San Francisco, CA
SF homeless encampment sweeps continue: Here's what happened with one unhoused man
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Encampment sweeps are continuing throughout San Francisco, but in many streets, the tents are back.
Less than 24 hours after city workers moved homeless individuals from 19th and Folsom, we found several people on the same sidewalk with tents.
We caught up with Ramon Castillo. When we met him on Tuesday, he said he was going to move his tent to another street. On Wednesday, he said he didn’t get to move it at all.
“They took my stuff,” said Castillo and added, “They towed it away. They took it.”
San Francisco intensifies homeless encampment sweeps: ‘It’s time for us to do something’
San Francisco has been doing encampment resolutions or sweeps, but this week, the mayor said they are going to take an “aggressive” approach.
We learned Ramon was arrested and cited for illegal lodging after we left on Tuesday. He mentioned feeling frustrated but was trying to stay positive.
“I’ll be okay. It happened to me too many times. This one is a different thing,” said Castillo.
During the resolution, San Francisco’s Public Works and members of the Department of Emergency Management offered Ramon a hotel room. He declined then, but he had a change of heart.
“Right now, I hope they give me a hotel,” said Ramon.
We made a call to our city contact. They asked for Ramon to meet them at their next location. We looked it up on the map and showed Ramon. He said he would be there at 1 p.m.
VIDEO: As cities begin clearing homeless encampments, service providers prepare for potential influx
Bay Area homeless service providers are preparing for a potential influx of people as cities begin clearing homeless encampments.
We interviewed the city’s Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager on their approach.
“Despite the Supreme Court ruling, the 9th circuit vacating the majority of the injunction. Our approach and work have not really changed as of yet. So we do 72 hour noticing of the 10 locations that we address per week,” said David Nakanishi, MPH, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager.
Their data shows a total of 41 people were contacted on Monday and Tuesday. All were offered shelter, but 34 of those people or 82% refused.
“Behavior change takes time,” said Nakanishi and added, “The challenge is that for someone who is chronically homeless to be able to move them from the street into permanent housing or even accepting shelter it’s a long process.”
San Francisco can now enforce laws relating to homeless sweeps following court rulings
San Francisco will soon be able to sweep homeless camps without previous, court-ordered restrictions.
A member of the city’s Homelessness oversight commission calls the sweeps inhumane.
“The way that things are happening right now is extremely traumatic to the people that are losing their belongings. When you are outside, all you have is your belongings so to lose that, is a trauma,” said Whit Guerrero, Commissioner of the SF Homelessness oversight commission.
Nakanishi said the city’s approach is compassionate.
“The fact that we could do more 51/50’s which is an involuntary hold for either psychiatric or substance use reasons. There are people at that level on the street that it’s unconscionable as a clinician for me to leave them on the street and not try to address that. So, I think we are approaching as respectfully and with concern and compassion as we can. I wouldn’t be associated with this otherwise”
MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Inside look at how SF stores items collected from homeless encampment sweeps
An exclusive look into San Francisco Public Works’ operation yard where the city stores items collected from homeless encampments.
We waited, but Ramon did not show up at the location the city asked him to meet. The city’s street team said they will follow up with Ramon and offer him shelter again.
Nakanishi said one of the reasons people decline shelter in many cases is because it’s not the type of shelter they want. For example, a single room, or a hotel room that may not be available at that time.
The team in charge of the resolutions said gaining people’s trust is part of the process.
Nakanishi said anyone whose belongings were removed can go to the Public Works retrieval site and collect their items.
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San Francisco, CA
S.F. police arrest 20 at 300-person SoMa block party during Pride
San Francisco police officers arrested 20 people late Saturday night in SoMa after breaking up an unauthorized “Stud Alley” block party with hundreds of participants, according to the police department. It marked the second round of arrests of Pride attendees this weekend after police arrested five people at the tail end of the Trans March on Friday.
Police officers arrived near Kissling and 11th streets at 10:58 p.m. and “encountered an unsanctioned and unpermitted block party” that had about 300 participants and a D.J., according to a statement from the San Francisco Police Department. The following details are based on the department statement and social media videos; two participants reached by Mission Local declined to comment.
The department said that the large crowd “prompted the response of additional SFPD resources.” Social media footage shows dozens of officers marching through SoMa streets armed with batons, wearing riot helmets and carrying plastic zip-ties.
Officers then gave an order to disperse, the department said, and told the D.J. to leave the area. The D.J. left but the partygoers did not, the department said, and officers tried to “disperse the crowd.” Two people “resisted,” the department said, and officers arrested them.
Several people also “vandalized two vehicles passing through the area,” the department said, and made them “inoperable.” The two vehicles may have been Waymos: One online video shows two Waymos in the street blinking hazard lights, and appears to show one officer telling others that the Waymos had been vandalized.
The party then reformed a few blocks later at Washburn Street about two blocks away, the department said, with about 200 people; the police shut that gathering down as well.
Footage from the scene shows a line of officers in tactical gear advancing rapidly on the crowd, shoving people out of the alleyway before forming a cordon line to block the street. In total, 18 people were arrested on Washburn Street, the department said, for “obstructing or delaying a peace officer and unlawful assembly.”
The department said that “makeshift barricades” had been set up to keep officers at bay; at one point in a video, an officer moves several large rocks that were placed in the street. Two officers sustained minor injuries, the department said.
SoMa has been the site of unsanctioned “Stud Alley” parties on the Saturday evenings of Pride weekend for at least the past six years. The parties have made headlines in past years for graffiti, broken windshields and outraged neighbors.
The organizers of Stud Alley posted an announcement this year that they would not host a party, saying that the party had recently “outgrown itself,” but reminded past party-goers of the unofficial slogan that is frequently graffitied onto walls around the party: Every alley is Stud Alley.
