

At an Amour Vert store. Courtesy: Amour Vert

Before entering the Southern California market, Amour Vert had seven stores, all in Northern California, except for one store in Chicago. It seems logical that Southern California, just down the road, would be the next step in retail. However, moving the headquarters from San Francisco to LA is a dramatic move after years in Northern California, where residents have long supported environmentally friendly efforts to combat climate change.

This shift south is part of a restructuring and re-orientation of the company, which began with the creation of a cleaner logo and the redesign of stores with a more elegant look and neutral colors instead of wood-heavy elements. Additionally, fashion styles will feature finer details and higher-quality craftsmanship to enhance the look, made from recycled cashmere, linen, repurposed cotton waste, sustainable silk and upcycled fabrics.

By being based in LA, Amour Vert is closer to its fulfillment center, which is an hour east of downtown. Much of Amour Vert's clothing now arrives at the Port of Los Angeles, as apparel production has moved overseas from Northern California. Currently, about 80 percent of production is done in factories closer to fabric suppliers. For example, the recycled cashmere items added last year are made in China, and the linen styles introduced last summer are made in India. Other production locations include Portugal and Turkey.

Dominique Mikolajczak. Courtesy of Amour Vert.

With its offices in the New Mart, Amour Vert hopes to capture more wholesale opportunities as store buyers visit the building, which has more than 100 showrooms. And it will be closer to the country's largest garment manufacturing center, which employs more than 40,000 factory workers.

Amour Vert was founded by Christopher Frehsee and Linda Balti at a time when there weren't many sustainable fashion lines. Balti came up with the idea after reading that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting in the world, second only to the oil industry. Her first collection consisted of five pieces that combined her love of French fashion with the casual vibe of California, with a label whose name means “green love” in French.

The founders are no longer with the company. Currently, Amour Vert's lead investor is Greenwich, Connecticut-based Emil Capital Partners, which has tapped Mikolajczak to take the company to the next level. While the CEO is expanding the label's retail arm to Southern California, he is thinking about one day opening stores in other areas of the country. “Retail has made a huge comeback after the pandemic. I think people wanted to go out and experience things,” Mikolajczak said. “We continue to see this extremely strong retail trend, which encourages us to accelerate our expansion.”

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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

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By Erika Morphy

October 23, 2023 at 07:35 AM

This is not to downplay the problems the neighborhood is facing.

At the end of August, Ikea opened a store in Downtown San Francisco, bucking the stream of retailers fleeing this once much-desired urban neighborhood. Specifically, the three-level, 52,000-square-foot store became the anchor tenant for a new mixed-use development that will also feature office, restaurants and entertainment. The opening wasn’t necessarily a show of support by Ikea for the beleaguered city although it has certainly raised hopes among local officials that the new store will lead to more traffic downtown. Rather, Ikea’s new San Francisco location is part of a larger expansion plan in the U.S. in which it will showcase smaller stores in urban areas instead of the suburbs where it has typically gone. The San Francisco store was among the first to open.  

But the local officials may well be on to something with their hopes for Downtown. A recent report from CBRE also points to reasons for guarded optimism for the neighborhood: Economic rent, which is average rents multiplied by the occupancy rate, is up 26% from the early 2022 trough, it said. 

In fact, there are glimmers of a retail recovery in many  outlying San Francisco neighborhoods, such as the Mission District, where economic rent is up slightly from pre-pandemic levels, it said. Meanwhile, the recovery is even further along in San Mateo, Brisbane and other residential communities along the Peninsula. “This likely reflects home-based workers spending less on Market Street and more at neighborhood cafés,” it said. It may be that that dynamic will change – the Ikea store, for example, is located on Market Street and CBRE said it was possible it would be a harbinger of better times ahead.

None of this is to downplay the serious problems San Francisco retail is facing. Many marquee names have left the area and CBRE notes that “the combination of crime and remote work has driven many young, affluent and highly mobile workers from Downtown San Francisco, taking a heavy toll on retail districts like Union Square.” Retail economic rents in Downtown San Francisco are currently down 14% from 2019 levels, it also observed. 

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Target said Tuesday that it will close nine stores in four states, including one in New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood, and three in the San Francisco Bay Area, saying that theft and organized retail crime have threatened the safety of its workers and customers.

