San Francisco, CA
Democrat San Francisco mayor slammed for visiting China in 'pursuit of pandas' despite 'death spiral' at home
San Francisco Mayor London Breed returned to the city Sunday after spending a week in China in efforts to advance economic and cultural ties with the region despite ongoing crises in her city.
According to Breed’s office, the mayor traveled to China for a week-long, multi-city journey that included meetings with government, business and airline officials. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng invited Breed to the country during last year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, which was held in San Francisco.
Prior to the trip, Breed told the local NBC station one of her goals was to bring back pandas for the San Francisco Zoo, create stronger relationships with Chinese officials, boost tourism and put San Francisco businesses on the radar.
“We think that with increased flights, business opportunities, pandas, the economic opportunities for San Francisco will be significant,” she said during a press conference.
MAYOR LONDON BREED’S OFFICE SILENT ON ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS CLOGGING GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE AS SHE VISITS CHINA
San Francisco Mayor London Breed returned from her trip to China, which included proposals for airlines to bring more flights into SFO and to advance some giant panda diplomacy. (KTVU)
Back at home, Breed’s constituents face problems well beyond zoo exhibits.
“Mayor London Breed’s decision to jet off to China in pursuit of pandas while her city grapples with escalating crime and homelessness is a disgraceful evasion of her responsibilities to ensure the safety of San Francisco residents,” California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones told Fox News Digital.
“Her misguided focus on photo ops abroad only highlights her utter disregard for the urgent needs of those suffering in her own backyard.”
“Her misguided focus on photo ops abroad only highlights her utter disregard for the urgent needs of those suffering in her own backyard.”
“If you asked a thousand San Franciscans what the biggest problem facing the city is, not a single one of them would say that the zoo doesn’t have pandas. They would say they’re tired of rising crime, sick of soaring homelessness and fed up with a broken government that ignores the city’s problems,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital.
“Rather than boosting public relations for the Chinese Communist Party, Mayor Breed should focus on fixing San Francisco’s death spiral.”
Earlier this year, San Francisco officials claimed the city’s crime rate was “lower than any period in the last ten years” aside from 2020.
In most categories, crimes in San Francisco reported to police declined in 2023 compared to 2022, but not as much as the rest of the country, statistics from the FBI show. In 2023, there were 50,744 crimes reported in the city across all categories. In 2022, San Franciscans reported 54,649 crimes, a 7.2% decrease year-over-year.
However, robberies increased 14.8% in 2023 over the prior year, and motor vehicle thefts went up 6.3% from 2022. So far this year, the city has recorded 11,077 crimes, down 29.7% from the same period in 2022.
FORMER SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR CHALLENGING LONDON BREED SAYS CITY’S FALLEN APART: ‘BECOME THE BUTT OF JOKES’
Mayor London Breed returns to San Francisco after spending time in China with plans to bring pandas to the city. (KTVU)
San Francisco International Airport spokesperson Doug Yakel said the mayor’s visit could help boost the city’s economy by generating millions of dollars from airline travel, with the hope that three China-based airlines will do business at SFO.
“It’s so powerful what it represents, not only for our airport but for local economies. We look at a single flight, and I’m talking a daily flight between a foreign destination like China and the U.S. to SFO,” Yakel told KTVU. “It can be upwards of $175 million in annual revenue and 1,200 jobs in the Bay Area total, and that’s just one flight.”
Breed said an estimate on the cost of bringing giant pandas to the city has not yet been determined, but she told KTVU she is confident it will happen.
“We expect a pair of pandas, and they are hopefully expected to come as soon as we’re able to raise the resources, do all the permitting, continue to work with the wildlife and conservation group in Beijing for all the paperwork,” she said.
Jones told Fox News Digital Breed should send her resources and focus elsewhere.
SAN FRANCISCO RAPPER SAYS ‘DISS TRACK’ ON MAYOR BREED, CRIME DREW ‘THREATS FROM SOMEONE EXTREMELY POWERFUL’
Protesters blocked the Golden Gate Bridge while San Francisco Mayor London Breed was in China this week to increase tourism and boost San Francisco businesses. (KTVU | Getty Images)
“Besides, everyone knows that the San Diego Zoo is world-famous for their panda exhibit. Mayor Breed should focus on fixing San Francisco rather than competing with San Diego over pandas,” Jones added.
“Mayor Breed should focus on fixing San Francisco rather than competing with San Diego over pandas.”
Gloria Chan, the director of communications with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, argues that securing pandas for the zoo will pay dividends for the city.