Jesse, a bartender at the nearby bar the Willow, reported seeing cops “everywhere” after the Saturday incident, when people “fled” to the bar to escape. He did not report hearing of any incidents of violence between party-goers and police.
The arrests mark the second encounter between Pride-goers and police this weekend. On Friday, at the end of the Trans March, police officers arrested five marchers for alleged vandalism and assault after march-goers allegedly spray-painted several statues and a person.
On Sunday afternoon, Washburn and Kissling streets still bore signs of the party. Spray painted on the walls of buildings were “Fuck SFPD,” “No Cops at Pride,” and “Every Alley Stud Alley.”


San Francisco, CA
6/28 Gamethread: Giants vs. Braves
It’s series finale time, and it’s rubber match time, as the San Francisco Giants host the Atlanta Braves.
It’s a battle of Cy Young southpaws. For the Giants, it’s Robbie Ray, who won the award in 2021 in the American League. Ray, a 34-year old two-time All-Star, is making his 17th appearance of the year, and is 6-6 with a 3.70 ERA, a 4.80 FIP, and 80 strikeouts to 42 walks in 87.2 innings. After a rough patch, he’s been exceptional in his last two games, including allowing just an unearned run in eight innings against the Athletics his last time out.
For the Braves, it’s Chris Sale, who won the prestigious pitching award in 2024. Sale, a 37-year old nine-time All-Star, has made 14 starts, and is 8-5 with a 2.14 ERA, a 2.71 FIP, and 99 strikeouts to 21 walks in 84 innings. He allowed two unearned runs in 5.2 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in his last start.
Enjoy the game, everyone.
Who: San Francisco Giants (34-48) vs. Atlanta Braves (49-32)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
San Francisco, CA
People’s Budget Coalition Claims Victory After San Francisco Budget Restores Most Proposed Service Cuts – Davis Vanguard
By Vanguard Staff
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco People’s Budget Coalition declared a major victory this week after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Appropriations Committee advanced a budget proposal restoring nearly all of Mayor Daniel Lurie’s proposed cuts to community organizations and workers providing essential services throughout the city.
The coalition credited months of organizing by labor unions, community organizations, residents and advocates for reversing many of the reductions initially proposed in the mayor’s budget. The committee-approved budget now moves to the full Board of Supervisors and then to Mayor Lurie for final approval. According to the coalition, few, if any, additional changes are expected during that process.
The coalition said thousands of San Francisco workers, residents and community members participated in neighborhood town halls, marches, rallies, phone banks, letter-writing campaigns and demonstrations to pressure city leaders to restore funding for programs serving vulnerable populations.
“This budget represents a remarkable victory for every single San Francisco resident,” said Anya Worley-Ziegman, coalition coordinator for the San Francisco People’s Budget Coalition.
“And it shows that public pressure works. Showing up works. Organizing, going out into communities where people will see their lives impacted by cuts, where people feel like their government and their representatives aren’t listening to them, and giving people an outlet to make their voices heard can make real change.”
Worley-Ziegman credited “the thousands of people, workers, unions, community and advocacy organizations, as well as the leadership of Budget Chair Connie Chan and Supervisors who fought for their districts’ priorities” with helping restore “tens of millions of dollars for essential programs serving our city’s most vulnerable populations.”
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us that budgets are moral documents, and today, City Hall seems to agree,” Worley-Ziegman added.
According to the coalition, many of the mayor’s proposed reductions affecting LGBTQ+, immigrant, student and homeless services were restored through the city’s annual budget “add-back” process during the Budget and Appropriations Committee’s final meeting, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan.
The coalition said restorations include tens of millions of dollars for senior services, housing and rent assistance, Free City College, HIV services, immigrant services and other community programs.
The organization argued that many of the programs initially targeted for reductions serve communities that are already facing challenges resulting from actions by the federal government. The coalition said restoring those programs demonstrates continued city support for immigrants, LGBTQ+ residents, Black, Indigenous and other communities of color, as well as individuals struggling with mental health, substance use disorders or homelessness.
The coalition said investments in those communities strengthen the city and help maintain San Francisco’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive city.
Despite celebrating the committee’s actions, the coalition said significant fiscal challenges remain. It noted that not all proposed reductions were fully restored and that city officials project next year’s budget deficit to exceed this year’s.
The coalition argued that San Francisco possesses substantial wealth, particularly amid the city’s growing artificial intelligence industry, and said city leaders should pursue additional revenue sources to sustain public services rather than relying on service reductions.
“San Francisco is one of the wealthiest cities in the wealthiest country in the world, and with the AI boom, it’s only getting richer,” Worley-Ziegman said.
“The fact that we need to exert this much time and energy fighting for such a small slice of the pie is, frankly, as ridiculous as it is shameful.”
“We should be laser focused on expanding the pie. We need to be talking about IPO taxes, wealth taxes, mansion taxes, and every policy tool available to close future deficits,” Worley-Ziegman continued.
“It feels like every year our leaders tell the most vulnerable communities to eat cuts and make ‘hard choices,’ while simultaneously opposing comically small taxes on the city’s wealthiest and well connected residents.”
“It should not be this hard to get an immigrant mother on the cusp of eviction $50 to make rent, or a senior living with HIV on our streets counseling or a hot meal.”
Worley-Ziegman concluded by urging advocates to continue organizing beyond this year’s budget process.
“Yes, let’s celebrate this win, but don’t forget that there’s so much more work to do if we want to move San Francisco forward without leaving its most vulnerable residents behind.”
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Categories:
Breaking News San Francisco
Tags:
budget advocacy community services Connie Chan Daniel Lurie People’s Budget Coalition San Francisco budget
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