The closings, which will be effective Oct. 21, also include three stores in Portland, Oregon, and two in Seattle. Target said that it still will have a combined 150 stores open in the markets where the closures are taking place. It said it will offer affected workers the opportunity to transfer to other stores.

The Minneapolis retailer said the decision to close the stores was difficult.

“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” Target said in a statement.

Target said it has invested heavily in strategies to prevent theft, such as adding more security workers, using third-party guard services and installing theft-deterrent tools, like locking up merchandise. It also has trained store leaders and security-team members to protect themselves and de-escalate potential safety issues.

But it noted that it still faced “fundamental challenges” to operate the stores safely — and the business performance at the locations slated for closure was unsustainable.

While the store closings account for just a fraction of the 1,900 stores Target operates nationwide, the move underscores the challenges retailers face in reducing theft in stores, protecting their workers and customers, and maintaining locations in areas that might have few shopping alternatives.

For example, the Target store in East Harlem is one of the few choices residents have nearby to buy good quality healthy foods. In San Francisco, the store slated to close is located at 13th Street and Folsom under a busy overpass with homeless tents in a largely commercial neighborhood with auto shops. The other two Bay Area stores being closed are in Oakland and Pittsburg. In Seattle, one of the stores is located on a busy avenue near the University of Washington.

Target CEO Brian Cornell has been one of a handful of retail CEOs flagging what they described as rising theft over the past year or so. Cornell had held steadfast he didn’t want to resort to closing stores despite mounting losses. Target said in May that theft was cutting into its bottom line and it expected related losses could be $500 million more than last year, when losses from theft were estimated to be anywhere from $700 million to $800 million. So that means losses could top $1.2 billion this fiscal year.

Moreover, Cornell told analysts in August that violent incidents against workers at Target stores increased 120% for the first five months of the year compared with the same period a year ago.

“Our team continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime,” Cornell told analysts. “Unfortunately, safety incidents associated with theft are moving in the wrong direction.”

The announcement also comes as Target is still reeling from being targeted for its LGBTQ+ support, in particular its displays of Pride Month merchandise. In late May, ahead of Pride Month, Target pulled some items in particular regions and made other changes after encountering hostility from customers who confronted workers and tipped over displays. Target said the moves were made to protect workers in the stores.

It’s unclear how much money retailers broadly are losing due to organized retail crime — or if the problem has substantially increased. But the issue has received more notice in the past few years as high-profile smash-and-grab retail thefts and flash mob robberies have garnered national media attention. Over the past few quarters, an increasing number of retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Ulta Beauty have been calling out rising theft, citing it a factor in shrinking profits.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC in December that theft was on the rise at stores. In August, he told analysts that in some jurisdictions in the U.S., there needs to be action taken to help protect people from crime, including theft.

The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, said its latest security survey of roughly 177 retailers found that inventory loss — called shrink — clocked in at an average rate of 1.6 % last year, representing $112.1 billion in losses. That’s up from 1.4% the previous year.

The greatest portion of shrink — 65% — came from external theft, including products taken during organized shoplifting incidents, the trade group said Tuesday. More than two-thirds of respondents said they were seeing even more violence and aggression from perpetrators of organized retail crime compared with a year ago.

The NRF said that even though retailers continue to improve their loss-prevention measures, sometimes more drastic action must be taken. Nearly 30% of retailers surveyed reported being forced to close a specific store location, and 45% said they needed to reduce operating hours. Roughly 30% said they needed to change or reduce product selection in stores as a direct result of retail crime.

Late last year, Congress passed a bill, called the INFORM ACT, that seeks to combat sales of counterfeit goods and dangerous products by compelling online marketplaces to verify different types of information — including bank account, tax ID and contact details — for sellers who make at least 200 unique sales and earn a minimum of $5,000 in a given year.

Target said Tuesday that it’s making significant investments in cyber defense to combat retail theft and fraud and has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division to combat retail theft.

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Whole Foods, Old Navy and Nordstrom have closed area stores in recent months.

August 9, 2023, 11:04 AM ET

• 5 min read

IKEA, the global furniture giant, will open a store in downtown San Francisco later this month, the company announced on Tuesday, defying an onrush of retail departures that has slammed the city center in recent years.