“Securing the first official residency for giant pandas in San Francisco is a big win for our city. San Francisco is an international destination and the gateway to the Asia Pacific. Having pandas here will strengthen our already deep cultural connection and honors our Chinese and API heritage that is core to San Francisco’s history,” Chan said.
A professor at UCLA also shared thoughts on Mayor Breed’s panda diplomacy with Fox News Digital.
“If Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors do not make dramatic changes regarding homelessness, crime, drug abuse, spending and reinventing downtown by attracting new businesses, soon San Francisco could become the next Detroit,” Lee Ohanian said.
According to the 2022 Point-in-Time Count from the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, 7,754 people were homeless in San Francisco that year, 3.5% lower than the previous year. Of those people, 3,357 were staying in a shelter, the report said.
In 2023, the city reported 810 drug overdose deaths. Of those, 656 were linked to fentanyl. Those numbers were more than double the national average that year, The New York Times reported.
SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR LONDON BREED BLASTS HOMELESS COALITION: HELD CITY ‘HOSTAGE FOR DECADES’
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and scenes of drug use and homelessness in the California city. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images)
In November, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey announced the federal government was providing major resources to assist in the city’s drug-dealing epidemic. A press release said the “all hands on deck” initiative combines federal, state and local resources to ramp up arrests of street dealers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also increased federal charges against drug traffickers, raising the stakes by holding dealers accountable, the release stated.
Breed has also faced criticism from several high-profile people.
During TNT’s alternative broadcast of the NBA All-Star Game in February, Charles Barkley took a jab at the city while talking to Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.
Barkley asked Miller which he would choose — playing in the cold in Indianapolis, where Miller spent his entire 18-year NBA career, or “being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco.”
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green called Barkley “crazy,” adding Barkley was not “welcome” in the city.
In defense of the city, WNBA star Candace Parker said, “We love San Francisco.”
“No we don’t,” he responded. “You can’t even walk around down there.”
CHARLES BARKLEY BLASTS SAN FRANCISCO DURING ALL-STAR GAME, DESCRIBES IT AS CITY WITH ‘HOMELESS CROOKS’
San Francisco Mayor London Breed recently announced budget cuts that gutted the city’s proposed Office of Reparations. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Chino Yang, a San Francisco-based rapper and restaurant owner, released a “dis track” calling out Breed for allowing the city to become a “zombie land.”
“London Breed, you ain’t nothing but a clown,” Yang raps in the song “San Francisco Our Home.” “When we really needed you, you ain’t never been around. You done turnt this great city into a zombie land.” Yang has since apologized for “spreading misinformation about our beloved Mayor London Breed,” suggesting someone with “connections” to “the top elites” threatened him and his family.
“I am simply a civilian. So, for the sake of my family and my loved ones — my close friends — I’d like to openly and publicly make an apology regarding my actions and what I said in the video,” Yang said, according to CBS News.
SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS OWNER SOUNDS OFF ON MAYOR DOWNPLAYING CRIME, HOMELESSNESS: ‘POOP EVERYWHERE AGAIN’
An activist holds up a sign during a rare outdoor meeting of the Board of Supervisors at UN Plaza in San Francisco May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Breed announced plans Tuesday to set a curfew in part of the Tenderloin to help curb crime in the area, the mayor’s office confirmed to KTVU.
In 2023, the city said local law enforcement agencies made over 2,000 arrests for drug sales or drug use in the Tenderloin. They also seized over 260 pounds of fentanyl. The city said work has continued into 2024, with 350 arrests so far this year for drug sales or drug use.
“Our work around public safety is making a difference, but we’ve got more work to do,” Breed said. “We are not letting up on our efforts to make San Francisco a safer and enjoyable city for everyone, and this includes continuing to ramp up police staffing and giving our local enforcement agencies the resources they need to do their job.”
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These numbers do not include additional federal efforts being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Drug Enforcement Agency, according to the city.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor London Breed’s office and the San Francisco Police Department for comment.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos, Jeffery Clark and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco honors legendary photographer Jim Marshall with street named in his memory
This week, San Francisco is set to honor a legendary photographer, the late Jim Marshall, by officially commemorating a street in his honor.
On Friday, officials, including San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, will be on hand to reveal a new street sign for the 3600 block of 16th Avenue.
The tiny stretch becomes a big landmark for music lovers, historians, and photography buffs. This stretch of 16th will also be known as Jim Marshall Way.
