SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on Tuesday signed new legislation, advancing a program aimed at getting drug users off the streets and connecting them to treatment.  

A new sobering center in SF 

What we know:

The legislation authorizes the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office to contract with Connections California LLC to operate the city’s new Rapid Enforcement, Support, Evaluation and Triage or RESET center. 

The center will open this spring at 444 Sixth Street in the city’s South of Market neighborhood and will act as an alternative to jail or hospitalization for individuals with substance use disorders and who are arrested for public intoxication. 

RESET will provide more mental health and substance-use treatment services than what nurses in the jails are able to provide, according to the mayor’s office. 

Connections Health Solutions, a crisis care company, will provide care at the facility and connect those brought in to appropriate treatments. The facility will be overseen by the Sheriff’s Office and the city’s Department of Public Health. Connections has facilities in at least five states, including Arizona and Washington, according to their website. 

RESET is part of Lurie’s “Breaking the Cycle” initiative to tackle the city’s homelessness and behavioral health crisis. A 24/7 crisis stabilization center and three recovery-focused interim housing programs were launched in San Francisco in 2025 as part of this initiative.

After signing the legislation, Lurie posted to social media to say, “For too long, San Franciscans have been told that we must choose between clean, safe neighborhoods and compassion for those struggling on our streets.” Lurie added that he ran for mayor because, “I believed we can – and should – do both,” and that the city doen’t have to choose between compassion and accountability. 

He also offered a stern warning to those who use drugs openly in San Francisco’s public spaces. “The RESET Center allows our officers to arrest those engaged in public drug use at a speed and volume we have never seen before. If you use drugs on our streets, we will arrest you.”

He said this new approach offers a chance at recovery. 

“The RESET Center is a health-focused facility designed to care for publicly intoxicated individuals by moving them off the streets and into a safe and controlled environment,” Lurie said. 

San Francisco’s Chinatown may be an iconic tourist attraction, but for many Chinese Americans in the Bay Area it’s also a cultural hub anchored by generations-old small businesses and classic Chinese restaurants.

Most were started by new immigrants in an effort to survive and provide for their children while giving them a chance at a better future. There was generally no expectation of passing them down to their kids. But a new trend has emerged post-pandemic.

After decades of working hard for that “better life,” second-generation Chinese Americans are leaving their professional careers and instead finding fulfillment in taking over what their parents started. Legacy Chinatown eateries like Hing Lung Meat Company, R&G Lounge, New Sun Hong Kong, and House of Nanking have gotten a new lease on life, proving that change can indeed be good.

Some of the dishes at 606(Eugene Lau)

Eugene Lau has owned the San Francisco restaurant 606 (606 Broadway) since 2023, taking over New Sun Hong Kong, the hub for classic Cantonese dishes his in-laws had operated since 1989. Having worked as a tech professional for years, the toll running a small business took on them during the pandemic, as well as their impending retirement, made Eugene think about making a change.

“Most Chinese parents would say they opened a restaurant to make ends meet,” Lau says. “They don’t necessarily want the same life for their kids because it’s tough to make a living. But I think they could tell I had an interest in it. When having family meals at the restaurant, I would always make sure the customers were doing okay and even get up and help serve or bus tables, clean dishes, take orders. It kind of developed from there.”

The pandemic, when Chinatown became a ghost town, spurred Eric and Simon Cheung to return to the family business, too. Hing Lung Meat Company, which their father had owned since the 1990s, was known for authentic Cantonese roasted meats like char siu (roast pork), soy sauce chicken, and classic roast duck (not to be mistaken for Peking/Beijing duck). To help it survive, the brothers launched Go Duck Yourself, an offshoot of Hing Lung Meat Company that focused solely on online and takeout orders.

Go Duck Yourself took off, but when problems arose with HLMC’s aging storefront, the Cheungs eventually decided to close the original location. Eric and Simon then opened their sit-down restaurant Go Duck Yourself in Bernal Heights (439 Cortland Ave.) in 2024, followed by their takeout counter Quack House in Lower Nob Hill (927 Post St.) last year.

Some of the dishes at Go Duck Yourself(Courtesy of Hing Lung Co/Go Duck Yourself)

Though they’re carrying on their dad’s history of well-crafted roast meats, the brothers aren’t doing things exactly the same way.

“We definitely have not altered the recipes,” says Eric. “We try to stay as traditional and classic as possible. But we only use high-end spices and quality artisan meats. And our equipment is more high-tech than it used to be. Back then my dad used to go only by feel, but I like to use my temperature probes to get it just right. I’m very particular about the temperature the meat is cooked at so it comes out as juicy as possible.”

Although noticeable changes have been made since Lau took over, 606’s food has also stayed true to the former restaurant.

“We curated our menu so that many of New Sun Hong Kong’s popular items didn’t change, but we tweaked the recipes in a way that improved the texture or flavor and added some new dishes,” Lau explains. “We’re doing things differently than my in-laws did. But at the core of it, we’re still a family restaurant with a commitment to the community. It’s a reboot.”

606 is the reboot of New Sun Hong Kong(Courtesy of 606)

So why leave the tech world to run a small restaurant? “It’d be sad to see our culture and traditions die,” says Lau. “That’s one of the main reasons why we do this. I really wanted to continue my family’s legacy, and I’m thankful I have the opportunity to do it.”

Though Eric Cheung’s pride in the food he makes fuels his passion, he never expected to carry on the family business either.

”I’m surprised there are so many second-generation adults taking over the family business, and I think it’s great! It’s sad to see something that helped raise you, that you grew up with, go away,” he says. “We have a good setup here. It’s always been my dream to own a restaurant, I just didn’t think it would be essentially my parents’ restaurant.”

Over their lifetimes, the people at Live Oak Adult Day Services in San Jose had witnessed some of the biggest technological leaps of the modern era: the arrival of television, the rise of the internet, and even Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon.

Now, they were watching something else arrive.

On a recent morning at the adult day care center, a small crowd gathered as a robot called Mirokai made its way into the room. The 4-foot-tall robot played music, led trivia games, and somehow knew exactly how to hold everyone’s attention.

Most of the clients are living with mild to moderate dementia, and Mirokai had a way of bringing the space to life.

“It has brought a lot of joy,” said Izumi Yaskawa.

Yaskawa was Live Oak’s chief happiness officer — Yes, that was actually her title. She said robots like Mirokai weren’t meant to replace caregivers, but to assist them by providing entertainment and conversation, giving staff more time to focus on hands-on care.

“Ten thousand people are turning 65 every day, and we don’t have enough caregivers,” Yaskawa said.

Once the stuff of science fiction, assistive robots are beginning to show up in nursing homes and adult day care centers across the country, as facilities grapple with staffing shortages and a rapidly aging population. Industry analysts expect the global market for elder-care assistive robots to grow from $3.4 billion in 2025 to nearly $10 billion by 2033.

According to Isabelle Blanchot, the Chief Revenue Officer of Enchanted Tools, the company behind Mirokai, the robot is also being tested beyond elder care, including trials in hospital settings designed to support children undergoing cancer treatment.

“The idea is to bring staff augmentation solutions in the form of a super cute and endearing robot,” she said. 

The technology didn’t come cheap. Mirokai could cost as much as $80,000. But judging by the reaction of 94-year-old Beryl Greensmith, this little yellow robot leaves quite the impression. 

“I never thought at my age — I’m 94 — I’d ever see a robot,” Greensmith said. “It was the highlight of my life.”

And as if that weren’t enough, Mirokai had one more trick up its sleeve: a built-in sense of humor, which, apparently, leans heavily toward dad jokes.

“What do robots eat for a snack? Computer chips,” it said.