Located blocks away from the city’s Union Square retail hub, the store will anchor a new mall owned by Ingka Centres, an IKEA-affiliated developer that seeks to drive shopping traffic toward company stores.

The new, sprawling three-story store will span a combined 52,000 square feet, featuring 27 fully-furnished room displays tailored for city dwellers, IKEA said.

The announcement bucks a trend of retailers exiting downtown San Francisco.

In recent months, a slew of closures of retail stores in San Francisco doubles as a roundup of well-known shopping brands: Whole Foods, Old Navy and Nordstrom, among others.

In June, the 70-store downtown Westfield Mall said it would stop making payments on a $558 million loan, relinquishing ownership of the shopping center and leaving the fate of the complex uncertain.

Nearly half of the stores in the city’s downtown shopping district have closed since 2019, the San Francisco Standard found in May.

The series of store departures has spurred criticism focused on crime and homelessness but a more complicated set of forces is driving companies away from the city, experts and a former downtown store owner previously told ABC News.

They pointed to sluggish sales at some stores due in part to a longstanding shift away from brick-and-mortar retail that went into overdrive during the pandemic, they added. The rise of remote work — a trend even more pronounced in the Bay Area’s tech industry — also has slashed the number of office commuters downtown, they said.

A “For Lease” sign at a storefront on Market Street in San Francisco, May 3, 2023.Bloomberg via Getty Images

Despite the trend, IKEA San Francisco Market Manager Arda Akalin voiced optimism about the store opening in a statement.

“We are so excited to open the doors of our new IKEA store to our neighbors in the San Francisco area,” Akalin said on Tuesday. “We appreciate the excitement and support from the community and can’t wait for our customers to experience the new store full of affordable home furnishings and solutions that reflect who San Franciscans are and how they live.”

In a statement to ABC News, San Francisco Mayor London Breed celebrated the new IKEA store.

“The arrival of IKEA on Market Street is a tremendous boost for our City that will bring more shopping, jobs, and excitement to the Union Square area,” Breed said. “We have been working closely with IKEA to make this a successful opening and we will continue to work to make the area clean, safe, and welcoming for all.”

“We know the future of Downtown will look different, but we also know that San Francisco is a resilient city that embraces change and is always working to build what comes next. We are proud to welcome IKEA to be part of that future,” Breed added.

In June, Breed told Good Morning America that San Francisco faces difficulties but she also faulted a disproportionate focus on exits from the city.

“San Francisco is a major city and it has challenges,” Breed said. “But let’s back up a little bit. You are talking about people who are leaving the city but not the people who are staying, expanding, coming to San Francisco.”

The San Francisco area already plays host to two IKEA stores, the company said. A store in nearby Emeryville, California, opened in 2000; and a store in East Palo Alto followed in 2003.

The forthcoming store in downtown San Francisco will open on Aug. 23.

“On grand opening day, IKEA customers can enjoy games, workshops, giveaways,” the company said.

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IKEA, the global furniture giant, will open a store in downtown San Francisco later this month, the company announced on Tuesday, defying an onrush of retail departures that has slammed the city center in recent years.

Located blocks away from the city’s Union Square retail hub, the store will anchor a new mall owned by Ingka Centres, an IKEA-affiliated developer that seeks to drive shopping traffic toward company stores.

The new, sprawling three-story store will span a combined 52,000 square feet, featuring 27 fully-furnished room displays tailored for city dwellers, IKEA said.

The announcement bucks a trend of retailers exiting downtown San Francisco.

In recent months, a slew of closures of retail stores in San Francisco doubles as a roundup of well-known shopping brands: Whole Foods, Old Navy and Nordstrom, among others.

MORE: San Francisco’s retail hub is turning into a ghost town. The exodus isn’t just about crime, experts say

In June, the 70-store downtown Westfield Mall said it would stop making payments on a $558 million loan, relinquishing ownership of the shopping center and leaving the fate of the complex uncertain.

Nearly half of the stores in the city’s downtown shopping district have closed since 2019, the San Francisco Standard found in May.

The series of store departures has spurred criticism focused on crime and homelessness but a more complicated set of forces is driving companies away from the city, experts and a former downtown store owner previously told ABC News.

