A second fire at an Outer Richmond elementary school has families wondering if it’s foul play.

The fire destroyed a playground’s equipment at Lafayette Elementary School late Sunday night, after another fire earlier this month damaged a storage container.

Throughout the day on Monday, many people stopped by Lafayette Elementary School to see the damage for themselves, including parent Sean Phillips.

“I think we’re all in disbelief,” said Phillips. “I mean, why would someone do this.”

His son and third grader at the school, Sebastian, echoed his sentiment.

“I mean, who would do that,” Sebastian questioned. “There was nothing wrong with the play structure.”

A fence has been put up around the structure to keep every safe. Sebastian said it made him sad to come to school and see it.

“Especially for the kindergartener’s because they love that thing so much,” Sebastian said.

San Francisco Fire said initial calls came in around 10:30 Sunday night, and they were able to put the fire out quickly but not before serious damage was done.

Just yards away from the playground is a burned storage shed. That fire happened in the early hours of May 1.

The Lafayette Elementary School PTA said every item in the container was damaged or destroyed, from sweatshirts to handmade decorations.  

Fire investigators are looking into if either was set intentionally, but Phillips thinks two fires in less than three weeks looks suspicious.

“It doesn’t sound like it was someone trying to stay warm,” said Phillips. “It sounds like someone just wanted to see something going up and see what’s going on right now. Media reports, people getting upset.”

The school sent an email to parents notifying them about what happened and the ongoing investigation.

In the email, school leaders said they are taking the situation seriously.  

“SFUSD has arranged for a security guard to visit our school every night through the end of the school year to complete an inspection and help ensure the safety of our campus. Lastly, the San Francisco Police Department will make regular patrols of the school overnight,” the email said.

Phillips said that helps but he still feels unsettled.

“I think it’s that feeling of intrusion,” explained Phillips. “It’s like when someone breaks in your house and does something. You know you’re safe, the intruders gone, but you feel invaded.”

The PTA President, Erin Feher-Montoya, said parents will be gathering at the school yard Tuesday morning at 8 to decorate the fence around the playground with drawings and ribbons to make it look more friendly and less upsetting for the students. 

Denver again delayed making a decision over whether to spend $800 million over 35 years on an expansion of the National Western Center in a close-call vote that split the City Council on Monday evening.

The two-week postponement comes as community advocates say they need more time to analyze the agreement and to try to negotiate for additional investment in the surrounding Elyria-Swansea neighborhood from the National Western Center Authority — the group that operates the facility.

The advocates say they want to see an additional $16 million lump sum for the community investment fund under an agreement they’re developing with the National Western Center Authority.

“We can address some of the questions that have been unanswered and we can possibly negotiate some more revenue or some more benefits for the community investment fund with these two weeks,” said Alfonso Espino, one of the community advocates.

The National Western Center Authority says they can’t afford to pay that. They estimate that under the current terms of the agreement, they are already planning to dedicate at least $22 million to the community investment fund over the next 35 years through various measures.

“We get up every day to create community benefit,” said Brad Buchanan, CEO of the National Western Center Authority. “Every decision we make is looking through the lens of community benefit.”

In a 7-5 vote, the council decided to postpone the vote until June 2. City officials say it’s unlikely that the agreement between the entities will change during that time. Espino argues that even if that’s true, they’ve successfully gotten concessions from previous delays.

“We feel that it’s important to make the gesture,” Espino said.

Council members Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Flor Alvidrez, Sarah Parady, Paul Kashmann, Amanda Sandoval, Stacie Gilmore and Jamie Torres voted in favor of the postponement.

“I’m asking for a little bit more time so that his conversation can continue,” Gonzales-Gutierrez said when proposing the postponement.

Council members Chris Hinds, Darrell Watson, Amanda Sawyer, Diana Romero-Campbell and Kevin Flynn voted no.

“I will continue to fight for more funds to go to (community investment fund),” Watson said. “I also know that in two weeks, the response that’s going to come back to the community is that there is not going to be a $16 million dollar lump sum.”

This is the second time the council has postponed the vote in two weeks. If they don’t take action on it June 2, it will automatically be approved.

The National Western Center Authority said they’ve already agreed to several community benefits, including a 4,000-square-foot community center and 5 acres of open space. They also plan to set aside 1% of all their hotel fees to go toward the fund and will offer all attendees the ability to round up their purchases to donate to the fund.

They say they will continue to look for other ways to donate to the fund. The dollars will be used for anti-displacement measures in the community to prevent gentrification caused by from the project.

Several council members who ultimately voted no said they agree with the efforts from the advocates to try to protect their community.

“You are right. You have been displaced, you have been marginalized, you have lived in one of the most polluted zip codes in the state,” Sawyer said. “I’m just not sure that the language of this agreement is going to change any in two weeks.”