“Finally, Jim Marshall gets his name in San Francisco history, ” proclaimed photographer Amelia Davis.
For years, Davis was the assistant and editor for Marshall.
Marshall documented and photographed San Francisco history – the music scene, social unrest and protests
Included in his portfolio is a rare photograph of Janis Joplin on top of her psychedelic Porsche, a famous portrait of John Coltrane, discussing an imminent change in his music, at the Berkeley home of jazz critic Ralph Gleason; a very intimate photo of Johnny Cash and June Carter, at their home in Tennessee; Miles Davis in the boxing ring; Bob Dylan kicking a tire down a New York City street; and the final public concert played by the Beatles at Candlestick Park.
Fifteen years ago, when he died, the San Franciscan left his entire portfolio to Davis. She explained how Marshall, who was childless, called his photographs his children.
“That’s what he loved and protected his whole life,” noted Davis.
Marshall was on hand to capture the Grateful Dead’s last free show on a flatbed truck in the Haight.
He was also on hand in Times Square in Manhattan to capture the grief following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
His photographs of poverty in Appalachia are part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian.
“Jim Marshall always called himself a reporter with a camera and Jim’s work did document pieces of history, whether it was music, civil rights, or protests,” said Davis.
Marshal had a tumultuous personality and struggled with addiction.
After his death, he was the subject of an award-winning documentary called “Show Me The Picture.”
He was the first photographer to receive a Grammy.
Now, a street where the photographer lived for 28 years will be named in honor
“Little did they know you have this legend living right in the middle of the street here,” exclaimed Justin Fichelson.
Fichelson grew up a few doors away from the photographer, where his parents still live.
He says the honor of renaming the street is a reminder that the city was iconoclastic way before tech and the AI flood.
“The idea of San Francisco, which is a crazy place where people come from all over the world to reinvent themselves, Jim really captured that in an incredible way,” noted Fichelson.
Marshall grew up in the Western Addition, went to Lowell High School, raced fast cars and loved the city. Now, the city is loving him back.
The ceremony to honor Marshall is on Friday, Dec. 19, at 10 a.m. at the corners of Noe, Market, and 16th. A commemorative sign will be placed beneath the 16th Street sign. Those who wish to attend are asked to bring any old Leica cameras to honor the late photographer.
San Francisco, CA
Oakland Airport’s ‘San Francisco’ rebrand has failed to reverse plunging passenger numbers
The controversy over the Oakland airport’s addition of San Franisco to its name brought headlines, but not travelers, even during the typically frenzied holiday season.
Passenger traffic at OAK (now officially known as Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport) dropped steeply over the past year, even as air travel nationwide held steady and its rival to the west seeing record numbers.
The naming controversy generated publicity and a tiff with San Francisco International Airport, but not the desired increase in traffic. In the 12 months through September 2025, approximately 8.2 million people passed through OAK for domestic flights — 1.8 million, or 17%, fewer than in the previous year, according to federal data (opens in new tab). Passenger traffic was down 15.5% (opens in new tab) in the first three quarters of 2025.
International travel showed a bump, but with limited routes to only Mexico and El Salvador.
The drop at OAK is happening as domestic travel around the country has remained flat, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (opens in new tab).
In fact, Oakland’s decline in the first half of 2025 was the worst of all 93 major U.S. airports, according to LocalsInsider.com (opens in new tab). The second-sharpest drop was at Chicago’s Midway, which was 12.9% off from the previous year.
The decline in passengers isn’t tied to fewer flights being offered. OAK data shows just 56 fewer so-called “airplane movements” through September compared with last year, a negligible 0.03% decrease out of more than 153,000 flights.
Why the dropoff?
The Port of Oakland, which operates the airport, says people aren’t traveling for work anymore.
“Like all of the industry, the decline at OAK can be attributed to the decline in business travel,” said Kaley Skantz, a port spokesperson.
But Collin Czarnecki, who leads Locals Insider’s research on airlines, ties the troubles to a larger industry trend: the death of the middle-class airport.
“Overall, the ‘why’ is sort of this bigger picture,” he said. “Secondary hubs and midsize airports are seeing a lot of change with low-cost carriers.”
Despite the declines, OAK is moving forward with a major makeover and adding 16 gates because of a previous forecast (opens in new tab) that annual passenger levels would reach 24.7 million in 2038. Current traffic has yet to match 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, for San Francisco’s airport, the outlook is sunny.