They pointed to sluggish sales at some stores due in part to a longstanding shift away from brick-and-mortar retail that went into overdrive during the pandemic, they added. The rise of remote work — a trend even more pronounced in the Bay Area’s tech industry — also has slashed the number of office commuters downtown, they said.

PHOTO: A ‘For Lease’ sign at a storefront on Market Street in San Francisco, May 3, 2023. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Despite the trend, IKEA San Francisco Market Manager Arda Akalin voiced optimism about the store opening in a statement.

Story continues

“We are so excited to open the doors of our new IKEA store to our neighbors in the San Francisco area,” Akalin said on Tuesday. “We appreciate the excitement and support from the community and can’t wait for our customers to experience the new store full of affordable home furnishings and solutions that reflect who San Franciscans are and how they live.”

In a statement to ABC News, San Francisco Mayor London Breed celebrated the new IKEA store.

“The arrival of IKEA on Market Street is a tremendous boost for our City that will bring more shopping, jobs, and excitement to the Union Square area,” Breed said. “We have been working closely with IKEA to make this a successful opening and we will continue to work to make the area clean, safe, and welcoming for all.”

“We know the future of Downtown will look different, but we also know that San Francisco is a resilient city that embraces change and is always working to build what comes next. We are proud to welcome IKEA to be part of that future,” Breed added.

MORE: Whole Foods closes flagship San Francisco store over employee safety concerns

In June, Breed told Good Morning America that San Francisco faces difficulties but she also faulted a disproportionate focus on exits from the city.

“San Francisco is a major city and it has challenges,” Breed said. “But let’s back up a little bit. You are talking about people who are leaving the city but not the people who are staying, expanding, coming to San Francisco.”

The San Francisco area already plays host to two IKEA stores, the company said. A store in nearby Emeryville, California, opened in 2000; and a store in East Palo Alto followed in 2003.

The forthcoming store in downtown San Francisco will open on Aug. 23.

“On grand opening day, IKEA customers can enjoy games, workshops, giveaways,” the company said.

IKEA to open store in downtown San Francisco this month, defying retail exodus originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

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On Thursday, San Francisco Mayor London suggested Breed “to redesign the city’s ailing downtown by demolishing abandoned retail space,” reports CNN, “and building new structures to transform the ailing city…” Breed’s comments come at one A time when San Francisco is faced with empty offices, a crashing commercial real estate market, and a brain drain from the once-busy downtown area, especially as the pandemic home office policy has caused many residents to migrate to more affordable parts of the country…Breed argued that it It was a general shift The post-pandemic trend towards online shopping has contributed to the decline in foot traffic in the region.

“You can transform certain spaces. A Westfield Mall could become something very different than what it is now,” she said. “We can even demolish the whole building and build a whole new football stadium. We can create lab space or think of it as another company with a different function,” she added…

Many tech companies in the city have quickly transitioned to remote work or flexible hybrid policies in recent years, causing many workers to leave the city. Office vacancy in San Francisco has hit a 30-year high, negatively impacting the city’s commercial real estate market and local retailers and restaurants, which are seeing declines in sales and foot traffic. “Do I want everyone to come back to the office five days a week? Of course I would do that Francisco can be,” Breed said.

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Since early June, motorists on State and Highland streets have been treated to a bright splash of color on the east side of the former Mayberry Electric building at 104 State St., but the project goes deeper than the exterior design.

“The mural is part of a larger building renovation project that my family and I have completed over the past two years,” says developer Mackenzie (Westcott) Galli. “The project includes the opening of two short-term rental lofts on the top floor and several retail openings on the ground floor.”

The first inaugural phase of the project will kick off on June 16 between 4pm and 6pm with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony as part of the “Third Friday on the Square” event.

“At this event we will unveil the mural and conduct tours of the renovated 1890 lofts. The lofts are two-bedroom, one-bathroom spaces with exposed brick, natural sunlight, and modern conveniences,” says Galli. Each room suite also has a kitchen, living and dining area.