The project represents the next stage of a massive project on the 250–acre campus, which has been under redevelopment since 2019. The city and its partners in the project want to expand the facility into a year-round exhibition with agricultural education and entertainment.

The public-private partnership chose Community Activation Partners, a consortium of contractors, as the developer. That group includes Fengate Asset Management, Hensel Phelps Construction, McWhinney Real Estate and Sage Hospitality.

The plan would include building a 4,500-seat equestrian center, a 570-stall stable, a 160-room hotel, 30 to 40 units of workforce housing and 580 parking spaces.

The principal cost is estimated to be $400 million and would be financed over 35 years through annual payments of up to $23 million. Without any refinancing, that would amount to about $800 million.

It would be paid for from revenue from Ballot Measure 2C, a 2015 voter-approved measure that permanently extended taxes on hotels and car rentals to support the National Western Center.

Construction would begin this fall with a goal of completion by 2028.

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Originally Published: May 19, 2025 at 8:50 PM MDT

CHICAGO – The Seattle Mariners won their fourth consecutive game on Monday night, beating the Chicago White Sox 5-1 at Rate Field. Seattle is now 27-19 and remains in first place in the American League West. Chicago fell to 14-34, the worst record in the American League.

The M’s have won all four games to start this 10-game road trip through San Diego, Chicago and Houston.

Luis Castillo earned the win on the mound after tossing seven scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out five. He’s now 4-3 with a 3.20 ERA.

Offensively, Jorge Polanco had an RBI single in the top of the third and Julio Rodriguez broke the game open in the top of the eighth with a grand slam. It was the second grand slam of his career and his eighth homer of the year.

After the game, Mariners on SI caught up with skipper Dan Wilson and Rodriguez to talk about the win.

Dan Wilson on Castillo’s performance:

​You ​know, ​great ​ballgame ​tonight. ​​I ​think ​when ​you ​look ​at ​the ​outing ​that ​Castillo ​turned ​in, ​you ​know, ​giving ​us ​seven ​full ​innings ​there, ​​really, ​really ​​just ​attacked ​the ​zone. ​I ​thought ​his ​two-​seamer ​was ​really ​good ​tonight. ​When ​you ​look ​at ​an ​outing ​like ​this, ​you ​know, ​he ​had ​everything ​going and attacked ​the ​zone, ​got ​ahead ​early, ​controlled the ​count ​on ​most ​of ​the ​hitters. ​And ​I ​thought that’s ​exactly ​what ​we ​needed ​from ​him. ​Great ​to ​get ​that ​from ​Luis.

On Jorge Polanco’s health, as he was pulled for a pinch-hitter against a left-handed pitcher again in the eighth inning:

He’s ​doing ​fine. ​You know, he’s ​coming ​along ​and ​right-handed ​swings ​are ​not ​too ​far ​behind, ​but ​we’re ​just ​taking ​it ​slow. ​And ​you ​know, ​his ​RBI ​single ​early ​was ​a ​big ​lift ​for ​us, ​I ​think. ​Getting ​on ​the ​board, ​getting ​us ​ahead, ​giving ​Luis (Castillo) ​a ​little ​bit ​of ​breathing ​room ​there ​on ​the ​mound ​was ​helpful. ​That ​was ​a ​big ​hit ​for ​us ​early ​in ​the ​game.

Julio Rodriguez on the team’s ability to add on late for a third straight game:

I ​mean, ​it’s ​huge, ​you ​know, ​especially, ​we’re ​on ​the ​road ​right ​now. ​Anything ​could ​happen ​later ​on and ​I ​feel ​like ​any ​run ​that ​we ​can add ​is ​big but, ​you ​know ​staying in​ the ​game…obviously it ​​was ​a ​little ​slow ​at ​the ​beginning, ​but, ​you ​know, ​we ​kept ​having ​good ​at-bats, ​kept ​putting ​the ​ball ​in ​play, ​and ​we were ​able ​to ​make ​something ​happen ​later.

The Mariners will play the White Sox again on Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. PT, but there is rain in the forecast.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT! Brady is back for another episode of “Refuse to Lose,” talking about the M’s recent struggles and why he’s still not worried yet. Then, he talks about the problems with the starting rotation and how its hurting the rest of the operation. Finally, we are joined by former Mariners coach and three-time World Series champion Scott Brosius, who talks about his career and his time in Seattle. And Brady has a message for “fans” in the wake of what happened to Astros’ pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. CLICK HERE:

BRASH BACK? Matt Brash, working back from Tommy John surgery, is looking closer and closer to his old self, as evidenced by what he did against Aaron Judge this week. CLICK HERE:

STILL A PERFECT ZERO: After a scoring change from Tuesday night, Andres Munoz still has a perfect 0.00 ERA for the season. Here’s what happened. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.