With its nonstop flights to the East Coast, Europe, and Asia, SFO is in a different class. The airport showed 5.1% growth in 2025 from 43.5 million to 45.7 million passengers, according to its own data (opens in new tab). SFO also boasted that it had its busiest Thanksgiving travel season on record. OAK officials said they lacked the daily data to analyze Thanksgiving traffic.
SFO representatives attribute the gains to the airport’s mix of domestic and international flights and business and leisure travelers.
“Drilling down further, the diversity of our international service is a real advantage, as our fortunes aren’t tied strictly to the performance of one specific market,” SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said.
Business owners near OAK say they don’t get much lift from their proximity to the travel hub. Alan Liang, who owns a Mexican restaurant, a burger joint, a towing company, and an auto repair shop in a plaza along Hegenberger Road, said about 95% of his customers are blue-collar workers with jobs nearby.
“I never came across anyone who said, ‘I’m here in town and came to get a bite,’” said Liang. Crime has scared away customers and led to the closure of chain restaurants like In-N-Out Burger, Black Bear Diner, and Denny’s.
“A few decades ago, Hegenberger primarily benefited from the traffic flow from the airport,” he said. “It’s extremely hard for me to believe that today.”
The fortunes of Oakland’s airport are intertwined with the popularity of Southwest Airlines, which accounts for 83.3% of OAK’s passengers, according to federal statistics. Spirit Airlines had been the airport’s second-largest carrier, with nearly 6% of travelers, but the company in October pulled out of Oakland (opens in new tab), as well as San Jose.
To stabilize its position and grow, OAK should strive to become a hub for a major airline like Delta or American, according to Linchi Kwok, a Cal Poly Pomona professor who specializes in travel and tourism.
“It would bring a lot more traffic and draw customers who are loyal to the airline,” said Kwok. “Everyone can benefit from healthy competition.”
With only 12 days before Christmas, San Francisco is ramping up the holiday spirit. On Saturday evening, they kicked off the Union Square Winter Walk, an outdoor space designed to bring life and customers back to the struggling retail center.
It’s hard not to succeed in business when you can get hundreds of Santa Clauses converging on the area. The annual SantaCon has become the city’s most popular pub crawl, with everyone decked out like Saint Nick.
“We started coming here a couple years ago. You know, get some holiday cheer going,” said one SantCon partier named John. “And it’s just, like, seeing hundreds of Santas on the street, it’s just a sight to see. It’s a fun time, it’s a fun time.”
“I’m very confused,” said his friend Julian Schiano, also in a Santa suit. “I have no idea how this started. They invited me out. I requested the day off, so, had a little bit of fun. But, I have no idea about how this started or anything, but it seemed like a good day to get away from everything.”
“It is so much fun,” said Wendy Solorio from San Jose. “You get to mingle and meet a whole bunch of festive people.”
So, what makes them so festive?
“It’s actually right here,” she said, holding up her drink.
With so many people coming each year, the Union Square Alliance uses it as the kick-off to its Winter Walk festival, which will continue through Christmas Eve. Two blocks of Stockton Street are decked out in blue outdoor turf, with food trucks, pop-up stores and winter-themed photo ops.
“We have records of Winter Walk from 2016, where it was holiday decor, and the turf was out here,” said Holly Chiao with the Alliance, “but it’s really grown to what it is now in 2025. And we’re so happy with how it turned out.”
It actually started in the 2014 Christmas season when someone got the simple idea of closing off the street and covering it in green artificial turf. They were amazed at how much fun people were having with just a wide-open place to play. And now they’ve carried the idea on to become a bona fide holiday tradition.
“Look around,” said Chiao. “I mean, people come down to Union Square to celebrate life’s greatest moments. And for something this big and interactive, for all the friends and family and loved ones to come together, putting this on, year after year, is so important for us for, for overturning that negative narrative around Union Square, around San Francisco. And that’s what keeps us going.”
The shopping district is still trying to recover from the pandemic and a high-profile rash of retail crime. Many stores have left, and the flagship Macy’s says it’s on its way out. But for those still operating, Mayor Daniel Lurie had good news. Crime is way down, he said, and there is a renewed sense of hope in Union Square and across the City.
“San Francisco, y’all, it’s happening. It is happening,” he said to the cheering crowd. So, listen, the world is starting to know, and get to know, that we are not only on the way back, but we’re going to be back to our rightful spot of being the greatest city in the world again. And, I’ll close with this: let’s go, San Francisco.”
Retail still has its challenges, but it can’t hurt for San Francisco’s premier shopping destination to have a few cheerleaders. That, and a couple of hundred Santas.
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