“Each loft evokes a different era in the history of the building,” she explains. “The Harvester pays homage to the Deering Harvester Company, which operated a small engine and twine dealership on the first floor of the building in the early 20th century. The Mayberry pays tribute to the recent past by honoring Mayberry Electric and its past owners as I knew the building in my life.”

For booking information and photos, visit 1890Lofts.com. The second phase of opening retail space on the ground floor of the building will take place this fall.

Proud of Williamsburg

The mural is an important part of the overall project, says Galli, who currently lives in Clive and works as an actuary. A native of Williamsburg, she graduated from Williamsburg High School in 2008. Her father’s family is from Oxford and her mother’s family from Parnell. With both sides of her family still living in the area, she notes that this project allows her to stay connected to her hometown.

“Williamsburg and its people have been fundamental to me and my family,” she says. “I hope that through the work that my family and I have done in this building, the community can feel the love and gratitude we have for this community and its people.”

“With the beautification of the building and its visible location, I hope that it will be a beacon for access to the town square to bring more business to the square’s small business owners,” she continues. “I hope the mural promotes Iowan pride and encourages local interaction with it. Finally, I hope the redeveloped areas can serve as a springboard for new small business owners to offer more services to both Williamsburg and non-Williamsburg residents.”

project timeline

The completed mural reflects two years of planning and a partnership with the city.

“In the spring of 2021, the City of Williamsburg and I submitted a pre-application for the (Catalyst) grant and were subsequently asked to submit a full application based on the merits of my idea,” Galli explains. “We competed with other initiatives statewide and received the grant in the summer of 2021. The City of Williamsburg provided grant writing and submission assistance to bring the building’s impact to the community to life.”

As grant recipients, the city of Williamsburg and Galli received $100,000 under the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Community Catalyst Building Remediation Program, she explains. This project was sponsored in part by the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

“The City of Williamsburg provided $5,000 in kind and $5,000 for beautification and directionality,” says Galli. “The city’s support for this project was decisive for the award of the grant as one of the application criteria assesses the city’s support for the project. The level of support from the city was a competitive advantage for this project.”

The result was an even stronger bond between Galli and her hometown.

“I attended several city council meetings to introduce the motion, brief council members on the process, apply for city funding, and gather feedback from the city council on the use of the beautification/signage funds, which led to the selection of the mural,” recalls Galli. “The City Council, City Clerk, City Attorney, City Administrator and City Police have been extremely supportive and helpful throughout the process and I want to thank them for their patience, insight and willingness to work with me.”

“The city is pleased with the completion of this project,” said Williamsburg City Manager Aaron Sandersfeld. “Williamsburg is fortunate to have many local entrepreneurs willing to invest their time, energy and capital in our community. This project is a cornerstone of the square “Attracting people to our business district.”

He noted that this project illustrates the importance of public-private partnerships.

“Bringing government funds with private funds has had a major impact on our ability to preserve Williamsburg Square’s historic aesthetic,” Sandersfeld said. “The addition of the 1890 Lofts is a great addition to Williamsburg. For a community of our size with many business travelers, we lack quality accommodations.”

The mural

The mural on the east side of the building depicts a farm landscape against a colorful sky and is emblazoned with the caption “How Lucky Are We?”.

“At the time of submitting the grant in 2021, I was working with the then-owner of Colorful, an art-focused studio and company in Williamsburg’s Square, to identify a pool of potential muralists for the piece,” says Galli. “In the spring of 2023, when the exterior of the building was complete, I surveyed the work of the provided muralists and was amazed by the use of color and the boldness of the artist’s designs. The artist also had experience of large exterior murals with inscribed lettering. Finally, the artist was based in eastern Iowa, which helped me interpret my goals and ultimately execute on the final mural design.”

The finished product represents three phrases Galli developed from her project goals. They were: locally proud, interactively attractive, and bravely happy. All have been approved by the city council.

Once these were established, Galli and Lauren Gifford, an Iowa native who now lives in San Francisco, California, worked to bring these concepts to life through imagery and wording.

“It took a handful of iterations before we settled on a final draft, which was then presented to the council,” says Galli.

The artist

Lauren Gifford grew up in Cedar Rapids and earned a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship from Iowa State University. An artist since childhood, she opened her own studio after college, creating custom murals for a variety of settings including wedding venues, elementary schools and public beautification projects.

