San Francisco, CA
Racist graffiti, noose at San Francisco park tied to dog dispute
Noose, racist graffiti at San Francisco park tied to dog dispute
Someone spray-painted racist graffiti and left a noose at a San Francisco playground, days after a dog owner was told her pet wasn’t allowed there.
SAN FRANCISCO – Racist graffiti and a noose found at a San Francisco park happened days after a woman was told she could not have her dog in the playground by the head of a youth organization.
The woman vowed to do everything possible to shut down this group, officials said on Friday during a news conference at the park hours after the vile messages had been painted over.
“That disgusting racial slur that was written all over this building does not define who we are as a city,” said Maria Su, director of the city’s Department of Children, Youth and their Families.
SEE ALSO: Alameda County firefighter accused of racist rant on paid leave
The vandalism at Merced Heights Playground on Shields Street is being investigated as a hate crime and a direct attack on the nonprofit called Youth First.
“This is not tolerated. And it will not be tolerated. We will continue to celebrate Youth First,” Su said.
Renard Monroe, Youth First’s founder and executive director, said that someone had spray-painted “N- First” on the building.
“It was destroyed by hate,” Monroe said. “The N-word. It said, ‘N-word First’ because we’re called Youth First, so they were kind of aiming that word toward our program.”
Officials believe the vandalism is a direct response to an incident at the park last week when a woman with her toddler daughter and their dog were near the playground, in the upper terrace area, where dogs are not allowed.
When Monroe told the woman to take her dog to the lower terrace of the park, where dogs are allowed, she told him, “No (N-word) is going to tell me where to go,” he recounted.
Supervisor Ahsha Safai said, “Then it turned into the N-word. It turned into threats. And the woman said, ‘I am going to make it my job to shut down your organization.’”
Following the threat, state licensing officials visited the park based on an anonymous tip, questioning whether Monroe’s operation was a childcare facility when it is actually an after-school program.
“People show up saying the music’s too loud. And then today he (Monroe) shows up and there’s spray paint and a noose hanging on the door,” Safai said.
Officials said the incident is a grim reminder that there is still division and hatred, even in a city as diverse as San Francisco.
“Everyone that doesn’t believe that racism is still alive – and still alive in San Francisco – it absolutely is. But guess what? We’re not going to be broken by it,” the supervisor said.
While no suspects have been publicly identified, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins assured that once the case reaches her office, “We will do everything to make sure the person or persons responsible for this are held accountable.”
Jenkins said, although the messages were abhorrent, the hate beneath the vandalism can’t be ignored.
“We have to bring attention to it, as much as we don’t want to give what this person did attention, San Francisco has to recognize how much work it still needs to do,” Jenkins said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan.
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
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So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
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They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
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Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
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Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
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The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
One of San Francisco’s busiest freeways remained shut down Saturday, creating major traffic delays and dampening business for some local restaurants and shops.
All eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 just before the Bay Bridge are closed as crews work around the clock to rehabilitate the roadway. The 55-hour shutdown, which began on Friday night, is scheduled to last until Monday morning in time for the commute.
The closure has forced drivers onto detour routes, leading to heavy congestion for those trying to reach the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley.
The impact is being felt beyond the roadways.
At MoMo’s, a restaurant across from Oracle Park, staff found business noticeably slower.
“A little bit more mellow than usual. We usually see a little bit more foot traffic, a little bit more people on Saturdays,” said Daniel Bermudez, executive chef at MoMo’s.
Bermudez believes the freeway closure may be discouraging visitors from coming into the city this weekend, despite favorable weather.
“The weather is beautiful today. It’s nice and sunny. So we have plenty of tables outside,” he said.
With the San Francisco Giants playing an away game, the restaurant had hoped fans would still gather to watch, but turnout during game time remained light.
“This is kind of like our off-season Saturday. A lot slower than our baseball weekend,” said Casandra Alarcon, general manager at MoMo’s.
Other small businesses in the Mission Bay and South of Market neighborhoods reported similar trends, saying most of their customers are regulars who live nearby rather than visitors.
“A little bit slower for sure. Before, we had tourists come and walk to the baseball park,” said Ajaree Safron, manager at Brickhouse Cafe & Bar.
Caltrans has shut down eastbound lanes between 17th and 4th streets to repave the 71-year-old roadway. The goal is to extend the life of the Bayshore Freeway by another decade.
City and transportation officials said the timing of the closure was intentional, noting fewer major events scheduled in San Francisco this weekend, aside from the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Westbound lanes remain open, and officials said traffic heading into San Francisco from the East Bay has not been significantly affected.
“Getting into the city, it wasn’t too bad. Regular [traffic], what we expect on a Saturday morning,” said visitor Andrea Inouye.
While the closure has posed challenges for businesses, some workers said they are taking it in stride.
“Hopefully, it’s not for too long and we get past it, and get back to our normal routine,” Bermudez said.
Despite early concerns about widespread gridlock, transportation officials said the region has avoided the worst-case scenario. Traffic remains heavy in areas near detours, but the anticipated “carmageddon” has not materialized, in part because many drivers chose to avoid the area or take public transit.
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