“My goal is for each work of art to resonate with the community in which it lives and be a splash of color and a spark of joy to everyone who walks by,” says Gifford.

She became involved with the Williamsburg project after meeting Galli through an acquaintance at a local business. The two women worked together to develop a design that would capture the cherished aspects of life in Williamsburg.

“‘How lucky are we?’ is a work of art that evokes a feeling of being at home,” says Gifford.

This mural features a cascading gradient created using a varied brushstroke technique to blend one color into the next. Gifford also created a custom hand lettered design with flourishes. One of her specialties is writing as she has led calligraphy workshops in the past.

“This mural is possibly my favorite public work of art I’ve ever created,” she says. “The combination of local input and the freedom to work in my style and color palette has led to exciting breakthroughs in my creative process. I am so grateful that I was the artist chosen for this piece.”

Interior contractor

While Galli and her father, Scott Westcott, did much of the interior work on the building, they hired the following local contractors to help them with the project: Imhoff Electric, Spratt Construction, Day Plumbing and Heating, Jones Painting, MGSI Ltd., Yoder Masonry, L&J Coatings and Weldon Drywall.

Comments: Melinda.Wichmann@southeastiowaunion.com

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Following a unanimous decision by the city’s board of directors, San Francisco authorities have imposed a moratorium on accepting new retail cannabis license applications until 2028.

The move is “a pause, not a ban,” San Francisco supervisor and bill author Ahsha Safaí said, according to online news outlet The San Francisco Standard.

Existing applications will continue to be processed, SFGate reported.

Safaí said the board will review the impact of the change in mid-2027 and decide whether to go ahead with it.

According to SFGate, an “expiry date” for the ordinance was set to expire on December 31, 2027, after which the city would resume accepting new retail license applications.

According to the Standard, there are about 32 medical marijuana dispensaries and 31 recreational retailers in San Francisco, with over 100 applications pending.

The pause will affect permit applications for brick-and-mortar retailers, cannabis delivery services, medical marijuana dispensaries “and micro-business retail functions,” The Center Square news agency reported.

“Proponents of the measure, including the San Francisco Cannabis Retailers Alliance, argue that the San Francisco cannabis market is oversaturated and cannot support more businesses than those currently in the pipeline,” The Center Square said.

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WASHINGTON (TND) — Retailers have lost billions, largely due to shoplifting and organized retail.

Some companies are redesigning their businesses to reduce crime and lower their profits.

According to CWB Chicago, Walgreens has only two aisles with physical goods, such as snacks. For everything else, customers need to schedule an order at a digital kiosk or in the app and pick it up at a counter.

It will not work. You’re going to lose a lot of customers,” said one customer in an interview with WBBM Newsradio.

The Washington Post reported Giant Food has hired security guards, limited self-checkout to 20 items, and is also securing certain items in its grocery stores.

In San Francisco, the city’s largest Whole Foods store, a Nordstrom store and the Old Navy flagship store have all closed.

Well, unfortunately, situations where stores either lock up the bulk of their merchandise or just abandon communities altogether are not uncommon,” said Zack Smith, attorney and manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program at the foundation’s Heritage Meese Center.”

Smith said laws critics call “soft-on crime” are to blame.

So if the people who physically go into the stores and steal the goods feel that there will be no consequences for their actions, or that the consequences for them will be relatively small, then at that point the reward, “It does it,” prevails much easier for these large retailers to attract employees to their organization.”

In 2021, retailers lost $94.5 billion to shoplifting. That’s $90.8 billion in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2022 National Retail Security Survey.

“No one is in favor of jailing every shoplifter, but we are definitely in favor of disbanding rings and making it clear that you will be prosecuted for participating in these rings,” Stephanie Martz, NRF executive director and general counsel , said, “When you get to a point where it’s literally unprofitable to have a store open, that’s all you can do to justify keeping the store open that long.”

From June 27, online markets must comply with the INFORM consumer law. The new law requires more transparency from high-volume online third-party providers. Retailers hope that this will help fight organized retail crime.

A new survey by the National Retail Federation shows that 51% of consumers say law enforcement and the courts are too lenient towards people who steal from stores. Nearly two-thirds are concerned about gang-run shoplifting in their community.

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